Work Text:
It was a rather quiet day at the skeleton brothers’ house, and Papyrus was grateful for it.
Sans was out with Grillby for the evening, which meant he wasn’t blasting his trombone at the most inopportune times. Papyrus had managed to trap the Annoying Dog outside so it wouldn’t bother him. Now he was whipping up something for dinner tonight with Mettaton—or at least he was trying to. Without Undyne to guide him, things seemed to be going more slowly than usual, and there hadn’t been any fires yet. He must be doing something wrong.
Before he could contemplate on what it was, however, he heard a key in the front door, followed by the door opening and the clop-clop of high-heeled boots in the hallway. And, unfortunately, the sound of a dog running through the house.
“Starlight! You let the dog in again!” Papyrus scolded Mettaton, but it was lighthearted. Very little could bring down Papyrus’s mood when Mettaton was around.
The robot came into the kitchen, trying to hide a very large bouquet of flowers behind his back. “I’m sorry, sunshine. I wasn’t paying attention again. But hopefully the present I got for you makes up for it?” Mettaton flashed a blinding white smile.
Papyrus could easily see the poorly-concealed bouquet, but he pretended he couldn’t. “What did you get me, Mettaton?”
Mettaton whipped out the bouquet and presented it to his boyfriend. “Flowers! I picked all the prettiest ones. It’s a bit bulky, but still beautiful, don’t you think?”
It was certainly the most colorful bouquet Papyrus had ever seen. Flowers of many colors had been included in it. Mettaton really must have just been picking the prettiest flowers without a thought about how well they would all go together—but no matter! Papyrus thought. They still look magnificent!
Papyrus leaned back against the wall and began going through the flowers with a careful eye. Mettaton watched him. “What are you doing, darling? Is there a flaw?”
“No, no. I’m looking to see what particular flowers you put in here! I’m seeing—hm. Lots of strong feelings in here…”
“Feelings? What do you mean?”
But Papyrus didn’t process the question. “Bird of paradise, hm? That symbolizes joyfulness, sometimes anticipation. Are you anticipating something, Mettaton?”
“Uh, no, I—”
“Oh, bouvardia double! Enthusiasm. And red carnations, that means love, pride, or admiration. And delphinium—ardent attachment. Wow, you must really love me!”
“Of course, sunshine, but I—”
“I see you put white heather in here as well! Wishes coming true. Well, I know I’ve already had my wish come true!” Papyrus looked up and beamed at Mettaton. “I wonder what you’re wishing for. Anyhow, pink hyacinth—that one stands for play. Hm, interesting. And of course the red rose—the staple of romantic love! And I think I see one more in here… wait, is this…? Coriander?” Papyrus stared at Mettaton. “Starlight, do you want something from me?”
“Want what, what would I want?”
“You don’t have to play innocent, Mettaton. I think it’s still a bit early, but then, I can be rather traditional! If you want it, we could do it later. Although we should probably have a talk and set boundaries first…”
“Papyrus, really, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Mettaton put his hands up. “Are you saying flowers have meanings?”
“Well, yes, of course, didn’t you know?” Papyrus’s eyebrows contracted.
“No, I had no idea at all, honestly. Like I said, I just chose what I thought were the prettiest ones.”
“So…” Papyrus glanced over the bouquet again, going through the meaning of each flower once more in his head to make sure he was right. He concluded that he was. “You really just happened to choose flowers that would align with the desire to have sex with me tonight?”
“What?” Mettaton’s face went bright pink. “Is that what they all mean?!”
“Well, by themselves, no, but all these combined with coriander, which typically stands for lust… it’s just a very funny coincidence is all!” Papyrus laughed. “Well, if you don’t want to do it, then don’t mind me. I’ll just keep on cooking.”
But Mettaton seemed rather upset. “I really had no idea, darling, I’m so sorry, I probably got you all excited, but it wasn’t what I meant at all…” He reached for the bouquet. “I can take this back and get something better.”
Papyrus held it tighter. “No! I like this one. You clearly put thought into choosing the ones you believed looked best, even if you didn’t know their traditional meanings.” Holding the bouquet carefully in one arm, he reached into a cabinet near the floor and pulled out a vase. “They’re going to sit on our dinner table tonight.”
Mettaton was still clearly embarrassed, but seemed to appreciate how well Papyrus was taking it. “I’m sorry, love. I still wish I’d known.”
“No need to be sorry!” As soon as Papyrus finished arranging the flowers in the vase, he put it on the table and went over to kiss Mettaton’s cheek. “It’s still a beautiful sight. It reminds me very much of you.”
Mettaton’s blush deepened, but he seemed mollified. “That’s so sweet of you, darling…”
The rest of the night went as they had planned—a simple dinner and then cuddling and kissing on the couch with the television as background noise.
And all the while, Papyrus thought of the bouquet, and how he was slightly disappointed that it hadn’t really meant what he’d thought.
But at least when they were actually ready to make that next step, he knew exactly what flowers to get for Mettaton.