sciencelizard | « [IC Inbox

[If he were completely honest right now, he did not expect this answer out of Alphys. He thought for sure it would be some kind of minor thing that her anxiety blew up into something huge, and to know that it was EXACTLY as she feared is enough to throw him off for a moment.

He sits there silently, taking it all in.]

Wow, Alphys, that is... wow.

[He shakes his head.]

Maybe it's a bit more understandable that you haven't apologized to them yet. But it still stands that you need to. ...Especially if you haven't apologized for the whole, ah, "Death" thing.

[She whips her head up at his last statement, in utter disbelief.]

I c-can't talk to them again! I've been in their presence, I-I don't know, once, maybe twice since then?? They don't want to see me, or talk to me, or... it'd just h-hurt them more, to remember I'm around. They can move on without me and we can just, uh, n-never speak ever again.

[Yep. This is a foolproof plan. Absolutely.]

Alphys, when has ignoring your problems ever actually worked out for you? Answer me honestly.

[He reaches out a hand and puts it on her shoulder.]

These sorts of wounds don't disappear easily. Clearly it is still affecting them and it's still affecting you, so you both need the closure of your apology.

[She purses her lips.]

W-Well, it's worked for you in ignoring how you were built, mister.

[DON'T FORGET ABOUT YOUR LIES, METTATON, YOU ARE NOT CLEAN HERE. She deflates quickly, though, going back to looking away from him and running her hands over one another.]

I don't even know if they'd, uhm, b-believe me if I said it now. They hate me. This isn't... I don't think t-this is going to bring any kind of real forgiveness. They're just going to think I'm p-pitying them or, or something.

[Mettaton considers firing back at her, but stops himself. He doesn’t want to turn this into an argument. So instead he opts to purse his lips in turn and let it go.]

Even if they don’t believe you Alphys, the apology is still well-deserved. You can’t make them think better of you, but you can at least offer them the decency required regardless of if they choose to forgive you.

But if they d-don't believe me, they're just going to think I'm mocking them. I'm gonna make it worse. E-Every time we talk, it just, they yell at me, or, don't want to remember I exist. Interacting with them just, m-makes everything worse.

[It might not be perfect, but she does feel like she... tried, to make contact with them before. Be okay in their presence. But Asriel came and went and reopened too many old wounds. She doesn't know how to approach it now.]

As I said. You can't force them to believe you, but you can believe in yourself that what you say is true. And it is. Even if they yell or are angry, it doesn't change that you are sorry. And maybe one day, they'll listen.

[He gives her shoulder a comforting squeeze.]

Besides, if they resort to violence, you can have me nearby to scoop you up and we can both run like hell.

[She lets out an ugly snort of laughter at the last line. Well, at least he isn't totally on Chara's side. That's nice.]

I just... d-don't want to make everything worse than before. Like, m-make them think I'm mocking them or something, because it's not like that, it's just... y-yknow.

[Like everything she does is One Big Mishap.]

Maybe, uhm... a letter or s-something would be better. I don't know.

[He personally thinks that Chara would do better than that. No matter how much they front, they are not the manipulative beast they say (and think) they are. But, even if they were, Mettaton cares about them AND Alphys. He wants them both to be happy. Even if he's pushing for one side doesn't mean that Alphys is any less important to him.

...Even though he's been pulling away as of late.]

A letter could do nicely! It spares you both a direct confrontation that might escalate things, and it gives you time to clearly dictate what you mean.

[Haha well Chara would do better if they cared enough about her to sacrifice something on their end, but that's literally never going to happen, sooooo...]

I'll... f-figure something out.

[She sighs big, puts her face in her hands.]

... I didn't even, uhm, r-remember. I'm horrible.

[He puts an arm around her shoulders, warm and comforting.]

To be completely fair, a lot of things have happened between now and then. Just remember that you're still a good person, even if you have to apologize sometimes.

[He goes to say "I'm always here for you" but stops himself before the words slip out. Even if he was (which he is) she'll still... she has better friends who could comfort her. Ones she'll keep once she wises up to Mettaton's superfluous place by her side.]

There's a lot of people here in Wonderland who care about you, Alphys. Never forget that.

[They can take my place when I'm gone.]

[She can tell he's trying to calm her down, but he seems... distant. Like he's only doing it because she should fix her mistake. He's angry, isn't he? Of course he is. This sort of thing is something he'd take personally.

He's siding with Chara. He cares about Chara more than her.

It's fine. It's fine! Chara deserves more friends. They've been through a lot worse than she has, and they have more problems than she does, too. It's fine.

So fine.]

... Yeah, I, o-okay. I'll, uhm. I'll t-think about, uh, what to say.

Good! That sounds like a plan.

[He's actually pretty happy with this outcome. Even if he's not being as open as he'd like. But that's fine. This is the moment where he pulls away and says good bye, and then continues doing what he has to do. You can see him moving his arms right now-

To wrap her into a bigger hug, apparently. That was not the plan, Mettaton.

He should probably say something to explain this impromptu hug, but he doesn't trust that he won't spill something. He doesn't trust himself not to open his mouth and tell her that he knows that she'll leave him and that it's fine, really, he'll make do without her, so she doesn't have to cling on any longer than she needs.

So he selfishly holds onto her. For just a little longer.]

[He's... oh. Is this reassurance? Maybe he knows she could tell he's not entirely happy with her. Maybe they've just been friends so long that he can tell when she's worried.

She'd like to believe he's that astute to her emotions. That he's paying any attention at all.

So she presses her hands flat against his chassis before curling them up again, leaning her head on his chest. Just take this. As much as he's willing to give. That's all she can ask for, after all, being second best.]

[He holds the hug for awhile. Probably longer than he should have. It certainly doesn't seem innocuous when you hold your best friend for like, a minute straight but he doubts Alphys will say anything.

Even though he kind of hopes she will.

Finally, though, he lets her go, slowly unwinding his arms from around her.]

Well, I suppose I should get going now. I don't want to bother you for too long. Even if that is my job.

[He smiles at her and tries to inject his usual flair into it so it doesn't seem strange or off.]

H-Heh. Yeah. We both, uhm, have s-stuff to do, it sounds like.

[Or at least that both of them have something to think about.]

I'll, uhm... s-see you soon?

Oh yes. See you soon.

[He says it immediately, even though he knows it is a lie. It's a filthy lie and he hates himself just a little for it.

But it's ok. It will all be ok. Because she has Sans. And Ford. And everyone else who loves and cares about her. It's fine.

She doesn't need him anymore.

He gets up and walks to the door, giving her a small wave as he walks out.]

+1 to ZEZPQB BT FRESMNF IZDVZ BEFVQN GC NBVBW

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