A Second Chance (Papyrus X Flowey/Asriel)

Good Mourning

The rhythmic hum of the MTT brand alarm Papyrus set woke the two with shared sighs of disapproval, groggily sitting up and stretching into each other for a few seconds. Before, of course, actually realizing the other was there. "Morning! Paps, good.. morning." Asriel coughed as he scooched to the side, Papyrus joining in with an awkward laugh as the past night came back to him.
Right, he revived his best friend, good to note.
He almost attempted to make an awkward start to conversation, when "Shit, is your brother gonna come in here? Do I have to hide again?" He said, panic in his droopiness, Papyrus shaking his skull in reassurance. "It's only eight in the morning, we've still got a few hours if I know him right." "I wouldn't put it past him to sleep in, but still, what do we do now? I won't exactly go unnoticed." Asriel gestured to himself, slightly cursing Papyrus' lack of planning ahead. "You try resurrecting someone then, let's see how far you get." Papyrus returned with an uncharacteristic sass that left Asriel quiet, seeing the other cross his arms in a slight pout. "Not a morning person?" He half-teased with a smirk, the other rubbing his skeletal temples in return. "Usually I would be, perhaps this is a side effect, my sincerest apologies Asriel," he spoke suddenly sincerely, Asriel rubbing the back of his neck in awkward response. "Don't.. worry about it, Paps. What kind of shit did you get into to do all this, anyway?" He questioned with a yawn, the skeleton copying just after. "I didn't 'get into' anything, I just did,, a little research." he stumbled through his words, the unamused look he received not relenting. "It's a bunch of sciency garbage, real nerdy stuff that even I don't really understand! ..nyeh heh" he nyehd nervously, fiddling with his gloved fingers to avoid the glaring look of the other.

Soon enough, the royal goat monster gave up with a sigh, "This isn't the end of this. You're acting.. weird." He trailed, only for Papyrus to interrupt with his own grand idea. "On another note, we should get ready for the day! We can't laze around forever." He almost visibly sparkled, love of his daily routine returning in front of Asriels eyes. "Get ready for what? I'm not really able to, you know, leave." "Ah, right..." they quieted in thought, until interrupted by Papyrus jumping out of bed, only slightly wincing at his lingering weakness. "A disguise! Surely we can make something that will hide your identity, I am a master costume designer, after all."
Asriel avoided looking at the torn up battle body just beside Papyrus, but he somehow got the message. "That.. doesn't count, it wasn't built to survive such an experiment-" "experiment?" "..and the next one will only get better!
"...pleeeease?"
"Jeez. For someone whose worst enemy is a dog, you sure mastered the puppy dog eyes."
"That's not a no!" The tall skeleton cheered, turning to change into his only spare battle body. "Hey! What did I say about stripping without warning? have you no decency, or do you just want me to watch?" Asriel laughed, turning his head away fast enough to miss the bright face of the other. However, leaving himself vulnerable to a slipper flying his way.

"Are you almost done? You're sure taking your sweet time back there." Asriel groaned from where he sat, criss-cross on the messy blankets of Papyrus racecar bed, facing a poster covered wall. "Just- give me a moment, these zippers are putting up a fight more than usual." he said with struggle, the chest plate that covered his ribcage hardly staying together without being held. -If only I had another pair of arms- Papyrus grumbled internally, soon hearing a groan from the other. "Fine, just let me-" The royal stood, Papyrus not getting a chance to turn before he closed the short distance, leaning down to fiddle with the zipper himself.
This left the two in an only somewhat awkward position, Papyrus holding the front and back together, while Asriel fiddled with the zipper at the side, claws much better at grasping than the plump red gloved Papyrus insisted on keeping on. "You could have at least warned me!" Papyrus scolded with wide eyes, though the other couldn't see his brightly colored face, instead huffing back a "stop moving so much! I almost got it.." before the satisfying clicks of a zipper finally closed the suit together. "Your scarf was caught, dummy." Asriel teased playfully, the skeleton scoffing back. "I could've figured that out!" "Yeah, in a few hours maybe, speaking of-" he turned towards the blocky computer, the digital clock showing 8:47 on the dot. "I've been dead for years, and even I could get ready faster than you." He snickered, "You're also wearing a broken sweater, your gracefullness." "Was that sarcasm? The Great Papyrus, a future guardsman, sassing me?" They both laughed, an eye roll evident on Papyrus face. "My greatest apologies your highness, how could I ever be so rude? I beg your forgiveness." he said through giggles, bowing with a mischievous smile. "Please, after such a display, you're lucky I don't send you to be jailed!" "Lucky I am, sir." the two snickered, though the last line lingering long enough that they quickly tried to recover normal conversation.

'Sheesh, Papyrus, way to make things awkward.' His skull echoed, thankfully quietly enough to keep to himself. Though, he did question the sudden unfamiliar negativity.

"Sooo uh, about that costume?" "Right! I was thinking something with a hood, and maybe a nose, without your horns we could try and pass you as a.. well, dog." he said, holding his hands in front of his face like he was making a picture frame. "A- a dog? You want me to pretend to be one of the dogs?" "Just for now! Maybe we can do a spider later" he grinned.
Asriel almost cut in with disapproval, when the soft shuffling of slippers alerted them both of the older skeleton brothers location. That is, right by the door.

Before he could even reach the doorknob, Papyrus opened the decorated door just enough that his body blocked the view of his room, Sans looking up at him with sleepy surprise in his sockets. "paps! feelin better already?" He asked with a stretch, "I am feeling better! That milkshake was just what I needed, In fact.. I was just about to go thank Grillby for making it!" Papyrus spoke quickly, partially aware his brother would be too sleepy to listen to all of it. "thats nice bro, make sure to have some breakfast too, most important meal and all that." he yawned, sluggishly turning to waddle downstairs. "I will!" He called back, closing the door once more.
The two sighed in unison, quickly getting tired of such an act. "So, you'll go out and get the supplies, and I'll..?" "You can..! Uh.., play on the computer?" He shrugged, mentally preparing for the busy outside.
He couldnt explain it, but he had this feeling in his bones, something fearful but for seemingly nothing. He hoped it would pass soon.
"I'll try and figure out more of those notes you wrote, goodluck out there buddy." "I won't need it! It's perfectly fine out there, it's just the town after all, no need to be worried!" "..yeah, you.. you got this. I'll be here, not like I can go anywhere anyways." "Right, farewell! And, for both our sake, avoid the purple files. Have fun!" He waved, before finally opening the door and closing it with a shaky breath.

"Purple files, huh?" The royal smirked.

1354 words

(Welcome to chapter 8! I'm having so much fun writing this, I hope you all have fun reading! I'm trying to make chapters stay around 1000 words long, I think it makes it more worth the read every chapter. And jee, I wonder why Papyrus is so nervous? Probably nothing to do with the whole soul thing, or, lack of whole soul that is. Happy reading, folks!)