Papyrus had been feeling a bit run down lately. His job in the royal guard was nice and what he had always dreamed of, but here lately he was so bored of having to guard the border between the mountain and the city. He hated that the monsters without special permits had to be shipped back to the mountain at the end of the day, but he understood that there was still much work to be done in convincing the humans to coexist peacefully. Truthfully, he was beginning to doubt that the humans would ever willingly allow the monsters to live in peace. His confidence was suffering daily and he felt as if his job was merely nothing more than babysitting.

It hurt to know that his people suffered daily. More casualties were being reported and most of the monsters were becoming frightened with the increasing amount of violence amongst the humans. He sighed and scuffed his foot along the dirt path, sending bits of soft earth upward. The only thing that brought him any type of joy was his rising star. Mettaton was a beacon of hope to the depressed skeleton, always by his side giving him gentle encouragement and reassurance. The robot made him happier than anyone else in the world, but he was often afraid, the violence for their kind only making him grow more protective and worrisome over the independent man. He did not wish to overstep and come off as clingy and annoying, but he worried greatly everyday that Mettaton left to work on the surface.

Shaking his head, he brushed all those thoughts aside and focused on giving his report to the new guard since his shift was officially over. After swapping with the new guard, Papyrus turned on his heel and  ventured up the dirt path that lead back to the cave entrance, leaving behind the starry night and calm blowing breeze. The walk back home was a long one, and although he could've taken a ride on River Person's boat, he chose to walk the entire way back home in order to gather his thoughts.

Truthfully he was weary, wanting nothing more than the quiet, peaceful days before the barrier had been broken. The humans wanted nothing to do with monsters, and even trying to live was a struggle. The only one he could vent his frustrations to was his wonderful boyfriend. Any time the skeleton had come home after a long day of dealing with police reports and hurt monsters, the robot would welcome him home with a small smile and open arms. He didn't know how to repay his lover for all of the wonderful things he had done, but he had a pretty good idea.

He stopped by waterfall and talked to the little echo flowers for a while before continuing on his way home. When he walked inside the door, he found Mettaton watching some reality TV show from the human world. Papyrus quietly closed the door and snuck up on his boyfriend since he was engrossed in his program.
Wrapping his bony arms around his lover earned him a startled shriek. The skeleton chuckled softly and pressed a soft kiss to the side of the robot's face.

"I'm home, sweetheart." He whispered softly. MT wrapped his arms around the skeleton's, "Welcome home, darling. How was work today?"

The robot felt his stiffness and shook his head, "I'm sorry, love. That was such a silly question. We don't have to discuss it."

Papyrus hopped over the couch, sitting beside his boyfriend. He let his hand encircle the metal one, "No. Don't worry, we can talk about it, but not tonight. Let's get out of here. Go do something fun."

Mettaton gave a heartfelt smile, "I'd like that. Where do you want to go? Well, you know since we're stuck underground right now anyway."

Paps didn't let in on his plan, but gave a happy smile, "Let's go out to eat. I'm sure we've had enough pasta to last for a while now."

The robot nearly fainted and put a hand to his bony skull, "Are you sure you're my boyfriend? The great papyrus would never pass up the chance to cook."

"HAR, HAR. Get your coat, we've got a long night ahead of us!" He smiled softly.

The robot laughed and did grab a coat, but couldn't help but wonder about his skeleton. He wasn't shouting like normal, was he sick? He wondered if something bad had happened, but after their earlier conversation, he wasn't sure if bringing it up would be a good idea. After pulling on his coat, the two walked hand in hand to Grillby's.

The metal monster having never been inside was thoroughly impressed by the warm atmosphere the little restaurant had. It was bustling with business and the monsters nearby were having fun playing poker, trying to start up the still broken jukebox, and just generally getting drunk. Papyrus led him to an empty booth and left to order their food from the bar. Mettaton smiled and watched him walk away, not too subtly watching his bony butt. He giggled softly and thought back to the day they had first met.

It wasn't too long after Mettaton's creation before a certain skeleton had entered his life. Alphys was working on an upgrade for his newly formed body, something about overheating if he was too worked up, when a pair of skeletons walked in the door. One he already knew as Sans and the other he had no clue. They were introduced begrudgingly by Sans, and the robot instantly took an interest in the younger brother. He had such an optimistic view on life and his bubbly personality made it easy to get along with him. They would often talk about the latest experiments and paps dream of joining the royal guard. He looked forward to the time they would spend together, whenever Sans decided to bring him along, which wasn't often considering his curiosity often led to setbacks on their experiments and projects.

He was fascinated with the bony man, but resigned himself to being friends since he didn't think Papyrus had any feelings other than friendship for him. It was still fun to be by his side regardless, so he kept his feelings a secret.

When the human girl had fallen into the underground, he had worried dearly for the younger skeleton. He had a knack for drawing up a lot of attention, and that wasn't necessarily a good thing. When the human had ventured into hotland, he did everything in his power to eliminate the threat, but to no avail. Granted now he was happy for her companionship, but back then she was a liability to the one friend he had.

A glass set down in front of him snapped the robot out of his thoughts. He looked up to the gently smiling Papyrus, and he found himself smiling in return.

"Sorry, they didn't have motor oil, but they had some beer. Hope that's okay?" He chuckled nervously as he set down the burgers and fries in front of them before sliding in the seat across from his lover.

"Oh, that's fine, darling," he cooed and let his long leg slide up the bony man's tibia, not stopping until he reached the top of his femur, only making Papyrus blush a bright orange.

"M-Mettaton!" He refrained from yelling but he shook slightly.

"Yes, darling~" he cooed softly before taking a bite of his burger.

Papyrus sighed softly and held out his other hand while the two of them ate happily. Mettaton took his hand gently and squeezed, happy that they were out having a lovely time out of the house. The metal man was fond of the elder skeleton and his wife, but sometimes it was nice to be completely alone. The food was actually tasty, not that he thought it would be bad, but he was rather used to more refined cuisine.

When the two left, Papyrus paid for his tab and ushered the happy robot back out into the snowy night. The robot grew confused as they passed their home.

"Uh, Papyrus, dear? Where are we going?" He looked up at the skeleton. After all Paps was a little more than 6 ft, whereas he was a whopping 5'8.

He smiled softly and ushered him along through the entrance to waterfall. They walked the halls, casually bypassing the monsters coming and going. He didn't speak until they had finally made it to the secret garden filled with nothing but gentle grass and brightly glowing echo flowers. He brought them to the center of the garden and pulled the robot into his lap.

"Ooh, Papyrus~" he smirked flirtingly, "Is this why you brought us somewhere.. private.."

"N-NO, YOU'VE MISTOOK MY INTENTIONS!" He looked down shocked. That wasn't at all why he brought his lover here.

"You could've had me back at the house, darling.." the robot practically purred, not listening to Papyrus' protests.

"Again, that's not why I brought you here.." he whispered and nuzzled the top of MT'S head.

"Then why are we here?"

"Just listen."

They both fell silent. At first, all they could hear was the gentle current of the nearby river. But after a moment they heard small voices from every direction around them.

"He's so wonderful, so incredibly talented.." A flower spoke up from somewhere a bit farther away.

"He's the one person I need completely.." This one came from in front of them.

"He makes me the happiest monster alive..."

"I'd be honored if he would have me for the rest of our lives.." The flower behind them echoed.

"Mettaton. Marry me.."

The robot looked up smiling happily. So that was why they came. Papyrus must have set this whole thing up. He had never had someone do something so wonderfully sweet in his entire life..

"Yes, Papyrus, I'll marry you." He whispered past the tears.

The two leaned forward and captured one another in a passionate kiss. They stayed in that clearing for the rest of the night, just enjoying one another's presence.

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A/N: Not sure why but it's a bit harder to write parts for pappyton, but they're so cute I wanted to try. Hopefully y'all like it too!