Ace in a Hole (Undertale x Hazbin Hotel)

Chapter 14

Winter approached, slow and steady and quite near. And with winter came Papyrus' wedding, the invitation to the upcoming battle proudly stapled to the front and center of Sans' fridge. His dear bestie was wholly ecstatic about it, having bought a suit and tie for the first time in his life. Neatly ironed and tucked away into the back of his closet, covered in what appeared to be some plastic coating to keep it away from anything that could ruin the clothing. It'd look nice on Sans. A bit plain for Alastor's tastes, who loved theatrics and unique outfits, but he didn't dare complain and try to change it. If Alastor dared to stroll into Papyrus' wedding in a suit that screamed attention-seeking, Sans would Old Yeller Alastor out back. The same principle of wearing white to a wedding, he supposed.

Sans was excited. Ecstatic. Every breath was spent talking about the upcoming wedding in two weeks. Every bone seemed to clank around whenever the phone buzzed with final touches, which happened quite often. If his phone so much as twitched, Sans would leap across the room, staring giddily at his screen. From the few phone conversations Sans had on speaker, Papyrus sounded just as excited. Somehow more so. An ouroboros of excitement Alastor had to excuse himself from tolerating for his own sanity.

Papyrus would certainly be an interesting individual to meet. Alastor heard countless tales of the man, been privy to a good chunk of photos, and suffered one, baited conversation with him. And dare he say, he wasn't too impressed.

Papyrus was reminiscent of Charlie, but somehow more high-pitched, tall, and obnoxious. A fun, obnoxious thing to watch while sipping a beer at a bar, the kind of fun where you giggled amongst your friends about the silly person who finally got blackout drunk for the first time. Not the type of obnoxious you kept in your day-to-day life. From the snippets Alastor picked up, Papyrus was near completely innocent. Wide-eyed, all doughy and squeaky clean. The only thing that sullied Papyrus' whole ignorance of brittle reality was what Sans gave to him. Considering the fact that Papyrus was the one who found his brother on the floor in the bathroom one night after an attempted suicide, well, he doubted anyone would remain the same afterwards. Papyrus wasn't stupidly ignorant, but was damn near close enough in Alastor's book.

He doubted Papyrus was far off from the impression he'd been given. Sans told plenty of stories, and the statements Papyrus earnestly said only backed it up. Like, "Nyeh heh heh." Who says that seriously?

But Alastor couldn't bring himself around to despising Papyrus how he despised others. Oh, he certainly found the man to be in the same category as the rest of the worthless people roaming the Earth. Yet that man was his sweet Sans' little brother, the baby that Sans raised single-handedly after their parents both died. Papyrus was a reflection of what Sans couldn't have. Of what Sans believed was the best life to give someone. Papyrus was the walking embodiment of Sans' hard work and dedication. A successful man with a happy romantic life, strong self-confidence, good work ethic, bountiful friends, and empathy.

Alastor couldn't hate Papyrus because he wasn't allowed to. Sans would likely kick his ass back down to hell. Alastor, thus, entertained Sans. He felt nothing for Papyrus, but seeing Sans happy always scratched that little pleasant itch in the back of his head that made his chest go fuzzy. Papyrus was a necessary step in that regard. An ugly piece of the puzzle to make the whole thing blindingly brilliant. So while Alastor didn't typically pay attention, he certainly did when it came to Papyrus. Alastor allocated more effort than he usually gave to people who weren't in his immediate scope of interaction. Alastor didn't have a choice, not when Sans could smell bullshit and Alastor faking any genuine interest towards Papyrus to Sans would be sniffed out instantly. He settled for simply paying attention and asking questions when needed, which always sent a smile onto Sans' face.

While he wasn't invested in the people the wedding was for, Alastor still found himself looking forward to attending. It had been a while since he attended a wedding at all. And getting to meet all of the other important people in Sans' life was something he looked forward to, especially since he was Sans' plus one, not any of them. Alastor already had his suit, a nice deep brown to match his human hair, in his closet for when the day swept around. The present, too, was prepared: a pristine crystal glass set for wine, alcohol, or any plain drink. Cost him a pretty penny. Alastor spared no expense in preparation for the day.