Papyrus had always been loud. Loud in his voice, in his passion, in the way he cared. But when it came to you… he had spent years speaking in quiet signals.

He’d cook your favorite dishes and say things like, “ONLY THE MOST IMPORTANT PEOPLE GET EXTRA SAUCE, YOU KNOW.”

He’d offer you his scarf when it was cold, then brush it off with, “IT’S JUST LOGICAL TO PROTECT YOUR FRAGILE HUMAN NECK!”

And when you laughed, he always laughed louder. When you were sad, he stayed longer.

But you never noticed. Not really.

Because by the time he was about to try a more direct approach — the kind that included phrases like “YOU MAKE MY SOUL FEEL WARMER” — you had introduced someone else.

A member of the Royal Guard.

Cool, composed, distant.

—“We met during training,” you had said. “We’re kind of… together now.”

Papyrus had smiled through it. He still visited, still threw in those indirect lines, still offered his scarf when you forgot yours, still brought spaghetti with “coincidentally” heart-shaped meatballs.

And still… you didn’t see it.

Then came the day everything shattered.

You were late to your usual visit. Hours late.

Sans shrugged.

—“Probably got caught up in work,” he’d mumbled, flipping a page in his book.

But Papyrus knew something was off.

You never forgot to text him. You never left him hanging.

He searched Snowdin. Nothing.

He checked the Hotlands. Nothing.

He reached out to the Royal Guard.

Your partner hadn’t even noticed you were missing.

And that broke him.

By the time he found you — half-conscious, trapped behind a fallen rock in the deeper corners of the Ruins — his magic shook with panic.

—“WHAT HAPPENED!? WHY DID YOU GO ALONE!? WHY DIDN’T—WHY DIDN’T THEY LOOK FOR YOU?!”

You murmured something weakly, too tired to answer. But you smiled when you saw him.

That smile shattered him.

Back at the house, after he’d healed you the best he could and wrapped you in every blanket available, you finally fell asleep. Papyrus stood there for a long time, fists clenched, soul aching.

Sans entered the room, eyebrows slightly raised.

—“You okay, bro?”

—“No,” Papyrus whispered. “I’M NOT.”

And for the first time in a very long time… his voice cracked.

—“I DROPPED HINTS FOR YEARS, SANS… AND THEY NEVER SAW IT. THEY NEVER KNEW. AND STILL, WHEN THEY WERE IN DANGER, I’M THE ONE WHO CARED.”

Sans looked at you, curled up peacefully under Papyrus’s scarf.

—“… Maybe they saw it, Pap. Just not soon enough.”

Papyrus blinked at that, tears still quietly streaming down his cheekbones.

He knelt beside you.

Gently brushed your hair back.

And this time, without hiding behind excuses or yelling about logic… he whispered something soft.

—“I LOVE YOU.”