I'm Not A Robot (Papyrus/Mettaton)

Chapter One

  Papyrus was always positive and joyous, finding happiness in even the dreariest situations. Whenever he was small and sadness lurked in the back of his brain, his brother taught him methods of cheering up. Each method consisted of dumb jokes and even dumber laughter, all until he was cheery and smiling again. His brother always brought joy to his heart, in a fraternal way that couldn't be afflicted by anything. He found comfort within the idea that his brother was always near him, and even more comfortable in the idea that he was surrounded by people who knew him. Undyne, his dear friend, recently bunked with him due to a travesty that occurred to her home. He was delighted to invite her in, despite the house not being too spacious, due to his fondness of her.
  However, recently, Papyrus hadn't been feeling too exhilarated. Despite how unlike him it was, he seemed almost undetermined to go about everyday life and instead was doomed to the dismal trap that lingered in the back of his conscious.
  Undyne noticed this around the same times Sans did, and was bold enough to confront Sans about the strange traits she'd observed in Papyrus. She began by casually tapping at Sans's door, waiting patiently for a few moments before utterly slamming her fist into the door, causing a noticeable indentation. Before she could strike the door again, the knob rattled for a moment before ultimately twisting. The door creaked open slowly, Sans's short frame appearing behind the door.
  "I was sleeping," he announced, annoyance tainting his voice. Undyne gave him a skeptical look before gesturing for him to follow outside.
  She dropped to Sans's size, leveling herself to make eye contact. She left her expression stern and her voice lowered. "Your brother's been acting, like, super strange. It's making me uncomfortable." It was evident she didn't excel at keeping her voice at a hushed manner. He focused on her for a moment before responding flatly.
  "I've tried cheering the guy up. Guess there ain't much I can do," he spoke as if he were aloof to the situation. His shoulders were tensed the slightest bit.
  Undyne smirked slightly, a glint sliding into her eyes. "Yanno, that robot guy Alphys created is having a show soon," a slight hint of emotion filtered from her voice as she spoke of Alphys. "Alphys said we can go." Her expression faltered for a moment. "I'm not into that lame stuff though. However, your brother is, whether he admits it or not. You should take him."
  She fished around in her pocket for a small second, spooning out two crumpled tickets. They were in pitiful condition, however it was certain they'd pass. Sans took it into consideration, unsure whether he was prepared to face devoting an entire three hours to watch a ridiculous show. After a short moment of pondering, he concluded it would make Papyrus overjoyed, and Sans was beyond willing to sacrifice a few hours to achieve that. Sans tipped his head, clutching the tickets and shifting around to fit them in the large pocket of his hoodie. Undyne had a satisfied expression, a half-grin on her face.
  "Nice, I think I'll chill with Alphys for the day, you know," she breathed out quietly. For the first time, she'd almost appeared bashful. The emotion faded as quickly as it had appeared though, as she carried on, "I'm sure Papyrus will be into that thing.
  Sans smirked before retreating back into his bedroom, and before shutting the door gifting Undyne with a swift wink. She gave him a kind gesture back before stumbling back down the steps at a rampant speed.
  Later that afternoon, Papyrus was found in the kitchen, making a horrendous concoction in which he would probably refer to as spaghetti after he was finished cooking it. Undyne was placed on the couch, her legs spread apart in a relaxed position and her right arm cupping the arm of the couch. Sans emerged from his bedroom quietly, stepping down the stairs with patient, yet quick steps. He fumbled around in his pockets, feeling the rough paper texture of the tickets still resting there as he'd left them. Undyne greeted him with a quaint wave as he entered the living room.
  "Papyrus is cooking dinner, " she announced with a broad grin. Her fingers twitched slightly, as if she were awaiting for Sans to announce the news to Papyrus. Sans, instead, dismissed the gesture as if he'd not taken note of it and instead passed by her calmly and seated himself on the couch beside her. She looked disgruntled by this, but continued looking straight ahead at the T.V.
  "You gonna do it, or-," she stopped herself as Papyrus emerged from the kitchen clutching a large platter in his hand.
  "Dinner is done!" he announced, pride impishly working its way into his tone. Sans smiled and held up his hand as if to decline, as Undyne followed. Papyrus seemed unmoved, and possibly even enthusiastic. "More for me!" His voice was reaped of any displeasure.
  Undyne returned her focus to Sans as Papyrus disappeared back behind the wall of the kitchen to prepare himself a plate. "Remember to credit me," she whispered.
  Sans nodded, indicating he heard clearly. He flopped off of the couch and into the kitchen, out of Undyne's view. She could make out the audible sounds of the two talking.
  "Hello, brother! Change your mind about the spaghetti?" Papyrus's voice was boisterous and noisy. Undyne could vaguely hear the sound of Sans responding with a polite decline.
  "Nah, but I'm thinkin' about going to a Mettaton show thing," his voice was casual, as if he truthfully had no clue what he were talking about, which possibly could have been accurate.
  "Oh really?" Papyrus sounded attentive, as if his focus were pried away from the spaghetti and pressed onto the subject. There was a weighted silence before Sans spoke again.
  "Wanna come?"
  There was another silence, however it was lighter. Papyrus abruptly burst into a fit of joy, happiness burning at his tone. Undyne felt a wave of relief.
  "Oh, but...," he paused, sadness etching his voice, "What about my cooking lessons with Undyne? We've began cooking here."
  Undyne stood up suddenly, her expression light and her voice urgent. "We can skip those for the day!"
  Sans realized he'd done Undyne a favor, as well. She looked appreciative.
  After the celebration, Papyrus stalked back to his room in solitude to finish his meal. Undyne's expression faltered completely.
  "Sans, " she began, voice urgent, "you didn't tell him who got the tickets."
  Sans shrugged casually. "I didn't forget. I just didn't feel like telling him."
"Sans!" Undyne exclaimed, infuriated. Sans laughed it off smugly before returning to his room for more sleep.