Work Text:
1.
Watching Napstablook work was delightful. There was something joyful and calming in watching his cousin speak quietly to the snails, whispering kind encouragements while they scatter dandelion greens everywhere. He was supposed to be working too; he was, kinda, by cheering Napstablook on as he watched.
“You’re so good with them, Blooky, they absolutely love you,” he called out as proof, and the ghost looked up at him, phasing in and out of visibility.
“Oh...no, I’m just feeding them. That’s why they’re happy...” Napstablook said shyly, and they floated closer to him, to the fence of their small snail farm. He laughed, shaking a little in disagreement.
“I doubt that, darling. Look at Mrs. Teakettle. She definitely loves you!” He pointed at the snail on the ground next to Napstablook, her tentacles waggling excitedly as she inched very slowly to Napstablook’s form.
Blook blushed terribly, their eyes pooling with what seemed to be overwhelmed tears. Their own hands materialized, and they gasped, “I can’t cry...ahh, I’ll hurt her if I do.”
He couldn’t help his laughter, he really wasn’t being mean, but Napstablook was endearing, “You won’t, I promise. Come here,” He reached over the fence for the other ghost, touching their face so their tears dissipated into his ectoplasm, “It’s okay, she still loves you. I love you too, Blooky! It’s impossible not to.”
He pulled his hands back but Blook reached up to hold them in place, smiling a little wobbly smile. They let go soon enough, despite how they were still smiling, “You’re just saying that...”
“I’m not!” He said with utmost confidence, “You’re like a little cloud of adorable, you’re so sweet and kind, and you make amazing music, you’re the best!”
Napstablook was helplessly blushing, worse than before, and he caught their tears dutifully. He was honestly just teasing Blook at this point, but he was speaking the truth, too. He’d never let Blooky forget what he thought of them. If it were up to him, Blook would remember that they were loved, always.
2.
He could feel Blook’s eyes on him, but he doesn’t mind in the least. The theme song of the human show they liked to watch was blaring on Napstablook’s TV, and he was dancing to it wildly, to his heart’s content.
He could see himself on stage, dancing to the song as he was now, while people cheered his name on. (Metta, he had decided. It’s not finalized yet, but for some humans it meant kindness and love and benevolence and he thought it was pretty, so, for now.)
(Blooky didn’t know about his new name, yet. He will tell them. Eventually.)
He twirled and struck a pose he had seen once on a show and Napstablook made a whooping sound, which was very enthusiastic coming from them. They were beaming, and Metta felt his heart grow three sizes larger.
“That was so goooood, you’re really good, oh my god...I want to watch you dance always,” Blook said, practically bouncing off the floor in their excitement.
Metta twirled again, winking at Napstablook for good measure, “Dance with me! We always watch the humans do it, we can do it too.”
“We can?”
“Sure! Come on, up up, we’ll dazzle the world with our moves.”
Napstablook obliged right away, most likely still very excited about all of this, trying to follow Metta’s movements. They collided multiple times, making each other laugh with how silly they were being.
Something crashed outside.
“For the love of the King’s FLUFF,” a familiar voice shouted from outside of Napstablook’s house, as gruff as ever, “Quiet, quiet, QUIET!! I’m trying to be corporeal in peace here!”
Blook dropped right away, paler than usual, sufficiently reprimanded. Metta floated down to them, and smiled. They watched him with wide, spooked eyes, but couldn’t help a smile of their own eventually, then trembled with laughter again as Metta did the same.
The next time Mad Dummy yelled at the both of them to shut up, they didn’t even hear it.
3.
“Um, I packed you some sandwiches...” Napstablook placed the little, transparent baggie in his hands, “Be careful. And say hello to your friend...her name was Alphys, right?”
Mettaton nodded; he was that now, it was final. Alphys’ latest design for his new body contributed a lot to the choice. (Blook still didn’t know of his new name. They will know. Eventually.) They were in Waterfall, and Blook was sending him off for his sleepover with Alphys in Hotland. He really liked how the glow mushrooms illuminated Blook’s form. “That’s precisely it, darling. I’m so glad you remember.”
Blook smiled, but their smile faded away almost immediately. Mettaton moved closer, concerned, “What’s wrong, Blooky?”
“...Nothing. Nothing’s wrong,” they looked at the ground, at anywhere that wasn’t Mettaton, “I should go get algae for the snails...and you should go to Hotland...I think. Don’t make Alphys wait...”
Mettaton dipped down, trying to catch Napstablook’s eyes, “Blook? Tell me, please.”
They were blinking fast, as they usually do when they were trying not to cry, “Come...come back, okay? Please come back. I understand if...you don’t want to...but please come back home this one time...”
“Oh Blooky,” Mettaton sighed, lightly bumping his cheek against his cousin’s, “Don’t worry about that, I’ll come back. I won’t leave you, I promised, didn’t I?”
Blook nodded, and Mettaton pressed a kiss to their cheek.
Somehow, he felt a little guilty for it.
4.
Mettaton believed that he had a good run. He had achieved his dreams, had an impressive number of adoring fans. He had shown his true form; what he was supposed to look like, since the beginning; on live television, and—and it was alright. It was alright to have the curtains close on him at this specific moment, to end his story.
The human had given him an amazing performance, and Mettaton believed that it was the best possible ending that he could have asked for. He could have died peacefully, just like this.
But he wasn’t selfish! He knew he was loved by many, and his fans needed their closure. A final goodbye before he left for good. Opening a phone line wasn’t difficult, though he could feel himself slowly drifting away, his power cell draining fast due to his damaged, inefficient frame.
“Hi, you’re on TV!” Mettaton said, the happiest he had ever been, right in this moment, “What do you have to say on this, our last show?”
The voice that came through was a voice that he recognized immediately.
Mettaton had to admit. Blook was the last thought on his mind.
He couldn’t say a word. Nothing came to mind. Napstablook probably didn’t even know who he was, aside from his persona as a celebrity of the Underground, and despite that... Blook would miss him. They said so.
Blook hung up so quickly, Mettaton hadn’t realized how much he missed that voice till he heard himself calling out for Blook to come back. He stopped himself. This was not the time.
He wanted to touch his own face, where his audial input was, as if he could touch Blooky through it. But he couldn’t, and the loss felt profound.
“I’ll take another caller,” Mettaton said, and decided that it was not yet his time to go.
5.
Mettaton couldn’t help himself, he simply could not. It had been forever since he had seen Napstablook in person. It was his fault entirely for their separation, but it didn’t matter to him, now.
Alphys had pinged him to let him know that she was safe after his departure from Asgore’s castle, and it felt like a veil had been lifted from the Underground, as if something volatile lying beneath it had been put to rest. It was overwhelming. He was alive and his friend was alright; probably making out with the girl of her dreams; and Napstablook was right there, in front of him, and Mettaton could not help himself.
He scooped Blooky up in his arms, which was an odd feeling when his arms moved through nothing, but the ghost graciously went with the motion anyway. They seemed surprised, in that adorable way where their eyes were as wide as saucers. Mettaton kissed their tiny mouth with emotion.
Surprise felt like electricity through Napstablook’s form, zapping Mettaton’s arms. Those eyes were still wide, staring at him, “I...Oh, wow... Mettaton. Why?”
He knew Blook didn’t recognize him, he knew since their phone call, he came back to his old house knowing this. The guilt that bore down on his heart was excruciatingly heavy, still. “I’m just,” Mettaton reset his vocalizer, increasing his pitch to something chipper, “I’m just very glad you’re alive, dear!”
“I can’t...really die, actually,” Napstablook said in a low voice, seemingly embarrassed, before looking up again. There wasn’t a hint of recognition in his cousin’s expression, “Did something happen?”
“Ah, yes. It was practically the apocalypse, sweetheart, but the human saved us all! They did a really good job,” his smile felt forced, and that was also an odd thing to feel, that had never happened to him before. “Everyone’s safe now.”
The ghost was suddenly vibrating with excitement, unshed tears pooling in their eyes, “The human?? They were so kind to me...I knew that they’d succeed in achieving their dreams. Not that...it matters or anything but ahh, I don’t even know their name! I’m terrible...I’ll be sure to ask if they come back here...I need to go clean my house so they can be comfortable if they stop by...”
They floated away, away from Mettaton but stopped halfway to their home, turning around to face him. “I’m very happy you came to check on me, Mettaton...Thank you. Do you...” Blook tried again, their tears gone by now, “Do you want to come in? But...but wait for a moment, I really need to clean up...I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright!” Mettaton said automatically, he didn’t even have to think about it, “It’s no problem at all, I am going to wait for the human as well. Surely they’d want to bask in my presence for a while after being a hero! It’s only natural. I’ll wait here, darling, don’t worry about me.”
Napstablook thanked him again quietly, then disappeared into their house. Mettaton did as he said, standing before what used to be his home, fixating a smile onto his face, and waited.
+1
The crowd loved them. Humans and monsters alike, everyone enjoyed their performance. He had even more fans now than he had before, and their fame was divine. It was better still that Mettaton was living his lifelong dream, dancing onstage in front of an enthusiastic audience with Napstablook and Shyren.
They had solid gigs, they were booked for months in a lot of places throughout the surface. Shyren was getting more and more confident about performing with Mettaton in public, and Napstablook seemed happy when they were on stage, not saying a word, simply playing their music for the masses. Mettaton finally discovered that he was truly the happiest when they were smiling, at ease with themselves.
Napstablook and Mettaton hadn’t really talked about things, after he revealed to the ghost that he was their long-lost cousin. Blook’s reaction was nothing he had predicted, only a quiet ‘oh’ and a minute of silence. They then thanked Mettaton for telling them, apologized for not realizing sooner, and thanked him again for returning home, even if it was only temporary.
Things had gotten better, afterwards. Everyone in the Underground had been busy with relocating to the surface, and Mettaton hadn’t left Napstablook’s side once since they started. He didn’t want to leave again. He was determined, this time.
That being said...
The crowd was still cheering outside. The show was over; Mettaton’s limbs felt loose from all his dancing, he’d have to fine tune his joints soon; it just went on to show what a success they had been. Shyren chirped a happy note, and Mettaton swivelled around to flash a heart shape for her on his screen. “You were amazing, Shyren! Even more so than usual, I thought I could weep from how beautiful your singing was.”
Shyren bubbled a few notes in appreciation, and Mettaton turned to Napstablook, who seemed to be checking their equipment over. “Blooky!”
They looked up at him, “...Yes?”
“You did great today,” Mettaton moved closer, internally tentative, but not letting it show, “I told you your new composition would be an absolute hit, darling, everyone went crazy for it!”
Blook laughed quietly, disappearing and reappearing again out of embarrassment, “You’re too nice...”
“I’m being honest,” he said, but didn’t push it any further, “I’m really glad I have the opportunity to perform with you, Blooky. I’m very grateful that you’re here with me now.”
The ghost said nothing, and Mettaton assumed that once again that their conversations would end in silence, as they so often have after they were reunited. He flashed Napstablook a bright, yellow star on his screen, and wheeled backward to leave them alone for the time being. He needed his tune up, anyway.
A light pressure rested on top of his frame, almost non-existent, and Mettaton froze.
It was Blook, their small hand touching Mettaton. “...Thank you. I’m grateful that I’m here with you, too.”
Mettaton whirled around and Napstablook retracted their hand. They gave him a small, shy smile, one that Mettaton had missed dearly.
Now, he was sure that everything will truly be alright.