Words: (1060)
Okay so I've decided that when I get inspired by a prompt I'm gonna include said prompt from now on.
Anyway, I find this tumblr post cute and so here's the oneshot based on it
Prompt: 'today papa john's called my starbucks and they were like "are u guys interested in a trade" and five frappechinos later they gave us two large pizzas and a large order of cheesy bread'
Enjoy!
Mettaton sighs as he scrolls through Instagram, eyes darting between his phone screen and the doorway. Business is abnormally slow despite the lunch hour having just passed, and boredom floods his body, only deepening with each person who walks past the doors without a glance in the coffee shop's direction.
The quiet tap of shoes against tile to his right draws his attention upwards, and he meets the gaze of Sparrow, a slightly shorter worker, whose yellow hazel eyes look hopeful before their expression falls.
"Still no one?"
"Nope."
Sparrow sighs deeply, loading up one of the machines to make themself a drink. The sound of grinding ice soon fills the air, and Mettaton excuses himself, slipping into the break room in the back.
Another colleague and friend of his, Kimari, looks up at him through her scarlet bangs, brow raised. He shakes his head and she rolls her eyes, shoulders slumping as she drops her focus back onto her phone.
Until the work phone on the desk rings loudly, splitting the silence like a knife through melted butter. Mettaton snatches it up, accepting the call hastily.
"Thank you for calling Starbucks, how can we help you?"
There's a moment of silence, in which Mettaton almost groans in frustration and hangs up, before the muffled sounds of voices manage to break through. Kimari watches with baited breath.
"Come on, as if this will work." The voice gets hushed, and another reaches the other side.
"Hiya, is this the Starbucks in the Mount Ebott mall?" The voice sounds nervous, shaking slightly, and Mettaton can't help but nearly laugh.
"Yes, may I ask who this is?" He keeps the edge out of his voice, though his frustration remains on alert.
"This is the SubWay across from you. We were wondering if you were interested in a trade."
Mettaton can't help it, the chuckle is out of his lips before he can even lower the phone to put it on loudspeaker, Kimari leaning in closer to it. Sparrow pokes their head in at the sound of laughter, one eyebrow lifted.
Mettaton repeats the question to the other two, who nod with differing levels of enthusiasm and wariness.
"Yeah, I don't see why not. What do you have in mind?"
Papyrus grins widely, giving the thumbs up to his colleagues, pulling the phone away from his ear and putting it into loudspeaker, laying it down on the countertop. The three in the store give their orders in, receiving the same from the Starbucks employees before the two sides hang up. They'll each send one person per store to meet in the middle, outside the old Build-A-Bear store.
As soon as the last sandwich is finished and has been safely tucked away in its wrapping, Papyrus lays it in the plastic bag with the other two subs. He then grabs three of the chocolate chip cookies, bagging them up before leaving. Zodiac and Xero watch him leave, meeting each other's gaze and chuckling to themselves as the absurdity of the situation washes over them.
Papyrus hums quietly to himself as he makes his way through the mall, eyes darting back and forth as he approaches the now closed down storefront of the old Build-A-Bear. His attention laser focuses on someone making their way in his general direction, three drinks in a take out holder in one hand, the same number of small paper bags clutched tightly in the other. They throw their gaze around, soon settling on Papyrus, and he feels himself blush slightly. It only deepens as they grow nearer and he gets a better look at them.
Their black hair covers half their face, a single chocolate brown eye watching him, a small smile lifting to their lips. They walk with a certain confidence in each step, head held high with pride.
"Heya, I'm guessing you're the SubWay person from over the phone?" Their English accent is strong, surprisingly enticing, and Papyrus nods, knees feeling weak.
Mettaton smiles gently, relief flooding him. He lets his eyes roam over their face, taking in their appearance - soft-looking white hair with orange and brown streaks cutting through, kind hazel eyes, a friendly aura emanating from them.
Papyrus reaches out to take the drinks, carefully balancing them in his palm as he hands over the plastic bag in his grasp, which Mettaton takes before passing the snacks in the paper bags over.
"You know, I wasn't expecting this would work..." the words escape Papyrus' mouth before he can stop them, though Mettaton's little chuckle in response immediately kills any uncertainty he had.
"It's honestly a pretty good idea. If you want, we can pass this on to our other colleagues, and we could trade for lunch each day?" Papyrus nods enthusiastically, grinning ear to ear.
"I'll definitely ask back in the store, but I'm sure the others will think the same thing."
"Brilliant. It's a plan." Something about his smile brings joy blooming in Papyrus' chest, and the realisation leaves him staring at the floor in confusion. Although, now he thinks about it, something does seem familiar about this individual...
"I'm awfully sorry to cut this short, but the others will kill me if these are cold by the time I get back." Mettaton lifts the bag of sandwiches, and Papyrus nods. "I'll see you another time, darling. And thank you again." He waves over his shoulder as he turns and makes his way back through the swarms of people in the mall, Papyrus mimicking the actions, his heart feeling lighter than before, something in his chest hoping that his rota and the other boy's line up more than once.
"You're lucky these aren't cold already MTT, feels like you were gone forever." Kimari grins to herself as she unwraps her sandwich, quickly tearing into it like a starving animal. Sparrow rolls their eyes but laughs, though her words fall on otherwise deaf ears - Mettaton's mind is elsewhere, secretly wishing he can see the SubWay worker again another time, even just for work.
It doesn't take long for the two to forge a friendship - they end up exchanging numbers during one of the lunch trades and slip little extras into their halves of the deal free of charge.
To this day, it remains one of the best decisions Papyrus has ever made.
Okay so I kinda rushed this one because I got frustrated that I didn't like it however I wrote it, so I guess this one will have to do.
Anyway, now there probably won't be many updates until after my exams are done in just under two weeks
Hope y'all somewhat enjoyed this, I tried
See you all later!
