The day of the housewarming party (alternately titled "THE WELCOMING OF THE HUMAN TO THEIR NEW DWELLING CELEBRATION") began far too early for Lena's liking. It hadn't been intentional, but she'd wound up staying up a bit later than she'd initially intended. They didn't necessarily do anything aside from sit and watch television together, drinking hot chocolate and ketchup as if their cups were bottomless, but something about it had made her feel immensely better about staying in a new place. After Sans excused himself when she started falling asleep on the couch, she'd dumped the mugs in the sink without bothering to rinse them and had fallen straight into bed and into a sound sleep. So it was with no small amount of remorse that she felt around blindly for her phone, groaning as the alarm continued to grow louder with each passing second. When her fingertips finally came in contact with it she snatched it up and silenced it, tossing it back onto her bed and prying her eyes open. 'Just five more minutes...' she reasoned with herself, eyes slowly slipping closed again.

Then came the knocking on her front door. '...So much for that.' Rolling out of bed until her feet came in contact with the floor, she stretched her arms high above her head, relishing in the small pops and cracks her back and shoulders gave. At least, this time, the skeleton brothers weren't there to be freaked out by them. The memory made her smile fondly, already missing her friend. She'd invited the family to come and visit for the party, but Brit had said that they wouldn't be able to. (She'd be lying if she said that it hadn't hurt just a little, but she smiled it off as usual.) The knocking came again and she sighed, getting to her feet and quickly making her way toward her front door.

"Coming!" she called, nearly interrupted at the end by a rather long yawn. Coffee was going to be a thing that needed to happen. She opened the front door and was surprised to find Papyrus there, arms already outstretched and reaching for her. The instant the door was out from between them, he pulled her into a hug, and she yelped loudly in surprise.

"GOOD MORNING, HUMAN!" he cheered, giving her a good squeeze that all but pushed the air from her lungs before setting her down gently. "I SEE YOU ARE ALREADY DRESSED FOR THE PARTY!" He motioned a gloved hand down at her clothing and, when she looked down at herself, realized that she was still just wearing her nightgown she'd worn to bed. Her pale face flushed a bright red and she stammered.

"Ah, n-no, these are my pajamas..." Papyrus raised a browbone at this, looking slightly confused. "This is, um, a nightgown... L-let me go change," she mumbled, leaving the front door open and rushing back to her bedroom, closing and locking the door.

Bless Papyrus, the sweet little cinnamon bun he was.

She could hear footsteps moving into her apartment and the front door closing, supposedly Papyrus letting himself in from the cold. After a few moments of digging around in her closet, she quickly pulled on a pair of dark-wash jeans, having to do a few little hops and shimmies in order to get them up over her hips all the way. 'Great, gonna have to go clothes shopping soon...' she lamented, sighing. A simple white tank top went on next, with a light-blue turtleneck sweater over that, and she deemed herself ready enough. She brushed aside her embarrassment from just moments before and unlocked and opened her bedroom door, seeing no sign of Papyrus. Frowning, she shrugged and made her way for the bathroom. She felt her face flush a bit as she realized just how disheveled her appearance had been; her hair was sticking every which way out of her pigtails, and her bangs hung messily in front of her face. "Great," she groaned quietly, picking up her brush and quickly setting to work. There was still a lot that needed to be taken care of before the party, so she settled for pulling her auburn hair back into a messy bun, securing it firmly before walking out into her living room.

"Yo!"

"GAH!" Lena yelped loudly, stumbling in her mid-step toward the doorway leading to her kitchen and flailing to grab onto the doorway to hold herself up. The small yellow dinosaur-like monster she'd first met before was standing there, grinning up at her excitedly. She slowly breathed in and out in an attempt to calm her raging heartrate and smiled down at the monster child. "O-oh, I, um...didn't expect to see you in here. Hello. Can I help you with something...?" Their wide eyes stared up at her, grin full of sharp teeth widening, and she couldn't help the nervousness that began to overcome her.

"I heard that Papyrus was gonna be here! Is that true?!" He bounced energetically, and his eyes practically shone when she nodded. "Yo, that's like... AWESOME! Do you know him?!"

"Ah, yes, he's my good friend-"

"NO WAY!" This only seemed to egg him on even more, and he was quickly running circles in her living room. "Aw man, aw man, aw man, aw man, aw man, AW MAN!" The monster tripped and fell, flat on their face on the carpet, and Lena quickly knelt down to help them up. He hopped up on his own with a practiced ease (from being born with no arms, surely) and was soon jumping up and down in her face. "Hey hey hey, d'ya think I could meet him? Huh? Do ya?" The childlike energy he seemed to just exude was endearing and familiar, and Lena couldn't help but smile brightly in return.

"I'm sure you could." She paused, glancing at the clock hanging on the wall, then back to him. "Tell you what... He's going to be here later tonight. If you go and ask your parents if it's okay, then you're more than welcome to come! I know that Frisk is going to be here, and-"

"YES! WOO-HOO! I get to meet the Great Papyrus!" He started running around again, making a circle around her three, four, five times before bolting out the door, shouting a very loud and very energetic 'thank you'.

"Ah, you're- ...welcome," she began, her voice far quieter and trailing off as she realized the child was already well out of earshot. She chuckled to herself and got to her feet, heading into the kitchen to make herself some breakfast.

She'd just managed to get a pot of coffee made when there was more knocking on her door. Pausing in the middle of pouring herself a rather large cup, she slipped out of the kitchen and to the front door, opening it. "Hello-"

"HUMAN! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?! YOU HAVE NOT ANSWERED YOUR PHONE!"

"...Ah! I'm sorry, I left it on my bed," she said, quickly jogging back to her bedroom and grabbing her phone. She winced when she turned on the screen. "16 missed messages." 'Oh boy... Whoops.' Frowning, she turned and walked out of her room as she opened her phone to read the messages, surprising herself when she bumped into something sturdy. "Oof! Oh, sorry Papyrus!" He glanced over his shoulder at her, giving his usual bright smile.

"FEAR NOT, HUMAN. MY BATTLE BODY PROTECTED ME." He paused and stooped down, apparently peering at her coffee maker curiously. "WHAT IS THIS MACHINE? IT WAS MAKING A STRANGE GROWLING SOUND AND THERE IS LIQUID COMING FROM IT. IT IS NOT DANGEROUS, IS IT?" he asked, suddenly sounding protective, and Lena quickly shook her head.

"No no, that's just my coffee maker." As if to show him it wasn't dangerous, she quickly switched it off (the pot was already full anyway) and pulled out the pot, pouring and filling her large mug the rest of the way. His eyes watched her closely, wide with curiosity much like a child's would have been, and she couldn't help but laugh when he began to 'ooh' and 'aah' as she stirred in creamer and sugar. "Some humans can't function without coffee."

"IS IT A NECESSITY, LIKE FUEL IS FOR CARS?" he asked innocently, and she laughed, shaking her head.

"No, no, it's more like... It gives some of us extra energy who need it. Makes us more efficient so we can get more done." He nodded in understanding, glancing between her mug and the coffee pot. "...Would you like some, Papyrus?" The way he beamed at her made her heart flutter happily, and he nodded eagerly. She fixed him up a cup as well (with more creamer and sugar than she normally added) and handed it to him, watching as he gingerly held the cup in his gloved hands. "Be careful, it's still pretty hot!" Tentatively, he raised the cup to his mouth and took a drink, his eyesockets widening almost comically.

"WOWWIE!"

"Pretty good, huh?" she asked, smiling as she sipped from her own cup, moving to sit in the living room.

"VERY GOOD! I WILL HAVE TO TELL SANS ABOUT COFFEE IMMEDIATELY! HE PERHAPS NEEDS IT MORE THAN ANYONE I KNOW!" She laughed and nodded, unable to help but agree that the chronically tired skeleton could use a little boost in his day.

With her coffee downed, she began to clean up her apartment. There wasn't much mess to take care off, aside from washing a few dishes and putting them away, vacuuming the floors, and wiping everything down. Thirty minutes and an entire pot of coffee later, Papyrus was pacing around her living room, talking constantly about...things. She honestly had a hard time keeping up. Puzzles, battle strategies, his internet popularity (that bit made her laugh a little), spaghetti, more puzzles, Frisk, his brother Sans, more spaghetti, more puzzles, spaghetti... She was suddenly wondering if perhaps introducing Papyrus to coffee was a bad idea.

| Sans: * what in gods name have you done to us |

| Sans: * papyrus says that you gave him coffee |

| Sans: * i hope you filterrible about it because he's driving everyone insane |

Glancing up from his phone, Sans sighed heavily as he watched his brother sprint from one side of the house to the other, picking up laundry, dusting, sweeping, everything he could possibly do...all while talking. Nonstop. A chime from his phone pulled his attention back to the device in his hands.

| Lena: I'm so sorry! I didn't mean anything by it... He was just so curious to try it. |

Sighing, he tapped a reply back. He couldn't even be mad because he knew how Papyrus got...he knew full and well that he wasn't the only one who had a hard time telling him 'no'.

| Sans: * glad to see you espresso your regret, but you're gonna have to do a latte to make up for this |

| Lena: Okay, those were pretty good...as good as bad can get. |

He snorted.

| Lena: Don't worry, with how much coffee he drank, he's sure to crash eventually! |

| Sans: * what's that mean? won't hurt him will it? |

| Lena: No no no, nothing like that. Just that once he burns through the caffeine rush, he'll be really sleepy. |

Sans released a breath he hadn't noticed he'd even been holding, eyelights flickering up to watch his brother, who was chasing after the annoying dog that got into their apartment again.

| Lena: I'd never give Papyrus anything that would hurt him. |

He felt his grin twitch up a bit, more genuine, and he chuckled as he texted back a reply.

| Sans: * yeah well next time maybe we can give him decaf |

| Lena: Good idea... |

By the time he put his phone back into his hoodie pocket, he realized that the small white dog had climbed up onto the couch with him. Giving it an idle scratch behind the ear, his eyelights flickered around nervously for Papyrus, who was now nowhere to be found. "...Paps?" No answer. He got up from the couch, ignoring the dog's small whine, and began shuffling through the apartment, searching for him.

He had to bite back a laugh at what he found.

Papyrus was sat slumped in a chair, apparently having been in the middle of sweeping, because he now held the broom protectively to his chest as if it were a teddy bear. His mouth hung open as he snored loudly (every exhale he gave was a tiny "nyeh", and god damn, if it wasn't already hard not to laugh). Sans might or might not have snapped a few quick photographs before carrying Papyrus to his room, broom included, since he seemed unwilling to let it go, even in his sleep. He peeked in at his brother one last time before he closed the door quietly behind himself, leaning against it and grinning madly up at the ceiling, shoulders shaking with poorly-contained chuckles.

"Man...my bro is so cool."

Maybe coffee wasn't so bad afterall.

"Frisk, go brush your hair, my child! Sans, put that down! Leave some ketchup for the hot dogs, and you stay away from that salt shaker! Oh, Papyrus, sweet heart, please don't touch the spaghetti. It is fine the way it is... Oh, my, oh dear-"

For such a large monster, Lena never would have imagined that Toriel could move so quickly...or so gracefully. Her large feet moved across the floor with the elegance of a dancer's, soft padding noises being the only thing that was left behind as she fluttered between everyone in the apartment. From the way she looked, one might think she was getting stressed out, but her soul was shining brightly, and the gentle flutters of warmth it emitted told another story. Being surrounded by so many people and being in control of the room was something she was used to. It was here that Lena realized that Toriel truly was a Queen, from the way she walked and carried herself to the way she spoke. Soft, but with authority. She commanded the space around her with elegance. 'She's so beautiful!'

Fidgeting slightly, Lena reached to play with her hair, forgetting that it was pulled up in a bun. Her fingertips brushed her fingertips before she realized, and she quickly settled her hands to fold neatly in her lap.

"Oh, Lena, dear, could I trouble you with a favor?" The Queen paused in front of the human in her bustling and laid two heavy but gentle paws on her shoulders, gaining her attention. "I hate to burden you with this, but do you think that you could run back to my apartment and get the pie off the counter? I'm afraid that, in my hurry, I have forgotten it." Lena nodded, and Toriel smiled down at her, giving her shoulders a small squeeze before releasing her to stand. "Thank you so very much, my child! The door should be unlocked."

"'s not safe to do that, Tori," Sans piped up then, his smile falling somewhat, browbones furrowing, and she waved him off.

"Oh, pish posh! Hurry along, dear!" Lena hopped up and quickly made for the front door, not bothering to grab her coat on the way. They all lived relatively close together, and it was just a brisk walk down the road to where the Queen and Frisk lived. Her shoes crunched with each step, leaving footprints behind her in the already well tracked-through snow, and the air was sharp with a wintery chill. Shivering, she quickened her pace, hearing the sound of people approaching, loud and boisterous voices. She hurried into Toriel's apartment which, as the other woman had said, was unlocked, and made her way into the kitchen. She didn't have to look any longer than a second before she found the pie, only just cooled off. The scent of butterscotch and cinnamon practically filled the air, and Lena couldn't help but breathe in deeply through her nose, smiling at the pleasing aroma.

"...What the fuck are you doing here?!"

The voice that came booming from behind her was so sudden, so loud, that she nearly dropped to her knees in reaction. Her heart hammered away heavily in her chest as she quickly whirled around, looking for the source of the noise. She didn't expect to be staring at the very pointy end of a glowing spear, just short of touching the tip of her nose. She could feel the magical energy emanating from it, making the skin across her nose tingle faintly. Her eyes widened impossibly and her mouth immediately felt dry.

"...WELL?!"

Her mouth moved, but no sounds came, other than a few choked-sounding gasps of breath, her eyes flickering between the tip of the spear and her assailant, who- ... Wait. "U-...U-Undyne?" she stammered out, voice barely enough to be called a whisper. Undyne's brows furrowed even more deeply, her sneer revealing rows of pointed teeth, until, finally, recognition seemed to flash across her one, uncovered yellow eye.

"Wait a sec... You're the human from before, aren'tcha?" The spear evaporated into thin air, the light fading with it, and Lena released a breath she hadn't been aware she was holding, only to be swept up into a one-armed, bonecrushing hug. "Sorry 'bout that, I thought someone was breakin' into Tori's place. You understand, right?" She felt herself trembling within the monster's grasp, even though the danger had seemed to have passed for now.

"C'mon Undyne, if you keep huggin' the human like that, your girlfriend's gonna get awfully jealous." Undyne turned and Lena looked gratefully at Sans, who was leaning easily against the door frame, hands in his pockets. She laughed loudly, fins twitching with mirth as she started heading for the door.

"Hey, sup, bonehead! Where's Papyrus at?" Sans jerked his skull upward, pointing behind him.

"Upstairs in the human's apartment. Tori asked her to come grab a pie from her place."

"Oh, SWEET! Love me some of Tori's pie! Welp," she said, unceremoniously dropping Lena to the floor, who landed on her behind and stared up at her, wide-eyed. "Later, nerd!" The fishwoman ran off out the door, leaving Lena to tremble in the middle of the floor, staring at the door where she'd just left.

"Hey, uh, you okay?" Her head snapped up at Sans' voice, where he was now standing over her, the slightest look of concern on his face. She nodded her nead slowly, swallowing thickly and taking in a deep, shaky breath. "Good. Need a minute?" She shook her head and got to her feet, willing her racing heart to slow itself. She went back to grab the pie from the counter as Sans stood back by the door, watching her from the corner of his eyesockets. Her soul's aura was flickering violently, obviously shaken. Still, once she reached the door, pie in hand, she gave him a small, shaky smile.

"Better g-get back with this, or Tori will start to wonder where I went..."

Sans kept a close eye on her for the rest of the evening, even though she wasn't aware of it herself. It took her a good half hour before her soul's aura calmed down, and another half hour after that for her to start acting more like her old self. She still stiffened up around Undyne, but it was less obvious, and she even started smiling around her, once Alphys showed up. The atmosphere was pleasant and vibrant and fun, and Sans found he was enjoying himself, even though the most he did was sip on the bottle of ketchup he snagged from the fridge and lean against the wall, observing.

Then another knock came from the front door, and Lena glanced over to it, excusing herself from her conversation with Alphys and setting down her drink to go and answer it. The instant she did, Sans felt himself groan aloud, browbones furrowing.

"Ohhhhhhh my, would you look at this~," a robotic voice cooed, and a smooth metal arm reached in and pulled Lena in for a hug. She flushed and flailed her arms a moment, wondering what to do, when she was suddenly pulled back again. The robot? Android? It was beautiful, and was designed like it was wearing makeup, but it definitely sounded male... He held Lena at arms length, eyes looking her up and down blatantly, lingering just a little lower than her neck. "Aren't you just the most delicious creature!" he cried, dropping his hands to take one of her own, letting himself inside and leading her further into the apartment. "You must be Lena. Such a simple name, I was expecting a simple human! But no, alas, I was sorely mistaken, and I do hope you'll forgive me for my horrid mistake!" The attention was already too much, and Lena's pale, freckled skin was flushing a deep shade of red. "Ah! I love you humans, all of you! You are turning the most delightful shade of rouge, darling!"

"Ah...um...er...ehm...uh... T-... Th-thank..you..?"

"Oh, no, thank you, darling. Really, it's a pleasure getting to rest my ocular cams on something so beautiful!" Sans rolled his eyes, taking a rather heavy swig of his ketchup, his hand clenching more tightly in his pocket as everyone quickly began to approach the cyborg.

"METTATON! IT IS SO GOOD TO SEE YOU!"

"Oh, um, h-hello, M-mettaton... Glad to see that uh...y-you were able to m-make it..." Alphys stuttered out quietly, and Mettaton reached a hand out to pat her on the shoulder, having to stoop quite a bit from the height difference. Undyne just gave a slight wave, an uncomfortable grin on her face as she quickly chugged the rest of her drink.

"Yes, it is so splendid to see all of you, really!" He pointedly ignored looking at Sans at all, turning his eyes back to Lena, who was still floundering before him. "But really, let's talk about you, darling... How would you like a shot at the spotlight?" he asked eagerly, stepping back and walking around her, looking her up and down (again) before he rested a hand on her waist. "You really do so little with what you're capable of, darling. You could do more for your figure, really." The human felt her eyes beginning to water, from the sheer embarrassment and the amount of stress from all of the attention, though she forced a smile and tried to nod. "Your body shape, your size, your stature... Ugh! You could do so much better-"

"I AM SORRY TO INTERRUPT YOU!" Papyrus' voice boomed out over the music and everyone else's conversation, and he quickly stepped between Mettaton and the human. "IT IS CONSIDERED RUDE TO TALK ABOUT A HUMAN IN THAT WAY. IT IS INSULTING!"

"P-papyrus...?" Lena mumbled out, but was quickly cut off by Mettaton clicking his tongue at him, wagging a finger.

"No no no, darling, you misunderstand. I know all too well how humans are, my dear, and you simply misunderstand me! This-" He stepped around Papyrus and grabbed Lena by the hips, pulling her close to him, eyes falling half-lidded, "is perfection. I simply meant her clothing, darling, nothing more. I could never say a single bad thing about such a gorgeous body~. Besides, fat-shaming is so 2014, honey!"

"OH, IS THAT ALL? BUT I DO NOT SEE ANYTHING WRONG WITH HER CLOTHING-"

"Ahh, but of course you don't. You're still wearing that old thing your brother threw together for you for a costume party..." At this, he shot a glance at Sans, who grit his teeth. He faintly heard the glass ketchup bottle in his hand crack slightly, but he ignored it. "Anywho! This is a party, is it not? Let's party!"

With the attention now fully settled away from her, Lena quickly stumbled into the kitchen, leaning against the counter and breathing deeply.

'My heart isn't meant for this much stress...'