The first time Mettaton met Papyrus-

Well, he hadn't so much met Papyrus as he had been dragged by Alphys and Undyne to go and save the human at Papyrus' behest. That was right before the barrier shattered. Everything after that had been such a rush, and being in his EX form for so long had forced Mettaton to retreat to the lab and recharge before he could even go to the surface.

As far as first meetings went, it left a lot to be desired.

Of course, Mettaton had already known who Papyrus was – Undyne never shut up about him – but that wasn't the same as knowing him personally.

And after just a few meetings with the younger skeleton, Mettaton was sure he wanted to know Papyrus personally.

There was something so refreshing about his honesty, about how he refused to see anything but the good in people. Naïve, perhaps, but charming. Yes, Papyrus was definitely someone Mettaton wouldn't mind getting to know a little better.

Perhaps a lot better, given the right circumstances.

So far, the only thing preventing those circumstances was Sans.

Now Sans, Mettaton was more familiar with. He'd spent time at the lab with Alphys, working on whatever projects those two spent their spare time on. Back when Mettaton had been awaiting the completion of his EX form, he'd also spent quite a lot of time at Alphys' lab, berating her over it, so naturally the two had made one another's acquaintance.

Despite this, Mettaton knew very little about Sans. Among what he did know was the shorter skeleton punned at every opportunity, was far less lazy than he led others to believe, and had a protective streak a mile wide where his brother was concerned.

From what Mettaton could tell, everybody seemed to. Undyne, with her cooking lessons to keep Papyrus busy, Sans, keeping secrets from even his brother, everyone treated Papyrus like he was much younger than he really was, and far less capable.

The protective brigade surrounding Papyrus made it difficult to get near him. Luckily, since settling into the surface, Mettaton seemed to have luck on his side. Well, luck and the fact that Alphys and Undyne were now living together. And while Mettaton may have been busy living his dream of being a real star, he spent most of his free time with either Blooky or Alphys. And when Mettaton spent time with Alphys, Papyrus often happened to be training with Undyne.

It wasn't as if Mettaton had figured out Papyrus' training schedule so that he could conveniently organise to see Alphys at those times. Not at all.

Except he had, and somebody had picked up on it. Specifically, someone short, yellow, and very obsessed with the idea of Papyrus and Mettaton becoming a couple. It figured that the one person not trying to protect Papyrus would be the one all too eager to try and force things.

Normally, Mettaton could brush her off and pretend like Alphys was delusion, but not today. Today was a bad day. Not in terms of anything serious, it was simply a bad day for Mettaton being able to focus on anything besides a certain skeleton. Alphys and Mettaton were trying – key word, trying – to watch anime, while Undyne and Papyrus cooked dinner in the kitchen. Although Mettaton was paying far less attention to the TV than he was to the 'training' occurring in the next room.

"Oh my gosh!" Alphys cried, in response to whatever was occurring in the anime. Mettaton couldn't tell you what it was. "Mettaton, did you see that?"

It took only one look at Mettaton to realise that he in fact had not seen it.

"Sorry darling, what was that?" Mettaton asked, clutching the pillow he had in front of them.

The two were planning an all-night anime viewing, and so suitably had blankets, pillows and popcorn surrounding them. Mettaton had even gone more casual for tonight, wearing black sweatpants and an oversized pink hoodie, not planning on Papyrus being there that night.

Alphys had paused the anime and was giving Mettaton 'the look'. It was the look she'd been giving him since she'd worked out he had feelings for Papyrus.

"Don't give me that look," Mettaton said, lifting his chin.

Alphys had one brow raised and her arms crossed over her chest. If it had been Undyne, the look would've been intimidating, but on Alphys it just looked motherly.

"I will give you this look," Alphys affirmed. "You need to talk to him!"

Mettaton gave a sigh, flicking his hair half for the sake of being dramatic and half to make sure it was still covering the unfinished portion of his face. "Alphys, darling, you know I can't do that."

"And why not?" Alphys adjusted her arms across her chest, attempting to look the least bit authoritative. Her stature made it rather difficult.

"Because not only would Sans and Undyne kill me if I tried to get within a mile of Papyrus, but because there is no way he is interested in a romantic relationship."

Alphys sighed, the long-suffering sound forcing her eyes closed in exasperation, and settled back into the couch. She let the matter, but not her arms, drop, and pressed play on the anime.

Mettaton, too, settled back into the couch, and forced himself to at least look at the TV, if not watch it. There was no use staring at what he could not have, and Mettaton knew he could not have Papyrus.

He'd tried, really he had. In those first few meetings where the robot had managed to get the skeleton alone, Mettaton had been sending all the right signals. He flirted, like his life depended on it, allowed his hands to linger just a touch too long on the skeleton's bones, he even went so far as to give Papyrus his number.

All of which had resulted in a big fat nothing in return. Papyrus didn't return his flirtations, had done nothing but blush and stammer at Mettaton's touches, and had yet to use Mettaton's number in the weeks since he had been given it.

Sinking further back into the couch with another sigh, Mettaton tried to pretend that it didn't bother him. He knew he was just being overdramatic now, even by his standards. Perhaps it was the low battery warning his systems were giving him, he always got like this when he was in need of a charge; mopey, quieter, unusually thoughtful.

"Alphys, could you be an absolute dear and pass me my charging cable?" Mettaton asked, not wanting to get up.

Alphys, as predicted, gave a quick yelp and leapt from the couch. Protecting Mettaton from reaching critically low charge levels was one of the few things Alphys would go out of her way to do. In her haste her large feet tangled in the blankets she'd wrapped around herself, and before either she or Mettaton could do anything the lizard woman had gone crashing to the ground with a startled yell.

The kitchen went silent in an instant. A beat passed, before Undyne charged out and scooped up her girlfriend, who had managed to skin her knee on the carpet, holding the smaller woman against her chest in a protective embrace.

"What happened?" Undyne demanded. "Are you okay?"

Alphys nodded, adjusting her glasses. Thankfully they were unharmed. "I just tripped, I'm fine."

"You are not fine!" Undyne declared. "We're going to patch you up, right now."

And that being that, Undyne carried a weakly protesting Alphys off to the bathroom to attend to her wounds. Great, now Mettaton would have to get his own charging cable.

Or not. In the midst of the brief panic, Mettaton had forgotten about the other visitor to the house. Papyrus had followed Undyne at a more sedate pace, and was now standing in the entryway to the kitchen, looking lost. Mettaton might as well make use of his presence.

"Papyrus, darling, could you please pass me my charging cable?" The cable in question was already plugged into the wall, so it was just a case of grabbing it and plugging himself in.

"Of course!" Papyrus sprang into action, moving quickly to the cord laying on the ground. "What kind of friend would I be if I didn't?"

Papyrus picked the cable up with great care and pressed it into Mettaton's outstretched hand. Smirking, Mettaton kept hold of Papyrus' hand as he took the cable and plugged it into the socket on the small of his back. The bones of the skeleton's cheeks tinged red, the blush only worsening when Mettaton released his hand to lean back into the couch, letting out a contented hum. Having electricity flow through his circuits was always such a pleasant, calming feeling.

"Something wrong, dear?" Mettaton asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"N-nothing! I, the great Papyrus, have no idea what you could be referring to!" Papyrus tripped over his words in his haste to get them out.

Mettaton laughed quietly. He scooted over on the couch and patted the spot next to him. Papyrus sat down, hands folded in his lap and looking everywhere but at Mettaton.

"So darling, how's your…training going?" Mettaton asked. Whatever nerves Papyrus had, they seemed to melt away as his usual excitement returned.

"Excellent! Thank you very much for asking." Papyrus was practically glowing with pride, bouncing in his seat. "Undyne says I am making great progress. We've both been learning to cook so many new foods now that we've moved to the surface."

Mettaton couldn't help but smile at Papyrus' eagerness. "Is that so, darling?"

"Oh yes!" Papyrus nodded so fast, Mettaton was concerned his jaw might come flying off. "Frisk bought Undyne and I cookbooks for Christmas. The instructions make it so easy to get the foods right, too. In the underground, we had to get it right with trial and error."

Mettaton covered his mouth with his hand to hide the small, genuine smile playing on his artificial lips. It wasn't often someone made him smile like this. Every time Mettaton interacted with Papyrus, the robot was startled by the skeleton's candidness, his genuine displays of emotion. It was refreshing, after all the time he spent every day with the humans in the show business industry, to have even a short conversation like this with Papyrus.

And it seemed that the conversation was indeed destined to be cut short. Alphys was already waddling out of the bathroom, a bandage on her knee, followed by Undyne hovering behind her.

"I p-promise it's fine," Alphys said, her cheeks flushed. If Mettaton had to guess, he would say Undyne's healing methods had involved more than just a bandage.

"If you're sure," Undyne said, in a tone that said she in no way believed it to be true.

When the two women saw Papyrus and Mettaton on the couch together, both looking back to the bathroom they'd just emerged out of, their reactions were very different. Undyne regarded Papyrus' place on the couch with suspicion, narrowing her eyes at Mettaton. The robot smirked, resisting the urge to stick his tongue out. He wasn't completely childish, after all. Alphys, meanwhile, was barely containing her excitement, and looked as if she was about to start taking pictures with her phone.

"Can we help you?" Mettaton asked. He hadn't realised he was referring to the two of them as 'we' until it was already out.

"Yo Paps, let's get back in the kitchen," Undyne said, grabbing Papyrus by the arm and practically dragging him off the couch.

Mettaton knew, without having to look, that Alphys' face was settled into a smirk.

"I told you not to give me that look," Mettaton said.

Alphys didn't dignify him with a response.

While they cooked, Papyrus was concerned. Undyne had been acting strangely since Alphys had scraped her knee. At first, Papyrus had assumed it was just worry. Then he thought that surely it must be because they were cooking something new from one of Frisk's cookbooks, and it didn't call for nearly as much enthusiasm as they were used to. Human cooking seemed to be very strange in that regard.

But something wasn't right. Undyne kept glancing at Papyrus when he thought she wasn't looking, and she didn't seem to be focusing on what they were cooking. That wouldn't possibly do! If Undyne didn't focus on the cooking, the food wouldn't turn out right at all.

"Undyne!" Papyrus said, startling the fish woman.

She jumped, brandishing her wooden spoon like a spatula on instinct. Realising it was just Papyrus, she put the spoon back in the bowl and turned to her 'student'.

"What's up, Paps?" she asked, not looking him in the eye.

"Is something wrong, Undyne?" Papyrus asked.

Undyne intended on telling him it was nothing. But then she saw Papyrus' genuine concern, and couldn't bring herself to lie to him.

"Nah, nothing's wrong," she began, looking back to the bowl in front of her. "Hey, Paps?"

"Yes? What is it?" Papyrus asked. He was absentmindedly cutting up ingredients for the meal they were making. It was going to be pasta, which as far as he could tell was just a different type of spaghetti, and the sauce needed onions and tomatoes.

Undyne looked to be struggling with words, hesitating. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, as if she didn't know what to say. It worried Papyrus, who was not used to seeing her like this. Finally, she seemed to settle on the right words.

"You uh…you and Metts seem close," she said.

Papyrus was confused, but answered the half-question nonetheless. "Yes! I am glad that I have the chance to be such good friends with someone who is nearly as great as I am."

Undyne let out a little chuckle. "That's the spirit, Paps." She paused, looking down. Now Papyrus was really getting concerned. "So…you like Mettaton, right?"

Papyrus arched a brow bone. "Of course. He is my friend, which means I like him."

Undyne cringed. "No, Paps, I meant…like, do you want to go on a date with him?"

Papyrus' hand stilled over the chopping board. Undyne waited, trying to pretend she was in any way still focused on the cooking. The truth was, neither of them were anymore.

"I, the great Papyrus, cannot go on a date with Mettaton," Papyrus finally said.

"Dude, why not? You don't want to?" Undyne asked.

Papyrus shook his head. "Mettaton can't be with me. He has a duty to his fans! They would never accept me taking him away from the spotlight."

Undyne looked at Papyrus like he was crazy. "Paps, that's insane!"

"Undyne, you don't have to comfort me. I know that someone like Mettaton would never go on a date with me anyway."

Undyne was speechless. Papyrus was about the most confident person she had ever met, perhaps barring Mettaton himself. To see him this quiet, this resigned, was jarring. She wanted to yell in his face that he was good enough for Mettaton, damn it, but something made Undyne stop. She'd never seen Papyrus like this, and she didn't think that their usual methods of confidence building would do the trick.

"Undyne?" Papyrus said. "Can we finish making the pasta now?"

Undyne blinked, trying to take in this new, quiet Papyrus. "Sure, Paps. Let's get cooking!"

Nothing else was said on the matter for the rest of the night. By the time the pasta was done, Papyrus had returned to his usual, excitable self, and all mentions of dates and feelings were largely forgotten. By the time he'd agreed to stay the night, Undyne having declared it was far too late for him to travel home and knowing Mettaton would pass out on the couch, leaving the guest room empty, the earlier seriousness had been forgotten.

It was 4am by the time Alphys was beginning to nod off. Mettaton had shut down at least an hour ago, having tired of the current anime they were watching, but Alphys refused to sleep until the ongoing character arc was resolved.

"Alphy, you awake?"

Alphys jumped a foot in the air at her girlfriend's voice right behind her. Undyne panicked and grabbed her, holding Alphys still until she managed to figure out what was going on.

"U-Undyne!" Alphys stuttered, leaning into her girlfriend's embrace. "You scared me!"

"Sorry, babe." Undyne flashed a wolfish grin.

Alphys pushed up her glasses and turned off the TV, leaving them in only the light from the hallway.

"Did you come to bring me to bed?" She rubbed at the scales on her face.

Undyne's response was to hold her in one arm and walk back towards the stairs. Alphys squealed quietly, clinging to the warrior.

"How's Metts?" Undyne asked, glancing over her shoulder at the sleeping robot.

His face was buried in a pillow, hair mussed and limbs splayed at impossible angles. His charging cord protruded from the port on his back, snaking towards the wall.

Alphys groaned. "Hopelessly in love with Papyrus," Alphys said decidedly.

Undyne shook her head. "Paps is the same…honestly, I'm worried."

"W-worried?" Alphys cocked her head.

By this point they had reached their bedroom, and Undyne was sliding Alphys onto their bed.

"I know you trust Mettaton, but I can't help but worry about Paps. He's too innocent, I don't want him getting hurt."

Alphys shook her head, smiling, and pulled Undyne down to the bed as best she could.

"Mettaton won't hurt Papyrus, not on purpose anyway. A-and I really think the two of them can make things work."

Not for the first time, Undyne stared in disbelief at her girlfriend, wondering how on Earth she'd managed to be so lucky. She decided to show it, sweeping Alphys up into an embrace and swooping the covers over the both of them. Alphys snuggled into Undyne, and the taller woman removed her glasses gently.

"Maybe they just need what we needed," Alphys mused, letting out a yawn so adorable Undyne thought she might just squeeze her girlfriend to death.

"Oh yeah? And what's that?" she asked.

"A shove in the right direction," Alphys said, and before anything more could be added she was out like a light, dead to the world.

Undyne followed soon after, the both of them wrapped up in each other's embrace, and tried to quash her protective urges for the sake of making Papyrus happy.

Morning came slowly, light peeking in through the windows and warmth spreading through the house. It was unusually quiet for a morning in the Alphys-Undyne household, but then, with those two it was impossible to know what to expect.

Mettaton's systems came on all at once, at 9am. Something had woken him, a noise in the kitchen. Not Undyne levels of noise, but enough to disturb Mettaton's rather fabulous sleep nonetheless. Having been on charge all the previous night, it'd been more than enough time for his batteries to fully replenish. The lack of actual sleep, Mettaton would deal with for now. He planned to at least stay for breakfast, he could sleep later, once he was home.

Alphys was absent when Mettaton finally forced himself to open his eyes. It wasn't that surprising, Undyne had likely taken her off to bed sometime after Mettaton had shut down for the night. Still, it was unusual that Undyne herself wasn't up by now, causing all manner of noise and chaos in the kitchen.

Unplugging himself, Mettaton rose with all the grace he could muster this early in the morning and strutted over to the kitchen. Technically, strutted might have been generous given that he wasn't wearing his signature boots. Dramatically padded barefoot may have been more accurate. Whatever the case, Mettaton arrived in the kitchen to find Papyrus there, cooking pancakes.

Mettaton allowed himself to lean in the doorway, just watching for now. Without Undyne in charge, Papyrus' cooking was actually a lot more reserved than Mettaton would've thought. The skeleton seemed confident as he flipped the pancakes, and it wasn't until he turned to slide them onto a plate that he noticed Mettaton's presence.

"Good morning, Mettaton!" he sang, turning the stove off and grabbing the plate of pancakes.

"Good morning, darling," Mettaton said, brushing through his hair with a metal hand. He had to make sure his face was covered appropriately. "Are the lovebirds still sleeping?"

Papyrus shook his head as he walked to the dining room table. "Undyne wanted to get more pancake toppings, and Alphys went with her to 'supervise.'"

Mettaton couldn't help but chuckle, imagining what would happen should Undyne be entrusted with shopping on her own, and went to help Papyrus carry cutlery, plates and the pancake toppings they did have to the table.

"I must admit, I thought they would be back by now," Papyrus said. "Undyne did tell me to start cooking, after all."

Mettaton smiled in spite of himself. He hadn't expected to get any alone time with Papyrus, and alone time over a meal was even better. They took seats opposite each other at the long table.

"Well, dear, I for one am looking very forward to eating these delicious pancakes. I'm sure Undyne won't mind making some more when she arrives home." Seeing Papyrus' worried look, he continued, "In fact, Undyne will probably be grateful you left some cooking for her to do."

Papyrus' face lit up. "Of course! I am such a good friend, I had to leave something fun for Undyne to do."

"That's the spirit," Mettaton said. He watched as Papyrus dragged a pancake onto his plate and first spread butter on it before drizzling syrup over the breakfast treat.

Mettaton copied his actions, and found Papyrus watching expectantly as he prepared to take the first bite. Mettaton smirked as he cut a piece and popped it in his mouth. He licked a stray piece of syrup off his lips, never breaking eye contact with a now-blushing skeleton.

"Well?" Papyrus asked, grabbing his fork to take a bite.

"Delicious, darling, truly wonderful," Mettaton said, and he meant it. The pancakes did taste amazing, cooked to perfection. "Is this another recipe from Frisk's cookbooks?"

Papyrus nodded, grabbing another pancake. Mettaton was only halfway through his first one, and took another bite. He couldn't help but stare at Papyrus as he ate, the anatomy of the skeleton still fascinating to him. Papyrus' scarf hid his neck, but the orange glow of a magically-conjured tongue snaked out from between his teeth with each bite. The sight of it made Mettaton wonder what else Papyrus could produce with his magic.

The robot barely managed to stop a blush from rising on his cheeks, halting that particular chain of thought right there. Papyrus was not interested, and was far too innocent besides. Even if the skeleton did have knowledge of such things, it was wrong for Mettaton to be thinking of him in that way. They were just two friends sharing a meal, that was all.

They ate mostly in comfortable silence, with only the occasional question and answer passing between them. It was nice, even if Mettaton would have preferred to be speaking more, and he wondered why he'd let things go on this long without ever spending this much time alone with the skeleton.

"Darling, we should get together like this more often," Mettaton announced, the last pancake gone.

Papyrus nodded, and smiled, but Mettaton could see unease in his expression.

"Something the matter, dear?" the robot asked, tilting his head. Papyrus, quite obviously, panicked.

"N-nothing!" he said, and Mettaton knew he was lying. This was the way the skeleton always got when Mettaton was alone with him.

Perhaps Mettaton was being too forward. Or maybe, and the robot was sure this was more likely, Papyrus just wasn't interested, and didn't know how to let Mettaton down without ruining their friendship.

"It was just a suggestion, darling, no need to get so flustered." Mettaton winked, hoping to diffuse some of the mounting tension.

"I would love to spend more time with you, Mettaton!" Papyrus blurted out. The moment the words had left the skeleton's mouth, Papyrus looked as though he regretted them. He looked nervous.

The sound of the front door opening signalled it was time to wrap this conversation up.

Mettaton smiled. "You do have my number, Papyrus. You should text me sometime so we can meet up."

Papyrus looked speechless. Then his face burst into a grin. "I would be honoured to text you and hang out!"

Once again, Mettaton was touched by Papyrus' sincerity, but he couldn't believe his own stupidity. Now he was going to be forced to spend time with Papyrus one on one, knowing he could never have the younger skeleton brother.

Undyne and Alphys' arrival literally crashed down on them, ending the conversation. Undyne demanded to know why they'd eaten the pancakes, and dragged Papyrus back to the kitchen to make more. Alphys set about placing the new toppings on the table, and kept looking sideways at Mettaton until he arched a brow and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You're giving me the look again," Mettaton said, though he had to admit it was a different expression that now schooled her features than her usual 'look'.

"What were you two talking about?" she asked, an innocent enough question, but the look on her face removed innocence from the equation completely.

Mettaton sighed, a long-suffering sound, and pursed his lips. "If you must know…I was asking Papyrus to actually use my number."

Alphys gave a shrill little shriek, clapping her hands together in front of her nose. Mettaton rolled his eyes.

"Alphys, darling, do try and calm down." The robot shook his head. "It's not going to result in a date, do try not to get your hopes up."

"And why not?" Alphys demanded.

"Because, dear," here Mettaton paused, leaning down until he was nose-to-nose with the short woman, "Papyrus is not interested."

At that moment, Undyne and Papyrus appeared from the kitchen, another stack of pancakes held between them in their hands. Both wore proud smiles, Undyne beaming with her free hand on her hip, as they placed the plate down on the table.

"Food's up!" the fish-woman proclaimed, already seating herself down at the table.

Mettaton decided this was his cue to leave. "Well darlings, it's been fun, but I've already eaten and I really should be getting back home."

"Do you have plans?" Alphys asked, waggling her eyebrows. Mettaton knew she was just trying to get him to stay longer.

"If you must know, Blooky is visiting today so we can work on music for my next tour."

Looking dejected, Alphys nodded her understanding and went to retrieve Mettaton's charging cable for him. The poor woman had once had a major fright when Mettaton had managed to leave it behind on one occasion, and now never let him leave without being certain that the robot had it.

"It's been wonderful seeing you darlings," Mettaton said, his words directed more at Papyrus than anyone else.

"Have fun working on your music, Mettaton!" Papyrus said, waving at him through a mouthful of syrupy pancakes.

"See ya, Metts," Undyne said, with very little malice in her tone for her. Mettaton decided to chalk it up to the pancakes turning out well and ignore it for now.

"Goodbye, dears," Mettaton said, taking his charging cable from Alphys and grabbing his bag from the couch.

Alphys walked him to the door. "I-I'll see you soon, Mettaton."

"We absolutely must finish this anime soon," Mettaton agreed, leaning down to give the creator of his body a quick hug. He'd gotten into doing that now, after they'd patched things up between them and started spending so much time together. Still, Alphys tensed up every time before returning the gesture. She was getting better, just slowly.

Papyrus needed to text Mettaton.

Not because he wanted to see the star again, which he did, or because Papyrus thought Mettaton returned his feelings, which he did not, but because Sans was beginning to get suspicious. Papyrus had been spending far more time on his phone than normal lately, secretly hoping Mettaton would text first so that he wouldn't have to. Yes, the robot had given Papyrus permission to text him, had even asked him to, but the reason Papyrus hadn't used Mettaton's number so far was because he felt as though Mettaton was too busy, as though he would be interrupting no matter when he texted.

Sans was beginning to notice something was up. Papyrus had never been one to constantly check his phone, unless he was waiting for a text from Undyne, and Papyrus had already made the mistake of confirming that was not the case when Sans asked.

Papyrus loved his brother, but he knew that Sans had a tendency to be overprotective. He also knew that Sans didn't approve of the blossoming friendship between Papyrus and Mettaton. Once, Papyrus might've trusted Sans' judgement without question, because surely his brother knew what was best for him. Now, however, Papyrus was older. He knew that Sans was only trying to protect his baby brother, but…it was getting old. Papyrus was going to be friends with Mettaton, and he was going to spend time with him, and Sans wasn't going to stop him.

At least Sans wouldn't have to worry about Mettaton returning Papyrus' romantic feelings. That was never going to happen.

But that didn't mean they couldn't be friends! And part of that was taking the first step and texting papyrus.

If only crafting the message itself was as simple as making the decision to craft it.

Everything Papyrus said sounded stiff and stilted. Scripted, like Papyrus was hiding something. Which he was, because he wasn't going to confess his feelings to Mettaton. That would make things awkward, and losing Mettaton's friendship was the last thing Papyrus wanted.

In the end, it took Papyrus all night to decide what to send to Mettaton. Which was good, in any case, because morning was the only time Papyrus could think of that might be a convenient time for him to send a text to his idol-turned-friend. So, with the sun rising outside his window and Sans stumbling in the front door after what must have been a spectacular night at Grillby's new place – Papyrus recalled the bartender had been holding some sort of even last night – Papyrus typed out his text with shaking fingers.

Hello, Mettaton! It is I, the Great Papyrus! Are you free this Saturday evening? There's a film Alphys recommended that I think you'll like, I thought we could watch it together.

For a few moments, Papyrus simply looked at it. He read and reread the lines of text, making sure his spelling and punctuation were correct, and then hit send before he could change his mind.

Papyrus was not used to being this nervous. He was usually very confident, but the thought of being rejected by Mettaton, even in friendship, made his knees weak and hands shake. It was an unfounded fear, but one he couldn't seem to overcome.

Until Mettaton texted back.

Wonderful, darling, I just so happen to have the night off from my busy schedule. I'll see you around 7. Will your brother be joining us?

Papyrus couldn't believe how quickly Mettaton had gotten back to him, let alone that he was free this weekend. Papyrus hadn't fully expected him to be, though he'd hoped, given that the robotic idol was currently on break from his tours and in between major projects.

There wasn't time to meticulously plan out a reply to Mettaton's text now, so he typed the first thing that came to mind and sent it without giving himself time to panic.

I cannot wait! Sans has plans Saturday, so he'll be out.

Mettaton's reply came nearly instantly.

I'll see you soon, darling xx

The pet name made Papyrus' soul flutter in his ribcage in ways it shouldn't have. Mettaton called everyone 'darling', he meant nothing by it. Papyrus should just stop reading into things.

No matter how much he wanted this Saturday to a be a date, Mettaton just didn't see him that way.

Sans was worried about Papyrus.

Well, he was always worried about Papyrus, granted, but the past few days he'd been even more so. Papyrus had been glued to his phone, obviously waiting for a text, but when Sans asked all he'd been able to learn was that it wasn't from Undyne.

Sans could probably guess who had his brother this worked up. Mettaton was his first and only guess. And he hated it.

He could try and meddle, tell Papyrus to stay away from Mettaton, but if Papyrus wouldn't even admit that the robot was the one he was waiting to hear from, then his brother wouldn't be happy for Sans' input.

It wasn't as if Mettaton was a bad guy, necessarily. Self-obsessed is one phrase Sans would use. Arrogant and full of himself were others.

The point was, the robot wasn't exactly the kind of guy Sans wanted hanging around his brother, much less dating him. His only hope until now was that Papyrus was too…dense, was one way of putting it, to see when someone was interested in a romantic relationship with him, and even that saving grace couldn't last forever.

When Alphys had let slip that Mettaton returned Papyrus' feelings, it hadn't been a particularly pleasant day.

Sans had hoped things were returning to normal when he finally saw Papyrus without his phone. The younger brother was in the kitchen, reheating spaghetti (he'd been forced to admit they may have had too much when both the fridge and freezer were overflowing), and his phone lay untouched and unwatched on the kitchen table behind him.

"Hey, bro," Sans said, making his presence known.

"Good morning, brother!" Papyrus practically sang, retrieving his spaghetti from the microwave. He was smiling, even wider than usual, and Sans could feel his stomach sinking. "You are going out tonight, are you not?"

Sans nodded, knowing already where this was going. "Yeah, I'm taking Grillby to the movies. Why?"

Papyrus appeared to fidget slightly, fork twirling in his spaghetti. "I have invited Mettaton over to watch a film Alphys suggested," he admitted.

Sans wanted to tell his brother no. He wanted to say Mettaton was no good for him, and he should stay away from the damned robot.

Instead, Sans took a deep breath and decided to just suck it up. Papyrus couldn't be his little brother forever.

"Sounds great, Paps, you two have fun," he said. "I'm heading out now, say hi to Mettaton for me."

Papyrus seemed to hug Sans extra hard before he left, and the smile on his brother's features was positively radiant.

It almost made losing his babybones brother okay.

Almost.

Mettaton was having a crisis.

He knew how to dress for a date. The problem was, this wasn't a date, and Mettaton didn't want to get ahead of himself here.

So now, Mettaton had no idea what to wear. And he would ask Alphys, because even if her fashion sense made no sense, at least it'd give him an idea of what not to wear and he could work on it. Except Alphys would probably blow the speaker on his phone out screaming about how adorable the two of them were. So yeah, she wasn't getting a call.

It'd taken him the better part of the day, but Mettaton had finally whittled the options down. He was going to wear his usual, tight-fitting pants, because obviously, but as for what top to wear, well.

Eventually, Mettaton decided to just attach his usual pink panels and don a fuchsia coat against the cold. He was wearing different boots, with slightly lower, wider heels to avoid getting stuck in the snow that was coating the sidewalk, and that completed the look.

It was a good thing too; it really was time for him to get going. Thankfully the snow wasn't yet so bad that the roads were unsafe to drive on, but Mettaton had double checked to make sure he had his charging cable just in case. There were forecasts for more snow later on, but Mettaton didn't have particular faith in surface weather reports. That was something he'd learnt early on.

The drive to the skeleton brothers' house was largely uneventful, though Mettaton couldn't help his nerves from fluttering in his stomach. As much as he was trying to downplay the significance of this evening – it was just a movie night between two friends – he couldn't help but daydream of it turning into something more.

Call him a hopeless romantic, but Mettaton wouldn't be where he was now if not for seemingly impossible aspirations.

It took all of his willpower not to throw himself at Papyrus the moment the tall skeleton opened the door. He was wearing loose-fitting black pants and a red hoodie over a white shirt, quite probably to protect against the cold.

"Hello, darling," Mettaton said, leaning in for a quick squeeze by way of greeting.

He was surprised when Papyrus returned the gesture quickly, but refused to read anything into it. He was not getting sucked down that rabbit hole.

"Good evening, Mettaton!" Papyrus said, stepping aside so Mettaton could sweep into the house.

He hadn't been in Papyrus and Sans' home in a while. The last time he'd been helping Alphys and Undyne assist with setting things up, just after they'd moved to the surface, and everything had been quite barebones.

Oh help, Mettaton was spending far too much time around Sans.

Now though, the house looked much homelier and lived in. There were photos on the walls and the TV cabinet, and the smell of cooking hung in the air.

"Oh darling, I absolutely love what you've done with your house," he announced, moving to settle down on the couch. It was warmer inside, so Mettaton slid his jacket off and hung it on the corner of the chair.

"Thank you!" Papyrus said, glowing with pride, and he should! Mettaton had meant it; the house looked great.

"Are you ready to watch the movie?" Mettaton asked, draping himself comfortably over half the couch. He was sure to leave enough room for Papyrus, not wanting the skeleton to take a seat on one of the armchairs.

"Yes, of course!" Papyrus said, seeming to spring into action. Surprisingly, he went into the kitchen, but Mettaton understood when he returned moments later with a bowl of microwave popcorn. "It finished heating up just as you arrived," he explained.

"My, how perfect," Mettaton drawled. Internally, he was squealing with glee when Papyrus sat down next to him, nestling the popcorn between their thighs. "Tell me about this movie we're watching."

It turned out to be a wartime romance, which was absolutely perfect. There would be drama, bloodshed, and a love story! What more could a robot ask for?

Mettaton did wonder, at first, if it would be entirely Papyrus' sort of film, but he turned out to be every bit as invested in the story as Mettaton was, if not more. If the battle scenes got to him, he didn't show it, and he was right there with Mettaton swooning over the human romance.

At some point the popcorn bowl became empty, Mettaton reaching only for his hand to scrape dully against the metal. With a shrug he repositioned the empty bowl to the coffee table, only for Papyrus' thigh to press against his own a moment later.

He tried not to think too much of it. Really, he did. Papyrus had simply repositioned himself to a more comfortable position, that was all. It had nothing to do with feelings, romantic or otherwise. Mettaton should be glad he had a friend that was as comfortable with physical contact as Papyrus was.

"Oh my," Mettaton sighed, as the romance reached its climax at the film's end.

"How wonderful!" Papyrus added, as the two humans on screen kissed.

It wasn't long after that the credits began to roll, the room going mostly dark around the skeleton and robot. It had become quite late as the movie played.

"Darling, what a splendid film!" Mettaton announced, stretching and popping his back.

"You enjoyed it?" Papyrus asked, not doubting but looking for an honest answer in earnest.

Mettaton turned to face him, not for the first time admiring the wide, joyous smile Papyrus wore so easily.

"Darling, what wasn't to like?" Mettaton decreed incredulously. "It had everything! Drama!"

"Bloodshed!" Papyrus added, laughing to himself as he stole Mettaton's signature line.

"Action!" Mettaton continued.

"Fighting!" Papyrus crowed.

"Romance!" they both declared at once.

Without even realising it, the two had joined hands, their linked fingers held up between them. Mettaton looked down to their entwined hands in disbelief, then up to Papyrus, finding his expression mirrored on the skeleton's face.

"M-Mettaton?" Papyrus stammered, but he made no move to withdraw his hands.

Mettaton gulped, unconsciously clenching his fingers within Papyrus' grip. Papyrus squeezed back, snapping Mettaton back to the present.

"Darling, I'm sorry," he began, moving to pull his hands away. "I don't know what came over me."

"It's okay, Mettaton," Papyrus said, and now he was the one holding their hands together, not allowing Mettaton to escape his grip.

"It is?" Mettaton asked, daring to let his tone turn hopeful. Papyrus nodded, smiling despite the nerves obviously churning through him, and Mettaton felt himself relax.

And then he felt himself grow bold.

"Perhaps this would be okay too, darling," he said, leaning in just slightly.

Papyrus got the hint, and though there was disbelief plastered across his face he moved forward, meeting Mettaton halfway.

Mettaton had imagined kissing Papyrus a thousand times. He had never imagined Papyrus would kiss him back.

The firm press of Papyrus' teeth against Mettaton's lips drew a pleased hum from Mettaton that sounded more like a sigh. His soul was pounding in its glass casing, and he was sure Papyrus' was behaving the same.

Papyrus pulled back, but he didn't pull his hands away, and Mettaton knew he was smiling dreamily but couldn't bring himself to care.

There was silence for a few moments, both of them processing what'd just happened, before Papyrus spoke.

"Does this mean we are dating now?" he asked, and Mettaton wanted to crush him in a hug for how hopeful his tone was.

It was only when the meaning of those words sunk in that Mettaton realised he could in fact hug Papyrus, without fear of being misunderstood or sending conflicting signals, and all but launched himself at Papyrus.

The younger skeleton was stronger than he looked. Mettaton found himself caught in a firm embrace, held against a thin ribcage, and he smiled up through his lashes at a grinning, if not slightly shy, Papyrus.

"Nothing would make me happier, darling," he affirmed.

The second time Papyrus kissed him was no less perfect than the first. And this time, held in Papyrus' arms, Mettaton found his breath being stolen away. Papyrus was his, finally, and he was Papyrus'.

How the hell had he gotten so lucky?

Mettaton felt like there was more he should say. He wanted to tell Papyrus he was sorry for letting his feelings be muddled for so long. He wanted to apologise for not being more straightforward. More than anything, he wanted to tell Papyrus how happy he was in this moment.

But there would be time for that later. Papyrus was smiling down at him now, and he vaguely heard him suggesting they put another movie on and cuddle, and Mettaton couldn't help but kiss him a third time as Papyrus tried to free himself to walk to the TV.

As Mettaton watched his new boyfriend hold up DVDs for his consideration, he felt his soul fluttering happily, and knew that all this waiting and pining had been worth it.

The moment Papyrus returned to the couch he let Mettaton curl up in his arms again, and Mettaton would've felt at least slightly guilty for taking such an inactive role if Papyrus didn't seem so content to hold Mettaton, at some point dragging a blanket over him as the snow began falling harder outside.

It was highly likely Mettaton was going to have to stay the night, a thought which thrilled him. He was certain he could convince Papyrus to stay on the couch with him, and just the thought of being able to sleep with Papyrus – and that was really all he intended to do – filled Mettaton's soul with a warmth he hadn't known in years.

Sure enough, the snow piled up outside and Papyrus insisted Mettaton stay over. It was sometime during the second movie that Sans texted his intent to stay at Grillby's due to the weather, and sometime during the third that Papyrus plugged in Mettaton's charging cord, the bones of his hands stroking over the metal of Mettaton's back searching for the port. It was wonderfully intimate, such a simple gesture that made Mettaton feel so close to Papyrus.

Mettaton fell asleep as the fourth movie was reaching its climax, unable to stay awake much longer.

His last thought, before he fell asleep, was that Alphys was going to freak out.

Absolutely worth it.