A/N: I'm loving all the positive responses to this story. They make me so happy. Papyrus' POV of the end of the last chapter and this one will be coming soon. I'm very excited for them :) Come join me on Tumblr! sheewolf85 . tumblr .com. I reblog cool Undertale stuff (among other things) and sometimes post stuff.

Chapter 6

In a quarter mile, turn left.

You nodded to yourself and followed your GPS' instructions. You were on your way to meet Papyrus for lunch, and your nerves were shot. You had come up with a hundred different ways of starting the conversation and had scrapped each and every one of them for various reasons. Your hands were sweaty against the steering wheel and you could swear you could feel your heart pounding against your chest. You took a deep breath and told yourself to chill out.

In five hundred yards, turn right. Then, your destination will be on the right.

Crap, already? You turned and found the little coffee-shop-slash-bakery easily. You had left a half an hour early to make sure you'd be able to find the place, and you hadn't expected to be able to drive right to it even with your GPS.

You parked and sat in the car for a few minutes, giving yourself a pep talk.

"This is going to be good. Sans probably talked to him like he said he would, so he knows what this conversation is going to be about. He's not going to be blindsided by my confession. And, best of all, he likes me back!"

You could only imagine the things that could happen after you both confessed your feelings. Maybe you'd get to hug him before he went back to work. Or maybe—just maybe—you'd get a kiss. The thought made your stomach flip. Despite his sharp teeth that could probably tear into your flesh without a problem, you were a tad bit desperate to know what it felt like to kiss him. You had no doubt that he'd be careful with you.

Fifteen minutes later, you finally managed to talk yourself into getting out of the car. It was cold out, snow on the ground and icy patches on the parking lot. Carefully picking your steps to make sure you didn't slip, you made your way inside. The smell of coffee and baked goods filled your nostrils and made you smile. It was like a little patch of heaven. You looked around and spotted a small table in the back that looked relatively isolated where you were hoped you and Papyrus could talk.

You got in line and unzipped your coat. You'd worn one of your favorite sweater dresses today with thick leggings to protect your legs from the cold winter weather and boots on your feet. The sweater was red with black stripes and was soft and comfortable. After ordering a turkey avocado panini and a chai tea latte, you went to the table in the back and set your purse and coat down until they called your name.

After you got your food, you sat down facing the door and checked the time. It was noon, so Papyrus was probably clocking out for lunch right at that moment. Your right leg bounced nervously as you sipped your tea and kept an eye on the door.

Five minutes later, Papyrus finally walked in. You licked your lips when he had to duck his head to clear the door. One thing you didn't mention to Sans was that you couldn't get enough of how tall Papyrus was. His height made your insides feel all gooey. You raised a hand and waved at him, and it caught his attention. He waved back before getting in line and ordering.

You didn't even try to stop yourself from staring at him. He was dressed in a dark blue pinstripe suit that had to have been tailored to him. Under his suit jacket, he wore a white shirt with a red tie. He looked damn good. You couldn't help but remember how he looked in those leather pants and that short shirt that showed off his hips and his spine. Somehow you doubted that he could look bad in anything; he could probably pull off any outfit he chose to wear and do it beautifully.

He finally made his way to the table and sat next to you.

"YOU WERE HERE EARLY?"

You nodded a little sheepishly. "Yeah, I wanted to make sure I gave myself time to find the place. I haven't been here very long, though, and I knew you wouldn't be here until after noon."

He nodded and lifted his cup to his mouth. He had red gloves on, but you couldn't help but remember watching his bare phalanges as he'd cooked. You licked your lips and told yourself to calm down.

"Um, you look nice," you said, hoping he wouldn't do what he always did and—

"THANK YOU. SO DO YOU."

Hot damn. He actually accepted your compliment. And…your face suddenly burst into flame as you smoothed your shaking fingers over the bottom hem of your sweater dress.

"Oh, um…thanks." You were going to chicken out. You could feel it now. Just your small interactions so far made your insides feel like jelly. You couldn't fathom surviving a kiss at this point.

You were both quiet for a moment as you ate. You complimented the food—he had been right when he said they had excellent panini. Just when the silence started to get uncomfortable, you cleared your throat.

"So, um…I don't think I've ever asked you what you do." You knew Sans had a few odd jobs including one at a call center of some kind, but none of you had ever talked about Papyrus' job.

"I WORK FOR THE KING AT THE MONSTER EMBASSY. IT'S MOSTLY PAPERWORK AND HANDLING SQUABBLES HERE AND THERE."

Yeah, that was impressive. "Cool. Do you like it?"

"YES."

You waited for him to say more, but he didn't. You decided to push him a little.

"What's your favorite part about it?"

The look he shot you was full of confusion, like he wasn't sure why you were curious about it. "DO YOU REALLY WANT TO TALK ABOUT MY EMPLOYMENT?"

You shrugged. "We don't have to, but I wasn't lying when I said I wanted to get to know you one on one."

His cheekbones started to glow with a red blush, and you couldn't help but find that completely adorable. Your hands ached to reach out to him, but you kept them occupied with your cup instead.

"MY FAVORITE PART ABOUT IT IS BEING ABLE TO MAKE SURE THAT MONSTERS ARE BEING TREATED FAIRLY. SOME HUMANS WANT TO PRETEND THAT WE DON'T HAVE THE RIGHTS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN ESTABLISHED, AND I GET TO BE PART OF THE TEAM THAT PROVES THEM WRONG. IT'S NICE TO BE ABLE TO PROTECT MY FELLOW KIND WITHOUT VIOLENCE."

There was no hope for you. You fell a little more, becoming even more infatuated with him, and smiled brightly.

"I think that's really cool. You care a lot about monsters, and I admire that about you." You were desperately trying to do what Sans had said and compliment him on things you genuinely liked about him. The words were a little hard to get out, but once they were, you were rewarded immediately.

The blush on his cheeks darkened and he seemed to be at a loss for words for a moment. "I…OF COURSE I CARE ABOUT MONSTERS…" He trailed off and fidgeted in his seat for a moment as he stared down at the table.

You realized then that he was nervous. Just the idea of him being anything but the painfully confident Papyrus you knew was thrilling. You made him nervous. You did that to him. You felt a tiny bit powerful in that moment.

It gave you the confidence you needed to bring up the subject you feared. You took a drink before speaking.

"So did Sans talk to you about our conversation Friday night?" Your guts did a few cartwheels as you waited for him to answer.

He nodded. "YES, AND I HAVE SOMETHING I NEED TO SAY ABOUT THAT."

Suddenly, your heart dropped. Your mind went to the worst possible scenario—he was going to tell you that Sans was joking and that he didn't actually like you at all. Before you could let yourself sabotage this, you nodded and waited for him to continue.

"Y/N, SANS SAID THAT HE TOLD YOU WHAT I LIKE ABOUT YOU. I DON'T FEEL THE NEED TO REPEAT IT IF HE ALREADY TOLD YOU. INSTEAD, I'D LIKE TO KNOW YOUR OPINION ABOUT GOING OUT WITH ME."

You could breathe again. "My opinion is that I would very much like to." You could hardly believe you actually managed to say that. Your face had to be the same shade as your dress at this point, and yet his cheekbones were pretty red as well.

Tentatively, he reached out and placed his hand palm up on the table. You glanced down at it briefly before allowing yourself to put your hand in his. Your fingers were shaking, but you could feel his bones shaking in the soft leather of his gloves, too. His fingers wrapped around your hand and lifted, bringing it to his mouth where he pressed his teeth to the back.

His bones were warm and calming, and you could feel a strange thrum of energy coming from his teeth. You squeezed his fingers and smiled as best as you could with your insides doing all kinds of gymnastics.

"MY LUNCH BREAK IS NEARLY OVER. YOU SAID YOU HAVE THIS SATURDAY OFF FROM WORK?"

You nodded, a little thrilled that he kept hold of your hand on the table.

"I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE YOU TO A SHOW AND TO DINNER."

"Do you mean to a movie?" You were feeling a little lightheaded as you processed this information. You and Papyrus were actually going to start dating.

"NO, I MEAN TO A LIVE SHOW. A FRIEND OF MINE WILL BE PERFORMING IN A PLAY."

Somehow, the thought of a live show was so much more romantic that a movie. "That sounds really nice."

He smirked. "OF COURSE IT DOES. I HAVE EXCELLENT IDEAS."

You snorted and squeezed his fingers again. "All right, Captain. I don't want you to be late back to work."

"COME OUT TO MY HOME AT FIVE O'CLOCK ON SATURDAY AND WE'LL GO TO DINNER FROM THERE, THEN TO THE PLAY."

He lifted your hand again and kissed the back of it, the same strange energy buzzing around your skin.

"It's a date."

"YES, IT IS. OH, AND PLEASE DO NOT WEAR STRIPES." His eye lights seemed to dance over your sweater for a moment before returning to your face.

"Um…okay? Why?"

"MONSTER CHILDREN WEAR STRIPES UNTIL THEY'RE OLD ENOUGH TO BE CONSIDERED ADULTS. IT WOULD BE…UNCOMFORTABLE IF YOU WERE DRESSED AS A CHILD."

Interesting. You decided not to remind him that humans had no such conventions and instead just agreed to not wear stripes. You really would hate to make him uncomfortable like that, and you could see it equating to going out with someone who was dressed in a schoolgirl uniform with pigtails.

You both got up and threw away your trash. Papyrus picked up your coat before you could reach it and held it open for you. Grinning like an idiot, you let him help you into it. He put a hand on your back, right between your shoulders, and walked with you outside. You shivered a little at a gust of chilly air that smacked you right in the face.

"PLEASE DRIVE SAFELY," he said as he followed you to your car. "AND LET ME KNOW WHEN YOU GET HOME."

You stopped by your car and looked up at him. "I will. I have to go to the store on the way home, so don't freak out if it takes me a while."

He nodded, and you both stood there silently, staring at each other. A part of you really hoped he'd lean down and kiss you, but another part knew that he was going to be late if he didn't leave soon. Instead of doing either, he reached out and very gently touched your cheek with the backs of his fingers.

"I LOOK FORWARD TO SATURDAY," he declared, a little too loudly.

You couldn't help but push forward and wrap your arms around him in a tight hug. Heavenly warmth spread through your whole body as he hugged you back.

"I do, too," you managed.

He finally walked away, and you watched him for a moment before getting into your car.

Throughout the week, you texted both Sans and Papyrus. Sans made a few jokes like you knew he was going to about you getting it on with his brother. You only defended your honor the first few times, then you started ignoring him. He finally stopped after he realized he wasn't going to get a rise out of you.

Thursday was a bad day. You were so excited about your date on Saturday that you had told all of your friends about it. One of your friends who had been fine with monsters before was suddenly not okay with the idea of you dating one. They had tried to talk you out of it, going so far as to tell you how dangerous they were and how they had killed humans.

You tried to frame it a different way—you had just weeded out another of your monster-hating so-called 'friends'. It didn't help lessen the pain of losing a friend or the words they had thrown at you.

That night, after you had gotten into bed, you texted Papyrus.

You: Are you up?

It took twenty minutes to get a response.

Captain Tantrum: Yes.

You: We're still on for Saturday, right?

Something coiled in your gut.

Captain Tantrum: Of course. Why wouldn't we be?

You: I don't know. I'm just making sure. Had a bad day.

Captain Tantrum: What happened?

Tears gathered in your eyes as you remembered the fight and their parting words: don't blame me when you end up murdered by your precious monster boyfriend.

You: I lost a friend. They used to be so supportive of monsters, but the minute I say I'm going to date one they're saying shit they know nothing about and it really hurt to realize they weren't who I thought they were.

A few minutes passed with no response. You sniffled and wiped your face.

You: I'm sorry. It's not your problem; I shouldn't put that on you.

Your guts hurt so badly. You wanted him to say something. Anything. You wanted him to support you, but somehow you knew that wasn't going to happen. Papyrus wasn't that kind of monster. He was passionate and driven and confident, but he wasn't sympathetic.

A few moments later, your phone buzzed.

Captain Tantrum: Nonsense. If we're going to be dating, you should be able to talk to me about your troubles. Do you want me to talk to this friend of yours?

All of your worries seemed to drift away as you read his words. A swell of happiness grew in your chest and pushed out all the pain.

You: No; I'd rather just not ever speak to them again. And thank you, Papyrus. Please know you can talk to me, too.

Captain Tantrum: Do you feel better already? Should I say something else about the situation with your friend?

You smiled and hugged the phone before answering him.

You: I do feel better. You don't need to say anything else about it. Just listening is enough. I really am looking forward to Saturday, and to seeing you again.

Captain Tantrum: I'm gonna invite you in for coffee. Coffee means sex. I'm gonna kiss your lips and I don't mean the ones on your face.

Captain Tantrum: Did you know skeletons got dicks? Mine's pierced. Curious, ain't ya?

You stared at the messages for a long while, completely shocked and a little disgusted. This was the type of shit Sans would do, not—

Oh.

You: Sans, give your brother back his phone. I'm not fooled.

Captain Tantrum: I swear to the angel above that I did not send those texts. My fucking brother stole my phone.

Captain Tantrum: Thank you for understanding that wasn't me.

You had to laugh a little.

You: It was pretty obvious, but you're welcome.

Captain Tantrum: I am also looking forward to Saturday. I feel strange saying that after my brother's vulgar texts.

You: Don't feel weird; that's what he wants. The asshole. Just tell me that you're excited to see me.

Captain Tantrum: Of course I am. I know you'll be as beautiful as ever.

You let out a squeal and hugged the phone again.

You: Thank you. I think I'm going to go to bed. I'll talk to you soon. Goodnight, Papyrus.

Captain Tantrum: Goodnight, y/n. Sleep well.

You plugged your phone in and grinned at the ceiling for a long while before you felt calm enough to actually sleep.

Friday was only a little bit better. You had to face the fallout of your fight with your now ex-friend. A few of your other friends thought you were being ridiculous by breaking off a friendship just because they didn't like you dating a monster. You decided not to relive the nasty words that had been said to you and simply said that you had a right to choose the company you kept. You didn't want to keep company that had such a blatant problem with the way you chose to live your life. You reminded them of the friends you'd had before the barrier broke and how many friends you'd lost because of your support of monsters. You had no problem cutting harmful people out of your life.

Work was exhausting, but you made it through the day solely on the thought that you would get to see Papyrus the next day. After you got home and ate dinner, you texted with him and Sans for a few hours until you started to feel sleepy.

After your bedtime routine, you spent another hour in front of your closet deciding what you were going to wear the next day. You secretly wished you had gotten Sans to tell you which outfits Papyrus liked the best. You also wished you had asked Papyrus what kind of play you were going to see and where you were going for dinner so you knew how much you needed to dress up.

With a tired groan, you finally picked out a preliminary outfit that was sort of fancy but could also pass as sort of casual. A good middle ground. You figured you could get more details from Papyrus tomorrow.

With that out of the way, you climbed into bed and squealed excitedly for a moment before settling down to sleep.