Words: 3234
Note: there will be an a/n at the end of this chapter, so please read that as it's kinda important.
Also sorry if anyone got a notification for the title change
Thank you, and enjoy.
Papyrus' smile threatens to crack his face in half - finally, he's made it, his lifelong dream is, at long last, a reality.
From today onwards, he is officially a member of the royal guard.
He dusts his shirt down, today just being a sort of introduction, getting to meet the higher-ups and other highly-esteemed folk close to the guard, including, if Papyrus is lucky, King Asgore himself, and Papyrus just has to look at least presentable for the occasion.
Throwing his trademark scarf around his neck, he allows himself one last smile in the mirror before stepping through his door, meeting Sans in the living room. Almost immediately, Sans' eyes widen at the sight of his brother, and pride swells in Papyrus' chest once more.
"First day on the force. You excited?" Sans' low voice is thick with pride and joy to match his brother's, and Papyrus nods quickly, enthusiasm in every step. Running a gloved hand through his snow-white hair, the taller boy turns to face Sans, who wraps his arms around him tightly. Papyrus laughs lightly as he returns the gesture, soon opening the front door, waving farewell to his brother for the day.
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Building loom high over Papyrus' head on all angles, blocking out the still-rising sun. He walks with purpose, a man on a mission, until he stops at the designated meet-up spot that he and Undyne, the captain of the royal guard, had agreed on.
"Heya punk!" A hand slams down on Papyrus' shoulder, making him wince slightly, and he turns his head to find the redhead in question. Her bright green eyes gleam with excitement, and, after a bit of chatter, she starts to lead the boy to wherever they need to go.
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The hours drag on, but finally Papyrus and Undyne halt outside a large, white building.
"Now remember, Alphys might have company, I don't know, but be prepared for literally anything from the moment you step in. If he's here then you're gonna need to be ready, expect the unexpected and all that jazz, because I honestly think that guy can do the impossible just to spite me." Undyne takes a deep breath before knocking on the door, which, after a few seconds, slides open with a mechanical hiss.
The lights inside are near blinding compared to the shaded streets outside, protected from the sun by the skyscrapers and monuments. Papyrus blinks rapidly in response, his eyes struggling to adjust at first.
The light bounces off the tiles on the walls and floor, illuminating a large, messy table with notes strewn across it, a top-of-the-range computer hidden somewhere among them, and a much larger monitor, with several different video feeds filling up designated rectangles across the screen.
The royal scientist, Alphys, soon appears, running a hand nervously through her blonde hair, her hazel eyes behind her square glasses full of both anxiety and excitement. Her clean white lab coat billows around her legs as she walks closer to the duo in front of her, smile wide.
"H-hey Undyne, hiya P-Papyrus, you having a-a-a good first d-day on the force?" Papyrus nods in response before Undyne cuts in, apologising for the intrusion, which Alphys brushes off with ease, promising she wasn't working on anything too important.
"I just w-w-work for Asgore, I d-d-d-don't really know how t-t-to e-explain it." Alphys fiddles with her thumbs, an old nervous habit, though her smile never wanes until a faint clacking echoes through the lab, slowly getting louder.
"He is here?"
"J-j-just visiting, I f-forgot to mention it."
"Sorry to interrupt, but who's here?" The two women meet Papyrus' confused gaze with differing expressions on their faces - Alphys seems more nervous, which can be expected, while Undyne looks to be unamused by something all of a sudden.
"I'm s-s-sure you'll recognise him." Alphys stops herself from continuing when another set of footsteps, heavier than the first, rings out, her eyes widening. Undyne snaps to attention, her back straightening and her head fixed on one spot, a door at the other end of the room.
The door slides open with another hiss, revealing a tall, bearded man, his golden hair reflecting the light with ease, a thick-looking cape dragging behind him. He turns back to face the door once more, and Papyrus' eyes follow, widening in an instant as his mouth falls slack, dropping open a fraction.
Mettaton.
One of the country's most famous, influential and talented celebrities, right there before Papyrus' eyes, in the very same room!
His thick, black hair falls in gentle waves around his head, covering half of his face, though his smile is still very visible. His skin is a tanned caramel colour, his eyes a gorgeous chocolate brown. A couple freckles scatter across his face, a few on his cheek, one just below the outer corner of his eye, another barely visible next to his eyebrow, and two leading diagonally up to his hairline, away from his bangs. His iconic pink heeled boots click against the tiled floor as he walks, pristine white gloves concealing his hands. Black leggings hold tight to his legs and hips, a light pink crop top flipping against his chest in the slight breeze from the air conditioning unit above the door.
King Asgore holds his attention with effortless conversation, unknowingly keeping Mettaton blissfully unaware of the slight panic tearing through Papyrus' mind, showing clearly on his face and in his glazed eyes. The white material of his glove contrasts starkly against his raven-black hair as he runs his fingers through it subconsciously, making it sway and ripple at the back of his neck.
Undyne chokes on a laugh to Papyrus' left, and Alphys smiles to herself as she makes her way towards the two at the other end of the room, returning Asgore's fond-sounding greeting with her own. Mettaton props a hand on his hip as the three spark up conversation.
"Someone catch your eye?" Undyne chuckles as she speaks, trying to keep her voice down and prevent herself from laughing too hard. Papyrus' cheeks flare up as he snaps back to reality, crossing his arms and turning his head away.
"No, not at all, why would he?"
"Which one? I mean, it's a reasonable reaction to either of them, really, so which one grabbed your attention that easily?" The captain continues to bite down a laugh, struggling more with every passing second, and Papyrus stumbles on his response. Undyne soon shakes her head, clearing her thoughts.
"Come on." She gestures over her shoulder with a jerk of her head, striding over to the other three, leaving Papyrus to scramble unceremoniously after her. The sounds of their footsteps against the floor echo in the room, and Mettaton looks over at the sound, meeting Papyrus' eyes, sparking a blush.
"Heya, twink."
"Haha, very funny, because I haven't heard that one hundreds of times before." Mettaton rolls his eyes and sighs, though with no real spite, and Undyne just laughs. His expression shifts as he looks back to Papyrus, eyes curious.
"Papyrus Seriph, the new guard member I was telling you about."
"You talked about me?" Papyrus hisses to Undyne, not entirely sure how to feel. She smiles widely and nods, holding back another laugh at his expression. She claps a hand on his shoulder, seemingly an attempt to ease his nerves.
It doesn't work.
"Don't worry, darling, I've heard all good things." Mettaton's eyes shine in the light, a million shades of brown swimming in his irises, humour sparkling bright, though a hint of sincerity still pokes through.
"I should hope so..."
How long passes, no one knows for sure, though the calm chatter is broken by a ringtone, and Mettaton sighs as he apologises to the others, stepping away and answering his phone, one hand running through his hair again. Papyrus struggles to not watch him go, though his eyes flick in his direction a few seconds later.
"So, looks like that's the answer." Undyne's hand slams down on Papyrus' shoulder once more, though his knees actually don't buckle this time, much to his relief. Her words then sink in.
"The answer to what?" Thankfully, Alphys and King Asgore seem deep in conversation about something or other that the scientist has been working on as of late, and Undyne's words don't reach either of them, nor does her deep, tired-sounding sigh.
"The answer to my question earlier. Who of Asgore and Mettaton caught your eye." Her grin is wide, proud, her bright irises shimmering with some kind of emotion that Papyrus can't identify, and he's not too sure he wants to. Instead, he simply shakes her off, ignoring her stifled laughter.
Mettaton soon returns, apologising but taking his leave, something about one of his jobs. Papyrus' mind races still as the raven-haired boy waves over his shoulder, returning the gesture until the door hisses shut, hiding him once more. Only then does Papyrus let his arm drop and his attention fully fix on the king, or as fully as he can spare.
How does he function? He's an actor, a singer, I'm pretty sure he's in musical theatre as well, and I won't be surprised if he has other stuff going on too... he's incredible but how does he do it all?
A hand snapping its fingers mere inches in front of his face brings Papyrus sharply back to reality, and his head snaps up again, alert as he can be after however long presumably staring blankly at somewhere or other. Undyne chokes on another chuckle, Alphys biting her lip to avoid bursting out laughing. Asgore, on the other hand, seems a bit worried.
"Seriph? Are you okay?"
"Y-yes, I'm okay, I'm sorry your highness." He bows slightly to emphasise his apology, which Asgore dismisses, though without spite, his voice soothing, but the king's eyes keep their concerned gleam.
By the time the second hour has passed, which shocks Papyrus - somehow it's both only been two hours and already been two hours since he and Undyne got here - Asgore pulls Undyne aside, leaving Alphys and Papyrus to properly catch up, allowing the former to ask about the other's brother, since she hasn't been able to call him much since he left the lab.
"Is Papyrus okay? He seems a bit... out of it today." Asgore's voice is laced with that same worry, and Undyne laughs as she nods, though he doesn't seem eased by the reaction.
"Yeah, he's fine, he would have told me otherwise, I think he was just caught off guard by Mettaton earlier, you know, starstruck. He's a bit of a fan." A more sarcastic hint slips into her tone at the end, and Asgore nods, understanding her message.
The captain and soldier soon leave the lab, bidding each other farewell shortly after, and Papyrus heads home with a new spring in his step despite his tired muscles after a long day of walking and standing.
Mettaton.
He really got to see, to meet, to talk to Mettaton today.
Of course, King Asgore had been there too... shouldn't the king have more of his attention than just the local celebrity?
Papyrus shakes his head quickly in an attempt to clear it, arriving home by sunset, eager to tell Sans about his day.
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Not even a year.
Not even a year has passed since Papyrus' first day, since he met Mettaton and King Asgore in Alphys' lab, and he's already climbed the ranks with surprising speed, something he didn't even know he could do.
Still under Undyne's command, not that he would have it any other way, Papyrus now has his own troop of soldiers to lead himself, and pride swells in his chest every day he arrives for work.
Today though, something feels different.
He checks his scarf first - yes, he does have it, that's a good sign already. Though from there he's not too sure what to do next, so a quick once-over glance won't hurt.
No, everything is normal.
Except the thing that isn't.
Whatever that is.
"Hey, punk!" Undyne's voice is a familiar relief, a welcome change from all the formalities of Papyrus' position. The sight of her wide smile and waving hand infect him with joy of his own once more, and the spark of excitement returns, a spring back in his step after a day that felt like forever.
The two walk together for a while before Undyne stops abruptly, jerking her head down another path, to which Papyrus raises an eyebrow.
"You wanna head to the lab? Alphys is free tonight so I was thinking we could hang out for a bit?" He nods in response, more than happy to do so, and they start to walk down the path, retracing their steps from a year ago, maintaining their previous conversation.
The lab doors open mere seconds after Undyne knocks, revealing Alphys' grinning face, and she waves them in with clear enthusiasm.
She leads the two through the building, taking one of the doors out of the main lab and into a living room-like space. The room is surprisingly spacious, with a couple comfortable-looking sofas and a large television on one wall. The kitchen sits on the edge of the living room, the area open-plan.
The scientist waves a hand, inviting the other two to take seats on one of the sofas, which they do, and she follows suit, joining Undyne.
The hours pass by in a blur of chatter and, for whatever reason, a bit of truth or dare, even more surprisingly being Undyne's idea. Though perhaps that isn't much of a surprise after all.
Arguably an actual surprise is the sound of a doorbell, which the scientist must have had installed over the last year, and she quickly excuses herself to answer it, hurrying out of the room as though some little devil was chasing behind.
She returns minutes later, laughing with someone, and... wait, Papyrus knows that laugh, he's sure of it.
"No, no, no, that could actually work!"
"Of c-c-c-course it'll work, I wouldn't r-recommend it if i-i-it wouldn't."
"I suppose that is a good point." Mettaton laughs again as he and Alphys step into the room, Undyne getting up to greet him. Papyrus follows suit, hoping he doesn't seem too eager to speak to the celebrity again. He shakes Undyne's hand before he turns to face Papyrus, joy sparkling in his visible eye, a smile on his lips.
"Hello, Papyrus, darling, it's been far too long." Papyrus takes his hand in his own as he grins and nods in response, hoping his cheeks aren't as red as he fears they might be.
"It really has. How have you been?"
Conversation swallows the two, exchanging stories from the last year with what Papyrus feels is shocking enthusiasm. After all, he's only actually interacted in person with Mettaton once, in this very same building a year ago, and yet here they are, acting like lifelong friends finally seeing each other after two years of separation. In some odd way, it's almost comforting.
The group take their seats once more, and Mettaton sighs to himself as Undyne ropes him into their game of truth or dare that she had decided to rekindle, though he quickly caves.
(Yes I know I'm bad at writing longer scenes of human interaction and time skips, though I bet there's no mystery as to why, I mean I write on Wattpad for a living)
Time flies by, the sunset shimmering through the windows, the room bathed in soft, golden light. A few secrets, thankfully none harmful, have been let loose, such as Alphys' past crush on Asgore before moving on to someone who she refuses to name, and Mettaton's kiwi allergy, as well as few funny dares being passed around, resulting in Papyrus biting into a lemon slice while attempting not to cringe too hard, Undyne trying, before failing miserably, to juggle three apples from Alphys' kitchen, leaving dark bruises on each of them in multiple spots and a few drops of juice on the floor, which she cleans up with a cloth, and Mettaton being handed a random book from Alphys' collection, forced to turn to one of the pages and sing the first full sentence. For whatever reason, the book, from what Papyrus can tell, at least, is about two guys, one of whom withdrew from a law degree course back in the early 2010's, though he couldn't make out every word due to the reasonable laughter around him.
As could be expected, though, the hours still pass and a self-imposed curfew rolls around regardless.
Papyrus and Undyne clap their hands together in a farewell handshake while Mettaton says his goodbyes and thanks to Alphys for letting him pop in for a bit after a long day, before switching around in some odd rotation.
"It's good to see you again, darling. Thank you for all the fun this evening, hopefully we can all meet up again sometime soon." Papyrus grins as he nods, feeling his cheeks warm up at the sight of Mettaton's soft, genuine smile, joy sparkling in his dark, chocolate brown eyes, a slight colour dusted across his cheeks.
"Yes, hopefully. You take care of yourself, now."
Mettaton raises a hand, his fingers against his temple, back straightening and head up, saluting jokingly, his smile still obvious. "Yes sir." He laughs as he steps away, waving over his shoulder. "And you as well!"
Papyrus, however, doesn't respond, instead just staring blankly at where the celebrity had been.
Of course, Papyrus is used to the honorary title - he has to be when it's the most common replacement for his name now - but something about hearing it this time feels different. Maybe it's the pure respect and adoration he holds for Mettaton, perhaps it's the knowledge of how close he is with Papyrus' own friends, it might even be something completely different, but with this boy, the nickname doesn't bring reminders of his job, his responsibilities, the weight resting on his shoulders.
Instead, it's oddly enticing, and he wants to hear it again, but not just replaying in his head - he wants to see Mettaton's lips move as he repeats the two words, a strange new desire in his chest as he imagines the scenario, unaware of the blush blazing on his cheeks.
Those two words... why do they feel so good?
He's heard them hundreds of times over the last year, from all different people, in all kinds of voices and tones, with varying accents, but there's just something about Mettaton's in particular, something in that English accent, one little thing there that keeps him hooked.
Harsh, sharp laughter shatters his trance-like state, and his eyes come back into focus to find both Undyne and Alphys crying from laughter, the latter wiping tears from her cheeks as the redhead creases in half, hands planted on her knees to try to keep her standing.
"G-good night." Papyrus hurriedly excuses himself, dashing out the front door, those fateful two words still echoing in the back of his mind.
Good god, what has that boy done to him?
Thanks everyone for reading, but before you go I have a couple little messages.
First of all, I have already asked this on my profile in the conversations tab but I need answers ASAP so I'm gonna ask here as well, but if I were gonna write a oneshot or a story with genderfluid!Mettaton, would you be okay with that? I know he's only referred to in-game with he/him pronouns but hey, there are plenty, and I mean plenty of fics out there that use she/her pronouns for him anyway, but I wanted to ask if anyone would still read the story if I did so. Any responses, positive or negative, would be greatly appreciated so thank you so much to anyone who does respond.
The second one is a bit more serious.
So, as of late I've been seeing a couple oneshots going around that seem to be based off of mine, and my other story Secret Gaygents. While of course I have no problem with this and love inspiring others with my own ideas and writing, I would appreciate my credit where it is due. I'm not going to name any names, because I don't want to shame anyone, nor do I want to falsely accuse, as it is possible that we may have just had similar ideas, as that can and does happen. However, if you do have any stories or oneshots that are based on an idea or story that I have already written, please, all I ask is that you give me my credit where it's due.
Thank you to everyone who read this chapter and the end notes, I really appreciate it.
See you next time!
-XeroZero87
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