A Second Chance (Papyrus X Flowey/Asriel)

Crickets, or Conscience?

(Title refers to the cricket from Pinocchio, in case that wasn't clear. See you!)

After a few seconds of unnecessary breathing, Papyrus cautiously made his way down the familiar steps of his home. He could already smell his brother 'cooking,' most likely some kind of ketchup concoction that would make the contents of his stomach turn, if he had any that is. He hadn't eaten since yesterday, though, the smells of whatever was coming from the kitchen made him ok with waiting a little longer. "heya bro, ya want any?" The shorter monster called from the stove, a pot of Asgore-knows-what bubbling. His brother could sense the mischievous smile in the words, knowing his brother only asked to get a reaction out of him, yet all the same, he replied. "NO THANK YOU, IVE GOT TO GET TO GRILLBY'S BEFORE THE PLACE GETS FILLED WITH DOGS!" He used his regular upbeat, uppercase tone, hoping the strain it took wasn't too audible. "you sure? this one's my best mix yet, i call it ketchup soup."
The very idea of it almost made Papyrus gag, his only interruption being a familiar voice in the back of his mind.

-I wonder what Paps is keeping in these folders.. can't be all that ba-"NO!!"

"..ok? i was just askin, bro" "NO NOT YOU! I WAS JUST,, PRACTICING SHOUTING, IN CASE.. HUMANS." "..k." Papyrus sighed, glaring at Asriel internally.

-He said the purple ones? They seem pretty hefty, what could be so bad that he's hiding it?- "don't you dare-" Papyrus started to angrily mumble to himself, before seeing his brother out of the corner of his socket, a concerned look in his eyelights. "you.. sure you're feeling good enough to go out there? i don't mean to 'talk' you out of it, or anything." He half chuckled to himself, stirring the ever thickening mixture on the stove. Papyrus could feel his stomach turn with every stir of the spoon, but his  mind still stuck to what was currently happening in his room. -let's see page one, 'dear diary..', so it's a diary? He doesn't seem like the writing type-
Papyrus now started to panic, the buzzing worry in his bones growing as he spoke. "You know sans.. you should probably STOP making that soup, you might FIND SOMETHING YOU DONT LIKE." he emphasized with a louder tone, unfortunately not quite loud enough to reach his room. Darn soundproofing. Instead, his now very concerned brother took the pot off the stove. "heya.. you really doing ok bro? you can always talk to me if you're uh.. goin through something?" He said in his usually chill tone, though the fiddling of his mitts gave away his brotherly worry. "..IM OK! JUST A SORE THROAT, I SHOULD BE GOING NOW SHOULDN'T I?" He stated each word as he stepped backward, eventually reaching the front door. He gave one last big Papyrus smile™️, before finally leaving into the cold. "..that was.. odd."

Once finally out, Papyrus sprinted for the back of the house, grabbing a handful of snow and throwing it up at his window as soon as it was in view. He could pay the snowball tax, he couldnt pay to remove someone's memory. At least, he didn't think so. "Papyrus?" Asriel whisper-yelled from the crack of window he opened, careful not to stick out too far. "STOP," He panted, "LOOKING THROUGH MY OLD DIARY."
"I'm no-" "YES. YOU ARE. I COULD HEAR YOU."

he caught a glimpse of Asriel smaking his forehead. "OK, maybe the first page, I was just curious! And your handwriting is so bad, I thought it was some kind of abstract art." "HARDY HAR, I WAS A KID! THOSE LOGS ARE- THEYRE-" he stuttered, realizing he was, in fact, probably within hearing distance of passerbys. "JUST QUIT IT! ILL BE BACK SOON." He huffed, stomping away as best he could.

He had to admit, the pain wasn't the most fun part. In fact, it only got worse as he left the house, a pull in his chest urging him to go home. But, he had a mission, and considering he got Asriel into this mess, it was the least he could do. That wouldn't stop him from complaining later, though.
The snow under his boots kept to a steady rhythm as he walked, the only thing distracting him from the ball of anxiety growing in his chest. At least, that's what he thought it was, he hadn't had so much of it until then. 'Is my scarf on right? Those monsters won't care will they? They might think it's weird, I should've checked before leaving. Did Sans leave the stove on?' His mind wandered, focus so into his thoughts he hardly noticed that he'd somehow made his way into the beginnings of Waterfall. That, and his chest ached. despite not even needing to, the feeling he couldn't breathe suddenly took over his senses, his arms shakily grasping at his scarf as he tried to regain some control. 'They're going to think you're a freak, stop panicking before it gets worse, they already don't like you.' His skull echoed over again, mindlessly stumbling for the nearest rock to lean on. He knew something wasn't right, that was obvious, but the ball of panic unraveling in his bones made it so hard to think that he couldn't help but turn back the way he came. 'Just get home' he told himself, 'I'll get something in snowdin, just get home' he wheezed, the grip fear had on his soul loosening as he saw the muddy snow path ahead.

One step, two steps, then, his vulnerable state gave in, a small log in the path tripping him into the cold ground below.

'Get up, I need to get up,' he called, but nothing came from it, his voice caught in his throat. 'Ill get up once I can, once the world stops.. spinning.' he drifted, the cold feeling of mixed snow and mud melting as he slowly lost his sense of time and space.

He couldn't tell how long ago he'd fallen asleep, but it was long enough that Undyne was already making her rounds. He knew because he awoke to her excited greetings at monsters she passed on her run, voice getting louder as the echo of her stomping boots got ever closer. Now he was in real trouble. Again, there came that feeling, the wrongness and worry he ever so wanted to leave, a feeling that propelled him to stand before he soaked in the dirt any longer. Half his face ached with cold, but he didn't have time to whine, instead quickly trying to squeeze out the mud from his scarf and dust off the drying layer of muck on his battle body. 'There goes another one, I'll have to make anoth-
'The costume!' He suddenly remembered, about to start the treck into town when a familiar scream was heard behind him.

"PAPYRUS!" The fish monster called excitedly, armor clanking as she ran over. "It's been ages, buddy! You look-" She looked down at the stained outfit, "terrible! What happened, Paps?" "UNDYNE! IT'S GREAT TO SEE YOU, I WAS JUST.. PRACTICING MY CAMOUFLAGE! TO TAKE THE HUMAN OFF GUARD, NYEH HEH." "Oh! Well, great job then, pal! Maybe work on your coverage, you only got like half your skull." She chuckled loudly, the familiarity bringing some comfort to the aching skeleton. "YES, MA'AM! IF I DO MY BEST, SURELY I'LL BE IN THE GUARD IN NO TIME!" He tried not to wince at the pause before she responded. "Sure, bud! I gotta get back on my rounds, so good luck with your practicing!" "BYE UNDYNE!!" He waved for a few seconds before finally letting himself slouch with a sigh. All he needed was a few materials, how'd he end up like this?

Whatever it was, he wouldn't let it get him off guard again, bracing himself as he fixed his scarf and started for the snowy town.

1374 words

(Welcome to chapter 9! Sorry for the late-ish chapter! I had some trouble with where I was going with this, but I've got some ideas I'm excited to use! Happy reading all)