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“Mettaton, why do you love me?”
Mettaton sat up straight; the question had come out of nowhere. He looked down at the skeleton in bed next to him. Papyrus was facing away from him, almost as if he were avoiding looking at him.
“Why, darling… whatever makes you ask that?” Mettaton asked, bewildered.
Papyrus shifted uncomfortably before saying, “Well… sometimes… the Great Papyrus… wonders if perhaps he isn’t so great after all. It’s mostly in the back of his mind, but some nights…” He sighed deeply.
Mettaton leaned down to plant a kiss on Papyrus’s temple. “Papy, love… you are so much greater than you think.”
“How so?”
Mettaton lay back down and stared at the ceiling, his mind whirring. “Well, I think the first thing that drew me to you was just… how kind you were. I remember how you just jumped at the chance to help other people, without even thinking about it. I noticed that you were often the first person Frisk or Flowey would go to for comfort, even before Toriel… and I remember thinking, how amazing must you be for Flowey of all people to care for you as he does?” Mettaton chuckled. “I also love your creativity… your puzzles, your ability to look at situations in unique ways and put a problem in a new light… and your artistic abilities are just to die for, honestly, Papyrus, I would love to be able to draw and paint like you can.” He sighed. “And your voice… I’ll admit I never expected you to be a wonderful singer, Papy, but you are. I could listen to you sing for hours.”
Mettaton was going to say more, but suddenly he became aware of Papyrus’s sniffles. “Oh, sweetheart…” He pulled Papyrus up to his chest and began to kiss him all around his skull and face. “I couldn’t possibly list off all the things I love about you. There’s just too many.”
His tender words and gentle touches only made Papyrus cry harder for a while, but soon Mettaton had soothed him back into sniffles, then a light doze.
Mettaton himself was beginning to drop off to sleep when he heard Papyrus’s voice.
“Wait, don’t you want to hear about you?”
Mettaton opened his eyes. “About me? What for?”
“I can’t let you go to sleep without telling you why I love you, now.” Papyrus turned to face his boyfriend. “So… I must admit, at first I liked you because you were a famous celebrity with a lot of talents and many people who liked you. And… and I rather wanted that for myself—though of course I had no desire to take any of your fame from you! But, the point is, you were everything I wanted to be.
“But then you became part of the family, and I met you, and got to know the real you. And you were so much better than all your shows and songs made you seem. You were someone who really cared about his fans. It became clear to me that, while you certainly enjoyed your fame, it was never really about that—it was about the inspiration and hope that you gave to everyone.
“And beyond that—as I got to know you, I saw that you weren’t just beautiful and funny and talented—but you were kind, and gentle, and you respected me in a way no one else had. And I saw the wonderful things you did for other people without expecting anything back, and I thought, I want to be just like him.” Papyrus smiled.
Mettaton was trying and failing to hold back tears. “Papyrus—love, I—you don’t understand—just how much that means to me, coming from you especially…”
Papyrus gently pressed his jaw to Mettaton’s lips. “Good. You deserve to hear it.”
Neither of them said anything more that night, but they didn’t need to. Wrapped in each other’s arms, the echoes of what they had told each other still ringing in their ears, they fell asleep, their dreams filled with happiness, love, and light.