#underimagines

                                                         ❤ ❤ ❤

Okay, so this didn’t feel like your scene, but then again, this wasn’t your special day.

It was your little sister’s birthday, and as everyone in your family knew, your little sister was head over heels in love with Mettaton. Y’know, that new Monster superstar sweeping the nation in a trail of pink glitter and electro-pop tunes?

He’d never really been your type, music-wise, but it made your sister happy, and whatever made her happy, you could deal with. And if that meant spending over two hundred dollars to pre-order tickets to a show you didn’t even want to go to, then so be it. The moment you’d revealed your surprise gift to her, she’d been jumping around, clinging to you and squealing about how you were the best sibling she’d ever had. Never mind the fact that you were her only sibling, the praise and chance to see the happiness on her face was still worth it.

Waiting four hours in line just to get to the ticket booth, however, was very quickly making it feel like the opposite. Your sister still bounced at your heels, her hand wrapped tightly in yours as she hummed along with the (admittedly) catching tune blaring from the speakers outside the auditorium. Okay, maybe not all their stuff was bad. But from what you’d heard, most of his actual music came from the help of his cousin, a little ghost Monster named…Napster. Or something. So, it wasn’t like the credit could all go to just him, right?

Didn’t mean you didn’t like it. It was bouncy and fun, something you could easily see kids and teens liking. But you were a grown adult, so maybe your music taste was just a little more mature? Or maybe you were just pretentious like that. Maybe a mix of both.

It felt like an eternity before the crowd in front of you shuffled away enough for you to squeeze your way to the front. Still clasping your sister’s hand for reassurance that she wouldn’t be swept away with the waves of people, despite her complaints that she was “a big girl now!” and “didn’t need you babysitting her!” Just a minute ago she’d been clinging to your leg, but now that you were almost inside, she wanted to act like you were a total stranger. Of course. Such came with hanging out with a thirteen-year-old when you were well in your twenties. Such came with being the older sibling, too.

The Monster behind the counter was a skeleton, short and sleepy looking. In fact, he was asleep, audible snores coming from under his decorative uniform cap. The skeleton standing beside the doorway, however, looked to be his complete opposite. Tall, lankly, and happily welcoming everyone inside as he stamped their tickets and wished them a good time at the show. It was still surreal to you, seeing Monsterkind intermingling with humans so casually nowadays. It only felt like weeks ago—when it’d really been a few months—that they’d first surfaced from the peak of Mt. Ebott, the very king himself carrying a small child on his shoulders. “The Ambassador,” they’d been crowned, a mere tot of a child named Frisk, who’d somehow both made it through the entire labyrinth Underground and managed to break the magical barrier keeping everyone locked inside.

You didn’t know what that kid was eating, but you couldn’t help but admire them. They seemed like a real sweetheart.

Heck, they were there too, it seemed, handing out fliers to passerby that advertised the show, while pausing to take pictures here and there. A tall Monstress of a woman stood next to them, a kind smile on her face as she patted their hair and leaned down to pose with them and their guests every time a camera was pointed their way. Must have been their “Guardian” or something. They seemed happy together.

It was your sister who grabbed your attention away from the crew, dragging you past the sleeping skeleton and towards the smiling one. He tipped his hat at you, greeting you in a voice that grated on your ears as he stamped your tickets and pulled back the tiny rope that would allow you inside. Your sister giggled at him when he bowed dramatically at her, and you couldn’t help but smile, too. What a nice bunch.

Then you looked up, and audibly gasped. From the outside this place looked like any other little theater. But inside, it was decked out like a kingdom. Gold and silver trim everywhere. Heck, even the plush chairs some guests were perched on looked like they cost more than a year’s worth of your menial salary. God, this place was gorgeous. You suddenly felt very small, and very unworthy.

Your sister, however, was having the time of her life.

“C’mon!” She squeaked, pulling you with all the strength a preteen could muster. Which wasn’t much. “We’ve gotta get a good seat!”

“Alright, alright…” You mumbled halfheartedly behind her, swiveling around to take in as much of the decoration as possible. Everything was so extravagant. Was this Mettaton guy really that big of a deal? Sure, you’d expected fancy, but this was—

Just as you were craning your head up to admire the large crystalline chandelier hanging from the ceiling, you realized you’d bumped into someone. A small wave of horror washed over you at the shame, and you stumbled backwards, releasing your sister’s hand to plant your palms in front of you in surrender and assurance. “Ohmygod, I’m so sorry, I didn’t even see you—!”

The fogginess of shame around your head cleared as you glanced in your victim’s direction, and all at once you felt like the world around you had gone ice cold.

Mettaton tilted his head with all the dramatics that only a superstar could show off so naturally, propping his chin on his fist as if amused, one hand placed casually over his stomach. “Why, that’s certainly a surprise! I’m usually the first thing people notice when they walk in the room.”

Before you’d been smiling out of nervousness and a kind of horror, but now, all you could do was stare, as the sudden fire at the back of your neck seemed to burst into a supernova. You grasped at the base, hissing in pain. What the heck was that?

That’s when you noticed. Mettaton wasn’t just touching his abdomen, he was clutching it. The glowing heart-shaped object in the glass container bounced and twitched, despite the shocked expression breaking through his otherwise calm demeanor.

Oh my god.

Oh my god.

You stumbled back, grasping your neck, willing the Earth to open beneath you and swallow you whole. But sadly, that was not the case. All you were left with was your sister’s gaping expression, the knowing smile of a world-famous celebrity, and the horrifying realization that you’d probably just made the world’s worst first impression on your own SOULmate.

“I—this—um,” You stuttered gracefully. “H-Hello?”

“Hello,” he purred back. Honest to god purred the words out, flashing you a mouthful of tiny fangs. You tried to ignore the sudden stutter in your chest at the sight of them. And jeez, was he tall, nearly towering over you. That just made things feel even more awkward, like he was a snake cornering a mouse. It felt like he could tell how intimidated you were, because he leaned back just a smidge, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “Now isn’t this an unexpected little surprise, darling. I never thought I’d meet you here.”

It was said like he was talking to a friend, someone he’d met before. But you were total strangers, bound only by this thing little string of fate in the form of printed words across your—skin? Did he even have skin? Or metal? Or whatever that little heart in his stomach was made of? Was that his SOUL? You’d heard that some Monsters had things like that, wearing their hearts literally on their sleeves. The idea of being able to see your words—those terrible, embarrassing words—written across something as precious as someone’s SOUL made you want to faint right then and there.

Instead, you just continued to stumble over your words like the idiot that you were, “Uh, yeah! Same here, uh, I mean—your show—my sister loves your work!”

He posed at that, pridefully, his view slipping from you to narrow in on your younger sibling, who looked both mortified and completely blissed out. “Is that so? I’m always flattered to meet a fan darling.”

Her face was tomato-red, but she still managed to squeak out a weak, high-pitched, “Yep!” while gripping your hand so hard you were pretty sure it was going to leave bruises. Your surprise only seemed to amuse him further, and he turned in only a way a runway model could, motioning over his shoulder with a faint wave.

“Come with me, darlings. After all, this is such a special occasion. How would you two care for an upgrade? The VIP Lounge, hm?”

Did you just hear that right? He was taking you to his VIP Lounge—how—how big of a deal was this to him? You didn’t even know him! But before the words could get out of your mouth (any words at all, really), your sister was dragging you so hard that you were stumbling to keep up with her.

There were so many people staring at you. Jealous fans, confused bystanders, curious guards, from hall to hall to hall. This place was so much bigger on the inside, and all you wanted was to turn and bolt away. But your sister had an iron-grip on your wrist, and this was your SOULmate after all—Mettaton. Was your SOULmate.

My god you were SOULmate’s with Mettaton. You were still in shock about the whole thing. Not to mention the entire ensemble he was wearing. All decked out in black, pink, and gold. It looked hand-made. Specialty. Almost royal. It must have been part of his show, but it was like someone had doused him in a bucket of charm and charisma just like that. You felt like you were being led to the kingdom of a robotic prince, ready to sweep you off your feet. With even more pleased horror you realized that was almost exactly what was happening.

So much so that by the time you finally came to a stop in front of an elegantly decorated door, your mind was reeling. You felt dizzy, sweaty, nervous, fluttery. What sort of people would be inside? Other celebrities? Just you three? Guards, security?

A lizard in a lab-coat, eating a cup of instant ramen?

Okay, that part you didn’t see coming.

Your eyes locked and you watched her yellow-tinted skin very quickly melt into a shade of red that matched the edges of the heels poking out from beneath her coat. She worked to slurp down whatever mouthful of noodles she had, still managing to talk through a mouthful at the same time.

“Ohmygosh, uh, hi! Uh, you musht be new here? I’m Doctor Alphysh—” she stopped and swallowed, setting the cup to her side to shuffle towards you both. “Are you, uh, new VIPs?”

The noise that came from your mouth must have told all when Mettaton’s arm suddenly slipped around your waist. It was either that, or the Cheshire grin on his face when he leaned down to press the corner of his forehead to yours. The entire room suddenly felt so hot, you were pretty sure you were going to pass out.

“Alphys, darling, say hello to my SOULmate. This is—” He blinked, jaw dropping a bit before he shook his head with a chuckle, “I never got your name sweetheart! How very rude of me. I’m sure you know who I am by now. But…who might you be?”

As he spoke, he turned your faces closer, until you were staring directly into that swirling vortex of gold and pink galaxies within his eyes. You forgot your name. You forgot everything. There was just his stare, deep and interested and gorgeous.

That is, until your sister blurted it out for you, the sound of her voice the only thing keeping you grounded. Reality snapped back like a rubber band, and you nodded along, repeating your name several times as if to remind yourself.

“What a lovely name!” He murmured again, tucking a lock of hair behind your ear. “I look forward to hearing it often.”

Were you melting? Was it possible for the human body to reach a temperature that it could just spontaneously melt? It felt like you were melting. Internally, at least.

You couldn’t help but lean forward, wanting to get lost in those galaxies just a little more. But then there came a knock at the edge of the open door, and you jumped so hard that your sister had to catch you when you stumbled out of Mettaton’s arms.

A lion-like Monster leaned against the doorway, his expression soft and meek as he spoke in a gentle tone that made you think back to the Cowardly Lion from “The Wizard of Oz.” Something about him just made you want to hug him. And the dress he wore? Absolutely adorable. “Mettaton, sir, you’re on in ten. Just letting you know.”

The pout on Mettaton’s face was enough to cause the assistant to shrink back, though you saw no malice in it. Instead, he turned that pout on you, moving to tilt your head back up so that you could meet eyes one more time. “I’ll see you at the intermission, darling.”

Then, with all the grace of a superstar mixed with a prince, he dipped down onto a single knee, and pressed his lips to the back of your hand. For a robot, his lips were surprisingly warm, and the contact left you feeling tingly and woozy. You could hear your sister squeaking like a chew-toy in the background as he disappeared into the hallway with another flourish of his star-speckled cape.

Alphys, as she was called, took your hand gently, leading you to sit beside her on the loveseat. The grin she was giving you was absolutely thrilled, like she was even more excited to meet you than Mettaton was. You wondered what kind of a person she was, to make it into the VIP room. A friend? A doctor? Or maybe even just a real lucky fangirl who happened to score the right tickets.

“So!” She chirped. “Ohmygod, this is so exciting! You’re Mettaton’s SOULmate—he’s been looking forward to meeting you for so long, ohmygosh, I can’t believe it. You’re so cute, too, & you seem so nice! I’m, uh—”

She coughed, as if catching herself in the middle of her own rant. “I’m Doctor Alphys. I, uh, made Mettaton.”

Ah, so that explained it. It was obvious she was so nervous, you felt bad for her. Gently shaking the hand she hadn’t realized she was still holding, you introduced yourself. Your sister considered that an appropriate time to pop up over your shoulder and do the same, nearly knocking you over the process. “Ohmygod, you’re Doctor Alphys?! I’ve heard so much about you on MTT’s shows!!! You’re like, the coolest scientist ever!!! I’m Sarah, by the way.”

Without giving the poor Monster a moment to breathe, she replaced your hand with her own, shaking Alphys’s arm so vigorously that you could see her glasses bouncing out of place. Said scientist gently retracted her paw after a moment, fixing her askew accessory with nervousness. “O-Oh! You’ve heard that much about me? Wow, I didn’t know he still talked about me all that much.”

“Of course he does!!” Sarah flipped over the loveseat’s middle cushion, squishing you off to the side to get closer to Alphys. “He’s always going on and on about how amazing and talented you are!! He always refers to you as ‘his dearest companion’ and all that sappy stuff, y’know?”

As she spoke, Sarah struck a pose at the pet-name part, throwing an arm dramatically over her eyes and peering at the doc from the corner of her eye. Alphys’s bright yellow skin flushed a soft red, and she wrung her hands together, obviously flustered. “O-Oh, gosh. That’s so sweet. I’m glad to know he cares. We’re really good friends after all.”

Her gaze flipped between you and your sister, settling mostly on you as she quickly added. “I—I hope we can be good friends, too!! I’m sure my girlfriend will be so excited to meet you. It’ll finally give a chance for Mettaton to stop moping around on her piano, at least.”

Mettaton? Moping?? On a piano??? Now that was something you you wanted to know more about. Your face must have given away your interest, because Alphys quickly back-tracked. “I—I mean, he can be dramatic? I’m sure you know that by now. But really!! He’s the best. He’s sweet, considerate, kind, and—"

“And he’s on right now!!” Sarah shrieked, pointing at the large widescreen settled across from you three. On the screen, you could see your…SOULmate (god, that still felt weird to say) gripping the hand of another dancer. Somewhere, the sound of a tango started.

You felt your sister lean into your shoulder, grinning. You hugged her back, leaning your head on hers affectionately. Happy birthday, kiddo.

Alphys was happy, too, texting away between poses her robotic friend struck on stage. Mettaton looked like he was having the time of his life out there on stage. The little ghost and mermaid-ish Monsters behind him were smiling, too. It seemed like everyone was in a good mood.

Gently, you relaxed back into the cushions of the chair. It was soft. The room was warm. And turns out? His music wasn’t that bad at all.

Maybe you could get used to this, after all.

                                                         ❤ ❤ ❤

Thank you, everyone, who helped us reach our first Kofi Goal! I hope you guys are as excited for the next poll as I am, & I hope you enjoy reading this little story as much as I enjoyed writing it! The next poll will be up soon enough, so keep an eye out for it !! ～☆ ・゜・ ☆