After Blue sent his note of approval to the other, he set his phone down and decided that it would be best to get ready for the day.
He stripped off his pajamas and replaced them with his usual outfit. Despite the fact that they were now on the surface and there was no need for a royal guard, the armor still made Blue feel special, and that's what really matters, right? Next, he carefully tied his scarf around his neck, a job that he had become rather adept at over the years. That said, Blue still messed it up more than his fair share of days, and today was definitely one of those days. Perhaps it was simply the way that Blue's hands were shaking that messed him up, or, perhaps, it was simply just a bad scarf day.
After a few desperate tries, Blue managed to get his scarf tied in a way so that it would at least stay around his neck. It wasn't the prettiest scarf he had ever tied, but it was the thought that counted. Besides, he couldn't see the scarf around his neck during the day, so it's not like he'd be the one suffering, anyways.
At this time was when Blue was reminded that he would potentially be meeting Dust today, and there was a brief moment where he considered ripping the scarf off of his neck and tying it until it was perfect or until his fingers bled.
It passed.
Blue sighed, looking away from the dirty bathroom mirror and leaning onto the counter. It was good enough, he supposed.
Of course, after dress came a hearty breakfast! The biology behind whether or not magic skeletons actually require food is indefinite to say the least, but that certainly didn't stop Blue from being the best cook he could be. Tacos were his specialty, but generally not considered a breakfast food. To counteract this, Blue makes the taco of breakfast: an omelet!
With a practiced skill, he reached into various cabinets and pulled out a pan and any necessary seasonings. He then turned on the stove, flames roaring to life underneath the metal pieces. As the pan began to heat up, Blue made his way to the fridge and acquired the main ingredients: eggs, milk, and taco toppings! Before doing anything further with the food, Blue removed his gloves and washed his hands, flicking some of the excess water onto the pan. It sizzled, indicating that the pan was at a high enough temperature to begin cooking.
Through an extreme amount of determination, Blue was able to create an only slightly lopsided and gooey omelet. At least it was edible and the house was still standing. It was certainly a success in his book, all things considered.
He carefully cut into the protein rich breakfast and shoveled a bite into his mouth. It was an absolute masterpiece collage of flavors. The egg mixed perfectly with the flavors of tomato and lettuce, and the taco seasoning added an extra layer of flavor that made the entire dish just that much more appealing.
He'd had better.
Scrapping the leftover omelet into the garbage can under the counter, Blue cleaned up his cooking mess. Through force of habit, he left the kitchen how he found it. He put the pan back where it had came from and reorganized the utensil drawer. Well, he actually left it much cleaner than before, but small details are irrelevant.
Blue looked around at the spotless kitchen and frowned. With the kitchen clean, breakfast had, and himself dressed, he could think of nothing more to do to justify not checking his phone. Sighing, he reluctantly made his way back to his bedroom to see whether or not Dust had responded. Blue assumed that he would have. It had been nearly 45 minutes since Blue left the bedroom to get ready, and Dust was always prompt to respond to messages.
Begrudgingly, Blue settled himself onto his messy bed once more and turned on his phone. On the screen was a notification from the same number as before, and Blue felt his heart skip a beat. He unlocked his phone and quickly went to read the message.
It read:
"Thank you so much! I promise, I'm going to try to make things right. Would it be possible for us to meet at that one cafe? You know the one, I'm sure. We could meet for an hour or so this evening if that works?"
Blue was almost terrified by how polite Dust was being. It was an interesting contrast from the way that he usually acted, and Blue was unsure as to quite how he felt about that. It felt... wrong. Despite this, Blue responded to the message with just as much friendliness as the other.
Shortly and sweetly, he sent:
"Sure! What time?"
While waiting for a response, Blue intended to go and attempt to fix his scarf once more, but another message came through before he could even set his phone down.
Prompt as always, Dust's message read:
"6?"
As much as Blue wished he could say that he had plans, he was free. Not that it would have really matter if he wasn't free. Dust would simply figure out the soonest time and date of which Blue was free and schedule a meeting then. It was proactive and efficient. It was also disconcerting and creepy.
"Okay," he responded, putting down his phone. He hoped that he wouldn't have to pick it up again until the time had arrived for him to leave.
Blue glimpsed at the clock on his beside table. The time read: 1:21 pm. He sighed and laid back onto his bed, closing his eyes. For a moment, he struggled to get at least slightly comfortable before giving up and allowing his mind to wander.
Dust had mentioned a cafe... Well, perhaps it would be more appropriate to call it the cafe. It was an important landmark for the two of them. It had served as the location for more than one event that Blue was unlikely to ever forget. Blue found it interesting that Dust wanted to meet there of all places. Frankly, if Dust really wanted to leave the past behind... he would never go to that place ever again.
That's besides the point, of course. That was where they were meeting, and that was that. It's not like it really mattered anyways, Blue tried to justify. It was just a place. A change in scenery won't affect what happens. He can only hope that their hot cocoa is as good as he remembers it being.
Blue frowned and sat up on the bed, rubbing his eyes. What he really needed, he decided, was something completely and utterly mind numbing. Of course, there's nothing better to accomplish this task than television! Blue forced himself onto his feet and trudged into the living room.
The room was fairly bland, but it had everything a monster or human could require. There was a fancy massage chair (that Blue was still unsure as to how Stretch had acquired) near the center of the room as if to highlight its greatness. It was, by far, the nicest thing they had in their house. Aside from that, there was their old couch from the underground. It was pushed against a wall, stained and worn, but Blue still loved it dearly, if for nothing else than the memories. The main attraction of the living room, of course, was the about 48 inch widescreen TV sitting on a table across from the couch. It was angled just perfectly so that anyone in the living room or the kitchen could see the screen.
All in all, their house was tolerable. Hopefully, once Blue was able to land a steady job with slightly higher pay, they would be able to make their house feel less... empty. There were no pictures or bookshelves or anything of the sort that makes a house truly feel like home, and, to Blue at least, that's unacceptable.
Grabbing the remote from the table, Blue plopped onto the couch and stretched out. Even so, his body didn't fill the entire couch, and he grumbled at his quite lackluster height. With remote in hand, Blue turned on the television and began to flip through the different channels. He got to one channel and noticed that the name of the movie matched that of one that Ink had recommended to him. At the same time, however, Error had told him that it wasn't worth a second of his time.
Deciding to consider it, Blue left it on the current channel and placed the remote on the floor. It didn't take more than fifteen minutes for him to figure out exactly how the movie was going to end, but he supposed that the characters and their relationships were still interesting either way.
That said, it didn't take long for Blue fall asleep. As the movie crawled forward, his eyes drooped shut, and the background noise lulled him into a peaceful rest. Well, as peaceful a rest as one can have when they're going to meet someone who they really don't want to see.
Blue was only awoken when he heard the front door slam, causing him to sit up almost immediately and look for the source of the disruption of his sleep.
"Hey, Blue," a voice casually called, and Blue perked up instantly.
"Papyrus!" he responded happily. If Stretch is home, then it must be around 5:30, Blue figures. That means he'd be leaving to meet Dust in about twenty minutes. He cringed at the thought. "How was work?" Blue asked, wishing to distract himself once more.
Stretch entered the room and took a seat in the massage chair, turning it on as Blue handed him the remote. "It was alright, I guess," he said with a shrug, the chair vibrating and making his voice tremble a bit. "Not much happened today, so it was pretty boring. I prefer it when things explode."
Blue snorted at the last comment. "Yeah, it was about the same here," he sighed, sinking into the couch.
"Oh?" Stretch said as he flipped through the channels. "Didn't you go to work?"
Blue paused for a moment before answering. He had to explain incredibly carefully. "I didn't sleep well last night," he shrugged. "I felt like crap when I woke up this morning, so I stayed home. Maybe I have one of those human 'colds' Alphys was talking about."
"I'm not sure that's how that works, Blue," Stretch laughed. "Are you at least feeling better now?"
"I sure am!" Blue said happily.
"Good," Stretch responded absently, still flipping through channels. There were only so many. He must have been through all of them at least once by now.
"Are you going to decide on a channel or not?" Blue teased, watching as the screen continued to flash.
"I'm trying! There's just so many options!"
Eventually, he settled on a cooking show; it was one of Blue's favorites, and, frankly, Blue suspects that that's why he picked it.
"That's raw!" one of the judges shouted from the TV, throwing the food at the chef. "Are you trying to kill me?!"
Both Blue and Stretch chuckled at this and only continued to laugh as the conversation between chef and judge slowly devolved into senseless fighting.
"My mother cooks better than you!"
"She can't if she made you!"
"How dare you?!"
At this point, the brothers were wheezing and trying not to fall out of their respective chairs.
"Papyrus, holy shit!" Blue said through laughter. "This is the best episode I've ever seen!"
Struggling to speak, Stretch responded, "That judge looks like he's about to have a stroke!"
Still laughing, Blue caught sight of the time and realized that it was probably time for him to leave. This stopped the laughter rather quickly, and he reluctantly stood and retrieved his phone from his bedroom, pocketing it without checking the notifications.
The cafe was quite nearby and the whole "driving" thing was still a little bit sketchy for him, so Blue decided to walk there. He grabbed a set of keys by the door and called to Stretch: "I'll be back later!"
A confused tone answered him back. "Huh? Where are you going?"
"To a cafe!"
"Alone?"
"No, I'm meeting a... friend!"
"Which one?"
Pretending that he hadn't heard this question, Blue quickly opened the door, shouted: "Bye, Papyrus!", and slammed the it shut behind him.
He walked quicker than normal until he was convinced that enough time had passed that Stretch wasn't going to try and follow him. About thirty seconds was enough. Once the half-panic passed, Blue nervously continued along the sidewalk, trying his best to enjoy the nice, temperate weather despite the sick feeling that was steadily growing in his stomach.
The cooler temperatures and crisp air that signified the start of fall seemed to attract a fair amount of people as there were more than usual out for an evening walk. It made the walk a bit awkward, having to wave or say hello as you passed people. Blue was typically a friendly person and didn't mind such actions, but today was certainly an exception.
"Hey!" greeted one person as they crossed paths.
"Hi," Blue mumbled, head down.
From the corner of his eye, he noticed the beautiful patch of slightly wilting purple flowers and realized that he must be close. Every time that Blue had walked to the cafe, he'd stopped to look at the flowers. A sign next to them always stood, clearly stating: "DO NOT TOUCH. POISONOUS". Frankly, it made Blue wonder why such dangerous flowers were allowed to be put next to a busy sidewalk, but they were so beautiful that he didn't really mind.
Within a few more minutes of walking, Blue had arrived at the small cafe. He looked up at the faded sign above the store which read: "Latte Lovers". It wasn't the most popular coffee shop in the city, but, at least in Blue's opinion, it was definitely the best. The workers were nice and polite, and the entire establishment was always kept extremely clean. Even the bathrooms! Not to mention that their hot cocoa was absolutely delicious!
Blue glanced at his phone and frowned; it was already 6:07... he was late. He peaked through the windows for a moment, seeing if he could tell if Dust was already there although he was sure that he already knew the answer. Taking a deep breath, Blue pushed open the door, the dangling of a bell alerting others to his arrival.
"Welcome to Latte Lovers!" one of the cheery workers shouted from behind the counter.
"Thank you!" Blue responded, forcing a smile.
"Blue?" another voice called, one that he recognized, and he quickly turned around.
Walking towards him was a rather disheveled looking skeleton monster. He was wearing a jacket and a pair of jeans. His hood, like always, was up, casting a shadow on his face that only emphasized the dark circles under his eyes, making him seem even more intimidating. His eyebrows were slightly upturned, but his lips quirked up once they made eye contact. Blue instantly looked away.
"Dust," he said, wringing his hands. "Sorry I'm late."
The other only smiled. "Don't worry about it! Do you wanna sit down?" he gestured towards the empty table, one chair haphazardly pulled out, indicating that Dust had already been seated before Blue got there.
"Yeah, sure!" Blue said with a nod, hoping that he didn't seem as nervous as he felt.
He began to walk towards the furthest chair before Dust cut in front of him, causing him to falter a bit. To his surprise, the other had pulled out the chair, gesturing with a smile for him to sit down. With a shaky smile back, Blue sat, only flinching slightly when Dust pushed the chair closer to the table for him.
"Thank you," Blue stuttered awkwardly, adjusting his scarf.
"No problem," Dust responded as he sat in his chair, scooting closer.
For a while, neither of them spoke, tension filling the air. The more the seconds passed, the harder it was for Blue to sit there as Dust's eyes continually scanned him, looking up and down. It was almost as if he were trying to memorize Blue's features... to see if anything had changed. Blue just nervously kept his eyes down, only occasionally glancing up. After about a minute of this, he sighed, opening his mouth ask some shallow question like "how have you been?", but Dust cut him off, blurting out the absolute last thing Blue wanted to hear.
"I still love you."