It's been a while, I know.
The night progresses normally- nothing crazy happens because of your semi-revelation. Not that you expect it to. The only difference is that you have to keep an eye on the stupid grin that keeps finding itself on your face. When Sans returns after dinner with your phone and a deliciously greasy bag, you have to steel yourself to not arouse his suspicion. Although having your phone back is a pretty good excuse to use for your sudden happiness.
You play around on it while Sans sneaks you fries on the couch, bopping your head to Mettaton's quiz music in the background. There's been a few changes and some apps have been added that you don't recognise, but your music, photos and games are intact, and you breathe a sigh of relief as you scroll through the device. It's like home in your hand. A piece of the surface that reminds you of when everything was normal. The nostalgia isn't as strong as it could be, but maybe that's because you're happy despite having lost your old life. Good food, cute guys, quality entertainment... what more could you want? And who's to say you've lost it forever, anyway?
When the show finishes and the boys get up, ready to head to bed, you bid them goodnight and wander into the kitchen. Sans pops in to make sure you're ok to bake by yourself, and you send him off, promising good things for tomorrow. Once you hear their doors close and movement stop, you get to work.
It's been a while since you've baked, and the ingredients aren't exactly the same as you're used to, but you're able to figure things out. The recipes saved on your phone are helpful. It's not long before you have the cake in the oven and you've started on the icing. And when you're done with that, you make yourself some tea and slip out the front door, sitting down on the steps outside and surveying the dark, snowy town.
It's freezing, but the tea you sip sends heat to counter the cold that curls around your bones. The streetlamps and warm window lights that shine into the snow are enough for you to see the landscape despite the lack of stars or moon. A little way away, you watch the lights of the bar blink out, and a flickering orange figure walk his last customer out with a wave. For a moment, he stands in the snow, watching the sleepy town just like you do. Then he disappears back inside, and you sigh into your tea, steam curling around your face. You might just understand why the monsters in this place are so lovely- they may not be free, but this is a calming, pretty place to spend the rest of your life, if you were inclined to. If there was no alternative.
Hopefully it won't have to be like that for much longer.
You return inside when your toes start to feel like ice. You're very sleepy when you finally get the cake out of the oven and place it in the fridge to cool overnight, and after cleaning up your mess, you drain the rest of your tea and collapse onto the couch, darkness claiming you more quickly than you expect.
You have to shoo Papyrus out of the kitchen the next morning before he starts breakfast, so you can ice and present the cake. No one mentions his birthday, so when you emerge with the iced, candled cake complete with glitter and chunks of ice on the side, his reaction is no less than ecstatic. It's possible that he thought the two of you had forgotten, a hypothesis that's confirmed when you spy orange tears in his eyes as he's swinging you around in the kind of hug only he can give. You squeeze him back, laughing, and place a quick peck on his cheekbone as you pull away. He blushes prettily but tries to cover it up with bluster, and you feel yourself falling even more in love with him. It's a cute moment that needs to be interrupted before you give yourself away, and thankfully Undyne does so by banging on the door. She comes in with a bouquet of blue flowers and bones (a recycled gift? Papyrus doesn't seem to mind) tied in ribbon, and for a moment there's chaos as the two of them roughhouse and you try to protect the cake.
When everyone's settled down, you call them to gather around the cake, lighting the candle. Leading them in classic human birthday tradition, Happy Birthday is sung, wishes are made, the candle is blown out, and cake is passed around. It's surprisingly good, and you end up eating three slices.
If you thought Papyrus' reaction to the cake was crazy, it's nothing compared to what happens when Sans gives him the tickets. He takes a moment to realise what they are- that yes, they're real, and yes, he's going to see Mettaton live. You see the exact moment it clicks, and then he jumps up with a screech and dashes out the door, leaving you staring after him in silence. You turn slowly to look at Sans, who seems unperturbed by his brother's sudden exit.
"He's probably gone for a jog," he explains at your confused look. "He does that when he's super excited and has to work off his energy."
Undyne snorts and shakes her head. "I seriously question his taste, sometimes. It's just Mettaton."
You refrain from telling her that you're actually really excited for the show too, and instead start to clear the plates away. "So, once he comes back, what are the plans for today?"
"We might spar a little." She flexes, eyeing you. "Or just chill. I give everyone a day off on their birthdays, so he doesn't have to be anywhere today."
"Well, it won't be hard to chill in Snowdin." You take the plates and leftover cake to the kitchen, waiting for them to register your pun. It takes a moment, but then you hear them laughing, and you grin to yourself. Every time you make a pun, you feel like you ingratiate yourself more with your monster friends. It's a nice feeling, like you almost belong.
Papyrus returns when you're nearly finished in the kitchen, and you hear him panting out his thanks to Sans. You join them in the living room, watching him clutch the tickets to his chest with the biggest grin you've ever seen him wear, and you can't help but match it, pumped up by his excitement.
The rest of the day ends up being a flurry of activity. Undyne rushes everyone outside to spar, and eventually it turns into a snowball fight. You're numb and jacked up on adrenaline, hiding behind a wall of snow with Sans, while Papyrus and Undyne shout insults and challenges from another a few metres away. The snow flies between your teams, trying to hit each other or break down the walls. At some point Sans falls asleep on the ground, with a snow pillow, and you're left to defend your wall by yourself.
A chunk of wall breaks away thanks to an oversized snowball as big as your head. You send back a barrage of smaller ones, screaming your plans for revenge. The others shout back taunts until a huge mountain of snow surround by a blue glow floats over and deposits itself on top of them. Sans' eyes are closed again when you look at him, but he's grinning at the dismayed shouts from the other side.
At one point, you hear Papyrus yell "SURPRISE ATTACK!" and peer over the wall just in time to see him racing towards you. He throws himself at the wall, taking it down and you too, and you find yourself buried under a huge pile of snow and one large skeleton. You suddenly feel a sense of déjà vu, recalling your slip in the kitchen the previous day, and you feel your cheeks warming as he holds himself up and glances around, unaware of how flustered you are beneath him.
Undyne laughs hysterically and tugs Sans our of the avalanche, and the shorter skeleton shakes the snow from his clothes and taps his skull to get it out of his eyes. Papyrus looks down at you apologetically, but before he can move you grab a handful of snow and throw it at his face, laughing as he splutters indignantly. The party is over then, everyone too tired and cold to go on, and Undyne heads home while the three of you traipse inside. You're shivering, and the boys insist you take the shower first.
A few hours later, after many outfit changes and a hurried dinner, you and Papyrus leave Snowdin in a boat, heading towards Hotland. Papyrus looks stylish in a leather jacket and MTT shirt, while you're in a hoodie and have wrapped a scarf around your face , with your own MTT shirt layered over the top at Pap's insistence. Becoming a fashion disaster is the least you can do for your friend, matching him at this exciting event.
You manage to keep your cool, alone with Papyrus, even though you can relax without Sans around now. You just want to enjoy your time and not complicate it with feelings. So you keep up the conversation and listen to him ramble about how much he loves Mettaton, dispersed with complaints about how impractical Hotland puzzles are and his hope that you wouldn't have to cross too many. Soon enough you arrive in Hotland and find your way to the hotel. The short trip between the boat and the hotel gets you sweating immediately, but the cool air inside is a relief. An attendant gives you a map and directs you to the right level, and you file in with the crowds of monsters who will be in the audience with you. It's a big room, with a stage in the middle and cameras and lights set up around it. You listen to the excited giggles and chatter around you and glance around with your grins hidden by your scarf, barely able to take it the diversity and strangeness of everyone around you.
The doors close, and the audiences hushes as the lights dim. Spotlights train on the ceiling and music starts to play, and to everyone's delight, the robot himself descends on a rope and wheels around the stage, waving to the audience and thanking you all for being there. His voice, mechanical yet smooth, is pleasant and engaging, and you're reminded of talk show hosts back on the surface, full of infectious energy. Next to you, Papyrus is already spellbound, hands clasped over his chest and eye sockets wide. The neon lights reflect off his skull in softer tones, and you can't help but notice how enchanting he looks, gazing upon his idol with adoration. For a moment, you imagine what it would be like for him to look at you like that.
Mettaton distracts you from thinking too much about that, and you join the hoards of screaming fans as he blows kisses to you all. The show starts with him talking about his newest movie, which the entire underground seems pumped for, and the trailer plays. Then the quizzes start, and a few lucky monsters are pulled onto the stage and tested in their Mettaton knowledge. It's a whirlwind of excitement and comedy and action, and when the stage is cleared and the lights are casting a pink tinge over everything, you have to catch your breath from laughing and cheering. No quiz show on the surface is anything like this- nowhere near as exciting, or full of seemingly near-death experiences, or as glittery.
But then... Mettaton disappears for a moment, and reappears with something black and lacy draped around his boxy frame. There's whistles and murmurs from the crowd around you, and you feel yourself flushing despite the lack of sex appeal by human standards. You've been down here for much too long, you think idly as you glance at Papyrus. So many things are attractive to you that never would have been before. Like that slack-jawed, heavily blushing skeleton next to you. Or the robot with the flashing lights arranged in a heart shape on his screen, lingerie hugging his corners, a pink spotlight trained on him. A sultry tune has started playing around you, and you smile as you vaguely recognise it from somewhere- strangely, you're reminded of visits to your grandma where she let you play her antique record player. This must be an old song, then. But you're pretty sure you won't be thinking of grandmothers after this performance...
"Relax, kick your shoes off baby
Relax, here we are alone
Relax, if the phone rings, let it
Just forget it, we're not at home..."
Oh, this is Elvis! In Mettaton's voice, of course, which has managed to gain an soft, smooth tone to it even though it's entirely synthetic. You don't have time to wonder where he got access to Elvis songs when it's like he's trying to seduce you from the stage, however. How the hell is a robot in lace singing Elvis doing it for you?
"Defrost, your charms
There's only the two of us here
Come in my arms
And make yourself comfortable dear..."
At least you're not the only one. Literally the entire audience is blushing in various colours, open mouthed or grinning, wide eyed and obviously turned on. Now you know why this show was scheduled later than the usual ones. This is premium late-night viewing, definitely not suitable for kids.
"Relax, let's get cozy baby
Come on, let your concrete crack
Cut loose, life is worth the livin'
When you're givin', come on relax."
The music slows, and Mettaton finishes the song. Then his screen flashes- was that supposed to be a wink?- and he bows.
"Thank you very much, beauties and gentlebeauties." The spotlight flickers out, and the room in shrouded in darkness. A murmur starts up when the lights flash back on and Mettaton is gone, and the doors behind you open, signalling the end of the show.
You're extremely overheated in your warm clothes, and not because of the weather. Papyrus isn't fairing much better, a permanent orange flush attached to his cheekbones, and he walks as if in a dream as you exit the studio with the rest of the audience. You were going to have dessert at the hotel before you left, but you think it's best if you both head home. He agrees when you ask him, and the trip home is quiet as he stares out at the water, and you stare at him.
"Tra la la~ I think we're in for a heatwave..." the River Person sings as you arrives in Snowdin. You glare at them, wondering if they knows what happened tonight, or if they're just spouting random BS like you've been told they do. No matter. You thank him for the ride and trudge home, still warm despite the cold breeze that wafts through the sleepy town. Papyrus doesn't say a word to you, seeming to be deep in thought as you enter the house and shake the snow from your shoes.
"Aye, guys, some show, huh?" Sans calls from the couch, standing up and stretching. Oh yeah, he would've watched it on TV. You wonder if he was as affect as everyone else.
"YES. QUITE. GOODNIGHT." Papyrus goes straight upstairs without another word, and Sans looks at you.
"Hey, I have no idea, alright?" you answer defensively as you start to strip off you layers. "He's been like that since the show finished."
"Hmm. I'll go talk to him. Goodnight, and thanks again for taking him."
You watch the shorter skeleton trudge upstairs, and collapse on the couch, tired and slightly flustered.
And that was your hint for the next chapter, which will be out very soon.