"Before Papyrus knew what he was doing, he leant back in, placing one hand on Mettaton's jaw. Mettaton leant in too, closing his eyes once again. Their faces met, Mettaton's lip brushing against Papyrus' teeth lightly, barely touching. They both took a quick inhale of breath as they parted again, as though the light touch shocked them both, sending shivers down their spines." I'd love to hear about your thought process for this whole scene!
oho thanks for sending this part, I have a lot to say about this scene.
Context for this scene: this is chapter 6 of Master Pretender, just after Papyrus admits his feelings for Mettaton and Mettaton surprisingly admits the same back to him. In the heat of the moment, Mettaton makes a thoughtless comment about wanting to kiss Papyrus and, without being able to hold himself back any longer, Papyrus makes his desire come true.
The thing is with this scene, is that neither of them are thinking of anything other than themselves. In that moment, it feels like it’s only the two of them in the world and that’s fortuitous, because if they’d remember that what they’re doing is very clearly cheating, the moment would have been much less sweet.
I made Papyrus the one who leans into the kiss first because it really shows how this whole situation has been a test to his morals. He was the one who pushed Mettaton’s flirting away at the beginning, made it very clear that they were just friends, promised himself that he’d never let Mettaton know about how he felt about him-- and this is when all his bottling of his feelings finally comes loose. Because, whereas Papyrus has very tight morals, he’s also eager to please... and eager for affection in return. These traits are all so strong, sometimes his more selfish needs pull through when he least wants them.
Mettaton muttering that he wanted to kiss him made him unable to hold back, causing all the feelings he’d been holding onto to pour out. Mettaton wanted to kiss him, and in that moment, that’s all he could think of. He’d never experienced this before, loving and being loved in return.
The “inhale of breath” when their faces meet is the both of them feeling that this is actually happening. That they are actually doing this, in the real world, where their actions have repercussions... and yet the feeling of the kiss quickly masks all cares from their minds. They just want more and more...
As for Mettaton in this situation, well, more of his reasonings for kissing Papyrus are yet to be revealed but I can say that the alcohol intake of that night certainly loosened his morals by a fair amount. I wouldn’t take that as an acceptable excuse for cheating but it’s certainly one of the reasons it happened. (As well as other reasons *ahem* Mr-Lack-of-Affection Danny.)
Mettaton is finally the one who breaks away from Papyrus, towards the end of the chapter, whispering “I’m so sorry”. This is Mettaton finally reminding himself of just what he was doing. His mind had left him for a moment. He’d given in to the emotions he was always so good at convincing himself he didn’t need. All he blames is himself, and he hates that he dragged kind, sweet Papyrus into his own mess. Papyrus, in his mind, doesn’t deserve this kind of heartache and yet here he is, kissing him. Getting his poor hopes up.
This whole scene is here to serve as a catalyst for events to come. Both of these characters have done something they both believed they’d never, ever, do. So, obviously, this causes a whole lot of inner questioning of their own morals... And it has yet to be revealed what the outcome of this questioning will result in...