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It was a lazy Friday evening, and Papyrus had just gotten home from work not too long ago. He was currently sitting on the living room couch with his boyfriend’s head in his lap, absently tangling his fingers in his hair. It had been a tough day, and Papyrus wasn’t feeling very good about it. He sighed deeply, then glanced down at Mettaton. The robot’s eyes were closed.
After about thirty seconds, he sighed again. Still no response from Mettaton.
Papyrus counted to sixty and gave his deepest sigh yet.
“You know, love, if you want my attention, all you have to do is say so.” Mettaton’s hand reached up to cup Papyrus’s jaw. “What’s wrong?”
“Oh, nothing. I just massively screwed up at the shop today. I’ve changed tires so many times, I can practically do it in my sleep—or so I thought. I wasn’t paying as much attention as I should have and forgot to put the lug nuts back on.” Papyrus grimaced. “You can imagine how things turned out when the customer tried to drive away.”
“Oh, dear… well, everyone makes mistakes.”
“Yes, but normally not ones that cost a great deal of money… and pride.”
Mettaton sat up, and Papyrus could tell from the look on his face that he was upset. “I hate when you get like this. You’re a wonderful car mechanic, Papyrus, and I won’t let you forget that.”
Papyrus shrugged.
“Alright, that’s it. It’s time for MTT-Brand Operation: Cheer Up Papyrus.”
“Time for what?”
But Mettaton was already halfway across the room.
After ten minutes or so, he came back, and without saying a word, he lifted Papyrus from the couch and began carrying him upstairs. “Mettaton, what are you doing?”
“I’ve run you a bath upstairs. I knew you’d argue, so I decided to just kidnap you.”
Papyrus wanted to argue, but he also didn’t want to prove Mettaton right.
Mettaton set him on his feet in the master bathroom. “Go on, now, get in before it gets cold.”
Papyrus sighed, removed his clothes, and got in the bath.
He had to admit, the steaming water felt really good on his bones right now. He also really liked the scented bubbles Mettaton had added—something floral, but sharp.
“It’s my lavender soap,” Mettaton said, as though he were reading Papyrus’s mind. “It’s supposed to be relaxing.”
Papyrus shimmied down until the water was nearly up to his chin and closed his eyes.
After a minute, he jumped, startled by something touching his skull.
“Sorry, darling,” Mettaton said, running soapy hands over Papyrus’s head.
“What are you doing?”
“Well, I would wash your hair, except you don’t have any, so this will have to do.”
Mettaton’s fingers pressing on his skull actually felt quite nice. If he were a cat, Papyrus would have been purring.
“Sit up for me, will you, love?”
Papyrus did as he was asked, and felt Mettaton’s fingers move to where his neck met his shoulders. “Wowie, Mettaton, you’re really going all out…”
“You get only the best from me.”
After a while, Mettaton ended the massage, kissed Papyrus on the skull, and told him to relax. “I’m going to start something downstairs, so just come down whenever you’re ready.”
Papyrus didn’t like being without Mettaton for long, so soon enough he drained the bath, dried off and put on fresh clothes, and went downstairs. The second he walked out of the bedroom, the smell of Mettaton’s gourmet tomato sauce hit his nose, and he smiled.
He came into the kitchen to find Mettaton at the stove, as he’d expected. Mettaton smiled at him as he came in. “Fresh batch!”
“What pasta are we having?” Papyrus slipped his arms around Mettaton’s waist.
“That’s up to you, but I will say we have an awful lot of spaghetti.”
“You think I should finally try it tonight?”
“Why not?”
“Well… at this point I’m scared it won’t be up to my expectations.”
Mettaton laughed and turned to kiss Papyrus on the cheekbone. “I promise you’ll love it. Especially with my sauce.”
“Then I can’t wait!”
Earlier, Papyrus had believed there was nothing that could make him forget his terrible mistake today. But, he now realized, Mettaton had easily pulled off his silly “MTT-Brand Operation: Cheer Up Papyrus.” He hadn’t thought about work since before the bath, and even now that he thought of it, he didn’t feel as bad about it as he did before. After all, no matter how many mistakes he made or what kind, he’d always have Mettaton waiting to blow his socks off with tender loving care.
“Thank you, starlight,” Papyrus sighed, resting his head on Mettaton’s.
Mettaton said nothing, only placed his hand on top of Papyrus’s and stroked with his thumb.
“MTT-Brand Operation: Cheer Up Papyrus” really had been a success.