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"Thank you for coming, darlings!" sang Mettaton as the last of his meet-and-greet guests began trickling out of the room. "It was really nice meeting all of you!"
He flopped into his glittery pink sofa, exhausted. He had just spent all day conversing with excited fans and autographing merchandise, and all he wanted to do was go home and recharge himself for the next day. And though logic dictated he should probably pack up his belongings and go home, a nagging part of him told him he should stay just in case someone else should happen to walk in.
He grabbed the clipboard and checked over every name on the meet-and-greet list. Everyone who signed up for the event had attended and all their names had been crossed off the list... except for two people: Sans and Papyrus.
Sans, Mettaton wasn't too worried about. He had met him before when he told standup at the underground MTT Resort, and while his sense of humor was commendable (Mettaton himself was no stranger to the art of punning), from what little he knew about his life, he was the laziest person in the entire world. Laziness was a quality that Mettaton, a known workaholic, did not appreciate.
Now Papyrus, Mettaton had never met before. So why was he so anxious about him not coming?
Well, he'd heard of him before. Since Alphys moved in with Undyne, he would hear wild stories about cooking lessons gone wrong, extreme stunts (he remembered one story Undyne told where she dared Papyrus to recreate the scene from Frozen where Anna rode her bicycle down the stairs; needless to say, there was a femur and a pelvis that needed to be stapled shut)... you name it, if it was an extreme activity, Papyrus and Undyne would call it free real estate. And every story Undyne told that involved Papyrus specifically would portray him as a kind and sweet yet surprisingly intuitive and sharp monster. The more Mettaton thought about those positive qualities, the more he found himself wanting to meet and get to know the person who possessed them.
Mettaton grabbed the nearest throw pillow and slapped it onto his face, emitting a muffled groan into it. He had already met and conversed with several amazing fans today, so why was he obsessing over the fact that he never met one single particular fan?
Suddenly, his phone started ringing. He picked and brought it to his ear. "Hello?"
"Mettaton, sir," came the security guard on the other end, "there's a fan that wants to see you. I've been politely asking him and his brother to leave since the event's over, but the fan is really insistent that he sees you now."
Mettaton almost dropped the phone in surprise. Based on the description... His fan did come after all! "Let them in," he said, perhaps a bit too excitedly.
"But, sir--"
"Let them in."
Silence on the other end. Then the security guard said, "Yes, sir."
Mettaton ended the call and then started pacing around his room in excitement. He had been so worried about his fan not showing up, and now they're finally coming! He was finally getting to meet the monster who's been described as the nicest, funniest, and warmest individual in the world!
A smaller, more logical part of him told him that maybe he should stop obsessing over one fan when he already had millions to perform for, but his emotional side won out. He grabbed his clipboard and preemptively marked Sans and Papyrus' names off the list.
Then the door opened, and in stepped two skeleton monsters; Sans, a shorter one wearing a blue hoodie (Mettaton recognized him instantly since he always wore that jacket to standup performances), and Papyrus, his taller brother who was wearing the goofiest costume Mettaton had ever seen. The fan.
"heya, metts," Sans greeted as they entered the room. "sorry we're late. some stuff happened, but we're here n--"
"METTATON!" yelled out Papyrus. He dashed toward Mettaton and attacked him with a hug.
"Papyrus, darling! It's so good to finally meet you!" exclaimed Mettaton, hugging Papyrus back. He felt like his soul was warming up from the inside. "I was wondering why you weren't coming!"
"WELL, DO YOU WANT THE LONG VERSION OF WHAT HAPPENED, OR THE SHORT VERSION?"
Mettaton laughed. "No, it's okay! Spare me the story. Let's just be glad you're finally getting to meet me."
By that he really meant I'm so glad I finally get to meet the sweet fan I've heard so much talk about, but he wasn't going to say that out loud. That would have been weird. And besides, masking his true self with self-centeredness was on-brand for him.
"So," Mettaton began, "how long have you been a fan of mine?"
"OH, YOU ARE NOT READY FOR THE STORIES I HAVE TO TELL!"