Papyrus' room was adorable. Mettaton couldn't help but smile as he took in the race car bed, bookshelf full of kids' stories and puzzle books, and table covered with robotic action figures. On closer inspection, all of the action figures seemed to be of him.
"What a lovely collection, darling," Mettaton grinned as he turned to Papyrus. "You really are a big fan of me, aren't you?"
Papyrus blushed and nodded. "Yes! I watch every one of your shows. But I can't believe I'm actually meeting you in person!"
The skeleton's enthusiasm was adorable. There were plenty of fans who could get a little too obsessed with Mettaton and he couldn't stand being around them for too long, but this was a nice change of pace. Papyrus really seemed to like him.
No. Mettaton shook his head. Don't forget. Papyrus only likes you because you're a rich and famous celebrity, not because of who you really are.
No one would want to actually be Mettaton's friend.
Papyrus noticed Mettaton's pained expression and put a comforting hand on the robot's shoulder. "Are you alright, Mettaton? You look a little down."
The concern on the skeleton's face brought Mettaton back to reality and he gave a dazzling smile. "Of course, darling! I'm perfectly alright. Anyway, I wanted to compliment you on your cooking. That spaghetti was absolutely divine!"
Papyrus' face lit up with pride. Dinner had passed without any more arguing between Mettaton and Sans, and everyone had enjoyed the delicious spaghetti. After the meal, while Alphys, Undyne, and Sans got cozy on the couch to watch some anime, Mettaton suggested that he and Papyrus get to know each other a bit more, so here they were, in Papyrus' room.
"Why thank you, Mettaton!" Papyrus exclaimed. "I, the Great Papyrus, am thrilled to hear that you enjoyed my culinary masterpiece! Of course, I already knew that it was amazing, but I am happy to know that my biggest role model enjoyed it!"
Papyrus suddenly realized what he had just said and his face went bright red. "T-that is, I… I mean…" he stuttered, completely embarrassed.
But Mettaton was smiling almost shyly. "Really? I'm your role model?"
The skeleton was shocked by the uncharacteristic timidness coming from the star. "Well, yes, of course! You're the star of the Underground! You inspire everyone with your shows! We would all certainly be worse off without you. You make everyone smile, even when they're feeling down, and you make everyone laugh too! I want to be just like you."
"No you don't," Mettaton whispered. He was suddenly feeling overwhelmed. He really appreciated Papyrus' kind words but he knew they were undeserved.
One thing stuck out to him, though: he needed to keep going full speed ahead with his performances. He did have an effect on the Underground, an effect he was proud of. It was his job to entertain people, and he would feel guilty not doing so.
Papyrus cocked his head questioningly. "What was that?"
"Oh, nothing, darling," Mettaton answered quickly. "Thank you so much for saying those things. It means a lot."
Wanting to feel more in control of the situation and more like his old self, Mettaton stepped up to the skeleton, gave him a peck on the cheek, and stepped back to give him a playful wink. Immediately, Papyrus' face turned an even darker shade of red.
"Wowie, Mettaton! You're… too kind."
Mettaton could see that Papyrus was completely starstruck and he giggled. He'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy having this effect on monsters. But, to make the skeleton feel more at ease, he sat down on the bed and patted beside him. "So, Papyrus, tell me about yourself," he said.
Papyrus sat next to Mettaton, his confidence back in full force.
"Well, I love cooking spaghetti, but you already know that, of course! I am an excellent chef if I do say so myself. When I'm not cooking, I'm usually training with Undyne! I also enjoy puzzles, both making them and doing them, but Sans isn't so enthusiastic about trying my puzzles. Undyne does her best, but usually she just ends up breaking them or setting them on fire. Sometimes I wish I had someone else who would try them, but…"
"Oh, darling, I would love to try your puzzles!" Mettaton assured Papyrus as the skeleton trailed off.
What was he thinking? He wasn't a big fan of puzzles. He just couldn't help himself after seeing the skeleton's sad smile.
Papyrus gasped. "Really? That's amazing, Mettaton! It would be an honor to show you some of my puzzles. I'll have to take you past Snowdin sometime, into the forest, where most of them are. I would advise you to wear something a bit warmer, though, nyeh," he chuckled.
Normally, Mettaton would be offended by anyone even suggesting the possibility that he didn't know what he was doing when it came to fashion, or anything for that matter, but for some reason, he laughed instead.
"You're probably right about that, darling," he said, looking down at his cute but woefully inadequate outfit. He blushed a bright shade of pink as he noticed his crop top had just slipped off of one of his shoulders, revealing the black lacy strap of his tank top underneath.
This hadn't gone unnoticed by Papyrus, who was staring at Mettaton's exposed shoulder as if the robot was about to explode.
Mettaton straightened his shirt. He gave the skeleton another seductive wink, something he would do all the time when flirting with monsters, but right now his face was burning and he felt like running out of the house face-first into the snow.
Chalking it up to still being out of sorts after his breakdown, which he refused to think about right now, Mettaton dismissed the occurrence and continued chatting with the friendly skeleton. The two of them ended up playing board games until they started to feel tired, when Mettaton stood up yawning, ready to go home.
Mettaton and Papyrus padded down the stairs to find the other three monsters asleep in the living room, surrounded by blankets and pillows. Alphys was curled up on one end of the couch and Sans lay sprawled out on the other end, one leg dangling off of the couch. Undyne lay on the floor next to Alphys, their hands lying near each other as if they had fallen asleep holding hands.
Papyrus moved over to wake up his brother, but Mettaton took hold of his arm to stop him. "Let's not wake them. They look so comfortable," he whispered, smiling. Mettaton felt a sudden surge of protectiveness over his friends, and even Sans looked tolerable enough while asleep.
Papyrus turned back to Mettaton and nodded. "You're right," he whispered back. But the skeleton looked a little apprehensive. "Um, would you like to take my room? I can sleep in Sans' room; it's pretty messy in there and I wouldn't want you to have to deal with it."
"Nonsense, darling," Mettaton replied, taking the skeleton's hand and leading him back up the stairs. "I wouldn't want to take your bed from you. I can just sleep on the floor of your room. I always bring my charging cable with me everywhere I go, just in case."
"Well, okay then, if you're sure," said Papyrus nervously. He returned to the closet to get some blankets and pillows for Mettaton, taking the opportunity alone to try and compose himself. He couldn't believe Mettaton was actually going to spend the night at his house, in his room!
Papyrus returned and began setting up the blankets to form a sort of mattress, but Mettaton placed his hand over the skeleton's to stop him. "I can do it, darling," he offered.
The skeleton froze as the robot's hand touched his own. He looked up to see Mettaton kneeling next to him. The star's expression turned to one of confusion as Papyrus sat there, unmoving, staring at him.
"Um, Papyrus darling?"
Papyrus snatched his hand back as he realized that he had been staring too long, yet again. "Sorry! I, um, just want to make sure you're comfortable."
Mettaton smiled. "You're very kind, darling. It's getting late though, I really ought to recharge." He took off his pink boots and plugged his cable into an outlet as Papyrus made his way to his own bed.
"See you in the morning," called the robot sleepily before he shut down.
Meanwhile, Papyrus laid awake for hours, unable to fall asleep. When he had woken up this morning, he never would have believed that he would soon be meeting Mettaton and that he might actually become friends with the celebrity… and that he would actually be sleeping in Papyrus' very own room! And he even said he wanted to try Papyrus' puzzles.
Just friends, Papyrus told himself firmly as he finally drifted off to sleep.