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“Are you sure you’ll be alright without me, Mettaton?” Papyrus asked seriously.
“Of course, sunshine. I’ll just be doing what I usually do, except you won’t be here.” Mettaton smiled. “Just let me know when you’re coming home, okay?”
“Sure thing!” Papyrus pecked Mettaton’s forehead. “See you later!”
Mettaton closed the door behind him and sighed. Truthfully, he’d been dreading this day, mostly because anything could happen, and despite all the mental and physical preparation he’d done, he didn’t feel ready at all.
Just a few seconds later, he heard a cry from upstairs.
Here we go, he thought as he climbed the stairs and entered the room next to his and Papyrus’s bedroom. In one corner was a white crib with lots of pink patterned fabric, and it was from here that the cries emanated. Mettaton peeked over the top.
“Good morning, little luvvie!” he cooed.
At the sight of his face, the baby in the crib stopped crying and gave him a big, toothless smile.
For a moment, that smile made all Mettaton’s fears fade away. This tiny child was his, his and Papyrus’s, their Constantia Grace, a little half-ghost, half-skeleton with fuzzy pink hair. He ran his hand through that hair, and Connie reached up to grab at his fingers, pulling the little one to her mouth and sucking on it.
“Oh, you’re hungry, aren’t you?” Mettaton picked up his baby carefully. “Well, I can fix that.”
He took Connie downstairs, put her in her highchair, and began fixing a bottle of formula for her. He noticed all the while that she was looking about, seemingly confused. “Are you looking for Papa-pyrus?” he asked.
Connie’s head turned toward him comically fast.
He laughed and leaned down in front of her. “I’m afraid Papa isn’t here this morning. He had to go help Uncle Sans with something. He’ll be back later. But you and I are going to have fun while he’s gone!” He booped her nasal bone, and she squealed.
The microwave dinged, and Mettaton pulled out the bottle, testing the temperature on his wrist. Once he was satisfied that it wasn’t too hot, he gave Connie the bottle, and she immediately picked it up and began sucking.
“Mmm, so hungry. Daddy’s hungry, too.” Mettaton went to the pantry. “What should Daddy have? Cereal?”
Connie continued sucking on her bottle.
“Oatmeal? Pancakes?”
At the last word, Connie put down her bottle and panted.
“Pancakes it is, then.”
Mettaton worked on his breakfast, keeping as close an eye as he could on Connie while he did so. Once breakfast was over, he lifted her from the highchair and took her to the living room, where they kept lots of toys.
He lay her on a soft blanket on the floor and tried to get her to play with a rattle, but her head kept turning as though she were looking for something. Mettaton sighed. “Papa’s not here, sweet. But Daddy is! We can have fun together…”
As if she’d understood him, Connie began to cry.
“Oh, no, luvvie…” Mettaton held her tiny hands, then gathered her into his arms and sat on the couch. “It’s alright, Daddy’s here! Daddy’s here…”
But Daddy didn’t seem to be enough for Connie. She cried for nearly forty-five minutes until she fell asleep on Mettaton’s shoulder.
By the end of it all, Mettaton was ready to cry himself. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and called his husband.
Before Papyrus could even say hello, Mettaton sniffled into the receiver, “Papy, I don’t know what to do. Connie knows you’re not here, and she’s been crying for you since just after breakfast. I don’t know why she doesn’t like me, she doesn’t seem as attached to me. She’s sleeping now, but I don’t know what’s going to happen when she wakes back up…”
“Oh, I’m sorry, starlight. Well… you have been away more than I have. I mean, this is the first time I haven’t been around her! So, she’s bound to miss me. But I don’t think she doesn’t like you. I think if you keep her distracted and get her to have a lot of fun with you, she’ll forget I’m not there, and she’ll learn that you’ll take care of her, just like me! I think she just needs time to learn that,” Papyrus said. “See what happens when she wakes up. If she really won’t stop crying, I’ll come home, but I think you’ll be able to handle it.”
“Ugh… alright. I’ll try. Thank you, sunshine.”
“Of course, Mettaton. I’ll see you later.”
After he hung up, Mettaton continued to hold Connie on the couch until she woke up about half an hour later. Like before, she seemed distressed at the lack of Papyrus, beginning to cry in no time.
Mettaton quickly launched into a song. The only one coming to mind at the moment was “Danny Boy,” but it wasn’t like she would understand the lyrics, anyway.
Oh, Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
From glen to glen, and down the mountain side…
Connie’s cries faded almost immediately, and she gazed at him with wonder.
The summer’s gone, and all the roses falling
It’s you, it’s you must go and I must bide…
Mettaton didn’t stop singing until the song (a rather morbid one at the end) was finished, and he wondered after if singing to Connie was something Papyrus had done while Mettaton was away. One way or another, Connie seemed placated, and so he tried putting her back on the blanket and pulling out some more toys for her.
Papyrus came home earlier than expected, claiming that he’d finished up early with Sans, though Mettaton suspected he’d just been worried about Connie too much to stay away any longer. However, his fears now were unfounded, as Connie was sleeping peacefully in Mettaton’s arms after a long day of playing.
“Papy, do you sing to her while I’m gone?” Mettaton asked quietly.
“I do, actually! She seems to like it.”
“I’d say so.” Mettaton smiled. “I’ll have to remember that’s the trick from now on.”
“I told you you could handle it,” Papyrus said proudly.
“Yes, well, now you can handle it once she wakes up. I’m bushed.”
“Understandable!”
However, when Connie woke up, she didn’t want to leave Mettaton’s arms.
“Looks like you’re on Daddy duty for a little while longer,” Papyrus said, smiling.
Mettaton sighed, but he was smiling, too. “Well, it’s worth it.” He kissed Connie’s forehead. “She’s worth it.”