Prompt: Some time after you moved into Snowdin, Papyrus must confess to you that he likes you more than platonically now. However he's still his goofy self, so what can he do to convince you?

You had lived in the Underground for around two months now, feeling at home and easily leaving the Aboveground permanently in favor of the friends that you met in this strange world. It was the first time in your life that you felt treasured for who you truly were. The makeshift family that assembled around you quickly became the highlight of your days and you looked forward to the weekly dinner that you all had together; the one time where the stresses of work and other day-to-day responsibilities were forgotten and left behind.

You turned out the light in your bedroom and shut the door, taking care to wrap yourself in a thick jacket and scarf before leaving your apartment. You still weren’t used to the constant cold of Snowdin and you doubted you would ever be. It was a particularly snowy day outside today; Alphys had said something about a cold front on its way during dinner last week.

As you walked through the town outside, various monsters gave you passing greetings. It had taken you at least a month to adjust to the variety of beings in the Underground, but it took them little time at all to see you as a friend. Knowing you couldn’t very well arrive at a dinner party empty-handed, you stopped at the Inn to pick up a bottle of Sans’ favorite brand of ketchup.

You came to the skeleton brothers’ house at last, shaking your head a little as you could already smell the burning of something before entering. After a few quick knocks, the door swung open, revealing Papyrus, still clad in his chef’s hat and ‘Kiss the Cook’ apron.

“HELLO, HUMAN! DINNER IS NOT QUITE READY YET, AS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM PREPARING IT MYSELF TONIGHT.”

You presented him the bottle of ketchup you bought. He accepted it gladly, muttering something about how he could never seem to keep enough ketchup in the house to keep Sans happy. Papyrus stepped aside and invited you in, and the first thing you noticed was a small, blazing fire surrounded by stones in the middle of the living room.

“Papyrus…wha-“

“I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT BE COLD AFTER YOUR WALK OVER HERE, SO I HAVE TAKEN THE STEPS NECESSARY TO CREATE A FIRE DESPITE OUR LACK OF PLACE TO PUT ONE. NO NEED TO THANK ME.”

You smiled as you hung your coat and scarf on the rack near the door, shoving your mittens into your jacket pockets. You fidgeted out of your wet boots, leaving them there as well. Deciding not to question the safety of the situation, you walked over and crouched in front of the fire, warming your hands. Besides the two of you and the crackling fire, the house was unusually quiet and empty.

“Where’s everyone else?”

Papyrus looked quickly at the ground before looking back in your general direction to answer, seemingly staring at something just above your head now.

“S-SANS WENT OUT TO RETRIEVE THE OTHERS FROM THE HOTLANDS.”

You thought that was odd, seeing as Sans never seemed willing to put in any sort of effort like that before, but shrugged it off and went to sit down at the kitchen table. A few minutes passed, and Papyrus emerged from the kitchen with two plates of spaghetti. He set one in front of you before quickly sitting down across from you with his own.

“WE SHOULD EAT BEFORE THE FOOD GETS COLD,” he said, avoiding your gaze. “I-I CAN ALWAYS MAKE MORE FOR EVERYONE ELSE LATER.”

The spaghetti was his usual fare; more uncooked than al dente, sauce with glitter poured on top. However, tonight, the glitter was not the expected pink, it was…green?

You decided you would eat a few bites of the meal before bringing it up. The sauce ended up being pretty good, it tasted more homemade than store bought. You looked up at Papyrus and smiled between mouthfuls.

“Why the change in glitter color, Pap?”

He looked disheartened at this. If he could frown, you’re sure he would have.

“I WOULD BE HAPPY TO MAKE YOU A NEW PLATE, THIS TIME WITH PINK AGAIN, IF YOU WANTED.”

“No, no! This is fine. Green is my favorite color, actually.”

Saying that the glitter he had used tonight was your favorite color seemed to bring back a bit of the happy mood you were accustomed to from the skeleton. Still, you noticed that he kept glancing at you as he twirled pasta around his fork, as if he were expecting you to find something wrong with the meal.

“What’s wrong, Papyrus?”

He continued fidgeting with the spaghetti on his plate, and the table seemed to be shaking. He let out a loud sigh.

“T-THIS IS NOT EASY FOR ME TO SAY. EARLIER WHEN I FIRST MET YOU, WE WENT ON THAT DATE, AND SINCE THEN I HAVE DONE NOTHING BUT WORRY ABOUT YOUR SAFETY. I ALSO BEGAN TO REGRET TELLING YOU THAT I WAS NOT INTERESTED IN BEING ANYTHING BUT FRIENDS WITH YOU. I AM AFRAID THAT I NO LONGER WISH TO THINK OF YOU AS A F-FRIEND, BUT SOMETHING…MORE.”

“Papyrus…”

“IT IS ALRIGHT IF YOU NO LONGER HAVE FEELINGS FOR ME, HUMAN. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, CAN HANDLE IT, I THINK.”

“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you either, Papyrus.”

“HUMAN! AFTER ALL THIS TIME, Y-YOU…“

He trailed off. You interrupted his line of thought by standing and walking over to the other side of the table before sweeping him into a tight hug, pressing your lips against his now orange-tinted cheekbone.

“After all this time, Paps.”