ᕕ(ᐛ)ᕗ

MTT-Brand Stages of Grief

Chapter 1: Heretofore

Being the star of the underground had been tiring enough, but the world of human celebrities made his previous position seem like child's play. Mettaton sighed, setting down the script of his latest film appearance, and leaned forward to scrutinize his reflection in the mirror. Not a hair out of place, and no smudging in his makeup. Perfect.

Maybe after this movie he'd take a bit of a break. Sans had said he looked like he'd been running himself thin anyways, and he thought he should try to put his boyfriend's mind at ease. Not to mention it'd create more public excitement for whatever he'd plan to do afterwards.

The robot rose, heels clicking softly on the floor as he took a light jacket from a nearby hook, donning it and the pair of sunglasses he fished from it's pockets . He didn't mind the paparazzi, say, but the paparazzi of the surface was too invasive, even for him, sometimes. Mettaton just wanted to get home in peace for once.

From his other pocket, he produced his cellphone, which was bedazzled with perhaps too many rhinestones, and from which a multitude of cellphone charms that Alphys had given him were dangling. Typing out a quick text telling Sans that he was done shooting for the day, he hit send and left his dressing room. No one stopped him on his way to the parking lot, for he'd just flash them a quick smile and inform them that he didn't have time for a chat.

The rest of the trip home went as smoothly as the beginning, and Mettaton hummed idly along to the radio as he drove. Maybe he should produce another album; he didn't hear any of his songs the whole duration of the ride. It wasn't particularly worrying or anything, he'd felt rather lighthearted and hopeful for a while now.

His thoughts wandered to Sans, and he smiled. Mettaton had met him through Alphys. It felt like ages ago, now. That was back when they were still in the Underground, and Mettaton had been taking residence in Alphys' Lab while MTT Resort was being built. Things were similar to those days, because he was living with Alphys once again, although Undyne was there too-not that he minded her presence. He got along with her well, if he didn't say so himself.

Although, there were times that Mettaton would've never believed the monsters would leave the Underground. Well, even he could be wrong, but, as he told himself, it wasn't often. He'd been wrong about Sans, initially, after all. Back when he met him when Alphys introduced him to Mettaton, he'd judged too quickly, looking down on him with derision since he'd assumed that the skeleton was lazy and boring, hardly worth his attention.

When Sans ended up performing at the newly christened MTT Resort as a comedian, though, Mettaton began to change his tune. He'd hired him because he was familiar, and he would always be glad to do a favor for a friend of Alphys, but, when he happened to watch Sans perform a set, there was something that caught his eye.

As a performer, Mettaton could always appreciate and notice when others had a way with the crowd. And, the way Sans played off of and enthralled the crowd with his stage presence absolutely impressed him. He cornered him after the show, intent on finding out what the short skeleton's secret was, since he'd pulled it off rather effortlessly.

They'd had a pleasant conversation, and the robot's chest felt a little lighter afterwards. He made it a common occurrence  afterwards, and slowly he came to know Sans a little bit better.

Sans lived with his brother, who was a huge fan. This gig was one of many jobs he had. He worked hard, but liked to relax and take things at a different pace. He'd been a scientist once, but he didn't seem to like talking about that part of his past, so Mettaton always skirted the subject. He always found himself interested to learn more, since the harder he inspected him, the more things he found out. But he never felt as if he really knew him.

Eventually, they started meeting even when Sans was not working, and still, they talked. Mettaton laughed at his puns, and listened, and Sans put up with Mettaton's dreams of grandeur.

"I'm going to have a real body one day soon!", Mettaton boasted, wheeling forward, "With legs! The best legs you'll ever see. Alphys dearest has finally started working on it in earnest." "It likely took this long because you have thigh standards", Sans commented, grinning as he was rewarded with a peal of robotic laughter. "Surely you jest, darling, it's because Alphys has put her heart and sole into it." Mettaton paused thoughtfully, his expression sheepish. "Alright, perhaps it was a tiny bit of both."

Not particularly farther in Mettaton's memory, he had met Sans again while he was in Alphys' lab. He had been waiting for Alphys to finish an episode of some anime so she could perform some basic maintenance, when he heard the door open behind him. He turned just in time to see Sans stroll in at a comfortable pace, giving a lazy wave as he realized Mettaton was looking at him. The rectangular robot spared a quick glance back at Alphys before rolling over to greet Sans.

"Imagine meeting you here", Mettaton teased light-heartedly, "Aren't you usually working at the hotdog stand around now? Did you miss me that much?" Sans shrugged before replying. "I took a break, and 'sides, I had to ask Alphys about something. Don't you have employees to go terrorize, or a show to film?"
 "Sansy darling, you're taking me too seriously", he chuckled. "But really, I am here for a reason. Simply maintenance though. Alphys wanted to finish her episode though so I was loitering a tad." "Maintenance, huh?", the skeleton mused, scratched the back of his skull nonchalantly, "Sounds like you'll be experiencing a lot of screwing around." Mettaton began to snicker, trying to hold off from actually laughing. "Yeah, that kind of stuff really grinds my gears, darling."

A large groan could be heard from Alphys' desk, and when they turned to look, the scientist had her head in her hands. "S-since when have you two been so chummy?", she finally said when she lifted her head, "I feel l-like I'm listening to a j-joint c-comedy routine."

"Why wouldn't we be chummy? Darling, there's nothing fishy about being friends, at least if you're talking about the right kind of chum." If Mettaton had had a mouth at that point in time, he would have been wearing a shit-eating grin. Sans was cracking up behind him, holding his sides as he laughed.

Alphys snorted a little, but managed to keep her composure. "Alright, alright, I g-get it. A-anyways, I finished my episode, so please go up to the w-workbench while I see what Sans needs to discuss with me."

Mettaton gave a little parting wave as he headed towards the upper level of the lab. He wondered what Sans needed from Alphys, but he knew it was none of his business, so he'd keep out of it. He didn't have a nose to be nosy with, anyways.

Life continued as normal for the robot, until the human came to the Underground. In the first days, Alphys would tell him about the human, and he would watch the monitors with her. He was intrigued, but what was more intriguing was the thought of being a star in not only the Underground, but the surface as well.

Sans was a bit more scarce, and whenever Mettaton saw him, he seemed more exhausted, even a little haggard. He seemed to be in a good mood, though.

"The human made it into Waterfall today", Mettaton remarked as Sans ate a ketchup-slathered glamburger across the table from him, "Alphys told me how they and Papyrus are friends now." The skeleton nodded. "Sweet kid. They seem to be on a good track this time." Silence stretched out for a few seconds before Mettaton replied. "What do you mean, this time?", the robot asked quizzically, the lights on his chassis forming a big question mark.

"I don't mean anything by it", he said neutrally, scratching the back of his skull, "It was just a slip of my tongue; it went off rails after the mention of tracks." The robot had a nagging feeling that Sans wasn't telling the truth, but he was unsure how to press it. He wasn't an empath by any means, but something about the skeleton's expression made him suddenly feel very, very sad.

Almost instantly, as if he too had sensed the melancholy air, Sans reached over and rested one of his hands on Mettaton's. "Hey, don't worry about it. If there was something important going on I'd tell you about it, ok? I have something important to ask you anyways." The robot gave the closest thing to a nod that his boxy body could manage, and Sans continued. "When the kid gets here, can you please not rough them up too badly? It's an odd favor to ask but it'd be even odder to explain, so I'd like to leave it at that."

Mettaton mused over it for a moment. "There's some things that Alphys has been planning to do if the human reaches Hotland, but since she's enthralled by them I don't think any of it is potentially life-threatening. " He leaned on his other arm, glancing at his and Sans' hands occasionally while he spoke. "Just smoke and mirrors and showbiz, and likely to boost ratings. I'll be starring as the hero-or more like the villain, depending which way you look at it- of course. Nothing gets viewers interested quite like ambiguity!"

"And anyways", he continued, "Isn't it quite early to call that? They still have to get past Undyne to get to Hotland. Not to mention that their destination is probably the barrier. Even if I potentially fought them, if they couldn't get past me, they'd have no chance against Asgore. I know you're rooting for the little darling, but they'd have to have a special something to accomplish all of that."

Sans seemed to notice at that point that he was still resting his hand on Mettaton's, and removed it gingerly. "I can see how it appears that way", he began, glancing downwards momentarily before looking back at him, "But please just trust me on this one. The kid is more than they seem; I know they can do it. They have more than enough determination to make it across the Underground."

The robot remained silent for a moment, turning over what Sans said. "I have faith in you, gorgeous, and I'll try to keep it in mind. I know you're still not telling me everything, but it's alright. There are somethings I'd be better off not knowing, I suppose. I still intend to make a show out of it if the human arrives in Hotland. I mean, it's almost time for a long-awaited premiere."

And what a glorious premiere it had been. Drama, bloodshed, and ooh, the oh so delectable ratings. His new body was able to dance like he had only dreamed of before. And what better a dance than one of battle? Mettaton was reaching the largest audience he had ever been able to, and he had never felt more alive at that point. It didn't stop him from losing to the kid, though. He'd smiled, even though his body was shutting down. Sans had been right. This kid could make it. "Knock 'em dead, darling", he'd managed to say with the last of his battery, watching as the kid gave him a thumbs up. Everything went black.

Alphys had him on the workbench, wires connected here and there as she repaired him. As he powered back up, she was the first thing he saw. Mettaton smiled weakly. "Sorry that I went a bit awfully overboard, Alphys dearest." The scientist looked up at him. "You had m-me so scared, you kn-know?", she said quietly. "Wh-when I saw you there, I th-thought, I thought y-you were... I d-didn't want to lose anyone else." She remained silent for a moment. The robot dropped his gaze guiltily, his one reattached arm drumming its fingers on the tabletop.

 "I learned my lesson, I think", he said quietly, seriously. "Going forward, I'm going to try to keep that ambition that drives me in check. There are other things that are important to me besides stardom."

He'd done a good job thus far, he thought. At some point, he'd come to the realization he was in love with Sans, and it was hard to pinpoint when he'd even fallen. But it had become a fact. It was easy to mask at first, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to hide the way he brightened when he heard Sans' name, or the giddy feeling he got when he was close to him.

Eventually, Mettaton came to terms with it. He was spending almost all his freetime whenever he was away from the set with Sans, and when he wasn't, he was probably discreetly sending him a text here or there.