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The glow of the spotlight shone down on Mettaton like the glow of a multicolored sun as the strutted around stage and performed for the crowd of exuberant fans. He accentuated each word he sang with his intricate choreography, dramatic and bordering-on-erotic gestures, and his well-known vocal nuances, all the while drinking in his fans' frenzied cries of adoration.
"MET-TA-TON! MET-TA-TON! MET-TA-TON!"
"I love you Mettaton!!"
"You're my secret robot husband, Mettaton!!"
Comments like those that would have disturbed any other person was straight-up fuel for Mettaton. He outright basked in it. He knew that his purpose, his reason for living, was the stage, and he made sure that all his fans knew it, too.
His other, lesser-known reason for living also happened to be in the front row, dancing animatedly to his lover's performance.
Mettaton and this other person, a lanky skeleton monster named Papyrus, had been dating for a few months, and already Mettaton felt like he was his home. He had so many positive qualities about him that Mettaton had fallen so in love with; he was kind, optimistic, funny, brilliant, and despite his sometimes seeming naive, very mature. Mettaton felt like the most blessed person in the entire world whenever he was around Papyrus.
Mettaton wanted to let the world know that he and his beloved shared the greatest love of all, but something stopped him from doing that every time: namely, the presses. All too often Mettaton would stand in the checkout line of a grocery store or be perusing the Internet for the hottest gossip, and he would come across those annoying, in-your-face headlines of "Celebrity X is now dating Celebrity Y!" "X and Y have finally tied the knot!" "X and Y's million-dollar divorce!" And just as often, Mettaton would come across news headlines wondering why Mettaton wasn't taken yet, why anyone would even bother taking Mettaton (damn those anti-monster propaganda news sources), et cetera, et cetera. And with the sweetest, most sensitive man at his side, plus the so-far passionate yet fragile nature of their romance... he knew he did not want the ever-intrusive paparazzi interfering with their relationship.
So instead, they kept their relationship on the down-low in public. Whenever the two were alone together, they let the facade fall and they could be as intimate and loving with each other as possible. But not now. Mettaton was performing in front of a crowd of thousands, and the slightest slip-up would compromise their relationship's secrecy.
Well, it was a crowd of thousands. With that many people, maybe he could afford himself one subtle slip-up and not be noticed.
With that thought in mind, Mettaton moved downstage to where the crowd was gathered, bent down and sang passionately to the fans in the front row, closest to where Papyrus was.
"You're on my mind 24/7
I can't think straight at all
Every word you say is like heaven
I'm absolutely enthralled"
After he sang that pre-chorus, he brought the microphone closer to Papyrus to let him sing into it. Papyrus caught on and belted the first two lines of the chorus.
"So hold me closer darling
'Cause you're the one that I want tonight"
Mettaton wasn't too worried about the presses catching on to that, since that was a thing that singers normally did with fans. And besides, he'd already heard Papyrus sing on multiple occasions. He just wanted to hear his lovely voice again, since he would be on stage for the rest of the night and wouldn't get the chance to be near his lover for quite a while. Mettaton already found himself sorely missing Papyrus as he returned to center stage to keep singing, despite the fact that Papyrus that was still in the front row cheering him on enthusiastically.
"I LOVE YOU, METTATON!" yelled out Papyrus from the audience.
With that, Mettaton found himself trying to resist the urge to just melt on stage. God, Papyrus was the sweetest person alive. He repaid the gesture with a flirtatious hair flip and a wink in Papyrus' direction as he sang and danced.
"YOUR SHOW TONIGHT WAS VERY GOOD!" Papyrus complimented as they walked to Mettaton's limousine after the show. Even in the dead of night, the two were still in public, so at the moment they were feigning simple friendship. Soon enough, they would be in the limo, and they could be as romantic with each other as they wanted.
Mettaton grinned at Papyrus appreciatively. "Thank you, Papyrus," he said. "It took me and my band quite a while to rehearse this performance since we had changed a few things from the original releases this time around. I'm really happy with how it turned out."
Papyrus nodded. "I CAN IMAGINE. I'LL ADMIT I WASN'T QUITE READY FOR THAT BEAUTIFUL PIANO SOLO FROM SHYREN. NORMALLY SHE JUST DOES BACKUP VOCALS."
"Well, a little fish told me recently that Shyren was training to become a classical pianist. And you know how quickly I had to jump on that opportunity."
Later, they'd reached their limo. Papyrus opened the door and gestured to Mettaton to climb in. Damn, Papyrus, Mettaton thought, blushing intensely. You're really pulling out all the stops to make sure I melt into a gay puddle, aren't you?
Mettaton politely thanked Papyrus as he climbed in, and Papyrus climbed in on the other side and the two shut their doors. Romance time.
Just as Papyrus was reaching for his seatbelt, Mettaton pulled him in for a surprise kiss. They stayed like that for a while, soft cushiony lips pressing against hard teeth, arms tightly wrapped around each other like they would drift apart if they let go.
After a while, they pulled apart, out of breath, and pressed their foreheads together. "It feels so good to be near you again, darling," Mettaton breathed.
"LIKEWISE," Papyrus agreed. "JUST BEING IN THE FRONT ROW DOESN'T COMPARE TO BEING IN YOUR ARMS."
This was the third time Mettaton found himself nearly melting, and now that they were alone together, he let it happen. "I love you," he whispered fondly, dragging his hand across Papyrus' cheekbone affectionately.
"I LOVE YOU TOO, METTATON," Papyrus whispered back. Then he pulled away to look out the window. "WHEN WILL OUR CHAUFFEUR FINISH UP WITH HIS SMOKE BREAK? WE NEED TO GET HOME."
Mettaton shrugged. "I don't know, darling. I guess he's just desperate to speed up the end of his life."
"I DON'T NORMALLY LIKE TO THINK OF THINGS LIKE THAT," Papyrus said, "BUT YOU HAVE A POINT. SMOKING KILLS."
"Oh well. Guess we aren't in a hurry to return home tonight." He pulled Papyrus closer. "What say we keep smooching until they come back?"
Papyrus brightened. "I LIKE THE SOUND OF THAT!" Mettaton giggled and the two came in for another round of sweet, loving kisses.
While within the confines of Papyrus' arms and feeling every ridge of his smile against his lips, Mettaton realized maybe the public eye wasn't something he needed to worry about. All this keeping mum and flying under the radar about their relationship certainly paid off handsomely when the two were finally alone together after a long day. If nothing else, it certainly made for a dramatic romance.