Thank you to everyone for showing an interest in the story! I hope you're all enjoying it. Please, leave a review so I can improve and send out my chapters a little faster! I found this really interesting to write out because it shows just how much social anxiety Napstablook has to work through.
After getting off work that day, Papyrus went back home to wash off after a hard, but productive day and changed into his battle-body. It always felt too long that he went on without it but he couldn't look very heroic stained with trash, could he? It was bad enough whenever he would accidentally spill spaghetti on it. Speaking of, human detergent was AMAZING.
Papyrus was hard at work in the kitchen again as he was cooking his famous spaghetti. He was admittedly getting much better at cooking watching other cooking shows and Toriel teaching him when she wasn't busy with Frisk. One of the first rules he was taught was not to boil the pasta still in the box, which proved to be a big step into wondrous cooking. He was more joyous at how many different kinds of pasta and sauces he could be able to work with and he was occasionally experimenting with the conversation. But nothing was ever quite as good as spaghetti!
"Hey, Papyrus," Sans said as he seemed to appear behind Papyrus cooking with an apron that said, "Don't kiss the cook, because he doesn't have any lips."
"My brother," Papyrus said in a warm greeting as he grinned down to the older sibling, stirring the pasta quickly. It was probably overcooked by now. Sans would secretly just eat food from Grillby's or any human take-out instead of eating the pasta most times. Every couple of weeks, he'd give Papyrus the benefit of the doubt to see how much he's improved. So far, his calculation that he would make something edible after a year looks like it's going to be accurate.
Sans would kick a stool over and stand on it to peer easily into the pasta pot. It looked more than easier. Probably about two boxes worth. "Going to be leftover night, huh?"
"Not tonight, brother! I will be going to Napstablook's house for dinner today so he can enjoy my spaghetti, so I made extra," Papyrus grinned confidently. This was just the first step to making friends. Eventually, he would come up with puzzles and then fight Napstablook to reach the highest form of friendship. He was getting rusty, anyway.
At least it would be easier for Sans to get some takeout. He might give his part of his spaghetti to the dog. Still, Sans couldn't help but to grin at the steps Papyrus was taking, "Okay, bro. Just make sure you got your phone with you when you leave."
"Of course! I would never slack off from checking on you, Sans."
The sun was already beginning to go down as Papyrus made his way to the music store where Napstablook worked and lived. Papyrus carried two bowls of spaghetti, balanced on top of each other, luckily with plastic wrap as a barrier. He lived in a room above the store and the owner loved making jokes that he has a ghost in his attic. Papyrus walked along with long strides, humming happily before he'd knock on the door leading upstairs.
Napstablook picked up his head for a moment as he was working on his computer with his latest track. He played back the song, thinking there was a mistake he made until he noticed that he didn't hear that strange beat again. He was about to play it again before he hears another knock at his door with the music off. Smiling sheepishly to himself, he couldn't help but wonder who would be here this time of day. No one ever visited him in his room.
Napstablook floated down the stairs and Papyrus didn't question it as the door seemed to swing open on its own as Napstablook peeked his head around. "O-Oh, hello, Papyrus..."
Napstablook seemed uncomfortable seeing Papyrus after earlier but he couldn't help but notice the bright grin on Papyrus' face. Even if he wanted to do something about Papyrus being there, that smile looked too happy to have any ill intentions, especially as Papyrus spoke up, "I hope I'm not interrupting Napstablook, but I was thinking you could use some company. So...I thought you'd like to have some dinner!"
Napstablook blinks in shock at the suggestion. The only one who ever offered their company was Frisk and even Frisk was finding that hard to accomplish with school starting. Napstablook couldn't help but to smile ever so gently. "That's really thoughtful of you, Papyrus. That does sound nice. Umm...Go ahead and come in if you want to. No pressure."
Napstablook left the door open and floated upstairs. Papyrus followed right behind as the door closed on its own before he'd peer around the room. He wasn't sure what he was expecting in Napstablook's room but it seemed cozy enough. There were an old, green couch sitting across from a tv, that he guessed was a hand-me-down, resting on the floo. He was half-surprised to see an old game console resting in front of tv on the floor. Napstablook didn't seem much of a gamer, but then, Papyrus wasn't either until coming to the surface! And of course, closeby to the tv was a computer desk with a surprisingly brand-new PC resting on it. With the buzz of the refrigerator, it was mostly quiet and it seemed comfy but there wasn't much decoration except...
"Oh, you watch Mettaton too?!" Papyrus exclaimed happily as he spotted the poster hanging on the wall. Unlike most things in the room, besides his computer, it seemed Napstablook took really special care of this particular poster that Papyrus' eyes scanned it as if there MUST have been an autograph on it somewhere.
"Oh, sometimes...It's the only channel I ever really watch," Napstablook spoke as he floated back and let Papyrus explore his room, as was monster culture. They found it a little strange when humans seemed to think it was out of the ordinary to explore someone's house and room for the first time and ask questions about it. They seemed more recluse and only subtly made glances around the room.
"Oh, me too! Though, sometimes, Sans likes to watch something else on his turn so then I watch with him. You're lucky you have your own tv," Papyrus smiled before he looks around for a place to put the spaghetti. Napstablook seemed to notice as he seems to levitate the bowl himself in front of Papyrus. "Here, I got it..."
"Why, thank you, Napstablook." Papyrus smiles warmly as he goes to sit down on the couch closeby. Napstablook, unsure of what to do at this point, sat down with Papyrus. The spaghetti floated in front of Napstablook as the second bowl rested on Papyrus' lap with a strange silence. Napstablook tried to remember what to do before he slowly speaks, "Do...you...want to watch tv?"
"Good idea!" Papyrus spoke up, apparently not disturbed by the awkward silence that had gone between them. Napstablook brought the remote over and turned it on. The volume on the tv was low as it turned on to MTT channel and the sound of Mettaton's voice was heard in a soap opera.
Napstablook normally laid on his front to watch Mettaton in front of the tv and sitting back, he quickly turned up the volume to a comfortable level. The tv seemed to bring some relief of the social anxiety Napstablook felt and Papyrus began to eat as he watched Mettaton on the screen.
"Are we having fun yet?" Mettaton spoke on the tv as, in his more animated body, he was covered in flour and a girl giggled to him.
Napstablook didn't pay much attention to the plot and just focused on Mettaton with a soft smile at seeing how happy he was on air. He almost didn't hear Papyrus before he snaps from his thoughts and looks up, deciding it best to take off his headphones for now. "Sorry, what?"
"I asked if there was something wrong with the spaghetti?" Papyrus was looking to Napstablook with a concerned expression as he saw the spaghetti still floating in front of him, untouched and probably cold by now.
"Oh, n-no, umm...Just..." Napstablook looked to the spaghetti with a lopsided frown, bringing it closer and he took the fork. He opened his mouth to try to shove spaghetti in but it phased through him as he expected.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know, Napstablook!" Papyrus said in shock. He didn't know ghosts were actually...ghost-y!
"It's okay, Papyrus, I'm used to it." Napstablook smiled reassuringly as he could. He honestly didn't expect anything else to happen.
"But, then how do you..." Papyrus asked curiously, looking to the headphones that rested next to Napstablook, not to mention the couch he was sitting on. Napstablook explained slowly, like he was ready to cut himself off once Papyrus got bored. "It's not very complicated or interesting...With ghosts, we usually phase through most items. But items we have a strong bond to, we don't phase through, like my headphones. And...I'm not really sitting on the couch. I'm still only floating on it."
Papyrus nods slowly, apparently really intrigued by the idea. It made sense and he didn't know much about ghosts except about the one that used to live outside Undyne's home in the Underground. Undyne would keep him there in hopes of him getting so angry at her beatings to his body, he'd eventually become corporeal. "Is that how it works with getting a body?"
"Oh...I'm not sure...That's what they mostly say, but I never wanted a body. It seems to take a lot longer to form a bond to a new body than with something you really like," Napstablook said with the slightest ghostly shrug he could manage. Papyrus smiled to the ghost as his empty spaghetti bowl rested on his lap. "That's good, then! At least you're happy being just who you are."
Napstablook grew quiet as he remembered an old conversation before smiling softly to Papyrus, leaving the conversation at that.
For a couple of hours, Papyrus and Napstablook spent the time watching tv. It was surprisingly comfortable for Napstablook after a while, just sitting in silence with Papyrus with the noise in the background. If it wasn't for the tv, he'd have been stressing himself out, thinking of what to talk about, are they bored of him? Should he leave his own room? Papyrus didn't mind it either. In fact, it was how a lot of times he and his brother spent together, along with their adventures.
Finally, Papyrus let out a yawn, not realizing how late it was as he checks his phone, seeing it was a quarter past ten. Much later than his nine o'clock bedtime. He hoped Sans was still awake to read him a bedtime story. "I really should be getting home before my brother starts to worry, Napstablook."
Napstablook looks up from the tv, smiling softly as he nods to Papyrus. There was that nagging thought in the back of his head that Papyrus was just trying to escape but he was working hard to ignore it. "All right. Be careful going home, Papyrus."
"As always, Napstablook! It was nice hanging out with you today," Papyrus gave him a bright smile that met his eyesockets. "We should do this more often."
Napstablook paused for a moment, unsure of the idea. He managed to do well this time, but again? Papyrus saw Napstablook hesitate, his smile dying down some. "Unless, you don't have the time?"
"N-No! It's fine, really. You can visit me anytime, even if I'm working at the music store."
Oh, god, no, what are you doing? What are you DOING? He's going to feel obligated to come visit you now.
"That sounds great! I'll come visit tomorrow then. We usually take this day as a break from work," Papyrus' smile returned again and Napstablook returned it nervously. "A-All right."
Now you've done it.
Napstablook floated down after Papyrus as he made his way down the stairs and opened the door for him. Napstablook looked out at how dark it was except for the streetlights, almost tempted to follow Papyrus to make sure he would be okay. No, that would be too clingy.
Papyrus noticed the concern on Napstablook's face, giving him a reassuring smile. "Not to worry, Napstablook. The Great Papyrus can face any dangers on the walk home! Actually, if you want, I can message you when I get home. What's your UnderNet name?"
He's only doing this to be nice.
"It's...Napstablook22. But you don't have to worry, Papyrus. It's okay," Napstablook spoke slowly.
"It's okay! If you get a friend request from CoolSkeleton95, that's me! I'll add you when I get home! Good night, Napstablook!" Papyrus calls back as he runs off.
Napstablook floated a few moments outside before he goes back inside and closes the door. He lets out a full sigh of relief as all of the tension was gone now and moved to lean against the door. Forgetting he was a ghost, he only fell through it and ended up on the ground outside, his bottom half still in his room. "Oh..."
It seemed like a good spot as any to feel like garbage.