#surface au

Today was just not your day. Apparently your phone cord had finally died overnight, leaving you to wake up on your own to a dead phone with ten minutes before you needed to be at work. You didn’t even have time to grab new clothes from your closet; you just pulled on your outfit from yesterday and hoped that it didn’t look too wrinkled. Of course, you’d been chewed off by your boss for your unprofessional attitude before going to sulk at your desk for the rest of the day.

Only you weren’t even allowed to do that, apparently. You were chosen as the coffee gopher when some very important executives were going to be visiting your department. You’d quickly jotted down the coffee orders for eight strangers you barely knew alongside the six regular ones on a piece of scrap paper. Your paycheck wasn’t big enough for this, but you couldn’t exactly call Janice out for her rigged system in front of the regional director.

So you’d shut up and hustled over to the closest coffee shop. It was actually a really nice place; a little independent cafe instead of a big chain. There was always good music playing, something nice and unobtrusive to listen to as you watched other people hurry by on the busy Ebbott streets outside. You went there every time you needed a boost, organic prices be damned.

You kind of felt bad for Kara as you watched her attempt to stack fourteen coffee cups, two donuts, three scones, and a muffin on to two of their cardboard cup holders. You probably would have felt worse, but you were the one who had to carry them back to the office. You could already feel your weak noodle arms trembling under their weight...

Kara was done all too soon, sliding them carefully across the counter. “Okay, so I put the iced drinks on top, and I figured you could just take the pastries in a separate bag? I know it’ll be hard to hold on to that and the drinks, but they’ll be crushed if I try to put them into a stack...”

“It’s fine, thanks.” Despite your exhaustion, you put on a smile for Kara. She deserves a bit of positivity. She smiles back, and you two share the silent understanding that only two tired, stressed-out workers can share.

Unfortunately, the tower with the extra large coffee on top of it was just too unstable. You hadn’t even made it to the door by the time it began wobbling dangerously. Trying to duck for a table would only make you spill the other tray, and you wanted to salvage some of this order if you could.

“I’ve got it!” A chipper voice calls out, and two skeletal hands suddenly appeared in your field of vision. They grabbed the other side of your leaning tower of disaster, keeping it from collapsing at the last second. The tips of their boney fingers brushed against yours, rather warm despite their grim appearance.

You look up, meeting the eyes—eye-sockets?—of your savour, who is, unsurprisingly, a skeleton monster. “Oh, thanks.”

“It’s no problem!” The skeleton-Papyrus, according to the name tag stuck to his apron-smiles brightly at you. You haven’t seen him around before; he must be new. He certainly has the energy of someone new to service jobs. “I would hate to let a nice human like you have such a disaster.”

“Yeah, that would have been quite the spill.” You notice that Papyrus still hasn’t let go of the tray. You know you’re only making yourself late, but you can’t bring yourself to pull away. He’s just so bright and cheerful, and if this is a customer service voice, you can’t find the cracks. “Thanks for coming to the rescue.”

“Of course! That’s what I’m here for.” He reached out, brushing a few strands of hair out of your eyes. He carefully tucks them back into place, the gesture surprisingly intimate. “There we go, much better! Have a good day, human!”

“Thanks. I’ll see you around.” You managed a small smile, and Papyrus seemed to brighten even more. You winced as you realize how creepy that might sound, but before you can fix your mistake he’s already talking again.

“Wonderful. I’ll see you later, human!” Papyrus stepped back, his hands out in case you lose your balance again.

Thankfully, you were able to keep a solid grip on everything. You gave him a grateful nod, but he was already heading for the counter. You’re half-tempted to follow him, but you know better than that. You’ve both got work to do, and you wouldn’t want to bother him.