And here's YET another piece in this series and YET another commission for my friend AJ. I kind of like this one a lot...
1.
It has been another week since they told the rest about their little... situation, that Papyrus notices.
It's something small, just a pinprick of hurt. So subtle he thinks he's imagining it at first. Things are great, everything is going great, so he must be, right?
Initially, it's something easy to push away too, preoccupied by all the possibilities that being 'official' datemates grants them.
Like holding hands, having stay-in dates, annoying Sans in public,...
(Still no nicknames yet but Papyrus is working on it)
Then he watches Alphys and Undyne kiss and he knows. Knows what he's missing.
They kind of did a cheek-touching thing on their first ever date, but nothing after that night and that's it, Papyrus realizes.
He wants to kiss Flowey, plain and simple.
He tries, that evening, bends forwards with all the purpose in the world, then falling horribly short out of sheer nervousness.
Flowey looks at him weirdly and Papyrus quickly reaches and grabs a book on the table behind him.
Ever so smooth, the Great Papyrus is.
Flowey frowns but doesn't say anything.
2.
Often, Flowey watches Papyrus sleep.
He doesn't slumber himself, just kinda rests. But it feels empty and uncomfortable and is ultimately unnecessary.
So he instead spends hours each night simply watching his skeleton date and feeling weird and wondering if he's maybe going a bit crazy.
He leans forward and Papyrus looks so peaceful, happy. The way Flowey always wants him to look because it makes him complete as well. So close they're almost touching.
Then Papyrus moves and it's as if it physically burns him, pulling back so fast it might cause whiplash.
He's not sure why it feels so hollow.
3.
It's a fine day if Papyrus can convince Flowey to cook with him.
He'll usually act like a grump the entire way through, but Papyrus doesn't mind.
He loves cooking and he loves Flowey so no wonder he loves this too, the two of them in their small kitchen. And while he has definitely become less of a disaster since coming to the surface, Papyrus plus spaghetti, never not leaves a mess.
They laugh though, since it doesn't matter at all. Then Papyrus stops because there's a splatter of sauce on Flowey's face and he hasn't noticed.
It's an impulse, a second without sanity and all Papyrus can think is of how cute his datemate looks right now and how much he wants to kiss that spot of tomato from his cheek.
Then it passes and he laughs stiffly, hardly convincing himself.
"You have a bit of-" He says, trailing off awkwardly and pointing at his own face.
Flowey frowns, bringing up a vine to wipe away the stain and Papyrus finds himself almost wishing he hadn't said anything.
4.
The surface is great and all, but there are times that Flowey misses their old world.
Where he and Papyrus would sit together for hours, just talking about stuff.
Then there's a night just like that. The air is cold and misty, stars just dull enough to be mistaken for a cavern ceiling and they don't care that it's freezing.
They don't care about anything but each other at that exact moment.
Papyrus makes a joke and as he does so Flowey thinks he must be perfect.
And smart and funny and brave and just-
He wants to kiss him. He wants to kiss him so bad that for a moment he thinks he might, just breach the minuscule distance between them and go for it.
Then it's gone, Papyrus cranes his head up to look at the midnight blue sky and the moment is gone.
Flowey thinks even he could die from frustration.
5.
At a certain time, everybody needs to make a decision and set their foot down. For Papyrus, that time has come now, and that decision is that he will kiss his datemate.
Something easier set than done, but planning is half the effort, they tell him.
Never mind who they might be.
They're sitting on the couch again, just like back then when Papyrus initially got this idea.
He keeps waiting for the right moment. The book provided for specific instructions on that, but there is no perfectly timed burst of fireworks or a blazing sunset to serve as decor. Nor is there any slow-motion involved.
As a whole, it pretty much falls short on all his expectations.
And Papyrus is nervous, fidgety, so much so that no wonder Flowey notices, stops to stare at him and the skeleton knows that this is it. This is that moment the book described.
Or it better be, because he's already leaning in and Flowey doesn't move at all, which is a good enough sign to proceed with things as far as he's concerned.
Then the door flings open with such force it will surely leave a dent in their plaster work, Undyne barges in like she owns the place, the way she barges in everywhere in fact.
The perfect moment couldn't be more ruined.
Papyrus sits back with something like regret on his mind. If he hadn't waited so long they would surely have already done the smoochies. As it was, they spend the rest of the night in idle chatter and irritated glances.
Not that Undyne is deterred by any of that.
+1
Flowey is no idiot.
Obviously he isn't, but he certainly isn't an idiot when it comes to Papyrus, quite the opposite in fact, and clearly things are getting ridiculous now.
It's plain to even the most brain-dead Moldsmall that both of them want that blasted first kiss.
They got pretty close the other night, but then that dumb fish had come by to ruin everything, and seemingly it had spooked Papyrus so much, another attempt wasn't forthcoming.
So as much as Flowey hates it, he'll have to resort to initiating this himself.
It's hard though, trying to wait for the right mood to strike. Oh yeah, Flowey can read books too. He knows all about that idiotic dating manual Papyrus is so fond of.
But if it's important for him then it's important for Flowey too so he tries, so freaking hard, but the timing isn't quite right at breakfast.
The moment isn't really there at lunch.
It doesn't feel perfect enough at diner.
Before he knows it, they're turning off the tv and Papyrus sets him on the nightstand of his bed, not quite letting go and Flowey knows it's now or never.
They both bend forwards at the exact same time somehow, meeting in the middle and there's no spark or explosion or anything.
But it's flawless.
"Goodnight." Papyrus says softly, already half-way in bed and he's hiding his face beneath the blankets, embarrassed, but Flowey doesn't need to see his expression to know how hard his datemate is smiling right now.
"Goodnight." He mutters back.
He's already looking forward to his goodmorning kiss.
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