Work Text:
Flowey was alone. Unmoving in his rooted spot amongst the other yellow flowers, bathed in the cool sunlight filtered through the caves. Eyes closed in mourning of what he’d lost.
He hated it...
But after having been… who he was before, for that short period of time, he finally understood something. He’d never actually lost his ability to feel emotions. After all this time, only now was he realising that.
They were still there. They had always been there.
Just inaccessible to him.
It was like they were surrounded by a bullet-proof, sound-proof dome of glass. Like some mime-show or incomprehensible pantomime. He could view them, even sometimes see himself reacting to them, physically, from outside of himself. But they were muffled and hazy and unreal.
Trapped just out of reach. Like a TV show.
Every action he’d put out had felt like an act, pretending to go along with the vague sense of what he should be feeling in a situation. Trying to mirror the muffled emotions viewed behind the thick glass. A castle of glass inside of him, beautiful but suffocating.
And finally, after having that glass wall taken away for those all too brief hours, feeling the full brunt of emotions he’d long given up on acknowledging he even had in any form…
He let his thoughts trail off. Eyes closed and unmoving, he pretended he was just another flower in the yellow and green bed around him.
Just another of the many flowers on his siblings grave.
And completely alone in the Underground. Everyone else had long since left the moment they could. No one had even looked back, why should they? When they were finally free.
Not even…
It wasn’t important.
Here he would stay. With Chara, until he finally rotted away to join them.
.
.
.
He didn’t know how much time, or how many days had passed when he heard the light tapping of footsteps in the passages of the Ruins.
He didn’t move or even open his eyes as the footsteps stopped beside him, and he heard the sound of someone sitting down.
“I looked for you.” Papyrus said, “On the surface. Everyone left so quickly, it took me a while to realise you had not done so as well.”
“You came,” Flowey spoke. His words softer than he intended.
“Of course!” Papyrus exclaimed bruskly, “The plan was always to meet back up once we succeeded! Have I ever gone back on a promise?”
Flowey frowned. He’d completely forgotten about that. It hadn’t seemed relevant anymore. Not that he felt success was the right word for what had happened...
More quietly Papyrus added, “Why didn’t you come to meet up with me?”
Flowey finally opened his eyes for real and turned to look at the tall skeleton. He was dressed oddly. His clothes clearly human-made, but without the tell-tale wear and stains of most items salvaged from Waterfall. For some reason, that reality really seemed to hit Flowey.
A tiny nick in the glass…
“What are you talking about?” Flowey burst out, “Our plans failed. Again. Do I look like I’ve got one of the souls? And you’re clearly not dressed for the Royal Guard, so I fail to see how either of us actually succeeded in anything!”
Papyrus looked at him, with puzzlement clear in his gaze.
“But you did get one of the souls. More than one actually! All of them! And not just the humans either! Just because you didn’t keep them doesn’t mean you failed!
“Not if it ended up helped you in any way.” Papyrus ended, his tone growing softer, gaze drifting up to look at the hazy sunlight.
Turning into a crack that cut deep...
“And yes, I might not have joined the Royal Guard in the end, but I did manage to get Undyne and the h- Frisk to become friends! Which proves to Undyne I made the right choice about them! And that using the human as a reason not to let me into the Royal Guard wouldn’t make any sense when she ended up befriending them herself!” Papyrus grinned and nodded to himself.
Flowey looked at Papyrus’ face in curiosity. Tracing the emotions he saw written on the skull.
“But that’s beside the point! Joining the Guard doesn’t matter anymore regardless,” Papyrus said, making a large dismissive motion with his hand and vibrating with excitement, “Something MUCH better has happened now!”
Papyrus looked down at his still gloved hands, eyes screwed shut in excitement as he started into his explanation, “I’m the Ambassador of Monsters now! I’m representing all of Monster-kind to the humans! It’s a really big job, and I’ve been working very closely with the King in regards to all sorts of things! And I’ve even met Mettaton! In-person! He’s been very interested in doing PR work with humans too and he even said I was a good connection to make! Me! And I get to see Undyne almost every day too! She asked if she could work as my and King Asgore’s bodyguard on public events. I don’t see the point really. All the humans have been really nice so far and Fluffyboy and I are both really quite capable, but it seems to make her feel better being near. And it is really nice having her input at times as well!”
Flowey didn’t know what expression he had on his face listening to Papyrus telling him all about the opportunities and joys on the surface. But it felt unfamiliar.
Cracks spread. Threading like a spider web over everything...
Papyrus glanced at Flowey and seemed to see something in Flowey’s face that Flowey couldn’t comprehend in himself.
“Why don’t you leave with me?" Papyrus asked suddenly.
"Come back to the surface with me. You don’t have to be alone down here.” Papyrus added, his voice seemed softer than usual.
Flowey laughed and was surprised by how the sound cracked, “No. I think this is where I stop. I’ve got no right to join everyone on the surface after all the things I’ve done. I’ve got no right to ask for their forgiveness. Or for yours.”
Papyrus was quiet for a moment, looking at Flowey with an understanding he didn’t deserve. Flowey quickly looked away.
“I would gladly be an ambassador for you too,” Papyrus said gently.
Flowey’s head shot to face Papyrus again.
It shattered. Glass splintering and raining down inside of him painfully...
“I’ve had plenty of practice, after all! Advocating for, and knowing all your good points! I have been the Chairman of the Flowey Fanclub for an awful long time after all!” Papyrus continued, smiling wetly down at Flowey.
Flowey overflowed completely. He hadn’t realised he was crying. He vaguely wondered when it had started. It felt more like he’d finally just caught up with himself.
But it hurt. It all hurt so much!
And he couldn’t stop.
Papyrus gently wrapped a hand around him and allowed Flowey to lean into his leg. Messy tears and snot staining the khaki trousers as Papyrus gently held him. And Flowey felt a desperate gratefulness towards Papyrus as he stayed there, solid and real and consistent throughout everything. Throughout every reset. Throughout everything Flowey had ever done to him. Throughout every moment Flowey had needed someone. Someone who knew the worst of him and would still do something like this!
An immovable force of kindness that seemed impossible, but that had somehow never once failed him.
Maybe life didn’t have to end in this place.
Maybe...