Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The surface was far from what he expected. Razz could have dreamed all he wanted, picturing the perfect place, the perfect life, but as soon as the first human sent him the dirty look all of that would have been crushed anyway. As soon as he felt a different kind of dirty look befalling his brother, he would start wishing they had never left the underground in the first place. He didn't like the way those filthy humans tried dig in their lives, when it was none of their business. 

Regardless, there they were. Razz couldn't avoid people and he had to eat. He scowled at no one in particular as he rushed through the crowd to find the next item in the list, nails digging into the old leash when his grip tightened.

"Hurry up, Mutt! I don't have all day!" he tried to pull him closer, frustrated that he even had to do that. Back in the underground monsters wouldn't bump into you as if they were trying to knock a door down. He growled, angrily pulling his brother through food aisles, knowing that the sooner this was over the sooner he would be able to relax.

The stress of all these people around them was obviously getting to Mutt's lord, so he did his best to not be an addition to that stress. He followed closely behind him and put himself in the way of some of the people that would have otherwise bumped his lord or ran over him. Mutt didn't like this place. It was causing his lord too much stress.

Thankfully, it wasn't long before they made it to the food isle of the store. Here, there weren't as many people. Mutt still made sure to keep an eye out, though.

From an outside point of view, their relationship looked abusive. Well, it was, but that wasn't the point. People were giving nasty looks and looks of concern and worry in their direction, as if there was something terribly wrong here that didn't involve them being monsters.

The stares. Razz could feel eyes on his back and he was itching to do something about it. Instead, he looked at the next item and let out a sigh of relief seeing it was the last thing they needed. He looked up again only to find there were at least a dozen brands of the same product. Why?

It was hard to resist the temptation of just grabbing the first one, but after seeing the absurd range of prices Razz thought better. 

He was about to sigh and start searching for the cheapest one when someone bumped into him and practically pushed him to the side. Then that feeling of being stared down was back. He only sent a cold look at the human, that wasn't even looking back at him anymore, before turning his glare at his brother.

What was he even doing? Razz didn't brought him to be a dead weight! He pulled at the leash suddenly and hard, putting all the strength that otherwise would go to punch "innocent" faces, before changing his mind and grabbing his brother's arm tight enough to bruise and nearly shoving him into the shelves.

"Find the cheapest one!" he shouted before going back to searching.

Thankfully, Mutt managed to keep himself from actually hitting the shelves. If he ended up breaking anything, they would have to pay for it. He nodded and stood up properly to search. "yes, m’lord."

Further away, people gasped. How dare he treat the taller skeleton that way!

Mutt started comparing the prices on the shelf.

Razz noticed people's reaction and he didn't like it. Why couldn't they just mind their own business? He gritted his teeth and hurried to find what he wanted. He threw the thing in the cart and immediately started marching in the direction of the cashier.

He couldn't hold back an angry noise when they couldn't reach it fast enough and someone got there first, quickening his pace to an almost sprint while dragging his brother by the leash when he couldn't keep up.

Mutt had been about to reach for the cheapest bit of packaged food when suddenly his leash was yanked, and he had to almost scramble to grab the item before he couldn’t even reach it. He then was quick to follow after and put the item in the cart.

They were at the cash register now, waiting in line. The people in front of them were trying to squish closer together in order to get away from Razz, and there was nobody behind them. When it was Razz’s turn, the cashier refused to help them. 

“No, sorry, but you’re going to have to go somewhere else.”

It was the last straw.

"What the fuck do you mean?!" he screamed at their face. They didn't want them there? Well, surprise, Razz also didn't want to be there! "Why should I? Why won't you just- Ugh !" No one was happy with that shit, but guess what? That was their job! You don't get to just say no for your job! Fuck them ! He wanted an explanation and he wasn't going to leave without his things!

Razz took the things from the cart and placed them in front of the cashier, taking the money out of his wallet, counted down to the cents, and slamming it next to the products. All they had to do was take it and pull the purchase to the side so he could grab it all and go home. It wasn't that hard!

The cashier wanted to argue, but they figured it would probably be best to just get them out of the store as fast as possible. They sighed and checked the items out. “Okay, now get out. And I’d rather you not come back.”

He hadn't received an explanation and he wasn't satisfied, but before he could say anything, the cashier basically kicked them out of the store. Swallowing his anger, Razz grabbed his things and pulled Mutt along harshly, with no patience for gentleness.

Now they would have to find other place to go shopping. Great .

Not even three steps out of the store, Razz pulled Mutt out of the way and kicked him on the shin, frustrated with life. How dare they do that! He kicked again, with even more force, as a child throwing a tantrum. They didn't even have an excuse! Why couldn't they buy there? It was not fair!

He kicked the same place over and over until he felt himself calm down. Razz hadn't planned on doing this in public, he would prefer to release his anger back home, where eyes and whispers wouldn't follow, but he had needed it.

Closing his eyes for an instant, Razz took some deep breaths to regain composure before finally feeling in control enough to say something.

"Teleport us home, now."

Mutt honestly hadn’t expected to be kicked a couple steps out of the building, but he wasn’t going to complain. He could tell from the pain that with how hard Razz had kicked, the bones of his shin probably almost broke, and definitely bruised badly. That was okay, though. He just had to make sure to not limp.

“yes, m’lord,” He murmured, then immediately teleported as Razz had ordered. 

But the sight that was shown that day was very obviously abusive. Word was going to get around.

The sight of their living room did little to calm Razz down. With a clearer mind, he realized what he had just done and just thinking about the whispers and nosy people made all that frustration come back. This time it was his fault though. Razz gritted his teeth, not liking to admit anything was his fault.

He threw the bags on the table and turned to his brother, needing more venting time.

"Did you hear them?!" he kicked the other leg this time, a little higher to see if the minimal extra work would calm him down faster. "That stupid cashier had started everything! Those stupid humans had started everything! The stupid fucking war started everything!" he kicked once more and resisted the urge to punch, throwing his arms up. It was not fair!

Razz kicked the table this time, refraining from hurting his brother too much. He still needed to be able to walk by tomorrow, they had work to do. And they would do it, differently than some stupid looking cashiers .

Grumbling to himself, Razz decided to let out the rest of his anger on cooking, making his way to the kitchen with bags in hand.

He actually expected the kicking this time. He hated how angry Razz was. He wanted to try to make everything better for him, but… he couldn’t. The most he could do was try to make his lord happy in the moment.

One order, and he would go and kill that goddamn cashier for refusing to serve his lord. For pissing his lord off so badly… but he couldn’t do anything unless his lord said so. He couldn’t go against his lord, after all. 

Mutt only really reacted when Razz kicked the table, stepping forward and raising his arms a little in a late attempt to get him to not do that. He didn’t want Razz to hurt himself!

But then his lord was heading to the kitchen, and Mutt followed only to its entrance. “do you need help, m’lord?” He asked.

Razz paused for a moment before shaking his head and resuming what he was doing.

"No, stay out of my way." he said curtly, trying to focus all his energy into cooking. "Sit down and wait." he commented after a brief second of hesitation. 

It is not that he didn't want company. Razz would gladly accept any form of quality time with his brother, even more now that they just couldn't seem to have enough time together. But he didn't think it would be a good idea while he was this stressed.

Besides, they could spend some time together later. 

And that was why he didn’t step into the kitchen yet. His lord didn’t want him in the way. The moment the order came, he turned and sat at the table. 

He had made sure to memorize that cashier’s face, so he could go and kill her if he ever got permission to. He wouldn’t ever forget somebody who treated his lord like that .

Chapter Text

Razz liked to face the days as if each one was a new beginning. He tried not to hold onto upsetting things from the past, the current troubles were upsetting enough. That said, fuck that cashier from the day before, he was not still upset about that insignificant verm. As the next morning came, he was pissed at the fact that, no matter how much he argued, he couldn't convince those dumb humans to let him bring Mutt with him to his job.

He waited for the sacred moment where they had the first meal of the day together to bring it up.

"You can't come with me and I'm not searching other job." Razz was succinct, direct to the point. "And I don't want you sitting around all day, so your task is to search for a job too." 

Mutt almost spit out the food that was in his mouth in surprise. What?! He wasn’t allowed to come with!? But he came with his lord everywhere!! Almost everywhere. He didn’t like to be without his lord. Would it be an everyday thing? Oh fuck.

Thankfully, he didn’t spit his food out. No, it was something Razz made. It was much too delicious to spit out. And he’d probably be punished if he spat it out, anyway. Instead, he just… nodded. “yes, m’lord. is there anywhere specific you would like me to work?”

"No, just find something as quick as you can." Razz didn't care which job it was. Of course, he would ask for Mutt to find a way into the police so they could work together despite everything, but he knew they weren't offering anything else for monsters. What he wanted was off of the table, and Razz was more than a little bitter about it. So, no, he didn't care which other job Mutt would take.

He was already getting up to take the dishes to the sink when he remembered the damned cashier. "Actually, see if that store we went to yesterday is taking monsters." it would be good to laugh at that human's face be able to still shop there.

Mutt nodded. Alright, try to get a job at that store, probably to piss that cashier off if he knew his lord. He got up as well. “would you like me to do the dishes, m’lord?” He asked.

Razz allowed himself a brief half smile before nodding in response and returning to his neutral face. He had to see the good points of the day if he wanted life to be at least bearable.

"I'll be home before dinner." with that, he turned his back and left the house for work, glad that his day had at least started on a good note.

He got his lord to smile!! He rarely ever could do that! He waited until Razz was gone, then allowed himself to grin and pumped his fist in the air a little. He loved his lord and he fucking loved that smile .

He finished the dishes rather quickly and headed upstairs to change into clothes that Razz would consider more appropriate for the outdoors. Razz wouldn’t like people staring at Mutt’s bones, after all. 

He made sure to clean up whatever else he could for his lord and so he didn’t have to do it later, then headed out the door.

The day at the store was slow for once, few people coming in to buy things. Sophie knew this could change along the day, but for now, she was enjoying the freedom to gossip.

She heard about the skeleton monsters that came into the store the day before and how the shorty was not even trying to pretend to be nice. Sophie frowned and expressed her indignation when her coworkers told her how the abusive bastard just dragged the other poor soul out of the store just to kick him in front of everyone, as if challenging people to report him. And then, end of story, she didn't expect anything else.

She certainly wasn't expecting to see a skeleton that matched so perfectly her coworker’s descriptions about the "poor soul" come into the store, alone.

Well, she wasn't doing anything right now, anyway.

"Hey!" she called, waving her hand high to try to get his attention. "Sir... Skeleton! Do you need help?" maybe they forgot something? Or maybe they did want to report the other and went back there for help? Well, she was there offering help!

Mutt blinked and looked towards the voice that had called for him. Had he been given permission to speak? He probably needed to in order to get a job, so… hopefully Razz wouldn’t be mad at him. “hi.” He waved back. “i need a job.” He didn’t care for anything else. His lord just wanted him to get a job here, so that was what he was going to do.

"Oh." Sophie was not expecting that so suddenly. Her mind was quick though. "You're lucky then! I heard we were in need of more cashiers!" she said with a smile. This was still a form of helping, and she felt a strong empathy for that skeleton after hearing the rumors.

"My name is Sophie, by the way." she gave him directions on where to find more information about the matter and everything she knew about it. "I hope you get the job and we get to be coworkers!"

He smiled. “thank you. i’m mutt.” His name used to be Papyrus, but that changed when his lord started calling him Mutt. He belonged to his lord, after all, and his lord could choose whatever name he wanted for Mutt.

Mutt was the name on the tag of his collar, as well. Nothing else seemed to be written there, but on the inside of the collar that was pressed against Mutt’s neck, read the words “ Property of the Malevolent Razz .” And he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“can you… show me where? i’m not good at directions if i’m not giving them.” A lot of times, he’d been ordered to help his lord find where to go on the surface, so he’d gotten pretty good at it. But… he’d never really had to follow directions like that. He was good at following orders , not directions , those were two completely different things. 

Well. Unless his lord was trying to tell him where to go. He’d always listen to his lord.

"Oh!" she said again. Her brain was not good with words when met with unexpected situations. Well, she wasn't doing anything useful, was she? And Sophie was sure getting new employees was on the good list of "working ethics", somewhere. "Sure! Come with me!"

She got around the counter and started walking in the direction she had just given him, her mind inadvertently wondering about...

Wait, did he say his name was Mutt?! What kind of name was that?! Would it be too rude to ask about it? Was it some kind of crazy monster culture or something? She decided to keep her mouth shut.

Well, her mind kept wondering about him. Why was he searching for a job in the store he had been kicked out of just the day before? Where was the other skeleton? How much of the rumors were true? Sophie glanced at him, but he seemed to be just a normal guy... Eh, she wasn't in a hurry, it wouldn't hurt to try to get to know her possible future coworker.

"So... Is this your first job?" Sophie nodded to herself. It was a good start.

“i worked as a sentry when we were underground,” He informed. His lord was the captain of the royal guard, and he got the job as a sentry to be able to come with his lord everywhere during patrols. There were plenty of times he was forced to be apart from his lord, but that was alright for the most part. For the most part . He didn’t like being apart from his lord.

He followed after her. She was nice.

"Cool! What was it like? Wasn't it too lonely?" Sophie couldn't quite imagine a society underground, and she admittedly hasn't been trying to understand what monsters used to do before. But it sounded like a lone job, not fun. "I just want to warn you, you won't be able to be alone if you get this one! It is not this peaceful usually."

Mutt shook his head. “no, quite the opposite actually. i always had m’lord with me.” He smiled fondly at the thought. “if you weren’t strong enough or didn’t have somebody to protect you then you’d probably get yourself killed within five minutes of being underground.”

He thought for a second. Might as well explain the sentry thing, right? “as a sentry, my job was to keep watch for any humans that might have fallen down. i stayed at my sentry station or took patrols around the underground, mostly snowdin, with m’lord.”

That... didn't sound like a happy society. That didn't sound like a happy society at all. Ouch, Sophie kind of felt guilty for being human right now. Well, at least Mutt sounded somewhat happy about his last job! What didn't a good company on your working time do for you? 

"This "lord" seems like a good friend." Sophie commented with a smile, assuming that was a teasing nickname. "Are you still close?"

They were almost getting to the end of the short walk, but Sophie didn't want to part ways yet, so she started to slow down.

Mutt smiled happily. “of course we are. why wouldn’t we be?”

…

They wouldn’t be if his lord decided to replace him… fuck, he was thinking about that again. He needed to stop thinking about it before it affected how he acted around his lord. Fuck.

He’d started to frown, but pulled himself back into a straight face. It was fine. His lord wasn’t going to replace him. Hopefully. He didn’t even have anybody to replace him with . It wasn’t like Razz was just going to forget him … right? When he was no longer needed…?

"Oh! Uh, I don't know." Sophie shrugged. "It just seems like the surface is a lot bigger than the underground. You know, you meet more people, you make new friends... With all of these new freedoms it's easy to just start drifting apart from old friends and rebuild a new life altogether. I mean, you can do anything you want now, right?" she supposed it was like getting your independence for the first time. "Why not just leave everything from your past behind you?"

With every word she spoke, Mutt shrunk into his coat more and more and slowed down until he was standing still. Was… was that really what was going to happen? Was his lord really going to… drift away? No… he wouldn’t, right? Mutt was his pet! He wouldn’t leave him behind… right?

But… he had already started going to work without him… ordered Mutt to get a job as well… what was next? Move out and order Mutt to stay where he was? It wasn’t like Mutt would force him to stay…

...Oh no…

Sophie walked a few steps ahead before noticing Mutt had stopped following her. She turned around, confused, just to find him with a haunted look on his face.

"Hey, are you okay?!" she ran to his side again, worried. What was wrong? He was fine just a few moments ago! He seemed happy even! "Are you not feeling well?" was it nerves? Was he nervous about getting the job? Was that it? "Everything will be fine, don't worry!" she didn't even know what the problem was, Sophie was just word vomiting on him. She tried to push him to the side so they weren't on people's way to see if he would calm down.

“...i’m fine.” Come on, get it together, Mutt! He may be freaking out, but he could do that internally! He thought he was better at hiding how he felt than this-

…

Did she just fucking touch him? Push him to the side no less!

He growled and shoved her away. “don’t you fucking touch me!” The only one who could touch him was Razz! That was literally one of the rules! One of the very important ones, in fact! “don’t ever touch me!”

Sophie was stumbling back before she could understand what was happening, almost falling because of how strong the push was. She blinked for a few moments, her mind trying to decide whether to feel angry or guilty.

Mutt's tone and expression made a wave of anger pass through her and she frowned hard. She was just trying to help! Here she was, doing her best to be nice and helpful, and he just yells and pushes her away?

"Fine then!" Sophie turned around and started marching away. "Good luck for you!" she screamed over her shoulders, upset. He could find the way on his own.

He growled. “kay. thanks. and i thought you were fucking nice.” What, just because he didn’t want to be touched they couldn’t be friends? Was that how it worked? Fine then. He didn’t want any fucking friends. He walked the opposite direction and decided to ask somebody else.

“hi. is there a bo… m… a manager or something i could speak to?” That’s what they were called here, right? The bosses of jobs? “i wanna work here.”

Sophie was several angry steps away when she calmed down enough to think about what had just happened. Guilt came back fullforce to hit her in the face. Was she trying to understand what was his problem? Well, huge red signs! Why did she think he would react so badly for being touched? Sophie wanted to facepalm. She was an idiot.

She turned around once again and started to rush back to Mutt. She hoped what she had done wasn't irredeemable.

The person was talking now, and he was once again half listening. He heard rushing footsteps behind him and he glanced over his shoulder. Sophie? He stepped out of the way so she wouldn’t run into him. 

“thanks.” He nodded and walked away. From both the other person and Sophie. Fuck Sophie.

He was walking to the manager’s office now.

Sophie slowed down when she got closer, the "sorry" already at the tip of her tongue, when Mutt started walking away. She frowned, upset at herself this time. Of course he didn't want to stay in her company, after how stupid she had been. She bit her lip. She should just go back to work, shouldn't she? What was she even trying to do? "Oh, hey, I'm sorry for that outburst, can we go back to talking, please"? That's not how life works! Sophie should just conform with what she had done and forget about it.

Her legs were rushing to Mutt's side anyway. Damn it, she had the mind to at least try!

"Uh... Hey..." she started, trying her best to keep up. Oh no, the manager's office. Sophie hadn't realized they were so close already. She had to hurry. "Uh..." She hated when her mind went blank like that.

He stopped. His lord never did like it if Mutt ignored somebody without Razz’s orders. He glanced back at her with an almost glare. “what?” He hoped she didn't expect to get him to like her again. He didn’t like being used like a toy . Not by anybody but his lord, at least.

If she touched him again he’d have to tell his lord, too. Right now, he didn’t plan on informing him unless he asked. Mutt didn’t want her to die because of an accident, after all.

That didn't sound like a good start. Oh no, did she really ruin everything with that careless reaction? Couldn't she do anything to remedy it?

"I... Well, look, that was not very nice of me. I'm really, really sorry. You just startled me! I wasn't expecting to be just shoved away like that..." Yeah, she was not good at apologising. Why the heck was she ending it with a justification? "I... I'm sorry." Sophie didn't know what else to say. She looked at him, almost afraid of utter rejection. "Do you still want help?"

He sighed. “sure.” He didn’t know what to do. He honestly didn’t. He wasn’t good at acting on his own without orders from his lord and he didn’t know what his lord would want him to do. But if he had to guess… it’d probably be to stay on workers’ good sides, right? To get the job? That was what he was going to try to do.

Uh... Was that it? Sophie felt it was not that simple. But Mutt had said "sure", and even if it didn't feel like things were fine she couldn't exactly keep pushing after that. Well, it was better than a "no", right? She was counting it as a win. 

Sophie gave him a little smile and took the lead again. The least she could do was to help him right now.

Mutt followed along. It wasn’t long before they were talking with the manager. They asked Mutt some questions, then sent him off. They said they were going to call him later. He gave them his phone number and left the office. It was a good thing Razz had gotten him a phone to keep in touch when they were apart and Razz needed him.

Nothing spectacular happened all morning. The work was how Razz expected it to be, the only nagging thing in the back of his mind being the absence of his brother, which he crushed with the thought that Mutt was being useful searching for a job and not wasting his time.

Nonetheless, he didn't waste time on calling him when he finally got a break.

"Mutt!" he shouted as soon as he heard the call being answered. "Did you get the job?"

Of course, he answered. He totally rushed to do it. He completely ignored anything Sophie may have been about to say to do so. “m’lord,” He greeted almost submissively, relief in his voice, “i don’t know yet. i just got out of the manager’s office and they said they would call me later.”

Sophie was about to wish Mutt good luck on getting the job when his phone rang and she lost her chance. The skeleton was fast at answering the thing. Letting go of her breath in a sigh, she decided to just walk away, as it was clearly the time for her leave. Sophie couldn't stop herself from pausing when she heard who was on the other side of the line, though. Oh, it was that friend they were talking about earlier! She thought she could even listen to them if she strained her hearing.

Meanwhile, Razz frowned. Why was everything so slow when it came to humans? All they had to do was say "yes, congratulations" or "no, fuck off"! Well, he supposed there wasn't much he or Mutt could do about it.

"Was that stupid cashier there?" he asked instead. Razz could barely wait to see their face when they saw him buying there again.

Mutt shook his head, before sadly remembering that Razz wasn’t there to see him do so. “no. i didn’t see her. but i did meet somebody else named sophie. she helped me get to the manager’s office.” He’d decided not to mention the touching part. “what do i do now, m’lord?” He was clueless without his lord. He really missed him.

Sophie couldn't stop her smile from showing up when she heard Mutt mention her. Maybe she hadn't screwed up things too badly. The first thing he had said about her was that she helped, after all! Sophie decided to stay and wait for Mutt to finish the call, just to wish him good luck before going.

His question made her blink in confusion though, wondering if she had heard it wrong. The answer this "lord" gave him made her feel less confused and more than just slightly outraged.

"Go home. I'll be there in a few hours." Razz didn't know what task he should give Mutt to do while he himself was out, but he also didn't want his brother near any other person for more than just the necessary. Much less if they were talking about humans . He felt rage spike in his soul just at the thought of those disgusting creatures sparing more than a glance to his brother.

He nodded. “yes, m’lord.” He didn’t exactly hang up, because he didn’t want to lose time with his lord on the phone, but he started walking out of the store. He completely bypassed Sophie. His lord gave him an order, of course he would listen.

She was ignored! Sophie put herself in movement to try to block his way before he went out of the store. But before she could do anything else she heard the guy on the other line talking again, and, frustratingly, she stopped what she was about to say out of habit.

"Is this 'Sophie' still there?" Razz already didn't like her. She had spent enough time with Mutt for him to know her name, and that was more than what Razz would usually consider tolerable.

He immediately stopped when Razz asked the question. “yes, she is, m’lord,” He answered, glancing at her. Would Razz want to speak with her? Please just don’t replace him with anybody .

She was still there?! Razz hadn't actually wanted a positive answer for that. What was this human doing? Didn't she have anything better to do? Razz frowned, not the very least happy with that.

"Let me talk to her then." he had some things to say.

Uh oh. All Mutt had to hope for was that Sophie didn’t inform Razz that she touched Mutt… because then Razz would be upset, and one way or another Mutt would no longer have his friend. “okay.” He handed the phone to her. “m’lord wants to talk to you.”

As much as Mutt may like Sophie as a friend, he would not hesitate in killing her if his lord ordered it. Nobody took precedence over his lord. He would do anything for Razz, even take his own life.

They were talking about her? Sophie wasn't expecting to have the phone be handed to her, but she took it anyway. She also couldn't avoid noticing how that dumb nickname sounded much more literal now, and how that made her angry, not amused anymore.

"Hey!" Razz didn't bother with courtesy. "I don't know what's your goal here, but stay away from him!" he was not letting any human get close to what was his. Or any monster for that matter.

Sophie didn't even get the chance to suggest politely that what he had done was not very cool. She frowned, her opinion on this monster getting worse and worse by the second.

"Hey you! You can't order me around!" she shouted on the phone. "Actually, you can't order no one around!" Mutt realized what had just happened, right? He couldn't let himself be manipulated like that! What kind of "friend" was this lord ?!

When Razz ordered Sophie to stay away from Mutt, Mutt couldn’t help but get a small smile on his face. His lord wanted him all to himself… he loved that. He loved his lord. But that was also sort of an order to him too, he realized. Razz didn’t want Sophie around Mutt, he should try to respect that. 

Well. It wasn’t an order specifically to him, so he was mostly in the clear for talking to her if he needed help with something. For the most part, though, he planned on staying away.

Razz growled, wishing he could go there and show her how he could, in fact, order her around. See what happens when they don't do as he says.

"Well? I get more say on Mutt than you do! So you'll stay away from him and that's final!" who did she think she was? This arrogant moron didn't even know them! What was she trying to do exactly? Why was she so invested on his brother? Razz didn't like her one bit.

Sophie gaped at the phone. Was he hearing himself?

"Uh, no?! You can't control people's life!" what was his problem? "I am free, Mutt is free, and you don't get a say on whether I talk to him or not!"

Sophie didn't wait for an answer, ending the talk by handing the phone back to Mutt, fuming with what she had just heard. This lord was a psychopath! Was he really trying to threaten her into stop talking to Mutt? How did he even get to this point? 

Mutt fumbled with the phone for a second before he held it to his chest like it was a mini version of his lord. Fuck, he almost dropped it. He gave Sophie a weird look. What was up with her? Of course his lord had say on what he did or didn’t do, Razz was his everything!

Nevertheless, he held the phone back up to his ear. “uh. hi, m’lord,” He greeted.

Razz was staring at the phone, mouth agape. How dare she! He hadn't finished talking!

"Get home, now !" was the first thing that came to his mind when he heard Mutt on the line. He didn't want his brother not even one more second near this toxic woman. She was trying to poison his brother with these ideas, wasn't she? She was trying to convince Mutt to leave him . Razz couldn't let that happen. He wouldn't let a filthy human steal his brother from him.

He flinched a little at the harsh command, but immediately started heading for the door. “yes, m’lord.” He was happy, really. His lord wanted him home instead of near Sophie. But really, he also didn’t blame his lord for being so pissed at her. He was obviously not done talking and she had cut him off. Mutt would never do such a thing. He tried not to look at her again on his way out. 

Sophie barely had the time to calm down before she noticed Mutt was leaving. He was already passing by the store's door and she couldn't just leave her work to talk to him about what had happened, even though she thought this was a serious thing. He shouldn't keep friends like that, it was not good for him. Those kind of people would only drag him down.

She realized she would have to leave that talk to someone else, or maybe (preferably) some other time. It was ok, if Mutt got the job, Sophie was sure they would have much time to talk.

"Good luck on getting the job!" she screamed to him when he was already several steps away with a wave and a smile. Mutt would be a good company to the boring work if they got to be  coworkers.

He lifted his hand in a small semi back wave in response, but otherwise didn’t respond. His lord wouldn’t have wanted him to. 

It wasn’t long before he was home. Home and… alone. His lord had to go back to work and apparently he couldn’t stay on the phone. He hated being without his lord. It was so… lonely. Quiet. He had no idea what the hell to do. If it came to it, he’d much rather go back to the grocery store and hang out there than stay home alone. 

But his lord gave him an order, and like hell he was going to be disobedient even if he liked the punishments his lord gave. This wasn’t something he would disobey on . The last thing he wanted was for his lord to doubt his loyalty. 

To try to get his mind off of being alone and missing the most important person in his life, he started to clean. But he got done with cleaning much too soon and was once again left with nothing to do. 

Fuck. It was still a while before his lord came home, too…

He tried watching a show. He also tried playing a video game, since apparently they still had some of those. Hardly any time passed at all. 

Eventually, he decided to just… sit by the door, and wait patiently for his lord to come home. Like the little lost puppy he was. He started by kneeling in front of the door, wanting to be in that position the moment his lord stepped through, but his knee ended up getting a bit sore. He tried sitting with his back against the wall next to the door, but… he didn’t exactly want to get his face smashed in when the door opened. 

In the end, he was sitting in front of the door with nothing to rest his back against. He was just waiting, because his lord was the only thing that made his life worthwhile, and he’d sooner kill himself then live without his lord. Now if only his lord would just come back already…

Razz rushed back to home as soon as he was free from work. He didn't think Mutt would disobey him, but he didn't know what that human had said to his brother. He didn't know what ideas she might have placed in his mind.

Razz opened the door abruptly and came running in, only to almost trip on Mutt. He started to frown, but just looking at his brother's expression made the brief hint of anger disappear. He couldn't control how happy seeing Mutt like that made him and how satisfied he was that his brother had decided on that on his own.

The annoyance about that "Sophie" briefly forgotten, or at least subdued, Razz petted Mutt's head before turning around to close the door.

"How was your day, Mutt?" he asked in good mood.

Mutt purred at the pets and got up. “better, now,” He informed him. It honestly hadn’t been that bad, but it was always better when he was with his lord. Always. “welcome home, m’lord.” He even bowed, extremely happy to see his lord again. “i cleaned.” Be proud of him please!!

Oh! That was a good surprise! Razz nodded and started to scan the house, pleasantly satisfied. It was one less chore for him to do. His brother hadn't just moped around all day, apparently.

"Good job, Mutt!" Razz thought he deserved a compliment for his efforts for once. This day had been nothing but pleasant up to now. Or it would have been, if it weren't for a certain human.

Shaking his head, Razz petted Mutt again, determined to not get upset. He certainly wouldn't mind if his brother decided to make this a habit.

Mutt purred, pressing into the pets. His lord was proud of him, and that was all that he ever wanted. He’d follow any order given to him just to see his lord proud of him for a little bit longer. Fuck, he loved Razz, his brother, the most important person in the world to him.

Razz smiled, and while Mutt was distracted by the petting, he took the leash from his bag and attached it to his brother's collar. Perfect. 

Grin widening, Razz pulled it tight and started walking in the direction of his bedroom without a word, just tugging and walking without hesitation, knowing that Mutt would know what he wanted.

Mutt blinked when there was suddenly a leash on his collar, and then he blinked again as he was tugged up the stairs. He stumbled a little because he didn’t exactly register what was going on, but once he did, he happily followed along. Yay! They were going to have fun!

A bit later, during their fun time , Mutt got a call. There was ringing from inside his jacket pocket, which was currently hung over the bed frame by his feet. Fuck, not now! Whatever it was, it could fucking wait! He never got calls besides from his lord, anyway! It wasn’t important!

Razz growled when the fucking call interrupted his fun moment. He didn't like interruptions and he really didn't like that, for an instant, that annoying ringtone had gotten more attention than him during the session. He tried ignoring it, doing all in his power to bring Mutt to focus solely in him, but that annoying fucking thing wouldn't stop ringing and even he couldn't concentrate like that.

"Ugh! Answer the fucking call already!" he screamed, getting off of Mutt, frustrated.

Mutt actually whined when Razz got off of him. He had also been trying to focus completely on his lord, and he had been doing a good job at it too because his lord was his world and what they had been doing was the only thing he wanted to do at that moment, but the phone just kept ringing and ringing…

So he got up. He didn’t want to deal with it right now, but he did. He plucked the phone out of his jacket pocket and tried to make his voice as steady as usual to make it seem as if he wasn’t just having sex with his brother. “yes?”

"Yes, hello." Razz could hear the other end of the line, but he didn't recognize the voice. He tapped his feet, impatient. "Is this Mr... Mutt?"

Razz rolled his eyes and climbed his brother back, tired of waiting. He just resumed what he was doing before being interrupted.

Mutt froze up when his back was climbed, and he struggled with what he was going to say next. “just, uh, just mutt. yes. i’m mutt.” Fuck, get it together. But his lord was literally right there.

Razz snorted, his grin stretching in contentment. "Yes, you're just mutt." he whispered with a sadistic glee in his eyelights.

"Oh. Well, Mutt, congratulations! You got the job as a cashier at the ×××× Store!"

Well. Congratulations to him, apparently. But he couldn’t exactly concentrate on that when his lord whispered in his ear… he shuddered. Yes, he was just Mutt. He was his lord’s mutt, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. “th… thanks.” Can he hang up now?

"Uh... is this a good moment?" Razz snickered at the unknown person on the other line. Well, it was not a good moment for them to be calling, but it was a good moment in general. A very good moment. "You seem distracted, Mr... Mutt."

Razz ignored that whole talk and just went back to touching his brother, eager to see his reaction.

“uh…” He couldn’t help but shudder again at his brother’s touches. “it - it’s fine. is there anything else you wanted to say, or?” Yes, he was fucking distracted. Obviously. But he’d much rather get this done and over with now so he didn’t have to deal with having to talk to anybody other than his brother for a little while.

"I... Well, you will start tomorrow. You'll work from monday to friday, starting your shift at 7am and finishing it at 4pm. Lunch break from noon to 1pm." they cleared their throat and continued. "We are looking for a cashier to manage all transactions with customers accurately and efficiently. Cashier responsibilities include receiving payments and issuing receipts, gift-wrapping packages and keeping track of all cash and credit transactions, managing transactions with customers using cash registers, scanning goods and ensuring pricing is accurate, collecting payments whether in cash or credit..." they just kept talking for a while.

Razz smiled and started "petting" Mutt, purposefully trying to pry out a noise from him along the monologue.

While Mutt really didn’t care and wanted to get back to what he had been doing before they called, he figured he might as well listen. Just so he wouldn’t fuck it up later and get himself fired, in turn getting his lord mad at him. 

The… very same lord that made his breathing a little heavier as he tried to keep himself quiet . “...mhm…” Fuck…

Razz started with massage. Stroking here and there, rubbing a little, pushing, putting a little more pressure in the right places. Just a little innocent caressing to... stimulate some bones.

When his claws sliced bones it was purely accidental, of course. Humming, he lowered himself closer and let his tongue soothe the little cuts, just carefully fondling with a light touch.

Mutt was able to keep himself quiet for the most part. When he was cut, however… he had to practically shove the phone away from his head so they wouldn’t hear his gasp as obviously. Fuck, and they couldn’t hang up until they were done talking…

Then again, he didn’t exactly want his lord to stop, either. Mutt was a masochist, after all.

Razz took advantage of the fact that the human was basically talking to themselves and took the phone from his brother's grasp placing it on the bed and leaving it clear that he didn't want Mutt touching the device. That done, he shoved his brother's head right next to it, so he could still hear whatever boring details about his job he had to know and also making it possible for the human to listen to every single noise his brother made.

Grin widenning, Razz placed his sharper claw and started to slowly drag it down Mutt's bones, tracing deep gouges from the scapula to the base of his ilium.

Dammit. He knew that look on his lord’s face. Even as he dreaded it, he didn’t dare try to keep the phone to himself when Razz took it out of his hands. The silent order given to him had him not even daring to reach for the phone.

And then his head was right next to his phone and he was once again struggling to not make a noise. Fuck, did his lord want him fired before he could even work his first day? But it wasn’t as if he would complain.

Razz had a dangerous glint in his eyes when the constant babbling coming from the phone stopped. The human took a moment to breathe before finally coming back.

"That's all. Do you have any questions?"

Razz felt almost disappointed. It had been fun, even though he had resented the interruption at first. Now he felt as if he had lost some kind of competition. His eye lights burned into the back of his brother skull, fingers tapping impatiently on him, waiting for Mutt to end the call. It didn't matter, Razz thought with a smile resurging in his face. He would find a way to overcome this defeat soon enough.

He could feel Razz’s eyes on the back of his head. “n - no. i’m good. uh. thank you. i’m gonna… i’ll go now. bye.” And then he hung up, with a sigh of relief. Whether that sigh was only temporary, though, that was up to his lord.

Razz hummed. Finally . He jammed his claws at his brother's spine and let his weight push him down so he was practically laying on Mutt, nails still firmly lodged, turning the position in a peculiar hug.

"Oh, isn't this great? Do you think we should commemorate somehow, Mutt? Do you want a congratulations gift?" he said while petting his brother's skull with his free hand.

“it’s amazing, m’lord,” He replied, but he was a bit distracted by how Razz was all over him. Razz was taking over all his senses again and it was amazing . Hopefully he never got a call during sex ever again, he wanted to stay just like this. 

Chapter Text

The next morning was when Mutt had to work, but he didn’t want to get up. No, right now, he was cuddling his lord. 

He rarely ever got this opportunity, actually, despite what it seemed like. Most of the time, he was made to stay in his own room. Razz hardly ever went in there, so it was just his. But… he didn’t actually want to stay in it. He wanted to be with his lord all the time.

Those rare times he got to sleep in the same room as his lord, he was very happy. So he definitely was purring, that entire time. He was purring and cuddly and didn’t want to get up to ruin this moment, even though it was around six in the morning now.

Razz was still half asleep and he used this fact as an excuse for letting the cuddle keep going. He was also in a good mood after last night, and that was also enough to excuse him cuddling back. He had no excuses for petting him though. Well, he could do whatever he wanted to! And he wanted more purrs.

Razz kept midlessly petting Mutt's head, not wanting to wake up yet. Living was stressful and he enjoyed these moments of peace.

Mutt continued to purr as he was pet. He didn’t dare to move a bone, for fear of his lord realizing that it was about time to get ready for work. No, he wanted to simply stay here. In his lord’s arms. 

But just then, the alarm clock rang. Fuck.

Razz groaned. Well, end of peace. He untangled himself from his brother and got up quickly to not give himself time to rethink. 

"Wake up, Mutt! You have a job to go to today!" Razz said as he grabbed the blankets and pulled them off of him. No more over sleeping.

He didn't wait for an answer, turning around and leaving the room, making his way to the kitchen to start making breakfast.

Mutt groaned slightly and was very disappointed when both his lord’s body heat and the blankets left him. After a minute, he got himself up and followed after Razz sleepily. He followed all the way to the kitchen, then paused to watch his lord cook. He loved Razz’s cooking. And Razz was so adorable while he cooked, too…

Razz happily gave in to the cooking, following the procedures automatically while humming and letting his mind relax into the activity. He didn't allow himself to get too lost in the hobby though, mindful of their limited time. 

He turned around with plates already in hands and found Mutt dumbly standing there. Well, at least he wasn't sleeping.

"What are you doing? Sit down!" they would follow routine and eat together. His mood soured considerably when he remembered they weren't going to work together and that his brother would be out of his sight for hours. Working with those... those...

Razz had left things unsolved last night and he wanted to talk about a certain someone before leaving.

Mutt sat down as ordered and, once permission was granted, ate the food when it was given to him. He could tell Razz had something on his mind, but he knew better than to ask what it was. If Razz wanted to talk to him, ask him something, or order him, then he would do so in due time.

"So" Razz began, careful to not let his anger be too transparent. "what were you saying about that human from yesterday? Sophie? What did you two talk about?" 

The forced sweet tone hurt his throat, but he just didn't want to frighten his dear brother into thinking he was in trouble. He wasn't, of course. Not yet. Razz just wanted to make sure he wasn't being ruined with poisonous human ideals.

Mutt thought for a moment. Most of his mind at the moment was taken up with memories of what they did last night, so any time before that would need a moment to come up in his mind again. “well,” He started, then trailed off for a second. “she wanted to know about the underground, so i told her about it and about my job as a sentry.”

And then his mind helpfully supplied him with the memory of what she said next, and he couldn’t help but shrink down in his seat a little. Still, his lord wanted an explanation. “and she also mentioned… she asked if we’re still close. she said that the aboveground is much bigger than underground and we might…” He hesitated. “...grow apart.” He didn’t want that. He didn’t want to even think about that. But he was, because his lord asked him to recount what they spoke about.

Razz frowned hard and gritted his teeth. He knew it! That human is trying to implant lies in his brother's head and Mutt is believing them! Razz leaned over the table and slapped Mutt on the face.

"Don't let them fool you, you idiot! Why are you even considering their words?" he knew it wasn't a good idea to leave his brother to fend for himself among humans for several hours a day. Those creatures are toxic and his brother is too susceptible to the bullshit emanating from them.

Razz chew over the thought of forgetting about all this "job" thing and just order Mutt to stay home, but he decided to give it a try, refusing to turn his back to a challenge.

"Don't listen to those imbeciles! I don't want to have you weeping about dumb hypothesis just because some idiot decided it would be fun to laugh at your expense."

He blinked at the smack and looked back over to his lord.  “...does that mean we won’t drift apart?” He asked hopefully. Really, that was all he wanted. He just wanted to know he and his lord weren’t going to drift apart and he wasn’t going to lose him .

Razz rolled his eyes.

"Of course not." it angered him that he even had to say it. It was like the unwavering faith Mutt had always had in him was suddenly breaking. Just because a nobody decided to whisper nonsense into his head.

Yet, Razz couldn't decide if he was angry with him or not. That adorable hope in his brother's eyes, pleading for a promise of subjugation, was exactly what he wanted. Razz extended his arm to pet him.

Mutt gasped, then smiled happily and leaned into the pets. “yes, m’lord.” Because of Razz’s promise, he wouldn’t doubt it again! Well, aside from the tiny bit of doubt that was always in the back of his mind, but that was besides the point. He purred. “thank you.”

He would always have this. That was all he wanted.

Chapter Text

Razz smiled for a brief moment, letting himself enjoy the fact that Mutt wasn't leaving him anytime soon before shaking himself out of the dreamy fog. He got up and took the dishes to the sink, deciding he would wash it later. He was on the verge of being late.

"Well, we should be going." Razz said, hoping that their talk had been enough to shove any unwanted opinion away from their relationship. "Come directly home after work."

Mutt nodded. He hadn’t been ordered to do the dishes, and his lord would be late if he kept him any longer, so he figured he’d take it upon himself to do the dishes before Razz got home. “yes, m’lord.” That was his response to any order given to him by Razz, basically telling his lord that he would follow that order no matter what. It was the response to any order, really, since he would follow any order no matter what.

Razz smiled, satisfied with that.

...Or not. Not really. He turned around, the hand that was already on the door knob changing directions to grab the leash he always kept in his pocket.

"Como here!" he ordered, fiddling happily with the material. He trusted Mutt to know better now that he had been warned, but he didn't trust the humans to be smart. Razz decided it was worth it to go out of his way to make a point of showing them who was in charge here.

Mutt brightened. Razz was going to take him somewhere and he didn’t have to go on his own?? Yes please! He happily followed the order and kneeled a little to let the leash connect to his collar.

Razz's mood was surprisingly good. He attached the leash to Mutt's collar, finally turning around and going through the front door, marching proudly on his way to the store.

He walked with confidence, not minding the always present stares, not rushing or slowing down because some judgmental people found a target. He took a moment to look around when they got to the store, trying to see which of the humans working there was the one who had had the audacity to say that they had any power over his brother.

"Who are they?" he asked, eager to go show them Mutt on a leash and meet them face to face.

“sophie.” He supplied easily, even though he didn’t exactly know who his lord was asking for. “sophie is the one who spoke to you yesterday on my phone.” Maybe that would be better? He dreaded his answer not being good enough. He always wanted to be good enough for his lord.

Razz growled.

"I know that!" he tapped his feet impatiently, imagining their face. "I want to know who, exactly, are they! Introduce them to me!" he had work after this, he couldn't take long.

Oh. Right, of course. How stupid of Mutt. “yes, m’lord.” He nodded and headed to the first place he met her. He didn’t have her phone number because he knew his lord wouldn’t be okay with it, so he didn’t know how else to find her. Hopefully Sophie would find him , because he really didn’t want his lord to be more mad. 

Sophie was not on the cash register, postponing having to go as much as she could. She was going to sit there all day and she wanted to stretch her legs for as long as possible, thank you.

She saw Mutt from a long distance though, and was about to wave at him happily when she saw something that made her pause and freeze. Was that a leash? Was that a leash ? Sophie followed her gaze to the other end of the thing, finding that there was indeed a hand holding it. Who was that and how dare they treat someone like that? Sophie was not happy.

Mutt spotted Sophie as well and started to head in her direction. Those were his orders after all; find Sophie and bring his lord to her. Introduce them. “m’lord, this is sophie,” He introduced, just as ordered, once they were close enough.

Razz looked at her and smirked, feeling victorious. For once, he didn't mind the stares. He wanted all of them to know Mutt was his and that he would do anything that Razz told him to. No one else had this power over him.

"I would say it is a pleasure to meet you, but it really isn't." he wanted her dead, but it wouldn't be good if he said so out loud.

Sophie glared at him, not knowing what to say for a moment, in shock. Why wasn't Mutt doing anything about it? Was he just going to accept it and stay silent? She already had a perfect idea of who this was, remembering the rumors from the day before, but the nickname... Sophie refused to acknowledge this monster was the same one Mutt had talked so fondly of.

Mutt tilted his head. What was with all the hostility? He understood his lord’s hostility he was like that with a lot of people , but Sophie? Sophie was really nice yesterday. Well, other than the call. Did she just not like his lord? That wouldn’t do. Mutt would not be friends with anybody who disliked the most important thing in his life. 

Sophie saw the confusion in Mutt's eyes and decided to take deep breaths. Keep calm. She would be able to talk with him about it later, try to... understand this. Or make him understand it. With trembling hands, she forced a smile and decided to show that abuser how you should treat people.

"Well, I am pleased to meet you!" even if it was just to have a face to direct her anger at.

And then Mutt smiled. That was great! Did she see how amazing his lord was now? His lord was perfect. He deserved anything and everything Mutt could give him.

Razz's expression got darker. He knew what she was trying to do. Humans were full of layers, never showing their true self, they were filled with lies. It never fooled him. Just a glance at his brother showed that he had already fallen for that play, though.

Razz pulled at the leash and kicked him on the shins, gritting his teeth.

"What did I just say, Mutt?!" he snarled, pulling the leash until their eyes were on the same level. "Do you like being fooled?"

Mutt blinked, not even really affected by the kick. He still allowed himself to be yanked down to his lord’s level, though. “i’m sorry, m’lord,” He apologized, bowing his head. He hadn’t realized he was getting ‘fooled’. If his lord said that was what Sophie was trying to do, though, then he believed him. Of course he did.

Sophie let her brows twitch in a frown for just one second. She decided she would ignore that. Smiling brightly again, she tried to get between Mutt and... that other one... being careful to not touch them. She remembered Mutt didn't react well last time, and something told her he also wouldn't be happy if she bumped into the short skeleton.

"Well, I am assuming you got the job! Congratulations!" if she couldn't be rude to the one that was rude to her, she would ignore him. At least she couldn't be accused of nothing. It wasn't hard to forget he was there when she mulled over what she herself had just said "Oh! We'll be cash neighbors! I was told just today about it! Did they explain everything to you?"

Mutt frowned and stepped a little closer to his lord. Was she trying to get between them? He hoped not. Either way, though, he wanted to be as close to his lord as he could be before Razz left. “...thanks.”

He blinked at her question, and he couldn’t help both the small smile and light blush that appeared on his face. He was quick to wipe those away, though. “yeah.” They explained everything while his lord was fucking him and trying to make him make noise and out himself. His lord also made him listen to what they were saying, though, so that was good. He wanted to go back to that night.

He didn’t say more, because he actually hadn’t yet been given permission to speak and his lord was right there .

Razz stood there in silence for a moment, just watching the interaction and waiting to see his brother's reaction to the human's words. Razz noticed her trying to push him away without technically pushing and could only present her a sith a smirk when Mutt immediately got closer. He tugged on the collar so Mutt would lower his head and he could pet him, praising the behaviour.

Seeing Mutt be more careful with Sophie, Razz decided he was ready to be left alone.

"Well! I have things to do too! Take me to my work place, Mutt!" no way he was walking to his job now. He would be awfully late. His brother could teleport back afterwards.

Mutt frowned softly, but kneeled a bit and nodded. “yes, m’lord.” In an instant, he and his lord were gone, at the police station entrance. He was hesitant to leave him, but when his lord ordered it, he did so without question.

It wasn’t long before he was back in the same exact place that he was in before. Except, he was alone this time. No leash, and no Razz holding that leash. Sadly. 

“hi.” What did he do now? He was told about everything he was supposed to do, yes, but his lord was sort of distracting him at that point in time. So, really, he had no fucking idea what to do now.

heh, fucking .

Sophie didn't have the time to get angry before said skeleton poofed back into existence in front of her, startling her into a semi heart attack. Her smile widened when she realized the other hadn't come back, for one moment having worried that he would stay. Her smile faltered a little when she realized Mutt seemed sadder now.

"Hi!" Sophie answered back. Should she say something about how not okay what had just happened was? She didn't think that was the best way to start a conversation. "So... The store will open in two minutes, but we still have time until the first person gets to the cash. Uh... Who was that with you again? He didn't exactly introduce himself..." smooth. She hoped he would say something more informative than "m'lord". She was starting to despise that nickname.

He gave her a questioning look. How did she not know? That was the most fucking important person in Mutt’s life. “that was… m’lord, the one i told you about yesterday?” Did she forget? Were humans naturally forgetful? “i don’t understand why you would need his actual name, though. i won’t give it unless i have permission to.” Besides, it felt weird to say Razz instead of m’lord , anyway. “if he didn’t introduce himself, i have no right to do it for him.”

He glanced around. “where do i go?”

Yeah... She was not calling him that. The bossy skeleton basked in that dumb nickname and that was enough for her to decide she was calling him anything but that. It seemed Mutt didn't want to give any more info.

"You'll stay there." she pointed to the cash right next to hers. They could still talk if they directed their voices to each other.  She wasn't giving up on getting to know Mutt better, even more now that she suspected he was being too sweet to people who didn't deserve it. "And I remember! You two seem... Very close." was that a good thing? Did Mutt think it was a good thing?

Mutt smiled, walking to where she directed. “we are. we’ve been close since birth.” He purred. “he promised yesterday that we’re not gonna drift apart.” So hah, Sophie. Not gonna happen probably .

“he’s the most important person in the world to me.” He was smiling fondly now, looking down at his hands and yet looking at nothing at the same time.

Oh, since birth? Were they brothers? ...was it rude to assume they were brothers? Well, all evidence pointed to that! Minus their obvious lack of similarities when it came to character, but… well.

Sophie didn't know what to think of that. What Mutt had said and the way he talked about the short skeleton would have been awfully cute if she had not seen what she just had.

Part of her wanted to believe Mutt, wanted to believe it was not what she thought. Perhaps there was a very hard to find misunderstanding there. Somehow. Perhaps . Emphasis on that.

Or maybe she was just trying to fool herself.

Either way, she wanted to give him a chance. Maybe get to know him too, see that he wasn't so bad after all. Sophie couldn't understand what would take someone to be like that and she didn't want to believe someone was capable of being like that.

She was probably being too dreamy about it, but she grew up believing in fairy tales. Sophie would wait for more evidence before trying to do anything. For now...

"I have a brother too! Younger than me. We're not as close as we used to be, but I think I still can say that I understand your sentiment." she smiled, thinking about her own family.

Mutt tilted his head. “it’s not just a sentiment, though. m’lord is everything to me. he is my everything . i would be nothing without him.” Was she understanding yet? “i don’t think i would be able to handle it if we drifted apart . but thankfully,” He smiled, “that’s not gonna happen. he said so.”

It actually felt a little nice to be able to tell somebody about this. He didn’t even tell his lord, since he was never asked about it. His lord never asked of exactly to what extent Mutt would go to please his lord. He would kill himself if ordered to . He would kill Sophie, right here and now, if ordered to. Mutt didn't know of a single thing he wouldn’t do for Razz.

Sophie couldn't help but feel conflicted with what she heard. She wasn't sure she understood it right. She wasn't even sure if someone could understand it right, to understand that level of dependency. And the way Mutt had said that, the way he talked so confidently about his adoration for his brother, it was so utterly sincere that it warmed her heart.

When he flashed the cutest smile at the thought and said with all that certainty about how they would never drift apart, Sophie wanted to smile too, to just be carried with the feeling. She wanted to agree and leave it be with a light contentedness in the air. But she had seen the other skeleton kicking him, and that made her hesitate for so long that it was safe to say the smile died before even making an appearance. Sophie couldn't stop her mind from wondering if Mutt's brother was lying on purpose or if he truly believed that. If he said it from pity or if he found it funny to deceive Mutt like that.

Sophie knew she shouldn't judge the short monster when she had barely talked with him, she had just decided to give him the benefit of doubt! But she also couldn't shake off the other thoughts. About how unfair this was to  Mutt. About how Mutt deserved someone so much better to dedicate all this love on.

Sophie decided to not respond to that, knowing she wouldn't have anything good to say.

"Well, it doesn't mean you can't make other connections. Making new friends doesn't mean forgetting the old ones." Sophie commented after a moment of silence, hoping Mutt would not reject her as Shorty seemed to want him to.

He blinked and tilted his head. “i have some friends. um… you now, i suppose…” Until Razz ultimately forbade him from befriending her, which he would obviously oblige, “undyne, asgore, a little bit of a friend of alphys, but she’s mostly m’lord’s friend. but yeah, you’re right.”

He looked over at the door, watching as the first few people came in. They didn’t head immediately to the cash register though, instead going through the store. That made sense. It was a big store, though… “when do we start working?”

Her smile brightened when she heard him saying they were friends. Sophie had thought that with all that "don't touch me" thing and all the issues with his brother not liking her as a company, Mutt wouldn't consider her his friend. She was so, so glad she had been wrong…

Mutt's statement confused her though. Well, it was great that he had other friends but… not having "m'lord" on the list was not something she was expecting. It… it confused her deeply. If they weren't friends, what were they?

She didn't have time to think too much about it fore Mutt was talking again.

"Oh." she watched as the first client got in. "In half an hour or so. More people will start showing up soon" it was a pity. Her time talking was coming to an end. Well, they would have time to talk more later.

He nodded. That made sense. “is there anything else you want to know?” This was a human, he was willing to tell her some stuff about the underground or monsters themselves if she wanted to know. His lord never forbade him from informing humans about monsters, and aside from the obvious “do not talk about” shit, he was an open book.

Sophie peaked at that. Well, maybe she shouldn't keep questioning him about his brother. She didn't know what to think about all that mess and she needed time to sort her thoughts out. But she could ask him about the rest of his life, right? Sophie remembered Mutt saying he had worked as a... sentry? Hmm...

"You commented about looking out for... humans...? How would that work? I thought there weren't humans underground." was there an entire unknown civilization of humans down there too? How big was this underground after all?

He shrugged. “there were humans who fell from time to time. there’s a hole at the top of the mountain. i know what it looks like from the outside for sure because m’lord had me bring him up there once we got out. that’s not the point though, we would take patrols around mostly snowdin since that’s the first thing in the path through the underground other than the ruins - it’s also where we lived - and if we caught a human, we’d take them to queen toriel. it was… rare to find a human, though. in a thousand years, there were only eight humans who ever fell, but that was exactly the amount needed to break the barrier.” Whether it was accidental or not, though, he left out the part where they killed the humans to break the barrier.

"Hmm..." it was a lot of information at once, but Sophie knew she would assimilate everything during work. 

Snowdin, ruins, underground. Patrol. Hole in the mountain. Humans falling. Eight. A thousand years. Queen. Barrier. They have a queen. And there was a barrier trapping them for at least a thousand years. Ouch, that was a long time. A very long time.

"Did you ever expected to come to the surface? To be free? Did you have dreams about what would you do if... when you got here?" how cruel would that question be if they were still stuck underground? Sophie didn't want to think about how horrible it must have been for them.

Mutt shook his head. “it’s been years since the last human fell, i didn’t think we’d be free while i am still alive. i thought it would be another thousand years or something from now.” He looked up, and while there was a roof over their heads now, he knew that with one quick teleport he would be under the open sky. “it’s nice, but i wouldn’t have minded if i just stayed underground. i have m’lord, i didn’t need anything else.” His lord was his world, he needed nothing else if he had him. And he would always have him.

She couldn't escape the "lord" theme apparently. Well, Sophie didn't know what she was expecting. They seemed awfully close, despite whether or not it was a good thing or a bad thing. And the first part of his answer was… sad. Just really really sad. Sophie prefered to talk about Mutt's brother if it meant avoid getting into sad topics. Mutt seemed to be always happy when talking about him.

"Well, you're not there anymore! Do you and your brother have plans for the future now? Goals?" Sophie wanted to know what made him happy, what else would make him smile besides Shorty. If nothing else did… that would be sad too. It couldn't be healthy to be that attached to someone.

Mutt smiled. She was right, they weren't. But what did she mean by plans or goals? "uh, well, m’lord plans on becoming captain of the police force," he said, smile on his face at the thought of his lord achieving that dream. "i have no doubt he will. he was the captain of the royal guard underground, after all. he's amazing, he can do anything."

Sophie couldn't block her mind from thinking how not okay it would be if Shorty managed that. Her mind almost broke when it was mentioned that he was the captain of the royal guard. How? That was not okay, that certainly was not okay. Unless he was a good person and somehow only passed off the wrong impressions on their first meeting.

Sophie also noticed how Mutt didn't mention his plans. She fought hard to keep the frown from her face as she tapped her fingers on her legs, trying to think of another way to ask that.

"You seem very proud of him." and that was the cutest thing in the world. She knew how it would be easy for him to feel envy instead, as it often happened between her and her own brother. He chose to feel proud though, and that was really sweet. She wanted to ask if Shorty felt the same way back, but she was also afraid of the answer. "Uh… and you? Do you plan on doing something else besides working as a cashier here?" she asked instead.

"i am." How could he not be? His brother, his lord and master, was amazing. "what is there not to be proud of? he can do anything he puts his mind to." And that extended to Mutt too, Razz wanted him to stay his pet forever, and Mutt knew Razz was going to make sure he did. He was glad for that.

Mutt tilted his head, just a bit confused. "i plan on staying with m’lord."

Sophie wanted to face palm. Of course that would be his answer. She couldn't think of a way to tell Mutt that was not okay without very possibly hurting him.

"Mutt..." Sophie frowned. She would have to find another nickname for him. "I know you two are very close, but..."  He was too sweet to see he had to have a life without his brother. Sophie looked at his confused expression and didn't have the heart to tell him he was wrong for not wishing anything else. She didn't even think she had this right, having known him for only a day. But something had to be done about that. It was not healthy !

Maybe if she talked to Shorty he would try to help? Surely, if Mutt was so fond of him, he had to care, right? And if he cared, he would want to help, wouldn't he? Sophie didn't have the courage to try to help Mutt herself, fearing he would try to distance himself from her before they even got a chance to be truly friends.

Okay, Mutt was even more confused now. Yes they were close, and that was good . Didn't she think so too? Then again, she was the one to suggest they were going to drift apart…

"...but?" It was best not to jump to conclusions. Maybe Sophie had a reason that he hasn't considered.

Oh, shoot! She needed an excuse now, quick. Uh... Uh... Think! Something told her hat Mutt wouldn't be too happy if she told him what was on her mind. You know, it would be great to have a client come to her cash right now.

"Well, it is good that you are so close. It really is! I'm sure it is something many siblings would be envious of! But..." she was stalling. She didn't want to make him angry or sad, but now she couldn't take herself out of that grave. Sophie sighed. "But what if something happened, then? Maybe you don't want to drift apart, maybe your brother doesn't want it either , but... what if something happened and you had to? You can't depend only on him to be happy, you... you need to have other things to bind yourself to life too."

Mutt would sooner kill himself than live without his lord. "if something like that did happen, then i would find him again and stay with him . i won't let us stay apart for long. besides..." He smiled. "m’lord wouldn't even let that happen. i said he can do anything he puts his mind to, and he wants me with him. he won't let anything happen." Mutt was confident in that. So long as Razz wanted him, they would never drift apart.

Sophie wouldn't fool him this time.

Sophie frowned. She wanted to believe him. It was admirable how much faith Mutt had on his brother, how firmly he believed in all that. The way he talked, one would think Shorty was a god. Sophie was just worried that maybe Shorty was a lot less powerful... or a lot less benevolent... than Mutt thought.

She decided not to open her mouth this time, letting the talk end. It would only upset him to think about these things. The only thing she could do was try to give Mutt other reasons other than his brother to live.

Sophie didn't say anything more. That was fine. Mutt didn't say anything either, and they simply stayed in silence until the first person came to the cash register. Time for work, he supposed. It was rather easy, he'd followed many more difficult orders given to him by his lord.

Chapter Text

Razz managed to get out from work early, and he didn't waste time. He knew he could get to his brother's work place to take a look on how he was doing if he rushed. And he could also keep an eye on that human. His day seemed to be extremely boring without his brother around and he was eager to have a spark of entertainment.

It didn't take long for him to get there. He could easily find Mutt diligently doing his job, a flicker of proudness passing through his eyes. Razz marched to his side. He was sure it wouldn't be a problem as long as he didn't get in the way.

Mutt brightened immediately once he spotted his lord. His lord was here!! Early! If he had a tail, it would be wagging.

There was a lull in customers, so Mutt took the chance to kneel in front of Razz. "m’lord," he greeted with a purr, unbelievably happy he was there.

He had been looking a bit depressed not much earlier, but not anymore. His lord was here now.

Sophie heard Mutt speak and turned around to glance back at what was happening, only to find him dropping to his knees in front of everyone . What was he doing?

Sophie couldn't stop attending to the next in line just to go there and bring him back to his feet though. She could only stare at what was transpiring with a horrified expression. Did they think that was normal?

Razz smiled at Mutt, expecting nothing less of him. He petted his head, basking in the knowledge that he was the only one capable of bringing his brother to that state of contentedness with his presence alone. He was the only one Mutt would even get close to kneeling to.

He didn't prolong the greeting, however. Mutt had to go back to working and he wouldn't be the one responsible for making his brother slack off.

"Go back to what you were doing. I'll be right here." he crossed his arms, making a point to show he was not going anywhere. Razz noticed Sophie staring and just grinned back.

How was that the same monster Mutt loved so much? All of that just screamed " wrong " to anyone with eyes.

Mutt purred at the pets and immediately stood up once the order was given. He didn't care about the looks, his lord was here and he would kneel to him.

He continued to do his job like nothing happened, but this time, there was a smile on his face. His lord was right there.

Soon the people on Sophie's line were all attended and no one else came. It wasn't a very popular store and it would close in half an hour, there were not many customers left.

She looked back at Shorty and Mutt, glad to see Mutt was happy, but not that happy to know what lifted his mood. Much less that Shorty had let him kneel and humiliate himself in front of dozens strangers as if it was normal. Sophie couldn't understand how Mutt could love someone like that. Knowing how sweet Mutt was, she couldn't shake the thought that Shorty was taking advantage of him, or even using him. It made her angry.

Maybe there was a reason, she thought. There had to be a reason why Mutt would love him so much, her mind whispered. Shorty couldn't be that bad. But she was finding it harder and harder to excuse him, even if he had a reason.

There was nobody now, and Mutt was starting to feel just a bit awkward. What now? He had been ordered to keep working, but… there was nobody to tend to. He looked at his lord with a pleading expression in hopes of getting another order so he would know what to do.

Razz huffed, rolling his eyes.

"You may do whatever you want to if there is no client on the wait." he grinned. And if there was no client, he also could do as he pleased with no worries about affecting Mutt's performance.

Razz took the leash from his pocket and attached it to Mutt's collar just to be able to tug on it harshly, kissing him when his mouth was lowered to the desired level. He wanted to show Sophie just how much he could anything he wanted to, whenever he wanted to. Mutt was his .

Sophie's eyes burned.

"Hey!" she screamed at him through gritted teeth. "Shorty! Don't touch him !"

Razz froze. What had she called him?! And did she just ordered him to not touch his brother? He broke from the kiss and turned to glare at her. He wanted her dead.

Mutt obviously accepted the kiss readily, having wanted nothing more for the longest time ever since he woke up that morning. But, sadly, the kiss was cut short when Sophie interrupted them.

He didn't immediately register what she yelled, though, and he didn't understand what upset his lord so badly. When he did register it, though…

He frowned. Okay, what the hell? She was acting so great earlier! What changed? Why did it have to change now? He was unable to keep himself from growling at her. So much disrespect for his favorite person. If he knew he was allowed to, he'd be yelling at her to shut up and not call Razz that. That was so disrespectful and rude.

Could they please go back to kissing? Or did they have to deal with Sophie now?

Razz wanted to walk up to her and strangle that fragile neck. But it wouldn't be that good to have "Skeleton monster murders human publicly" on the first page of tomorrow's newspaper.

He redirected his anger to Mutt as always.

"Are you listening to what your dear friend is saying? Do you want me to not touch you, Mutt?" he gripped Mutt's arm and sunk his claws on the bone, fumming. Razz growled, eyes narrowing to inspect his brother's expression. "I hope that stupid nickname hadn't been your idea."

“no, that’s not what i want, m’lord,” He replied, upset that he even had to say that. “it wasn’t my idea, m’lord. but… she asked for your name and i didn’t give it, since it wasn’t in my right to introduce you for you.”

...He bowed his head. Even though he wasn’t the one with the idea for that fucking stupid nickname that obviously pissed Razz off, it was still partly his fault. “i’m sorry, m’lord,” He apologized sincerely, genuinely upset with both her and himself. Mostly her, though.

He would take any punishment Razz chose to give him. He totally wasn’t looking forward to the punishment .

All Sophie wanted was to tear that bastard into pieces . Of course Mutt didn't want to be touched! And she didn't mean just that obviously wrong touch either, Sophie meant any touch. She still remembered how Mutt reacted when she touched him. Shorty surely knew Mutt didn't like being touched, right?  Hell, he was probably the reason why Mutt was afraid of it, to begin with. And he was still cruel enough to make Mutt answer to that question!

Of course he wouldn't disagree with "m'lord". The asshole was practically threatening him to not say the wrong thing! He was forcing the sweetest monster to bend to his will and to apologise for something that wasn't even his fault! Yes, that "stupid" nickname was on her, and she had much better ones if he didn't like that.

Sophie couldn't do anything if Mutt wouldn't admit there was something wrong, though. Did he even thought there was something wrong? The sweetie hadn't faked his deep love for that disgusting garbage. And that was extremely alarming. Mutt truly believed the asshole was a good person. She couldn't keep quiet, her hands shaking with anger.

"What have you been saying to him, Shorty? Do you say you love him? That he is the most important thing in your life?" she turned her glance to Mutt, and it pained her say that to him but... "Sweetie, he is just lying to you. He is trying to fool you." Sophie knew he wouldn't believe her, but she had to say it.

She had to take Mutt away from him.

Mutt was… confused. It was a look obviously on his face. “...what?” He didn’t understand. “he’s… not though? m’lord isn’t.” It wasn’t fucking shorty . And what was with that nickname? Sweetie? Was that for him? That was a bit too… affectionate for him. A little too soft, too. It made him uncomfortable. He was definitely not a “sweetie”. He stepped a little closer to Razz.

Razz growled at her.

"What I say or don't is not your problem, human ." he spat the term as a curse. "And just to satisfy your curiosity, no, I don't say any of these things. I don't need to." Mutt knew what they meant to each other and there was no need for reassurances. 

Razz was ready to leave her to her assumptions, knowing she was wrong, and just go back to enjoying himself like he was doing before she interrupted them. But his anger came back ripping his soul, his marrow boiling when he heard Mutt's nickname. What had she called his brother ?! How dare she?

Razz saw Mutt coiling besides him, obviously uncomfortable with that. Razz gladly stepped in front of him as if to protect him from the toxic words that Sophie was spitting.

Razz was right, they didn’t have a reason to say that stuff to each other. Though, if Mutt had permission to, he would be saying it all the time. They knew better than to make a habit of it, though. Back in the underground, it was dangerous to pronounce your love to somebody. It would make them and you a target. It was dangerous and stupid.

Mutt took comfort in the fact that Razz stepped up to protect him. Razz was amazing.

Sophie saw she wouldn't get nowhere like that. Mutt had only got confused, upset at her, and apparently she had overstepped her boundaries with that nickname. It had only slipped past her mouth, she hadn't even meant to say it.

And Razz didn't seem to care about what she had to say. What was she even trying to accomplish here? He was obviously not changing his mind, and she would be much more successful on talking with Mutt without him around. She should have just kept quiet.

Squeezing her mouth shut, Sophie turned around, determined to ignore them until the end of her shift. She didn't cry , it wasn't like that. But she couldn't keep her eyes from burning and getting watery. She just wanted to help him.

Mutt tilted his head. What was wrong now? Did she… feel bad because she was wrong? Or…?

Mutt looked at his lord. He didn’t know what to do now. Maybe Razz would know? Razz would always know what to do, he was smart like that. He was perfect . Mutt didn’t think Sophie realized just how amazing Razz was .

He preferred following his lord’s orders to doing shit on his own. He was much more comfortable with the choice taken away from him.

Razz simply scowled at her and decided to leave her alone. He didn't fall for one moment for her fake worry. He could already see she was going to be a problem.

Turning back to who truly deserved his attention, Razz patted Mutt's head as if to calm him down. His Poor brother seemed to be so confused, so lost… Well, if he was really in need of some guidance on what to do, Razz didn't mind telling him the obvious.

"Stay away from her. I don't want you talking to manipulative beings like her." he pulled him down for another kiss, now that the issue was solved.

"...yes, m’lord." He kissed back. That was the order, and he would follow it. He had been expecting it by now, but it was still a little disappointing to hear.

She was nice… to him, at least. But he didn't think he'd be able to deal with her being so rude to his lord for much longer. You know what? He was glad to stay away from her.

Now time for some kissing.

Sophie might not be looking but she heard it all. She couldn't help but feel hurt. He was really going to stay away from her now, wasn't he? Just because his brother had told him to. Sophie couldn't even feel angry at him for that, she knew how this would end before she started.

When her shift finally ended, she just gathered her things and practically ran from the store. She didn't want to stay there and get even more upset.

Noticing the end of working time, Razz immediately pulled the leash out and started to drag Mutt out. He was eager to more fun time.

Mutt by now knew exactly what his lord wanted when he started walking like that, and Mutt was excited. Of course he followed after, the leash wasn't even needed. But the leash was there, and he didn't complain, because he loved that leash. He loved being Razz's pet.

Razz proudly strut on his way back home with Mutt behind him, a satisfied smile on his face after beating Sophie on that battle for Mutt's loyalty. Well, of course he would win, it was more than obvious from the start. But it wasn't his fault the human decided to throw themselves into a losing battle. The victory was fulfilling nonetheless.

The stares still made him want to decapitate things, to drill a bone into every single eye spending too long looking at them. It was not the same glares he would get from monsters underground. Razz knew they wanted to separate him from his brother. Too bad , they couldn't. 

Razz didn't let the whispers behind his back ruin his mood. Instead, he used them to fuel it, to make sure he would let  it very clear to anyone who still had doubts about who exactly was holding the leash.

Razz stepped into the house and yanked Mutt to come along, for once too impatient to bother with getting to the bedroom.

Chapter Text

They never did make it to the bedroom. They ended up falling asleep on the living room couch, and that was how Mutt woke up. The couch wasn’t that comfy, so Mutt subtly made sure that his lord slept on him and used him as a bed. There was no alarm this time, since they were in the living room, but Mutt was a bit afraid to be that alarm clock. Razz was so cute like this, he didn’t want him to get up.

He… didn’t really know what time it was, actually. There was no clock. The daylight was starting to come in through the closed curtains of the window, so that was something at least?

Mutt looked back down at his lord. So adorable, so beautiful… he loved him so very much. He ever so lightly pet his head.

The first thing his consciousness was capable of sensing was that light touch on his skull. Razz would never let himself to be petted, but Razz was not totally there right now. Again, that blissful state of dreamy peacefulness. Nothing could go wrong in this world.

He smiled softly, not really feeling urgency to wake up as his subconscious mind couldn't hear the ticks of a clock. Razz just snuggled on the surface he was laying on, just very vaguely aware that it didn't feel like a mattress. It was still comfortable though, despite it not being very fluffy. It made him feel safe. Almost to the point of purring.

Mutt couldn’t look away. To him, it felt as if his literal god decided to generously grace him with his presence and spend the night in his arms. Mutt was so happy. The look in his eyes was nothing but fond as he continued to pet him.

Sadly, though, he knew this had to eventually come to an end. He didn’t want to end up making his lord late. So he lifted his hand from Razz’s skull and moved it towards the direction of Razz’s bedroom, which just so happened to thankfully be open, and he used his magic to make the alarm clock float out. 

He set it on the table near the couch and let it ring.

When that annoying noise yanked him out of his floating state, Razz could only groan in response, wishing for the world's death. Well, here comes another day.

He slowly opened his eyes, only to find himself sleeping on Mutt. Oh. Razz refused to acknowledge anything.

Getting up as if nothing abnormal had happened, Razz took the alarm and turned it off, wishing he could go back to a few minutes ago. He didn't even have work today! He could be over sleeping, he could...

Razz glanced back at his brother and threw his idea away. Razz still didn't know if Mutt would go work if he knew about his day off. And he didn't think the second day on the job was a good time to start testing this out.

He walked to the kitchen, wondering what he would do all day.

"Do you remember what I told you yesterday, Mutt?" Razz asked, just to have confirmation.

“yes, m’lord,” He answered obediently, sitting up only to kneel as soon as he got off of the couch. “do not talk with manipulative beings like her,” He repeated his lord’s words almost to the letter, to show that he understood. Of course he did, it was an order from his lord and master, so of course he would follow it. “would you like me to make breakfast?”

Razz smiled at that. Good, Mutt was listening.

His mood only improved when it downed on him what his brother had just said. Mutt had finally taken the initiative to ask! Finally, he was asking about helping without Razz needing to order. And it had been the second day, in a sequence! First cleaning and now cooking? Razz was very glad with that.

Though, he couldn't help but notice how it coincided with Mutt meeting Sophie. Was that her idea as well? Was she trying to get Mutt to take the lead? To get his own freedom and independence without him ? Suddenly, the help offer didn't seem as good anymore.

"No, I can do it. Just sit." he answered curtly. Razz would have to check it. Even if Mutt said he wouldn't talk to her anymore, perhaps the damage had already been dealt. Perhaps the damage had been so deep that Mutt was trying to manipulate him . What guarantees did he have that his brother wouldn't speak to that-

Well, Razz just need to be sure to check on him today.

Mutt sat down immediately, right on the floor. Razz probably wanted him on the chair, but… he wanted to follow the order immediately. He’d been offering to do work for his lord because he recently found out that doing the chores for Razz would make Razz happier. His goal was to simply make his lord happy , and that was what he wanted to do. 

Razz took a plate and placed it in front of Mutt, too distracted to give him his go ahead. He sat by the table and started to chew on his food furiously, thinking about what he would do later on the day.

He would go there, and he would watch them. Mutt's first trial would be obeying his orders. He would see if Mutt would speak to her or not, to begin with. The second one was how well he was following his advice. Razz had told him, repeatedly , to not believe in her words. Repeatedly . The last one...

But he couldn't just go there immediately. Razz stabbed the egg. He needed to give them time to lower their guard, so he wouldn't be noticed. It was fine. Razz had all day. He glanced at Mutt's bedroom door. Maybe he would be able to find something incriminating there.

Getting up, Razz took his plate to the sink, deciding he would wash it later. Right now, he needed Mutt off to his job.

Something was upsetting his lord… Mutt frowned and ate his food quietly. Something was wrong, and it was probably Mutt's fault. It was most likely Mutt's fault. And there was that thing with Sophie yesterday…

Mutt wanted to do something to make his lord feel better, but his lord wasn't in a good mood. He wouldn't like it if Mutt spoke out. So he just stayed silent again, watching his lord.

He loved watching his lord, anyway. He was just so amazing with everything he did.

Razz tapped his foot impatiently. It was as if Mutt was waiting for him to go too. Well, he wasn't going to take him to the store! Mutt had his own legs!

"I'll be going. Don't be late for your job!" Razz took his things as usual and walked out, going in the direction of his work place just in case Mutt decided to check. He would turn the corner, wait for a few minutes, and then go back. He hoped his brother wasn't home when he got back.

And just like that, Razz was gone. Mutt sighed. He was worried, but… Razz would tell him when he deemed the time right. It would be better if Mutt just let him take it at his own pace. He got up and headed for the kitchen with his dish.

He cleaned and put away both his lord’s dish and his own, then headed upstairs to his bedroom to change out into more appropriate clothing that wasn’t stained with last night’s fun. He also opened his closet to see pictures of his lord in his shrine for a second, smiled at it, then closed it and headed off to work. 

It wasn’t long before he was walking through the door and going straight to his area, not even looking at Sophie. No, his orders were to not talk to her. He was going to follow that order.

Sophie saw Mutt walking in and tried not to feel disappointed when he didn't even greet her. Well, it seemed it was up to her to initiate a conversation again, right?

"Mutt! Hello!" something simple, right? He didn't even need to speak, if he didn't want to. Just a nod? She tried to plead with her eyes.

Meanwhile, Razz was throwing his things back on the couch, eyes fixed on one door. He climbed up the stairs skipping steps and prepared to burn things if he found something that shouldn't be there.

Mutt actually did spare her a glance, since he hadn’t been told to ignore her, but looked away again. No speaking. For that matter, no interacting with her. He didn’t want to disappoint his lord, Razz was already in a bad enough mood as it was.

They still didn’t open for a little while… fuck. He needed an excuse to not have Sophie pestering him. Hopefully Sophie would take the hint and stop. She had been there when the order happened yesterday, after all.

Sophie pressed her lips together when she was denied even a nod. She should probably just give up and go back to her life as if nothing had ever happened. It would probably be for the best, both for her and for Mutt.

But trying to convince her own mind to forget the last two days almost brought tears to her eyes again. It was strange, wasn't it? She shouldn't be that attached already, but she was. Sophie wanted to help him, she wanted to see Mutt happy and she was convinced that, as long as he was with his brother, he would never be, not truly. Shorty didn't know how to love.

She was sure she could do a better job than him.

Mutt wouldn't talk to her, but he was still listening, right? He couldn't just completely block her out only because Mr.Lord had ordered him to. Sophie just had to try to make him see reason.

"Mutt..." she was still not comfortable calling him that, but he wasn't comfortable with other nicknames yet. She reluctantly relented. "That, what happened yesterday... You know that was not okay, right? You know that... your brother... doesn't treat you right, don't you?" she anxiously waited for an answer.

Razz threw the door open, briefly scanning around. He wrinkled his nose, frowning at the mess. He didn't have time for that now.

Looking around, he couldn't see anything too strange. Dirty clothes everywhere, clean clothes everywhere, garbage all around. So far, nothing. The only place strikingly, suspiciously clean and lacking any mess was the area near the closet.

Razz narrowed his eyes and walked over there, carefully opening the closet door.

It... It...

Razz's brain had to take a moment to reboot. Well, it was... a mess. Yes, that was a good way to start describing it. There were... things. Incriminating. But... in a good way, he supposed.

His face was doing a thing where it couldn't decide if it wanted to smile or frown.

Okay, okay. There were photos. Of him. Everywhere. And sure, it was satisfying that Mutt adored him to that point. He should. But at the same time... How dare he take pictures of him when he wasn't looking? Where did it all even come from?! When was that? Razz didn't remember doing that! Or smiling like that!

His face decided on furious flush. 

Razz slammed the door closed, turning around to go to the bathroom and wash his face. If anyone asked, no, there wasn't a love voodoo closet with his face in that bedroom.

Chapter Text

Mutt looked in her direction again, then looked away. He would retort, tell her how wrong she was, but he had been specifically ordered to not talk to her. Especially if she was being manipulative, as his lord called it. No matter how much her accusations were pissing him off…

No. He had no means to be angry. Well actually he did , because that was his lord she was talking terrible about and he so badly wanted to tell her to fuck off and stop talking nonsense. Yes, their relationship wasn’t what one would call normal, but that didn’t make it wrong . It was just different , like how monsters and humans were just different . It wasn’t fucking wrong. He loved his relationship with is lord.

After having calmed his flushing face into a normal face, Razz decided he wouldn't find anything important in the house. He should have imagined, it hadn't been not even three days since Mutt first met Sophie. Any dooming detail, if there was one, wouldn't have already gotten to the house yet.

Sensing he had already lost enough time, Razz decided to teleport to the store. It would be tiring, but he didn't have work for the rest of the day, he felt it wouldn't be too taxing.

Razz ended up already inside the store so he wouldn't have to get in to hear what they were talking about. He carefully got closer, all his attention focused on their voices.

When Mutt didn't say anything, all Sophie could do was continue.

"He shouldn't do whatever he wants to you. He shouldn't just grab you, and drag you around on a leash. You shouldn't even wear a fucking collar!" Sophie was fuming. She wanted to reach for it and snatch it away from him, burn that thing down and make Shorty swallow its ashes.

But Mutt didn't like being touched.

And yet, he had let Shorty kiss him.

"You shouldn't call him m'lord, you shouldn't kneel to him and he shouldn't just pet you like- like- Ugh! You're not his pet!"

Each and every word was pissing Mutt off more and more, but he didn’t respond. He just glared at the air. 

His lord could do whatever he wanted to Mutt. That was what Mutt wanted . He wanted to be grabbed and dragged around on a leash, so what? It showed that he belonged to Razz. He belonged to Razz .

He sent Sophie an offended look when she mentioned his collar, and his hands automatically shot up to said collar in an attempt to protect it from nonexistent threats. This collar was his most favorite thing he owned, thank you very much.

He finally couldn’t take it anymore once she said the last thing. Said he wasn't his pet . “yes i am!” He snapped, then realized what he had done and covered his mouth. Yes, he was his lord’s pet, and he just disobeyed a direct order. And Razz was upset this morning… he cowered a little. He would have to apologize to his lord and take whatever punishment that was bound to come.

Stupid fucking idiot… but he couldn’t help it! Sophie was trying to deny obvious facts about their relationship and she was being so offensive while she was doing it and he just couldn’t handle it any longer. But that was no damn excuse.

Sophie froze when Mutt interjected, the words at the tip of her tongue dying. It had been the first time he had spoken so firmly, and it had to be about that. Sophie shut up. She didn't understand! Why does he think that? Why does he seem proud of it?

She closed her hands into fists tightly, confused and hurt by those three words.

"No, you're not ! He doesn't deserve you! I doubt he even loves you! He is only playing with you, using you, how can't you see it? You're free, Mutt, you don't belong to him !"

That. She said all she wanted, all she had to say.

Razz had arrived in time to listen to everything. He didn't even need to say he wanted to murder that oblivious human that had the audacity to assume to understand them. He would have if Mutt hadn't interrupted her first.

First, Razz was just as surprised as Sophie. He had never seen that look on his brother's face, that expression of utter outrage and annoyance. But it was somehow a good look. Razz grinned when he heard Mutt defending a point. And not just any point. He was his, and Mutt made sure to make it clear to that moronic woman.

His frown only returned when Sophie spoke up again. She was asking to be killed.

Mutt was scratching at the wood of his station so much that he was actually making a pretty deep gash in it. He didn’t even notice. Fucking hell… if he was already going to be in trouble, he might as well not stay quiet anymore.

“ yes i do ,” He growled, glaring daggers at Sophie. “i like it this way, and it’s not going to change. you obviously don’t fucking get it . there is nothing i want more than to be his. and, dammit, i shouldn’t even be talking to you because that was a specific order not to but look at what i’m fucking doing now!” He threw his arms up in the air, beyond pissed off. 

If he had permission, he would kill her right now. He didn’t even need an order. Just permission . Nobody spoke about his lord like that and got away with it...

Razz smiled wide, his chest puffing out with pride. He would never think Mutt was capable of defending himself, much less defending them. It made him feel lighter to know Mutt was just as glad as him to stand where they stood.

Tired of hiding, Razz started to make his way to them, a regained confidence in his steps.

Mutt was right. Sophie couldn't understand him and she couldn't make Mutt understand her. She tried, but she just couldn't. It didn't make sense, why would he refuse freedom? Why would being chained to that little bastard be better than being free to do other things? To give her a chance? She didn't get it, and there was nothing else she could do.

Sophie turned around, determined to forget about all that, only to find the monster itself striding in their direction.

"Hello." Razz smiled at her condescendentingly. Just because she had mentioned, he brought the leash out and attached it to Mutt's collar. There wasn't anything on the laws that prohibited one from working with a collar and a leash. He had checked.

“m’lord,” He breathed, relief in his voice. Partly to spite Sophie because she complained about it, Mutt kneeled submissively. Mostly, though, he did it because that was just he did. The most important person in the world to him standing right in front of him… he instantly felt better.

But then he frowned in guilt. He needed to tell his lord… “i’m sorry, m’lord, but i… i disobeyed your order. i spoke to her.” He bowed his head a little more. He would take any punishment that came his way. He would also like it, because he was a masochist. He wasn’t afraid of the punishment, he just felt bad because the one thing he wanted most to do in the world was make his lord and master happy! He would do the opposite of that if he disobeyed an order…

...Fuck. He was such a fucking idiot.

Razz's expression was one of pure smugness when Mutt kneeled to him right in front of Sophie. It was a good example of how Razz was the only one in his life, how he was his lord.

At Mutt's apology, Razz just got closer and petted his skull, a compassionate look in his eyes. He could be an understandable owner, he knew how to be lenient when it was deserved.

"I'll administer your punishment after your work, Mutt. For now, I'm satisfied with your answers." not that he expected anything less.

Sophie watched the interaction with fire in her eyes, but she held her words back. She knew that was wrong, she knew Mutt would be much happier if he got away from his brother. He just couldn't see it.

Well, Razz didn’t seem mad. That was all Mutt wanted. He purred at the pets. Now that Mutt knew his lord wasn’t actually all that mad, he had an easier time looking forward to the punishment. Of course there was going to be a punishment, Mutt disobeyed a direct order. 

“yes, m’lord.” Could the day end now , then? Razz was already here, and Mutt wanted to go get that punishment done, because the punishment meant spending time close to Razz and that was Mutt’s favorite time. Being near Razz. And Razz was right here when he should instead be working. Right here with Mutt .

…

Why was Razz here? Mutt was hesitant to ask, if his lord didn’t say anything then it probably most likely wasn’t important and he would get in trouble if he did ask. But… against his better judgement, that’s exactly what he did. “...m’lord? if i may ask, why are you here? don’t you… have work?” Not that he didn’t like Razz being here. No, quite the opposite in fact.

Razz was in a very good mood and nothing could ruin it, not even out of place questions.

"I have gotten a day off today. I decided to make sure you weren't betraying me." he scowled at the thought. Well, okay. That soured his good mood, just a little. "So I entered your room and found... a peculiar thing."

Razz made a dramatic pause, even as he felt the hint of a blush starting to come to life on his cheeks.

"A shrine . Of me." he narrowed his eyes at Mutt, daring him to deny it. "Really?"

Mutt flushed darkly and was suddenly very interested in his lord’s shoes. He didn’t deny it, though, because not only would he be lying, but he did have a shrine in his room of his lord and he wasn’t ashamed of anything. He hadn’t even bothered to hide it because he wasn’t ashamed of it and didn’t really care of his lord found out or not.

“i would never betray you, m’lord,” Was what he decided to focus on, actually a small bit offended at the thought. So that was why Razz seemed to upset this morning… “i’m sorry if i made you think that way.”

Razz huffed.

"Of course you wouldn't. I wouldn't let you."

And he meant it not only in the "you're not allowed to" either. Be allowed to or not wasn't enough in that case. Razz literally wouldn't let him. That just wasn't a possible thing to happen. Firstly, because he would break every single bone in Mutt's body, and then chain what was left to his bedroom. Secondly, because there would be no one to betray him with.

Sophie should be grateful he didn't kill her for being suspicious.

The fact that Mutt had ignored the second part of his statement didn't go unnoticed. Razz would make sure to talk to him about it in another opportunity.

Sophie kept in silence through all that talk.

Mutt knew exactly what Razz meant by that, and while it may seem scary to anybody else, it made Mutt happy. He smiled softly and nodded with a purr. “yes, m’lord.” He loved that Razz would never even let him leave him, not that Mutt ever would want to.

Mutt was the opposite. If Razz ever did want to leave him, he would be sad, but he would let him go… he would only watch from afar. He would of course abandon all other necessities for life to watch Razz, for it would be the only thing his life would have purpose for, watching and protecting Razz from afar… no need for a bed or a house. The only reason he would eat or drink or sleep at all would be to be able to continue watching over his lord. If his lord left him, he wouldn’t get any orders at all anymore and he would be free to secretly kill whoever hurt his lord in one way or another. Most of all, he just wanted Razz happy . Happy and safe.

Mutt didn’t care for his own feelings.

Well… he’d either watch over his lord for eternity, or just fucking die . His life was worthless without his lord and master. He would kill himself if nothing killed him first. 

He should… stop thinking about that. It was going to sour his mood. Besides, it wasn’t as if that was going to happen. His lord was right there . With him .

Also, some people were starting to come in. Mutt didn’t stand up, though. He wouldn’t do that until Razz told him to.

Chapter Text

Razz basked for a few more minutes on the power of being able to just leave Mutt there, kneeling for the rest of his work. But he couldn't do that. He wouldn't be responsible for making his brother slack off.

He waited until at least half of a dozen humans saw him in that position before ordering Mutt to get up, though.

They didn't get much more time to talk after that, with more and more customers coming in. Razz made sure to leave the leash well in sight, glaring back at every human who shot him a dirty look. The time passed quickly, despite his impatience.

Sophie didn't say a word to Mutt during all their work, and this time it wasn't because his brother was there. She didn't know what she would say. All she knew was that she didn't believe in any word Mutt had said to her, she didn't trust that bastard to have not forced him to say that.

She couldn't be sure of Mutt's happiness. And to top it all, Bastard had spoken openly about a punishment .

And that's why she decided she would follow them.

As soon as the clock told him it was time to go, Razz started moving, pulling Mutt along. He didn't care if there were still people in line, Razz was specially impatient today. He had a punishment to administer, after all.

He took long strides, ignoring the stares, just eager to get home and teach a lesson. Razz smiled wide.

Mutt obediently left in the middle of checking somebody out in order to follow after his lord, not caring for anything else. They were going home now, Mutt was excited. He was practically right on Razz’s heels in his eagerness to go home.

He hadn’t spoken to Sophie for the rest of the day, but he didn’t care. That had been his order, anyway. He didn’t care about her, or her opinion. He only cared about Razz. She lost his respect for her the moment she started talking shit about his lord.

Sophie exited the store right after them, not wanting to lose sight of them. She just wanted to make sure Mutt would be okay, she... She didn't know what she would do if Bastard was indeed hurting him. She didn't want to think about Mutt being hurt. Sophie just wanted him to be safe!

She followed them, her blood boiling when she realized Bastard dragged Mutt all the way home by the leash. Mutt didn't deserve that, he deserved to be treated equally, he deserved to be free to go wherever he wanted to and to be with whoever he wanted to. He should be free to be with her.

Half way to their home, Razz changed his mind. He stopped abruptly. He didn't want to wait, he was tired of waiting. He needed to make sure Mutt knew what happened if he disobeyed an order. 

Smile sharp and set, Razz turned in the first alley, pulling Mutt along.

Sophie didn't follow them, deciding to stay hidden in the corner, where she could still more or less see them. She could still hear them clearly though, and Bastard's next order rang in her ears.

"Time to strip, Mutt."

Mutt almost bumped into his lord when Razz stopped, and that would have been a big no no. It was a good thing he didn’t, though. He was then brought into an alleyway and was thoroughly confused. What was… going on?

He was told to strip, then, and he blushed. “...here?” He murmured to himself, but didn’t dare to defy. “yes, m’lord.” 

He started with his jacket, easily taking it off around his leashed collar and letting it fall behind him. He took his pants off, next, and then… tried to take his shirt off. But it was hard to do, since the collar was connected to a leash that was connected to his lord. And he didn’t dare to touch the leash in an attempt to get it off. Despite the fact it was on him, it wasn’t his to touch.

Despite how he may have sounded just a bit earlier, the magic around his pelvis showed exactly how excited he was.

Sophie heard Mutt's uncertain voice, and she heard Bastard snicker at him, as if laughing at Mutt's uncomfortableness. As if he found it funny that Mutt would do what he ordered anyway, even if it obviously made him uneasy. Sophie wanted nothing more than to walk in there and demand to know what did he think he was doing, but she couldn't show up like that. She didn't know how crazy that monster was, she didn't know if he would hurt Mutt even more if he felt threatened. She didn't know if she was a threat or if he would simply-

"I thought I ordered you to strip, Mutt. Do you really want me to break your fingers?" the way he said that, Sophie could practically see that abuser grabbing said fingers, about to do just that. She could almost- "You'll do everything I tell you to, exactly as I say... unless you want me to break your arm again." she could hear the cheerful smile in his voice, almost as if he hoped for a reason to hurt Mutt, despite everything.

He... He couldn't seriously be...

"Quick, Mutt! I'm losing my patience." Bastard interrupted her thoughts, and still, she could his amusement in those words. "You should know what to do by now. If you don't get me to enjoy this in two minutes, I'll break your ribs." this time, his laugh wasn't just in her imagination. "I'll break one for every minute you're too late. I thought you had learned your lesson last time."

Last time . It had happened other times. He had forced Mutt to... to... He had forced him ! Sophie gritted her teeth, hands balling in tight fists. He was forcing him just so he could have his fun .

“i’m sorry, m’lord,” He apologized, though the threats were making his breath quicken. And he knew his lord would be good on those threats too… that was what made this so fucking exciting. Well, that was one of the reasons. 

Though... Mutt should probably talk fast before his two minutes were up. “i’m sorry, but i can’t… get my shirt off with the leash still connected to my collar, m’lord.” Agh, would this guilt ever go the fuck away?

Still, he took off what he could, and what came next was his boxers. Skeletons didn’t technically need to have them, but it was good to do so when he didn’t want his magic just popping up in that area where it would be obvious. 

“m’lord, what do i do with my shirt?” By now, it was just hanging out on the still connected leash. Either Razz would have to unclip Mutt’s leash, let go of the leash himself for a second, or just leave it hanging there.

He did strip, though, so he didn’t disobey an order again.

Razz smiled, a glint in his eyes as he made his plans.

"Kneel." he ordered instead of answering. He pulled on the leash so the shirt would slide closer to Mutt and rest just in front of his teeth. "Since you want a function to this dirty piece of fabric, you can stuff it in your mouth."

Razz looked down on him. That didn't change what he had said earlier though. He tapped his foot.

"You have one minute and thirty seconds."

Mutt obediently did so. Stuff it in his mouth? Oooh, Razz wanted to do that ? Mutt was all too eager to do as ordered, taking what he could of the fabric and stuffing almost all of it in his mouth, almost as if he wanted to eat it. 

He felt that if he looked at Razz right now, he would break. He would beg for his bones to be broken, and for Razz to just get it on with! He wanted to get to the good part! But that wasn’t what they were doing, and that wasn’t what Razz wanted right now. So he was going to be patient, and he was going to be a good boy .

Razz laughed at Mutt's eagerness to obey. It was endearing. Razz knew Mutt would be happy to do anything he asked. He wondered how strong was that will to obey.

He got closer and started to unstrap the collar, just to pull it tight, tight enough to block the air passage.

"Tell me, Mutt. What do you want me to do?"

Razz lowered his own pants and waited just to see if Mutt would do something about it or if he wouldn't even try.

Mutt started to panic the moment his lord started to unstrap his collar. What? What ?! Why was he taking his collar off?! Did Mutt be so bad that his lord didn’t even want him anymore?!

Oh, no. Thank fuck. He just tightened it. Mutt immediately slumped in relief. Even though he now couldn’t breathe, it was so much better than the other option. Besides, the feeling of it tight around his neck was so nice...

…

...Well, fuck. He was ordered to say something when he was muffled and choking. Still, he tried to obey with two simple words.

“fuck me!” Was what he tried to beg, but it instead came out as, “mumph mh!” He whined and shot Razz a begging look. He knew that Razz already knew what he wanted, so he was hoping beyond home that he would actually go through with it. Please go through with it .

Sophie wanted so badly to just do something. Hearing Mutt's muffled voice broke her heart. He seemed so desperate! He could be asking for mercy, he could have realized she was there and he could be trying to ask her for help! And there she was, just doing nothing .

Sophie shut her eyes but stayed. Even if she couldn't do something now, she wanted to hear everything . She wanted to be testimony of how wrong Bastard was, of how much suffering Mutt was going through by staying with him.

"Two minutes." she heard.

Razz smiled sweetly at Mutt before reaching down and grabbing one rib, bending it slowly, further and further until it snapped with a satisfying 'crack'.

Mutt squeezed his eyes shut and groaned loudly, chomping down on the cloth in his mouth and most likely ripping it with his sharp teeth. Holy shit, it hurt but it felt so fucking good . He could feel the marrow trickling down the rest of his ribs as he breathed deeply in an attempt to not completely lose his composure over one snapped rib. He could handle plenty more without falling apart, come on!

He knew the break was going to come eventually. He had expected it. Hell, he had looked foreward to it. It wasn’t there anymore, Mutt would either have to get it healed or get a fake. Though… he didn’t really want a fake. It was another scar. Another testament to prove that he was Razz’s .

He belonged to Razz, mind, body, and soul, and Razz was free to do what he just did. Still, that didn’t stop Mutt from giving Razz another pleading look in homes that he would now fuck him like he wanted.

please ! He tried to beg with his eyes, please fuck me, m’lord!

Even if Sophie hadn't heard the loud snap and the grumble of pain that followed it, the words spoken before all that didn't leave space for much questioning. He had followed with the threat. That monster had really done what he had promised to do, he had hurt Mutt, he had-

Sophie heard them moving and decided to peek at what was happening. When she spotted them, her heart sank, every fiber of her being screaming at her to hush, saying that there was no time to stand there staring while that disgusting creature abused her friend.

He was climbing on top of Mutt, on his back, that damned leash still firmly secured in one hand, pulling it so tight that it was impossible for it to not be choking Mutt. The bastard had a vicious grin on his face, his free hand digging on Mutt's spine

Sophie closed her eyes and turned away. She didn't want to see what would happen. She had actually seen more than enough.

Mutt was breathing deeply, excited. Was he finally going to get played with so nicely now? Please?

He thought he saw a head peeking into the alleyway out of the corner of his eye, and he immediately froze up. Was somebody watching? Could they see? He was partly turned on by that, but at the same time, they would be able to see his lord without pants .

Thankfully, though, Mutt saw nobody and was able to relax and go back to focusing on what was important- his lord on his back, all over him, digging into his spine and choking him with the collar… 

Before she could be spotted or before she accidentally heard anything else, Sophie turned away and rushed back to her apartment. She wouldn't be able to take it if she heard one more muffled pained noise, or one more stupid order.

She had to save him.

As soon as she got home, Sophie took her phone and called the police. She told them everything. She told them how there were already rumors, how Mutt would react to "m'lord", how they were brothers and still... she told them about how clearly he was forced to indulge in those sexual activities and how that bastard would threaten and hurt him if he refused to.

There were only two possibilities in her head. One: Mutt was afraid to admit to anyone how bad things were, because his brother would hurt him if he did. Two: his abuser had fucked him up so badly that Mutt truly thought he was happy with him. Neither of the options made Sophie happy.

She could make him a thousand times happier than his brother would ever be able to.

Razz arrived home thoroughly satisfied, a rare brimming smile on his face. He hadn't eased the pressure he placed on Mutt's collar yet, much less healed the injuries, but he had allowed him to put on his clothes again. He wouldn't stand for anyone staring at his brother's bones on their way home.

Finally unclasping the leash and placing it back on his pocket, Razz grabbed Mutt's collar and didn't let him to go back to an up straight position, not caring that it most certainly caused him pain to stay like that... Well, he thought with a smile, maybe he did care, and that's why.

"Are you satisfied, Mutt?" Razz asked with a sugary smile, jabbing a finger on his spine, where he knew he had scratched repetitively.

Mutt was satisfied. He was really happy, actually. Why? Not only because they had sex - he was always happy when that happened - but his lord was smiling . Mutt couldn't help but smile back, even as his spine was jabbed at and he was forced at an uncomfortable height.

"very, m’lord," he answered truthfully, fondly, "especially because you're happy."

Razz smiled, satisfied with that answer. He let go of him, walking to the kitchen to start on dinner, humming in a good mood.

"Come sit down, Mutt. I will make my special enchilada today!" and with an extra touch of bbq sauce too. Razz wanted to indulge on his brother's happiness, just this once.

It had been some time since he last felt this happy. Maybe the surface wasn't that bad after all.

Mutt smiled and followed after his lord. Fuck, he was happy and so cute . Mutt wished he could stay like that forever .

He sat down and sighed happily, watching Razz. Though his rib still hurt and his collar was still choking him, he was really happy.

...And then there was a knock at the door. "Police! Open up!"

Chapter Text

Razz froze. What could it be? Could it, perhaps, be something about his job? With the tone they had used, he doubt it. Razz spared a moment to consider not answering, a bad feeling worming its way into his happiness bubble.

Razz wished he could say he had nothing to fear. If he was underground, he wouldn't have. But here...

He glanced at Mutt. Was it because of what had happened earlier in the week? Was it about that little scene he made in front of that dumb store because of that stupid cashier?

Razz hated nosy humans.

This was not a good moment. Should he send Mutt away to his bedroom? Could he stop them from trying to take him if he did? Or would that make things worse? There were too many decisions to take and too little time for it. They were right in front of his door, waiting, probably about to break in if he took too long.

Gritting his teeth, Razz made his way to the door and opened it.

Mutt frowned, standing up. What was going on? Whatever it was, it made his lord upset. It was the police, right? Doesn't he work with the police?

There were two policemen there, both humans. "Hello. We got a report for abuse, and we'd like to take you and your brother in for questioning."

Mutt was even more confused. Abuse? Questioning?

Razz knew he should be expecting it, but as soon as the words exited the human's mouth, the first thing that passed through his mind was to slam the door right in their faces.

Abuse . Of course they would use that word, humans seemed to love it. Razz didn't abuse anyone, Mutt loved anything he did, there was nothing wrong there! Why did they insist on poking around their lives?

Razz narrowed his eyes at them.

"Who told you that?" he growled. "As you can see, there is only me and my brother here, and we're perfectly fine. The picture of a perfect happy family. There is no need for any questioning ." of course, they couldn't see Mutt, because Razz wouldn't let them. Not when they had come to insult him, to insinuate they would be taken for interrogation.

"They have their right to remain anonymous, so it doesn't matter who told us. But we have a warrant, so we would like the both of you to come with us now." They were adamant about this, and the second policeman was walking inside towards Mutt.

Mutt backed up. He didn't understand what was going on and his lord seemed upset by this and he didn't want to go anywhere if his lord didn't order him or anything.

Razz grind his teeth. They were not relenting and his hands were itching to just close the door in their faces. But that wouldn't solve anything, and he didn't want to make it worse. His good mood was completely ruined, anyway.

"Fine!" he spat. If they needed a confirmation of just how glad Mutt was to obey his every order, Razz would let them have it. They would see just how perfectly fine they were. He trusted Mutt to answer them correctly.

The human walked past him as if he was nothing,  as if he owned the place, just going towards his brother ready to grab him. " Don't touch him ." Razz would tear his arm off if he did. "Mutt! Just follow them!" he snickered. "Tell them how much you adore me."

He would show them they had nothing to hide and that they were happy as they were.

Mutt ducked his head and meekly followed after the policeman, since that was part of his order. The only reason he was mostly calm was because his lord was being possessive and familiar. He wouldn't let anything happen.

The policemen led the skeletons into the police car and to the station, where the skeletons were then separated. 

Razz was put into a holding cell and Mutt was brought into what seemed to be an interrogation room. 

A police officer told Razz that he would be taken in for questioning when Mutt was finished.

The moment Razz left Mutt's sight, he started internally freaking out. What the fuck was happening?!

"So, Mutt." the man began, his face serious. "We received a delation about your situation with your brother and we would like to confirm some things. I need you to be completely honest." he paused to make sure the words had sunk in.

"First, does your brother hurt you in anyway?"

“hurt?” He tilted his head. “hurt how? m’lord punishes me when i’m bad or when i disobey an order, but he’s not unfair or anything.” But that wasn’t the question. “he does.” He smiled fondly, his gaze suddenly a bit distant as he remembered what had happened just a little while earlier. “he broke my rib off earlier.” It was fun. Mutt loved it, despite whether or not that was a punishment. 

He failed to realize that what he was saying would be incriminating Razz.

The policemen just nodded, his face impassive. It was disconcerting how Mutt would just say it as if it was normal. As if it was an obvious fact of life that he would get hurt, like he couldn't see what was wrong. Normally in the cases of abuse, the victim would acknowledge at least to themselves that there was something not right. Mutt seemed oblivious to what was happening.

"Is it true that he hurt you, kicked you repeatedly in front of a crowd three days ago? That he drags you on a leash?" the police glared at his collar, the object not escaping his judgement. "Does he make you wear that?"

“he kicked me a lot three days ago cuz he was upset, yeah,” Mutt nodded. “the aboveground is a lot shittier than we thought it was gonna be. m’lord doesn’t like it.” He tilted his head at the last question. “wear what?” He wasn’t wearing anything unusual.

The man just wrote something down on his notes. That was worrisome, if Mutt wasn't the only one who didn't realize that that was not normal behaviour.  

"The collar. Does he make you use it?" it was an unnecessary question, as the answer was obvious. And going by what Mutt said, he was made to use it everyday. But they needed a confirmation anyway. "How often does this kind of thing happen?"

Now they were asking questions about his most favorite belonging? Were they going to take it away from him? His hand automatically reached up to cover it. “i’ve had this collar for a long time. i don’t even remember if it’s a rule to wear it or not. it probably is. i dunno.” He shrugged. “it’s my favorite thing, though, so i don’t wanna take it off.”

He was confused again. “how often does… what happen?”

The policeman glared at the sfronting object, but didn't try to take it away.

"How often does he hurt you?" he clarified. Even though what he truly meant was "everything". How often is he made to wear the collar, how often is he made to walk on a leash, how often is he-.

They haven't gotten to that part of the interrogation yet. The man had to remind himself to be patient.

Mutt still was confused. “he punishes me when he’s mad at me or at something else, if that’s what you mean?” Confused Mutt. He really didn’t get this thing. They were just asking questions with obvious answers? What the hell was going on? This wasn’t a thing back underground.

He thought for a moment on that answer, before carefully reformulating the question.

"How often are you punished?" he didn't want to be so insistent on this, but he had to. Though, it was a good thing that Mutt was trying to answer, inadvertently giving him other answers.

He kept on writing things down.

"Are your punishments only... physical?"

Mutt hummed thoughtfully. How often was he punished? Mutt actually didn’t know the answer to that. “i think, on average… once or twice a week? not that often, i like to be good for m’lord.” He didn’t consider the times Razz hurts him because of outside sources as punishment. “no, probably less than that. i don’t usually disobey orders.” 

There were cigarettes under his bed. Sometimes, when he wanted to be punished and saw no other option to get punished, he would smoke. Only because he knew his lord hated smoking.

Mutt was not at all any less confused. “what else would they be if not physical?”

The man sighed. He didn't want to ask that. Mutt didn't seem bothered until now, but he couldn't know until what point that would last.

"Does he... make you indulge in a sexual relationship with him? And if yes, how often?" he tapped his pen on the table, troubled. He didn't want to be insensitive. "Is it true that he... ordered you to do so just a few hours ago? In an alleyway?" the thought made him sick.

Mutt smiled. “we fuck at least once a night. sometimes in the morning. we fucked a lot more when we were underground, though.” He hasn’t been told to keep that information a secret, and he didn’t think Razz cared if others knew. “sometimes more. heh. yeah, we just fucked in the alleyway cuz m’lord couldn’t wait to get home.” That was what he was assuming, anyway, from how Razz acted. “that was when he snapped my rib off.”

Sometimes, he wished he hadn't taken this job. The policeman nodded and wrote down the new information, fighting hard to not let his emotions show in his face. He couldn't let what he thought on that interfere in the victim's answers.

Now came one of the most important questions.

"How do you feel about him?"

“i love him,” He answered immediately. “he’s the most important person in my life. he’s my world. i’ll do anything and everything for him, no matter what. there’s not a damn thing i wouldn’t do for him. fuck, i love him so much.” He purred, a smile on his face. “i love m’lord. he’s my everything.”

That was really bad. He had been hurt to the point he didn't even know he was being hurt. That was a very, very, very bad case.

The policeman just nodded, taking his notes and putting them on a folder, a somber expression on his face.

"That's all I needed to know, Mutt. Thank you for cooperating."

...That was it? Was he done bragging about Razz now? Shame. But did that mean he could go back to Razz now? “...okay. what’s all this for, anyway? and can i go back to m’lord now?”

"Uh... We still need to finish solving somethings with your brother here. But you can go home. He'll be sent home too, soon." the policeman forced a comforting smile, hating to lie but feeling it was necessary. If what Mutt had told him was true, he wouldn't be leaving otherwise and he couldn't let him interfere with the interrogation. "Just go home. He'll be right behind you."

Mutt frowned, a little upset, but… nodded. Razz was also a policeman, they probably had some policeman things to talk to him about while he was here. “okay,” He nodded again, then just up and disappeared. 

He teleported straight home, even though he was really tempted to just go and visit his lord. No, he shouldn’t interfere with his lord’s work. It would just make Razz upset. So instead, he decided he’d start on dinner and make Razz’s favorite. He wanted to see that smile on Razz’s face again when he came home after a stressful day. Razz deserved it.

Razz was tapping his foot impatiently when they finally came to question him. He gave them his answers, stating several times just how much Mutt loved the way he treated him, how that wasn't a problem for either of them as they were both happy like that. Just telling a white lie when he knew the answer wouldn't appease them.

They wouldn't have any reason to take his brother away from him if Mutt told them how willing he was to be subjected to everything Razz did. If Mutt did what he had ordered him to (and Razz knew he had done it), everything would be fine. He was confident he would be released as soon as his interrogation ended.

That is not what happened though.

"What do you mean I'm remand?! Why?" he growled, wanting to know their reasons. "In case you don't know, I'm in the police force too, you can't-"

"We have a recorded evidence given by your brother that you "punish" him, forcing him into sexual activities under threats of pain. He told us that you make him wear a collar and that you drags him around in a leash. Everything points to you abusing him."

Razz was speechless. Had Mutt really told them all that? Was he just waiting for the perfect opportunity to condemn him? He froze, fear settling in his soul rather than anger. All he had was being taken away from him.

No. Mutt wouldn't do that. He was sure they had somehow put words into his mouth, or that Mutt had somehow told them things that shouldn't be known. Razz growled. What was he doing? Couldn't he think, for just one moment? Mutt didn't have a filter, did he? Razz ordered him to tell them how much he adored what Razz does to him, not what he does to him. Did he have to specify that?!

"You're not allowed to leave." despite everything, what remained in his soul after those words was despair.

Chapter Text

It wasn't until a couple hours later, when Mutt was questioning how long this thing would take, did he get a call from the police telling him that Razz was in prison and he was free . What?

The phone fell from his hands and to the ground with a clatter. They… they took his lord away from him? They took his words and warped them .

He snapped.

He ran a hand down his face and cackled, his voice the only one traveling through the empty, quiet house. Tears ran down his face. If he didn't do anything, he'd most likely never see his lord again…

He couldn't have that .

The cooked food was left on the counter as he walked right out the door, a growl in his throat. He was not going to let it stay this way.

He teleported to the entrance of the prison and immediately caged the two people out front in bone cages. This was the start of the one man prison break.

Despite how angry he was, though, he knew it would only be worse if he killed anybody. So he avoided that, only caging or injuring people.

Razz was sitting in a corner, thinking about how would he get out of this situation. He was pointedly ignoring the people around him, his mind running in circles trying to find a solution.

What would he do? Did his brother even knew he was there? Did anyone tell him what was going on? He rubbed his tired eyes, frustrated. What would Mutt even do if he knew? His brother was more like a goofy puppy than a skeleton monster.

A goofy puppy that needed to be commanded in order to do something.

Screams broke him out of his thinking bubble. Looking to the side, Razz could see several policemen running in one direction and what he could only describe as destruction noises coming from there. He couldn't see what exactly was happening, but he could tell the wrecking power was coming closer.

A long time ago, Mutt had worked together with the royal scientist before Undyne, and then with Undyne. He was smart. He had studied up on humans, he knew how much a human could take before they died. So when he stabbed a human in the stomach and blood spattered, he knew they weren’t going to die. No, he knew what parts of the human to miss in order to keep them alive.

In pain, but alive. 

They deserved much worse for keeping them from his lord. 

There was a lot of screaming. He really just wanted everybody to shut the fuck up . He blasted his way through walls and used another Gaster Blaster to headbutt other people out of the damn way. He had a one track mind as of the moment- get to his lord. 

Finally, finally , he found him. He was in a cage. He was in a cage . His lord should never be caged up like some fucking animal!

Still, he couldn’t help but smile, even as he blasted a hole through the cage bars with one of the three spare Gaster Blasters he had on hand that was purposefully pointed away from his lord. He didn’t want to accidentally hurt him, after all. 

He had the three Gaster Blasters “stand guard” outside the cage walls as he made his way inside, and immediately kneeled in front of Razz. “m’lord.”

Razz felt as if he was in a dream. As soon as the destruction mass came closer enough, he realized with reluctant astonishment that it was a person. A single person, causing all that havoc. And then the person started to make their way to his cell, and Razz could only stare at the very distinct silhouette of his brother coming closer.

His thoughts facility failed him for a moment there.

When his mind rebooted and allowed him to form coherent thoughts again, the goofy puppy was vaporizing the walls with the most potent magical energy he had ever felt while still maintaining two other blasters floating on his back, smiling at him as if it was child's play. Razz couldn't take his eyes off his brother, mouth agape, frozen and too stupefied to function.

That was a good dream, yes.

That couldn't be his brother. Mutt was a wimpy dopey cowering pup! His brother couldn't- he couldn't-. The monster in front of him kneeled and called him by his proper title, derailing all his thoughts.

Well, maybe he could.

Razz smiled widely, giddy and overjoyed. He never thought he would ever feel like this about his brother again, this old and nostalgic sentiment, so similar to proudness. But here he was, looking at him with fierce reverence in his eyes.

"Mwah hah! Mutt!" he couldn't hold back his high pitched laugh. Razz thought he would never have the chance to idolize his brother like this again.

Razz wasn’t mad? That he had just left him there? Or perhaps he was, he was just more relieved at the moment than he was mad. Or… was it relief? He seemed really happy to see Mutt…

Mutt flushed. 

And then people were coming running this way and Mutt glanced to the side and narrowed his eyes. Stupid humans. An extra Gaster Blaster came up behind the policemen and dragged them away by their clothes. Fuck off, humans, this was his moment with his lord.

Speaking of…

“...m’lord,” He started hesitantly, “my collar is still tight. it’s making it hard to concentrate.”

Razz's eyes would have fallen from the orbit if he was a human. That wasn't even his full potential! His brother was the best ! Gingerly, Razz took his collar and loosened it a little to allow him to fight better and show those humans who they were fighting with, tapping his shoulder with one hand once he was done.

He didn't took it off completely though, even if he had speculated for a moment that perhaps Mutt would be even stronger without it. That idea made him furious. He didn't want his brother to be stronger without it, without the symbol that chained him to him. Mutt was still his. His, even if he was strong enough to...

That line of thought erased the smile from his face as a frigid beam of fear struck his soul.

Razz lowered one of his now trembling hands, the other just resting still on Mutt's shoulder, and just kept looking at him, his breath stuck and his eyelights flickering, feeling as if his marrow had frozen inside him. That was the only explanation for the sudden coldness.

He could leave him. His brother was stronger than him, and he could leave him . Razz wouldn't be able to stop him. He wouldn't be able to do a damn thing. Anything .  He could leave him, he could leave him , just like that, leave him alone, leave him-

His breath was quickening and his hand was now squeezing Mutt's shoulder tight and now was not the time . Taking deep breaths, Razz let him go without a word.

Mutt still had that small bit of fear that Razz was going to take his collar off completely when he moved to loosen it, but thankfully, he didn’t. Mutt smiled again. “thank you, m’lord.”

But… that smile fell. Razz suddenly seemed fearful , and Mutt almost immediately shifted backwards the smallest bit. Why? Why was his lord fearful? Was his lord afraid of him ? Of Mutt? No! He never wanted that! But maybe, hopefully, that wasn’t why. Razz seemed lost in his thoughts. Maybe he wasn’t afraid of him. Maybe …

The only way to find out was to ask.

“are you alright, m’lord?” He asked gently, shifting forward a little once again. “what’s wrong?”

Some people were trying to come back again, but Mutt materialized another Gaster Blaster just to make it headbutt the people away. They were still having a fucking moment, humans. Fuck off.

What's wrong? Nothing was wrong, nothing ! Mutt wouldn't leave him, Razz wouldn't- he would- His brother wouldn't leave him!

Would he?

Haunted eyes looking unseeing at the humans being thrown aside, Razz couldn't focus on anything else other than that dooming doubt. Mutt might have asked him what was wrong, but he wouldn't really answer if he told him, would he? If he was really planning on leaving, he wouldn't...

Why wouldn't he? Mutt didn't have to keep it a secret if he planned on discarding him just like he was doing to those dumb humans on the back. Razz wouldn't be able to do anything anyway.

"You're... you're not going to leave me, right?" he hated sounding like that. He hated feeling like that. Insecure. Razz absolutely despised that he had ever felt the need to utter those words. But he was not moving until he got his answer.

Leave him? No, no… “of course not, m’lord,” He answered immediately. Why the hell would he? He was nothing without his lord, he would sooner kill himself than do such a thing!

...What… what happened to what Razz said before? That he wouldn’t let Mutt leave him? He was so confident then, but… he wasn’t anymore. Why? What changed?

Mutt could leave the questioning for later. Right now, Razz was scared, and Mutt needed to comfort him. Slowly, he reached out in an offer to hug. “i would never leave you, m’lord, i’m nothing without you. i love you.” And he did. It was hardly ever said between the two of them because of the world they lived in, but Mutt adored his brother. He was his everything, of course he did.

He would never leave .

Mutt told him he wasn't going to. And even if that was the answer he was craving to hear, Razz couldn't shake those negative thoughts. It is not that he didn't believe his brother's words. Though, he didn't. He couldn't. Words meant nothing and he just couldn't trust it . It was not like that.

Razz forced his stance to relax and willed his expression go neutral again, going for the hug even though it wasn't for the comfort his brother was offering. Razz hugged him tightly as if that was the last time he would get to do it. 

Because that was a possibility, right? They didn't get to hug that often, and they didn't get to say those words often either. What if between now and the next time, his brother changed his mind? Because, sure, he said he wouldn't leave him and that could be true. That could be true, he wouldn't now, but...

But he could .

He could, and even if that was an improbable thing, it was still possible . Razz didn't want it to be possible, he didn't want to play roulette with causality, he wanted to take the cards and burn them . Because if that was an improbable possibility, Mutt could still change his mind and just do it.

Razz refused to let go. And even if that was possibly the last time he would get the chance to say the words back, he didn't say anything.

Razz seemed to still not believe Mutt. But that was okay. Mutt would just have to prove it to him.

Right now, though, he shouldn't be focusing on that. He ever so gently picked up his brother and left the cell. Suddenly, his lord and brother seemed so small in his grasp. So small and weak , as if he was something that needed protecting. Mutt knew better than that, though. Mutt may be stronger, but Razz was anything but weak .

Even if it seemed like it right now.

The entrance of the prison, where he’d come from, was littered with guards. Some were injured. There was one guard on the left who was currently another Gaster Blaster’s chew toy; it was being gentle, it was just happy to have something to nom on.

Mutt stopped in front of them all and sighed. “let us go,” He tried to tell them, his voice almost pleading, “i haven’t killed anybody, and i won’t if you do let us go. i am the only one affected by how m’lord treats me, and i like it this way. if you lock him up again, i will only come back here and do the same thing, but next time i might kill people. please, just let us go and we won’t bother you.” Mutt tightened his grip on his lord slightly. He didn’t want to deal with this again.

Razz felt himself be picked up and just tightened his grip on his brother. He normally wouldn't let Mutt treat him like a baby or let himself be seen in a state as pitiful as this, but he just didn't care at the moment. He wanted to just block out the world, for just a few minutes, and relish in the fact that his brother was still there, regardless of what might happen in the future.

Razz let himself be carried, closing his eyes and hugging tight, letting his head rest on his brother's shoulder as they made their way out.

When they got to the entrance, Mutt finally stopped. He said something, but Razz wasn't paying attention. He didn't look up either. He didn't want to acknowledge the world.

In response to Mutt's speech, the cops all looked at each other, none of them wanting to try and fight against the skeleton monster. They saw what he was capable of and they didn't have a death wish.

Besides, if he was happy with all that, who were they to judge? 

Reluctantly, the first policeman backed off and after that the others just followed suit. They could just acquit the other and forget all this ever happened. End of story. 

Soon the path was free for the skeletons to go home.

Chapter Text

Mutt smiled and nuzzled his lord gently before walking out. All nine of the Gaster Blasters followed behind him, but started to faze away the moment he stepped outside. And then he teleported, straight home and to the living room.

Razz didn’t usually like being carried, so Mutt’s first thought was to set him down on the couch, but… he felt like that may be a bad idea right now. Besides, he liked his cuddly little lord. Now that they weren’t in a higher stress situation, Mutt was able to focus on the feeling of his lord, right there, here and now. He purred. Razz was amazing…

Aw fuck. He was getting off track again. Razz was simply too distracting, his everything… focus! The food was probably cold by now. He needed to feed his lord. But maybe the food wasn’t good enough for Razz anymore, since Mutt had stupidly left the food out. But it was for a good cause, going out to rescue his lord and master… oh, there was his phone. He forgot about that. 

Ever so gentle with Razz, he knelt down to pick the phone up and put it back in his pocket. He then headed straight for the kitchen, and… yep, he left the food out. He started to reheat everything and season them properly.

"they told me you'd be right behind me," He explained gently, though he didn't even know if his lord was listening to him. "so i thought i'd get started on cooking… and i left the food out..."

Razz let himself be nuzzled and carried around the house, part of him wanting to be left down, wanting to put an end to that pity party and just let things go back to normal.

But his mind couldn't. He couldn't stop thinking about all the reasons Mutt would have to leave him. He could get tired of all that. They were on the surface now, Mutt could just decide there were much more interesting things to do than to stay. Why did he stay anyway?

Razz didn't like feeling like that. He didn't feel like himself. It shouldn't matter if Mutt wanted or not to go, that shouldn't be a question . He should just stay, because there shouldn't be any other option! Razz should be able to keep him, no matter what.

He felt fury start to invade his soul, but it was gone as fast as it came. Now, it didn't matter what Razz wanted, Mutt would always be able to leave. He had always been able to leave. Razz just never knew.

Ignorance was a blessing.

Instead of uttering an order, Razz just made himself more comfortable in his brother's grip, his mind lost in the inner turmoil. He mindlessly listened to Mutt, feeling dissociated from what was happening. His consciousness dared to try diving back into reality, only for Razz to curl in the hold, almost having a second mind reboot thinking about how many times would his brother cook for him before being gone.

Mutt thought he was coming; his mind decided to focus on that. They lied to him, and that's the only reason why Razz wasn't rescued sooner. Mutt had rescued him. He wasn't leaving, not now. Focus on now.

Razz hummed in acknowledgement and started to squirm, wanting to be left down. Time to go back at functioning.

Mutt gently let his lord down the moment he started to squirm, not even needing an order. He wouldn’t force his lord to stay if he wanted down. “are you alright, m’lord?” He decided to ask again, since Razz really was being unusually quiet. It was actually starting to make Mutt a bit uncomfortable and definitely worried. 

But right now, he finished making food. Razz’s favorite. He kneeled and offered it to him.

"I'm fine." he muttered, determined to not think about those thoughts anymore. Not for now, at least. 

He looked at his favorite meal being presented to him and remembered about his plan on doing that earlier. He also noticed his brother hadn't added the extra bbq sauce he had intended to add. Razz managed a weak smile, deciding he would prepare that as a surprise tomorrow. It would be one more reason for Mutt to stay.

He patted Mutt's head and took the food, serving it in two plates and immediately digging in.

Mutt purred at the pets. That was normal. He followed after his lord and sat down, though he didn’t eat until after his lord and master started to eat. It was only polite, after all. His lord was higher than him, so he would eat first. Mutt was Razz’s pet. He smiled. He wouldn’t have it any other way.

Mutt never really realized that his extra power could be an issue. In general, he didn’t even really think of it as his . With that power, he thought of himself as his lord’s strongest weapon. He was nothing if not loyal to his lord, and he failed to realize that his power could actually scare Razz in a way that he hadn’t thought of. 

It was because he didn’t plan on ever leaving Razz that he felt it wasn’t a problem. He was nothing without him, after all, why would he leave? Why would he ever think to leave? He belonged here, with Razz.

Razz finished eating, but he barely paid attention to it. He had other things to focus on. He had to know who tried to put him on prison. He had to kill threaten to kill them. But more importantly, he had to figure out a way to make Mutt stay.

Razz placed the plates in the sink, wondering if he should do the dishes in the morning. He glared at the accumulating pile, knowing he wasn't in the best state of mind to do anything right now. It was late and they should already be sleeping. He didn't feel tired though. Sighing, he reached for the detergent.

His mind was racing trying to come up with ideas. Since the decision was in his brother's power now, he had to make sure he decided on the right thing. Razz had to make sure he was 200% happy .

But how? He could make his favorite food everyday. Give him a permanent free pass to drown in bbq sauce and smoke? Relieve him from any obligations? No more cleaning, cooking or working for the rest of his life?!

Razz could do that. 

Mutt was still worried. All throughout dinner, Razz was still lost in thought. Was he okay? He said he was, but… Mutt sighed and finished his food. Mutt decided that he didn’t like that look on Razz’s face.

He finished his food quickly because Razz was done and he wanted to take Mutt’s plate. So of course Mutt let him. He got up as well.

“would you like me to clean the dishes, m’lord?” He offered. It was clear Razz didn’t want to do it, so why should he when he had a servent here to do it for him? Mutt would happily clean for him.

Razz was startled out of his thoughts by Mutt's question. He widened his eyes and shook his head rapidly.

"No, I'm fine!" He was already failing! Sure, he was tired, but he shouldn't let it show! What if Mutt thought he was being weak and just trying to make him do things? Mutt didn't actually want to do the dishes, right? No one ever wanted to do the dishes. He was tired, wasn't he? After that whole rescue show, Mutt surely was exhausted.

Oh no. What if he thought Razz was being ungrateful? He had made him go rescue him from prison! And Mutt still had to make dinner! Razz almost wheezed because of those scrambling thoughts, but he managed to keep himself in control. He was fine, Mutt didn't seem even a little upset.

But he never seemed upset!

"I'm fine." he repeated, fighting to keep his face neutral. "Just go sleep."

Razz could have killed himself right there. He had ordered him! What if he didn't want to sleep? Razz was basically making him to, because he knew Mutt would do it if he told him to. Razz was not good at this!

It was okay, Mutt probably was exhausted. It was logical, right? He was allowing him to sleep. Razz was doing what he wanted, right ?

He quickly finished doing the dishes, trying to show his brother that he didn't need to help.

Mutt blinked. “uh.” Well, that was an order at least. “yes, m’lord.” He bowed a little, then headed upstairs to sleep. Try to, anyway.

Something was seriously wrong with Razz and Mutt was worried. Was he still stressed about the whole prison thing? Was he mad at Mutt? He didn’t seem mad at Mutt, but Mutt would understand why he was. He just left him in prison, after all… but he wasn’t acting mad. Instead, he was acting strange and it was really worrying. Why couldn’t he just tell Mutt what was bothering him so badly?

He shut the door of his bedroom behind himself and leaned on it, then lowered himself to the ground. Well, if Razz didn’t want to tell Mutt, then… Mutt would just have to figure it out. He was an expert at reading Razz’s body language most of the time, even though he almost always didn’t need to because Razz would just tell him what he wanted. Razz wasn’t going to tell him this time. 

He could figure it out.

With a sigh, he eventually got up and headed to his bed.

Chapter Text

Mutt didn't even hesitate to obey. That was a good thing, right? It meant he was tired after all. Or maybe Razz was just trying to convince himself. He didn't know . And he couldn't afford to commit errors, he had probably already surpassed its limit if he counted all these years of careless interaction.

Before going to bed, Razz checked if there was enough ingredients for him to make breakfast in the morning and made a mental note to buy more bbq sauce. He just had to make sure to do everything right from now on.

The first thing Razz did in the morning was quickly turn off his alarm to not risk it waking up his brother in the next room. He would let him sleep in. He didn't even need to go to work. Razz should probably go there and write a resignation letter for him. Unless he wanted the job? Razz would have to ask him.

The second thing he did was make a list. Mutt didn't have a bed. And he also would probably be happy with a TV in his bedroom. Razz couldn't be sure, so he just wrote down everything he could think of. New cell phone, headphones, more clothes, a computer, video game console, air conditioner, heater... Was he forgetting something? Maybe an expansion to his bedroom? Books? Puzzles? Did Mutt like those things?

Well, they had saved some money. Razz could probably buy at least half of those things today on the internet.

He made his brother's favorite breakfast meal, just in case he woke up before Razz went to work and placed it on the table along with a bottle of bbq sauce.

Mutt woke up… slowly. Undisturbed. Confused. Where was his lord? Did he wake up unusually early? His lord would usually wake him up before he woke up himself. But, no, it was already light out. And his phone said it was past time to wake up… what the hell?

... Shit had his lord called for him but he just didn’t hear? Was he that tired last night and unused to using so much magic that he over slept?

Fuck.

He rushed to get out of bed and got tripped up with his sheets, eventually leading him to faceplant into the floor, which could probably be heard downstairs. Yeah… pain was never so good when it wasn’t his lord inflicting it, he’d come to notice. He could handle it, it just wasn’t nice or fun .

He huffed and got up. First, he got dressed. Clothes that were not at all revealing, as always.

When he came downstairs, he found breakfast apparently already waiting for him? His lord wasn’t a fan of bbq sauce, so it couldn’t be for him, right? Mutt was so confused. Wasn’t Razz mad at him for leaving him at the prison? Or for oversleeping?

“...m’lord?” He questioned in confusion, not even daring to take a seat. Was this some sort of… test?

Razz jumped to a loud sound coming from upstairs and he immediately wondered if his brother was okay. He glanced at the food, wishing he had thought about putting more healing energy in it. Any extra energy could be useful.

Razz hoped that whatever had just happened didn't upset Mutt. He was trying very hard to avoid it.

When Mutt appeared, he seemed normal. Nothing out of place. Why was it so difficult to read him? Well, he seemed confused. And he didn't sit down to eat. Razz was confused. Why would Mutt be acting like that? He should just relax! What was he missing?

"Good morning, Mutt!" Razz greeted him, trying to erase whatever was bothering him. His smile froze in place for a second, right after the words left his mouth, before he took control again. Did his brother even liked being called Mutt? Did he prefer his original name?

...he would test it.

"You can sit down and eat now, Papyrus!" Razz watched him for his reaction, and he made sure to state it less like an order. He sat down too, nervously playing with his fork.

Razz was obviously trying to sound joyful, but his actions proved nervousness. “...good morning, m’lord,” He greeted in response, slowly, watching him. Something was wrong.

And then Razz said his original name and he froze. How long had it been since he heard that name? His name was Mutt , it was what Razz called him. It was the only name that was important . But then, Razz was going back to the original name… why? What had Mutt- er, Papyrus- no, Mutt done wrong? Was Razz going to eventually leave him ?

...Papyrus. His name was Papyrus now. That was what Razz chose to call him. He belonged to Razz, he belonged to Razz, and that was his name now. It was fine. It was fine . 

M- Papyrus had to take a minute to calm himself down, but he eventually responded, “yes, m’lord.” It may have been phrased a bit differently, but it was still an order. He sat down at the table and began to eat.

Razz's breath hitched as soon as he saw his brother freezing in place. No, no, no, wrong move. Backtrack. Backtrack !

Mutt was already sitting down to eat though. It was fine, he hadn't messed up so badly. It could be easily fixed. Right?! Razz had to believe it could.

"So, Mutt..." he went back to his current name as if those last seconds hadn't happened. Razz nudged the bbq bottle closer to his brother, just to make sure he had seen it too. "What was that sound just now?" was he hurt? Did he need healing right now? Should Mutt call in sick? No, he should definitely call in sick. 

Razz slowly started to eat too, not wanting Mutt to rush if he didn't want to.

Mutt relaxed the moment he heard that name. Good. See? He was still Mutt. Razz even promised earlier that he’d never leave him. He wasn’t going to leave him. 

Mutt did notice the bottle getting nudged towards him and obediently took hold of it. He didn’t drink it though, not yet. He hardly ever got bbq sauce, especially not a whole bottle, he wanted to make it last. 

“i fell out of bed,” He told him, but didn’t explain anything else. If Razz wasn’t mentioning the fact that Mutt failed to hear his call, then Mutt wasn’t going to mention it either. He liked punishments, but he didn’t want to make Razz genuinely upset . That would happen if Razz knew he had ignored him, even accidentally.

Razz let out a tiny sigh of relief. It hadn't been his fault then. He couldn't help it if Mutt had fallen from the bed. And Mutt didn't say he was hurt. So, he probably wasn't, right? It was fine.

Razz still should probably clean his bedroom. He remembered how messy it was and could only imagine how easy it would be for Mutt to trip on something. He would clean it as soon as he got home. After buying the things.

He realized Mutt hadn't drunk anything, but he didn't comment on it. He had already told him he could eat. Drinking was surely included. If he wasn't drinking, it must be because he didn't want to. Razz would still be certain to have more of those stocked in the fridge. Bbq sauce would be an every meal thing.

Now... How did he ask the next question? 

"How... How is your work? Are you liking it so far?" it was simple enough. If the answer wasn't absolutely positive, Razz would suggest him to just quit it. Just quit it immediately, Razz could even go there solve all the paperwork. Or Mutt could just let himself be fired. That was fine too.

How was… his work? Since when did that matter? What Mutt felt never mattered. It never mattered to Razz, so why would it matter to Mutt?

But Razz wanted to know, so Mutt would answer. “i haven’t been there that long, so i don’t really know, m’lord.” That wasn’t what Razz wanted to know, was it? “...it’s simple. i like it.” Would Razz want him to quit it since he liked it? Make him do something harder? He wouldn’t be against that. 

He slowly took a sip of his bbq sauce.

He was liking it? Well, Razz wasn't expecting it. He wouldn't force him to stop then.

Checking the time, Razz realized they would need to be going soon if he didn't want to be late. Especially if he wasn't going to ask Mutt to teleport him. They could still go together until they had to part ways, though. Except Razz wasn't sure how . He would normally just attach the leash to Mutt's collar and simply go. But the policeman words wouldn't stop ringing in his head, telling him how awful it was that Razz would drag him around like a dog. Razz didn't know if Mutt enjoyed that or not. He had no idea.

He probably didn't, right? He just accepted it because Razz forced him to, again . Razz should leave the leash in his pocket today. Forever . He should throw it away.

His eyes unconsciously traveled to his brother's collar, glaring at the object with a pensive expression. He should take it off too, shouldn't he? Mutt had said it made it hard for him to concentrate. It bothered him. Razz should throw it away too.

Mutt continued to eat, realizing the time but not much caring. His lord would have him teleport them if he needed to go. It was fine.

…

... He was scared.

His grip tightened on the bbq bottle and he shrunk in on himself. Razz was acting strange. So strange and it was scary. He was acting like he wanted to go back to the way they used to be , for whatever reason. A long time ago, when their relationship was not like this, and… Mutt didn’t want to.

What else would happen? Razz already called him by his old name, how long would it be until he stopped giving him orders? How long…

He didn’t want to think about it. He really, really didn’t.

Razz tapped his fingers on the table, looking at Mutt but not wanting to rush him. Maybe he should just go alone after all? He would have to, if he didn't want to be late. But before that...

Razz got up and got closer to him, reaching for his collar, ready to take off completely. He would get rid of it. Razz unstrapped it, quickly throwing it in the kitchen's trash can along with the leash, his hands trembling. Those were symbols of Mutt belonging to him, but they were useless if they turned into the thing that would eventually drive his brother away.

It was okay, Razz didn't need that.

He silently made his way to the front door, not wanting to give his brother a chance to come along and force him to stare at his bare neck.

Mutt froze as he felt the very item that proved he had a purpose be stripped away from him and watched it get thrown in the trash along with the leash that went with it as if it were garbage . 

Immediately, he started to hyperventilate and reached up to his neck in an effort to feel for something that was no longer there. “m - m’lord?” He started scratching at his neck, raking it raw until eventually marrow started to seep out and even then, he didn’t stop. “ m’lord?!” Was this is? Was he leaving him now? Did he really fuck up that badly?! Was this it?!

He was walking out the door! No, no, Mutt had to stop him! Please don’t leave him !

He stumbled out of his chair and fell to the ground, but got up again even if he was wobbly. He was crying. “m - my lord!”

Razz didn't hear Mutt calling for him on those first tries, but it was impossible not to hear the loud crash when he fell. Razz hesitated, frozen in place, but he ended up turning to see if his brother was okay. What met his gaze was a weeping skeleton monster, hyperventilating and desperately trying to reach out for him.

Razz rushed to his side, his own soul starting to panic. He had turned for one second!

"What is wrong?!" Razz exclaimed. He couldn't help if he didn't know what was wrong! Mutt was fine one second ago! Was it the food? Had Razz managed to poison him?! No! It wasn't his intention! He was trying to do the right thing!

Razz hugged him as if Mutt was about to decide then and there that he would leave him, and hugging was the only thing Razz was capable of doing to try to keep him there.

Mutt clung to him as if his life depended on it. And that was true, Razz was all that was left now that his collar was gone, he didn’t want to lose him!

“i’m sorry, i’m sorry,” He blubbered, “whatever i did, i’m sorry! i can fix it, i promise! i - i- i’m sorry, m’lord, please!” He was begging nonsense at this point, but he couldn’t get his mind on straight enough to say anything else. Whatever would keep his lord here, with him , was good enough. He just couldn’t leave!

Razz didn't understand what was happening. Why was he apologising? What did he want to fix? What was there to be fixed?! Mutt's panic was making him anxious, Razz didn't know what he did wrong. But it was very obvious that he had done something wrong.

Why did he keep making Mutt apologize? He must be so tired of this already. The way things were going, he must be one step away from deciding he had had enough. Razz had to remedy it somehow.

"It is... it's okay! You did nothing wrong! Everything's fine, I'll fix it." whatever it was that needed fixing, Razz would do it. He would fix everything. Until everything was perfect . 

He hugged Mutt tight, not really sure who he was trying to comfort. His brother couldn't leave him, and Razz had to stop making mistakes that lead him to feeling obligated to apologize. Everything had to be perfect.

So… Mutt hadn’t done anything wrong? Th - then why did he take his collar off?! He was still shaking and clinging, but Razz probably didn’t want to hear him be a blubbery mess, so he tried to stay quiet. Razz was going to fix it? Was he planning on getting Mutt a new collar, then? Maybe??

He felt worthless without his collar. His collar was proof that his lord wanted him , but now, even with his lord hugging him so close, he felt like he would lose him at any moment. He felt like crying. Oh, fuck, he still was crying. And he was getting tears all over Razz’s clothes… fuck. He sniffled and tried to move so he wasn’t doing that. “i’m sorry, i’m sorry,” He continued to apologize like an idiot, even though his lord said it was fine .

But he didn’t want to lose him ! And it wasn’t as if Mutt would stop him from going!

He couldn’t stop thinking about it. He didn’t - he - what did he do wrong?! Didn’t Razz want him anymore?!

Razz panicked for a moment when Mutt tried to move away, his mind convinced that he was going to get up, go for the door and just leave him. He let him move, though, and was rewarded when his brother only moved his face, remaining in his hold. He let himself relax.

Razz didn't know why he was still apologizing, and he still didn't know what he was apologizing for. He couldn't calm him down if he didn't know what had made him so upset to begin with.

Razz tried to remember if he had done something so terribly wrong to warrant this reaction, but he hadn't! He had made his favorite breakfast to try to make him happier, talked about his job to make sure he was happy, and taken off his collar, that was bothering him! Aside from that slip up with his name, Razz couldn't think of anything upsetting. Maybe that was it? He hadn't realized such a little detail would cause this. Razz had to stop making mistakes.

"It's okay, Mutt." though it wasn't. Nothing about having his brother weeping on the ground while grasping on him as if he were his lifeline was okay. But maybe repeating his name would help? Razz hoped so. "Mutt, why don't you stay home today? Just... watch TV or something." he would like to do that, right? His brother didn't seem to be on mood to go to work today.

Razz tried to break free from the hug, his mind counting the minutes to know how late he was already. He... he had to go. Just...

He cautiously took a few steps towards the door.

Mutt really just wanted to hold on, to make sure Razz didn’t leave him, but… he let him go, even if he had a feeling it would be the last time he ever saw him. Mutt would never keep him here if he didn’t want to be here. “...yes, m’lord,” He murmured quietly, staying on the ground as he watched his lord leave him. He didn’t stop him.

He started to scratch at his neck. And then Razz was gone, and Mutt cried. Again. Or was it more? He didn’t know at this point.

He turned and quickly shuffled over to the trash can to dig his collar and the leash out, but he didn’t dare put the collar back on. No, Razz wanted it gone , so he wasn’t allowed to put it back on, as much as he wanted to. As much as he wanted it back . Tears dripped onto the collar and he eventually pulled it to his chest in a tight hug as he cried. 

This was the last thing he had of his lord now, wasn’t it? His lord took his collar off and left, basically disowning him in the process…

He gave him one last order, to stay here for the day. He would follow that. Tomorrow, the order will have been followed, and Mutt would go find his lord. He just needed to wait…

He put the collar in his pocket and finally stood up to go turn the tv on, since that was part of the order too. He then sat down in the corner between the couch and the wall and curled up, half watching the tv, but mostly drowning in his own terrible thoughts. This was how he stayed for the entire day.

Chapter Text

Razz would have immediately called in sick and stayed if Mutt only mentioned that he wanted him to. He would have taken all the secretly stashed comfort blankets he had in his bedroom, made all the best comfort goodies for Mutt to eat and just pamper him like he had never done in his life before... but his brother didn't say anything.

Razz sent Mutt a last glance, wondering if he would come back to an empty house if he left now, before reluctantly deciding to go.

He barely paid attention to his job all day, all his focus on making preparations to give Mutt the best life he could ever ask for. Razz had to show him he couldn't possibly be happier, with anyone else. He bought the bed, the TV and the air conditioner, all would arrive at their home in a week. 

As soon as his work was done, he went shopping. When Razz returned home, it was with a new laptop, a new cell phone, the promised headphone and video games, along with the "PlayStation" he had heard so much about. Razz opened the door, part of his mind distantly whispering to him that Mutt could not even be there anymore, but he ignored it. Those things would surely cheer his brother up. Surely. They had to.

"Mutt! I'm home!" he shouted for the hopefully not empty house.

Mutt’s neck was bleeding all over the place now. But Mutt didn’t care. Not like there was anybody there to see him bleed, anyway… there never would be aga-

“m’lord?!” He jumped right up, stumbled, and fell on his face. Then he got up again, and rushed to hug and cling to Razz. He was back, he was here!!

But he probably just came back to get some shit from his bedroom .

No, Mutt wasn’t going to think about that. He was here, right now, and Mutt didn’t care about if his sudden hug was going to result in punishment. He didn’t care . He was just so happy to have his lord back in his arms for a little bit longer…

Razz barely had time to compute that his brother was apparently being miserable on the ground. He didn't see anything but a passing blur before he was tackled on a hug. But he very clearly felt a sticky wetness making contact with his bones. Razz looked down and froze, almost dropping all the shopping bags.

Blood . Blood, blood and more blood, everywhere . Everywhere! And it was coming from Mutt! Why- How? Who had done that? Razz would kill them! Were they still there? How did they manage to get in the house? How dare they hurt his brother? Razz would tear them into a billion of little pieces! He would chop down all their fingers and they would eat them, until their throat was bleeding, from the inside out.

Why was his brother still hugging him when there was someone in need of dying ?!

Razz didn't find his voice for several minutes, but when he did, it came out as a furious growl.

"Who did this?"

Mutt cowered a little at the growl. He knew it, the hug upset his lord but he just couldn’t help it , he-

Oh. Razz wasn’t mad about that. He was mad about something else, apparently? But Mutt failed to realize what… he tilted his head. “did what, m’lord?” Was something wrong? Was there somebody Razz was mad about? Well, if there was, Razz just had to give the order and Mutt would kill them. He didn’t like seeing his lord so upset.

Though he didn’t let go. No, he again felt as if he’d lose him if he did. Without his collar, he had no way of knowing for sure…

Razz had to fight himself to not squirm, his hands wanting nothing more than to murder whoever had done that.

"This!" he growled again, realizing he couldn't point at it without his hands. "Your neck! It is bleeding! Who-"

His soul froze. Mutt was still bleeding! What was Razz doing, that needed to be attended to, now! Forget about the idiot that had tried to hurt him, they were probably dead already. Mutt wouldn't be hugging him if they were still alive.

Why was he hugging him? Had something happened while he had been gone? Was Mutt more even more injured than he realized?!

Razz started to squirm, his hands letting go of the bags he was carrying on the ground. Was he dying?! Was he dying?! Razz managed to get his hand free and took a cereal bar from his pocket, stuffing it in Mutt's mouth in a frenzy.

" Eat! "

Mutt let go of Razz when he started to struggle, then blinked because suddenly he had food in his mouth. He was actually relieved once he got the order, glad something had finally gone back to normal. Something . He munched it. 

When he was finished eating, he answered his lord’s question. “i did that to my neck, m’lord,” He answered. His neck was bare, he hated that feeling. He hated it .

Razz was still panicking and what Mutt said didn't help him a bit. Why would he do that? He... he had never done that before! Why was he hurting himself now? Was it something Razz had done? It had to be, everything Mutt did was because of Razz, be it good or bad. But Razz was trying to make him happier! Why was it not working?!

Well, this was being an emotional day. Razz didn't realize when he started crying, but he must have started at some point, because now there were rivers of tears running freely through his cheekbones. How had he managed to make his brother so miserable to the point of selfmutilation when all he was trying to do was make him glad? Mutt would leave him. He would definitely do it, and it was Razz's fault, because for some reason, all he did had the opposite effect.

He glared with watery eyes at the things he had bought, nudging them with his foot. They were useless, weren't they? Mutt would leave him anyway.

Oh no. His lord was crying. He was crying. Razz never cried. Something must be extremely, terribly wrong, and it must have been Mutt’s fault somehow, and it had something to do with how Razz was acting last night, too. Did something happen in the prison?

He stood up to his full height and pulled Razz in for a hug silently. He didn’t know what the hell he would say, but he wasn’t about to do nothing as his lord and master cried. His lord should never be crying. Never . 

“i’m sorry i scratched at my neck,” He apologized gently, holding him close, “i’ll clean it up.” Please, just stop crying.

And he kept apologizing! This just made Razz even more upset, each "I'm sorry" coming out of Mutt's mouth being one more failure. How was that Mutt's fault? He wasn't the one responsible for his own sadness. Razz was. He couldn't make him happy. 

Razz let himself be hugged, but as soon as he heard Mutt's next words, he threw himself out of the hug, almost as if flinching violently out of his brother's grasp.

"No! I'll do it!" he ran to the bathroom to take their first aid kit and came back to the kitchen to fill a bowl of water to clean the cuts. He could help! Mutt didn't need to go care for himself just yet, Razz could still do something. Razz was still useful; even if he couldn't make him happy, he could at least do damage control, right? If Mutt was going to be sad, then Razz was the best and only option to patch him up, right? Mutt couldn't leave him.

He came back and guided his brother to the couch, making sure to do his best job at bandaging and healing everything.

When Razz flinched away from Mutt’s grasp, he immediately backed off. His number one fear was of Razz fearing him , and he never wanted that to happen. So of course he flinched away when Razz acted scared of him.

But then Razz was running away and Mutt blinked again. Okay, what the hell? Really, what the fuck was going on? And Razz was back, and suddenly Mutt was on the couch. “uh.”

Well, at this point, Mutt just let Razz do whatever the hell he wanted. Mutt was just grateful that Razz wasn’t leaving him. Not yet, anyway. His hand went into his pocket and grabbed hold of his collar for comfort.

Razz finished patching him up, staring at the collar free neck with a forced smile, a few tears still threatening to fall.

"There! Everything's fine now!" it really was not. But Razz could make it work.

Mutt wasn't really saying much. He had never been one to talk and Razz had never realized how hard it was to see what he was thinking. Was he happy that Razz had helped? Was he disappointed? Angry? Mutt's neutral face didn't betray him.

Razz stood there in silence for a few moments, not knowing what to do anymore. He felt sick. If he couldn't make sure his brother was happy, what would keep him there? If Mutt was unhappy, what was stopping him from just straight out leaving? 

He looked at the bags a few feet from him. Well, he had already bought everything. He might as well give him.

"Hey! Look at what I bought you!" he brought the bags closer to him and thrust them into his brother's lap, his eyes glued on him, searching for a good reaction. Begging for it.

“thank you, m’lord,” He bowed his head when Razz was done patching him up, even though Razz still looked so sad . Mutt didn’t know what was wrong and he just wanted to fix it .

It took him a moment to register what was next said. Razz… bought stuff? For him? Mutt looked at the bags, then started to rifle through them silently. This was so much stuff. So much probably expensive stuff. Mutt shrunk in on himself a little. Why did Razz get him so much shit? He didn’t need this. He didn’t even want half of it. But he still got it, for Mutt apparently, and wasted money on him…

How much money did he waste on somebody as worthless as Mutt, exactly? Mutt already had all he needed, he didn’t want anything else. All he wanted was to wear a collar around his neck and know that everything was going to be okay .

Oh fuck. He needed to pull himself together or else he was going to cry again. He was squishing the bags between his fingers. He needed to focus. Razz got him stuff, spent money on him. What should he do? He should thank him. It was only that simple. “thank you, m’lord, it’s all so nice,” He murmured, forcing a smile. 

But just because it was nice didn’t mean it was what Mutt really wanted.

The first second of silence could be excused as surprise; the ones that came after, not so much. The more time passed, the more anxious he got. Hadn't Mutt liked it? Had Razz done all of this for nothing? Was he going to leave him anyway ?

He felt tears collecting in his eye sockets once more and his smile dropped. Anything he did worked! Everything was useless ! He had no chances of stopping Mutt. Why was he even trying?

But then Mutt said the words he wanted to hear and Razz looked up, finding his eyes were also a little damp. Was he actually happy? Did Razz actually managed to make him happy? Was Mutt actually not going to le-

Fake. Razz could recognize a fake smile from miles, and everything about that smile screamed fake . Mutt wasn't happy, he was just lying to him, just trying to fool him like an idiot!

" Liar!" he snarled, taking the things away from his brother's hands. He didn't deserve them, he didn't even liked his gifts, Razz had bought them for nothing! "Don't lie to me! You don't want it? Fine ! They're not yours anymore."

If what Razz did didn't matter, then why bother? If Mutt was going to leave him anyway, why was he still fighting it? Fuck him! Leave! Razz didn't care. He didn't.

He made his way to his room, marching away and slamming the door as hard as he could. Then he threw himself on his bed, tears still streaming down his face. Razz had no idea if they were from anger or something else.

Oh… he made Razz mad. Why couldn't he do shit right at the moment? Mutt was a failure of a servant and of a brother. But then again, he already knew that, didn't he?

Mutt took the collar out of his pocket and ran a hand over it. It was so amazing, his most favorite belonging. Unlike all that new crap, he wasn't fine with losing the collar. He wanted to put it back on… but no, his lord took it off. It was going to stay off.

He… he wanted to go back to right before the cops came over. The last time they fucked, everything was normal and fine . Why couldn't it be like that again? He ran a hand over the now healed broken rib he got from that night. What did he do wrong?

He put the collar back in his pocket eventually and stood up. Now was not the time to wallow, his lord was upset. He headed upstairs and knocked on the door.

"m’lord? are you alright?"

Razz heard Mutt at his door, but instead of answering, he just hugged his pillow tighter. He was still a mess, tears making his pillow wet. He didn't want to have to deal with anything right now, but especially his brother. Razz wanted to... to... He didn't even know what he wanted anymore. 

The fear born from the knowledge that his brother could leave him whenever he wanted to was consuming him. 

Chapter Text

He could keep trying to make this the happiest life Mutt would ever get. Razz could do that. But then what? What if those things didn't actually make him happy? What if it wasn't enough? Razz digged his claws on the pillow. How would he know if his brother was happy? Was he happy right now?

Until when, though?

Razz couldn't know, and that was the problem. Razz would be breaking his limbs and forcing him to stay home at this point, taking the chains he kept in his closet and fusing them to his bones and to that machine withering away in their lab. But that would accomplish to nothing, right? Mutt wouldn't let him, if he didn't want to. He was stronger than him, he could actually very easily kill-

He shook his head. It was a mistery how the fabric of his pillow was still not shreds. How do you stop someone stronger than you? That was the whole problem, wasn't it? Mutt was stronger. Razz couldn't do anything if he was more powerful than him, if that abnormally huge source of raw magic power was still-

He froze. Well, what did they do with monsters who had a huge magic capacity and had to be arrested back in the underground? They took that power away from them. Razz smiled. They blocked their magic.

He was sure he still had one of those collars securely kept in his closet somewhere.

Mutt sighed softly when Razz didn’t answer. Okay, that was okay. Maybe he just… needed some time alone right now. Mutt’s hand reached up to scratch his neck a little. He could give him some alone time. “...i’ll be in my room if you need me, m’lord,” He told him gently, then went to do just that.

Mutt sat in front of the shrine for a little while. When was everything going to go back to normal? Mutt wanted everything to be perfect again. He wanted his lord happy again. Why couldn’t it be that simple? What was his lord even trying to do ?

After a couple hours, Mutt sighed and placed his beloved collar inside in the middle, and then shut the door. That wasn’t his collar anymore. He went to sleep.

Razz didn't sleep. He spent hours tinkering with his new found salvation, making sure everything was in order and working. He grinned to himself. He had finally found a way to fix everything.

Razz carefully made his way out of his bedroom, the magic blocker collar in one hand, silently getting closer to Mutt's. He opened the door slowly, trying to make sure it wouldn't make a sound. He could see his brother's sleeping form on the bed, almost as if inviting him to get closer and closer.

Without a sound, Razz creeped his way in, only stopping when he managed to see his own shadow over Mutt, the characteristic "looming " filling him with glee. It was so good to his brother like that, vulnerable, defenseless, at his mercy . Razz could do to him anything he wanted at that moment. Anything . 

He stared at Mutt's bare neck, grinning with satisfaction at knowing it wouldn't stay like that for much longer. Mutt was his and there was nothing he would be able to do about it. Exactly how Razz wanted it.

He gingerly unbuckled the collar in his hands and slipped it under Mutt's neck, his wide grin not leaving his mouth for one second. He took a moment to savor the sight of having so much raw power being subjugated by his hands. Before he could get himself lost in the feeling, Razz strapped it quickly, firmly and tight.

Exactly how he wanted it.

Mutt had woken up the moment he heard the door open and felt a presence in his room. He didn’t even open his eyes, though. It was obvious Razz expected him to be asleep. Whatever Razz wanted to do, Mutt was to be asleep while he did it. He suppressed a shiver of anticipation.

Razz crept closer and Mutt made it a point to continue breathing normally. He was asleep , to Razz. And he was going to keep it that way.

It wasn’t long before Mutt felt something slipping around his neck and the moment he felt it clasp tight, he couldn’t help but relax. So Razz was just getting him a new collar. Fuck, Razz really scared him there. Mutt had thought… but no. He had a collar. He had evidence that Razz wasn’t going to leave him. He wasn’t sneaking out in the night. Everything was fine. Mutt still belonged to Razz, as it should be.

This collar actually felt pretty strong and like metal. What else made it different from his leather one? He’d have to examine it further when he was allowed to be awake. Did it have a tag on it? Did it have an engraving, claiming Mutt as Razz’s? He was so excited to see his new favorite item when he was allowed to be awake. Fuck, he felt like a kid on gyftmas.

Razz had planned to leave immediately after putting the collar on. He wanted Mutt to realize on his own that he could no longer use his magic. But he couldn't resist it. His smile stretched wider, a sadistic gleam in his eyes.

In his defense, he did leave. He walked out of the room and went back to his closet, searching for his beloved gadget. Razz wasn't sure his brother would like this, but he certainly would. And he was done with trying to spoil him.

When Razz left, Mutt sat up. It was metal and heavy on his neck… it felt like it would very quickly become a comforting, familiar weight. He smiled softly and felt around it. 

Huh, sad. No tag. But there was some sort of indent that seemed to be for a green light? What kinda collar was this? He got up to look at it in the mirror.

Oooh, it was a magic blocker collar. He remembered seeing them when they were underground, on prisoners. He tried to summon a small bone and instantly got a small electric shock to his neck. Oh… that might become very fun to play with later, when he was alone. It wouldn’t be as fun as when his lord himself punished Mutt, but it was a gift from his lord. It was good enough when he couldn’t have the real deal.

With no magic, it really did ensure without a shadow of a doubt that Mutt belonged to Razz, whether or not Mutt liked that. Mutt wouldn’t be able to fight back now, at all.

Mutt couldn’t be happier.

Razz came back, only to find Mutt was already awake. When had he woken up? Was he awaken the whole time? Just fooling him, again? Razz's soul burned with anger, but his smile only got bigger. This would be so fun.

He made his way to the bed in quick steps, the whip tapping against his palm as he imagined all the things he could finally do now that he didn't have to worry about that little detail about his brother. He had never felt so free .

"Mutt!" he pulled on the collar, his voice a mix between excited and livid. His smile bordered on maniac. "Don't think I forgot about you lying to me!"

Razz threw him to the floor with a pull, stepping into his barely healed ribs with force. He repeated it until he heard the satisfying crack he was longing for.

He proceeded to rip his clothes off, wanting that vulnerability from earlier back and given to him. Razz readied the whip and made good use of it, not caring if he hurt Mutt too much, aiming exclusively at sating his own wishes. He smirked.

"You'll be a good boy now, won't you?"

Mutt blinked and looked over at his lord when he came back in, having not expected it. And… was that his whip? How long had it been since Mutt had seen that?

He didn’t have much time to react before he was getting thrown to the floor and stepped on, but it wasn’t as if he would fight back. A boot came down on his rib that had just started to heal over and broke it again, causing Mutt to groan. Yes, this was what he wanted. And then he was whipped, the weapon coming down on his body multiple times. By the end of it, Mutt was panting and there were tears in his eyes- but this time, it was both from relief and how good he felt.

“yes, m’lord,” He answered obediently, blinking up at his lord and master. He actually never did lie to Razz, but… they were having fun right now, Mutt could tell him later. If he remembered.

Razz snirked, happy. That was how things should be. It didn't matter if Mutt was happy or not with that, they were still doing it and nothing would change because of it. He would still be his, forever .

Razz tossed the whip to the side and considered leaving, already satisfied with its work. But there was so much more he could do. His brother owned him, after the day Razz had had because of him. He lowered himself down, sitting on Mutt's pelvis, right where he knew he had hit him. Razz gripped his spine and scratched at it, slowly and painfully, while mindlessly tapping the collar with his whip.

"Why don't we have some fun, Mutt?" he smiled down at him, knowing he wouldn't be able to manifest his magic at all. "Don't you want to?"

Mutt groaned again, suppressing the urge to shift so Razz wasn’t on his injury. But he didn’t, because while it hurt, it also felt pretty damn good. Maybe because that pain did feel good. Mutt was fucked up like that.

“yes, m’lord,” He all but pleaded, preening at the scratches. He couldn’t keep his eyes off the whip as it tapped his collar. He was almost tempted to want it to hit his neck. Fuck. Fuck him… no, seriously, like, please fuck him. He really wanted to be fucked now.

Razz looked so fucking sexy sitting atop his pelvis right now...

Hours later, Razz found himself sleeping on Mutt, content, his head resting on broken ribs and his hand clasped around the collar. They were still on the ground, but Razz didn't care. He was comfortable enough. And he was most certainly not cuddling.

Things were finally okay. Razz would make his brother wear that collar until... he didn't know. Forever seemed like a good idea for now. He would never have to worry about him possibly leaving.

Razz was asleep, but Mutt was awake. He was also happy, because things had gone back to normal, just as he’d wanted. Even with Razz’s head a weight on his broken ribs, he was happy and he couldn’t stop smiling down at his beloved brother. He used his magic to le-

He winced at the shock to the neck, having not expected it for a moment there. Oh yeah, he couldn’t use magic, could he? He forgot about that…

He sighed and weakly used his foot to drag a blanket of his over to cover the both of them. He didn’t want his lord getting cold, after all.

Mutt had finally pieced together what was wrong and why his lord acted the way he did. It was obvious, now that he thought about it. Razz stated earlier that he would make sure that Mutt could never leave him, and then Razz found out that Mutt was in fact stronger than Razz and if he wanted to - he would never want to - he could leave him. Razz was terrified of that concept, as evidence of Razz asking Mutt not to leave him back at the prison. And that was when Razz started acting strange, trying to make Mutt happy in all the wrong ways when he failed to realize that Mutt had already been happy. He had been trying, and he had been failing, and his lord finally broke and made absolute sure that Mutt couldn’t leave him instead.

Mutt had never felt so wanted… and so stupid . How could he have not seen the signs? The obvious signs of his lord scared and hurting ? Mutt wrapped his arms around his lord to hold him just a little bit closer. His lord and master… Mutt had already assumed he knew that he would never leave, never in his life, he would rather die than do such a thing…

But Razz didn’t know. He couldn’t read Mutt’s mind, he couldn’t feel exactly how much Mutt loved him and how desperate Mutt was to be with him. Razz… didn’t know that. He didn’t even know that Mutt liked not having a choice but to be with him.

...He had to change that, when he woke up. He needed his lord to understand that he would never in his life do such a thing. And maybe he could even get his lord to actually trust him… he thought Razz did, earlier, but apparently not. But that was okay. Mutt just had to prove that he could be trusted.

He would tell Razz everything.

Chapter Text

Razz woke up to the ringing of his alarm, his mind fighting to get free of the sleeping void. The first thing he became aware of was that he was not on a soft mattress. Well, Mutt was a good replacement. The next thing his tired brain realized was that he was now covered.

Razz grinned to himself, unable to not feel victorious. He hadn't ordered Mutt to do anything after all, but he had done it anyway. And when he did something on his own volition, it was to make Razz happy. It was gratifying. Razz knew that in those moments, he was the only thing that mattered for his brother. He was the center of his world, his only source of concern, as it should be.

He couldn't be as sure of that when he thought about Mutt having the knowledge he could leave. Ideas could easily surface when too much freedom was given, and with the power, they could just as easily be brought into reality. Well, that was why the collar was there.

Razz saw Mutt was awake and grinned at him. He was finally powerless, completely his. Razz felt exactly how he had done when he first put a collar on him, that power of having his brother be 100% his. No one else could ever claim him.

Razz got up, his hand not letting go of the magic blocker device, and started to make his way out while pulling Mutt along. This day promised to be good.

Mutt smiled back at his lord when he saw that his lord and master was awake. Well, he could talk to him later. Razz was happy right now, adorable, and that was all that mattered. Nothing else did.

Mutt was pulled up and then down so his collar would be at Razz’s height, uncomfortably, but he didn’t care. He was happy to follow after his lord and master.

He actually didn’t go to work yesterday… he was sure to go today, wasn’t he? Oh, could Razz walk him to work again? He didn’t want to part with him so soon…

Razz was almost out of the room when a little something caught his sight. His smile grew and he lowered to take it, his hand already missing its weight. Razz had thought he would have to buy a new leash after having thrown this one away. Which promptly made him wonder...

"You naughty boy. Who said you could take it from the trash?" Razz shook his head in fake disappointment, tsking at Mutt. "Do I really need to remind you of this lesson, Mutt? Do not go against my wishes ."

He was not truly mad about it. It actually made him ecstatic to know that his brother would go as far as to disobeying an indirect order just to have it back. Razz wondered if the old collar was somewhere around too. The idea made him smile.

Still, he thought a punishment was needed. What if the indirect order was… anything else? What if Razz really didn't want it happening? Mutt had to learn how to obey him regardless of what he wanted.

This had nothing to do with Razz wanting to reaffirm his newly regained power over him.

Mutt bowed his head quietly. He didn’t feel guilty for doing that, he was just… sad. He knew it was an indirect order and he shouldn’t have touched it, but… it honestly did feel like his life was ending when his collar was thrown away, he just couldn’t take it.

His hand reached up to take hold of the new collar around his neck in reassurance. He didn’t need to worry about that now. “i’m sorry, m’lord,” He apologized sincerely. He was sorry , yes, but he didn’t feel guilty .

Disappointing. It had been a while since he felt Mutt's answer disappointing, but this was surely one of those times. He didn't feel enough emotion on those words, as if his brother didn't truly believe he was going to do something about it. Razz had been too lenient lately.

Instead of saying anything, Razz attached the leash and started dragging Mutt downstairs. He didn't have time for a good punishment right now, but his brother could bet it was coming sooner or later. Until then, Razz got a perfect proposal for trash diggers.

He went to the kitchen as always, making breakfast as any other day. If his humming got a slightly sadistic tinge to it,  Razz didn't mind. He made food for two and even placed Mutt's portion in front of him. He didn't order him to eat though, and he also didn't tell him to sit, actually making sure not to hint at it. Razz watched him from the corner of his eyes as he himself sat down to eat. He wanted to see what he would do.

Mutt, in fact, did not sit. He stayed right where his lord had placed him. Whether it was simply because he wasn’t ordered to, or because he was too distracted watching his lord, he didn’t know- nor did he care. He simply stayed where he was until he would be given permission to eat. 

Razz was happy, and that was what mattered to Mutt. From his humming and his smile, he was clearly feeling a bit sadistic and was planning something, but Mutt didn’t care. Razz was simply so be- ha- cu- fuck, Mutt had too many words to describe him in his mind that he couldn’t just stay with one. Razz was perfect , how about that? Perfect, and Mutt’s entire world. He could watch him all day.

Well, at least Mutt had the decency to not fall for the same mistake twice. Razz smiled and took his time eating. Mutt seemed distracted anyway. He briefly considered just sending Mutt to work without breakfast, since he seemed to care so little about the delicious meal Razz had made for him. His smile turned into a grimace. So ungrateful. Just like he had been with the gifts Razz had bought him. Razz was still bitter about that.

He took a deep breath, refusing to let that memory ruin his day. It was fine. 

Razz got up, taking the plate he had made for Mutt. He stopped in front of that same trash can and unceremoniously tossed its contents away. He then crossed his arms and looked at his brother, tapping his foot. Just taking food away from his brother wasn't enough.

"Aren't you going to eat, Mutt? I'm waiting."

Mutt blinked, honestly confused. But his lord had tossed that delicious looking food in the trash, as if he weren’t to eat it even though his lord made it for him? And then he…?

What?

He came closer. “uh…” He sat by the trashcan, and looked up at his lord after. “yes, m’lord?” He answered questioningly, wanting some form of reassurance. Was he supposed to eat it from the trash? He wouldn’t mind , Razz’s food was delicious no matter what form, but he was a bit confused.

"What? Don't you like digging for garbage?" though the leash wasn't garbage. That was not the point. "Eat your food." Razz kicked the trash can, hoping to mix the meal well with all the other unnamed disgusting things rotting in there. He smiled. He had made porridge for a reason.

His foot kept tapping incessantly on the floor. Razz wanted to show Mutt his patience was running thin, though it actually wasn't. He was loving every second of it.

...Okay then. “yes, m’lord.” Without anymore questions, he began to eat from the garbage.

He meant it when he mentioned he would do anything for his lord and master. If he was willing to kill himself, he was not above literally eating from the trashcan in order to please Razz. He would do anything just to bring a smile to Razz’s face.

Besides, as he’d thought previously, his lord’s cooking was good no matter what form it took.

When he was finished eating, he sat back and looked at his lord in hopes for a praise or an order on what to do next.

Razz watched him with delight. When Mutt was finished eating and sat down on the floor, his eye lights looking up at him begging for pets, Razz felt like cooing, just like one would to a puppy. Because look at that. Mutt was the definition of a puppy. Razz smirked and petted his head, glad with how his day had started.

"Very well, Mutt." he expected nothing less from his brother. He smiled. "I am pleased to see you hadn't forgotten how to behave."

He took the leash and pulled Mutt into a standing position again, going for the door. They had to get going earlier if Razz wanted to be on time for his work after leaving Mutt on the store. He couldn't rely on his brother's teleportation anymore.

Mutt purred at the pets and followed after his lord happily. He made Razz happy, and that was all he wanted. 

And, just as he’d hoped, his lord walked him to work! It was actually pretty early to be going to work, but Mutt supposed that was because he couldn’t use his own magic now. He put his hand over his collar and smiled softly as he trailed behind Razz. Yes, he couldn’t use magic now. He couldn’t do anything without his lord’s permission now. He was stuck with his lord, he couldn’t leave even if he wanted to. That made him so happy…

Chapter Text

Sophie wasn't spectacularly early for work. She was just worried . Mutt hadn't come to work the day before and she didn't understand why . He should be free now! His brother shouldn't be holding him back anymore. Mutt could do anything!

So why didn't he go to work? Why hadn't he come to tell her the news?

Her thoughts were dancing around her head but she looked up when she heard someone getting closer. She almost wished she hadn't.

The first thing Sophie saw wasn't Mutt. It was that Bastard, again leading him through a leash as if nothing had happened. What was that leech doing there?! He should be in jail! Couldn't she get rid of him?

She looked at Mutt and he seemed so happy . She... she didn't want him happy, not because of that bastard. She wanted him to hate his brother as much as she did. Sophie wanted to be the one to make him happy. She was more than sure that she could do a much better job than that abuser.

"Hello, Mutt! Good morning! Why didn't you come yesterday? I missed you! Oh, and hello for you too!" she plastered a smile on her face and greeted them anyway. She wouldn't get on Mutt's good side by antagonizing his brother, she had already realized it. Sophie had to be patient. She would think of something.

Mutt gave her a small wave, but otherwise did not respond. He would , but Razz had given him that order of not talking to her. Just because he disobeyed it before didn’t make it null and void now. He wouldn’t speak to her unless he had permission to.

He continued to follow after Razz.

Sophie waited for an answer and couldn't make herself to keep smiling after the silence that followed her greeting. She glared at the one responsible for that. She was sure it was still about that order. Sophie hated him. 

Razz didn't change his demeanour, still presenting a smug smile to her. He wasn't sure if she was still trying to convince Mutt to leave him, but it was fine. Mutt wouldn't leave. Razz grinned wider. He couldn't. And it was not a tiny human that would make that possible. To Razz, Sophie wasn't a threat anymore.

"You can speak to her." it wouldn't change a thing anyway. She could try all she wanted. But Razz wanted to have Mutt speaking about him to her, just to make her more angry. Just so Sophie could feel how powerless she was when facing his control over his brother.

“yes, m’lord,” He bowed to him, then turned to look at Sophie to answer her previous questions.

“good morning,” He answered with a nod, “i didn’t come yesterday because m’lord wanted me to stay home.” He smiled and touched his collar. “a lot happened.” A lot of the stuff wasn’t good , like his lord fearing Mutt leaving him or Razz going to prison, but it all turned out well. Mutt was glad.

...Could he cuddle with his lord now?

He made Mutt stay home? Mutt had a job! Did he want him to get fired?

Sophie noticed Mutt touching his collar and immediately realized it wasn't the same one he had been wearing. It seemed more permanent, somehow, and she didn't like it. She wanted that thing away from him. How could someone do this to him? Why did he keep allowing these things to happen? Mutt had to get tired of that at some point, right? He had to get tired of his brother eventually, right?!

Sophie had tried everything she could think of to free him. Peacefully talking to the Bastard hadn't worked, talking to Mutt hadn't worked, not even trying to send that disgusting creature he called a brother to jail hadn’t worked! Sophie was trying to be a good friend and give him the life that he deserved, but she just couldn't get rid of that nuisance!

"Oh? What happened?" she tried to pry, wanting to know why her plan hadn't worked. They had all evidence to arrest that perpetrator. Why was he still here? "And what is this new thingy you have here...?" she tried to touch the collar, to see if she could maybe take it off later, when a certain skeleton wasn't looking.

"m’lord got put in prison," he explained, "they lied and told me he would be right behind me." He was still bitter about that. He could've gotten his lord out much sooner if they hadn't fucking lied . "when i found that out, i went to get him. m’lord doesn't belong in p-"

She was reaching for his precious new collar. He backed up instantly and growled at her. " don't touch. "

Sophie retrieved her hand in a blink, her eyes looking up at Mutt startled, taking that as big red sign to stay away from the thing. She glared at the insulting item, wanting to tear it piece by piece.

She focused on what Mutt was saying. That was the most important information in the moment. And Sophie was not glad. Mutt himself had been the one to ruin her plans of saving him ! Why would he go that far just to rescue an unkind and unnecessarily cruel creature that only brought misery? Mutt couldn't see how much better his life would be if his brother just wasn't there!

Well, it was Sophie's job to show him and to convince him to leave that leech. It was her duty as a friend. She had to do something. But how? Bastard had brainwashed him into thinking he loved all that. Sophie couldn't undo that with only a few words.

She just stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do. 

Razz almost tore her arm apart from her body when he saw her getting close to the collar, but he held himself back in the last second. He kept his eyes on her for some time, but got tired of waiting to see if something would happen. 

"Well, I need to get going." he petted Mutt's head for good measure. "Have a nice day with Sophie, Mutt." Razz would be waiting to hear everything when they got home.

Mutt deflated immensely at his lord’s comment, but turned to kneel to him. “yes, m’lord,” He answered, purring at the pets he was given. He stayed kneeling until his lord was gone, then got up to go to his station.

He was… a bit upset. His lord had to walk away without him, and he couldn’t teleport him to work like he got to that one time. But he knew better than to dwell on that. He should focus on more important things.

Today, his orders were to have a nice day with Sophie. It was quite vague, but Mutt understood.

Sophie tried to focus on Mutt, telling herself she would think about what to do with his brother later. First, she had to establish... something with the taller skeleton.

Sophie wasn't sure where she stood with him. They had had a nice beginning, but she had ruined it on those firsts ten minutes. She had fixed it, though. More or less. The thing is , Mutt had forgiven her, and they had been fine again. But then they started talking about that little nuisance and things went downhill again. 

Last time they had talked, they hadn't talked, because Mutt wouldn't answer her. And the time before that, that atrocious being had kissed him . And Mutt had let him. Worse, he had liked that, he was convinced that he loved it! How do you fix someone that doesn't want to be fixed? 

Sophie truly just wanted to help.

And maybe be rewarded for that.

Were they still friends? Or was he indifferent to her now? Does he hate her? She shouldn't be the hated one.

"So, how was your day yesterday, Mutt? I was so lonely without you here!" did he miss her too? Or didn't he even think about her? Didn't even remember she existed ?

That thought made her sick. Sophie didn't want to be forgettable. She wanted to be important to someone. She wanted to be the most important thing in someone's life.

Sophie wanted Mutt to see her as the most important thing in his life.

“a lot happened yesterday,” He informed her, “police said they got reports of abuse and came to take m’lord and i in for questioning. i was let go and told that m’lord would be right behind me. they lied .” He growled darkly. He was still pissed about that. 

“so i went to go get him. but… i think i scared him.” He ducked his head a little, but then he smiled. “m’lord won’t let me leave. so when he found out how strong i am, he put this collar on me.” 

This collar was now his most beloved item. “‘s a magic blocker collar. was used on prisoners back underground.”

Razz was glad all the mess about the reports on his 'case' was being sorted out and that he, for once, didn't have to worry about it. He wasn't allowed to see what they did to the "evidences" but since he wasn't being arrested and was still working on the police force, Razz supposed he didn't need to stress about it. 

He kept doing his work as always for a good part of the morning, but he eventually couldn't stave off his mind from wondering what Mutt had said to incriminate him. Be it intentional or not. It didn't matter. Mutt wasn't getting rid of Razz. 

In the end, Razz couldn't keep himself from sneaking to steal those damn recordings on lunch break. 

That collar. Sophie crushed her clothes in her grip, trying to keep herself under control. But that collar! It shouldn't be on Mutt. It shouldn't be anywhere near the sweet skeleton! It was used on prisoners! And it was taking his only way out from his abuser's control away from him, it was blocking a victim's freedom. Sophie knew exactly who deserved that thing.

She gritted her teeth. Mutt could leave him if it weren't for that thing. He was strong enough, even the leech could see that. But Mutt didn't. He never left. Sophie wanted to scream out of frustration. Mutt could have so much more. She could give him so much more! But he insisted on spending all the kindness of his soul in that endless pitch of cruelty.

"Doesn't it hurt you? Wouldn't... wouldn't it be better if you just took it off? Just for a few minutes? He would never know!" Sophie would break it and pretend it was an accident.

She realized he hadn't commented on missing her. She tried not to overlook it. But... what if he just hadn't missed her? Sophie knew Mutt didn't see her as someone important yet. But she was trying so hard! What was she doing wrong? What if all he thought about was that... that...

It wasn't fair! She was trying to do everything right! Why was that little vicious thing the one who deserved all his diligent thoughts when he wasn't even trying ?

His hands immediately came up to cover his collar. Take it off? Why the hell would he ever do such a thing?! “why the hell would i ever take it off ? it’s mine! ” He insisted, backing up just the smallest bit more. “doesn’t matter if he knows or not. i don’t want it off. and i’d tell m’lord anyway.”

He relaxed, the more he thought about it. “besides, it’s impossible for me to take it off. only the one with their magical signature imbued into the collar can mess with it at all. m’lord is the only one who could allow me to have magic, take the collar off, tighten it, up the electric shock, or anything else. nobody else can.”

“oh yeah, it shocks me whenever i try to use magic.” He flushed. Yeah… it was a gift, and it could be really fun to play with when he was alone… sad that he wasn’t alone yet. He just had to be patient. “that’s gonna be fun later,” He mumbled, but didn’t realize that he voiced his thoughts out loud.

And there went her plans. As Sophie expected, Mutt wanted to keep it. He treated it like an engagement ring, like that strapping thing was something to be treasured. It just made her wish to destroy it bigger.

Her precious friend cowered from her as if Sophie was trying to rip it off of his neck. Well, she wanted to, but that was not the point. Sophie wouldn't do it. She wanted Mutt to do it himself.

But then, he told her he couldn't, because it wasn't his in a way. Just like Mutt couldn't leave his brother, because the choice also wasn't his, somehow. Everything seemed to spiral around control and ownership when they spoke about him.

Sophie had to join that game, in some way.

Sophie was ready to change the subject to make him get closer to her again when Mutt commented on it shocking him. That thing hurt him. It limited his freedom by hurting him when he tried to free himself. It was more than figurative chains, that collar was almost a torture device. It was-

Sophie was about to curse its existence when Mutt's next words made her pause. He... liked it? Mutt found it fun to...

Of course he does. Sophie didn't know why she was still surprised. Of course his brother would find a way to ruin her sweet innocent skeleton like this, morphing his thoughts until he didn't know what should be bad and what should be good. Everything was so so wrong. And it was all that bastard's fault. Sophie couldn't even begin to imagine how to fix Mutt.

But a quiet thought wouldn't stop worming itself into her head. Because on the other hand, maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. It wasn't Mutt's fault that he liked it after all. Maybe , if he truly liked it, hurting him wasn't something so horrible. Sophie just wanted what was best for him. Maybe, just maybe... She couldn't stop her mind from wandering.

Razz didn't find it too hard to sneak around those dumb humans that called themselves his co-workers. He easily found a video tape, labelled clearly as being the recording for Mutt's interrogation, and didn't lose time hesitating. Razz pressed play and started to watch it.

That first question had been quite obvious. Direct to the point. Razz didn't know what exactly he had hoped for, but it certainly wasn't for Mutt to start babbling about his punishments. He could only stare at the screen as Mutt gladly ruined his chances at being noted as not guilty on the first question, with that dopey smile of his. Razz facepalmed with sigh when he saw that daydreaming expression, Mutt most certainly blissfully thinking about his latest "punishment", going as far as telling the policeman about his broken ribs.

Mutt continued to give the cop all the wrong answers. But Razz had to admit, it warmed his soul to listen to him admitting to try so hard to please him. It would be gratifying to hear Mutt saying how much he liked their fun time and how much he loved Razz, how he would do anything Razz wanted him to, if it wasn't for the fact that Razz knew the policeman would only see that as a dog yapping about being mistreated.

He couldn't be angry at his brother, though. Mutt surely made a mess, but who could get mad at their puppy for being so cheerfully dumb? He was such a goofy puppy...

Sophie went silent after that, and maybe that was for the best. Mutt… overall, he didn’t really like Sophie. She wasn’t a bad person, she just… she talked shit about his lord, and he didn’t like that. His lord and master was the most important person in his life. He always hated it when somebody made his lord upset, or even talked bad about him. 

She wasn’t forgettable , though, and his lord would notice if she were to disappear. Besides, it wasn’t as if Mutt could do anything now, anyway. It would be impossible for him to hide a body without his lord knowing and with no magic. That reduced him to not being able to kill her until his lord gave him permission to. 

He sighed and slumped on the counter of his station. Looked like today was going to be a slow day.

Chapter Text

Sophie was lost in thought. She could do so many things. There were so many possibilities. But at the same time, she felt as if she was stuck.

Mutt's brother wouldn't change. Sophie had concluded that he didn't truly care about her friend, which meant he didn't care if Mutt was happy or not. That monster would just keep doing whatever made him happy, and no matter how much obviously prejudicial those things were for Mutt, he wouldn't stop. Sophie could keep trying to reach his empathy side, but it would hardly bring results.

And now with that new information, Sophie couldn't stop herself from having ideas. She wasn't the villain in this story. She felt indignation when she thought about Mutt being treated the way he was,   she felt obligated to try to make his life better. That was what had started all of this! Sophie wanted to save him, it doesn't matter if he wants to be saved or not.

So if she has to take some drastic measures to ensure he gets better, it would be for a greater good, wouldn't it? And... and he didn't mind! Mutt was so confused that he didn't know what should be good or bad. It wouldn't be so terribly wrong of her to take advantage of that, right? He was already doomed to be someone's vassal anyway, it wouldn't be so bad if she tried to change his ruler, would it? She wasn't wrong to wish to be his ruler. Sophie would make him happy.

On the other hand, she could just keep trying to be a good friend and convince Mutt to leave his brother. She could throw her heart fully into it, going as far as being friendly to that disgusting creature. She would have to work on it, to change her demeanour completely while not seeming suspicious, but she was good on it.

Yes, she would give it a try before doing anything so desperate. Sophie would be best friends with both the skeletons and then she would drive them apart.

"How is your brother, by the way?" she started. It was neutral enough. Sophie never made it clearly apparent how much she hated his brother. She could still try to remedy it. "I hope things weren't too stressful for him with all this problem with the police..."

“good,” he answered, “m’lord wasn’t affected much by the prison itself, i don’t think, but he was when he found out how strong i seem. he looks to be feeling better now though, since he knows he’s got control over me again.” Mutt smiled. “but he’s always had control over me. i would never leave my lord and master.”

"Oh. I see..." keep calm. It was all right. Mutt was a work in progress, he would change his mind eventually. She let what she expected to be a shy smile overtake her face. "Last time we spoke things didn't really end well. I hope he didn't get too mad about my nickname for him? It was supposed to be endearing! I didn't know what to call him, since you didn't give me a name. And I didn't think you would be too happy if I used your nickname for him."

It wasn't totally a lie. She hadn't meant it to be insulting, not at first. Sophie just needed something to call him in her head. And given what Mutt had told her, she didn't think neither he or his brother was fond of the idea of sharing the "m'lord" signature. At least, she couldn't imagine Mutt happy to share his position with anyone, even if it made her angry to see him so protective of his status.

Of course she would have promptly taken back her words and apologized to him in a normal situation, promising to never use the nickname again as soon as she saw it bothered him. If she kept using it just to annoy him more, Mutt didn't need to know.

Mutt frowned. “you mean the degrading nickname ‘ shorty ’? that doesn’t sound so endearing to me. m’lord deserves to be called so much better.” What was she trying to pull here? Razz’s order rang in Mutt’s head like a bell; Do not fall for manipulative beings like her . Mutt wasn’t stupid. He also wasn’t about to disobey his lord’s order again. He’d play Sophie’s little game for now, but he wasn’t about to trust her.

The only person he trusted was his lord. He didn’t trust nor care for anybody else.

Sophie hummed in acknowledgement, even though she felt a hint of mistrust on those words. It was fine, she wasn't really expecting him to trust her blindly after she ruined things so many times. Mutt wasn't dumb.

She knew Mutt didn't really consider her a friend as much as she did to him. It was expected, she had fucked up this friendship since the beginning. It didn't mean she would just give up, though. Sophie was determined to get on his good side. If she had to learn how to respect and admire his brother, that's what she was going to do. Sophie was 200% into this.

"Well, what do you suggest then?" she made herself eager to listen to his answer, quieting down the part of her that insisted she already had perfect nicknames for that-... for his brother.

“...well, uh… i don’t know…” He was suddenly feeling a bit shy. “it’s not really in my right to just give m’lord names. you’d probably be better off asking him that…” If Razz even decided to answer her. After how much disrespect she threw his way, Mutt wouldn’t be surprised if he just completely ignored her. 

It was nice to see her trying to act nicer about Razz, though. Mutt didn’t trust that she’d be that way for long. 

“m’lord’s amazing, though, he deserves respect.”

Sophie gritted her teeth. She didn't think Mutt's brother would tell her anything. And she also didn't trust herself with nicknames. What would she call him? What was considered 'respectful'?

...at this point, she openly believed anything she tried to call him would sound derogatory somehow.

Deciding to just leave that aside for now, Sophie tried to think about Mutt's nickname.

"Oh! I know already! If you tell me which nickname I can use for you, I promise I'll think of a good one for your brother." Sophie hated to have to call Mutt, "Mutt".  But last time she tried to call him anything else he cowered away from her.

Mutt gave her a confused look. “why do you need a nickname for me? my name is mutt. that’s what m’lord named me and that’s what it is. i don’t want any other name.” He poked the tag on his collar… tried to, anyway. He forgot that this collar didn’t have a tag. He’d have to talk to his lord about that. “...well, this one doesn’t have a tag on it. but my other one did, one that obviously said my name is mutt. i really don’t need or want a nickname.”

This was going to be harder than she thought. 

"Well, Mutt. Uh… We are friends, aren't we?" she wasn't sure of that, but if she could pretend they were, he could make an effort too. "Friends give nicknames to each other. So, I want to give you one." 

Mutt gave her a look- almost a glare. “friends, as far as i know, also respect when their friend doesn’t want a goddamn nickname . m’lord’s name for me is the only one i want. it’s the only one i will respond to unless he wants me responding to somebody else’s nickname for me.”

But then his eye lights softened and he looked down. Have a nice day with Sophie, Mutt, his lord’s words echoed in his head. “...sorry. i know that’s probably frustrating.” Was it, though? “but… do you really not like my name? i think it’s perfect, it was given to me by my lord. much better than my name before that.”

Sophie didn't like it. She hated it. It was demeaning and unnecessarily cruel, and it was a reminder that "Mutt" belonged to his brother, starting by his name. But she wouldn't say that to him. It would only upset him! No one liked to hear that their name wasn't great.

"Oh! What was your name before that?" she doubted he would tell her, but no one could blame her for trying, right? "Your brother wouldn't mind if I called you by your previous name, would he? It is your original name!" it wasn't wrong, she was not going against anyone. It was perfectly normal to just don't like a name and look for a good substitute.

"Also… What if you gave me a nickname? I wouldn't mind!" Sophie would love any nickname he thought of.

Mutt opened his mouth to tell her of his old name, because he didn’t see any harm in her knowing, but shut it almost as quickly. “he might or he might not mind, but i would. my name is mutt and i don’t want to be called papyrus or any other name.” He failed to notice his slip.

He tilted his head. “give you a nickname?” He hummed in thought. Well, if Sophie wanted him to… “i’d have to talk to m’lord, but i could try thinking of something.”

Sophie pressed her lips together, frowning at that. She couldn't call him by his name if he truly didn't want it. It would be too horrible of her to do that and it would only push him away again, even knowing he should be fine with it and that he only wasn't because of his brother.

It didn't mean she couldn't  think about him correctly. Papyrus. She would keep that in mind.

"Yes! Think of a nickname for me!" she smiled just at the thought. If she couldn't call him anything else other than Mutt, at least he could come up with something for her.

He nodded. He would still have to check with his lord, but… yeah. He fiddled with a mint packet next to him. “maybe i just don’t know shit about human traditions, but what exactly do nicknames normally signify, anyway? is it important?” Mutt wanted to know for sure. If a nickname signified Sophie being important to Mutt, he wouldn’t be able to give her one. Why would he? The only important person to him was Razz.

"Hmm… Well, they can be. I mean, it is not rule. But if you want to, they can be…" Sophie wouldn't normally think too deeply on nicknames. She would actually completely overlook any nickname as something unimportant. But she would treasure it this time, even if only because Mutt didn't seem to be the kind of people who usually used them.

Sophie stayed in silence for some time after that, speculating if she should really ask what was in her mind. It could ruin things just as much as it could take her one step in the right direction. She didn't know how M-... Papyrus would react to it and this made her anxious. He already seemed cautious of her. Sophie just wanted him to like her, at least as friends. If possible, as best friends.

...as more than friends?

Sophie hesitated, but in the end she couldn't hold herself back.

"I'm sorry for... You know, that day. When your brother came to wait for you to finish work. When he... uh... kissed you. I think I might have overreacted." She didn't think she overreacted. But that was not the point. Papyrus thought so, and that was what apologizing was about. She didn't think his brother deserved that, but Papyrus certainly did. Papyrus deserved all apologies in the world.

"But you reacted so badly when I touched you... I just thought you wouldn't be comfortable with that." Sophie tried to explain herself. It wasn't a lie. She would have shouted at anyone else, it wasn't about Mu- Papyrus , and it wasn't about his brother either. She just wouldn't have been so angry.

Mutt smiled. See? She really wasn’t so bad. She was apologizing, and that made everything just a bit better. But… he didn’t want to be reminded that she touched him. Guess he couldn’t avoid it right now.

“i don’t have haphephobia or anything,” He informed her, trying to keep the amusement out of his voice. “i’m not afraid of touch. it’s just the second most important rule of m’lord’s. don’t let anybody touch me and don’t touch anybody else.” He couldn’t help but smile. “he’s really possessive of what’s his.” But then again, Mutt was also really possessive of his lord. He just showed it in less… commanding and owning ways.

Those words stirred something in her. To know that Papyrus only didn't want her touching him because of... of... Ugh! Well, Sophie couldn't say it didn't upset her. He shouldn't be this controlled by someone. He should be free! Who thought of having authority over something as trivial as touching ? Sophie couldn't stop herself from remembering how he reacted when she touched him, how their first disagreement happened because of that. She had a face to blame now.

But at the same time, she couldn't. Even if it didn't make her happy, it made Papyrus happy. For some reason, it made him happy, and Sophie had to accept it. Fighting this would lead her nowhere, it would actually make things worse. Besides, he had seemingly truly forgiven her this time.

Sophie managed to send him a soft and grateful smile, happy for finally having fixed whichever mistake had led her to his bad side. It was okay, she could overlook what his brother did, she could... forgive him too. She would find a way to overcome those rules in time.

"That's... good." Sophie forced herself to say. She tried hard to imagine this as Papyrus must envision, as if they were a perfect couple just with a heavy problem on the jealousy department. "If... Well, since you're so... close... It is only fair that you don't touch anyone else or... Yeah..." that was the hardest thing she had ever had to do, and she was not eager to finish the thought.

At least it really was a good thing that he didn't have haphephobia. Sophie could feel less guilty about having touched him that day.

"You really are close, aren't you?" she was just thinking out loud. "How close though?" why was she doing this to herself. She already knew, that kiss couldn't have been brotherly . Nothing about them was platonic. But Sophie couldn't not ask.

He grinned. “yeah, we’re the closest. i don’t know how close you would consider close , but i want to be with him forever. i wanna be his pet forever. i love him. i adore my lord and brother. oh, also, also, he’s so cool . i don’t think you’ve seen him fighting but he’s amazing at it. and, fuck…” He was so sexy, too. The way Razz’s clothes hugged his body and left just enough to the imagination…

...Aaand his head was in the gutter.

If Sophie didn't think too deeply about it, she could find it rather cute and endearing, the way Mutt talked about his brot- lover...? Ugh, just don't think too deeply. Sophie could detach herself from those thoughts. She would be able to take his place sooner or later anyway.

As she watched Papyrus get lost in thought, her mind pondered if she shouldn't feel grateful to brother for making him this happy. She couldn't. She absolutely couldn't. She would rather Papyrus wasn't happy in that case .

At least Papyrus was talking to her again. He finally sounded laid back enough to talk casually with her about things that made him happy. That was what Sophie wanted since the beginning. She smiled at him and just let him talk, deciding to just enjoy that achievement for that day. Work was slow enough for them to have plenty of free time to banter about random things.

Chapter Text

It wasn’t long before the work day ended, Mutt having distracted himself with talk and thoughts about his lord and master. He had a dopey smile on his face. “my lord and master is amazing,” He purred, his gaze distant. Currently, he was talking about Razz’s feats of amazingness that he had accomplished as the captain of the royal guard underground.

Well, yes, after having listened to Papyrus gush over him all day, Sophie had to admit the captain had more to him than she previously thought. It didn't redeem him of his rotten personality though.

Sophie told Papyrus a little about her own family too, and she was glad they had managed to spend the day sharing stories without anything upsetting happening. She refrained from diving into everything she could be thinking about his brother, prefering to ignore it in order to keep things simple. Sophie wouldn't ruin this to herself.

Razz entered the store in that exact moment, getting there on time to listen to Mutt drool over his amazing accomplishments. Well, who wouldn't? His steps got an extra cocky tilt until he went from behind Mutt and stopped, waiting to be noticed.

Mutt noticed his ever so important lord and master immediately, and brightened immensely. Within seconds, he was turning 180 degrees and kneeling before him in front of anyone to see. “my lord!” He purred. If he had a tail, it would most certainly be wagging. “hello!”

Sophie glanced at Papyrus' brother, kind of lost on how she should react now. She couldn't be angry at him, because Papyrus would be mad if she did. She didn't want to lose all progress she had fought so hard to conquer.

With that in mind, she crushed down hard that familiar feeling of anger, burying it deep so she wouldn't have to deal with it right now. She thought about how Papyrus had talked so fondly of him, how amazing he made him seem, and once again tried to see him through Papyrus' eyes. Just a perfect br- lov-... person. Soohie tried to imagine all that as if Papyrus truly really, really, wanted to be treated like that.

Before she ended up throwing up, Sophie sent him a brief smile and decided to ignore her friend lowering himself so much just to greet him. Her mind wasn't that powerful, not enough to overlook that level of wrongness.

Razz just sent her a dirty look, not knowing what she was planning. Mutt hadn't fallen for that cheap act again, had he? Razz narrowed his eyes at her, making it clear that he wasn't fooled that easily. He thought they were past all that fake pleasantries. No amount of easy smiles would change the fact that she was trying to steal his brother from him.

Well, whatever. Just like the cops had tried and failed, she was powerless too. Razz decided he would focus on Mutt, kneeling in front of him like always, as if the Tragic Day, also known as yesterday, was nothing more than a dumb dream. Razz was cool with it. He would rather forget he had gotten so desperate.

Razz smiled at him, remembering the recordings with conflicting emotions. It made him disappointed and pleased at the same time, and Razz was having a difficult time deciding on what should prevail. Such a dumb puppy...

He was about to open his mouth to greet him properly when that viper interrupted him with that annoying cheery voice.

"Uh... Hello!" Sophie thought she should at least try to be friendly. She had told herself she would, right? She would be friends with them both, because she couldn't gain the friendship of one without being friends with the other. They were a pack. Take it or leave it and all that. "I... Sorry." she forced out of her mouth. She didn't elaborate though, her guts boiling with anger.

Deep breaths. Deep breaths.

Mutt frowned to himself when Sophie interrupted whatever Razz was about to say, but didn’t say anything. Even if she interrupted him to say practically nothing. What was she apologizing for? There was a lot she could be apologizing to Razz for, but she could have done it when Razz wasn’t about to speak. Still, he kept silent and kept kneeling.

Razz raised an eyebrow. Oh? Sorry? Fine, he would let her apologize. But if she was going to do this, she was going to do it right. He couldn't stand half-assed performances.

"What are you apologizing for, human?"  Razz crossed his arms and turned his attention to her. He had some pretty good ideas for what she could be sorry for. She could apologize for speaking to him in the first place. For looking his way. For ever paying attention to his brother. For existing. The list was endless. "You'll have to be more specific. There are just too many flaws to consider."

He smirked and petted Mutt's head absentmindedly, sensing the brief annoyance. His good dog was always so eager to feel affronted. It was okay, Razz would just say what he wanted when this was over. This could be fun.

'I'm sorry you're a rotten creature' almost slipped through Sophie's mouth, but she gritted her teeth and kept doing her breathing exercise. Of course he would make this hard. "Well, I'm sorry for..." she looked at Papyrus', reminding herself she was doing it so he would be happy. He wanted her to get along with his brother, so she would make an effort. "I'm sorry for the insulting nickname" though it wasn't. It was not her fault he was so full of himself to the point he couldn't take a light tease. "And... about all the things I said too."

Sophie pretended he was a traumatized poor soul who couldn't take an innocent nickname as it was and that she was truly wrong, that he somehow cared about Papyrus and that she had accused him wrongly. It made the words sound just honest enough, but she refused to look at him, her cheeks burning.

Razz scowled at that. Not nearly good enough. Well, he wouldn't "forgive" her anyway. It was disappointing though. That could maybe fool her idiot species, but he didn't trust words, even when they bleed honesty - which wasn't the case. He rolled his eyes, deciding to spare her the rejection and just ignore her feeble try.

"So, Mutt." he looked down at his brother, smiling once again. "I saw the recordings about your interrogation." he tsked in disappointment. "I thought you would be smarter than that. Should I punish you for causing me so much trouble? Or should I praise you for being such a good dog? What do you think?" some part of him felt thrilled to give Mutt a chance to choose.

Just like that, Mutt’s full attention was on Razz and Sophie faded out of existence. 

He whined weakly and bowed his head a little more. “i’m sorry, m’lord,” He apologized instead of answering, since he didn’t believe it was in his right to choose what would happen to him. Besides, he didn’t even know. He equally liked both punishments and praise. “i failed to realize that what i said could have gotten you in trouble. i was so happy to talk to somebody about how amazing and perfect you are, i didn’t know the human’s stupid law system would get you wrongly imprisoned."

Razz rolled his eyes at him too.

"Of course you didn't. That's why I told you to tell them how much you adored me. I didn't think I had to add 'and nothing else' to the order." Razz shook his head, still petting his brother. "But that is not what I asked."

So many mistakes... Mistake after mistake. Razz would surely have to punish Mutt at some point. His brother was too distracted, seemingly not giving his words the deserved attention. He didn't try to prompt Mutt into answering though. That was fine too, Razz could do both if Mutt couldn't decide. His brother didn't get a say on it anyway. He smiled. He was already eager to get home.

Razz fiddled with Mutt's new collar, lightly caressing the still injured neck underneath it. He was glad to leave him  kneeling by his feet until the end of his work, there wasn't anyone waiting in line anyway. He pulled at the collar, pressing it against the bandaged injuries until he couldn't anymore. 

Sophie frowned when she was ignored by both of them. Well, she was trying. She really was trying. How would she make the other like her? Or at least not dislike her? He seemed adamant on disliking everything! Does anything make him happy at all? She watched their interaction for a few seconds, trying to grasp at how his mind worked.

Well, firstly he seemed rather too happy about 'punishment'. But also with 'praising'? ...Did that make him a good or a bad person? Papyrus was not a dog. And then, there was Papyrus, happy to be treated like one. And really? The "stupid law system" was there for a reason! Did he expect to see people being treated like he was all the time on the streets?

...maybe he did.

Maybe he wouldn't see it as something so wrong if she did it.

Anyway, that was all too much to understand. It was as if they lived in a completely different world. Were all monsters like this or were they specially broken?

She could not know what made Papyrus' brother happy, but she certainly knew what made him unhappy . She could maybe work with that? Sophie should have asked Papyrus about those rules he was talking about. But possessiveness seemed to be a clear character trait. She would start from that.

But before...

"Hey... Uh... What is your name? I need something, if you don't like nicknames..." she was being the sweetest person, wasn't she? Papyrus couldn't blame her for not trying hard enough.

Razz sighed, turning to glare at her. Would she ever stop trying to chit chat?

"How presumptuous of you to think you deserved to know my name." he didn't stop what he was doing, still scratching Mutt's neck like you would do to a real dog and pulling his collar tight. She wasn't worth that much attention. "I won't tell you." he answered simply.

After a few seconds of carefully regarding her words, he continued with a smug smile.

"But since you want a nickname so much, I'm sure Mutt can help you with that." Razz knew he could at least trust his brother with that. He wouldn't dare suggest a disrespectful title for him. And it made Razz just more eager to see what Sophie would be calling him the next time they see each other.

Mutt froze up when he both saw and felt his lord tug on his collar, terrified of losing his most precious item that he just got . But after a few minutes, he relaxed. His lord wasn’t taking it off. He purred instead at the attention he was being given.

At the mention of a nickname, he perked up. “oh. that reminds me, m’lord, sophie wanted me to give her a nickname,” He informed him.

After a few seconds of silence on Mutt's part, he added, "also, i don't have a tag on my collar anymore proclaiming me as yours, m’lord." The way Razz was fiddling with his collar reminded him of it.

She wanted a nickname for herself? Razz didn't like that. He didn't like that at all. It was another way to try to get closer to Mutt, and even though Razz knew Mutt wouldn't leave him because of her, he still didn't want her trying . Razz despised the idea of having to share any level of closeness his brother might be willing to offer to other people. Other people could fuck off.

See? That's why he had to keep an eye on Mutt. If he didn't, if he was just a little bit more lenient, he was sure his brother would be being buddies with anyone he met on the street. Mutt had to be kept on a tight leash, and this just made him confirm how good it was that he put a collar on him. 

Razz was sure his displeased face already answered him, but he gave a verbal response just in case.

"No." Mutt hadn't even asked anything, but Razz was already ripping away any ideas he might have.

When Razz heard his next words, he immediately pulled the collar to check. It didn't have a tag. How could he have forgotten something so crucial? The collar meant practically nothing if it didn't have a tag. It was almost as if Mutt had walked around with a bare neck all day. What would you do if you saw a dog with a collar but no name, no owner identification? It was as good as a stray dog.

Razz growled and attached the leash in a blink, that being the closest thing he could do to claim Mutt as his. His! If anyone dared to look his way and even consider he was free, Razz would dust them. Fixing it would be the first thing he would do as soon as they get home.

Okay, no nickname. Sorry not sorry, Sophie, Razz had the same thought, probably, that Mutt had. A nickname would just make Sophie seem a bit too close to Mutt. "yes, m’lord."

Mutt didn't consider himself close to anybody but his lord. If he was, then that meant he would be unwilling to kill them the moment his lord ordered it. That did not happen. Ever. He would never be unwilling to follow his lord's orders.

Mutt purred when the leash was clipped on, turned on a little from the growl. His lord was so amazingly possessive…

There was… a glow in his pants… he had a feeling they should probably go home now…

Chapter Text

Razz smirked when he noticed the glow. He wished he could tease Mutt about it, but he couldn't think of a way to do that without it being obvious to other people and he wouldn't expose himself. So he checked the hour, eager to go home. He was tired of handling people.

Razz smiled when he saw it was already close enough to the end of Mutt's shift for them to go.

"Teleport us home, Mutt!" He didn't wait for Sophie or anyone else to say bye.

Mutt smiled. "yes, m’lord," he answered automatically.

...But they didn't go anywhere. Instead, Mutt got a rather harsh shock to his neck and he hissed. Fucking unexpected. Tolerable, but unexpected.

He tried again, not wanting to disappoint his lord, but he had expected the shock this time and didn't really react.

He frowned and tried once more, putting more power into it this time… only for an equally as powerful shock to happen in return. Fuck.

Razz turned to look at him when he heard the hiss, mildly annoyed that they weren't home yet, wondering why was it taking so long. When he saw the collar activate, he could only stare, confused for a few seconds, long enough for Mutt to try it two more times, apparently. Razz fought the urge to facepalm.

"What are you doing?! Stop it!" Razz knocked on his skull. Sometimes it seemed his brother was a brainless zombie. Couldn't he see that would lead him nowhere? There was a reason why the magic blocker collar was called a magic blocker collar .  "Ugh! We'll just go walking."

Razz turned around and started pulling the leash, walking on quick steps. The sooner they  got home the better.

Mutt followed after Razz, his head ducked in guilt. "i'm sorry, m’lord," he apologized sincerely, "i wasn't able to follow your order..." He hated that. He hated not being able to follow his lord and master's orders.

Though… the magic in his pants seemed to be much more obvious than before. It didn't have any actual figure to it, though, unable to make much more than a glow on his bones with the collar around his neck.

What could he say? He was a masochist.

Razz waved his hand, brushing his words off. It was a stupid order anyway. Razz had to keep in mind that Mutt couldn't teleport anymore. It was just a downside to the collar, but it was worth it. Anything that kept his brother from leaving him was welcome.

Razz dragged him home, almost running all the way. There were so many plans for the day, it seemed they didn't have enough time for everything. First, he needed to take care of that tag absence. Maybe he would even improve it. Razz had to plan it better. Then, there were the punishment. Or punishments. Razz also had to think about how many times Mutt had failed him these last few days, how many of those failures were worth the effort. Though, in his mood, Razz wouldn't deny the chance to apply a punishment just because he wanted to.

He grinned. So many things to do…

Razz slammed the door shut as soon as they got home, wondering what to do first. The tag seemed urgent, but he could probably do that later. They needed to eat. Maybe talk about what Mutt had done all day? That would be a good surveillance about his general behaviour and how much correcting Razz needed to do on the punishments. All for educational purposes.

Razz glanced at the still glowing area on Mutt's pelvis, but he did nothing about it. Mutt had to learn to be patient.

"I'll be on the kitchen making dinner. Get comfortable, Mutt." he said with a smirk.

“yes, m’lord.” Mutt wandered to the couch and sat down. Razz had plans~

Mutt smiled in excitement. 

Razz finished cooking quickly, more focused on thinking about the many things they would be doing that night.

"Dinner is ready! Come sit!" he ordered, taking a seat himself. He served them both, just stalling time. Even if he wanted to do many things, he wouldn't rush dinner. This was their sacred time to discuss anything worth of discussion.

Mutt got up and followed his lord’s orders. He was… thinking. He really did need to talk to Razz…

“...m’lord,” he started hesitantly, not yet touching the food because he hadn’t been given permission to, “may i say some things?”

Razz paused for an instant, caught off guard. Mutt didn't usually make requests . He didn't know if he should take that as a good sign. Razz narrowed his eyes at him, suspicious. That human hadn't implanted any thoughts in his head, had she? Mutt better not be having any strange ideas.

Well, Razz would rather know what was going on in his head than have him plot things behind his back. 

"Speak." Razz started eating, but all his attention was on his brother now. What could have been so important that he felt the need to state before being prompted to?

Suddenly, all of Razz's attention was on Mutt. All of it. He couldn't help but shrink back a little and, despite the situation, he flushed. All of Razz's attention was on Mutt . All of it . "uh."

Fuck. Get a grip, idiot . It shouldn't be this hard to simply state what he always thought.

But that wasn't the issue here, was it?

He flushed brighter. All of his lord and master's attention was on him…

But he took a breath and reminded himself that he actually needed to say something. His lord would get annoyed if Mutt wasted his time. He finally said it and hoped that it wouldn't get Razz mad.

"i believe i know why you've been acting… different, yesterday, and why you gave me this new collar last night." He touched said collar. "and i wanted you to know that i would never in my life leave you, m’lord, i'd sooner die than do such a thing. it doesn't matter how much power i have or what happens at all. i don't even consider my power as anything more than your weapon."

When Mutt started blushing, Razz actually let his guard down once more, thinking that might be fun. Maybe it wasn't that important after all. So when his brother finally spoke, Razz wasn't exactly prepared.

He stopped eating, almost flinching at those first words. Yeah, it seemed all that 'The Tragic Day' wasn't going to be ignored. Razz grimaced, not really enjoying the memory of how powerless he had felt. 

Razz glanced back at the collar, relishing in its reassuring presence. No matter what Mutt said, the only thing that ensured he wouldn't ever leave was that. That was his only warranty.

Yet...

Razz still didn't trust the words. Words weren't enough guarantee of anything, and especially on this case, Razz wasn't going to trust it. But he couldn't deny that they made him feel warmer, that they soothed the last of his worries. And that made him hesitate, just a little, just for a few moments that brief flash of doubt passing through his mind and making him consider the possibility of not needing the collar after all.

Razz tapped his fingers on the table, carefully regarding what Mutt swore to be true. He could be lying. And he could easily change his mind, if it were true. But he could also be telling a truth that would never change.

He hasn't left yet after all.

Razz eyed the collar one more time before nodding to himself. He would give Mutt a chance to prove himself, he would eventually take the collar off if he deemed him trusting enough.

"Well, of course. Any power you might have is mine too." Razz just hoped it wasn't untamed.

Mutt couldn’t help but smile, in complete agreement. “yes, m’lord, it is.” This would probably upset his lord and it was probably a really bad idea, but… “i could show you just how much power i have if you’d like, m’lord.”

Razz still didn’t trust what he said. That much was obvious. But really… Mutt didn’t even care . He just hated to see his lord in that much distress. He didn’t care about if the collar he had on blocked his magic or not, he just wanted a collar . He didn’t care if Razz didn’t trust that he wouldn’t leave, that in specific actually made his lord more controlling, and that was fucking hot. 

Above all else, though, Mutt just wanted Razz happy .

Razz stopped eating again, staring blankly at his brother. That… he couldn't say he wasn't curious. He was very curious, actually. How come Mutt had never displayed any of that back underground? That was a huge thing to keep in secret. That power could have handed Mutt any position he could ever wish for, all prestige, all respect, anything really. Why had he chosen to stay with him if that was the case?

In that, Razz could trust. It was a true proof of his brother's loyalty.

Razz could feel that same bubbly eagerness starting off again, that sparkle of amazement at Mutt's power relighting again. Part of him was itching to see exactly how strong Mutt was, just like a child who got an early Christmas gift.

But at the same time, Razz wasn't sure if he was ready to take off the collar just yet.

"Uh… how would you show me?" he asked, uncertain.

Mutt paused. “uh…” Well, he wasn’t entirely sure if he actually had the power to break the collar itself, though he knew he was the strongest being in the underground. Even if he did… he felt like he shouldn’t exactly show Razz that for fear of Razz being terrified all over again. “i, uh… don’t know, m’lord, i’m sorry.” He wouldn’t dare ask for his collar to be removed.

Relief flooded him as much as disappointment. He wanted to see how strong Mutt was. Just… not now. They had all life ahead of them. Razz could be patient.

He went back to eating, dismissing that talk. If Mutt proved himself trustworthy enough for Razz to free him from the magic blocker, he could show his power then. If not, that would be forever a mystery. Razz wasn't that curious.

"How was your day? Did you have a good day with your friend?" Razz asked simply, going back to what he truly wanted to discuss. 

Mutt smiled. “it was nice. i got to talk about you all day, m’lord. and it was a slow day, so i didn’t have to distract myself with anything less important. i can’t tell what sophie was thinking when i spoke about you, but at least she didn’t try to say any terrible things again…” He trailed off as the last of what Razz said registered in his mind.

“m’lord…” He looked at his lord straight on and put a hand on his chest. “...you call her my friend as if i wouldn’t be willing to kill her the moment you gave the order to. as if i were attached to her. i’m not, m’lord.”

…

...Oh fuck. Did he just assume shit about what his lord thought?! No, he never meant it like that! “i - i mean, um,” He raised his hands, “i never meant to make it seem as if i was assuming what you thought. i’m sorry, m’lord, i was just, uh, stating facts?” Fuck, why did he say that?!

Razz smiled at his answer, glad to be able to show that dumb human how unimportant she was. But as Mutt kept talking, he couldn't stop himself from hesitating. Razz was just starting to wonder if maybe Mutt got too along with that bitch when his brother put his worries to rest. 

Mutt would be willing to kill her, huh? A shame Razz couldn't test it. 

But Razz would never admit to being worried over an insignificant human. He was readying his scowl to deny it all when Mutt himself gave him an out.

"Of course that was not what I meant!" he huffed, the lie rolling easily off his tongue as he crossed his arms. He didn't elaborate on what he had meant, though.

Mutt nodded in agreement. “of course, m’lord. that wasn’t what you meant.” Razz didn’t try to speak more, though, so that meant Mutt was probably in the clear for that little fuck up. 

…

...Fuck Razz looked so cute right now. Mutt couldn’t help but smile fondly at him. So adorable . He loved him so fucking much.

Razz didn't know what to do with that smile directed at him. Should he get angry? Should he feel embarrassed? Happy? Smug?

He decided to avert his eyes and ignore it.

Chapter Text

Razz finished eating quickly, wanting to solve the problem with the lack of tags on Mutt's collar as soon as possible. He smiled at the idea. Just the thought of having Mutt showing it off to nosey people made him feel warm.

"Come with me, Mutt!"

Razz made his way to his bedroom, where he kept all the tools necessary to this sort of thing. He couldn't think of anything better to write, it was already perfect, but he could make it more... flashy. Bigger, maybe? Gold? It had to be easily spotted. It seemed humans were blind by the way they kept ignoring the previous one.

It didn't take long before he was finished. Razz pulled Mutt down and attached the tag, backing off to admire his work. He smiled. There was no way someone could miss it now.

“yes, m’lord.” He got up happily and followed after Razz. Part of him wanted sex, but he knew better than to ask for that. 

The tag he got for his collar couldn’t have made him any happier. It was perfect, just like Razz was. It was gold , with big flashy little diamonds. It looked so important and special. Something that looked so expensive shouldn’t even be touching Mutt, but it was and Razz was the one that put it there. This was the tag he was to wear all day everyday. This was his tag , it even had his name on it.

Oh no, he was getting watery-eyed.

“thank you, m’lord, it’s perfect.”

Razz smirked at him, seeing the moisture. Silly pup.

"Of course it is perfect! I did it!" he reached for Mutt's collar and pulled him down again, going straight for a kiss without asking for permission.

That was right, he still had a praise and a punishment to apply. Razz's grin got wider. He could have fun with both. He petted Mutt's head like he liked to do, but instead of just doing that, Razz decided to go for his bed.

He sat on it and pushed his brother to sit on it too.

"What do you want, Mutt? Take your chance to ask. I don't accept request often."

Mutt hadn't expected to get pulled down again, and part of him thought he was going to get hit for something he may have done wrong, but was happily surprised to find that wasn't the case. He purred and kissed back.

When Razz pulled back, Mutt was in too much of a daze to do anything but stumble after his lord as he was pulled along and made to sit on the bed. Thankfully, he was able to concentrate enough to understand the question asked of him.

What did Mutt want? He didn't get to make a request often. There wasn't even much he wanted. 

He had to think about that. In the end, though, he just kinda shook his head. "i want nothing other than to be with you, m’lord, in any way you see fit."

Razz smiled, his soul warming with that answer. Mutt was getting his points for being trustworthy. His smile turned a little bit crueler one second later.

"What about we skip this for now then and go for your punishment? You caused me a lot of trouble after all." his dumb Mutt. Razz shook his head. He couldn't have Mutt talking about incriminating things at the smallest nudge. 

Razz pushed him down harshly, pulling his clothes off until he could see Mutt's still broken and cracked ribs. A delightful sight. There were gouges and slashes through all his bones too, from the clavicle to the visible tips of his ilium. Razz smiled, knowing there was more if he went down and just as much if he turned Mutt around. 

He rooted his sharp nails between Mutt's vertebraes and pressed down on his ribs with the other hand, his eyes focused on his expression. He wanted to see every minimal reaction.

Mutt’s punishment? He shuddered. He would love that. He had been wondering when it was going to happen.

He happily let himself get shoved down onto the bed and did his best to help pull the clothes off of him. He was excited and it was obvious by the now much brighter glow in his pants.

Mutt groaned at the nails digging into his spine and he panted. Yes , yes, he loved this!

Razz smirked down at him. Mutt was so adorable when he was like this. All his and all begging for more, no matter if Razz gave him pets or pain.

Razz pulled his pants down and traced his bones, trailing his fingers around that unshaped magic. Such a pretty orange glow...

"Oh? I think you're trying to avoid punishment. I don't see anything here. Can you form something for me, Mutt?" he innocently asked with a smile on his face, knowing his brother would try. Razz just wanted him to feel a little pain.

He scratched lightly on a cut at his spine, slowly dragging his claws and just slashing it even more, patiently waiting.

Mutt automatically tried to follow the order, attempting to make his glow become something more than what it was. It was working- for a second, at least. It wasn’t long before he got a shock on his neck and he gasped, grabbing the collar. He didn’t even try to tug on it, though. He didn’t want it off.

Razz chuckled at him. So adorable. Mutt really was willing to try the impossible and get hurt in the process if Razz just asked.

He petted the glow.

"It is okay, Mutt." his wide grin showed he was happy enough. "Let's start."

After some very deserved fun, Razz felt satisfied enough for the praise part of the night, a content smile never leaving his face. He supposed he could commit to the sacrifice of engaging on "cuddles" for Mutt's sake. He was a very good puppy after all.

Without changing his laying down position, he pushed his brother's head to rest on his lap and started petting it, gently scratching the bone as Razz basically curled around the skull. So so adorable.

Mutt purred and nuzzled his lord’s lap, completely content. His ribs were still broken, and parts of his body still burned from the whips and the scratch marks, but he didn’t care. He couldn’t care less. He was happy to stay close to his lord, just as he had wanted.

“thank you, m’lord,” He murmured, his eyes slowly falling closed. He was happy.

Razz didn't let himself fall asleep as quickly, mindlessly caressing his brother as his mind made up a perfect plan to test his brother's loyalty. His mind eventually thought on something and made him stay awake for most of the night, considering it.

The plan… was risky. It could backfire horribly. It could backfire very horribly. But if it didn't, it would give him the certainty he was so desperately searching for.

In the end, Razz decided it was worth a try.

Chapter Text

Razz didn't feel too rested when he woke up in the next morning, his head still a mess of thoughts. But seeing the hour, he decided he didn't have time for more pondering. Razz jumped from the bed, not surprised that his alarm hadn't woken him up. It was turned off and he wouldn't have heard it anyway, tired as he was.

He looked at his brother peacefully sleeping on his bed, not worried about a thing. Razz would change that in a blink.

"Wake up, Mutt!" he growled, pulling him out of the bed and to the ground. "Look at what you made me do! We're late!"

He didn't wait for an answer, rushing to the door and skipping his steps to see if they had time for breakfast.

Mutt jolted awake when he was shoved to the ground, groaning. He still had broken ribs, so getting jostled like that did not help them. “yes, m’lord. i’m sorry, m’lord,” He responded automatically, getting up and following after him. He was still half asleep. 

He stumbled over his own feet on the stairs, and he was lucky to not fall down the stairs. He did pause for a moment though, just to make sure nothing happened. Then he continued down them.

He was quick to follow after his lord after that.

Razz growled and turned around, deciding they didn't have time after all. It was expected. He took the leash from his pocket as he waited for Mutt to come downstairs, his feet tapping impatiently.

Checking the clock from two to two seconds, Razz got tired of waiting and started to make his way to retrieve Mutt just as his brother stepped into the living room. He yanked his brother by the collar to the ground with as much force as he could gather, kicking him in the ribs with a snarl.

"Why were you taking so long?! I told you we're late!" he stomped on the broken ribs a few times, his rush to get going momentarily ignored. "Ugh! This is your fault, you know? You just keep holding me back!" 

They couldn't even rely on his teleporting ability, so they would have to first walk all the way to Mutt's work and then Razz would also have to walk to his work, and they were already late . Razz kicked his skull and his members, just for good measure, before letting himself calm down and attaching the leash to the collar, dragging Mutt in the direction of the door without waiting for him to get up.

"Why are you so slow? Keep up!"

The beating he was given for being slow was able to wake him up completely. Though… maybe he should let his lord know at some point that he might end up unable to heal properly if Razz continued what he was doing for long. 

“i’m sorry i’m so slow, m’lord,” He apologized, attempting to move faster as he followed after his lord. He should have probably woken up earlier and woken Razz up… bravo, Mutt.

Razz rolled his eyes at him. "Of course you're sorry. You're always sorry. You just never bother to fix your mistakes and I need to fix them for you." now that he stopped to think about it, Mutt could have actually helped underground, couldn't he? He had all this power, he could have actually done something with it. He just never bothered with trying.

Mutt was always too happy to be lead, never taking the initiative for nothing. While it sometimes was beneficial for Razz, that was also one of the most annoying things about his brother. He wouldn't help unless Razz explicitly told him to, wouldn't do anything unless he was ordered to, like a puppet. And as much as Razz liked to be controlling, it could also be tiring to always have to move the strings.

"Useless." he growled before just starting to walk faster.

It didn't take too long for him to see the store where Mutt worked on the distance. He detached the leash and placed it back in his pocket.

"Wait for me to come get you after work. Don't leave the store without me." he barked the order before leaving in quick steps, not waiting for an answer.

“yes, m’lord.” Razz was mad at him. He hated it when Razz was genuinely mad at him. But he sighed. It wasn’t as if he could do anything about it. He went to his station and stayed there. He wasn’t in the mood to talk to Sophie at the moment.

His shirt rubbed at his broken ribs the wrong way and he groaned. Fucking ribs. He loved when the punishment was happening , but… the after effects were a bit harder to deal with. He loved pain, but having to deal with it every second? Not fun. But he could deal with it. He wasn’t about to complain to his lord about a little pain.

Sophie glanced at Mutt when he didn't even say hello to her. She frowned when she saw him in pain. He wasn't like that the day before. She made her way to him, throwing herself on his station, glad that the first minutes of the work were always very slow.

"Good morning!" she said, trying to cheer him up at the same time as she eyed him, worried. "Are you okay?"

Obviously, he was not okay. She immediately thought about his brother, wondering what he had done to her precious friend this time. Mutt should really just leave him No, no. It was fine. Sophie just had to help him.

"morning," he mumbled, leaning away just a bit. Too close. “i’m fine. m’lord’s just mad at me, i think.” And he hated that. 

He also didn’t like talking to Sophie. But it was best to be polite.

He shifted a hand to hover over his ribs that were under his shirt. He had to fix the breaks that were sticking out and in , at the very least. He didn’t care about the cracks. And hopefully his lord wouldn’t be mad at him… oh who was he kidding, of course Razz was going to be mad at him for this.

He grabbed one of his ribs and snapped it back in place. He himself was silent, since he was expecting the pain, but the rib itself made a snap sound. Okay, one down, however many more to go. Mutt wasn’t exactly sure.

He continued on with snapping the next rib back into place.

Sophie just frowned even more at that. How could someone be mad at Mutt? Especially, how could his brother get mad at him? Mutt was always trying to do his best to please him! 

And Mutt didn't fool her. Sophie was sure she had heard him groan in pain. But Mutt didn't say anything after that, only bringing his hand up to touch his chest. Was that where he was hurt? Was there something-

A loud snap startled Sophie and she only stared wide eyed at his hand. Mutt hadn't even changed his expression, but that sound was also impossible to ignore. What was he doing?! Wasn't that where his ribs...

Her eyes wandered off to those little visible portions of bone on Mutt's neck and wrists. Bruises. Ugly colorful bruises, tainting the perfectly white bones of her precious friend. That wasn't self inflicted. No, those were made by someone, purposefully, and there was only one person who could have done it, one person who was gonna pay dearly-

A second snap sprung her into action, her hands instinctively grabbing his arm to pull it away from him.

"What are you doing! You're hurting yourself!" that could only be painful, even if he didn't show it. Forget about being friends with his brother, Sophie couldn't. She couldn't, she would kill him.

Mutt jerked away from her immediately. “what are you doing?” He growled at her, stepping back a little. “that’s the second time you’ve touched me now and i told you the rules. i’m going to have to tell m’lord you touched his things.” He glared at her, then continued what he was doing. “and for your information, i’m setting my ribs back into place. they’re gonna just get worse if they stay bent out of shape for too long.”

"I'm sorry!" Sophie let him go as if burned, still worried he would get mad at her as badly as when they had first met. She didn't want him to get upset. Still…

She frowned, looking at his chest and the hand still close to it. That dumb rule was his brother's fault too. Just as everything else that made her days upsetting. Mutt was hurt because of him, she couldn't touch him because of him, and Mutt wanted to "tell him" as if Sophie was a dumb child that was in trouble for making the bad thing.

"We can go see a doctor or speak to the manager." she told him, trying to be reasonable. "You shouldn't be working with broken ribs ." she hissed, still not believing it. His brother had brought him to work as usual, hadn't he? How could he make Mutt work in this condition?!

“i was already working yesterday and i was fine,” He defended, shrugging his shoulders and snapping the last rib into place. His ribs were still broken , but technically he had never been given permission to heal them or anything like that. They were straight now, so it was good enough. “we’re not going to see a doctor. m’lord wants my ribs broken, so that’s how they’re gonna damn well be. i wasn’t even given permission to straighten them, so i’ll probably get in trouble for that.”

…Okay maybe that was a bad idea… Razz already was mad at him, and he was just going to get even angrier when he found out that Mutt fixed his ribs. Well, fuck. Hopefully he’d either not notice or let Mutt explain…

Sophie frowned, not happy with that. She didn't feel she would ever be happy with anything as long as Mutt's brother kept interfering with her life. 

"But you don't need to stay!" she tried another approach. "We can just say you're not feeling well and that you want a day off! They would send you home ASAP!" 

She was already getting up to go over there to talk to the manager. Sophie wouldn't let Mutt endure work while in pain. Even if she didn't want him to go.

“no.” Mutt stepped in front of Sophie so she couldn’t walk any further. “m’lord explicitly ordered me to stay here until he came to pick me up. i’m not leaving. even if you get me to have the day off, which i don’t even want.” He didn’t look to have much of a reaction. He was just staring at Sophie with a blank frown on his sharp-toothed face.

Sophie glared back. How could he be so dense? Mutt couldn't protect his brother by saying he was still right on this, could he? He was hurt and he should be resting! Sophie balled her hands into fists and stormed back to her station. Why was it so hard for him to care for himself at least once in his life? Just forget about what his idiot brother had to say! Why did he even matter so much? Why was what Sophie says so easily discarded in comparison?

But she refused to get angry at Mutt. She could never get angry at her sweet angel. Instead, her anger was directed to the other skeleton, who hadn't even had the decency to greet her that day. Coward.

Sophie sat on her chair and didn't say a word, sensing Mutt wasn't in a good mood today and that their talk wouldn't end as well as it did the day before. Sophie wanted him to like her. She really really did. But things didn't seem to be working. All because of that hindrance in her way. She wanted to get rid of him, she wanted it so much! But Mutt wouldn't be happy with that and she wouldn't truly get anything from it… 

Sophie didn't think this was going to work after all. She could maybe be able to convince Mutt to like her and to leave his brother, but that was not a certainty and she didn't have the patience to test it. She wanted results, quickly. Sophie was slowly starting to realize that maybe she should have gone with her other plan.

Mutt breathed a sigh of relief. Good, that was one less problem to deal with. The other problems only happened when his lord as master came back.

He relaxed back at his station and decided to wait this out.

The day passed slowly when Sophie didn't have anything to say and Mutt also didn't say anything back. But it ended eventually, and the time for them to go home came and went. Sophie was taking her time with going to the bathroom, drinking some water, going to the bathroom again to wash her face… anything to wait until Mutt moved. 

His brother hadn't come to get him yet as he usually did. It was already fifteen minutes past his time to go home, both of their stations already taken under the care of the people responsible for the next shift. Sophie had run out of excuses to wait for him.

"Hey, Mutt…" she got closer to him, her things already in her arms, ready to go home. "Aren't you going?"

She didn't need to wait for him, but he also didn't need to wait for his brother. She didn't want to leave him there, alone… Sophie had things to do though especially if she wanted to give life to her plan. 

Mutt was leaning against the wall, waiting patiently for his lord and master to come to get him. He refused to be worried. His lord could take care of himself.

...Even though there were plenty of monsters who would love to take revenge on his precious lord now that Mutt wasn't there to protect him…

Mutt's hand went up and gripped his collar tightly for reassurance. He trusted his lord. Razz was fine. Razz was just mad at him.

"not until m’lord comes to get me." He would wait all night and day for him.

Sophie pressed her lips together, but didn't say anything. She just nodded and waited with him for more fifteen minutes in silence before sighing in defeat. 

Mutt's loyalty could be his greatest quality, but she could easily see how that could be his doom too. That would still ruin him some day and it was Sophie's mission to save Mutt from that. She would save him.

For now though…

"I need to go now…" Sophie said, slowly. "I hope he doesn't take too long to come then…"

She didn't ask any dumb question. Sophie already knew the answer. Yes, Mutt was sure he wouldn't leave without his brother. 

Sophie sighed.

"Well, I'm going... See you tomorrow!" she waved to him and went home.

Mutt waved goodbye silently, then slumped against the wall and let himself slip to the floor. Despite his ever growing worries, he would wait. He was going to wait for his lord and master, who he was sure was fine . Razz was just mad at him. Razz would do this if he was mad at him, it was what Razz did.

Eventually, when the night guard arrived, Mutt was kicked out of the store even though he argued to try and stay inside. That was… fine, though. Mutt could handle that.

He sat back down against the wall outside of the store, making sure not to actually leave it . Those were his orders, and dammit all, he was going to fucking follow them .

Fuck, he wished he had a smoke. He didn’t usually want a cigarette, he usually kept them to get punishments from his lord, but right now… he had nothing to do. He was bored, and lonely, and he missed Razz. He wanted to go back to last night.

He curled up.

Why did it always happen like this? He always missed the fuck out of his lord, and wanted to go back to the night before when they were together .

Well, he… wanted to go back underground. Fuck the ‘kinder world’, fuck the sun, fuck the stars, fuck the sky, fuck the large space! Back underground, Mutt spent almost every waking moment with his lord and master unless Razz had something he had to do without Mutt. He missed that. He wanted to go back to that, he…

He clutched the tag on his collar. Patience. He just needed to be patient. His lord would come back to him, this collar and especially the tag was proof. The tag signified that he belonged to Razz. So long as he had the tag and collar, his lord would always come back to him.

Chapter Text

Razz was already home, taking his time to do all the things he had to do before sleep. He had already eaten, had already showered, done any late paperwork and even cleaned the house a little. There was literally nothing else to do.

Razz stood alone in the middle of the living room, hands on his hips. He looked at the clock, confirming he had already left his brother waiting for him for at least four hours. Now would probably be a good time to go get him.

And the trick was to always double his goals.

Nodding to himself, Razz climbed upstairs and went to his room. He adjusted his alarm for three in the morning. It would suck to wake up so early, but it would be worth it in the end.

He had never been so happy to wake up to the darkness of his room. Razz quickly changed clothes, checking to see if he had the leash in his pocket and left the house, eager to see if Mutt was still there as he had ordered him to. He smiled. Razz could already imagine Mutt standing there like the good dog he was.

If he wasn't there, Razz would hunt him down and never let him leave the house again.

Fortunately, there was Mutt, waiting for him like Razz knew he would. Dumb puppy. As he got closer, he realized his brother was actually sleeping. He scowled. Not so good. Razz took quick steps closer to him and stopped right in front of his brother, foot tapping as he waited for the other to wake up.

"What are you doing, Mutt?!" he questioned as soon as he saw movement.

Hours went by, and still nothing. No sign of his lord and master. Mutt sighed and tightened his grip on his legs. That was okay, he was probably just forgotten. Razz probably had more important things to do than deal with his idiotic Mutt.

Razz was always super fucking important. He was amazing. He had fought his way up to captain of the royal guard and made sure everybody in Snowdin knew that while he was a small skeleton, he was not to be trifled with. Mutt even made extra sure of that. But Razz didn’t need Mutt. He could have done just fine on his own, and that was what was amazing about him.

Who was he kidding? Everything was amazing about Razz.

Mutt sighed and rested his chin on his hand, his gaze becoming distant. Razz was any and all good name in the book. He was adorable, with his tiny figure and chubby face. Mutt just wanted to squish those cheeks and smooch him all day long. He’d probably get punished for that, though. He was hot when he had a self confident look about him that just screamed that he knew he looked good. And when he had that sadistic smirk on? Mutt sighed lovingly. He was obviously planning something when he looked like that but He just looked so good .

Oh, but the best look on him was when he was smiling genuinely. Like… when he was genuinely happy or laughing at something he found actually funny. Oh, it had been so long since Mutt got Razz to crack up from laughter...

Razz didn’t seem to know it, but he always did get a small genuine smile on his face when he was cooking. Mutt loved to watch him cook.

Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep to thoughts of his ever so amazing malevolent lord and master. When he woke up, it was to the sound of footsteps. Uh oh, he didn’t mean to fall asleep. Who was there…?

Razz!

“m’lord!” He breathed, relieved and overly joyful. He immediately changed positions and kneeled to his lord instead. “hello! are you okay? did something happen?” Was there somebody Mutt needed to kill? Did Razz leave him there on purpose? Was he going to get rid of him completely?

Razz just frowned harder.

"Yes! Of course something happened! Or else I would be sleeping right now. Do you see me sleeping right now?" he stared down at his brother, trying to convey his annoyance.

" No . Instead, you were sleeping. Do you have any idea of how late is it? Do you even know how tired I am? And you just made me come get you! Ungrateful. I haven't heard a 'sorry' yet, or even a 'thank you' to begin with." Razz glared at him, snarling. "What are you doing here?"

“i’m sorry, m’lord,” He apologized immediately, following that up with a, “thank you for coming to get me.” At the last question, though, Mutt couldn’t help but look up at his perfect lord and master in confusion. “i’m… here because you ordered me to stay until you picked me up, m’lord?” Had he mistaken Razz’s order for something else? Fuck, he just fucked up more, hasn’t he? He really wasn’t going to do himself any favors… Razz was going to be mad at him for a while, wasn’t he?

"Oh, now you decide to talk back? I even came to get you! Do you think I have all the time in the world to retrieve you from work?" he spat. "I assumed you wouldn't be so brainless and go home when I didn't come. Do you think I meant you should stay forever here? Are you stupid? Who stays outside until 3am?!"

Of course, Razz would have been truly furious if he had seen Mutt home after he had clearly ordered him to wait. But that wasn't the point.

"How can you disappoint me more and more each time? Isn't there a limit for how disappointing you can be?" he growled, kicking him on the general area of his ribs. "You  make me wake up this early, come all the way here and then you still dare to question me on the face for your dumb mistakes?" Razz kicked him again, hard. "You just make me do all the work and I never gain anything back. A burden , that's what you are."

He attached the leash and starting to pull Mutt in the direction of home, satisfied for now.

Mutt flinched at not the kicks in the ribs, but the insult. A burden … Razz was right. Mutt should have just gone home, and instead he stayed and made Razz come all the way here. Mutt got up and meekly followed after his lord and master. “i’m sorry, m’lord, you’re right,” He mumbled. He didn’t plan on saying anything else. He needed to tell his lord about his ribs, and about Sophie touching him… but right now, he just couldn’t conjure the will to speak.

He crossed his arms, holding his elbows, and shrunk in on himself. A burden . He was nothing but a burden to Razz. He most likely hasn’t been for a while. He clenched his teeth in an effort to not make any sounds that resembled a sniffle… or, well, any sound at all.

After all, if he wanted to be less than what he was, he shouldn’t make sounds to annoy his master.

Razz heard him and smiled, ignoring the light twist in his soul. Mutt was so easy to manipulate… He watched him with the corner of his eyes, not saying a word. He could tell his brother was holding back a cry. This was just perfect .

They got home in silence, Razz wondering if he should take it one step further. It would be really easy to turn all the fake anger into something resembling the real thing right now. He was tired enough for this. But at the same time, he was tired enough to get truly angry. Part of him just wanted to jump on bed and go back to sleep.

Still, he couldn't leave Mutt unpunished. Razz detached the leash, buying time to think. His mind was just boiling with ideas. He turned to face his brother, his best scowl in place.

"So? Do you have anything to say?" he would be merciful and give him a chance. Not really.

Mutt refused to look at his lord, keeping his eyes locked exclusively on the floor below their feet. “no, m’lord,” He responded automatically, his voice sounding… a bit dull. “you’re right. i’m nothing but a burden to you.”

Well… there was something he wanted to say. He tapped his fingers together a bit anxiously. Now or never.

“well… unless you’d like me to tell you about something that happened during work? i feel it… might be important to you.”

Razz couldn't hold back the menacing smile that surfaced.

"I'm glad you agree." 

This was going so well! It was so incredibly easy to convince him of anything . His grin flickered.  Razz just hoped Mutt didn't let him down. He was already turning to take the keys to the shed when Mutt spoke again. Well, what could be so important right now?

Razz tapped his foot impatiently.

"Of course something happened. What did you do this time?" he growled.

Mutt shrunk back a little. “w - well, um.” Speak, damn mutt. “well… first, sophie grabbed my arm.” He pointed to said arm. “i backed away immediately, though.” Say the other thing. Don’t waste his time. “and… uh… i - i just want to let you know - and you probably already know this but - if - if you don’t uh, allow my ribs to heal, then uh… they might become permanently messed up and make me more susceptible to attack.”

It was easy to tell that he was nervous about talking. His lord and master was already obviously beyond pissed at him. And… who was to say Razz even cared ? He probably really was just wasting his time and making everything so much worse. “i’m sorry,” He all but whimpered, quietly.

Well, he surely didn't need to fake his anger when he heard that. Razz gritted his teeth and grabbed Mutt's arm tightly, as if he could brush off that viper's essence by sheer force. 

"What do you mean? You let her touch you?!" was that his escape plan? Now that Razz wasn't treating him well, he would throw it back at him by letting people touch him? Was that how this worked now?!

Razz almost laughed at him when he commented about his ribs.

"Well, I think it would be very well deserved!" he snarled, pulling him down by the arm. But no, he couldn't do that. It would be fitting to have him more vulnerable. More people would be able to touch him, right? But just that thought made his marrow boil. He had to keep calm and think about this level headed. Deep breaths. "I shouldn't be healing you. Do you think you deserve this? I should just let your ribs crumble to dust and not waste my magic."

He lifted Mutt's shirt to see the extent of the damage and realized he had already healed some of it. Razz knew it would be worse if he hadn't. He scowled.

"Well, it seems you can heal on your own."

He grabbed one of his ribs and yanked it until he heard a 'crack'. Razz then went for his arm and put pressure on the bone until it eventually bent, wanting that bone to be completely renewed with magic without a speck of Sophie. A nice and clear fracture. 

“no, i didn’t let her, m’lord. she practically jumped at me.” It made Mutt feel better to see that reaction, it let him know that Razz did really care about if Sophie touched him. 

Mutt held back a small whimper at Razz's words. Though he was right… Mutt should have never even healed them. Well. He should never have straightened them. That was even proved useless when Razz simply snapped a rib back out of place.

And then Razz snapped the bone of his arm and he clenched his teeth in hopes of not making any noise. An entirely new bone separated from his ribs and fuck it felt good . The broken arm also told Mutt just what he wanted to know. His amazingly possessive lord and brother didn't like anybody but him touching his pet.

No matter how mad Razz was, he was still possessive and wanted Mutt to himself. Mutt couldn't help but smile.

Razz frowned at that smile. He shouldn't be happy . Did he understand how serious it was for someone to touch him? Was Mutt mocking him? Did he think this was fun? Oh, so have his arm broken wasn't good enough. It was too mild for him to take it seriously.

Razz attached the leash again on his collar and started pulling him out of home again, the keys to the shed jiggling in his hands. As soon as the door was unlocked, Razz kicked Mutt in a way that made him fall face first to the ground. He stepped on the broken ribs and grabbed his broken arm, twisting it until it got to that very odd position backwards, making sure there was a little gap on the crack just faintly connected by magic. Then he tied it in position with the leash, still attached to the collar.

"Since you wanted to stay out all night, you can do it here, Mutt. I'll come get you by morning." Razz wouldn't let him sleep though. He activated the collar so it would shock him every fifteen minutes. He smiled.

"Have a good night."

And then he locked the shed door, making his way back to the warmth of the house. He still had some hours to sleep.

...Well then. Mutt was left alone again. Fuck.

He shifted his arm, but nope, it was tied up tight. He sighed and leaned back against the wall. He was just stuck here and had to wait for morning to inch its way here. Fantastic. All alone.

Mutt whined and held the arm that was behind his back. His lord was so mad at him, but… this was new. This thing he was doing was so new and interesting. Mutt was intrigued. He knew there would be more punishments after this one. He didn’t know what, exactly, made Razz unusually pissed, but he hoped the next punishment involved being close to Razz.

He was shocked fifteen minutes later and he gasped, falling to the floor. Holy shit… did his lord put the collar on a timer? Was it going to happen again? He breathed harshly in excitement. He couldn’t wait .

It was going to be a long night.

Chapter Text

Razz strutted back into the shed, still tired. But he knew his brother would be exhausted, and that made everything worth it.

Now that he had had time to calm down, he realized he had maybe taken it a little too far with the ribs issue. Razz frowned. He should have healed him, he couldn't leave Mutt like that. What wasn't worth it was to injure him permanently for the good of Razz's little experiment.

Razz made his way to his brother and crouched down with a smile. He poked his broken arm, bored.

"Good morning, Mutt. How was your night?"

"m’lord." Even after everything, he still smiled at his lord and master. He hadn't been able to sleep last night, but sometime around the fiftieth shock, he'd collapsed to the ground. And then, as more pain happened to his already sore neck, he started drooling. This was very obviously pleasurable to him, as seen by the glow of magic that darted to his pelvis and hadn’t gone away since it appeared. It was also very much overstimulation.

But , Mutt attempted to sit up as his lord and master came into view.

Razz made a face at that mess. He poked the glow. He should have known Mutt would find it too fun. Well, that was okay too. Razz could work with it.

Before he deactivated the collar, he lifted Mutt’s shirt to take a look on those ribs. That was also an ugly mess, but of a different kind. Razz started to apply healing magic, trying to make it a little better. That had to be fixed before they went to work. He glanced at the arm. That could stay as it was. Razz made sure to touch the ribs very lightly and teasingly, hoping for a reaction, with a scowl for show and smiling internally.

Mutt squeaked at the poke to his glow, shuddering a little. He was apparently way too pent up. And he couldn’t even summon anything! He whined weakly, but that soon turned into a soft moan when Razz started healing his ribs. Even if the touches were light and teasing and made Mutt want so much more, he loved it.

Mutt meant it when he said he loved anything and everything his lord gave him. And, while he was very much a masochist, he also loved gentle touches.

When Razz healed half of it, he stopped. Well, enough of being good. The ribs were fine. He detached the arm from the leash and pulled Mutt to a standing position.

"You're always causing me trouble and you don't even have the decency to feel ashamed for it, do you?" he complained out loud, kicking him on the shin. Razz looked at the glow and then at the collar, having an idea. He decided he wouldn't deactivate the collar after all. "Get rid of this shit." he kicked the glow. "Don't embarrass me further."

Mutt whimpered a little, but did as ordered with no small amount of strain. “yes, m’lord. i’m sorry.” He kept causing Razz trouble . How could he? He was a terrible pet. He needed to go back to being the subservient, silent skeleton he used to be and should still be . And to do that, he would keep silent until ordered to speak.

Razz didn't say anything else on the way to the store, preferring to leave his brother to mull over his words. He just kept going, hoping his silence conveyed disappointment and displeasure.

When they finally got there, he simply detached the leash from Mutt's collar and gestured him to go, not saying a word. He waited for his brother to take a few steps before mumbling loud enough so he could still hear, but not enough to make it seem he was supposed to have listened.

"I would be better without you, anyway."

Mutt froze.

He… what? H - his lord…

...His lord didn’t want him…

He grabbed his elbows and trembled.

If… if his lord would be better off without him, if his lord didn’t want him , then…

...What use was he? Why was he still here?

Maybe… if his lord would be better off without him… he should just go. He would be better off without him, after all, and Mutt just wanted him happy, above all else. And… if he would be happier if Mutt wasn’t there to get in his way…

“...yes, m’lord,” He murmured quietly, not even really responding to what was clearly Razz’s mumble.

Razz saw him freeze and smiled. Well, maybe he would get this over with now. He never had much patience.

He marched until he was in front of his brother, not minding the stares this time. He grabbed Mutt's collar and pulled him down, so they were staring each other in the eyes.

"Oh, you agree? Why are you still here, then?" he growled. "You're always so disappointing. A dead weight in my life. I hate you! Things would be so much easier if you just left !" he grabbed the tag on his brother's collar and carefully detached it too, just like he had done with the leash. Now it was only a metal thing around Mutt's neck.

Razz let go and turned away, not waiting to see the impact of those last words. He was eager for the end of the day, though.

Why was he still here? Why was he still here? He didn’t try to stop Razz from leaving, no matter how much he wanted to. When Razz was gone, Mutt… decided for himself, for once. He decided he didn’t want to be here.

He stole a pack of cigarettes without anybody noticing and left the building.

He didn’t go very far. He just went down the alleyway and took a seat against the wall of the store. He lit a cigarette, then started to smoke. If his lord had abandoned him, then what did it matter? As Razz had said, he would be so much better off without him .

Despite how dull he looked at the moment, he was barely holding it together.

Chapter Text

Sophie stopped what she was doing as soon as she noticed the commotion. She was trying to distract herself from thinking about Mutt, worried about him after she had to leave him alone the day before. But she couldn't not notice when the few people already in the store started staring at something.

There was Mutt, with his brother as always. She didn't know what exactly was happening, but she could see Mutt was getting upset. Sophie got up, ready to go there and put an end to whatever that was, when the shorter skeleton spat those hurtful things to her precious friend. How dare he?! Mutt always did everything for him! He was always so happy to stay by his side, even though she was working so hard on making him see the monster his brother was!

She was so angry, glaring at the skeleton walking away, that she barely missed Mutt walking out of the store too. Sophie left her station in a hurry, not worried about the few customers in line.

She followed Mutt until he was stopped and gave him a few minutes to calm down, but she didn't wait for too long. Sophie approached him slowly, as if afraid to scare him away and just sat by his side.

"Hello…" before anything, she had to access the situation and how he felt about it. "Um… Are you okay?"

Mutt flinched at the approaching footsteps, turning just slightly to see who it was. But it seemed he didn’t even need to do that, because he recognized the bitch’s voice the moment he heard it. Sophie.

He turned away. “go away,” He grumbled, shoving his cigar between his teeth. He didn’t want to deal with her right now, not when he already was so very close to balling his non-existent eyes out. “i’m fine .”

Oh fuck. Tears. He roughly wiped them away and took another drag of his cigarette. It really wasn’t helping. And smoking was useless if he wouldn’t get a punishment from his lord…

The tears kept coming.

He held his broken arm close to his chest, it being the last thing his lord and master inflicted onto him before he lost him...

Sophie eyed him, worried, really worried. She wouldn't go, no matter how much he tried to push her away. She wasn't stupid to stop fighting for him, differently from some people.

"You're not fine." she stated, wondering how she could comfort him. She wanted his brother gone, but she didn't want Mutt to suffer for it. The sight of tears crushed her heart. "Hey, don't cry! He- He doesn't deserve your tears, yeah? If he wants you to leave, just show him you can be happy without him too! Just- Just leave him!"

She told herself she wasn't saying those things just because she wanted that to happen. Sophie was truly trying to comfort him, and she would say that to anyone in that situation. She really would.

"Your brother doesn't deserve these tears after everything he just said, okay?"

Mutt broke and sobbed openly, his cigarette falling from his mouth and onto the ground. “noo!” He cried, his hands all over his face as he tried to get himself under damn control . “i don’t wanna! he doesn’t want me but i want him back but i can’t because he’ll be better off without me!” He was a mess, all of his emotions finally out in the open. He most likely wasn’t even paying attention to what Sophie was saying. “what did i do wrong? probably so much! but i - i - i didn’t mean to! now m’lord’s finally sick of me and i - i deserve it! i’m sorry m’lord, i’m sorry!” He sobbed.

"No! That's not true!" those words were upsetting to her and Sophie just wanted Mutt to see how wonderful he was, she just wanted him to see himself the way she did. "You didn't do anything wrong! You did everything he wanted to, you- You're so special , Mutt! It's not you who's wrong here. It's him !" she spat. How dare he make that sweet and innocent soul think he did something wrong?

"You did everything he asked you to, didn't you? You did everything for him, because you only wanted what was best for him, right? And he still left you. He still left you, when no sane person would. Because he is an idiot that never deserved you in the first place."

Sophie hesitatingly tried to place a hand on his shoulder, doing her best to comfort him. She would never let him feel like this. He just had to hold on for a little longer. Then she would be able to protect him from all the evilness in this world.

He whacked her hands away and stood up and stepped back with a growl. "stop touching me! why can't you take no for an answer?!" He was really getting pissed at her for that. His lord may have disowned him, but he would still uphold his rules. “and how dare you?! m’lord is anything but an idiot! and he’s definitely not ‘in the wrong’ here! i will not stand by and listen as you insult my favorite person like that . ”

The look on his face grew dark and he growled. “this is your last warning.”

Sophie backed away immediately. She had hoped he would be more accepting of her touch now, but she was apparently wrong. It was frustrating, because it just showed that even with his brother leaving him to rot, he still had power over Mutt. She gritted her teeth. It was not fair. It was not fair . He had left him and all she has ever wanted was to have Mutt for herself, but she couldn't because even if Mutt was free now, really free, he still wasn't. That stupid skeleton had ruined him.

Sophie just took a deep breath. It wouldn't be good to start all that again, not now. She wouldn't force Mutt to see reason when he was this unstable emotionally. She was sure she would be his favorite person in no time. Sophie just had to be patient. 

"Fine! But you're not wrong either!" she said, exasperated. "If he wants you to leave, just… go? You're free now!"

Razz had never truly left. He had stayed hidden, watching Mutt to know what he would do. And of course, the first thing he did was steal a pack of cigarettes and start smoking. Razz shook his head in disapproval. He would be marching over there and slapping the toxic thing out of Mutt's mouth if that wouldn't ruin his plans.

Seconds later, Sophie was running out of the store. Razz held back the growl. Of course she would. She must be eager to ruin anything he tried to do. The instant she tried to talk to Mutt, though, he started crying. Ugh, no! Don't cry in front of that viper! Hadn't he learned anything underground? Razz gave him points for trying to send her away, but that was really useless when there were tears pathetically rolling down his face. He smiled and gave extra points when Mutt hugged his broken arm like it was the most important thing in the world.

And then , Sophie was trying to poison him with ideas. Again. She was trying to turn Mutt against him, trying to make Razz the villain. She was so obviously trying to make him fall for her lies and go to her as if she was some kind of hero, an angel, and-

And Mutt started bawling. Razz heard his words, each syllable ripping at his soul. Mutt's anguish just reflected back at him, and Razz felt guilty . He knew this was going to happen. He knew his brother would feel like his, that was the whole point, but he still wasn't prepared to listen to so much sadness. Razz just wanted to go there and pet his puppy until he calmed down. But he couldn't, not until he got home and made sure the plan was a success.

Sophie just continued to tell him lies and try to manipulate him. Razz wanted to rip her throat for that. Mutt was vulnerable right now, and she was trying to ruin everything Razz had worked hard to build these past days. The choice had to be his, there shouldn't be anyone interfering with this. When she touched Mutt, Razz had to do everything in his power to not jump at her and pierce her body with dozens of bones like a pinata.

He was glad Mutt was faster than him. He smiled, nodding to himself at his brother's words. Show her. Sophie was an insect who didn't know its place. She had no right to touch Mutt, she barely had the right to talk to him. His brother wouldn't let her, not even now when he technically wasn't obligated to follow the rules, and how satisfying that was.

Even after everything, Razz still ruled over his brother's loyalty. Mutt was still his and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

“leave?!” Mutt shoved his hood over his head and sobbed once more. “but i don’t want to! ” He gritted his teeth and made himself shut up for a second. He was no use crying. There, much better. 

“b - but… but i’m useless to him now. a - a disappointment and a dead weight. he - he - h-” His eyes widened and his breathing quickened and he backed up until his back was against the wall behind him. He couldn’t even say it. He tried to, so that he could accept it and deal with it, but…

“i - i think i’ll just… stay here.”

Sophie deflated. She didn't know what to say to make him feel better. Because she felt trapped in that same problem, where she liked Mutt but he didn't like her and she couldn't do anything about it. The only advice she could give him was to not give up, but she certainly wasn't telling him to fight for that monster.

"No! What do you mean? You can't just stay here! Why… why don't you come with me to my house?" there was nothing wrong in offering him a place to stay. Any good friend would do that.

That was what Razz wanted to know too. Would he leave? Would he stay? What would he do? If Mutt chose right, Razz would praise him later, give him many pats to make up for all this drama. Well, he would pat him if he made the wrong choice too, so Mutt didn't have to worry about it. He just wouldn't be allowed to leave the house. And he would have to learn to live with the collar for the rest of his life.

“i - i’m staying here.” He held his broken arm close. “unless m’lord comes for me…” And he doubted he would now… “i - i’m gonna be right here. i choose to stay here. m’lord doesn’t want me, so what use am i? i won’t make him waste his time on me anymore, so i’ll stay here.”

Chapter Text

Razz smiled. Well, that answered his question. That killed all the lingering doubts he still had. Mutt wasn't going back home today. He wasn't going back, because Razz didn't want him to go back. That knowledge was freeing.

Razz stepped out of his hiding spot, eager to tell Mutt the good news. His original plan was to wait for at least one day to make sure he really wouldn't come back, but there was no need to make his brother suffer for longer than necessary. He was satisfied with that.

"Well, you can celebrate now, Mutt! I came back!" he couldn't erase the proud smile from his face no matter how hard he tried. Not that he was trying really hard. He had a good reason to be proud now!

Razz ignored Sophie on his way, he didn't have time to pay attention to insects when Mutt had just proven Razz that he was the only one that mattered to him.

He just went ahead, clapped the leash on the collar and motioned for Mutt to get up. He had already taken the day off and Mutt had already ran away from work. He didn't see why they shouldn't just go home right now.

Mutt looked at Razz as if he were looking upon that of a pure god for the first time in his life, almost as if he thought he might’ve died and gone to heaven. He was too stunned for a moment to do anything other than just stare, jaw slack.

It was only when Razz clipped the leash onto Mutt’s collar that he realized his lord was, in fact, standing right in front of him and he wanted him back.

He wanted him back .

“m’lord!” He hopped up and had to shove his hands in his pockets in order to restrain himself from hugging Razz. It hurt his broken arm, but he didn’t give a flying fuck. “y - you came back.” Oh great, he was going to start sobbing again. This time, from relief.

Razz smirked.

"Of course I came back! How could you doubt me!" he patted Mutt's head. He was a good dog. A very good dog. "Come! You passed the test! I'll explain it to you when we get home!"

He started walking home, ignoring Sophie until she grabbed the leash and tried to yank it out of his grip. Razz held it back firmly, tightening his grasp instinctively. Sophie wasn't deterred by that and kept trying to pull it to her.

"No! You're not taking him home after having kicked him away! You have no right!" she spat.

Razz growled at her.

"What are you doing?! Mutt is mine and he wants to go!" he wasn't letting go. The only thing keeping him from killing her was the knowledge that she wasn't any more threatening than dust.

Oh, a test? That made Mutt feel so much better. It made sense. Probably a test to see if Mutt was trustworthy.

A low growl started to rip from his throat when Sophie grabbed his leash. How dare she. He glared at her and stepped closer to his lord. Yes, he belonged to Razz and he wanted it to stay that way.

He took his end of the leash and tried yanking it out of her hand.

Sophie almost fell with the sudden pull. She let go, but tried to get a grip on it right after. Razz growled and pushed her away with enough force to send her stumbling back until she fell on the ground. He was tired of this, he wanted to get rid of her already. 

"No!" Sophie hurriedly tried to get up again. "You can't-"

"Don't panic, Mutt." Razz interrupted her as he reached for the magic blocker collar and deactivated it, taking it off. There, now they could go. "Teleport!"

Don’t panic? What-

Why did Razz take his new collar off?!

He did indeed start panicking, but it was natural instinct for him to teleport as soon as he was ordered to. Within moments, only him and his lord were at home, alone.

But now he was breathing erratically and scratching at his neck again. He’d literally just calmed down from his earlier cry fest and panic attack, and he had still been feeling twitchy. To have something so important to him be taken off again ? He very easily became a mess.

Razz smiled at the sight of their living room. Finally, alone. Then he turned around.

Razz frowned at the ugly crying mess that was his brother, throwing the leash to the side to grab his hands and pull them away from his neck.

"Stop it!" he growled. "I told you not to panic!" Razz held his hands away with one hand and used the other to slap him in the face. "Snap out of it! You're fine!"

Just to make sure, Razz started dragging him upstairs. Where had he put the old collar? He was sure it was in his room somewhere… Oh, wait, no. He had thrown it away. Shit. Maybe Mutt had taken it back?

"Where did you put your old collar, Mutt?" he asked, trying not to sound accusatory as he demanded an answer.

“i - i’m sorry, m’lord,” He whimpered, allowing himself to be dragged up the stairs. Razz told him not to panic but he was still panicking and it was stupid and he was fine . Razz told him he was fine.

Oh, where was his old collar? “in the shrine, m’lord,” He informed him weakly, still trying not to start scratching his neck again.

Razz stomped over to Mutt's bedroom and opened his closet, still dragging him along. Oh, there it was! He took the collar and put it on his brother quickly, hoping to avoid messes and get to the point. He didn't want to go through all that drama when everything was fine .

"There, Mutt. You can breathe now. Stop whimpering in my ears." he gave him a few pats, trying to shush him. Razz grinned. "You're a good dog."

Mutt breathed when the collar was back on his neck, the proper collar, and held onto it tightly. His collar . He was so relieved. Was everything back to normal now? Even with his arm still broken, he was happy. “thank you, m’lord,” He murmured, purring at the pets. He was able to calm down easily now that the stability of his normal collar is on. He liked the other one, don’t get him wrong, it did easily become a comforting weight on his collar bone, but he preferred this one. Always this one.

Razz smiled at Mutt and kept petting him, wanting to make sure he had completely calmed down from his earlier break. His poor little puppy... He had seemed so sad for being unwanted. Razz had to explain to him properly that he had done good so he could feel better about things.

"Don't worry, Mutt, this was all a very elaborated test. And you passed it! I'm very proud of you! Your old collar back is your reward." Razz purred at him.

It had been a really good plan and he had doubted many times it would actually work. It could have ended really really badly. Really badly.

"You tried to stay away at the end." Razz started as he kept petting his brother. "You said you wouldn't come back, you said you were leaving me for good, unless I went back to fetch you."

Mutt didn’t really… understand … but he did know that it was a test because his lord and master didn’t trust that he would stay forever. He had just proved that he never planned on leaving, ever . This was all that mattered.

Mutt nodded in response, listening to his lord and master speak intently. All his focus was on his lord.

"I would have been really mad at you if you decided to stay after all." he continued. "You said you would never leave me, because you don't want to leave me. And that's okay when I want you to stay, but what if I don't want this? What if I truly wanted you gone? What if I wanted you to leave?" Razz hummed, knowing that would never happen, but knowing it was a possibility . What about cases just slightly different, in which the problem was fundamentally the same? Problems where Razz wanted something and Mutt wanted the opposite? He had to know what his brother would choose.

"You told me you would do anything I wanted. It is just fair that I tested this out." Razz caressed Mutt's skull, almost cooing at him. "I am really glad that when it comes to what I want and what you want, you'll choose me."

Mutt couldn't help but cringe at the thought - at the memories of Razz leaving him. He never wanted it to happen again and now… it felt like a very real possibility now. He could make one single, stupid mistake and Razz would be gone .

He was terrified.

But he focused on his lord.

His lord still wanted him, right now. He was cooing at him and petting his head and Mutt decided he would focus on that. He would focus on Razz’s words. Focus on here and now, and not let on how scared he was.

“of course i’ll choose you, m’lord,” He answered, taking a bow partly to allow more access to his skull for pets. “what i want most is to make you happy.” Even if it meant Razz would be happier without him…

Razz purred as he scratched every surface of Mutt's skull.

"And that's why you're here getting pats instead of tied to the bed having your ribs pulled out." he said, his eyes sharp and glinting with rage just thinking about that other outcome. "Don't worry, I wouldn't let you leave even if you wanted to. You trust me, don't you? You're mine."

Razz took his skull and tilted it so he could kiss him. Only he had the power to decide whether or not Mutt was to be gone. And Razz would never want him to leave.

Though Razz’s words were incredibly possessive and wrong and should be terrifying , they made Mutt feel better. He leaned into the kiss and finally allowed himself to purr. The words calmed him down. They were the same words Razz always stated; Razz would never even let Mutt leave, Mutt belonged to Razz. It made Mutt feel better.

“i trust you, m’lord,” He answered truthfully, a smile on his face, “‘m yours.”

But what happened today planted a seed of doubt into Mutt’s mind, one much stronger than his usual self hate. The possibility of actually losing Razz permanently suddenly became so very real . The terror of that thought was going to stay forever, now. Mutt had been broken even more than before.

Chapter Text

Razz had a feeling things weren't okay. But they should be! He had finally gotten rid of that accursed doubt! Nothing should be wrong now, things were supposed to be perfect ! Still, his instincts told him there was something not right. 

He huffed, refusing to worry about it now.

"Let's have lunch, Mutt! I'll even let you have your beloved bbq sauce today."

Razz made his way downstairs, humming. He tried to pretend he was happy, but there was something really bothering him now.

“yes, m’lord,” He answered submissively, following Razz down the stairs. He decided he wouldn’t let his doubt out into the open. It would always be internalized. His lord didn’t need to know about it. 

But he was still going to do everything he could to be good for his lord…

“would you like some help, m’lord?” He asked.

"No, everything is fine!" Maybe he needed to cook to feel better. It usually lifted his mood, right? "Just sit and wait. You can do the dishes later if you want."

Razz finished making lunch and served, sitting too. Everything seemed normal. Things were back to normal. Razz tapped his fingers on the table. But there was still something amiss. He felt it. It made him uncomfortable. 

He gave Mutt his bottle as promised, doing his best to ignore the feeling for now. He smiled at his brother.

"There! Another treat for passing the test!"

Mutt cringed lightly at the mention of the the test, but smiled and took the bottle. Everything was fine. “thank you, m’lord,” He murmured, sipping the bottle. It was his treat. Perhaps it would make him feel better. 

It didn’t make him feel any better, despite the barbecue flavor that flooded his mouth. If his brother’s affections couldn’t, then how would this?

He waited for Razz to give permission, and then ate. At least Razz’s food was good, as always. His lord’s food was always so delicious.

...He couldn’t afford to make mistakes or get his lord upset again, as much as he liked punishments. He was afraid there would be no punishments if he fucked up one more time. He was afraid there would be nothing .

That terrifying thought made his grip tighten on the bottle until the glass cracked.

Razz noticed his reaction and frowned, not understanding it. Didn't he enjoy that disgusting sauce? Shouldn't Mutt be happy with the gift? But then his brother was smiling and acting like everything was normal again and Razz was just confused . Maybe he was just imagining things? He might be overthinking all of that because of that stupid feeling. Everything was fine now, wasn't it?

Razz went back to eating, trying to relish in that feeling of finally not having to worry about Mutt leaving him. Razz was sure he wouldn't, now. He could finally sleep in peace. But trying to repeat that to himself was like trying to ignore an itch.

As soon as he heard the bottle cracking his attention was on Mutt again. No, there was something wrong. There was definitely something wrong. He just had to find out what.

"What is wrong, Mutt?" he was thinking about something, wasn't he? "Spill it!"

Mutt hesitated and grabbed onto the cracked bottle with both hands now. “well, i…” He lowered his head. “i don’t mean to be ungrateful, m’lord, but i - i…” He hesitated yet again, unable to look at his lord at all. “i - i’m scared,” He finally said, quietly, “i trust you m’lord, i do , i’d trust you with my soul, but… the possibility of you actually leaving suddenly became so much more real and plausible and i… really don’t want to lose you.”

His voice was quiet and full of shame. He shouldn’t even be thinking these thoughts, and yet here he was. He needed to have more trust in his lord and brother… yet the thoughts wouldn’t stop.

Razz’s frown got deeper at that.

“But I already told you you’re fine! I’m not leaving you and I don’t want you to leave me, so you are not leaving me either. Nothing you do will make me change my mind.” Razz didn’t understand it. He was so relieved right now. But then Mutt had to start worrying about that again. Well, he wasn’t going to think of a plan against himself.

Razz tapped his fingers, trying to come up with a definitive solution. His brother had done so well! The least he could do was try to ease his mind back.
“Well, you’re not going to lose me. Now finish eating.” ...Razz really wasn’t good at reassuring.

"...yes, m’lord." Mutt obediently finished eating. Razz didn't know what to do with Mutt's thoughts. He didn't have to deal with them. Mutt should just shut up.

I hate you-

Mutt flinched, hard. Just the thought had him shaking again. It was almost as bad as the thought of Razz fearing him .

He had to know.

Once he calmed himself down enough to speak, he asked, "...m’lord? do you… hate me?" His voice was small, scared. Terrified, really.

Razz looked at him as he ate, the frown never leaving his face. He grimaced at the flinch and started munching furiously at his food when Mutt started trembling. He didn’t know what to do, but he wasn’t happy with that either. He was startled out of his thoughts when Mutt asked him something he expected to never be questioned.

“What? Of course not!” He growled. “I told you, it was just all part of the plan!” Razz hesitated. “I don’t hate you.” he hesitated more. Let a few seconds pass. “I love you.” there, his pride was dead now.

“of course, m’lord,” He nodded at the first part of Razz’s statement, when it seemed as if he was finished talking. The hand of his unbroken arm had traveled up to hold onto his collar. 

But then Razz continued speaking and Mutt made sure to listen. He seemed hesitant on something. But what-

Aaaand now his tears were flowing openly.

For once, he ignored how this was a probably extremely terrible idea and jumped across the table to take Razz into his arms and cling to him tightly. This was probably going to get him a punishment, but he didn't care . “i love you too, m’lord!” He cried, “i love you so much!”

Razz squealed as he was suddenly taken in a hug, blushing furiously at those words and tears. Well, what did he expect? He shouldn’t have let that out when Mutt was so obviously compromised with emotional instability. Razz wouldn’t push him away, though. It would ruin all his work. At least no one was watching. 

Razz sighed and tried to move to a better position, so they could at least hug properly. He didn’t like to hang half on the table. Razz awkwardly patted Mutt’s back and carressed his skull again. He hoped his brother was happy, because he was not! He was.

“Yes, of course you love me. I already knew that.”

Chapter Text

Sophie’s eyes burned with rage at the sight. She was peeking through the window, having followed them to their home once. She knew the way and she wouldn’t have stayed in that alleway after they left. Sophie got there just in time to see them hugging, in a sickly sweet moment. The bastard that had dared to abandon Mutt didn’t deserve to be hugged like that, Mutt shouldn’t forgive him for what he did. It was Sophie’s turn! She would show Mutt how things should be, how happy he could be if he let her try. He would see. Sophie was much better than his brother.

Mutt purred. “yes, m’lord.” Of course Razz knew he loved him, he was perceptive and, well… Mutt had always thought he made it really obvious. He had been able to show his love for his lord underground only because he was the servant; no outside viewer would have seen it as anything other than a slave with stockholm syndrome. 

Mutt shifted as well, just a little. He made it so his lord sat comfortably in his lap as Mutt leaned against the wall, cuddling Razz close. They were finished eating, Mutt would do the dishes later, when Razz made him get up. Right now, though, he held his lord and didn’t plan on letting go. He had the chance to hold Razz, he was going to take it for as long as he could.

Razz sighed again, but let himself be cuddled, just this once. The sacrifices he had to do just to comfort his brother… Was he better now, at least? He seemed happy enough. Razz hoped he had nullified that stupid fear. It was ridiculous, really. Razz wouldn’t leave him, never. That was the point of the collar.

But maybe he should really give Mutt more treats? They were on the surface now, there wasn’t anything stopping him. His pet was feeling neglected and unwanted and he was unhappy. Razz supposed he has been too harsh with Mutt lately, he could be more… loving.

He let that continue for a few minutes before realizing Mutt wouldn’t let go. Razz started squirming. That was enough, Mutt wasn’t a baby either.

Sophie counted for how long Mutt was holding him. She wanted him to hug her for longer later. And she would hug back and coo at him, differently than his brother. 

Mutt whined lowly when his lord started struggling, but loosened his hold and allowed Razz to break away. As much as he wanted to hold on, he would never trap his lord. Even in a hug.

“thank you for letting me do that, m’lord,” He murmured with a smile on his face.

Once Razz got up, Mutt followed suit and collected the dishes. Razz had said he could do the dishes, after all, and he was going to do just that. He took to cleaning up every single dirty dish his lord made. Anything for his lord.

He was going to do his very best to not make his lord and master mad again.

Razz eyed Mutt as he went to take care of the dishes. He wasn’t sure if just that had been enough, he knew it wouldn’t be enough for him. Well, he would keep an eye on him now, and make sure Mutt didn’t doubt him again. Razz was sure a little spoiling would be good for that.

As Mutt went to do the dishes, Razz went to finish some paperwork. Just because he hadn’t gone to work, it didn’t mean he didn’t have work to do. He went to the living room and sat on the chair, preparing himself for long hours of boredom.

Once Mutt was finished with the dishes, he put them all away and headed back to his lord and master, kneeling at his feet. Like a good dog. Fuck, he certainly hoped he was a good dog. He didn’t want to risk making his lord and master upset again… 

He would stay there until ordered otherwise. Like normal. This was normal. Everything else that happened recently? Not as normal.

Razz briefly glanced at Mutt kneeling next to him and smiled, absentmindedly petting his head.

"I'm thirsty. Go make some tea for me, Mutt." he ordered without thinking after a few minutes, not stopping the boring work of filing papers for not even one second. Razz blinked, remembering his earlier decision. "Oh, bring a cup for you too. I want company."

There. Much better. Razz kept writing down things with a content smile on his face. Progress was being made. 

Sophie had to held herself back, not believing in her eyes. She wanted to demand to know what that idiot was forcing her sweet skeleton to do, why was Mutt kneeling to him in his house.   There wasn't anyone to see them! What was the point in making him do that?! Mutt should be comfortable in his own home, not being forced to do that!

She glared through the window when she saw Mutt getting up to do something. But she knew it was only because that leech had ordered him to do something. Sophie gritted her teeth. She would free him soon. She just had to be patient.

"yes, m’lord," he murmured, getting up immediately. He headed into the kitchen and made tea, happy. His lord wanted company! From him! He said so! Mutt purred.

He made the tea exactly how he knew his lord wanted it, then made himself a cup. He wasn't much a fan of tea, actually, he was more a fan of spicy flavors. But he'd drink it no problem, because those were his lord's orders.

...He still put some cinnamon in his drink, though.

He happily grabbed the still way too hot cups, burned his hands a bit by accident because of the liquid that dribbled out, and headed back to his lord and master. He kneeled again as he offered up Razz's cup.

Razz smiled at him, feeling accomplished for having managed to add the last part of the order. He took the cup and sipped at it. He tsked internally; it could be better, but he decided he wouldn’t say anything this time. It was good enough. 

“Good job, Mutt.” Razz petted his head again, going back to his work.

He didn’t pay attention to him after that, practically forgetting he was there until four hours later. His work was absolutely tedious, and Razz felt sore already from having stayed on an uncomfortable chair for so long. DIfferently from the chairs on his workplace, the one they had home was not meant to be used for hours. Razz stretched and got up, pushing the chair away and motioning Mutt to get closer. He pointed at the place previously occupied by the mobile.

“Stay here. On all four. I want to sit.” his iliac bone was already flattening on the base, he was sure.

Mutt stayed on the ground, kneeling, for four hours. He only moved to take occasional sips of his now cold tea. He had no reason to complain, he was incredibly happy to keep his lord company. It was a simple order he could easily follow.

He practically beamed at the new order, and hurried to follow it. While being sat on wasn't as good as a cuddle, he'd take what he could get. He loved physical contact from his lord.

Razz gladly sat, trying to adjust himself on his new seat and letting out a sigh when he found a comfortable position. Yes, this was perfect. Much better. He caressed Mutt head, praising him, before going back to work. He wanted to finish that. 

Sophie gritted her teeth and pressed her fists against the window, the glass fogging with her breathing as she tried to control herself to not start slamming against it. How dare he?! Mutt wasn’t a chair ! He was a person! He didn’t deserve to be treated like that!

Sophie glared at the smaller skeleton. Soon, he wouldn’t be able to do anything with her precious friend. 

Mutt noticed a figure out of the corner of his eye and he stiffened, most likely making his lord and master more uncomfortable. Was that…

That was Sophie! Fucking bitch, what was she doing here? Watching them?

He kept his eyes to the ground, not wanting Sophie to know he saw her, and murmured to his master. “...m’lord… sophie’s watching us.”

How had he not realized sooner?! How long has she been there?

Razz frowned when he felt Mutt tensing beneath him. What was wrong now? And then he got his answer. Razz scowled. What was she doing in their home?

"Well, does it look like she's going to come in? If not, just leave her." he resumed what he was doing, not caring about what a human wanted to do in their free time. "She is probably playing hero. Thinking she is watching out for you or something." he rolled his eyes. "She can't do anything."

Mutt relaxed and nodded. If Razz didn’t think she was a problem, then she wasn’t. “yes, m’lord.” He would continue acting as a silent chair for his lord and master. 

Damn Sophie really was starting to piss him off. He didn’t need her help, he was perfectly content to stay by his lord’s side without her worry . He was really starting to hate her. He, actually, was on the verge of asking his lord if he could kill her. He wanted her fucking dead .

But he stayed silent. His lord told him to leave her. He would do that.

Finally, done! Razz organized the papers in a neat pile and stretched. It had taken him hours to finally get all of it done, but he had finally reached the end. It had been a productive day. Now it was time to reward himself.

He got up and looked down on Mutt, but he didn't order him to get up yet. Razz smirked. He wouldn't mind if his brother stood like that for a few more hours, like a statue, as Razz went to do something else. But he was done with today's chores. Razz walked over to where he had thrown the magic blocker collar along with the leash and detached the former. He walked back to Mutt and attached it back to where it made a difference, tugging at it with a smile.

"Let's have some fun, Mutt." Razz started leading him to his bedroom.

Mutt got up and followed like a lovesick puppy on a leash. Well, he was literally on a leash. And he was literally lovesick. Nevertheless, he happily followed after. Time to fuck! Mutt knew that tone of voice anywhere.

After a very deserved fun time, Razz was contentedly laying on his bed, his mind finally getting sleepy. It was still a bit early, but neither he or Mutt had slept well the night before. Mutt hadn't slept at all, actually, if the collar had done its job properly at keeping him awake. Sleeping early would do them some good.

Razz only allowed a few minutes of cuddling before he stopped petting his brother.

"Enough. Go sleep in your own room, I'm tired and I am not sharing my bed." he literally kicked Mutt out of his bed and yawned, not opening his eyes. Razz brought the covers up and snuggled in the warmth, his mind easily falling into a dreamless sleep.

Mutt smiled softly as he was kicked off the bed, willingly getting off of the ground. “goodnight, m’lord,” He murmured. He didn’t leave right away, though. He watched as his lord and master fell asleep, and when he seemed asleep enough, he tucked him in just a bit more and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

His perfect little lord.

He headed back to his room with a content smile on his face, shutting the door behind him. He still feared losing his lord, but right now, in this moment, everything was fine. He had to focus on the here and now if he wanted to be happy with Razz.

He headed to his own bed and got comfortable under the covers, holding his collar close.

Sophie waited patiently for hours, until she was certain they were sleeping. Then she carefully started to climb the house's wall, going straight for what she knew was Mutt's bedroom's window. She opened it as silently as she could, slowly getting herself in. There he was! Sleeping sweetly without a care in the world. Mutt was more adorable than she thought when he was sleeping. Well, no time for that right now. Sophie didn't want to risk anything. She would be quick.

She took the magic blocker collar Razz had left behind and held it up, carefully but quickly putting it on Mutt over his other one. She didn't touch him and soon the collar was sitting perfectly around his neck. Sophie activated it. There! Done!

Sophie pinched the hem of his shirt and lifted it very very slowly, attentive to any sign of him waking up. She prepared the syringe in her other hand. And then reached up, quickly grabbing his soul and stabbed it, emptying the concentrated sleeping medicine in it.

She held her breath, waiting to see if something would happen.

A harsh gasp came from Mutt, a cringe, something that could have been perceived as anger passed across his face, and then he was back to nothing. Fast asleep, deeper than before now that he had been drugged. 

The sad thing was, Mutt had let his guard down because he thought he was safe with his lord. He had thought that was his lord, the person who snuck into his room. So, stupidly, he had stayed asleep. Now he was going to pay the consequences.

Chapter Text

Sophie smiled at the sleeping skeleton, holding back a giggle. She was so eager and excited to show him how wonderful things could be! He would see it eventually, and then he would realize that his brother didn't deserve him. Then he would stay with her and they would finally be able to create some good memories. The cute skeleton had suffered too much already.

Sophie took a rope and secured it tightly around Mutt, then dragged him to the window. She pushed him through it and lowered him to the ground slowly, the rope burning and rubbing against her hand. But it would be worth it. Once he was safely on the ground, Sophie started to make her way down too, and soon she was walking home with her friend passed out on her back.

Sophie brought him to her room, taking the things she had spent the last few days getting her hands on. She was sure the collar would help her a lot, she had to thank the stupid skeleton for throwing it to her, for free. But Sophie knew Mutt would try to run away as soon as he woke up and not give her time to explain things. She had to make sure he stayed until he changed his mind about all this.

Sophie hummed as she cuffed him and attached the cuffs to the chains she had taken so long to fix on her wall. She made sure to tie his legs together too and connect them to the chains, just for precaution. And then she laid her head on his lap, sparkling eyes staring at him, mesmerized with how cute he looked when he was sleeping. Now she had all the time in the world to appreciate it until her sweetie wakes up. She would be there waiting for him to open his eyes.

The first thing Mutt registered before he even opened his eyes was a weight in his lap. His lord? His lord hardly ever rested in his lap. He opened his eyes.

And saw Sophie.

He didn't act immediately, instead stared at her for a good few minutes. Sophie. Was she dead? Had his lord killed her and put her head in his lap to make a possessive point?

Nope. She was alive.

That was when he started struggling and trying to get her off of him. "what the fuck?! get off! where the hell am i?!"

Ah! There he was! Sophie stared at him, not wanting to lose not even one precious moment. Mutt fluttered his eyes open, meeting her own, and she looked back. He didn't react at first, but that was okay. Sophie was fine with just exchanging looks, smiling at him.

And then he started struggling, just as she had predicted. Sophie got up, but only because it was not comfortable to stay on his lap as he was moving so much. She sat up with a huge smile on her face and cupped his cheeks, because she could touch him now . Her smile widened and she just started caressing his cheekbone with her thumbs, still not breaking eye contact.

"Shh, calm down, Sweetie. Everything's fine! You're in my room, you're safe!"

“safe? with you? as if .” He quickly bit her hand and held on, tight enough to make her bleed with his sharp teeth. “ do not touch me ,” He snarled through the thing now in his mouth. He could feel he had a magic blocker collar on, and he could also feel his own collar still on so that was fine, but he wasn’t defenseless. If he really wanted to, he could break the collar, but he would rather not leave himself too weak to do anything around her .

He wouldn’t break it. Not yet, at least. He had to be patient.

Sophie yelped and tried to push her hand back. She didn't know what she was expecting, but being bitten wasn't on her list. She hissed in pain, but she wasn't angry at him. Of course he would do something like that, he was scared!

"Sweetie, let go of my hand. It hurts!" Sophie wanted to hit him so he would stop, and she would have done it if it were anyone else. She wouldn't hurt him, though. She wasn't like his brother.

Mutt growled and tightened his grip just a little, his teeth sinking into her hand just a little bit more. “i’ll let go if you let me go. otherwise, i might break your fucking hand.” He glared at her. She really should have never touched him. He had warned her plenty of times, of course.

He wanted to go home .

Sophie hissed through gritted teeth as her eyes got moist. Why was he so stubborn?! Fine, then! She reached inside his shirt again, quickly grabbing his soul in her free hand. She didn't know what exactly she should do with it, but she knew it was important.

Mutt gasped and immediately let go of her hand, instead opting to yell at her. “oh no no no no don’t touch that! do you even realize what you’re doing?!” He began struggling harshly. “that’s my fucking soul, you bitch! let go of it! you act like you wanna be all high and mighty and better than m’lord but what you’re doing is even worse than rape ! let the fuck go!”

Sophie was going to threaten him to release her other hand, but Mutt let go as soon as she took his soul. Oh, that was interesting! She decided she would keep it in her grasp.

Sophie frowned at his words, pressing her lips together. 

"No, it is not! I'm not doing anything! I'm just holding it, calm down!" she held it away from him, upset that he had compared her to his brother and said she was worse . "You're not even asking sweetly." she mumbled.

Sophie smiled at Mutt, forgiving him instantly. She brought her bitten hand close again and started stroking his face. Her grip on his soul tightened just slightly, daring him to try to bite her this time.

Mutt leaned away from her grip and whimpered, tears starting to fall from his eyes. Fuck, he was scared . How did he get into this situation? He was supposed to be so strong …

"p - please let go of it," he cried. He just wanted to go back to his master. Back to last night, when everything was perfect .

"Aw, no, don't cry! I'm not going to hurt you, you know this!" Sophie leaned on him again, brushing his tears away. She gave a little peck on his cheek, trying to comfort him. "Everything is fine, just calm down."

Sophie turned around and hugged him tight, but made sure to keep his soul away from his hands. She rubbed his back and rested her head on his shoulder, just relishing in the feeling of finally being able to hold him close, letting out a content sigh. She stood like that for a few minutes, shushing him, before she spoke again.

"Okay, Sweetie, I'll give it back. But you won't try to push me away again, will you? I'm just trying to help!" she glanced at the soul still in her hands, humming. It was okay, if he tried anything, she could just grab it again. But she would rather if he complied and let her care for him.

Razz woke up with his alarm ringing in his ears again, but he was in a good mood that morning. Things were fine, and everything would finally go back to normal. He turned the alarm off and stretched, getting up to get dressed to work as usual. They should actually try to go earlier today, to see if Mutt still had a job after having run away from it the day before.

Razz walked over to Mutt's bedroom, opening it without knocking. 

"Mutt! Wake up, we-" he stopped when he realized the room was empty. He frowned. Well, they did go to bed earlier yesterday. Razz had expected him to be more tired though.

He started making his way downstairs, wondering if his brother was already making dinner. It would be a good surprise, but he didn't get his hopes up. Mutt usually didn't do anything unless he was ordered to do so.

"Mutt! Why didn't you-" wait. He wasn't in the kitchen either. Razz frowned again, his soul starting to get restless. He looked upstairs. Mutt could only be in the bathroom then. What was he doing there? "MUTT! GET DOWN HERE!" he shouted, making sure he could be heard in every corner of the house.

Razz waited. And waited. After one minute of utter silence, he started to panic. Mutt wouldn't disobey an order. Where was he? Razz ran upstairs and opened the bathroom door, going straight back to his own bedroom after realizing it was empty. He checked all rooms again, but he didn't find his brother anywhere.

He had left. He had left! Razz started to hyperventilate,  pacing in circles in the living room. Razz had taken the collar off, he had believed him! After all that talk about never wanting to leave him, about loving him, and the first thing Mutt did when he gave him his magic back was leave ! Razz's eyelights constricted in anger, turning sharply to the cup of tea Mutt had drank the night before. And Razz had been trying to reassure him!

He growled, taking the cup in his hand, intending to shatter it against the wall. It broke as soon as Razz had it in his grip, his hand tightening too much around it. Mutt was dead when Razz found him. He would be one with the fucking magic blocker collar. Razz would choke him with it, make sure he would never be able to breathe again, then he would get another two, one for Mutt to swallow and another for his soul . Razz would stab it with dozens of pins, he would fucking sew the collar together and tighten it until the inverted heart cracked. And then he would turn on the shock and let it stay at the higher voltage, forever . 

Razz turned to that old chair and kicked it so hard it broke. Useless . He snarled, gritting his teeth. Mutt would pay for trying to leave him. Forget about melding the chains to what was left of his limbs. There would be no limbs left . Razz would stomp on them until they cracked, then he would keep going until they broke, until they shattered completely and were nothing but dust under his feet. He would meld the chains to his vertebrae, that gave him at least twenty four chains to use. Then he would hang him on the fucking ceiling, making it so he would hover close to the ground so Razz could still be able to have his night fun and feed him. 

Razz would force him to survive from eating his own dust for one month. He would carve every free surface on his bones with his name, then carve again when it started to heal, and then again , never letting it scar.

Razz's eyes glinted at the mental image. Mutt, without his limbs and unable to crawl, unable to go anywhere , hanging from the ceiling like a nasty ornament for his room, chains fused together to every single vertebrae in his spine. All covered with his name, his mouth full of his own dust, trying to beg him as he was strangled by the magic blocker collar, his soul firmly sewed to another shocking device that would never be turned off.

Mutt would wish he was dead.

“go away…” Mutt whimpered, trying to lean away from Sophie still. He was scared . “nothing’s fine , everything is suddenly horrible because of you . please, lemme go home.”

He was crying more harshly now, because she was hugging him and kissing his cheek and she had his fucking soul ! He could honestly say that he had never in his life felt worse.

Mutt was a strong monster. Generally, he could handle a lot. He could easily handle blood and gore and he himself had been the one to kill people before. He could handle a lot of pain. Hell, he was a masochist . Of course he could handle pain! But he didn’t want to be hurt by anybody he didn’t trust, and the only person he trusted was his lord and master.

This was so much worse than any pain he could have felt. He was trapped. Really and truly trapped, by somebody he hated.. He couldn’t stop crying.

There was one way out, he knew, if he charged enough magical energy into the collar in a shortcut… but so many things could go wrong there. Mutt couldn’t chance it. Not yet, anyway. He wasn’t desperate enough yet.

...Please, Razz, please come save him. He needed his lord so much right now.

Chapter Text

Sophie frowned, still caressing his skull. He was so upset! She didn't know what else she should do to make him more comfortable. 

"Here, you can have your soul back." she released it in his ribcage again, giving him another peck. "Nothing is horrible, Sweetie. If you just calm down and face this logically, you'll see that I'm not hurting you and that you're fine . And you see this chains? They are only here because I know you'll try to escape. As soon as you see the truth, I'll take these off."

She stared at the collar under the magic blocker. Her hands immediately reached for it, making a face at that thing. 

" This , on the other hand, is not necessary. We can get rid of it." Sophie unbuckled the collar and put it aside. Then she got up and took a lighter, fumbling with it until it worked. There. She put fire on the collar, watching with glee as it burned. Mutt would never wear that horrible thing again.

She jumped when she heard an unfamiliar ringtone go off. What? Where was that coming from? Who was- Oh. Sophie reached inside Mutt's pockets, fishing his phone out. She smiled.

"Oh! Look who is trying to call you! Do you think he deserves to be answered?" Sophie showed the screen to her Sweetie. She didn't really know who it was, she still didn't know Mutt's brother's name, but she could guess.

The moment Mutt’s collar was taken off, his actual collar, he started to have a panic attack. He started struggling in earnest. He started sobbing when he saw his precious collar get set on fire.

“no no no no! not my collar, please! i’m begging you, stop-”

And then he heard his lord’s familiar ringtone and he felt a wave of relief. His lord! His lord was looking for him, it was only a matter of time before he found him!

That relief turned ice cold when his phone was taken out of his pocket. He saw that it was, indeed, his lord and master. But he was scared seeing that phone in the bitch’s grasp. “p - please answer him,” He whimpered, doing his best to reach out and take the phone, “please, please please answer him!” He doubted she would. Why would a kidnapper let him call for help? He just hoped his lord was tracking the phone as he called it. 

Knowing his lord, he was probably pissed and thought that Mutt had run away from him. He didn’t, but that was okay! So long as he found him, it would all be okay. Razz just had to find him . Mutt didn’t care what happened to him when he got back with his lord, he didn't even care if he died. He just wanted back in Razz’s grasp.

Sophie frowned at Mutt, moving the phone away. 

"No, Sweetie. He doesn't deserve to be answered." she had hoped Mutt would give her the right answer after all that speech. Well, it didn't matter.

Sophie threw the phone on the ground and stomped hard on it, several times, until she was one hundred percent sure it was broken. She wouldn't let that bastard talk to her precious skeleton ever again.

Sophie kicked the broken cellphone's pieces away and turned her attention back to the collar, to make sure it was burning properly. She wanted it to be completely unusable, so when it stopped burning, she took scissors and started cutting it into little pieces. Little tiny pieces.

She had called in sick, so she could spend all day with her Sweetie. She took that scissor and started cutting his clothes so she could see the damage she had seen just yesterday. She had to treat his broken bones and make sure he was well.

"What about you come up with a cute nickname for me, Sweetie? Just like we had talked about that time? Just Sophie is too cold." she hummed. She had been wanting to hear his nickname for her since she met him, and finally his brother wasn't there to stop him.

Razz growled at the phone in his hands. Mutt had dared not answer his call! He dialed again, but the call wouldn't reach him. Had he turned it off? Razz would kill him . He couldn't even track him down like that!

Well, it didn't matter. Razz would find him anyway, even if he had to search every single corner of the surface. Just because it was bigger than the underground it didn't mean Mutt was free from him.

Mutt stared in shock as his phone was destroyed to bits, and then he shrunk in on himself. He wouldn’t look at his collar. Would Sophie want him to talk? Well, he wouldn-

“what are you doing?! ” And he was back to struggling, trying to kick her away. That was against another rule! Nobody was to look at his bones but Razz! “no no no no! fuck you! go away! you think you deserve a fucking nickname ?!”

Sophie tried to pin him down as she finished cutting his clothes, frowning at him.

"Stop struggling! I'll hurt you by accident like this!" she finished cutting as fast as she could, throwing the scissor to the side so she wouldn't risk cutting him. But she wouldn't be able to treat him like that. "Stop it! I'm just trying to help you! Weren't you hurt?"

Sophie tried to see how bad it was but his ribs seemed to be fine. Well, no, not really. They were badly scarred and she was sure that was irreversible. But there wasn't any break, like she had suspected. His arm, on the other hand…

"Stop it! Just calm down!" Mutt was acting like a little child that refused to take shots. Sophie reached inside his ribcage again and grabbed his soul. It worked splendidly well last time. "And yes, I think I deserve a good nickname! Look how much work you're giving me!"

Mutt automatically stopped struggling in fear, and instead started shaking. No, not his soul, not again… he whined lowly and looked away. He just… had to survive right now. He just had to wait it out, because he knew his lord would be coming for him. 

...Would his lord even want him after he saw what Sophie did to him? He was already possessive when it came to Sophie just touching his arm . Mutt was afraid… Razz would take one look at him, see how defiled he was now, and pick somebody new to be his pet.

Tears flowed freely from his eyes again. He wouldn’t speak. He wouldn’t give her what she wanted. He could at least do that much.

Well, he was not moving anymore, at least. But it didn't escape her notice that he also didn't answer her. It was okay, she would talk to him after she was finished bandaging his arm. That was more important now. They had all day, after all.

Sophie cleaned the crack, not sure how to proceed with bone and marrow. So she just did what she would do with flesh. It was just a little more difficult with one hand busy holding on his soul, but she managed just fine. 

Once Mutt was all bandaged and as good as he would ever be with home care, Sophie looked at him, just to be met with that teary face. She frowned worried.

"Aw, it is not that bad, dear! Here, you're all good now! Are you still hurting? I can give you pain medicine if you want." she turned around to search for it on her first aid kit. "You can think of a nickname for me in the meanwhile. I'll give your soul back after that, okay?" she hummed. "Aha! Here, open your mouth!"

Sophie held the pill between her fingers and an open water bottle on the other hand, waiting for Mutt to do what she asked him to.

Razz called in sick again. He couldn't do any more of that, he had already done it enough times just this week, but he didn't care. He would hunt Mutt down non-stop until he found him. His brother was very wrong if he thought he could hide from him forever.

First, he paid a little visit to all their main… friends... from the underground, all the ones he could visit, at least. By that, Razz meant he punched their doors until they answered, sometimes kicking their door down when they just didn't, demanding to know where the fuck they were hiding Mutt. He entered in a fight with half of them, but that was okay. He was fine and even more pissed when he found out his brother wasn't with any of them.

He also made calls, there were monsters that just didn't live close to them. No luck. Razz growled, barely holding himself back from piercing a bone through every human that passed by.

Mutt stayed silent and most certainly kept his mouth clenched shut. If she wasn’t going to listen to him, he wouldn’t listen to her. He told himself that he didn’t care if she currently held his soul. He would not say anything, and he would not entertain her. He certainly didn’t need any fucking pain killers . He liked the pain inflicted by his lord and master, thank you very much.

Sophie huffed at him, squeezing his soul ever so slightly. 

"Would you stop being so stubborn? It is medicine! And I still want my nickname!" it wasn't fair that she hadn't gained one yet, she's been wanting it for so long!

Sophie put the water on the ground next to the pill, going for the vial she had left prepared. She wanted to keep it in case something really bad happened, but it was okay. That was important too. She positioned the syringe above Mutt's soul and turned to him.

"Do you know what this is for, Sweetie? Do you want to find out?" she shook the thing in her hands, very very close to pressing into his soul.

Mutt stiffened. He didn't know what it was, but he certainly didn't want to fucking find out. He growled at her. "stop that, whatever you're doing." Crazy bitch. 

When his lord found them, he would make sure Sophie regretted everything. Mutt would of course tell him all about what she did to Mutt, and then he would suggest taking her to the shed, where all the torture happened. She didn't deserve to get off easy for touching what belonged to Razz.

She giggled at his discomfort.

"It is a potion that will make you forget all about your brother." she told him, actually eager for that. "It was really hard to get a hold on it. Really really hard. I hope you benefit from my effort. You'll be so happy! You'll be getting rid of all horrible memories you must have from him, then you'll be free to see how terrible he is. You'll see he doesn't care about you. And then you'll see how much I care. You'll see how much I love you and then maybe you'll finally give me a chance." Sophie was so close to pressing it down. She had to hold herself back, dreaming about all the fun they would have together when Mutt forgets about that hindrance.

"You won't remember a single thing about him."

“ what ?!” Forget about his lord and master?! No, no… “oh fuck no !” That was the worst thing that could ever happen! What worth was he if he didn’t have his master by his side?! He couldn’t let that happen! To hell with whatever risks he was taking with this, it was certainly better than allowing her to erase his memory!

He started charging all of his magic into his collar in a teleport. He was aiming for his living room. Hopefully Razz was home.

He also began struggling again, in earnest. “fuck you! get that thing away from me! anything but that, please! ”

He was trying to run away! Sophie pouted, she still wanted her nickname, but she decided she could try getting it after the potion did its trick. Maybe then her Sweetie would be more compliant, after he sees the truth more clearly.

She stabbed the syringe into his soul without hesitation, pressing down until there was nothing left in it. She smiled. Mutt would be so happy after this! Now all she had to do was wait.

Mutt’s eyes widened. No-!

…

What was he thinking about? Something… important, right? Something really important, but he couldn’t remember what. Could it really have been that important if he couldn’t for the life of him remember what it was?

Yes .

Yes, yes it was important. Incredibly important. Something that was detrimental to his own worth. After all, without this thing, what worth was he? Nothing. Because it was something he lived for. He didn’t know what it was. Was it even a thing? If it wasn’t, then why was he alive?

His breathing grew faster and his eyes were wide. He was shaking so much that his bones were clanging against each other, causing a loud chattering sound to fill the room. Tears were flowing freely from his eyes, and it was doubtful that they would ever stop.

He started to scream.

Why was he alive? He shouldn’t be. He should just be dead . There was no reason for him to live. No reason for him to continue on. He-

Everything stopped, and the silence was suddenly extremely loud in the bedroom.

He would be dead. He had no reason to live, after all.

He wanted it back .

Chapter Text

Sophie watched him for a moment, more worried the longer it took for him to calm down. Was this supposed to happen? Shouldn't he be calmer now? She had taken all bad memories away after all. Why was he crying?! She flinched when Mutt started to scream so suddenly, raising her hands to her ears to try to block the horrible noise. No! That was not what she wanted! Why was he screaming ? Why did it sound so agonizing?! He should be happy right now! She didn't understand what had gone wrong!

And then… nothing. He just stopped. Sophie lowered her hands, hesitating, her eyes already wet from having to hear him like that.

She kneeled closer to him, carefully cupping his face in her hands again.

"Sweetie? Are you okay?"

Mutt’s head was now resting on the wall behind him, and he slowly shifted his eyes to the owner of the hand that touched his cheek.

...Sophie, right? He hated her, didn’t he? Not like it mattered. Nothing mattered, not now. Had it ever?

He stared at her silently, his eyes dull.

Sophie stared at him, worried, wondering what was going on in his head. She took the chains and unclasped them, freeing his limbs and removing his cuffs. Sophie hovered her hands over his collar, hesitating for one moment, before deciding he wouldn't try to run away now. She took it away too, wanting him to be comfortable. Her precious skeleton was acting strangely and she didn't know what was wrong.

"Hey, Sweetie. Come on, talk to me! What's wrong?" she rested her head on his shoulder, pouting at his silence. "Do you want some time? I can wait."

Razz eventually decided to go back home, seeing as he couldn't do much more out. He had already searched all the places he could think of, asked everyone he judged relevant to ask about his brother. It was okay, he would find him eventually.

Razz slammed the front door shut, cursing the world, wanting everything to just burn before his eyes.

The moment the collar was off, magic gathered around Mutt and suddenly he was gone. He didn’t know where he went, nor did he care. It was natural instinct.

He ended up laying on the floor in the middle of his living room, but he didn’t bother getting up. What was the point? There was no point. He didn’t care. Nothing mattered. His eyes were dull and he was staring at nothing, body as limp as a deceased human.

Razz stopped, frozen in place. He stared at Mutt laying there in their living room as if nothing had happened, without a care in the world. His clothes were cut and where the fuck was his collar?!  

Razz growled and stomped over to him, his hands ready to punch him.

"Where were you?! And how dare you come back as if everything's just fine?!" he sat on top of him and punched his face, not even realizing, or caring, about his lack of reaction right now. Razz snarled, his entire frame shaking with rage. "Why aren't you apologizing?! Beg for mercy, you fucking liar!" he took him by the neck and started strangling, lifting his head a few inches from the ground just to slam it back down.

Razz loosened his grip, waiting for an answer.

Mutt didn’t really react when there was suddenly somebody on top of him, beating him up. The skeleton was saying stuff, but they didn’t make sense. Did they know Mutt? He didn’t remember them. He gazed up at the skeleton with no look of recognition, nor the usual look of utter adoration Mutt usually held when looking at this certain skeleton.

“...who… are you?” He murmured quietly. He… had a feeling this person was really important, somehow. “somebody… important, right?” For some reason, he had an urge to respond to this person. A strange urge, something he didn’t have with that other girl. Sophie, right? He didn’t care, though.

Not like it mattered. Nothing mattered.

Razz froze for the second time, his eyes locking with Mutt's, staring at him as he finally took his state in. He... wasn't saying anything. He wasn't apologizing, he wasn't mocking him, he was just staring back blankly, as if...

"What... w-what do you mean?" Razz mentally cursed the crack in his voice, his soul sinking. "What the fuck do you mean?!" he started shaking, panic settling in as he tried to make sense of those two sentences. "You- you don't remember me?! I am your lord! Your master! Your brother !" tears started to sting his eyes.

What- How- That had to be a terrible prank. But... He looked deep in Mutt's eyes, trying to find some sort of emotion, trying to find a speckle of recognition... only to find none. Razz gritted his teeth, willing himself to keep his mind under control. It was fine it really wasn't , it was okay it was not . He just stared at his brother for a few more seconds, not sure about what to do with that, before he finally called his magic and checked him.

What came up when Razz checked him was different than it was before. Before his memory had been erased, Mutt’s stats would have been as follows;

Mutt

LV 28

HP 5/5

Loves you.

Now, after Mutt’s memory had been erased, his stats read;

Mutt

LV 28

HP .5/1

Lost his memory, lost his reason to live.

He didn’t understand what the skeleton above him was saying. He didn’t understand why the skeleton seemed so sad. He didn’t even know why, but the sight was breaking his heart.

Razz held back a sob and gripped at Mutt as if he was the only thing keeping him sane, swallowing his panic down. It was fine, he was still there, Razz could fix this. He-

He had hit him, fuck! What if Mutt had dusted just from that? He had one HP! One fucking HP, and it was at half right now! Razz started to hyperventilate as he got up, trying to think about what to do. He was not dusting, right? He was fine. Everything was fine. Razz would fix this, somehow. He would-

Razz curled up in a ball away from Mutt and started weeping. He couldn't do this. How did he even begin? A blow could kill his brother now, and Mutt didn't even know who he is. He was just going to stay there, staring at nothing. Razz had him back, but he didn't at the same time, and he had bo idea of how to fix that. He was alone now. Razz had never been alone before. How- how-

No. Get a grip on yourself. Razz got up and went to the bathroom to retrieve the first aid kit for whatever injuries Mutt might have. He would fix this. It- it was fixable, right? It had to be. Razz stood over him, holding on the first aid kit tightly.

"...sit on the couch."

Mutt slowly got up to do as ordered. It was that urge … that same urge to do as he ordered as he had to answer this- this skeleton . He didn’t know who this person was. He knew it was somebody important , somebody he wanted to listen to , for some unknown reason.

...Was this person the thing he had forgotten?

He watched Razz with a new spark of curiosity, something that he hadn’t had before.

Razz brightened when he noticed the change, but he didn't let his hopes up. He approached him and started healing the damage he had just caused, not needing the medical kit for now, just magic.

"Are you hurt anywhere else?" he asked, not sure about what had happened to Mutt. He would ask later, that was fine. They had time.

“...does it matter?” Mutt responded in a mumble, leaning back against the couch. “i don’t… care.” Nothing mattered. Not if Mutt was okay or not, not if he was alive or not… nothing.

He let the skeleton heal him, though. He had no reason not to. “...what’s your name?”

Razz lifted his eyes to him, gritting his teeth.

"Yes, it matters!" he snarled, those words having brought tears to his eyes again. "I don't care if you don't care! Just tell me where else it hurts!" he didn't want Mutt to dust. Razz cared about it, and that was all that mattered. As long as he cared, he wouldn't let his brother just die.

Razz held back a whine at that question. It wasn't fair that he had to answer that to his own brother. He should know! But it was okay, he would tell him. As soon as his voice started working again.

"R-Razz. Razz. My name is Razz." he answered, sniffling. "Your brother." he repeated, hoping that would get in Mutt's head and make a difference.

Razz. Okay. A name for a face. Even though Mutt for some reason didn't feel too comfortable saying that name out loud, almost as if he wasn't worthy of it. Still, he nodded.

His hand reached up to scratch at his neck. It had been an annoyance ever since that Sophie girl took off his collar. An itch . It felt as if there should be something that belonged there. The itch wouldn't go away. He needed like… a weight of some sort.

Razz looked at Mutt scratching at his neck and shot his hand forward immediately, remembering the last time he had done that. He took hold of his hands and put them away from him.

"Don't do that!" he hissed, tightening his grip. He didn't want to let go now, but he couldn't hold on to them forever. Razz glanced at Mutt's bare neck and tried to remember if he had an extra collar. He didn't think he did.

Well, time to improvise! Razz slowly let go of his hands and unbuckled his belt, then wrapped it around Mutt's neck as a poor substitute for his collar. He didn't have anything better at the moment. Razz wring his hands, not sure if that was enough.

Mutt held onto the new thing around his neck and blinked. Well, that was better. How did Razz know that would help? He was so smart. 

This important person was super cool.

"...thank you," he murmured.

...But his eyes drifted. Down to Razz's pants, that were now kinda hanging open. Mutt didn't know why, but that interested him. A lot.

Razz smiled at his words, relieved that this problem was fixed, more or less. Razz would get him a new collar. What had happened to the other one? Where was Mutt all morning? And why had he come back with no memories? Razz didn't know what had happened and that made him feel lost.

He took notice of Mutt's stare, and he would be normally teasing his brother, ordering him to thank him 'properly' after seeing that look. But… he really wasn't in the mood right now. Razz still smirked at him and swung his hips, just to have a feel of normalcy. "Do you want to praise your master, Mutt?", "What are you looking at, pet?", "Is there a problem?". Razz could say many things. He sighed.

"Do you know where you are? Do you… remember other things?" he asked instead. 

The sway of the hips locked Mutt's gaze in place for another second, before he looked up at Razz when he asked a question. "...this is my home," he answered softly, "it's where i went after she took the metal collar off. i dunno why i came here. it's not like it matters where i am. i don't care."

...Though he was starting to believe that… less and less.

"This is our home." Razz stated, grinding his teeth. So it had been only him. Mutt remembered other things just fine. Why?! What could have caused-

Wait. She? Metal collar?

"Who is 'she' ?" Razz demanded to know, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him. If he answered one more time that it didn't matter… Razz growled. "Who the fuck did this to you? What did she do?!" whoever it was, they were dead. They were dead , but they would beg for it before Razz allowed them to rest in peace.

Their home, Razz said.

But Mutt didn't have much time to think about that before Razz was grabbing him and shaking him. She, she…

Oh. "sophie." That unimportant girl. 

Razz's eye lights constricted until they were almost gone, his entire frame going stiff as he forced himself to let go of Mutt before he hurt him. Razz balled his hands tightly, shaking in anger. She was dead . Razz should have known that human was a threat, he should have gotten rid of her in their first meeting, she just kept causing them problems and now- now this.

He turned around and kicked the already broken chair, kicking at it with all his strength, imagining it to be that bitch crying in agony.

" I'll kill her! I'll cut her skin off and smash her with my feet until she's a bloody mess of rotting meat! I'll rip her eyes off and make her eat them, then I'll give her to the dogs and order them to piss all over her!" Razz took the chair and sent it flying to crash into the wall. He would not kill her, he would keep her alive to make her suffer for all eternity.

Mutt slowly got off of the couch and hugged Razz from behind, pulling him in close. He didn’t care about what happened to Sophie, but he was starting to find that he did care about this small skeleton and what happened to him . A lot. “...don’t hurt yourself,” He mumbled, resting his chin on Razz’s head.

The thing was, without Mutt’s memory, he had no reason to restrain himself from being affectionate if he wanted to be.

Razz stopped, not expecting the hug. He would be shrugging Mutt off right now, demanding to be released in that instant , saying he didn't ask for that, he didn't need that, he could rage all he wanted and it wasn't Mutt's job to stop him. But all fight had left Razz as soon as his brother touched him, and instead of rage, what dripped from him were tears. 

"But- b-but- Look at what she's done!" Razz turned around in the hug to face his brother. His face was scrunched in an attempt to hold back the tears, but he was very obviously failing it badly, tears rolling down his face as his breathing got cut off by sobs. "Y-you don't even remember m-me!" he wailed, deciding to shut his eyes. Razz didn't want to be hugged by his brother when the other didn't even know who he was, but he wrapped his arms around him anyway, holding him tightly, grasping for any comfort that might give him.

"I-I don't know how to fix this! I don't k-know how to make you remember!" what if he never did? What if Mutt got stuck like that forever, and never got his memories back? Killing Sophie was not going to fix anything, nothing was ever going to fix this. Razz felt as if he had lost Mutt forever. "W-what- what do I do?!"

Razz just buried his face on Mutt's ripped shirt, sobbing uncontrollably as he hugged him back.

Chapter Text

Oh, oh no. Razz was crying now. Mutt didn’t… he didn’t want that. At all. And he felt as if it was all his fault, he was the reason Razz was feeling this way. What happened ? He wanted to remember, he needed to .

But he also needed to comfort Razz in any way he could.

He gently held the side of Razz’s face and wiped his tears away with a thumb. “i know you’re important to me,” He told him, “and i know that i really, really care about you. i know that i want to remember, especially if it’ll make you feel better. and… i know i don't like seeing you cry, because somebody as amazing as you deserves to be happy."

That last part just slipped out, but Mutt let it happen.

Razz smiled a little at those words, feeling a bit better knowing that Mutt still cared about him, despite everything. He was still him, even without his memories. Mutt wanted to remember, and Razz would help him with that, it- it had to be reversible. They would work on it, it would be fine.

"You won't leave me, will you?" Razz asked, still holding him tight. Razz would never leave Mutt alone again, he was prohibited from sleeping alone now. He would quit his job if they refused to let him come with him, he wouldn't leave his brother alone for not even one second. Not after what had just happened. "You didn't try to leave me, right? It was Sophie that took you away, it wasn't- you didn't try to run away with her, right?" Razz didn't want to be left behind.

Sophie took him away ? He knew that she brought him somewhere, but he didn’t remember that she took him away from somewhere. But she apparently took him away from Razz. That… that idea pissed him off.

“i won’t leave you,” He agreed, “i didn’t try to. sophie… brought me to her place when i was asleep, i think, and tied me up. she did… a lot of stuff.” He could actually remember what she did, now that he thought about it. His grip tightened the smallest bit on Razz at the thought. She touched him… she grabbed him in a place that nobody should have ever touched…

Razz wasn't letting him go. He listened to Mutt, not able to feel anger in that moment. Razz would make Sophie pay later, and he had to take care of her before she did something else, but that wasn't the most important thing in his mind right now.

"What did she do?" Razz forced himself to ask. Maybe that was important. Maybe it would give Razz some clues about what to do to heal Mutt. Remembering his earlier state, Razz checked him again, to make sure he was at full HP now.

Mutt

LV 28

HP 1.8/2

Wants to remember.

Mutt went silent for a moment as he thought. Trying to remember was like trying to look at a house through a thick wave of fog. Still, he managed.

“...she chained me up. she touched my cheek, i bit her and made her bleed and i refused to let go. she grabbed my soul to make me let go and then held onto it. i think… i tried to tell her that was worse than rape, but she didn’t listen. she hugged me and kissed my cheek and acted really delusional.” He found the more he spoke, the easier it was to remember. “...i was crying, i think. she kept saying everything was fine but it wasn’t . she wouldn’t stop touching me. she wouldn’t listen.” He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to concentrate. Something else happened next, but what?

“...somebody called,” He finally continued. “i felt… hope. a lot of hope. but she took the phone out of my pocket to see who called.” Who did call? For the life of himself he couldn’t remember the name that showed up on the phone. “i don't remember who called. i know that i begged for her to answer it, though, and she didn’t. she hung up and then destroyed the phone.”

He had to think again. What next? The next part was also really blurry. Oh, no wait. There was a part before the call… “um… before the call, something else happened i think. she uh…” Think… “there was a collar under the metal collar. she took that off. she cut it up and burned it. i think i had a, uh… panic attack? after that.”

“she… tore up my clothes… sometime during the situation? i don’t remember when she did it. and she bandaged my arm, though i don’t know how it broke. i… remember i didn’t want her bandaging and trying to fix it, though.”

He paused one more time, then finished his explanation, “she stabbed my soul with a syringe or something. i think that’s when everything changed.”

She was dead. 

Razz shook, trying to imagine Mutt in that situation, trying to imagine him having his soul touched by someone he didn't trust, forcibly . Razz tried to imagine him crying, begging for her to stop. He gritted his teeth. She would pay for that, she would pay for having touched his brother, for having touched his soul , something so important that not even Razz had done it before. Sophie had stolen that precious moment from him, forever.

He listened as Mutt told him about his call. Razz remembered how all he was thinking about in that moment was how Mutt must have been laughing at him, refusing his call and turning the phone off on purpose. And meanwhile, what was really happening… Razz closed his eyes again, not wanting to imagine that. Meanwhile, Mutt was hoping to be saved. He was hoping Razz would come rescue him, and Razz didn't. Mutt took himself out of there, after the damage was already done.

She had taken his collar off, and she had ruined it. Razz remembered the last time Mutt had been without it, and his marrow boiled just by thinking that that human had caused him to get in that state again.

Razz tried to not focus on the mental image Mutt was creating in his mind, afraid that he would lose his temper. He couldn't do that now, Mutt needed him. First, Razz had to take care of him. He kept the information about the syringe at the back of his mind, noting that what had made Mutt like that had been some sort of potion. 

Razz called his magic back, silently grabbing Mutt's arm to heal the damage he had caused earlier. It didn't seem like Sophie had harmed him physically, except maybe for his soul, but Razz wasn't going to check on that right now, so soon after his brother had been assaulted by her.

He noticed Mutt's HP was higher now, and that gave him hope. Maybe he could get better.

"It is okay now." Razz reassured him. "I won't let her touch you ever again. I'll kill her. You're safe now." as soon as he felt Mutt was a little better, Razz was going to hunt her. He would take his brother with him, because he was never going to leave him alone again, so he had to make sure Mutt was fine. First things first.

“i’m safe now,” Mutt copied, watching Razz. “because i’m with you.” He felt safe. He felt that, no matter what even Razz did, he would be safe and he would be fine and he would be happy , simply because it was Razz .

...It felt like he was falling in love all over again.

Had he actually been in love with this person? He had, hadn’t he? He had been totally and completely in love with this single person right here. Huh, no wonder he cared about him so much.

Mutt

LV 28

HP 1.8/2.5

Realized he’s in love with you .

Razz checked Mutt again to see if he was getting any better, smiling at the text description. He decided was going to slowly get his brother back, even if he had to relive all their memories together. As long as Mutt was by his side, things could eventually get better again.

Razz finally pulled away from the hug and took a step back, wishing he could just reach for Mutt's shirt and pull him down, demanding a kiss as his soul was trying to compel him to do.

Instead, Razz pulled Mutt down so he could pet his head, exactly as he always does, smiling softly at him. Razz closed his eyes and touched their foreheads together, still caressing the back of his brother's skull.

"I love you too." this time, the words flowed easily.

“I love you,” came that very same voice, except it was more hesitant. When Mutt looked at the owner of that voice, he saw a shy looking little version of the person he recently found out he loved. His lord and master, his mind helpfully supplied.

Mutt blinked.

And then he wrapped Razz back up in a hug. “i love you so much, m’lord.”

Mutt

LV 28

HP 5/5

He remembers.

Chapter Text

Razz perked up at that. Somehow, he knew Mutt had just remembered him. He knew he had just somehow fixed everything, with those four words, as if in a stupid fairytale. Razz didn't care about it, and he wasn't going to ask his luck.

Tears came back to his eyes and this time he didn't try to hold them back. Razz hugged Mutt, wrapping his arms firmly around him. He was back . His brother was back, and nothing would take him away from Razz this time. He was never going to leave him again.

Razz pulled him into a kiss this time.

Mutt purred and kissed back.

Now that he had his memory back, he could properly be pissed at Sophie. He didn’t think she even knew what she did, did she? She literally touched his soul, fucking handled it like it was some sort of stuffed animal!

He decided to promptly ignore that feeling. Focus on the here and now, where he was kissing his lord and master and everything was fine with the world once again.

Fuck Razz was just so tempting .

Sophie was marching her way back to Mutt's house, frowning in worry. He had just disappeared! Simply like that! She was resting her head on his shoulders in one moment, and in the next, poof . No Sweetie in her bedroom anymore. She stood there for a moment, wondering where he could have gone. And then it came to her that he must have gone back to his brother. He always does.

It was okay, Sophie would retrieve him. He must be so scared, stuck in a house with a stranger. An abusive stranger. She started walking faster. She ran to the side of the house again, climbing the wall she already knew would lead her to Mutt's window, easily getting in.

There, she was inside now. Sophie walked to the door and opened it carefully, attentive to any sounds. She lowered herself to the ground and started crawling to the railing. She could see the living room from there. But… She wasn't expecting to see what she saw.

Her precious skeleton was there, but he was currently being trapped beneath that disgusting creature. Pinned to the couch, the other crawling over him like a worm. Kissing . Why couldn't she get rid of that stupid leech ?! Sophie took off her shoes and threw it at him.

"Get off of him! Sweetie, I came to get you!"

Razz was all around him, all over him. They were so close , and Mutt was getting pinned to the couch as they kissed. More like... as they made out. Mutt loved it. Mutt had been hoping it would turn into something even more .

Then the bitch decided to throw a shoe at Razz’s back. 

Mutt couldn’t hold in his growl as he looked past his lord and master and glared up at Sophie, who was on the second floor. How dare she?! Why was their house so easy to get into?!

Razz didn't say anything at first, too shocked to a have shoes thrown at him and to have a dumb human trying to order him around at his own house. The shock wore off, however, and the mood was ruined.

Razz turned to her as well, his eyes burning in anger. Well, at least he didn't have to go hunting. She had come to him, like the idiot she was. Razz turned her soul blue and brought her to the first floor, smashing her against the ground. Then he impaled her arms with bones, making it impossible for her to get up. Sophie screamed, only registering the pain, unable to process what had happened, everything flowing too quickly.

Razz got up and walked to her, smirking darkly. He wanted to simply kill her then and there, put an end to this once and for all, but it wouldn't be fair. He thought fitting to let his brother decide what to do.

"What do you want to do with her, Mutt? I'll leave her to you."

Mutt stepped up and kneeled to his lord. "if i may, m’lord," he started, not even glancing Sophie's way. "killing her would be mercy for all that she's done. i believe we should make the shed her new home."

Back underground, the shed was used by both Razz and Mutt as a torture room, for the unlucky monsters who needed to be interrogated, or the even unluckier monsters who happened to get Mutt or Razz pissed off. The trouble Mutt made sure Razz never even had to know about, the worthless bags of dust Razz ordered Mutt to torture, the monsters Razz himself tortured…

To volunteer for Sophie to live there… Mutt was suggesting that she would be tortured day in and day out, endlessly.

Razz smiled and lifted her, pulling her up until the bones he had stabbed her with either went through her arms or dislodged from the ground. They dislodged from the ground, sadly. Sophie screamed again, tears running through her face as she looked up. Those teary eyes locked with Mutt's, confused.

"Sweetie? What are you talking about? I came to rescue you! We can go home together!" she tried to smile at him.

Razz scowled and started pulling her along.

"Let's go then." he started walking out, taking the keys to the shed with him. He would be glad to watch this.

Sophie floated after him, trying to reach for Mutt. What was he doing? He was free now! He wasn't supposed to remember his brother! Why was he kissing him, why was he kneeling to him again? She didn't understand what had happened.

Then they got to the shed and her face brightened. Oh! Her Sweetie wanted her to move! How thoughtful of him! Now she would be close to him, just a few steps away from his house. This place could be better, though.

Razz dropped her to the ground without a care and went to lock the door again, resting his back on it. He smiled. This would be fun.

Mutt actually didn’t know what to do, now. It had been a while since he’d tortured anybody and Sophie in general just made him really uncomfortable. He shifted on his feet, then sort of… backed away from her, moving closer to Razz. “...m’lord…” He mumbled, keeping his head down, “can i just… stay by the wall or something, please? i don’t… want to be near her…” But he didn’t really want to be away from his lord, either.

Sophie grunted when she hit the floor, but she brightened back up right after, looking up at her dear skeleton. She tried to move herself up with her hands, just to yell in pain. Ok, no arms. She blocked all talk, focusing on propping herself up, struggling. She eventually managed to sit up and smiled, lifting her head again to see her Sweetie, only to find him backing away from her. Her smile dropped.

"Sweetie, what's the problem? Come here! We can cuddle!" she giggled. She has been wanting some cuddles for some time already. Sophie tried to crawl after him.

Razz glared at her and held her in place with his magic. He frowned at Mutt's answer. He didn't think Mutt would refuse this offer, and he didn't like the way he tried to get away from her, hesitating to teach her a lesson. Razz crossed his arms, brows furrowed. He knew it wasn't because Mutt was having second thoughts about her suffering. His brother was afraid of her. Sophie. A human . Razz gritted his teeth. He didn't like seeing that.

"Just go there and hit her! It shouldn't be this hard!"

Mutt cringed and backed away from Sophie when she tried to fucking crawl to him, but then his lord gave him an order, and he couldn’t just ignore that. He took a breath, then nodded. “yes, m’lord.” 

He summoned a bone and stepped up to her. He stared at her for a moment. He actually wasn’t very good at making people pay for what they’ve done to him , that was more his lord’s thing. He was much better at making people regret what they did to his lord. 

Still, he used the sharpened end of his bone to stab straight through her thigh.

Sophie watched expectantly as Mutt got closer again, trying to understand what he was doing. She was staying there, right? Mutt was giving her a place to stay, closer to him. She didn't like that his brother was still there, but she would just ignore him. All that mattered was that Mutt was coming closer and he would finally explain why he had run from her, he would finally talk to her. Sophie ignored the summoned bone too, because that just didn't make sense.

Until that bone stabbed through her thigh and she screamed in pain.

That-That hurt ! Her arms still had bones sticking through them, and now her thigh was in a similar position. Why was her Sweetie doing that? Sophie grunted and grabbed Mutt's ankle, compelling herself closer to him so she could hug those bony legs. She hugged tight, deciding she wouldn't let go. It was okay, he was probably just confused. Sophie could comfort him.

Mutt squeaked and teleported away from her instantly, ending up right next to his lord instead. He backed up and pressed himself against the wall. There, he hit her. Then she had the gall to touch him in return. Yeah, no thank you. 

He looked to his lord in hopes for an explanation of what to do next.

Sophie deflated when she realized that, suddenly, she wasn't holding onto anything. She lifted her head and there he was, far far away. She let out a distressed noise.

"No! Come back! I can-" she was interrupted when Razz stepped on her head and pressed it against the dirty ground.

"Shut up!" he growled. Then he turned to Mutt, still frowning. "What are you doing?! Don't run away from her like this! She is defenseless! Just punish her! Punish her for doing what she did, punish her for having just touched you, just fucking do something!" Razz spat. He didn't want to see Mutt cowering away from a weak human like her. He knew he was strong, what was his problem now? Sophie couldn't do anything to him now! Anything! Mutt shouldn't be afraid of a useless being like her. He couldn't just keep running away from this.

"...yes, m’lord."

He… had to think in a different mindset. Think of her in a different way. He was his lord's pet. His dog, an extension of his lord and master. He belonged to him. Sophie- this human touched what belonged to his lord and master. His lord and master was possessive, and he didn't like that. 

Ah, but she couldn't touch him again.

His eyes dimmed and he started to chain her up. She was going to pay.

Chapter Text

Razz smiled, satisfied, and leaned back on the wall to watch the show.

Sophie lifted her head when Razz stepped off of her head and found Mutt walking over to her again. She smiled at him. She would be able to comfort him properly this time, then he would let her go. She could treat his injuries as he treats hers, later. Then one day they would be able to move to another place, away from his brother, just them.

Her smile faltered when she saw him taking the chains. She watched with confusion in her eyes as he chained her up, flinching at the pain in her arms and her leg. She didn't see the point in that. How would she be able to comfort him like this? She couldn't even hug him! And he was not getting close enough for kisses either!

"Sweetie? What are you doing now?" she asked him. Sophie didn't like not knowing what went on in his head.

"shut up," Mutt snapped, stepping back when he made sure the chains stayed. It had been a while since he'd used them. He shuddered when he remembered what she did when he was chained up.

Stop thinking about it.

He pulled out a small flame thrower from their container of torture devices. The torture began. He planned on muffling her if she kept trying to talk to him.

Sophie frowned at his words. She didn't stay quiet.

"No! Tell me what is wrong! Why are you so angry? Come here, we can talk! I can-" for one second, her brain didn't catch up on what she was feeling, as if her nervous system just failed to transmit the information. Then, agony. "GAAHH! ST- ARGHHHH! STOP ! STOP!"

Sophie thrashed in her chains, trying to get away from the fire as a blood-curdling scream left her. She couldn't stop for longer enough to properly talk Mutt out of whatever had possessed him to hurt her like that. She didn't understand! Why was he doing that to her? She just wanted to help him! She had always only wanted to help him! Sophie had never hurt him like that, so why- why...?

She glared at the other skeleton through the fog of her pained mind, and saw him smiling in delight at her. It should be him in her place, it should be him here, burning , burning until he was ashes-

Sophie screamed.

“don’t look at him,” Mutt snapped, “you have no reason to glare at m’lord like that.” He backed away and grabbed a knife, then stepped closer again.

Sophie held back her scream for one second, breathing heavily with tears cascading down her face. She had to stop him. She had to wake him up from this- this- this hypnosis. She was sure her Sweetie would never do this, he was just... sleeping. Yes, that was it! She just had to bring him back to her!

When Mutt got closer to her again, she ignored the excruciating pain and leaned forward, until she was able to capture him in a kiss. A true kiss. He didn't open his mouth, but that didn't stop her from trying to get in, going through all his teeth with her tongue, licking every surface she had access to. He didn't have lips, after all. Sophie inclined her head, trying to find a better angle, and sucked on his mouth. Open up, Sweetie! Open! She smiled, letting out a high pitched giggle.

Mutt screeched and teleported away again, right back to the wall next to Razz. Damn it, and he had been doing so good, too. Now he was desperately trying to wipe her off of his teeth and whining and shaking a little, too. What the hell. This was why he didn’t want to be the one to torture her.

He whimpered and looked to his lord for help. What did he do now?

Razz was rebooting. His mind took a while to comprehend that she was kissing his brother, that she was getting her saliva all over him, tarnishing him. He saw Mutt teleport away from her and reappear at his side, trembling and whining. Judging by how he was pleadingly looking at him, Razz doubted Mutt would be willing to try again. That was fine, he would end her.

Razz summoned a series of bones and stabbed her eyes, then when she opened her mouth to scream, he sent a bone through her mouth, puncturing her throat and shutting her up instantaneously. How dare she?! He drilled several more bones in her, and soon Sophie looked like a pin cushion, blood dripping from her. She was dead, dead. Razz would kill her.

She started gurgling blood, and Razz kept piercing her neck with thin sharp bones until she stopped and her head fell on the ground. There. Done.

Razz growled and walked over there, stomping on her head until it lost its rounded shape.

"See, Mutt? No more Sophie." he raised his head to face his brother and calmly made his way back to his side. "Don't worry, you did well. It's over now." he patted his head.

“m’loord…” Mutt whimpered and clung to Razz as if he didn’t just brutally mangle a human. The place was already starting to stink. “thank you, m’lord.” He clung tightly, even though he hadn’t necessarily gotten permission to hug him in the first place. Sophie was gone, she was literally dead, Mutt could calm down.

He could calm down.

So why was he still shaking?

Razz frowned at the shaking, gritting his teeth. He tried a continuous vigorous patting, but he doubted that alone would work. He made a face. Razz didn't want to have her lingering traces on him, but he also didn't want them on Mutt. He sighed. The sacrifices he had to make…

Razz pulled Mutt down for a kiss, hoping that would stop that incessant trembling. It was getting annoying and worrying . She was gone already, there wasn't much more Razz could do about it now.

The kiss did calm the shaking down, and Mutt leaned into it and purred instead. His lord and master. He had to focus on him. His everything .

No more Sophie. Just Razz.

Just Razz.

He melted into the kiss and calmed down completely.

As it should be.

Razz smiled and pulled away from the kiss. As much as that was good, the smell was starting to really bother him and it would be much more comfortable if they continued in the house, not in the shed.

Without not even glancing at the dead corpse now rotting a few feet away from them, Razz turned to open the door and motioned Mutt to follow, walking the short distance back to their home. Then he kept going, his final goal being his bedroom. After having been interrupted by Sophie in the worst possible moment and then killed her, Razz was ready for a little fun.

Mutt let himself get pulled into the house, mind too occupied with thinking about the feeling of Razz’s mouth on his own. It was so much better than Sophie kissing him, that was for sure.

But he didn’t even need to think about her anymore. She was dead and gone. 

Now was time for a little fun.

Chapter Text

Fun time ended and Razz found himself cuddling Mutt, they both comfortably lying on his bed. The cuddle made him feel sleepy and in peace, and he needed it as much as Mutt, but he would never admit it to himself. Razz was only cuddling because after the day his brother had, he deserved a treat. That's all. He knew Mutt liked the physical comfort, or whatever that was.

Even though he was ready to fall asleep, he couldn't. His mind kept thinking about how Mutt was easily taken away by a nobody like Sophie, how he had almost lost him forever to that. Razz cuddled closer, holding on his clothes with a frown on his face. He was never leaving him to sleep alone again. Razz wouldn't be able to sleep alone after this.

He frowned deeper when he thought about what she had done. Razz trailed his hand down to the temporary collar, making a note to himself to fix that tomorrow morning, go find the first pet shop and buy the best collar available. Then he thought about Mutt's soul.

A soul was sacred . It was not meant to be seen by anyone, much less touched . That first contact a soul had to another life was supposed to be one of the most important moments of a monster's life. She had stolen the precious moment away from him. Razz hadn't even- he didn't even know what Mutt's soul looked like! And from what his brother told him, she had just handled it without any care, nonchalantly . Razz couldn't let that be the only experience Mutt had about soul sharing.

He stayed in silence for a moment, going over his next words in his head several times to make sure he wasn't messing this up before he spoke up.

"Mutt? Can I… see your soul?"

Mutt’s soul? Razz… he wanted to see it? 

But - but Mutt’s soul was disgusting . It was cracked and fractured and barely held together at all . It was probably because Mutt was dangerously close to falling down every second of everyday, but he always continued on, because he had one thing that gave him constant hope. Razz.

Not to mention the fact that it had already been defiled by the stupid, now dead human that he refused to mention the name of. Why would Razz want to see it?

Still, he did want to see it. It was obviously not an order, not for something like this, but he still wanted to see. 

Would Razz really want to… be that close with Mutt? Or did he literally just want to see his soul and do nothing else?

He pulled back just enough to summon his soul and direct it to float in front of Razz.

It was just as he’d said- cracked, with hairline fractures running the entire length of the inverted heart. Some parts of it looked like they weren’t even attached, while other parts of the soul looked like they were bleeding. It didn’t affect Mutt. His soul’s… situation had been this way for a long time. Mutt wasn’t affected by it… other than embarrassment.

Still, the soul beat strong.

Razz held his breath when the fragile thing was presented to him, afraid that even the slightest blow would send it crumbling down before his eyes. It was barely holding itself together, and the memory of just how low Mutt's HP was only a few hours ago showed how easy it would be to break it, how poorly it was clinging to life. Razz had to admit, a part of him hurt seeing it. He had never thought his brother's soul would be this bad, this damaged , and his own soul faltered when he stopped to think that life was so senseless, so unimportant to his brother, that he was literally one step away from just... letting it go.

But a bigger part of him was focused in another very important detail. All Razz could think about was how that frail thing was still there. It wasn't cracking, despite the horrible condition it was in, it wasn't shattering. For some reason, it was still beating, still glowing. Still alive.

Razz cupped the soul carefully in his hands, mesmerized at how it was still existing . It was terrifying that it has gotten this bad to begin with, but it was much more amazing how it just kept going, despite everything. The fact that his brother was still alive just turned every single hairline crack in something beautiful. As if it were mocking everything that tried to knock it down, with no success. 

Razz smiled as he finally let his fingers lightly touch the soul. It was as if it was saying to him, that no matter what Sophie tried, no matter what anyone tried, it was still there, for him. Razz summoned his own soul, feeling compelled to return the gesture. He was also still there, for Mutt. 

He already knew what he wanted, but for the first time in his life, he wasn't sure about how to ask for it.

Just as Mutt had thought, Razz’s soul was beautiful. He was beyond flattered that Razz had felt Mutt was worthy enough to even see it, and he raised his hands as if he wanted to touch it. He did want to touch it. But he stopped, and he hesitated. His lord’s soul… Mutt would never truly be worthy to even see such a thing. But it was still here, in Mutt’s sight.

Fuck his lord was just amazing.

Razz had never been overly conscious about his own soul, never really stopping to think about it. He had never had a problem with it; as long as it was still functioning, it was fine. But as he saw Mutt hesitate, he suddenly lost confidence in what he was doing.

He frowned, a little hurt and just slightly panicked. Was there something wrong? He didn't think his soul was too bad, but maybe it was? Maybe Mutt expected it to be intact? Had Razz failed to meet his expectations? Had he failed badly enough that his brother didn't even want to touch it?

Maybe it was better that he didn't say anything then. He... he didn't want this to be an order that Mutt felt obligated to follow, or something that he would only do to appease him. Razz felt grateful for not having asked anything yet, the question dying before it came out.

"I... uh..." he let go of the soul in his hands, giving it back to Mutt and taking his soul back to hide it. "Thank you for showing it to me."

Razz turned around so his back was facing his brother, still frowning, tears threatening to drop from the corner of his eyes. He was not expecting it to upset him so much, but... Razz really wanted that. And it felt as if Mutt didn't.

Mutt blinked. He believed… that wasn’t what Razz wanted. “...m’lord…” He started, hesitating, “i think i upset you.” No duh. “because… i hesitated on touching your soul or doing anything with it.” An orange blush started to spread on his cheeks. 

“...just like you, your soul is absolutely amazing. it’s perfect. i felt - or, well, i feel as if i had no right to do anything with it.” It was simply his self hate, coming to make everything worse yet again. “if i held it…” Fuck, he could have actually had his lord’s soul in the palm of his hand… “...i fear i might’ve fucked it up somehow.”

Razz didn't stop frowning, but the urge to cry was gone. Of course that was the problem. Mutt wouldn't believe in himself for anything, always too hesitant and insecure. But that was okay, because Razz could show him he was deserving of trust. Razz could show him he trusted him, and maybe one day Mutt would be able to trust himself too.

Razz smiled at the compliments, his hand going back to his chest to resummon his soul. He cupped it in his own hands for a moment, debating on what he should do. He didn't want to mess this up either. 

He turned around again, to face his brother this time, and placed his soul in his hands. 

"Here. You can't fuck this up. If... if you want to... you can just... do it..." Razz stared his own soul, unable to properly ask for what he wanted. He hoped his brother understood what he meant.

Well fuck.

He had a soul in his hands now.

Mutt stared at it in awe.

This was Razz’s soul and it was in his hands .

He had been staring so much that he barely registered what Razz was saying. When he realized that his lord actually did say something, he had to tear his gaze away to settle it back on Razz. “i… ushah… huh?” 

Razz blushed hard. Of all the times for Mutt to not listen, it had to be now! Did he have to repeat himself now? Whoever was controlling this world's misfortune, please enlighten him, how would a second try make the question any less awkward? Could this get any worse?! ...Razz didn't want to know.

"It's... If... if you wish to... uh... do the thing . Then. You. You may." there. Razz wanted the choice to be in Mutt's hands, for once. He wanted to make sure this was a decision Mutt took, without him there to influence his choice. He didn't need to be anymore explicit than this did he?

Do… the thing…

Mutt blinked stupidly for a good two minutes.

Did… Razz mean soulbond? What other thing would Razz be talking about involving their souls? Well, there was soul sex , but that happened after the monsters were already soulbonded.

…

If Razz wanted to, he could stop Mutt. Mutt decided to rely on that fact.

He ever so slowly started to bring the souls together for a soulbond. He made sure to give ample time for Razz to stop him.

Chapter Text

Razz held his breath and just watched attentively, enraptured by the slow movement bringing their souls together. He wouldn't stop it, he wouldn't stop it for anything. He sucked in a breath right before they finally made connection, his consciousness being assaulted by memories. Years and years of memories, some of them memories that shouldn't exist, because they just didn't make any sense.

First, he saw, he felt, how much Mutt cared. He cared so much, so much more than Razz could have ever imagined, doing things he would have never known about if it wasn't for their souls currently sharing memories. Razz had always thought he was the only one tending to the safety of their relationship. After all, it was him who ordered Mutt to not talk to people, to not dress inappropriately, to not let people touch him. And it was Mutt who wore the collar, which meant it was Razz who held him in place, who kept Mutt from leaving.

Razz had always felt that if it wasn't for the collar, Mutt would have left him a long time ago. Even if his brother said he loved him, Razz never thought he actually loved him the point of doing something about it. He would have never imagined Mutt loved him enough to get protective, possessive , to the point of making the nuisances... poof. The knowledge that Mutt did warmed Razz's soul.

Razz went through the memories running around his skull, filling him with facts that shouldn't have ever be tested. He didn't understand it at first, seeing what seemed to be the same day repeated over and over. And then he realized, it was the same day... being repeated... over and over and over and... 

He cringed at that. How could that be possible? That couldn't... But it was. It was , at least for Mutt. Souls couldn't lie. It didn't matter if it was truly real; for his brother, it was. Razz frowned when he realized he hadn't helped, he had just stood there like a bypasser in the middle of that mess. He remembered that month. It had happened not so long ago, and it had been nothing like how Mutt remembered it. How hadn't Razz realized there was something amiss? This should be easy to see, people couldn't act normally if- He gritted his teeth when Mutt tried to tell him and he laughed. How dare he doubt him?! How dare himself not even try to investigate the problem further?! Mutt had confessed something was wrong! He- Ugh! Razz gritted his teeth until it hurt, but he didn't try to pull his soul away. He wanted to see this until the very end.

Razz watched as Mutt eventually started to lose himself, searching for any kind of comfort. And if Razz's attention was the comfort he found, then... Razz couldn't exactly feel angry about it. He could, however, be upset that it had pushed Mutt to try even the most drastic measures. Razz loved their punishment time, but not when it was offered like that. A punishment for mistakes committed on purpose. Specially harsh punishments delivered for specially bad mistakes. Committed on purpose.

Razz blankly watched as, in a different story, he killed Alphys. He would have been angry with Mutt for bringing him to this, but he couldn't care less now. Alphys could die, as long as his brother got the attention he deserved. Razz would never leave him alone again.

When Mutt's apprehension of being feared became a topic, Razz scoffed at the prospect of being afraid of him, and he scowled even more when the memories told him he had actually been afraid at some point. Well, not this him. Current Razz knew he had no reason to fear him, he knew Mutt would never do something bad towards him and that he would never try to go away, despite his power. He was over this.

His brother had killed himself at that time,  and Razz's anger peaked. He wasn't sure if he was angry at Mutt, for giving up so easily, or at himself, for putting Mutt in a position where he felt the need to give up. Well, it didn't matter. Razz wouldn't leave him, for real now, and even if Mutt tried to say goodbye, he would be forever there. He wouldn't let Mutt try to give in again.

Razz only smiled when the memory of the first time he had made Mutt wear the collar came to life. He knew he hadn't liked it, and he hadn't cared at the moment. It was funny how Mutt now held the collar as a precious gift.

Mutt was greeted with a very specific memory at first. Razz’s thoughts, when Mutt disappeared. He was able to see exactly how… creative Razz was. While Mutt had been suffering at Sophie’s hand, Razz had been thinking of all the things he would do once he got his hands on Mutt again, and…

Mutt shuddered, the smallest bit disappointed that it never actually happened. Perhaps Mutt was actually really mentally sick, but that future actually didn’t seem too bad to him at all. A future where he was tied up to Razz’s ceiling, no arms and no legs, unable to speak, unable to move , only there for Razz’s pleasure…

Mutt shivered again as it quickly became his own sick fantasy. It was probably better that it never happened. No, it definitely was better. Mutt would just… have fun with his own imagination.

The contentedness of knowing Mutt loved his collar now was immediately drowned by a recent memory, about Razz taking his collar and throwing it away in the trash can, as if it was garbage. The smile that was slowly forming in his mouth died and Razz re-watched the scene, by Mutt's point of view, his own body trembling slightly.

He had thought he was doing a good thing, at the time. Not so long ago, Razz had really thought his brother would feel better without it, so he just... took it away. And then he started to leave. He... Razz hadn't realized how easily that could gain a totally different meaning in Mutt's eyes, how badly that act could be interpreted. He flinched when Mutt's reaction was instantaneous. 

His brother's panic overwhelmed his own thoughts, and the thought that Mutt had fucked up was, somehow, the only and first thing to cross his brother's mind. Tears started to roll down Mutt's face and he ran to reach out for Razz, in a despair Razz hadn't been able to notice before. Mutt thought he was really leaving him there, just because his collar wasn't around his neck anymore. He thought Razz was disowning him. Abandoning him. Somehow, Mutt attached his own value to the collar and Razz's love to its presence. And this... Razz didn't know what to do with this.

Razz was able to watch the aftermath of his departure, his dumb decision to leave his brother there, with tears still fresh on his face, still on the ground, and very obviously not okay. Mutt didn't try to go after him, and Razz had thought that was okay, that he was just happy to stay home. He had noticed the scratches on his neck later, but he hadn't really made the connection with everything else.

Desperate to show he was still worth, desperate to have Razz back, and all Mutt did was scratch ruthlessly at his bare neck, as if trying to bring back the feeling of the collar's weight through pain. He didn't try to go after him, like any other person would, because Razz had told him not to. He went back to the trash can, though, and rescued the collar and the leash back, hugging tightly as if those were the most important thing he had. And... maybe they were, when Razz was gone.

He had never truly realized how important those simple objects were for his brother. Sure, the collar held a big significance for Razz, just as it did for any other monster. But not to that level, not nearly. Mutt depended on it in a worryingly way, held onto it as his last hope, and Razz wasn't sure that was a good thing.

The collar was gone now.

This brought a new fear to Razz's face. Was Mutt okay now? Was he fine? He was using a poor substitute, his belt was no collar, and all Razz could do was get him a new one and hope this fixed things. All Razz could do was hope that his brother was good.

That feeling, that utter despair echoed back to him, awakened memories Razz didn't like to think about.

He could remember clearly how his younger self watched as his brother walked away to do whatever it was that he thought important enough to leave Razz alone. Alone and soon terrified. Just as a baby thought their parents were gone the instant they couldn't see them anymore, Sans was sure Papy had vanished as soon as he got too far for him to see him. Gone. Dust . Sans couldn't make sure he was fine, and his soul just started to beat faster and faster, hid entire frame trembling as tears-

No. No. He didn't want to remember those things. It was just like that other time-

He had gone again, and Sans just gritted his teeth, frowning. He didn't wait for Papyrus' silhouette to disappear, turning around and marching away too. They were two separate monsters, they could live away from each other for a few hours. Paps was fine. He was fine . He would come back. He wouldn't be gone forever. Sans didn't let a single tear gather in his eyes, he wasn't a child. His soul still clenched in aprehension. Papyrus wouldn't . He wouldn't leave him behind. Sans glanced back just to check-

He knew he was coming, he just had to be, Mutt was dead if he didn't show up in the next five fucking seconds. He balled his fists, his eye lights moving frantically, searching for his brother. He should be there already, why wasn't he there?! Sans felt as if he couldn't breath, slight tremors that he couldn't exactly suppress taking over his body, that old fear taking control again. What if Mutt wasn't coming back, what if his brother-

Razz blinked and pushed the memories back down vigorously. He didn't want to think about it.

Mutt could feel his guilt as he saw an old memory from his lord's side. It was back when they were both much younger, Razz hadn’t claimed Mutt as his pet and Mutt worked by Gaster’s side as the Assistant Royal Scientist. After Gaster died, Mutt had become the Royal Scientist for a short while before he quit to serve his lord. He had left to work on a project with the other scientist assistants, and it was too dangerous to bring his little brother along. Mutt wouldn’t have wanted his brother hurt.

But now he felt terrible for leaving him in the first place. It was a good thing, a while ago, that Mutt promised he would never willingly leave his lord again. It wasn’t a thing that would happen. Ever. Again.

Soon enough, the memories on both sides ended. Mutt had gained a better understanding of his lord, but not by much. He could already understand his lord from the very beginning, after all. He still felt so much love for him, and he was glad he could be with him.

Razz, on the other hand, had many of his doubts shushed, many of his fears washed away and his soul felt lighter than he could ever recall it being. Razz knew he loved Mutt, even if he didn't say it. He really did. And he feared Mutt realizing just how deeply exactly he loved him just as much as he feared his brother not realizing it at all. Razz didn't need to worry about it anymore, firstly because there was no hiding anything anymore, but also because he noticed he never really had a reason to. If Razz's love was just a little bit more violent than the usual, then Mutt was just his perfect duo, matching him flawlessly. Mutt feared being left just as much as Razz loathed the thought of leaving him, and he was sure the feeling was echoed back.

Everything was so very simple now. He wouldn't leave, and neither would his brother. They would be together forever, and nothing or no one would ever tear them apart. Never. Razz smiled as he closed his eyes, his soul beating in contentment, not bothering to say any sappy words after the soulbond. It wasn't needed.

He snuggled closer to Mutt, falling asleep in seconds. He had never been happier in his life.

Likewise, Mutt knew now that his lord would never leave him, even though that test had made him doubt it for a time. He could tell, through the soulbond, and he knew that his lord wouldn’t be able to simply because of the soulbond. His lord didn’t even want to. Despite his collar being kinda nonexistent and replaced with a simple belt, Mutt felt at ease. He was here with his lord, and he was happy. He fell asleep not long after Razz did.