"So, Tonnie… got any plans for next Sunday?"
Mettaton opened the calendar app on his phone. "Yes, I do actually, why?" he asked of his boyfriend, who lay on the living room couch with his legs in Mettaton's lap.
"Why? You ought to know why." Devon sat up, looking rather offended. "You really don't remember?"
"Uh… no, I… really don't."
"My birthday? I'm turning thirty-two."
"Oh!" Mettaton put a hand to his mouth. "Oh. Dev, I am so sorry. I, um… kind of got rid of your contact information after that whole… thing… and I haven't got all of it filled back in yet. I'll put that in right now." Mettaton entered Devon's birth date as November 1.
"So you'll move off your plans, right?" Devon raised an eyebrow. "What were you even planning on doing, anyway? I thought we talked about telling each other when we plan things."
Mettaton bit his lip as he looked at the event in his phone. "We planned it before we started dating… we were going to a monster truck rally." His mouth twitched as he remembered how happy Papyrus had sounded about it, when Mettaton had called him to tell him what he'd learned about monster trucks all the way back in July…
Devon just sat there for a minute. "What?"
"I know, I know, it doesn't sound like something I'd be interested in. But they're actually pretty cool! They do flips and things—some really dangerous stuff that has you on the edge of your seat—"
"Yeah, okay, I get it. Well, just tell whoever it is that you have to reschedule." Devon crossed his arms and closed his eyes.
"We can't exactly reschedule… it only happens once a year," Mettaton explained.
"Yeah, and so does my birthday." Devon's eyes snapped back open. "You're really conflicted about this? Am I not a priority to you?"
"Of course you are, Dev, I just… Papyrus has been looking forward to this for months now. I hate to disappoint him." Indeed, Mettaton's stomach dropped as he thought about how Papyrus would feel about this.
"I'm sure he'll live. Wouldn't surprise me if he acts like he won't, though. Don't let him manipulate you. You've got priorities and you're gonna stick to them."
Yes, Mettaton supposed Devon was right… a partner's birthday was important. More important than a silly truck rally, even if they had planned it months in advance and had already bought tickets… hopefully it wasn't too late to get a refund on those. He patted Devon's legs. "Alright, dear. I'll call him right now, if you'll let me up."
Devon lifted his legs off Mettaton, watching him lazily as the robot left the living room to go into Devon's study.
There, Mettaton searched up Papyrus's contact information, pausing before he tapped his number to call him. He still felt horrible about having to cancel, but he couldn't see a way to please both Papyrus and his boyfriend. He and Papyrus would just have to go to the rally next year.
He tapped the number and held the phone up to his ear, waiting.
Papyrus picked up after the first ring. "Hello, Mettaton! What can I do for you on this fine day?"
He sounded so cheerful that Mettaton almost backed out of telling him, but he swallowed down the urge. "Hi, Papy. I'm afraid I have some bad news…"
"Oh?" Papyrus now sounded significantly less cheerful.
"Yes. Ah… you know how we were going to go to that truck rally? Well… it turns out that's Devon's birthday. I'm so sorry I didn't tell you earlier, I'd actually forgotten. But Devon wants to spend the day with me. I truly hate cancelling on you, but…" Mettaton wanted to say something like priorities, you know, but the words sounded beyond rude on his tongue.
"Oh… I see." The words were completely flat. Then they quickly picked up. "Well, that's alright! I don't blame you for wanting to celebrate with your significant other. He is a very important figure in your life, after all! So I understand. There is always next year, anyway."
Mettaton got the feeling Papyrus was putting on a façade, but didn't know how to address it. "Well, thank you, Papy dear. I appreciate you taking this so well. To make up for it, we should go do something else sometime. I'll be glad to pay for whatever it is."
"Yes! I would love that!" Papyrus's voice cracked on the last word, and Mettaton knew for sure he was pretending not to be upset.
"Oh, Papy—"
"Don't worry about me! I'm completely fine!" Papyrus said quickly. "Well, I have to go now. Very important things to do! I'll see you around!" He hung up before Mettaton even had a chance to say goodbye.
Now he really felt terrible. Clearly Papyrus had been looking forward to the rally for a while, and now Mettaton was flaking on him just when they were about to go.
He came back to the living room feeling rather depressed.
"So, how'd it go?" Devon asked casually.
"He pretended he wasn't upset, but I could tell he was," Mettaton sighed. "I said I'd make up for it, but I'm not sure it helped any."
"He'll get over it. Anyway, it makes me happy that we'll be together." Devon sat up, threw an arm around Mettaton's shoulders, and kissed his cheek. "Chin up."
Ω
Papyrus was more than upset about this development.
His thoughts were racing as he paced around his bedroom. Saying he'd been looking forward to the rally was an understatement. He knew it was silly—he saw Mettaton almost every week as it was. But most of the time they were surrounded by family. Going somewhere with Mettaton without anyone else to interrupt, as well as indulging in one of his favorite interests that he shared with him? It would have been a dream come true.
He knew Mettaton had said they could go out another time, but somehow, that didn't make him feel any better.
He wondered if Devon was purposefully keeping Mettaton away from him.
What a ridiculous thought, honestly. It only made sense that Mettaton would be spending time with Devon on his birthday. They were dating, after all.
A hot wave of… something washed over Papyrus. He suddenly found himself wishing that Mettaton had never met Devon… that Mettaton were dating him instead.
That made him stop in his tracks.
"What on earth?" he murmured out loud. Was he jealous? The Great Papyrus, jealous? No way. Jealousy was something very un-Papyrus. It must be something else.
But he couldn't find another name for the feeling.
Alright… so maybe Papyrus was jealous for the first time in his life. Really, that didn't mean anything. He wasn't going to act on it. Likely, it would just make Mettaton unhappy. He seemed to have a good relationship with Devon, even if the man was a bit overprotective. At the very least, Mettaton seemed content with what they had. Papyrus wouldn't take that away from him, no matter how much he wished he were in Devon's place.
He'd just have to live with this disappointment. It wasn't the end of the world. He and Mettaton would have a make-up outing sometime soon and they would have just as good a time as they would have had at the rally.
Enough moping around, he decided. He had plans for today. Namely, he was going to plant some pretty flowers outside around the front porch to give the yard some color. If Mettaton hadn't called, he would have been out doing it already.
Papyrus changed into some work clothes and went down to the garage to get the supplies. And all the while, he ignored that burning jealousy in his heart.
Ω
When Sunday arrived, Mettaton felt bad all morning, knowing he was missing the rally. Even affection from Devon, which the man had been giving him off and on since he'd come over around ten o'clock, wasn't helping much; he'd been faking just about every minute of enjoyment.
Devon seemed to become aware of this over time. "Where's your enthusiasm, Tonnie? You love my kisses normally." Before letting Mettaton answer, he kissed his lips.
"Oh, I always do. I'm just, um…" Mettaton wasn't sure how to finish.
Devon sighed. "Thinking about Papyrus again?"
Mettaton pursed his lips. "Maybe. Okay, fine, yes, I am. Just wondering if he's thinking about what we were supposed to do today, that's all."
"Don't worry about him. He'll get over it. Anyway, you're bound to have a fun time with me. The whole family's coming, you know."
Mettaton had not yet met Devon's family, as they normally lived about eight hours away from Auckland, in Wellington. Currently, his mother, father, and two older siblings were staying in a fancy hotel about twenty minutes from Devon's house. They had arrived in Auckland last night and were coming over around lunchtime today so they could all go out and celebrate Devon's birthday together.
Admittedly, Mettaton was actually a bit nervous about meeting Devon's parents. Devon had assured him several times that they were fine with gay relationships and wouldn't mind Mettaton's choice in wardrobe at all, but that wasn't really the crux of Mettaton's problem. To be fair, Mettaton himself wasn't even really sure why he felt nervous about it. The best idea he had was that, because he and Devon had the same occupation and had had the same dreams as children, he thought Devon's parents might be similar to his own… and if that turned out to be the case, he didn't know how well he could handle it.
Devon began kissing Mettaton's neck, successfully distracting him from his thoughts.
After about a half hour, the doorbell rang, and both of them reluctantly got up from the couch to answer the door. Devon let his parents, sister, and brother in and turned to Mettaton.
"Guys, this is Tonnie—uh, Mettaton. Mettaton—Mom, Dad, Kayleigh, and James."
Mettaton put on a big smile and shook hands with the parents. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Hart, it's so nice to meet you!"
"Oh, call me Cheryl, hon," Devon's mother said loftily.
"Tommy will do for me," said the father. "It's very nice to meet the man who's made Devon so happy."
Tommy and Cheryl looked to be about twice Devon's age, with hair that was colored blond, blue eyes, and skin that must have had a lot of anti-aging products on it. Kayleigh and James were in their late and middle thirties respectively, and both also had blond hair, blue eyes, and fair skin, as well as sharp facial features. All four of them were dressed in high-class outfits—Tommy and James were dressed in suits while Cheryl wore a gold women's suit and Kayleigh wore a frilly red dress.
All of them seemed to be appraising Mettaton, who was currently wearing a pink sweatshirt and black leggings, as he hadn't felt like getting dressed up yet when he'd gotten up that morning.
"You won't be wearing that to the restaurant, right?" Kayleigh raised an eyebrow.
"Of course not. Mettaton brought his outfit over. We were just about to change," Devon said. "Go on up, Tonnie. And try not to take forever with the makeup."
Mettaton refrained from rolling his eyes; he was an expert at doing good makeup in a short amount of time, having had a lot of practice. He went upstairs to where his dress and accessories were waiting.
In twenty minutes he was coming down the stairs in the forest-green dress he had considered for his first date with Devon all those months ago. Said dress was low-cut on the chest with off-the-shoulder straps and a full skirt that trailed on the steps behind him. His hair, which now sported green highlights in the same shade as his dress, was pulled back in a knot on the nape of his neck, and he wore dark lipstick and eyeshadow.
Devon had already come downstairs from changing into a white suit, and his jaw dropped when he saw his boyfriend. The rest of his family seemed rather impressed at how nicely Mettaton had cleaned up as well. "My, my," Cheryl murmured.
The words shook Devon out of his awing. He came quickly over to the bottom of the stairs and took Mettaton's hand as he stepped out onto the first floor. "Shall we?" He gestured to the front door.
Mettaton and Devon drove separately from the rest of his family in his red Ferrari, the others following in their fancy Mercedes SUV. The robot was surprised when they pulled into the lot of the Plat de Fantaisie; Devon hadn't told him where they were going. "Can we… I mean, it's going to be a lot of money to feed all six of us here…"
"Of course I can afford it," Devon said bluntly. "I wouldn't have booked it if I couldn't."
"Oh, but you shouldn't pay for your own birthday meal—"
"It's fine, Tonnie. I've got the money, why not use it on a day like today?"
Devon helped Mettaton out of the car, then hurried to his parents' car to open the door for his mother. A couple of valets took care of the cars while everyone went inside.
I'll never get bored of this place, Mettaton thought as the grandeur of the restaurant overtook his senses.
They were seated at an outside table in the gardens. "So, Dev," Tommy said, "what's on the menu?"
"It'll be seven courses—just the first time Tonnie and I came here." Devon looked over at Mettaton fondly. "It won't be the same foods, though. I ordered caviar and crème fraiche tartlets for the hors d'oeuvres, she-crab soup, shrimp with Cajun seasoning for the appetizer, salmon and avocado Caesar salad, Payard Lourve cake for dessert—that's got chocolate and hazelnut mousse and things—lots of hazelnut, actually—" he added for Mettaton's benefit—"petits fours, and for the main course—well, I wanted something fishy, but Mettaton doesn't like that, so I ordered chicken biryani."
"Oh, you didn't have to do that for me," protested Mettaton. "I'd have eaten fish for your birthday."
Devon shrugged. "Well, too little too late. But that's alright. The chicken dish I ordered should be just as good."
And indeed it was. The afternoon seemed to fly by for Mettaton, and they were through most of the courses before he knew it. Although he wasn't really able to get a word in edgewise—Devon's family, like the man himself, was rather loquacious all around—he found himself mostly enjoying getting to know them. Mostly.
He did notice they had a tendency to brag. Maybe he couldn't talk on that front—he had a history of bragging too, but he only really ever did it around Undyne because it pissed her off. And even then, she barely knew any of the brands he talked about having, so it never really affected her.
Devon's father mentioned at least three times that he was the CEO of the biggest shipping company in New Zealand and Australia, and his mother went on a twenty-minute tangent about the fancy garden parties she held at each of the three mansions her husband owned—one they lived in normally in this country, one in Florida over in America, and one in Milan, Italy. Kayleigh owned an expensive makeup brand sold around the world, and James—who was the least talkative of the bunch, though that wasn't saying much—was the Chief Operating Officer of the same shipping company his father was the CEO of.
Devon himself, of course, made sure that everyone knew his television drama had been renewed not only for a fifth season, but a sixth as well. In addition, he was slated to star in a new movie in Hollywood that would start filming sometime next year, and it was expected to be a worldwide blockbuster. And of course he would be sure to invite them all to its premiere.
Finally, the family turned their attention on Mettaton. "So you're an actor too, dear? What have you starred in? I'm afraid I haven't seen anything with you in it," Cheryl asked him.
"Well, I haven't actually starred in anything yet," Mettaton admitted. "But I debuted in Devon's show late last year, and got signed on to star in my own drama this year. We were supposed to start filming a few months ago, but, ah—things had to be put off for a bit. We did start filming just last month. October, that is."
"Oh, yes, I remember you in Devon's show, now. Devon was quite proud to have you. What's your new show called?"
"Oh, it's called Speechless, and it's about an up-and-coming gay actor who believes he's in a loving relationship, but in reality it's pretty abusive. His best friend is in love with him, but can't be with him because he's dating another guy, of course. It's supposed to be a mix of drama and romance," Mettaton explained excitedly.
"Lovely, lovely." Cheryl sounded bored. "Is Devon going to be in it?"
"That I'm not sure about. We've already cast the main characters. Perhaps he could guest star like I did, though?"
Devon laughed. "I'm afraid I'd steal the spotlight from you, sweetheart. Unless you need my help with views or something, I'll let you handle Speechless."
The rest of the afternoon passed much the same. After they finished their meal (Devon had paid for it beforehand), they headed back to Devon's home to give him gifts.
His parents gave him a large, fancy gold wristwatch, and his siblings gave him something from both of them as well—an electronic "fitness mirror" that showed personal statistics and workouts and could connect by Bluetooth to Devon's phone. Mettaton had remembered seeing one of these when shopping online one day—they cost well over two-thousand dollars in this country.
"Gotta keep fit for your boyfriend," James said significantly, and winked.
Mettaton could only guess what that meant.
His gifts came last. He had gotten more than Devon's family had, which seemed to please Devon. Mettaton had gotten him a crisp white suit, a bottle of the same Pinot Noir that they had shared on their first date, and the 4K disc collection of the third season of When Angels Fall, the soap opera that Devon starred in. Devon seemed very happy with all this.
As the family prepared to leave, Devon said his thanks and hugged everyone. Mettaton simply shook hands, said his own thanks, and waved out on the front porch as they left.
He sighed. "I need to get this dress off."
They went inside, and as soon as Devon closed the door, he said, "I can help with that."
Mettaton froze for a split second at the man's tone of voice. "Oh, uh, no, I can do it myself," he squeaked when he thought he'd gotten his voice back.
"Come on, Tonnie, let's go upstairs, hmm?" Devon cajoled him. "Today's a special day… it would mean so much to me if you just let down your guard and let me love you tonight."
Mettaton lifted his skirt up to the knee and began to escape up to the guest room, where he'd left his other clothes. "Um—" He paused halfway up and looked back. Devon stood at the bottom of the stairs, with his foot up on the last one.
"Come on, sweetheart. You know I won't hurt you."
Mettaton's heart beat fast in its chamber. In some ways, he almost wanted to say yes—perhaps it would sate his need to go to that hookup club (he'd been there twice last week). Perhaps… if he just gave in, he would finally get over this stupid fear and these disgusting urges. And after all, it was the man's birthday… he'd feel bad if he didn't give Devon the only thing he'd actually asked for the whole day.
And yet…
"…No, Dev, I'm sorry. I'm really tired, and still kind of full from lunch. I'd rather just relax, if that's okay?" Mettaton's voice rose to a squeak again as he reached the end of the sentence.
Devon's face darkened for several seconds, then switched back to its calmness so fast Mettaton wondered if he had hallucinated it in his fear of Devon's reaction. "Alright, babe. If that's what you want," he sighed. "But seriously. Let me help you with the dress, at least. I'm surprised you got in it so fast."
Mettaton relented on that point, just to keep Devon from pouting.
Soon enough they were on the couch in the living room, sharing affection just as they had been doing that morning. After a bit, Mettaton lay down and curled up in Devon's lap, feeling exhausted from the day. It felt strange—should he really feel this tired from a fancy dinner with a few other people?—but he decided not to question it too much. It was probably just because of that big meal. Most people felt tired after a big meal.
Mettaton was about to fall asleep when Devon's voice had him opening his eyes.
"Tonnie… never mind."
"No, what is it?" Mettaton turned his face up toward Devon.
"I was just wondering… maybe it's silly to expect you to say yes after you've said no so many times… but I was wondering if you would do one last thing for me on my birthday."
Mettaton's hand slid up to clasp Devon's, which was resting on his side. "What's that?"
"I'd really like you to move in with me."
A no rose up in Mettaton's throat, but he squashed it down. He'd already said no once to Devon today… could he really be mean enough to say it again? And honestly, he was just putting off the inevitable. It had been almost half a year since they had started dating, and Mettaton was at Devon's house most of the time, anyway. He could still pay for Alphys and Napstablook to live in the apartment. They would miss him, but they would probably live with their partners at some point, too.
"Okay. Can we discuss the details later, though?"
"Of course, sweetheart." Devon's voice was warm… happy.
Satisfied, Mettaton soon fell asleep, breathing in unison with Devon's hand rubbing his side.
oooooooooo
for my friends in the USA-can I offer you a Walls chapter in this trying time?
almost 1700 words of this 3752-word chapter were written today. I was on a roll, had a stroke of genius once or twice, I just couldn't stop.
originally Devon's family wasn't really going to make an appearance in this story, but I figured it would add to his humanity and believability if they did. we may hear from them again in the future.
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