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[For a couple of moments more of Sans's eyes fix on Papyrus than usual. It's a look Papyrus might recognize, at least on Sans's actual face--when he's focusing on some observation or another that he's made. It's maybe a touch more intense with the added halo eyes. But Sans seems to note how Papyrus said that and, for now, let it go. Or at least set it aside for later.]

They've got gummies. It's just like candy. [It's possible Sans will come back with gummy bears instead. Do human vitamins even work on them? Who knows.] Safer'n trying to swallow a battery, probably. [Sans is not a robot that would be a terrible idea.]

[...Yes, Papyrus recognizes that intensity of focus. Whoops. He needs to be more careful about what he says, or how he says it, because that sudden focus looked like Sans is properly paying attention to things now. It's mostly a comfort to see he's okay, in that respect. If a little inconvenient for secrets.]

Yeah, probably! Unless you think your glowing is battery-powered. [Neither of them think that, and it's not like the glowing is fluctuating as Sans eats, is it? That's probably solar-powered, if anything.] But vitamin snacks surely can't hurt! Not being all 'child-safe'.

You want some too? You could top your milkshakes with 'em. [Battery acid and vitamin gummy milkshakes... Sans is just trying to change the topic now.]

That's... not a terrible idea. [A clear deflection, and it's not like Papyrus is forgetting the rest of this conversation any time soon, but the idea itself?] I'm sure the extra nutrients would be helpful... Okay, sure. But you eat them too! And, tell me if it seems to be helping.

[It was easier than usual to stand here and ambush Sans with the concerned questions, but if his brother is actually paying attention to the whatever it is he needs now... All that's really left is shopping for groceries. Papyrus can get a well-rounded bunch of things, some for Sans in sealed containers, and Sans can fill in the rest of what he wants himself.]

[Sans actually follows through on this! He gets real children's vitamin gummies and everything. They look like weird prehistoric cartoon characters from a cartoon Sans can't even find on TV. He looks it up online and harasses Papyrus with it for a little while "so the vitamins can get into character", and also buys Papyrus a bottle for testing on milkshakes.

But Sans wakes up starving that night regardless, and it's not long before he's clattering around in the kitchen because he's out of snacks and actually has to cook something if he wants to eat. Which is terrible. But Sans is pretty sure that Papyrus has been sleeping even less than usual, if anything, so it's not like he has to worry about waking his brother up.]

[Ah, children's cartoons. Papyrus finds himself earnestly rolling his eyes at it all, and generally makes fun of Sans for getting into it... But, he also sends sporadic texts commenting on specific characters and their story arcs, giving away that he's not just indulged a look or two, but is actually watching it. (It's easy to multitask watching it while working, given the mechanical advantages, after all.)

The fridge has a something that's probably unsafe for humans to smell, let alone eat, as the previously simmered acid has been poured into jello molds with a DON'T EAT THIS note on top. If poked, they jiggle with the right consistency. Smells questionable, though.

It's true that Papyrus wasn't asleep, though he had been charging and that's close enough to sleep for him. The sounds of kitchen clatter draw his attention, reminding him both of the probably-finished gelatin experiment - and the ongoing mystery with Sans. Not that midnight snacking is unusual with his brother, but it's good to have more information on how exactly it's going, so he casually saunters into the kitchen, making sure that it is Sans in there and not some home intruder before he offers a greeting.]

Hey, brother. Finding everything okay...? [Both, is Sans okay, and is he finding the food and cooking supplies he need for whatever this is.]

[Sans gives the jello an obligatory wiggle, though he doesn't take it out of the fridge. He's actually here to steal some cheese. He stuffs one slice into his mouth even as he takes a few more out, and so when Papyrus appears, Sans answers with his mouth full.]

Yeah. Making grilled cheese. [Three of them, judging by the amount of cheese he has. The best description for how Sans looks would be "tired", though he's trying to will enough energy into his body to look casual.]

[The light in Papyrus's eyes shifts and brightens a little as he takes in the details of his brother's appearance. Tired, but in that particular casual way. Which is more cause for concern, on the average. It's the middle of a long night, it'd be normal for Sans to be tired and looking tired. Pretending not to be... Papyrus knows very well how that's a sign of hiding something.]

Good choice! Calcium's important. [Bright, cheerful, playing along. And he knows there's new bread, and butter, and clean pans, and everything one might need for making basic sandwiches. But still...] If we need any more ingredients, give me a call! I can always go to a store. [Sans can get there more quickly, with teleporting, but...]

You know all the calcium just goes into my funny bone. [Which is a terrible enough, well-worn enough joke that Sans is pleased enough to look genuinely entertained for a moment before the exhaustion creeps back in around his eyes. It's hard to tell how much he's glowing with the lights on in the kitchen, but his eyelights are dim. He lets the pan heat up while he slathers all the bread, front and back, with butter.]

[Papyrus gives the obligatory wordless amused grumble, but doesn't go past it. He's pretty sure he wouldn't normally acknowledge that kind of joking at this time of night, and he's not really amused or annoyed enough by the punning to have any other particular reaction come to mind. Instead, he stays attentive as he opens the fridge and retrieves the battery acid gelatin. The change in Sans's demeanor as his amusement with himself fades... That's even more concerning. He heads for a chair, settles in, and does a little taste testing to buy some time as Sans cooks.]

...So... Not to get impatient at you. [Which he's realizing he is, a little bit. Days without noticing, hours of jokes but no real response, and all of this compared to the speed of file editing? But it's more impatient with the situation than Sans specifically.] I don't suppose, you noticed, any positive change from the vitamins yet?

[Sans shrugs.] Well, it's not like it's been that long yet, y'know? [He puts the first sandwich into the pan and fusses needlessly with it. The eyes on Sans's halo seem to be trying to avoid direct eye contact with Papyrus. Finally:] But maybe it's not a vitamin thing.

[Now that they're talking, it's easier to be patient about it. Or feign patience, taking a moment taste more of the gelatin. Very much like with snacking on small batteries themselves, it's a small charge, but with enough food type stuff to it to offer some flavor and texture the way that directly charging doesn't. Better for the social element of sitting and eating, at least.]

...I felt the difference with the batteries right away. It took a while to really feel better, but... [He knew, the moment he stopped rejecting the uncomfortable idea, it was at least part of the something he'd been needing. If Sans is unsure about the vitamins... It's almost certainly proof that something else is the real problem.]

I didn't feel anything different from eating regular food. [So okay, it's definitely not a vitamin thing. Of course, at the rate he's going through food, Sans will probably finish the bottle anyway. He flips the sandwich way too early just to give him an excuse to focus on that again.] Might have a few ideas, but I dunno. It'd have to be something I was getting but I'm not getting enough of now.

Hmmm. Something like, quality time with your favorite brother. [Half-joking, for the sake of levity to keep this from getting too grim, and because it would drive them both up a wall if either were that literally dependent on the other. But as important for morale as it is to avoid getting into the details every other conversation, he suspects it's only responsible to acknowledge recent events in some way. Correlation isn't causation... but it's foolish to rule out correlation, especially when both are things out of the ordinary. Not without testing. But that reminds him of something else that was New.]

...I don't suppose you got all those, uh... decorations... Around the same time. [Please reassure him that the creepy angel statues aren't eating your energy, Sans.]

Oh--nah, I've been picking those up for a little while. [Admittedly he'd only started upgrading to statues recently, but it wasn't simultaneous. If he explains to Papyrus they feel nice to have around he's going to sound even crazier. Might as well skip that part. He doesn't immediately address the first thing Papyrus said--of course he doesn't--but he's mulling it over. It can't be something so direct as Papyrus's presence or anything (it better not be), but there was a change in how often they were in the same space. But Sans isn't avoiding Papyrus anymore, so if it was just that, it would have fixed itself. Tentatively, he offers:] Wasn't hanging around as many people lately. Not a lot of visitors to the cave.

Not unless you count the litterers. [This is a more reflexive mumbled grumble than the rest. The segue from party to cleanup to buying the house is somewhat tangled together in his analog memory, in a way that the residual feelings bleed together too. He doesn't like the cave because he didn't like the cave, and the unpleasantness that happened there just 'proved' the initial dislike... But the feelings were strong enough normally that they're still strong now, and he doesn't know how hard to hide it. He shakes his head, considers the screenshot of the list as he tilts his spoon to start carving gelatin into a more interesting shape.]

But there are a few that... seem to involve exposure to people. Somehow. In some weird metaphysical way. [The ones he'd largely shrugged off before. Dreams. Emotions. Vague unspecified things, how did the study even measure that those were what people were craving?]

[Sans has been circling around dreams and emotions enough that it seems like the reasonable place to land. That doesn't mean he wants to, though. If it was emotions, though, then he's still doing things like going to work. He was around fewer people, but not nobody. That leaves the question of if he can deliberately eat an emotion up in the air, but he's fine with leaving it there right now. Dreams--well, he doesn't have experience with his powers relating to dreams. But...] Hey, how much have you been sleeping? Like just lately, compared to usual. [Specification is necessary, given how little Papyrus sleeps in general.]

[As Sans circles, Papyrus is still mulling on frustrating metaphysical things as a general category, and updating his checklist on some of the standing concerns. The angels statues apparently preceded all this by long enough that Sans doesn't think they're connected. He didn't offer any more information, and wasn't notably dodgy about them, which... really, that isn't conclusive about anything, it being Sans. When the question comes, he blinks in surprise.]

Uh. Sleeping...? [The question itself takes him by surprise, and he scratches absently at his temple.] Not... very much. I don't seem to need to, if I charge up. And I don't usually want to. [Because it's the height of lazing about, and not accomplishing anything, for one. But... for another... because he frequently has bad dreams. The screenshot is still up in his active memory, and he stares at his brother. He doesn't really suspect...?]

I've been here or at the cave at night lately. [He had that job watching cattle on nights when he wanted to go look at the stars, but when it seemed like something was actually killing things out there, Sans dropped that job.] And I haven't been having cave sleepovers. So. [So it could be that Sans is feeding off of dreams, which is incredibly impractical when Papyrus sleeps so little, since Sans has no idea how he'd even start doing that on purpose. If he goes lurking around other peoples' houses at night people are going to notice eventually.]

Oh my god. [Papyrus settles the spoon back into the mold, clasps his hands together for the tactile feedback. Somewhat numb isn't completely unfeeling, after all, and...]

I... I feel kind of guilty? [Normally, that'd be an admission of feeling deeply, profoundly guilty. And normally he might be feeling that much so, too. Would he be weeping? How much is buried underneath, waiting for the various inactive emotional processing banks, wherever they are, to connect to the data of Sans's hunger directly correlating to Papyrus's reduced sleeping...? It occurs to him, that that's even more computery than usual. He shakes his head to shake the thoughts to a pause.] And I'd probably feel guiltier if I had known! Though. I suppose we don't... know, know. I could try taking a nap, for testing...?

[Now Sans's eyes do flick to Papyrus rather than avoiding him.] Yeah, we don't know for sure, but even if it is that, it's not like it's your fault. [Nobody asked for these weird changes. Sans was happy eating his usual food, thanks. Speaking of that, he's working on his third grilled cheese now.] But I guess a test like that wouldn't hurt. [The worst thing that happens is nothing.]

Of course it's not my fault. But I can be concerned anyway! [As long as concern continues to be a thing that he can feel, at least. But the concern whether his emotions are continuing to erode is a problem for future Papyrus to wrestle with. For now, he just flags it and archives it, and focuses on the near-future.]

And... take a nap, huh. I guess we could have a lazy night, and crash on the couch, and watch TV...? [If they pick something relaxing enough, maybe he can sleep and have okay dreams, too.]

How could I turn that down? [Really there's plenty of ways, but setting aside the reasons for it, hanging out with Papyrus on the couch watching dumb TV shows is one of Sans's favorite things to do. And he'll have something to do while eating his three sandwiches besides think.] We can give it a shot.

[Will it be better if it works or if it doesn't? If it doesn't work, Sans is going to have to revisit the emotion thing. If it does, then he's going to have to figure out how to absorb dreams from people who aren't Papyrus without ending up getting arrested for breaking and entering.]

Okay, experiment time. [Which, he says with more enthusiasm than he might usually, given the track record of experiments in the valley so far. But it's good to have an idea, and a plan to test it, and hopefully make things better. Even if he's not weighed down with all his usual worries, or buoyed by his usual cheer, or so on. He gathers up the gelatin molds, heads for the fridge to get something to drink to bring with him.] I'll get the living room set up.

I'll finish up these. [Sans nudges the plate where he's stacked his sandwiches. It won't be long before he's finished up, especially because he just leaves the dirty pan on the stove, with the spatula on the countertop next to it. He considers a trip to his room to grab that electric blanket, but Papyrus might overheat or something.]

Okay, ready. [As if Sans did any work beyond finishing the food he was making and now making his way to his spot on the couch.]

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and now for a short timeskip

now time for Sans to have the "because i've lost control of my life" side of the meme

we're all that meme sometimes

that we are

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