sciencelizard | « [IC Inbox- Hadriel]

[Always with the suspicion, wow. To be fair though...he probably deserves that.]

WOW!!!

AND HERE I WANTED TO REWARD YOU FOR BEING SO GOOD ABOUT NOT EATING CUPCAKES FOR LUNCH!

REALLY THOUGH. I'M NOT GIVING YOU JUST CUPCAKES, I'M NOT A HEATHEN.

ANYWAY!!! SEE YOU IN A LITTLE WHILE!! <3

[And so he does! It takes him a bit to get everything packed up properly and arrive to the lab, but at that point he decides to be polite and not bust Alphys' door in. Instead, he knocks and loudly announces himself:]

Guess who~?

[The worst, that's who.]

you nerd
c u soon =^o^=

[Sure enough, she's at her desk in the center, chewing on a pen and looking at some of the notes in front of her. She perks up when he arrives with a smile, waving him towards the center.]

Oh, wow, I d-don't know. Are you the delivery robot? I'm waiting on someone.

[Look, she's got jokes!]

Absolutely! I'm your friendly neighborhood side-hustle food delivery bot!

[He runs with it like it's his show, of course, joining Alphys at her desk and setting down a neatly folded brown bag before her. Once she opens it, she'll find a lovingly assembled peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a ridiculous parfait covered in cling wrap, and a cupcake that is clearly a scream for more glitter in the city.]

Don't forget sweetheart, I work for tips!

[Punctuated by a flirtatious leggy in the air. ;) See? Sometimes Mettaton's possessed of a good mood and he's almost his good old self again.]

[It's nice. It's really nice to see him like this- smiling and entertaining and doing something silly. They've been through a lot and changed a lot, but these are the moments she missed when she was here alone, with no one who really knew her. So she giggles as he sets it all down in front of her with a smile.]

W-What's your first hustle?

[But she does look really happy as she unpacks it all.]

Also I, uhm, hope that glitter is edible.

Naturally, all forms of entertainment are a part of my game! You should know~ You 'made' me that way!!

[Wink wonk.

Oh but when she brings up the glitter, he can't help but laugh lightly. Maybe a while back he would have put inedible sequins on everything or perhaps straight up craft glitter from an art store! But...certain things have given him an appreciation for food that is actually as good as it looks, and maybe taste testing poses an issue, but if there's anything he knows for certain it's that you gotta do your cooking by the book!]

Oh honey, of course! They're sugar sweet just like you! For real this time, I wouldn't want to make actual rubbish for you, now, would I?

[Instant noodles and pocky are rubbish enough in general.]

[She gives him a wink, though it's not as exaggerated. For all the secrets she's told other people here, that one's just going to stay theirs. He doesn't want to be outed, and she won't do that to him. She's not cruel.]

I'm not saying you'd d-do it on purpose.

[Alphys is biting into the sandwich, though, talking with her mouth full a little bit.]

Do you need something? I mean, you can stay even if you don't, but.

[Mettaton could never express quite how grateful he is to Alphys for keeping that one, important secret. Hadriel...it was a place were he had been able to start over, so to speak. No one had seen the pitiful, pink ghost searching fervently for a body here.

No one had to. Mettaton had dealt with a lot that he'd rather forget, but at the very least, his heart is not so heavy anymore...and the rough edges are starting to smooth out. Very slowly, but surely.

As Alphys begins to eat, Mettaton leans against a wall and lazily crosses his long arms across his chest. It's much more relaxed, of course. Alphys has had that effect on him recently.]

Well darling, I thought I could use a charge and that lovely generator of yours is just the thing!

[He abhors being stuck as a box for too long, of course, but relents that this form is still not the most efficient with regards to energy. It still doesn't stop him from using it. Call him selfish. He is.

If he wasn't, then...he wouldn't be here.]

And I thought it would be nice if I spent time with you in your element. We could keep each other company!

[He pauses.]

That is, unless I would be in the way.

[He says it as if it's nothing, as if he's used to it. And for a moment, his improvement might be called into question.]

[Good! He deserves it! He needs to be able to be happy. Back home, Alphys didn't see herself as a true helper to anyone; she couldn't protect her friends like she wanted, ever. But she has something here. A new start, people who trust her, some work she's finally done that was honest and kind. She never imagined she'd have something like this. That she'd really, really help someone.

But she waves her hand even when her mouth is full, as if to dismiss that last notion entirely.]

No, no, you're n-never in the way. Hang on, I can get you, uh, hooked up. With the Gods slowly coming back we should have, uhm, a full power grid soon anyway.

[She shoves another bite of sandwich in her mouth before sliding off her chair, her clawed feet hitting the ground with a small tap. But she smiles at him, warm despite the temperature.]

J-Just don't sit on it again.

[Sometimes...

Sometimes it's just nice to hear that he's never in the way. Not here. Not anymore. It warms his SOUL that Hadriel had become a place where he could be himself. Maybe not publicly...but with Alphys at least.

He follows behind Alphys, nodding at her words.]

Don't worry, silly. I won't sit on it. I simply can't wait until the situation is remedied though, so that this will be a thing of the past. No more cold. No more energy problems.

By the way...have you been doing alright here? Is it warm enough?

[Of course he isn't. Hadriel is her home- their home, as far as she's concerned. The city and the people in it are where they can really get a fresh start, and even though she wishes Undyne or Sans or any of her friends from home would reappear one day, it's comfort enough to have him around.]

Ohmygosh, yes, absolutely. I hope the city moves again soon, it's just, s-so bad right now. I can't believe people voted for this place.

[She is counting down the days to jungle planet, let her tell you. Out of all the climates they've been to, the jungle was one climate that was never in the Underground and she's always wanted to see. Give it to her!! Bring it to her grubby little hands!!]

Oh, but uh-- I mean, indoors it's been fine. Having the heat lamp helps, so, it's okay. I guess this is just kind of... how it is on the surface? Or how it would be, if like, uhm, seasons were a thing.

[Haha...he probably should have voted for her benefit, not that ONE vote would have turned the tide, more than likely. But all the same...he does feel a little guilty for his inaction.]

Just make sure you're hydrated, honey. We wouldn't want your scales becoming discolored, would we?

[Look. He's not sitting here saying she's laying under the lamp and baking herself like a mindless iguana but uhhh. It's cold and he just wants to make extra sure she doesn't get too enthusiastic about warming herself up.]

Anyway, the fauna is not ideal either. Not that I expected better.

[Shhhshshs he doesn't have to know. She figures they would have come here anyway, so in the end it's just something to get through... though, uh, she would've preferred to do it WITH the gods' help. For now, she'll just playfully nudge him through his assumption.]

It's fine, I'm n-not a baby! But uh, this planet is just, uh... not great all around. Though... it's still kind of, uhm. Cool to think we're on a totally other planet.

[This is probably a little lost on Mettaton, seeing as he spent a while in Literal Space, but it remains exciting to her.]

It's kinda weird. T-To think the Underground is so far away.

Do you ever miss it?

[He can't help but ask, but he laughs afterwards.]

Not the part about being trapped, of course! The simplicity. Sometimes I wonder what I really wanted from the surface. It's not terrible back home, but...I think I'd need a break from it all if I ever did get back to where I came from.

[He knows that his experiences are anecdotal, but if he had the choice between Hadriel, Thisavrou or the Moira, or the Underground? He's picking the damn Underground, no contest.

Notably, he says "where I came from" because he knows where he hails is not the same for the others. Exhibit A is OBVIOUSLY Alphys.]

[Her laughter fades a bit, trying to consider the question. As much as Mettaton loved the Underground, Alphys... didn't have the same kind of experience. Her leaving the Underground wasn't so much a choice to go, but a desire to be anywhere but there. It can be hard to think of it sometimes as a place devoid from her hangups, away from her issues.]

Well, it... I d-don't know, really. I miss the people there, uhm, of course-- I haven't seen Undyne, or Sans, or anyone in so long. But I... I don't know. If I could go home or stay here, it, uhm. I think it would depend on some things.

[Because she could never convince herself to go back to the dark, to the lies, to everything she was lucky to be able to leave behind. But that doesn't mean it isn't hard not to miss the things that she loved.]

« [IC Inbox- Hadriel]

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