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Her hands shivered. Her teeth chattered. Her scales stuck together as she rubbed her arms furiously for warmth. Going from the humid Waterfall to the frosty Snowdin gave Undyne a whiplash that singed her back. Next to her, Papyrus stood smiling by the door to her house, her feet shuffling not out of a need for heat but a buzzing for a buzz on her phone.
Undyne sneezed. “GOD, Papyrus, how can you stand this cold?!”
“I’M USING MY LEGS!” Papyrus exclaimed.
Undyne almost rolled her eyes. Why was she wearing that scarf and those gloves anyway? She needed them more than Papyrus did! Still, she let her sneezes rip away her jabs.
“IF THE COLD REALLY BOTHERS YOU, WE CAN ALWAYS GO BACK TO YOUR PLACE ESPECIALLY SINCE… EH…”
Papyrus’s words fell seeing the slight furrow on Undyne’s face. Maybe that wasn’t the brightest idea.
She was about to suggest heading inside her house—she had no clue why they were outside anyway—when Undyne coughed, “I guess we can stop by. Say goodbye to it at least.”
They trudged through the snow, the flakes, then the blades of grass past the liver of the rivers until they arrived at the ashes of Undyne’s home. Glowing pyre, much like the one in Undyne’s chest, crumbled the blackened walls chip by chip. Her windows weeped.
Undyne’s hands yearned to sweep the searing seep from her house’s eyes, but she could not afford any more pain than she already held. Crackling crackles and spitting sparks lounged for her and then faded as if to mock her for flinching, to drill into her head that it was all her fault. For opening her heart, for letting in a new friend, for daring to love too much, she paid the price of her home.
Papyrus cut through the moment of silence. “SO ARE YOU GOING TO SAY GOODBYE, OR WILL YOU JUST STARE AT IT?”
“Give me a minute!! Sheesh…” Undyne growled.
She sat down, the blades of grass piercing her legs and her hands. Papyrus scooched next to her. Undyne’s eyes wandered to the skeleton’s sockets. They say the eyes are the window to the soul, but Papyrus didn’t have eyes. She could never really figure out what went on in that skull of hers.
“DO YOU FEEL WARMER AT LEAST?” Papyrus asked.
She really wanted to pick that skull apart. “I- Guess??? God, why do you keep saying these things?”
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN?”
“Like… Ngahhh, you- Sometimes, what you say is really not the right thing to say at the moment.”
“OH.” Papyrus then scratched her head. “WAIT, ARE YOU QUIZZING ME ON THE WORDS I SAY?”
“I- NO!!! That’s not what I meant!”
Her hands dug into her hair, clutching it, almost ripping it to shreds. The fire roared as she roared, “PAPYRUS, I JUST LOST MY HOME!!! Can you please stop making these jokes and let me grieve in silence?!”
Papyrus stared at her. “I’M NOT MAKING JOKES THOUGH???”
“WELL IT FEELS LIKE YOU ARE!”
She grabbed Papyrus’s arms, about to shake common sense into her and hurl accusations of apathy when she paused. A flickering in her eye sockets. That curve she was so used to seeing pointing down instead of up. The weight of the skeleton in her grasp amounted to almost nothing.
She let go. Exhaled. Her hands smacked her forehead, sliding down to her eyes as a shield from the friend in front of her. A hand patted her shoulder and stroked it while the fire self-stoked. Its flames scalded her. The space between them provided no barrier at all. Papyrus inched closer. Both hands on both shoulders.
“I’M… I’M SORRY,” Papyrus muttered. “I SWEAR I AM TAKING THIS SERIOUSLY, BUT IT SEEMS MY WORDS HAVE FAILED ME. I JUST WANTED TO CHECK ON YOU.”
Undyne’s booming voice reduced to hoarse whispers. “I know. I know. I’m sorry too.”
“IT’S OKAY, UNDYNE. I KNOW YOU’RE JUST UPSET AT ALL OF THIS.”
Undyne put down her shields to face her decaying abode. Her chest rose, for her heart had not enough room to pound against its walls.
“You know, Papyrus, this was the first house I ever got,” she reminisced. “Asgore offered me a room in the castle, but, heh, I wanted to prove I could find a home by myself. I remember when I first showed him this place. He was so proud that he practically broke my back that day!”
She chuckled and then mumbled, “I wish I could have shown my parents. At least they won’t see what happened to it now?”
She chuckled again but much weaker this time. Papyrus shared a few tentative laughs, then a couple of firm pats.
“I’M SURE THEY WOULD BE PROUD OF YOU, UNDYNE,” Papyrus affirmed, “EVEN IF YOU DID BURN THIS ONE TO THE GROUND, BUT HEY, THIS WAS YOUR FIRST TIME HAVING A HOUSE!! WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES THE FIRST TIME WE DO SOMETHING.”
“EXCEPT FOR ME, OF COURSE.” Papyrus made sure to add.
A small smile cracked on Undyne’s face as she threw a light punch at Papyrus’s arm. “Pfft, thanks, Paps.”
She stood up, pulling Papyrus to her feet, and they watched the fire, trickling down little by little as their meal shrank.
“You didn’t come from Snowdin, right?” Undyne recalled the first time they met.
Receiving an eager nod, Undyne asked, “Where was your first home then?”
Papyrus looked away, her hand behind her neck. “ERHM… I’M NOT REALLY SURE. I CONSIDER MY FIRST HOME TO BE SNOWDIN REALLY!”
“W-What?!” Undyne blinked in disbelief. “But- Where did you come from???”
A laugh crawled out of her spine. “I DON’T KNOW! PERHAPS I WOULD KNOW IF IT WASN’T COVERED IN TOTAL DARKNESS. THAT’S WHY SANS AND I MOVED OUT OF THERE AND INTO SNOWDIN. IT HAS A LOT OF LIGHTS!”
Papyrus’s smile never cracked as she told this story of hers. Undyne didn’t know what to say. Should she even say anything?
“I… I’m sorry you had to live like that back then.”
“DON’T BE! IF IT WEREN’T FOR THAT PLACE BEING A TOTAL DOOZY, WE WOULDN’T HAVE MET SO MANY WONDERFUL PEOPLE. I WOULDN’T HAVE MET YOU!”
Papyrus wrapped her arm around Undyne’s shoulders. “AND I’M SURE YOU’LL FIND A NEW HOME AND MEET A LOT OF WONDERFUL PEOPLE THERE TOO.”
Undyne’s smile grew, her eyes shone through the last lashes of the cinders, once towering and now cowering at her feet.
“I… I think I already have.”
“YOU HAVE? WHERE?”
Undyne suppressed her laughs as she watched Papyrus’s head whipped back and forth. The smoke which had almost choked them in its fog when they first came back fizzled into an almost pleasant wave.
She grabbed Papyrus’s hand. “I’ve had enough of this place. Let’s go back now!”
“WHAT ABOUT YOUR GOODBYE?”
“Ah! Right…”
Undyne caressed the rubble, biting her lip through its char, careful when petting the brittle remains. The scorch it left on her hands served as a reminder of the fighting spirit she imbued in the house, the life it possessed even after death through the memories she carried of this place. It had served her well. Now, it was time for it to rest.
She said her goodbyes, and they left. They walked through the walls, the calls, then the falls of water replaced by the winter that splintered, yet they never hindered. Papyrus felt Undyne tremble under her arms, and she wrapped the scarf around her neck.
Undyne clutched the scarf. It smelt like home. “Th-Thanks, Papyrus.”
“NO PROBLEM, MY FRIEND!” Papyrus exclaimed. “WHILE WE’RE HERE, I’VE BEEN MEANING TO ASK. WOULD YOU LIKE TO STAY WITH ME AND SANS WHILE YOU SEARCH FOR A NEW PLACE?”
Undyne stopped on her tracks. “I… I wouldn’t- I don’t want to intrude in your-”
“NONSENSE, UNDYNE! STAY FOR AS LONG AS YOU NEED TO. OUR HOME IS YOUR HOME AS WELL. JUST… PLEASE CLEAN UP YOUR MESSES. I CAN ONLY HANDLE ONE MESSY BROTHER AT A TI-”
Papyrus was tackled with a powerful hug. She squeezed back.
“IF WE HURRY INSIDE, WE CAN CATCH THE LATEST EPISODE OF MTT!” she realized as she let go. “WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN ME?”
Undyne punched her bicep. “You know I’m always down to watch trash TV with you!”
“HOW DARE YOU!” Papyrus huffed. “IT IS NOT TRASH TV. IT’S HIGH CLASS ENTERTAINMENT!’
“Whatever you say, bud!” Undyne cackled.