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STRANGER-TO-STRANGER BONDING

Chapter 2

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It's been about a week since the party, and you haven't forgotten about Napstablook. They're passionate about music and stuff—if that's not someone worth thinking about, who is?

You're quite the hypocrite for rolling your eyes at the general public's obsession with Mettaton, considering how much you find your thoughts drifting toward the ghost.

It's another cold day, and you're alone at home. Mettaton's much too busy with photo shoots and such, but you're bored and lonely, so... you call up a new friend to go out. (As in, go outside and hang out.)

".....hey"

You startle slightly. "Oh! Hi! You—you surprised me for a second."

They're not wearing headphones today, which makes them look strangely plain—at least, compared to the singular other time you've seen them.

"oops.... sorry....."

They're holding a ghost soda—well, it's sort of just hovering next to them. Despite the cold, they're not wearing clothes of any sort. Can ghosts wear clothes? You wonder if they don't feel the chill, or just don't mind.

...

"Sooo... do you..." You rock on your feet, warming your hands in your jacket pockets. "You got anything you wanna do? I didn't really have anything in mind." That now sounds absurd to you considering you're the one who invited them out, but...

"um, well... we could just take a walk, if you want.... window-shop....."

"Sure, yeah."

As you walk and talk, your warm breath forms little clouds of fog in the cold air. Your jacket pockets aren't enough to shield your hands from the chill, so you search for somewhere to go indoors.

The two of you end up at a coffee shop, more focused on the conversation than where you're going. You get an ice cream float—despite the weather—and they decide to crack open their soda.

You silently watch them somehow lift the soda tab without opposable thumbs, or fingers at all. You then momentarily wonder how ghost food works before deciding that's not a can of worms you'd like to open.

The conversation is awkward at first without the load-bearing robot, but you remember what he told you about his cousin.

"So, uh, snails? Mettaton told me you keep snails."

"oh... yeah, i do.... i had a farm, back underground..."

So, Mettaton wasn't exaggerating when they called them a snail farmer?

"A whole farm? Really?"

"yeah... well.... it used to be a family farm, but i've been running it myself for a while now...."

"How does snail—uh—'husbandry' work?"

"it'd take a while to explain..."

"Well, um..." You fidget a bit with your hands, trying not to seem too eager. "I wanna hear, if you'd like to tell me."

"heh... sure..."

They tell you about the different species of snail, how they take care of them—"you have to mist the land snails, and make sure they get enough calcium... oh, but not too much"—and the new habitats they've been working on.

They love their snails, clearly. It's cute and so endearing. You can hear the happiness in their voice every time they answer your questions, or bring up something they just remembered. They look happy, too—their body emits a slight glow that you didn't notice before.

It's a great time. You two talk until the sun sets.

You don't want to leave, but hey, you need to eat and sleep, so you do. Ice cream unfortunately isn't a meal, as much as you would've liked to think as a kid.

You tell them you had a great time. You think you see their face turn pink.

Mettaton's quite pleased to hear about your outing with his cousin. "OH MY! MY TWO MOST WONDERFUL FRIENDS BONDING—HOW SPECTACULAR!!"

You have to hold the phone slightly away from your ear. "Ow—thanks, Mettaton. Yeah, we had... a lot of fun.

"HOW LOVELY!!"

"They told me about their snails and stuff."

"FUNNY ENOUGH, THEY'VE BEEN TALKING TO ME ABOUT YOU, DARLING!!"

Your face warms a bit.

"Really?"

"THEY DON'T ALWAYS GET ON THIS WELL WITH NEW PEOPLE, YOU KNOW. I'D SAY I'M SURPRISED, BUT KNOWING YOU, I'M REALLY NOT."

"What did they... say?"

"OHH, DARLING..." The intonation of his voice is worryingly similar to the one he puts on for TV. "NOTHING MUCH, REALLY, JUST THAT THEY HAD A WONDERFUL TIME. WHAT, WERE YOU EXPECTING SOMETHING SPECIFIC?"

"No?"

"OH." He doesn't sound like he believes you. You're not quite sure if you believe yourself.

"...Hey, when are you free? To like, hang out again? The three of us?"

"I'LL HAVE TO CHECK. I'M OH-SO-BUSY, BUT I CAN PROBABLY MAKE TIME TOMORROW, IF IT'S FOR THE TWO OF YOU..."

Thankfully, Mettaton does in fact make time for the two of you the next day. Napstablook is a bit hesitant to go out, so he offers to host a game night of sorts.

You inspect the board games available, indecisive. He's got a whole bookshelf of them.

"Hm, Sorry! is always fun... Oh!"

You pick up Catan, an orange box with a very familiar image of a sunset (or maybe a sunrise?). "Oh my gosh, I haven't played Catan in so long!"

Blooky and Mettaton are sitting on the couch when you turn around. Mettaton nods in agreement. Blooky looks a little less certain.

"sure, but.... i don't know the rules...."

"WE CAN TEACH YOU, DARLING!"

You gently drop the box onto the coffee table with a thud, and the contents rustle quietly as you do. When you slide the lid off, Mettaton immediately goes for the rules booklet and starts leafing through it.

"OKAY, SO HERE'S THE MAP..." He points, and Napstablook leans closer to get a better look. "...AND HERE ARE THE MATERIALS. OKAY? ON YOUR TURN, YOU ROLL TWO DICE THEN SUM UP THE NUMBERS. IF YOU HAVE A SETTLEMENT—THOSE ARE THE HOUSES—ON A TILE WITH THAT NUMBER, YOU GET THE RESOURCE FROM THE TILE."

While he's explaining, you go ahead and assemble the board—a relatively monotonous task.

"...AND HERE'S A CHART FOR THE VICTORY POINTS."

"okay.... that makes sense"

Mettaton sees you have the board ready, and asks, "OOH, CAN I BE RED?" He reaches for the pieces before you respond, but you weren't going to say no anyway.

The game starts slow like most do, but Mettaton, experienced as he is, pulls into the lead after a few lucky rolls. You and Napstablook team up to spend all your 7 rolls and Knight cards on Mettaton (to his complaint).

In the end, you think you're in the lead, but then—with a dramatic flourish worthy of live TV—Mettaton builds a city and reveals two victory point cards, ending the game.

You're all good sports, so it's fun all around.

After that, Mettaton shows you the results of what might as well have been 300 photoshoots (Napstablook responds "oh... that looks great" to every single one). You have to admit, he's pretty photogenic for a rectangle.

You don't see the two of them again until about a week and a half later, though you find your text messages to Napstablook have increased in volume, and so have your thoughts about them.

As you sit on a bench, dangerously close to them, you find your thoughts racing faster than you know how to deal with.

"When's, um... Mettaton gonna get here?"

"in ten minutes or so..... he said......"

The wind whistles in your ear.

"the ocean is very pretty..... from up here...... don't you think"

They lean on your shoulder very slightly, just a small enough movement that you're not sure if it's on purpose or accident. You can hear your heartbeat, and it's racing.

Crashing waves sound out from afar.

"...Yeah..."

You admit, the scenery is beautiful. How wonderful that you live a life where you can see something like this every day, you think.

You take in the salty air.

The sea is a deep blue-green color, waves lazily lapping against the shore rhythmically. The water leaves behind an outline of white foam on the sand that fades away slowly, before getting washed over again.

Yet, just like the ocean waves, your thoughts drift toward Napstablook time and time again. You've tried to pull away, over and over, but it's inevitable.

You turn to them, still watching the ocean, blissfully unaware of what's going on inside your head.

They're smiling, an expression you now realize they make more when next to you. Your heart pounds out of your chest and you try not to think about how close they are to you and how you can feel them resting against you and before you can think it through—

"Hey, um..."

They look up at you, the smile still lingering. "yeah....?"

Fuck, you don't know if you should do this. You don't know if you can do this.

They're looking at you expectantly.

"Uh... I..."

They blink. You take a deep, shaky breath, then laugh.

"...Never mind. I was just thinking... um... I'm really enjoying spending time with you, yeah..."

Their smile grows and you feel a little lightheaded.

".....me too..........."

Fuuuuck.

You avert your eyes to try to ignore the buzzing feeling inside your head. The ocean's calming, right? The waves rush against the shore: a painfully slow rhythm compared to your racing heart. You try to slow your breathing, but your thoughts...

"hey...... are you okay"

"Huh? What?" you ask, perhaps a little too loudly.

"no...... i don't know......... you seem like something's on your mind........"

They lean a little further against you. Instinctively, you lift your hand to pull them closer, then stop and put it back down.

You muster the courage to look at them, and they're still looking at you, traces of worry in their soulful eyes.

"It's nothing, it's just... something I've been thinking about for a while."

"well... do you want to talk about it... it might help you think it through more.... if it's been bothering you...."

"I... sure. Um......"

Your feelings are so tangled, you don't know where to begin. You wrack your mind for anything you can say, worried that you'll let it all spill out as soon as you unstopper your thoughts. You don't want to overwhelm their fragile soul.

".......what's up....................."

You breathe in. "I've just been thinking, for..."

How long have you been thinking about this?

"...for a few weeks, now, and I don't want you to, like, overthink this or anything, but..."

They listen attentively. You pause for a second, wondering if you've gone too far or if you can still walk it back.

"Uh..."

You avert your gaze, looking instead at a rock in the distance. You can't tell it to their face.

"I think... I like you. Like—really like you."

Your hands are shaking in your lap. You clasp them together, intertwining your fingers in an attempt to keep them still, but your thumbs still tap against each other anxiously.

".......i..."

They put their hand on yours.

"hey.... look at me"

There's a lilt to their voice, something firmer than the way you've heard them speak before, almost uncharacteristic if not for the usual gentleness of their tone.

As embarrassing as it is, you do as they say. First just with your gaze, then by lifting your head up. There are tears in their eyes, and you begin to worry.

Their eyes drift away momentarily, as if they're pondering what to say. Are they thinking about how to let you down softly?

Then, they put their hand on your cheek and smile, still teary. "um......"

You're so obviously blushing, aren't you? Oh goodness, they're so close to you right now. Oh goodness, are they getting closer? You close your eyes in anticipation.

A cold touch meets your cheek as they kiss your face softly. You feel a fluttering in your chest and open your eyes.

They pull away. "i..... sorry......"

You see their gaze flicker down to your mouth for just a second.

"No, it's.... it's okay..."

They're blushing, too.

You cup their face (cold...), and their eyes widen.

"Can I...?"

They nod, the slightest of smiles tugging at their mouth.

You close the distance quickly, and your soft face meets theirs, eliciting a muffled squeak from them. Their ghostly form is cool and smooth in your hand. You rub the side of their face gently with your thumb. They kiss you back sweetly, and you swear you see stars.

You begin to pull away, eyes half-lidded, and they're blushing. Gosh, they're so cute.

"I, uh..."

"oh........."

They start to lean closer again—

"OHHHH DARLINGS!!"

SHIT

"METTATON!!!" Napstablook absolutely yells, something you've never heard them do before, and covers their face. They're blushing so hard, which would be cute if it weren't for your unwanted spectator. You begin rambling: "Mettaton, it's not—it's not what you think it is! We were just..."

"I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT MY TWO MOST WONDERFUL FRIENDS ARE"—

"Shut UP!"

"mettaton...... i....." Mettaton, good cousin that he is, quiets down to at least hear them out. "w-we want some... some privacy, please......."

That makes it sound more provocative than it actually is. You think about what that would imply, then immediately decide it's a horrible idea (at least, in this time and place).

Too caught up in your thoughts, you give Mettaton sort of a vague, flustered nod.

"YES, YEAH, I'LL GIVE YOU TWO SOME SPAAAACE!!" He says that last part in a sing-songy way, and you die a little on the inside. "JUST GIVE ME A CALL WHEN YOU'RE DONE BEING"—

"mettaton, please"

The robot thankfully doesn't finish his sentence. He wheels himself away, and then he's gone. Just you and Blooky, the only evidence he was here being the embarrassment on your faces. You almost question how the hell he got up here, but then you remember he's probably got jetpacks or something.

".....sorry........ i totally lost track of time"

"No, I did too."

Nobody says anything. It's kind of awkward.

"...do you want to......"

"...Hm?"

You desperately hope they're about to say "kiss again" or something to that degree, though you're not sure if they'd be that forward.

"oh..... oh gee.... oh, how do i tell you this"

They rub their hand-nubs together, looking down with a distracted smile and a pink hue dusting their face. You feel warm. Your entire body feels warm. Isn't it still supposed to be winter?

"i like you too........ in..." They stutter a tiny bit. "in the way you think..."

They smile softly, eyes gentle. They're glowing again, you notice.

Is it too early to say you're in love?

You begin to lean in again, but to your surprise, they pull you in closer and smooch you first.

...If it's too early, you're so fucked.

NOTES

this part has been drafted for well over a month now, but i just got around to polishing it recently. i hope you enjoyed, and thank you for reading!

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