Cats And Connections

Another oneshot for Fluffbruary. The prompt word I chose was "cat." Underfell Papyrisk this time, and a little bit of fluffy angst rather than straight fluff. I hope you guys enjoy!

...

Papyrus stormed back to his house, the tall imposing Royal Guard captain acting as he always did, glaring at everyone who looked his way. But inside...

He was completely freaking out.

He had been supposed to kill the human wandering Snowdin and take her soul to Asgore. Or at least capture her alive and take her to Asgore, where she'd inevitably be killed.

But instead, somehow... he had ended up asking her out on a date.

She had just been so freaking kind. She hadn't hurt a single soul, unlike every other monster here, well, except for the golden flower monster the girl carried with her. Even when he had been about to attack her, she still had been friendly. She had even complimented his strength and attacks. If she had been afraid, she hadn't shown it.

Not that he wanted to hurt her anyway. Despite everything, despite living in the world he lived in, Papyrus hated killing. He hated having to fight. He pretended that he loved it, he had to to survive down here, but the fact was that all he wanted was to live a peaceful life, just him and his brother. He wanted a better world, where they could be happy, where they didn't have to fight. The only person he truly wanted dead was the king who had caused all this in the first place.

And Frisk... it was like she could look through him and see that person despite all his bluster. It scared him beyond belief, yet something in him also desperately wanted, no, needed this. To have someone besides his brother he could truly be himself around.

He stomped up the walk, hurriedly unlocking his door, then slamming it on the way in before locking it again. Once the lock clicked in place and he knew he was safe from prying eyes, his angry expression softened and he sighed.

Sans looked up from the couch where he was relaxing. "Hey, bro. You okay?" he asked gently, knowing how Papyrus felt about fighting. "Did you um, did you do it?"

"If you mean did I kill the human, no." Papyrus told him. He looked down. "I couldn't, Sans. She's too nice."

Sans came over and put his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Oh, Paps, it's okay. You don't have to. I'll take care of it." he said soothingly.

Papyrus jolted back in horror at the very thought. "No, Sans! Don't!" he yelled, surprising his brother. He then sighed. "No. She doesn't deserve to die, Sans. She's a good person."

Sans sighed. "I know, bro, but she isn't going to make it. You know that, right? Everyone is gunning to get out of here, and you know they're not going to care if she's a good person. They'll kill her anyway, and they'll do it as brutally as possible. At least if I do it, I can end her life painlessly."

"I'm not going to be the one to take her life, Sans, and I'm not going to have you have that on your conscience either. And she might very well make it... She and that flower got through Snowdin after all." Papyrus reminded him.

Sans looked like he was about to argue, but then thought better of it. "All right. All right. So what is it you want to do about her?"

Papyrus scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "Funny story about that... I kind of might have asked her on a date..."

"What?!"

Papyrus held up his hands. "She started it! She flirted with me! It just kind of blurted out!" he protested.

Sans just shook his head.

...

Papyrus quickly prepared one of his famous lasagnas and slid the pan into the oven. If he was going to have a date with a human, he was at least going to do it right and feed her. He had picked up a dating rulebook from the library a while back too, so he'd at least have some advice on what the hell he was supposed to do next. If she even showed up, that was.

If not, dinner for him and his brother was taken care of.

He decided to step outside to see if she was actually coming, putting a scowl on his face as he leaned against the wall of his house as a warning to anyone who decided to bother him. He wasn't exactly expecting her to show up, as she probably only flirted with him to get out of the fight, but...

"Frisk, this isn't a good idea!" he then heard a high pitched voice argue and turned to see Frisk walking up the street, holding Flowey in her arms. The yellow flower had his leaves crossed as he glared at Frisk petulantly.

"It'll be fine. It's just a date." he heard Frisk tell the flower.

"He's probably going to murder you once your guard is down!" Flowey scolded her.

"He had like a million chances to kill me and he didn't." Frisk argued. "He's not going to now. It'll be okay... Oh, hi, Papyrus!" Frisk then said brightly as she caught sight of him.

"So... you actually had the guts to come back here." he greeted her as she walked up to him.

"Well, yeah, you asked me on a date and I said yes, what did you think was gonna happen?" she asked, though with a smile, tucking a strand of her long brown hair behind her ear as her bright brown eyes met his.

Papyrus certainly wasn't going to say he expected her to stand him up. "Point taken. Come inside." he said gruffly, opening the door to let her in.

Frisk smiled, making his soul flutter, and followed him inside, carrying a grumbling Flowey. "Welcome to the abode of the Great And Terrible Papyrus!" Papyrus said grandly, gesturing around. He then led them into the living room where Sans was relaxing casually on the couch. "And you remember my lazy brother, Sans."

"Of course. Hi, Sans." Frisk greeted in a friendly way.

"Hey." Sans said boredly.

"Now, Sans, why don't you be a good host and entertain the flower while Frisk and I have our date?" Papyrus suggested, taking Flowey out of Frisk's arms and shoving him into Sans's.

"Hey!" Flowey objected as Frisk's eyes widened.

"Whatever." Sans shrugged. "C'mon, BUD. How about we go to Grillby's?"

"Wait!" Frisk called but Sans had already shortcutted away. For the first time, she looked anxious, and Papyrus felt the need to soothe her.

"Don't worry, human, Sans won't hurt your flower friend. Annoy him with terrible puns, yes, but he won't hurt him." he assured her.

Frisk looked into his eye lights and must have seen the honesty in them because she relaxed and nodded. "I'll pick him up after the date. Now, um, what do you want to do?" she asked shyly.

"Well, first I thought we'd..." Papyrus started, and then a meow cut him off. Papyrus's sockets lit up as he saw his cat Doomfanger come running down the stairs, meowing at every step, like he always did when he came to greet Papyrus.

"Doomfanger!" Papyrus cheered, forgetting that he was supposed to still be acting tough with a guest in the house. He bent down to pet the fluffy white cat, who immediately started purring and rubbing against his legs. "Did you wake up from your nap?" He scooped him up happily, and Doomfanger purred even louder as he snuggled against his chest. "So how's my fuzzy wuzzy little kitty doing today? You're so cute!"

And then with a jolt, he remembered Frisk was in the room still. His cheeks reddened as he tensed, trying to figure out how to make this look intimidating. How could he have forgotten?! What if she used this against him?

But instead of taunting him or using this to attack or think less of him like so many others would have, he saw her eyes sparkling as a wide smile lit up her face, not a mocking one, but one that that said she LIKED seeing him this way. He could practically see hearts in her eyes.

"Um..." he started awkwardly, not sure what he was supposed to do now.

But Frisk apparently did. "Aww, your cat's so cute!" she cooed. "What's his name?"

Papyrus relaxed a lot. "This is Doomfanger, the most ferocious cat in the world!" Doomfanger just purred louder, ruining the image Papyrus was trying to paint, but Papyrus just continued on. "Pet him only if you dare!"

Frisk grinned and reached out, scratching Doomfanger behind the ears. Doomfanger's purr could probably be heard in another room now as he leaned into the human's touch. "You're such a strong and precious kitty, yes you are!" Frisk cooed. She smiled at Papyrus. "It's so awesome that you have a cat! I've got one too."

"You do?" Papyrus asked, surprised.

Frisk grinned. "Yeah, her name's Puff. She's a Siamese. Here, I've got a picture of her!" She pulled out a smartphone, hit a few buttons, and pulled up a picture of a beautiful shorthaired cat with white fur on her body and black ears, legs, and tail. She was curled up on a fluffy pillow, bright blue eyes looking contentedly into the camera.

Papyrus's eyes lit up. "She's beautiful!"

"I know! And she's so sweet too, well sometimes. She's moody. She'll want to sit in your lap for an hour and then randomly nip you and leave. Oh, and she likes to boss around the dog too."

"You've got a dog?" Papyrus asked.

"Yeah, my foster dad has a German Shepherd. Let me show you this picture I took of him last week at the park..."

...

It was the best date Papyrus had ever had. Granted, this was the only date he ever had, but he liked spending time with Frisk. Really, really liked spending time with her.

"Oh my god, this is the best lasagna I've ever had! Seriously, Papyrus, this should be in a magazine or something!" Frisk said enthusiastically as they sat at the kitchen table, eating the meal Papyrus had prepared for them.

"It actually IS from a magazine." Papyrus told her, smiling. "I found this cooking magazine in the dump that somehow hadn't gotten too water damaged, and whenever I can, I've made the recipes from it. And lasagna is Sans's favorite, so I've made this a lot. I'm glad you like it too."

"So you like cooking a lot, huh?" Frisk asked, smiling.

"Yeah." Papyrus said a little shyly. "Good food means strong magic, so I work on making the best meals possible for my brother and myself!"

"And you do a great job at it." Frisk praised. "Seriously, I wish I could cook like you. I can make some basic stuff, but anything fancy I cook tends to flop dramatically. I still remember when I tried to make chicken with a red wine sauce and literally turned it purple."

Papyrus laughed. "You'll get better with practice, human. I remember once I mistook chili powder for paprika and made the world's spiciest spaghetti. It was horrible, but Sans ate it all anyway. Granted, he drinks mustard straight from the bottle, so he probably burned off his taste buds long ago."

Frisk laughed, and for the rest of the meal they talked animatedly, sharing stories about their families and talking about their dreams. Frisk wanted to someday write a book, and Papyrus told her about his own dream of becoming a chef or opening a restaurant, something he had never told anyone other than his brother.

It shocked him, how easily he could talk to her. How comfortable he felt around her. How he could just open up and be Papyrus, able to leave the tough Royal Guard persona he had had to adopt for so long.

He liked her. He really liked her. He never knew he could feel this way about anyone.

And it seemed she felt the same way. As they finished their meal, she smiled at him, her beautiful, expressive brown eyes sparkling. "I'm having a great time."

He smiled softly, a blush tinting his cheeks. "I am too."

She gently placed her hand over his, which was resting on the table. "I...um... think you're wonderful, Papyrus." she said shyly, her own cheeks bright red.

He blushed even deeper. "I..." He opened his mouth, ready to tell her he really liked her too.

And then reality hit him like a bucket of ice cold water. Sans's words flashed through his mind. "She isn't going to make it. You know that, right? Everyone is gunning to get out of here, and you know they're not going to care if she's a good person. They'll kill her anyway, and they'll do it as brutally as possible."

They couldn't do this. She couldn't stay here. She had a home and a family, and even if she chose to stay for him, every moment she did, she would be in danger. And Papyrus had many enemies of his own; if they knew how he felt for her, they wouldn't hesitate to use her against him, torture her to hurt him. And Sans would get hurt too, especially if Asgore had found out his Royal Guard Lieutenant had fallen for a human. And as much as Papyrus wanted to defy the king, wanted to kill him, he couldn't move against him yet. All it would do at this point was put Sans at risk. He couldn't lose his brother like he lost his father. And he couldn't put Frisk in more danger either.

And even if they could somehow hide that she was human, he wouldn't be able to show her any affection in public. He had to treat his own brother badly in public, and he hated every minute of it. He couldn't do that to someone else he cared about. He couldn't do that to Frisk.

She would be far better off with a boy on the surface. Someone who could openly show they liked her. Someone who hadn't already killed people and had been set to kill her too before she won him over.

She deserved far better than him. Far better than this.

He knew what he had to do.

He looked into her eyes, his soul aching. "You're-You're great too, human. But...we're better off friends, okay?" He pulled his hand away from her.

She looked startled and hurt. "I-I thought we were really clicking though..."

"It's not going to work out, okay?" he snapped at her, then looked down as she flinched. "I shouldn't have brought you here. I shouldn't have led you on like this. I'm sorry." he said quietly.

"It-It's okay." Her soft voice made him look up. She looked a bit sad, but still smiled at him like she always did. "It's not your fault, Papyrus. If you don't feel the same way... that's okay. I'd rather you tell me than try to force it. I'm still happy to be your friend."

Papyrus nodded softly. "Thanks for understanding, Frisk."

She helped him do the dishes, and they talked some, but it wasn't as animated as before. Frisk clearly wasn't mad at him, but things were definitely a bit awkward now. He wished things could have ended differently, that his world could be different, but he couldn't make things change. Not yet at least.

Afterwards, she had to go get Flowey, and he walked her to the door, handing her a wrapped container of lasagna to go. "Be safe, okay?" he said quietly. "And... if you meet Asgore... You'll need to fight him. Don't show him any mercy. He won't show you any."

She looked down and nodded quietly. "Thanks, Papyrus. And... take care of yourself, okay?"

She gave him another smile and his heart fluttered, but he pushed it away. "...I will. Goodbye, Frisk."

...

A half hour later, Sans let himself in as Papyrus sat on the couch, working on a puzzle to try to take his mind off things. "Hey, bro." the older skeleton said casually, flopping down on the couch next to him.

"Hey, Sans." Papyrus replied, trying to give his brother a smile. "There's lasagna for you in the fridge if you're still hungry."

"Thanks, Paps." Sans told him. "Saw Frisk at Grillby's when she came to get Flowey. She told me you guys just decided to stay friends. Sorry your date didn't pan out, but it's probably for the best."

"I know. I was the one who told her I wanted to just be friends." Papyrus said quietly, looking down. "Did she... seem okay? Was she upset?"

"Maybe a little disappointed and sad, but she didn't say much about it." Sans told him. "Why? Are you worried she's going to try to get revenge or go yandere on you?" His sockets narrowed. "Because I'll..."

"Sans! No! I know she won't." Papyrus said firmly.

"Then what are you worried about? So you don't have feelings for her. It happens. She'll get over it." Sans shrugged.

"I know... It's just... I DO have feelings for her, Sans." Papyrus admitted.

"Huh?"

Papyrus fidgeted his fingers. "I really like her, Sans. She's sweet, she's funny, she's easy to talk to, she's beautiful... And if she had stayed around here much longer, I might have ended up falling in love with her."

"Then why'd you..."

Papyrus sighed. "Because she can't stay here. It would put her in more danger. Put you in danger too. And she deserves far better than a boyfriend who can't even show he cares about her in a world that's kill or be killed. It's because I liked her so much that I had to let her go. Like you said, it's for the best." Despite this, a tear fell from his sockets.

Sans immediately pulled him into a hug, and Papyrus buried his face into his brother's shoulder. He never saw Sans open his mouth to say something before deciding against it, simply holding Papyrus close as he dealt with his first ever broken heart.

...

Poor Papyrus. :( He feels like he isn't allowed to be happy.

Please review and let me know what you think!