Chapter Text
"I do remember."
Gaster turned to look at his youngest, a strange expression on his face, "What was that Papyrus?"
"I do remember," Papyrus's hands were clenched together in front of him, his sockets glowing with only a dull gleam. "I remember you disappearing and I remember Sans being so sad and scared and looking lost. I remember putting up the barrier that we just recently escaped, I remember-" he shuddered. "I remember dying and then waking up as a small baby bones. I remember what wielding a sword feels like, and I think it might be why I never tried using one in my attempts to become a Royal Guard."
"Heh," Gaster smiled at him, the tension draining out of his body. "You stuck to your magic."
"I'm so much more destructive when I use a sword." Papyrus shook his head, "I was a warrior for so long, and I think that's why I tried to become a guard. I remembered that I fought for people and their safety, and I just..."
"You were trying to mimic a memory." Gaster held his arms out. "Do you remember anything else? I am pretty sure I remember all of what occurred, but any gaps you might be able to fill in would be appreciated." he hugged his son close when Papyrus allowed it, laughing quietly. "I missed being able to have you two around, I think that might have been the worst part."
"We missed you too," Papyrus grinned, hugging him back and then stepping away. "Sans tried for a lot of RESETS to bring you back. I could always tell when it hadn't worked because he'd spend the day after sleeping and not leaving the house except when I made him."
Gaster's eyes glowed for a moment, a reassuring blink of orange and blue. "You remember the RESETS?" his voice was an awed sort of pleased.
"Of course I do," Papyrus put a hand to his chest, curling it into a fist over the emblem of the shirt he wore. "I was never as good at magic as you and So- Sans, but I am your son after all. And I kept the physics books in my room. It never clicked quite as well as it did for you two, but I tried my best."
"Sometimes that is all you can do."
"I just thought that, maybe, if I could get it to feel right in my head, I could help Sans bring you back." Papyrus brushed his hand over his skull, trying to wipe away the slowly falling orange tears. "I thought that- I thought that if I could bring you back, he'd be happy again. After you disappeared, it took him a long time to smile again. He started practicing those awful puns you like so much," he shuddered, taking a breath, "He was practicing knock-knock jokes in the woods and that was how he met Toriel. When you went missing, he tried so hard to fill the empty spaces left by your absence.
"And it's not like he could deal with it very easily, but he did so good because he is Sans and my brother is the best!" Papyrus sniffed, constant shivers wracking his body. "He used to hate your j-jokes, and we would both groan when you made one and then it was like he was trying to be you because you weren't there!" he covered his face, letting Gaster lead him to a couch and sit him down.
When prodded, he curled against his dad, his knees pulled against his chest.
Humming a soft tune, Gaster wrapped his arms around him, trying his best to be soothing. After what felt like an eternity, he spoke. "I did not mean to be gone for so long."
"I know," Papyrus whimpered.
"And I certainly did not mean to leave you both. You are my sons. You are some of my favorite people in this world or the next, and I hated myself for not being able to talk to you at all times. I wish I could have been there for every moment." Gaster stroked gentle fingers across his skull, settling his chin on top of Papyrus's head. "You were a grown man before, and you've grown again in the time I was gone. All I can really do is stay with you now and hope you let me watch what you become this time because you are just as brilliant as Sans and myself," he smiled when Papyrus twisted around to look up at him. "Yes, you are. It may not show in the same way as ours, but you share our intellect and I dare anyone to try and say otherwise. Where we follow our heads, you follow your heart. We bury ourselves in our pursuits and if it weren't for people like you, we would certainly lose our way.
"And that would be a tragedy if the world did not have people like you in it." Gaster tightened his grip for a moment. "You are my second son, but you are no less brilliant for it. You are more like what I remember your mother being, and I know she would be proud of who you are. I am proud of who you have become. You became someone that everyone should be glad to meet, and I hope you realize this."
Papyrus nodded, tucking his head back in and gripping Gaster's sweater tightly.