The hours tick by as you sleep in Papyrus' arms. Friendly dreams occupying your mind, causing you to feel at peace. But, all good things must come to an end—soon things take a turn. You enter yet another dream, one that seems normal at first. You and Papyrus are walking together in Ebott City Park. But your mind is screaming, and screaming to confess your hidden feelings at last.
So, after pondering what you'll say, you turned to him and stopped walking. "Papyrus, I have been meaning to tell you this for a long time. I—" You paused, and he stopped, glancing over. His 'bone'brows furrowed in confusion. "you've been meanin' to tell me what, kid?" He asked, leaning on one hip and taking a cigarette from his pocket. He quickly lit it with his lighter, then stuck it between his teeth gingerly.
You paused for a second and gathered all of your courage, then took a deep breath. "Papyrus, I like you. Every day, I fall more, and more in love with you." You confessed and his jaws fell open. He nearly dropped his cigarette onto the grass, but he promptly caught it, then placed it back into his mouth, then blew out a puff of smoke. "oh, yeah?" He questioned, his facial expression only showing nonchalance and a form of... Detestation?
Papyrus met your gaze head on as he took another puff of his cigarette in, then out before dropping it onto the sand. Then, he stomped on the butt with his red Converse. "well, did ya think i was gonna like ya back? especially after what you did?" He spoke flatly and your heart dropped out of your chest, then you began to tremble. "What?" You asked, your eyes filled with confusion.
"ya brainless humans are so stupid. i hardly like associating with a gal who attended monster protests. i know deep inside, ya hate me, bucko. you've been conspiring against us, ey?" He asked as he peered down at you. His gaze intense and striking as he stared through you. It hurt, not only his words, but the way he's looking at you as well. "No! I'd never-I regret doing all that shit, you know that!" You spoke in response, your voice wavering with emotion.
Papyrus took a step forward and grabbed your arm, yanking you closer with force. Then, an orange aura surrounded you as he lifted you to face him. A scowl was present on his skull as he looked at you unblinkingly. The abhorrence only growing more and more with every second. "that's not what maia told me. she told me all your dirty secrets, you bastard!" Papyrus hissed and your heart thudded in your chest. "i never knew you could be such a traitor. those two girls, you know, grace and audrey? they backed up the story." He continued on, then, he dropped you in midair and you fell onto the grass on your knees. You looked back up at him, holding out your hand as tears began to form in your eyes. "None of it's true, Papy I lo-" He cut you off, turning to the side before speaking brusquely. "don't you dare call me 'papy' again. stay away from sans and my friends. especially sans. he deserves to know much better people." He spoke, his voice filled to the brim with venom and you looked down as he began to turn and walk away.
But halfway away, he turned back to you and uttered these last sentences. "i never want to see you again, either. i see or hear you've been around and i swear i'll kill your sorry ass." He hissed, and you fell onto your hands, overcome with grief. He scoffed at this, cackling. "oh, you're such a crybaby. grow up, you ass, and live up to your mistakes. goodbye, (y/n). i hope to never see you again." He growled before turning back and disappearing into thin air.
And, that's it. Your eyes snapped open, only to see you're still in Papyrus' arms. Problem is, you've begun crying already and the tears just continue to intensify. So, you sniffle and pull away from him quickly. And as soon as you do that, he wakes up and looks to you with concern in his pinpricks. "(y/n)? everything okay?" He asked, and you just turned away, sniffling. "Yeah... I'm fine, go back to bed." You murmured, pulling your knees up to your chest. "kid, you're cryin'... it doesn't seem like you're 'fine'." He replied, reaching over and placing a hand on your shoulder. But, due to your dream making you paranoid that Papyrus truly hates you, you freaked out at this simple gesture and scooted away a smidge, making his hand fall onto the couch cushion.
He fell silent, then sighed deeply. In this awkward moment, you took time to look over to Maia and Sans' pillow fort. The two sleeping forms were pressed against each other peacefully. And the longer you looked at them from the small opening of their creation, you grew more and more jealous that they ended up having more of a tranquil night than you.
"(y/n)." Papyrus spoke quietly, making you snap back into reality. But, you didn't look to him. You just looked to the window, seeing the morning light pour in. At the sudden change of light, your pupils shrunk and you blinked your eyes at the sudden pain. So, you whipped your face to the wall instead to avoid the unfortunate ache.
"did you have a dream about austin?" Papyrus suddenly asked and you swallowed hard, biting your lip. But, you knew you couldn't talk about your dream with him. That'd be one hell of a way to tell him you love him. So, you lied and nodded your head slowly. In sympathy, he moved closer again and put his arm around you comfortingly. "hey, hey..." He spoke soothingly. "everything will be good, kid. that jackass won't be able to even get close to you. we'll make sure to keep you safe, honey." He spoke softly. You lowered your head at first, but you couldn't help but smile at his warm nickname for you. "Thank you, P-Papyrus..." You spoke, sniffing as you wiped your nose with your wrist gently.
Did you feel a tad bit better? Well, yes. But, the doubts still infect your mind. That's what dreams like this do, right? Takes a person you love and respect, and makes you wonder if they really think the same of you. Why did he give you a chance after seeing you at the monster protest? That thought had left your mind for a good while, but now, you can't get it to go away again. Well, at least after this, perhaps you an Papyrus can snooze again.
Rapid beeping soon filled the air and you groaned. You hate when you wake up before your alarm goes off, but, not wanting to wake anyone else, you swiftly reach over and turn off the alarm on your phone, yawning. "feelin' better?" Papyrus asked you and you slowly nodded before standing up. "Yeah, a bit... It'll take a while longer for me to get over that though. Dreams can really suck sometimes." You spoke and he nodded. "dreams, and sleep paralysis both can be so frickin' scary. er—did ya wanna talk about your dream, by the way?" He asked as you stood up, turning toward him and lowkey admiring his handsome features. But, you didn't get too carried away, in fact you made sure you replied so he wouldn't know you're totally checking him out. "No, it's... It's not that different from the others." You responded, directing your gaze back to his pinpricks. Uncomfortably, you rubbed your arm, glancing to the side and he nodded. "ah, got cha. well, if ya change your mind, just lemme know and i'll be happy to listen." Dammit, he's too nice. There's no way he actually hates you, what are you thinking? Same with how Maia would never say such bullshit about you. It's just not how they really are.
"Thank you again, Papy... I cannot thank you enough." You responded, then smiled warmly and that made his signature grin appear on his own skull. "my pleasure, kiddo. now, you should go get ready so we can eat before you need to work." He spoke and you raised an eyebrow. "Ooh~ didn't know that was the plan, but I'm not arguing. I'll go shower. Thank you, Pap! You're the best!" You told him sweetly before running to him, pulling him into a hug. "my pleasure, (y/n). ya deserve it!" He replied, smiling as he hugged you back. And, as soon as you parted, you rushed to the shower to get ready for the workday ahead of you. Hopefully your shower thoughts won't pull you any further into the possibility of an existential crisis.
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As soon as you pulled your look together for the day, you stepped out from your room to see Papyrus had gotten changed as well. Not only that, but Sans had gotten up and was drinking a glass of water. "GOOD MORNING, (Y\N). PLEASE BE CAREFUL TO NOT WAKE MAIA. SHE LOOKS SO CONTENT SLEEPING!" He spoke, still in his normal tone... But it was obvious it was a bit quieter so he wouldn't wake her.
"Got cha, boss! Morning, Sans!" You told him, making sure to be quiet. He smiled at you, and waved his small hand rapidly. "GOOD MORNING!" He chirped and you returned his blissful grin, turning to Papyrus.
He was dressed in his normal outfit. Definitely not a breath of fresh air like last night's look was, but still handsome as ever. His orange hoodie is a classic at this point, no wonder he wears it so much. And, hell if it's soft on the outside, it must be even more luxurious on the inside. Perhaps one day you'll get the chance to try it on, but, you highly doubt it at this point. Especially with the dream you had last night.
Unlike a certain carrot of a skeleton, you decided to dress in something slightly cute for him, but still very appropriate for work at Muffet's. So, you ended up choosing black leggings, your plaid black, white, and purple button up shirt with a plain black tee underneath. And with that, you complemented your outfit with your favorite shoes since you'd be wearing Heelys at work anyway. But, other than your outfit, you didn't change much else. He seemed like he didn't mind though, after all, he's grinning at your shirt.
"damn, you're gonna fit right in. your shirt totes looks like muffet's." Papyrus remarked, then laughed and you soon followed it. "Oh, man. It does! How absolutely wild." You replied with a snicker before you both exchanged a fist-bump.
"well, we gotta run now if we want time to ourselves. i want a bagel, after all." Papyrus remarked and you nodded. "Got ya. Oh, Sans will you tell Maia I said good morning? And, your welcome to eat anything I have in the house!" You started, then paused. "Just... Check the date first. It'd be very wise." You added and he nodded, smiling again. "THANK YOU, AND I WILL! YOU TWO HAVE FUN!" Sans chirped and waved, and you both did the same as you walked to the door. You grabbed your bag off the table near the door, then Papyrus turned the handle and opened it. "sans, will ya get my stuff for me?" He asked, turning around and Sans nodded. "YES! OF COURSE!" "ah, thanks, bro. i appreciate it." He thanked him before waving once more, taking a hold of your hand before leading you outside, closing the door before making his way down the stairs with you beside him.
"let's walk past the police so they know you're leaving home, then how about i take one of my famous 'shortcuts' to muffet's, ey?" Papyrus suggested and you thought over his words for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah that's a good idea, actually! Let's do it." You responded and he smiled as you both continued down the flights of stairs.
Once you both reached the bottom of the complex, you jogged to the door, opening it and holding it open for Papyrus. "Ladies first~" You purred, and he snorted, making his voice higher before replying "oh, thank you, my dear!" in a pretty bad feminine voice. That made you giggle and he walked through the door, you trailing behind him quickly.
You looked amongst the cars and saw the police officer in a car parked across the street right in front of Sans' car. He looked left and right, then sprung from his car, casually walking across the street to you and Papyrus. You have a feeling this breaks protocol, but you're not sure in any way, shape, or form, so you're not gonna mention it.
The man was dressed in 'normal' clothes to fit in with the area, and if you hadn't known he'd be out here, you'd think he's just a random citizen. He's around 5'6", has olive skin, brown eyes, and very dark brown—almost black hair.
"Hey, you two. Uh, I'm the-oh, you know, don't you?" He started, a bit shy at first. "yeah, we do, but ya go ahead and tell us what ya gotta, bud." Papyrus replied, then the officer nodded, dipping his head. "Grazie... Upon request, Detective Smith and Detective Lin have sent an undercover officer to stay at Muffet's for the day. So, don't be concerned if you see someone random lurking in the corner while you work." He explained and you nodded. "Got you, isn't this a lot though? With all the surveillance and protection?" You questioned and the officer shook his head. "Not at all, ma'am. Mr. Ricardo is dangerous, very dangerous. We must take all precautions to keep you, and the rest of civilization safe from him." He explained and you nodded. "Oh, alright. I understand. Thank you all for everything you're doing. You have a nice day now, alright?" You spoke to him and he smiled genuinely, reaching out shaking both yours and Papyrus' hands. "Of course, same to you and to you as well, sir. Ciao!" The cop once again spoke before turning and walking away. And with that, you and Papyrus continued your walk once again.
After a short distance, he suddenly changed the path once out of view and went into an alleyway. He took your hand gently, then nodded with a grin "hold on to ya butts." He joked, then suddenly, you began to feel the familiar feeling of his 'shortcuts'. Not wanting to see what happens within them, you squeezed your eyes shut tightly. Within a few seconds though, you felt the ground underneath your feet again. Even if it'd not been gone long, you'd surely missed it. Your eyes snapped back open, then you looked back to Papyrus. You've never seen such a shit-eating grin on his face before in your time knowing him. "ya always gonna do that, (y/n)?" He snickered jokingly, removing his skeletal hand from your grasp and giving you a playful nudge. "I honestly don't wanna know what you're doing, and where you're going." You responded with a laugh, rolling your eyes.
"but, oh, sweet (y/n). it's merely a shortcut? what is there to see?" He teased, looking down at you in a humored manner. "That's the thing, I don't know, and I don't wanna know." You replied and he snorted, patting your back gently before beginning to walk forward. "oh well. i guess only i get to see the wonderful land of mozlania." He spoke, huffing as he walked further from you. Your eyebrows furrowed, then your head cocked to the side as you ran after him, approaching the door to Muffet's. "The what?" You asked in confusion, then he let out a raspy chuckle, opening the door for you. "guess you'll have to keep your eyes open to find out sometime, huh?" He remarked and you rolled your eyes again. After all, he's probably just making shit up.
"Oh! Hello there, dearies! Welcome back to Muffet's!" Muffet spoke excitedly from behind the checkout. "Hi, Miss Muffet! Glad to see you!" You replied, waving as you walked in, going straight to the counter since nobody was there at the present moment. Though, a few people sat around the café. Only around 5 at the present moment though.
Papyrus followed after you, and was soon by your side, smiling to Muffet. "'mornin, muffet. bet you're glad ta see me back so soon, ey?" He winked and Muffet thought for a moment. "That's debatable, Papyrus. I do enjoy your presence but you are very past due paying your tab." Muffet spoke, crossing all of her arms. "And that's why I'm at least paying for his meal today." You interrupted their playful-slightly truthful bicker and Muffet suddenly smiled again, clapping her hands. "Wonderful! What can I get you, dearie?" She asked and you brightened your smile. You're so ready to order. "May I get a (f\d) and a (f\f) Spider Muffin?" You asked and she nodded, smiling as she pushed the orders in, then she looked to Papyrus. "Papyrus? How about you, dearie?" She asked and he sighed, realizing he'd lost against you already. "i'll have a blueberry spider bagel with cream cheese, and a caffè macchiato... with a touch of honey in it." Papyrus spoke, pausing a second until adding the second part. "Oh, well, I was proud of you for a moment, Papyrus. That'll be $16.64." She spoke and you whipped out your wallet, handing her a $20 bill. "Keep the change, donate it to that charity jar if you'd like." You responded and she nodded. "Will do, thank you! We'll have your food done in a minute!" She chirped before rolling away to start making the drinks.
You and Papyrus took this opportunity to pick a table, so you walked side-by-side and picked one on the left side of the restaurant. You both sat down across from each other and just chatted back and forth until Muffet wheeled over with your drinks and food. "I threw in a cookie for free, and, Papyrus, make sure you don't eat it all this time." She spoke as she handed out the foods and drinks. "Oh, that's so nice, Muffet! Thank you! And, is that something Papyrus does often?" You asked, sliding over your drink and taking a sip of it. Muffet nodded, "Especially his brother's. When Sans last came with him, I gave him a cookie. By the time he got around to eating it, it was gone. Just crumbs remained." Muffet responded, then looked at Papyrus in a judging manner. He held up his hands, chuckling. "that's brotherly love, ain't it?" He asked and you and Muffet shook your heads. You couldn't help but giggle but Muffet looked anything but humored. "No. That is the furthest thing from 'brotherly love', dearie." Muffet huffed as she shook her finger at Papyrus. But, she soon let out a gentle sigh and stepped back. "No eating the entire cookie, Papyrus. I'll be over here if you need me to whack him with a baking sheet, (Y\N)." She continued before taking a step back, then quickly rolling away to serve the other customers.
"welp, we got about 25 minutes, so let's chow down, shall we? you may wanna keep that cookie with you before i take matters into my own hands." Papyrus spoke with a wink and you took the cookie protectively, holding it against your shirt. "This is my baby now. Don't you dare touch him, Cookie Monster." You spoke as you slid it into your shirt pocket slowly. "om-nom-nom!" Papyrus teased you as he acted like he was the actual Cookie Monster. You shook your head at this, then giggled again. "You're a handful." You remarked and he grinned from 'ear hole to ear hole'. "in that case, thanks for keeping up with me, honey." He thanked you softly and you gave him a gentle nod. After that, you and him just enjoyed your breakfast together peacefully.
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After you and Papyrus had finished up breakfast, you both said your goodbyes and after a nice bear hug, he was on his way to get ready for work and you headed into the back. After putting on your apron and Heelys, you clocked in and headed to the register.
You could spot the undercover officer in the corner of the café. She was perfect for the part of seeming like a normal citizen as well. She had a laptop and an iced coffee with her, making her seem like an aspiring author using the free WiFi at Muffet's. She's dressed in dark wash skinny jeans, a loose black blouse, black ankle boots, and has a black winter coat draped against the back of her chair. As for the rest of her appearance, she has medium-dark skin, beautiful long black hair, and an absolutely wonderful smile.
But, before you can spot anything else about her, suddenly the door of the café opens and you turn your head too see your first customer of the day...Er- make that customers. One is a face you recognize, it's Cobalt from earlier this week. But this time he isn't with Tobias. He's with... another man? This man is around 5'10", so shorter than his comrade, but he's not small like Cobalt, he is very muscular. It's clear he must work out a lot of the time. He has his brown hair done up in a messy quiff, brown stubble, and as he approaches the counter, you see his eyes. They're strikingly blue, almost exact to Cobalt's well—cobalt eyes. He smiles at you politely as Cobalt stands beside him, a bit anxious but not as anxious as the last time you saw him.
"Good morning, ma'am. May I have a cup of hot coffee with just a bit of sugar and cream? Oh, and a bowl of Cinnamon Spider Oatmeal?" He asked and you nodded, smiling to Cobalt. "And you, Mr. Cobalt?" You asked him and his guest furrowed his thick eyebrows, apparently surprised that you know him by name. "Oh, um... May I h-have a latte? That, and two Chocolate Spider Donuts if that's okay?" He asked and you once again nodded. "Of course! That'll be..." You paused, typing all the information into the register. "$19.03" You finished and Cobalt began to pull his wallet from his pocket, but the other guy was faster and pulled his out as fast as lighting. "Miss, don't let my brother here pay, it's my turn." He spoke as he pulled out a debit card. "Oakley, you do this every time. When will it be my turn?" Cobalt asked, crossing his arms. "When you're not my baby brother anymore, Cobester." He replied as he continued to pay. Cobalt just rolled his eyes at this, adjusting his glasses. "But I'll always be-" He began, but Oakley cut him off and turned to him, smiling. "Exactly. You'll always be my lil' bro, so I'll pay as often as I can." He replied, then finished the transaction. He pulled his card from the chip reader, tucking it back in his wallet carefully. "Thank you for your purchase! We'll bring that meal to you stat." You replied then turned around to help Muffet gather everything together.
The two boys walked away, then sat at a table and you began to fix Cobalt's latte. You thought they'd be brothers, but you didn't really think it was a good possibility until you saw Oakley's eyes. That was the selling point for your theory for sure.
"Aren't they interesting, huh, dearie?" Muffet suddenly spoke, and you nodded. "For two brothers, they seem to have more dissimilarities than similarities." You remarked and she nodded. "Definitely different, but I can notice their similar features and mannerisms." Muffet pointed out, and you nodded. "Especially those beautiful blue eyes, right?" You asked and she nodded. "Yes. Definitely so." She responded before carrying Oakley's coffee to the counter and you did the same with Cobalt's latte. After that, you both got their food ready and once that all was done, Muffet wheeled it to them. And as she did that, you got distracted thinking about your dream again. It brought an instant frown onto your face.
Is it possible that was a warning from your own subconscious? Is your crush on him really that bad of a thing? Or, was it just an unfortunate bad dream? You hope the latter hypothesis is the truth, because the more and more you hang out with Papyrus, the more and more you feel the need to tell him your feelings. But, now that this dream has decided to plague your mind, it has made the situation even harder for you. Should you follow your heart, or your subconscious's possible warning? That is a decision you're not quite ready to make just yet. So, you'll try to keep your mind off of it as much as you can for now. Perhaps the correct answer will be revealed to you somehow, but you seriously doubt it.
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Authors Note:
Me: I'm gonna stop making such long chapters.
Also me: *writes a 12.1 page, 4,234 word chapter because I wanted to get a lot of crap done in it*
Honestly, I need to force myself into following my own rules XD. If I keep writing long chapters like these, I'll never get chapters out. Haha.
Speaking of which, I need to let you guys know something. My family and I are adopting a puppy this week, and he's probably going to be a handful for a while... So I'm not exactly sure what my update schedule will be? I'll definitely have less spare time but I can still squeeze writing in at night I'm sure. Only time will tell, to be honest! But, we honestly cannot wait for little Ollie to become a part of our family officially.
(also, yes, the name of this chapter's title is an Owl City song)
Alright, I had fun writing this chapter! Wish more interesting things happened, but I think it was still good and it got me where I needed to be! So, you can hopefully expect the story to get enthralling again soon (if you don't think it is rn). I really love writing for new characters, so I apologize for introducing random minor characters. Oakley already existed though since he's an OC of mine. If you'd like to see a drawing I did of him, lemme know and I'll send it.
Almost forgot, but I wanted to mention this earlier this week, the night I wrote the 'dreams and sleep paralysis are scary' part, I seriously had sleep paralysis for the first time since October?? It was crazy to be honest and I'm still baffled. What are the chances?
Anyway, imma go ahead and ask my weekly question. Do you have any fears or phobias? I have a few phobias that I can think of: Trypophobia, Musophobia, and I do have some Acrophobia. Other than that, I'm scared of smaller things that I wouldn't really call phobias. How about you guys?
Anyway, I've been typing for a long time today, so I'm gonna sign off for now. Thank you guys so much for reading, and I truly hope you enjoyed this chapter! Have a wonderful day/night! Hope to see you again soon-ish! <3
-Indiana