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I live the life of letting go
Under a starlit night
I wrap myself in thin sheet of ice
Up there, the stars are crystallized
The Surface was a strange and terrifying place.
The Underground had seemed cramped and teeming with monsters, especially at your old residence in New Home, but you couldn’t imagine the Surface to be so overrun with humans. For every monster in Ebott it seemed there were a hundred humans overflowing and taking up every available space.
Humans who stared at monsters like yourself when you made your first trip to a human-run grocery store, your pantry filled with monster staples having run too low and forcing you to resort to visiting the supermarket. You supposed being a skeleton monster didn’t help things, earning more wary looks than, say, a bunny monster might. Humans also asked you strange questions like “Did you find everything okay?” and “Paper or plastic?” when you checked out.
Stupefied at having options besides what the shopkeeper could scrounge up, you found yourself muttering a confused; “...Paper??”
You learned in short order that was the wrong decision because your bag was overflowing and fit to burst any second now as you walked up to your new home. An unassuming duplex you shared with a monster family next door. The place was huge compared to your apartment in the Underground, with more space than you knew what to do with.
As you approached the front steps, carefully shifting your overladen bag into one arm, you pulled out your keys from your pocket. Fumbling with one hand you struggled to grasp the house key, the bag slipping further and further in your grip when suddenly--
‘RIIIIIIPPP!’
The bottom of the bag gave way. You scrambled trying to hold on to the various sundries and produce, attempting to catch an apple with your foot and instead you punted it against your door with a resounding ‘SPLAT!’, apple juice dripping down onto your doorstep.
Before you knew it, all of your groceries slipped loose from your grasp, forming a shambled pile on your front stoop.
You sighed, kneeling down to try and clean up the mess, fighting back tears. Everything about the Surface was so overwhelming, and now you had to go back out again, you couldn’t do it, not with all those humans and their staring and pointing and whispering, you couldn’t do it-
“you okay there, sugar?” a voice next to you asked, interrupting your spiraling thoughts.
You yelped, flinching back and looking up at another skeleton monster who had appeared out of nowhere. He was tall and lanky, little orange eyelights nestled in half-lidded sockets staring down at you while he rolled a lollipop around from one side of his mouth to the other, the stick poking out from between his teeth. You recognized him as one half of the brother duo that lived next to you.
“I--What??” you stuttered, completely off guard. Staring up at him you noticed he had freckles. Little amber dots dusting his cheekbones. Stars, they were so cute--
He tugged a hand out from his orange hoodie pocket, pointing at a bag of sugar slowly spilling white granules onto the cement. “this could turn into a sticky situation,” he drawled with the corner of his mouth smirking upwards slightly, “you want a hand?”
“Oh, uh, yes. Please.” you managed, trying to shake off your surprise, and discreetly wiped away a few tears that had gathered in the corners of your eye sockets.
His left eye socket lit up with a vibrant orange light, the bag of sugar and the rest of your groceries floating up in his magic. You blinked, surprised at the finesse, but you shook yourself out of your stupor and managed to pick out your house key among the many jangling keys and keychains, unlocking the front door.
Your neighbor followed you inside, dumping all of your groceries onto the kitchen counter. A quick inspection showed the damage wasn’t total, much of your haul salvageable. The loss of a few apples and most of the eggs, some cans dented, but it could have been worse.
“Thank you.” you said genuinely, turning to him with a gracious grin. His hands were back in his hoodie pocket and he was looking around at your place that was probably a mirror image to his home. His eyelights lingered on your couches that had at least three throw blankets apiece before those lights drifted back down toward you, and gave a lazy shrug of his shoulders.
“‘s no big deal. just bein’ neighborly,” he said with a wink, “the name’s papyrus.” he held out his hand.
You introduced yourself, or at least attempted to as you shook his hand, a loud farting noise cutting you off mid-syllable.
“sorry, i didn’t catch that.” he said with a broad smirk, “i’ll see you around, sugar.”
Before you could even think how to respond, he vanished into thin air.
The next time you came across your skeleton neighbor, it was in front of the communal mailbox as you collected countless fliers, ads, junk mail and a bill here or there. Why did humans send so much useless paper around to each other? At the bottom of the pile you found your government-issued ID card. Humans required everyone to have one, monsters included. It had taken weeks to get an ID to every monster.
“hey, pumpkin.” Papyrus said, casually leaning against the mailbox. He hadn’t been there a second ago. You blinked owlishly for a moment before you could formulate words. Or a word.
“Me??” you asked, pointing to your face.
“mmhmm.” he hummed, pointing in turn to your sweater. It was large, hanging loosely off your frame and, well, the exact same shade of orange as a pumpkin, “you don’t get points for originality, but i like your style.”
You blinked, realizing that he was wearing an orange hoodie. The same orange hoodie he was wearing when you first met him, and you’d subsequently seen him dressed in every appearance thereafter.
“They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?” you said with an anxious chuckle. He let out a low one of his own, all easygoing and carefree.
“i dunno, you might wear it better.” he said, tapping his chin with a phalange. His mouth curved into a grin that made your breath catch in your ribs.
“I--Uh--Thank--I gotta go!” you said in a jumbled mess of words, fleeing the scene before he could catch your magic coloring your face with a blush.
Three days later and you couldn’t find the envelope with the ID.
You tore apart your place trying to find it anywhere, but after looking high and low your search yielded nothing. Maybe you tossed it into the recycling by accident? You had taken it out yesterday.
Walking to the front door you saw out your living room window that it was pouring rain outside.
With a sigh you donned a yellow rain jacket and armed yourself with an umbrella, trudging out into the storm to dig through your recycling. Rain on the surface was so much more torrential than Waterfall ever could be.
A familiar voice carried over the sounds of rain coming down in sheets.
“whatcha doin’ in the rain, lemondrop?” he asked as you tossed aside an empty tin can. There was absolutely no reason for him to be out here in the downpour.
“I do have a name you know.” you said a little more gruffly than intentioned. It didn’t seem to bother him any, rolling off him like rain on your coat.
“hmmm, all I can remember is PBTBTBT!” he blew a loud raspberry, and it was so obnoxious you couldn’t help but laugh. He smiled at the sound, and you thought his eyelights might have shined a little brighter in the dark, damp night. As you looked back at your bin you noticed the corner of the envelope sticking out between some fliers. With an excited gasp you picked it up, beaming at your neighbor.
“Thanks, Papyrus.” you said, giving him an earnest grin.
“heh, i didn’t do anything. You found what you were lookin’ for on your own.”
You smirked up at him, “Sure. I’ll see you around.” You gave him a small wave, and he nodded his skull.
“so long, buttercup.”
He kept the game up every time you crossed paths, calling you a new name (typically food-related) with each encounter. One weekend he asked you to help him go grocery shopping (“my bro wants to try making tacos again, i figure if i buy edible ingredients there’ll be less casualties this time.”) You supposed two monsters amidst a hoard of humans was better than going it alone, so you readily agreed to accompany him.
The pair of you meandered around the fresh foods section for a while, tomatoes, lettuce, limes, and strangely a papaya added to the shopping cart. “You need papayas for tacos?” you asked, raising a browbone.
Papyrus shook his head, chuckling under his breath, “nah, but ponder, the pun possibilities of this produce are positively plentiful and I couldn’t possibly pass it up.” You laughed along with him, impressed by this impromptu alliteration. Sans hated puns, it was hilarious to watch the smaller brother’s reactions when Pap was on a roll.
“hey, honey?” he asked, as you pursued the cereal aisle, and by now you were used to the pet names you unthinkingly responded.
“Hmm?” you hummed distractedly, tossing a box in your basket and scrolling through the shopping list on your phone.
“...i’m offering you honey.” he said after a pause, and you looked up to see him holding a plastic bear full of the sweet amber substance, and a smarmy grin on his face.
You snickered, covering your laughter poorly behind a hand, “Pffft! Seriously?”
“hey, don’t knock it till you try it.” he said, grin widening as he popped open the top with his thumb and squeezed an unhealthy amount into his mouth. You laughed louder at the display, gaining some stares of your fellow customers. Papyrus didn’t seem to care at all, grinning as you giggled, like you were the only other person in the store.
The Surface wasn’t all bad. For as terrifying and strange as living up here had been, you could admit to yourself that the views couldn’t be beat, staring out your open bedroom window.
The night was dark and cold, the air crisp and still, the moon absent, and the only lights around were distant streetlamps towards Ebott City and the even more distant stars that twinkled overhead. You wondered if these stars granted wishes like the crystals of the Underground had.
Amidst your stargazing, you spotted something else through the window, a tall figure in a familiar orange hoodie. He was sitting at the end of the backyard, alone, and instead of looking skyward, his skull was bowed, head drooping.
You rushed downstairs and slid open the back door, stepping out into the night towards him. As you got closer you saw he was looking at something in his hand. A cigarette he was rolling contemplatively between his phalanges with a melancholic expression on his face. You hadn’t ever seen him looking so...vulnerable before. “Papyrus?” you questioned. He turned towards you, surprised and...relieved?
He said your name, like it was a question. Or maybe the answer.
“What are you doing out here?” you asked gently, stepping closer and wrapping your arms around yourself, “Aren’t you cold?” It was freezing, no monster should be out by their lonesome in this weather.
“heh, livin’ in snowdin you get used to it.” you caught a slight shiver running through his large frame, “maybe it’s a little cold.” he admitted.
“Hang on, I’ll be right back.” you said before scurrying off inside. You looked over countless blankets littering the living room folded up on ottomans and hanging off the backs of your loveseat and couch. You picked a thick, heavy, fuzzy one and quickly returned to Papyrus’s side.
With a flop, you sat in the grass next to him, slinging the blanket around both your shoulders and wrapping it securely around your bodies. “Better?”
He blinked down at you, a little surprised before his expression softened and a slow grin spread over his face.
“yeah,” he said lowly, wrapping an arm around you, “much better.” You smiled, leaning your head to rest against his shoulder. His hoodie was really soft, smelling sweet like honey or vanilla or butterscotch, something safe and warm.
“So what are you doing out here?” you asked eventually.
“just trying to convince myself to keep promises.” He laughed humorlessly, looking down at the grass, “i promised my bro i’d take care of myself. you know, quit smoking. drink more water. stop being a depressed nihilistic pessimist one step short of falling down, just the little things.” he said too casual with a shrug.
You frowned, once more struck by how vulnerable he was. And the fact that he was willing to be this open with you. “I think you’re doing a great job.” you said, voice soft but sincere.
“heh, sure doesn’t feel like it some days.”
“Like today?” He nodded, still looking down. “Hey, sometimes a bad day can turn around. Like when you drop all your groceries on your doorstep and you end up meeting the most wonderful monster. Or you sit out on a cold night to mope but you look up at the stars instead.” you nudged him lightly, inclining your skull skyward. He followed your gaze, eyelights turned up towards the countless stars strewn among the velvety dark heavens.
He smiled, looking down at you like your eyes held the cosmos instead of sky above.
“thanks, sweetheart.”
I live a life of love
Hold me down
Find me in the backyard
In the dark