#papyrusxreader

they meet in a supermarket (sans and the mc are flirting and papyrus needed to be out of the way in order for sans to make a bunch of puns and endear himself to the mc) and papyrus is just like...

"GREETINGS, APOLOGIES FOR THE INTRUSION, I NEEDED TO TALK NONSENSE TO A STRANGER SO MY BROTHER HAS AN EXCUSE TO FLIRT WITH THAT PERSON!!"

only for the reader/bgc to just take things in stride and reply with something that catches his attention. they too exist outside of the plot and thus have the freedom to say whatever they want when "off-camera".

but he gets pulled away early because the plot requires him to interrupt sans and the mc, and he either leaves or makes a commotion that causes the two main characters to say their temporary farewells.

they only see each other fleetingly because papyrus is at the whims of the other overarching story (which relegates him to emotional support for sans, while also having sans hide his emotions from pap).

a lot of the time papyrus is just loudly doing things in the kitchen, while sans is off angsting, which means for a while theres just a lot of phonecalls to bgc...

eventually, as sans and the mc get their shit together, papyrus gets sent off to culinary school (to make sans confront his emotions about the mc, ofc. papyrus only shows up in the epilogue of the sans/reader via video call, happy to see that his brother finally got together w the person he loves)

and so papyrus has to go to his friend, telling them teary eyed that he'll never see them again... and the bgc just goes "well... you'll need someone to take you to the airport. neither you or sans has a license."

and then they turn up with their bags packed, ready to get out of this town and make their own story.

“IT’S JUST…” He paused, looking at you, as if he was trying to read something— anything that could’ve told him the thing he needed to hear. But it seemed like he didn’t find it. “I WAS CURIOUS! YOU KNOW, MY GIRLFRIEND’S PRETTY PERSUASIVE, COULD HAVE BEEN A LAWYER IF SHE WANTED!” Rus exclaimed, gloating about Anaia with a wide smile on his face.

You made a little ‘o’ with your mouth, nodding before a smile crawled onto your face.

“I totally get that!” Agreeing was easy, she did seem persuasive. She’s very cool, no doubt Rus was right— she could’ve been one. Rus smiled down at you and patted your shoulder as he kept walking with you towards your house.

“BUT STILL, I’M VERY VERY SORRY ABOUT ER…” Rus trailed off, feeling a bit guilty if he said ‘Cracks’, it felt rude— purposefully offensive. He knows Cracks wasn’t that bad, he just had issues because of things that have happened to him and his brother. They’re survivors, not insane bastards.

“Cracks?”

“YES! HES JUST GOING THROUGH A LOT… I SWEAR THIS WON’T HAPPEN AGAIN! SCOUTS HONOUR!!” Then, he stopped, squinting his eyes. “HOWEVER, I’M NOT IN THE SCOUTS… NEVER WAS…?”

Letting out a brief exhale from your nose, you still had a smile on your face. Walking alongside Rus and continuing to chat with him, even when you reached to your door– which was incredibly quick. I mean, the two of you are neighbours. You gave him a swift goodbye before watching him basically skip off, back home.

Entering into your house, it was still daylight. So it felt a bit odd coming home so early.

Staring at the door that was fixed by none other than your neighbours, who also housed the person who broke it in the first place, you felt a weird sensation. It wasn’t anxiety, but something else. You just… Couldn’t figure it out.

Your house felt too hollow, empty and insecure.

Sitting down on the couch, you turned on the TV. Something to fill the house up a bit, you went through the channels– you noticed that for most of the channels that included music, which were the radio channels, they kept playing the same five songs. Which was irritating, some of them were supposed to be pop radios or talkshow radios but they all had the same music on right now…? They really need to find new music to play at least.

You stopped on a random channel, deciding it was good enough since it was a variety talk-show that had the people on screen instead of just their voices. You watched the pink robot on screen talk on about Cinderella, then something about upcoming games with other contestants that he’ll be hosting.

Suddenly, you heard a car honk about twelve times before it stopped, getting curious, you looked outside. You didn’t have to sweep your curtains away since they were already open, so you angled your head to see where the sound came from.

Then, a gaggle of skeletons got out of the car, some of them looking nauseous and some looking fine. You noted that Crackle had hopped out of the driver’s seat, and Cracks had come out of the passenger side. The two of them giggling about something, which churned something inside your stomach. Made you feel a bit ill, in a way.

Quickly diverting your attention, you noted how Caesium and an orange hooded skeleton were talking. Then, Anaia came out of nowhere and threw herself at Caesium, then gave the orange one a brief hug. They both seemed pleased to see her, but then you had this weird feeling all of a sudden.

Like someone was watching.

Immediately trying to find Cracks, you didn’t see him anywhere outside. If it wasn’t him, then who was watching?

Continuing to search outside, you found who.

It was Slim, who was at the trunk of the car and had been watching you. When he noticed that you had finally spotted him, he gave you a brief wave. Trying to give you a small smile, but it seemed like a wave of nausea distracted him first.

Throwing a finger up in Comic’s face, he rushed off into the house to go deal with his illness.

Yikes, poor guy. You mentally felt bad for him, cringing at how fast he was to run into the house.

Jay did mention they all were going out somewhere early in the morning, you just wondered where, honestly. Where could they have gone with a maniac? Other than the mental asylum, because he’s obviously still here.

“I HAVE NO CLUE! MWEHEHE.” You snapped your head around, having heard Jay’s voice. But you didn’t see him. What the hell?

“My goodness, you haven’t even decided on a plan B if being a singer doesn’t work?” You recognised that voice too, Mettaton’s. The robot you were just watching. Moving closer to your couch, you looked at the TV.

…

Jay was on the show??? Your eyes immediately widened at the sight, grabbing your remote to put up the volume a bit, even though he was loud enough. You just needed to make sure you heard everything right.

Jay? A singer??

“I MEAN, I WANT TO GIVE MY ALL TO SINGING, AND NOT WORRY ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE. EVEN IF IT SEEMS CHILDISH, IT’S BETTER TO ENJOY THINGS IN THE MOMENT!” You watched how Jay animatedly moved in his seat, one leg crossed over the other while he wore an outfit similar to the one you saw him in yesterday.

Staring at him, you sat down on the arm of your couch, curious.

“Still, darling. Do you have any other plans if you possibly fail?” The robot asked, brushing his hair back.

“HMM.. CURRENTLY I WORK IN AN OFFICE— BUT I SUPPOSE MY SECOND DREAM JOB WAS TO BE A WELDER! THOUGH WELDER NOT I DO IT OR NOT DEPENDS ON MY CURRENT JOB, MWEHEHEHE!” He threw in a pun, making Mettaton smile out of pure embarrassment due to how bad it was.

You still couldn't believe it, you pulled your phone out and immediately took a picture. Sending it to Palace instead of Slim, you knew the skeleton wasn’t feeling well, might not feel well for a while.

You didn’t get any response from him after that message, so you set your phone down and glanced back at the TV. You knew Jay was definitely talkative and loud, but never thought he could ever be a possible candidate to be a singer.

Sitting down on your couch, you watched Jay on the TV.

“So, darling. When do you plan to debut? We’ve all seen you win on that little singing show!” Mettaton exclaimed, propping his head up onto his hand.

“WELL, I’LL BE DEBUTING…” Jay trailed off, Mettaton leaning further forward on his desk to emphasise his interest. “SOMEDAY! MWEHEHE, CAN’T RUSH IT!!” He tricked, causing Mettaton to sigh loudly and lean back into his chair.

“Couldn’t you at least give a little hint? Come on, darling! The audience needs some sort of clue!!” Mettaton exaggerated his words by pointing at the camera.

“OH ALRIGHT!!” The star of the show sighed playfully, rubbing his chin in thought. “I DO WANT TO SAY THAT I WANNA BALANCE MY LIFE OUT FIRST, THEN ILL BE DEBUTING!!” He put his hands up in mock surrender when he added the last bit. Playing friendly with everyone, which flowed well in the studio.

“You know what? That actually does work! Next time we’re live, we’ll play the guessing game– throw some bets, see who wins on guessing when you debut!!” The host cheered, the audience clapping and cheering as well and Jay seemed surprised. He probably didn’t know about the whole betting bit and started laughing, instead of staying shocked.

The both of them seemed to match the other’s energy quite well. It made it nice to watch the TV.

Your mind began to drift off to another place, though.

…

Maybe you should take a walk, instead of staying in your house. In a way, seeing your attacker from yesterday giggle about some mysterious joke pissed you off.

If he was out and about, you should be too.

You were still dressed nicely, so you opted to just leave as you were right now. You weren’t entirely sure where to go, but you were going somewhere. Maybe you could just get your steps in, that could work.

With a newfound set of determination, you grabbed your phone– and a purse that didn’t look ugly on your outfit– and set off. Maybe you could go swing by a few cafes and bakeries near your own, check out if there’s any new ones that you could become a regular of or befriend the owners of.

…

You regretted it almost instantly by the time you reached the center, there was a rush… everywhere.

The new bakery? Filled to the brim.

That random clothing store around the corner? It’s got more than the average it normally has around this hour.

Even that weird soup store has a good amount of customers today???

Sighing, you opt to sit down on a bench near a fountain. At least it’s a peaceful in that spot. You didn’t really wanna go back home already, you walked so far… And your legs were tired too, so maybe just sitting outside would be nice.

Groaning, you slump in your bench. It’s not like anyone’s looking, there’s too many people to even think about one of them bothering to look your way.

“yeah, same over here.” Somebody muttered, the words coming from a voice you couldn't recognise. Your head snapped to the right side, as you were on the left-most side of the bench. There sat a skeleton that wore an orange hoodie. Looking as exasperated as you.

You almost began cursing out whoever had manifested your day to be this rough. Another one of your neighbours, wasn’t this the same one you saw on moving day? Or… Were you mixing them up?

“gosh. did i spook you too bad? you’re speechless.” They joked, stretching their arms out before they matched your slump. Which meant sitting up slightly, they were near to sliding off the bench earlier. Turning their head towards you, he outstretched a hand towards you. “zen. nice to meet you, i’m your neighbour– if you haven’t noticed by now.” He introduced himself.

You took a moment, before shaking his hand.

“(Name). Nice to meet you, have we ever talked before…?” You asked, genuinely not being able to remember. God. That felt so weird to ask, but you genuinely couldn’t remember.

“nah. only heard of you through my brother.” He slipped his hand out of yours, pocketing it as he bathed in the sunlight. Zen didn’t seem to mind you asking, probably didn’t even process the question long enough to think about it.

“Oh! Right, your brother.” Who the hell was his brother???

Zen chuckled as he decided to tell you himself, seeming to sense that you didn’t seem to have the slightest clue who his brother may be.

“jay, my brother’s jay.” He told, closing his eyes and enjoying the sun. Did the skeleton need vitamin D…? I mean, maybe they did. “you’ve talked to him a few times, right?” Zen added, curious on how you would speak about his brother. Maybe he should’ve asked before revealing their relation, but it’s not like he could take his words back. He didn’t really mind, though.

“Jay?” You repeated, sitting up since it’s finally caught up to you that you’re with someone you’ll be seeing– probably– everyday. “I have, he’s very nice!” To be fair, you didn’t know what to say about him. One wrong word and you could have a whole— what’s even the word for ‘a group of skeletons’?! A gaggle? A pile of bones? A murder of skeletons?

“true.” Zen didn’t say anything else, but yawned in place of a longer answer. “you wanna eat?” He asked, seeming to sense how awkward this could get… Not really, he just wanted to eat at his favourite place. It’s one of the popular ones, people loved the place. Humans, monsters, inbetweens, they all loved it.

That, and he’ll probably pull the old ‘forgot my wallet, put it on my tab’ trick. He loved doing that, Muffet hated it.

“Eat? Um,” Pausing, you had to think about it. Should you?

…

Why not, you were hungry.

“Sure, where to?” You asked, fixing your shirt and standing up. Brushing off any dust on your clothes, while Zen just stood up, he wasn’t the type to think too much about dust of all things, it didn’t bother him that much.

“ehhh. muffet’s?” It sounded less like a statement, and more of a question— as if he wasn't sure himself. Zen didn’t really push things onto people, he was decisive, sure, but he thought about others too. Plus, he didn’t really know if you liked bakery items, like spider donuts.

“Oh, yeah, sounds good. I saw it earlier, actually.” Pointing out the fact you had passed by it at some point, Zen nodded. It was a few stores to the left, near the crowds, so no doubt you would've seen it while wondering around.

“yeah. I go often, so.” He left it at that, a bit socially awkward when it came to idle talk. The two of you walked in the direction of Muffet’s, it was a bit weird with the lack of conversation… But you could bare it, anything for food.

“You think it’ll be crowded?” Wanting to break the silence a bit, you turned your head towards Zen, who shrugged in response, glancing around at the large amounts of people you both passed by.

“nahhh… can’t be too crowded.” Zen decided to lean towards optimism, and you nodded in response. I mean, he probably knows more than you when it comes to the bakery, since he goes there often.

It was so crowded.

However, the two of you managed to nab seats at the very corner of the restaurant… bakery… place. It had bakery items, but it had booths and seats like it was a cutesy restaurant, you liked it. It was like yours, actually!

“it’s… not usually this full.” Zen sighed, propping his skull up onto the palm of his hand, grimacing at how loud it was today. It was full of families, couples, friends, and singles. “if you’re still cool with staying here, then let’s order something?” He added on, his eyes sliding back to you.

“Let’s! It’s good that there’s a lot of people here, would’ve opened my bakery today if I knew there would be so many people around like this!” Picking up the laminated double-sided menu on the table, you stared down at the words on it. Skimming over the very creative names, lots of spider themed items, thats for sure.

You were… stuck. Indecisiveness was one of your many flaws, unfortunately.

“So… what are you getting?” You asked, lifting your head up from its concentrated tilt towards the food you were trying to choose.

“honey.” He replied nonchalantly, drawing circles on the menu as he stared down at it— as if he was still deciding.

“Sweet, cool. Me t– what???” Interrupting yourself, you had to make sure that you heard what you thought you heard. Honey? Just honey? Nothing else? Attempting to hint towards Zen to continue with his order, you raised your eyebrows slightly.

Looking up at you, he raised his own invisible brow.

“honey.”

“Honey..?”

“honey.”

You didn’t know how to respond to that. Your mouth simply opened slightly more, before shutting it back closed. Looking back down at the menu, you sighed as you still couldn’t figure out what you wanted to eat.

Then, a boney finger came into your vision, placing itself over one of the items on the menu— tapping itself onto the title twice.

“this one is pretty good if you ask me, i get it for breakfast since it’s sugary. you into sugar?” He asked, causing you to lift your head and think about it. You (tolerated/loved) sugar, so eating it for today’s outing was fine. Nodding in response, he hummed. “then get that one, if– you aren’t choosing something else, no pressure.”

“I’ll trust your choice!” You were quick to let him know it was fine, not wanting to make the situation awkward by choosing something else entirely. You looked down at the item he tapped, ‘Webby Pinebun’, assuming ‘pine’ was one half of ‘pineapple’, it was a ‘webby’ pineapple bun… In other words, a polo yao…

Yum!

Eventually, a spider monster rolled over to your table. She had skates on, so you could say that she literally rolled over to the table. She had pretty, dark, hair that were cut short to cup her face. She had two small pigtails tied up with ribbons, her uniform was pretty and neatly coloured, light colours matching the store.

“Fufufuu… I see you’ve brought a new human~~~ Ahuhuhu.” She greeted, glancing over at you before she went back to waiting for Zen to reply. Being called a new human was… something.

“oh, yeah.”

…

Assuming he wasn’t going to say anything more, you cleared your throat and decided to order.

“I’ll have the– uh, Webby Pinebun, please.” The woman turned her head back towards you when you began speaking, smiling as she nodded. Her smile felt intimidating, but yet at the same time, it felt nice to look at– it was a pretty smile, in short.

“One for you, deary~~ and for the skeleton?” She looked at Zen, who looked like he was seconds away from possibly toppling over from how deep in thought he seemed to be. He was looking off in the distance, clearly zoned out. However, when he was addressed, it took him a few seconds to come back to reality. His eyesockets slowly moving towards her. “...I’ll get you your honey, looks like you haven’t had some in years~~~ ahuhuhu..”

He nodded, slumping in his seat slightly. Watching him, you could understand the exhaustion— sort of. You used to rely on sugar and caffeine a lot to keep your energy going. Either it be energy drinks, chocolates, toffees, any sort of sweet food or caffeinated item.

The spider monster took his slump as an indication to move on from him, and looked back at you once more.

“Would you like anything else, deary?~~” She asked. You gave her a brief no, accompanied with a polite ‘thank you’, she smiled a little wider at you before skating around. A little spider came down onto her shoulder when she paused her movement, it looked like she said something to it before it left.

However, you didn’t think about it for too long, since a skeleton decided it was a good time to interrupt your watching.

“hey.” Zen spoke up all of a sudden, tapping the table lightly to catch your attention– succeeding. You looked over, humming to signify your attention directed towards him. “what do skeletons in spain eat?”

…

Is this a test…?

“Uh— I’m not sure.” You replied, crossing your arms and placing it onto the table, leaning on it slightly. Maybe it was birria. That tasted good, waaay too good. You should get some birria soon, it’d finally itch that craving you were trying to figure out.

“patella.” He smirked, his smile wavering as if he was trying not to giggle at his own joke. You, on the other hand, couldn’t catch up to the humorous bit of the joke. Patella, skeleton, you’ve heard that one a hundred times in science class.

But, just to be friendly, you let out a small bark of laughter, easing up the ambience before it got even more awkward. Zen seemed to appreciate it, so you kept yourself smiling slightly. Noticing he was about to speak again, you kept yourself from commenting on the joke– having planned to say something nice.

“so, how long have you been living here?” He asked, skull tilting as his hand drifted around to grab onto the edge of the mini tray which carried a few seasonings. Distal phalange toying around with the edge of it.

“Good question!” You started off, having to think about it. You moved in during the ‘grand pandemic’ era, so it’s been about… just over five years? Passing on that information, he nodded, sockets widening slightly to present his amazement.

“five years, that isn’t little— i’ll say that much.” The skeletal figure touched around the tray a bit more before retracting himself, crossing his arms and leaning back into the cushions built into the booth’s seating. “I often move around, doesn’t really affect anything other than costs.”

Nodding along, you remember looking at costs and the differences in rent every year— even in your current home, you were always checking if the rent you had at the time was fine or not. Then, you had the chance to buy the house… Well, you’re proud to say you’re currently paying back the mortgage.

“I see… so you and your family have always moved around together, or…?” You left the option open, unsure of their situation, but decided it wasn’t too invasive. You used to move around with your family, except that was because you were legally under their care.

“nyeheh, no, i used to live on my own, occasionally went to meet up with my brother and some of my cousins. otherwise i’d be in one place all the time, not a lot of them like moving around, you know?” Weirdly enough, he was quick to open up. Though, you could sense the eccentric energy underneath his calm demeanour, it was a bit easy to pick up since he was chatty— even with the nonchalant act.

“Really? Could I ask why you guys ended up in the same house, or is that a bit invasive? Super sorry if it is!” You were quick to set up that you were fine without hearing it, but he gave a lazy, yet bright, smile.

“all cool. we all got closer at some point and we decided that if we all share a house, we could save on a lot of costs. both fixed and variable, like rent, groceries and so on.” He explained, using his fingers to gesture around. Bringing one finger to another to signify ‘meet’, similar to the american sign for meet. Then spun them around each other before pointing here and there. Nodding along, you could see why it would be efficient.

“So kind of like Friends?” <> “like Friends, except they all actually live together.”

The two of you hadn’t noticed that the other was about to speak, and had incidentally talked over the other— but hearing a similarity had caught your attention, as well as Zen’s. Both of you perked up before you gave him a big smile, he was quick to lean forwards and place his arms onto the table.

“you’re a fan of Friends?” He started, and you nodded. “barely anyone i know has watched it, damn, oh my stars.”

“No way? Same over here! But then again it’s super old…” Thinking about it, you scratched your chin. It was fair that not a lot of people knew of it since it first aired in the 1990s, so a while back. “Who’s your favourite, though? Mine definitely has to be [YOUR CHOICE]!”

Zen seemed to beam at that, he ushered you to lean closer to the table as he cupped one side of his mouth— as though he’s hiding his words from the public. Even if everyone was busy in their own conversations.

“hot take, Ross.”

Gasping, to play along, you covered your mouth. As if he’s said something scandalous.

“No… Really?”

“yeah.” Breathily, as if admitting such a silly thing had knocked all the air out of his body. Staring at him, he returned your gaze, silence filling the space you two occupied.

However, within seconds, laughter split up between monster and human was tossed out into the air. Your hand was quick to cover your mouth as you guffawed over the dumb little skit, while Zen had turned his body to the side so he could lean down and cover his eyes as he laughed.

“Okay— okay, but why Ross?” Once you had recollected your bearings, you threw the question out, curious. You aren’t exactly a huge fan, but you could understand from other perspectives.

“i like how expressive he is. i still remember that episode where he’s trying to get everyone out of the house and dressed before his speech, i’d probably act the same way if i had a speech.” Indulging in the conversation, he crossed his arms as he spoke. Shoulders relaxed as he tilted his skull left and right to get a few pops out of his spine.

Yeah, fair enough. You could see why someone would like Ross in that way, you still felt bad for Rachel for those scenes that happened here and there, but you didn’t comment on it. No need to talk bad about someone’s favourite when you’ve just met them.

“why [choice] though?” Picking up the string of his hoodie, he fiddled with the lace between his index and thumb. You subconsciously noted how he kept playing or moving around despite seeming so casual earlier. Not like it’s a bad thing, it’s just something you accidentally noticed.

However, thanks to his question, you were fast to talk about your own decision on who you liked.

Eventually the food arrived and the two of you kept chatting even while eating. At some point you told a joke that was so dumb that it had Zen choke on his water and cause it to leak out of his nose. Causing the two of you to throw yourselves into another fit of laughter.

It was interesting, you’ve never clicked this fast with someone before.

“Okay, okay. So, this mother has a pair of twins, Juan and Amal… But she carries only one photo in her purse, you know why?”

“why?” He asked, his voice strained as he had a wide smile on his face, sockets crinkled as his cheeks were tangy orange. Holding back laughter although you haven’t even reached the punchline.

“Because once you’ve seen Juan, you’ve seen Amal!”

Zen was quick to get the joke, laughing once more as you only began cackling purely because of his boisterous reaction. You weren’t the type to easily laugh at jokes, puns and the such— but seeing other people laugh so hard made you follow along.

You turned your phone over, checking the time. It’s been about two hours since you and Zen started chatting, it felt like minutes though. Looking over at the skeleton, you decided it was a good time to bring up payments.

“Do you wanna pay and go? We could look around the shops, I think the crowds might’ve dyed down a slight bit by now.” You notified, tilting your head slightly– a habit. He hummed and nodded, glancing over where Muffet would usually be and waving at her. She was quick to come back over since there weren’t any consumers wanting to order at the time.

“Fufuu~ the two of you need anything more?” She asked, bringing her pen and notepad out. However Zen was quick to shut it down and let her know that the two of you were ready to pay, she hummed in acknowledgement. “I see~, combined or split today?”

“Split, please.” You piped up, Zen nodding. “Ah, i’m paying by card— Grapple pay.”

Muffet had a card machine in her little apron-pocket, pulling it out and nodding. She recited the one item you bought, offering over towards you as you quickly pressed the side button of your phone twice. Tapping onto the card machine, a beep indicating that you were good to go.

The spider monster turned towards Zen next, raising an eyebrow as she waited for his own payment.

“forgot my wallet. tab it, big M.” Nonchalantly, he gave her an easy-going smile. Before bringing his hands up, interlocking it into a prayer gesture. “please?”

“You’ll have to pay for your tab one day, orange.” She sighed, but maintained a smile. Writing down the usual cost, before looking back at you. Giving you a wide smile, she lowered the notepad slightly. “Have a lovely day, deary~ and be sure to come back, okay? Fufufuu~~” Turning, she rolled off towards the spiderlings, seeming to get back into business by talking to customers near the register.

Her goodbye seemed to make you feel warmer, you seemed to like it whenever people would tell you to come back to a certain place.

“She’s nice.” You commented, standing up as you made sure you had all your belongings. Zen nodded before snickering a bit.

“just don’t get on her bad side, she’s got an inner demon.” Zen mentioned, smirking as some inside joke.

“What? Do her eyes turn red when she’s angry?” Leaving the bakery, you were quick to ask. Wondering if he was referencing those alpha jokes you would see everywhere.

Zen chuckled before nodding, happy that someone caught what he was subtly referring to.

“super red. pretty sure she’s part demon at this point.”

The two of you were walking next to each other, continuously chatting– mainly about random things that would pop up in your minds. First was Friends, then different plants you would put in your room if you could choose any, that slid down to what pet would you have if it could be any animal in the world, and then the topic managed to go back to the shows and movies you’ve watched.

Walking around with Zen felt timeless as the two of you kept talking, even stopping by another cafe to pick up cold drinks before continuing to walk and talk.

At some point, you had brought up a topic that had your buddy rambling for a good few minutes. You smiled as it reminded you of Rus for a few seconds.

You liked how he kept such a passionate look on his face while seeming like such a nonchalant person.

THUMP! THUMP!

…

You ignored the thumping in your chest.

It’s not time.

Eventually, the sun began to set. Which shocked the two of you when you pointed out that it felt dimmer.

“didn’t think i would spend an entire day outside, big Jay’s gonna be preeetty impressed.” He chuckled, nearing the bin and tossing his iced drink into it. Letting you do the same. “you wanna walk home together or you got more to do?”

“Haha, no. I think I'm all pooped out for today, let’s head home.” You told, running a hand through your hair in an attempt to cool your head. You should’ve brought a hat, it was so hot…

“so, how’s it going? i heard all about the situation. nobody’s not a gossip in the house.” Zen asked, pouting his cartoony-mouth in an attempt to seem nonchalant again.

“Ehh. It’s weird. One minute I'm chased down by a skeleton who’s looking to cut my head off— next I'm being rescued, suddenly being told I shouldn't really sue him, then not doing it because I felt bad.” You sighed, rubbing your face with your hands. Dragging them down your face in displeasure.

“told?” Zen asked, pocketing his hands into his hoodie. Tilting his head slightly.

“It’s nothing— really, just stuff. Nothing big.” You brushed it off, not wanting to dump too much onto him. You, yourself, still didn’t know how you were convinced by Anaia to stop.

Zen didn’t reply, so you looked over at him. Did you not say it loud enough? Replied to him in your mind? You were debating on repeating yourself but he had cleared his throat before you could.

“well. if ya ever wanna hangout with someone who ain’t looking to drag you into more drama.. let’s hang, ‘kay?” He suggested, although he sounded confident, his expression was a mix of nervous and genuine. It reminded you of someone, sort of like déjà vu.

You smiled back, and nodded. Coincidentally, the two of you were nearing the houses. I suppose the community shopping centre only felt far because you always walked by yourself. Even on call, with your friends, it felt like a long walk.

Quickly grabbing your phone, you opened the quick dial section of your call app, handing it to Zen.

“Give me your number, that way I can call you when I wanna hang out.” You told, and he swiftly grabbed your phone, a small smile on his face as he tapped his digits in. Then, he pressed the ring button, you heard buzzing almost immediately— which confirmed that he wrote down the right number.

“i’ll add ya to my contacts.” He informed you while handing back your phone, you nodded once more.

It felt almost too quick, the trip back home. Horribly quick, you didn’t want the day to end… But as you enter the premises of your home, with Zen staying back at the fence gates, you realise it might be better to end the day. You were growing tired.

Stepping up onto your patio, you unlocked the door and looked behind yourself. Raised an arm, and bid Zen goodbye.

“bye, buddy. see you soon.” The orange-clad skeleton waved, you turned back around and entered your home. Clicking the door shut and locking it, you peeked outside the window closest to the door, watching Zen leave.

When he was out of sight, you let out a breath of relief that you didn’t know you were holding. You pressed your back against the wall between the window and the door. Slowly sliding down, your hands drew closer to your face, planting themselves and covering your face.

Giving him some time to try and relax, no sooner the magic relaxed in the room…

“Why not?” The words couldn’t be stopped.

“...b’cause-... we ain’ those.” 

“Soulmates?” Your head tilted gently. “But… It’s something silly to call the other, isn’t it?”

“...no.” Russ rubbed his face, bare bones scraping against the other. “... monsta culture, thare’s actually a thing ‘bout it. n’ i-...” He groaned before looking at you with his tired sockets. “...i had’un, Y/n. long b’fer ya…”

“Oh? You had one?” You gently repeated. “I-... Ain’t going to ask, but… I’m sorry for upsetting you. I-... Didn’t know.”

Russ moved slowly to put his clawed hand into yours, intertwining them as he pulled your hand up and pressed his fangs against your knuckles. After which, he sighed something of a relief as he just rubbed a part of your hand in circles with his thumb. 

“nah… i jus’-” A look of regret could be seen before he looked you in the eyes. “at th’time, when it all collasped... it wasn’ perty. n’ now, i jus’ don’ believe in tha’ no more… s’a fantasy tha’ most will die for… n i ain’ inta dyin’ when i got someone who ain’ no fantasy, sittin’ right b’side me now. In real time… someone i can touch…”

Gently, ever so softly, he reached to caress your hair back. Looking at you as if you were untouchable; Sockets filling with softness just for you. 

“... ta hold…” 

His hand slid down to your shoulder, his other tightening your hand together with his, as he slid closer against you. 

Before you knew it, his face was inching its way closer to yours, as you could feel the tint of his magical breath blow against your own skin. 

“...ta kiss…” He smiled, watching as your face began to heat up. 

As you tried to say a word, anything at all; He silenced you with his skeletal kiss against your own lips. The warmth of his magic surged through you, feeling as if he was indeed kissing and not pressing his fangs against you. 

“...soulmates… ain’ fer m’.” He said, after a time. “...cause i got someone… betta than tha’. 

As the days dragged on, you found yourself frowning more and more... And as the days came, they turned dreadful each time you woke up, becoming a hassle to get out of bed. 

You found yourself smiling through a thin sheet of paper constantly, trying to keep pushing on like you normally do. Upon seeing your favorite Monster was no exception... No matter how much you wished it was, no matter how much you wished you could smile at him and it would all go away, it just-...

Wouldn’t. 

Russ kept looking at you as you both were walking to a favorite hotspot of yours. After a hard day at work, you figured a small outing would do you good, despite your mentality screaming at you to go home. 

After a few steps of Russ trying to pun, seeing only a weak smile each time along with a barely audible laugh that was difficult to hide the crack of wanting to sob... He stopped for the rest of the way, issuing in silence besides the both of your steps. 

It was quiet, but never awkward... 

Slowly, felt his arm wrap around you; Pulling you warmly into his side as he kept going. As tall as he was, he was matching your pace perfectly; Perhaps going even slower... 

Before he stopped completely, looking down  with a gentle expression as you questioned him quietly.

“hey... lesgo somewhere else, huh?” Russ said softly. 

With a wink, he didn’t wait before he ported you both. 

At first, you thought you completely blacked out... Until you could faintly see the color of pink dancing underneath bones. 

A tilted smirk came on your face. “Russ, what are-”

The question was dashed as he finally released your eyes, allowing you to see an array of gorgeous pink and white Echoflowers, all potted in rows. The surprise had you gawking at the gorgeous sight. Looking to Russ, about to talk; He hushed you gently, his sockets gentle. 

Confusion was purely in your face, but nothing had you ready for what came next... 

“You’re beautiful...” A whisper...  “Don’t Give UP! You got this, I believe in you!” A louder whisper... “Take your time; No matter what or how hard something is... You can learn from it, and only get better from there.” And another... “There is always light in the dark; No matter how small, it’s there!” Another... “Explore what you can; Enjoy what you do!” Again... “...Though you may feel alone... Remember the ones you Love with all your heart... Then you’ll never be lonely.” And again!

Whispers upon whispers of uplifting and encouraging words spilled from the flowers, like a chorus of different people who came together... Ironically, some of  the voices sounded familiar to you, while others were a complete mystery. 

But there was one voice you immediately picked up on, whispering right next to your ear.

Turning, you were face to face with Russ, who gently took to cupping your cheeks and wiping the tears from your face. His fangs, ever so dangerous, seemed to have a softness to them only aimed at you. 

“...wanna know what I like?” Russ repeated his whisper. Upon seeing the curiousity in your glossy eyes, he rested his forehead against yours, a gentle purr coming out. 

“... i like you... for who and how ya are...” He said so warmly. “... yer gunna be jus’ fine... jus’ be ya. no matta wha’ emotion it is; yer stronger fer showin’ it.

Darlin’, yer’a Deity... yer’a Badass... n’ ya got this.