Chapter Text
"I thought I'd have to call to get you here before noon." Douglas chuckled at the sharp greeting, not the slightest perturbed by Carolyn's harshness. He sauntered toward her desk, leaning against it as he tipped his coffee to her.
"You did call me." His reply was amiable and relaxed, and he was rewarded with the flash of Carolyn's smile as she snorted.
"Arthur called you," she corrected, finally looking up from the ancient desktop she still used for their paperwork. "I merely suggested to him that you could stand to show up on time today... for once."
Douglas laughed. "I don't know why you're so concerned, Carolyn. Birling Day was two months ago." He dropped into one of the seats opposite her, stretching out his long legs and relaxing. "It's not like you to fret over a customer this way." His smirk turned faintly predatory, and he sat up enough to lean toward the desk. "Don't tell me you've been buying Talisker again."
Carolyn huffed, glaring sharply at Douglas for a brief moment. As he held her gaze, the door behind him opened and shut. Her glare shifted, becoming a cold smile and her head tilted up slightly. "You'll need some help with this assignment, Douglas. Fortunately, I just so happen to have gotten wind of a rather good pilot looking for work. And now that we're expanding, I can do something about that."
Douglas rolled his eyes, then froze as a familiar voice spoke up behind him. "Yes, well... not exactly the way I'd prefer to return to MJN, but it'll be nice to see GERT-I again." Douglas stiffened, his face going slack for a moment before he schooled himself into casual disinterest. Only once that was done did he turn back to look at Martin.
"Never thought I'd see you come slumming back, Martin," he said. Under his gaze, Martin straightened. The boy looked far better than he had when he'd gone off to SwissAir, Douglas noted, but there was something in his eyes that suggested the improvements might not be quite as all-encompassing as Douglas might've liked.
"Yes, well," Martin huffed, moving to sit down in the chair beside Douglas. As always, he sat ramrod straight, his hat placed neatly on his knees. "It turns out that SwissAir and I don't see entirely eye-to-eye." He cast a glance over at Douglas, and Douglas was surprised to see rather a lot of suspicion directed straight at him. "Carolyn was..."
"Carolyn," the woman said, emphasizing her own name sharply, "felt the whole thing was ridiculous. And don't pretend for a moment that I saved you, Martin. Once we find the fourth pilot, and another plane, then this whole situation will be settled. For now, however..." She trailed off, her sharp look fading to one of mild discomfort as she glanced between the two of them. "Well... I did explain the situation," she finally muttered.
Douglas huffed, letting his eyes slide shut as he listened to them. "Do let me know when the two of you are finished making eyes at each other," he suggested, his voice deliberately casual.
"We're not," Martin choked out in a strangled tone, and earned a laugh for his troubles. "I'm your first officer." It was clear he was trying to be relaxed about the title. "At least, I am as long as you..."
Douglas dragged his eyes open, and was treated with both of them looking at him suspiciously. "As long as I what, Martin?" he demanded. As many times as he'd been the center of attention in the past, it had always been reasonably comfortable. Even stealing Birling's Talisker hadn't earned him such dark looks.
"Douglas," Carolyn said. Her tone was no longer waspish, but he was familiar with it all the same. It was the tone she used with delicate customers - ones she didn't want to offend. "We haven't talked much about the news in the last year or so. However, for this job..." And Douglas understood, even as she trailed off, trying to find the words.
"You want to know if I'll tow the company line when it comes to monsters," he finished for her. Her eyes flashed sharply, her mouth drawn in a thin line at the way he'd worded it. Beside him, Martin was sitting so straight that Douglas was certain the poor boy would destroy his spine.
"It's not a joke, Douglas," Martin growled, hurt in the words. "It's not a company line. It's..."
"Is that why you left SwissAir, Martin?" Douglas asked. His voice was low and warm, pitched to invite confidences. He saw Martin nod stiffly, and his own smile faded a little. "They didn't like monsters."
"I never said they didn't," Martin began, and Douglas just laughed.
"You didn't have to, Martin. Of course you'd champion the monster cause. It would be un-Martin to do any less." He got to his feet, stretching a little as he turned to the door. "No need to worry about me, Carolyn. I've nothing against the monsters. Herc might, though... if any of them are sheep," he smirked back at the two, before ambling off to check the plane. And if Martin thought that was suspicious, well... he wasn't the only one who'd changed in the last couple of years.
-----
Undyne was pacing. More than that, she was pacing with vehemence, her legs eating the ground as she strode back and forth across Asgore's living room. Each time she turned, her eyes would flash over at the king, glittering with anger and worry and determination, and then she'd set off again. She'd been going for well over five minutes without pause, and Papyrus was still struggling to figure out exactly what to say.
"IS THIS WHAT'S EXPECTED OF ALL AMBASSADORS?" he finally asked, careful to keep his tone calm. Beside him, Sans opened one socket halfway. Papyrus reached out one hand to pat Sans' arm. His brother was clearly just as concerned as he was, even if he was still pretending not to be.
"I believe our situation is rather... unique," Asgore noted calmly, taking little notice of the way Undyne's strides shifted to stomps. "As monsters, we face a certain... stigma. The best way to combat such stigma is to reach out, is it not?" His eyes shifted to the small child sitting amidst them, and the question stopped even Undyne.
Frisk scrambled to their feet and darted to stand in front of Papyrus. Their hands moved quickly through the words, then fell still.
*It's like in the Underground. I was scared, but you believed in me!
Papyrus blinked in surprise, then smiled weakly. He reached out to take Frisk's hand, and beside him, Sans sighed softly.
"you're good at that, bro. it's a knack." When Frisk nodded sharply, Sans chuckled. "everybody here agrees you're the best."
Papyrus looked around in wonder for a moment, then looked back at Asgore uncomfortably. "I UNDERSTAND WHAT I MUST DO. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL CERTAINLY ENSURE THAT HUMANS KNOW WHAT GOOD FRIENDS MONSTERS CAN BE!" When he paused, Frisk crawled onto his lap.
*You won't be alone.
The reassurance was simple and direct, cutting through to the heart of Papyrus' great concern. His arms draped around the small human gently, but his eyes sought out Asgore. When Asgore nodded gently, it was all Papyrus could do to hide the relief he felt. "I wouldn't ask you to go out into the world alone, Papyrus," Asgore assured them all, his eyes flicking between Sans and Undyne.
"like i'd let you go without me, bro," Sans laughed, finally rousing himself from his slouch. "you'd get too bonely." Papyrus flinched slightly at the pun, but didn't complain.
"C'mon, punk!" Undyne snorted, stalking over to where Papyrus sat and slapping him on the shoulder. "We're not gonna make you do this alone. We stick together!"
Asgore smiled warmly, watching the four before holding out a hand to Frisk. The child squirmed free of Papyrus' lap and made their way over to where Asgore stood, leaning against his side as the remaining three looked between each other. Papyrus started to relax, and then a thought occurred to him.
"WAIT! UNDYNE, WHAT ABOUT ALPHYS? SURELY YOU DON'T INTEND TO LEAVE HER ALONE!"
Undyne's eyes cut away, one hand clenching into a fist. "We've got our phones," she muttered. "And Alphys made a tablet for me so that I could see her better when we talk. And... it's not like it's gonna be forever. We'll come back here all the time. You have to report to Asgore, after all! So when we do, I'll spend time with Alphys!"
"THAT'S NOT A GOOD SOLUTION, UNDYNE. THE TWO OF YOU ARE VERY GOOD TOGETHER," Papyrus protested, his hands twisting together in his lap. "SANS, DON'T YOU AGREE?"
Sans looked between the two of them, then shrugged, flashing Undyne a lazy grin. "of course i do, bro. but undyne's probably the best protector for ya."
"SANS?" Papyrus pushed softly, and Sans let out a heavy sigh.
"don't worry so much, pap. i'll make sure they get some time together, okay?"
Satisfied with Sans' response, Papyrus nodded sharply, turning back to Asgore. "I SUPPOSE THAT'S EVERYTHING, ISN'T IT? WE'LL MAKE YOU PROUD, ASGORE," he promised, and though the emphasis and exuberance was back in his voice, his words were still rather muted.
"Thank you, Papyrus," Asgore rumbled, looking between the three. "I cannot think of a better ambassador to encourage peace with the humans than you."
"Yeah, punk!" Undyne grinned. "And this job suits you way better than the royal guard ever did!"
Papyrus glanced between the two, then looked at his brother, but Sans' eyes were shut once more, his stocky frame slouched into the couch. Papyrus sighed. It would've been nice to get a few words of encouragement from Sans, but...
*You're gonna be the best ambassador!
Frisk followed up their crisp signs with a thumbs-up, and Papyrus drew himself up to his full height.
"OF COURSE I AM. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL NOT LET ANYONE DOWN!"
-----
"What do you suppose they're like?" Arthur's voice was a bubble of excitement in the van. Douglas tried to ignore the way Arthur bounced in his seat, but it was hard. He hadn't heard this level of anticipation in Arthur's voice since the fateful trip to Helsinki, and just the thought of that mess made him shudder.
"The monsters?" Douglas drawled, and was amused at the immediate response he got.
"They're not MONSTERS!" Arthur's protest was sharp and surprisingly cold, and Douglas could imagine the poor man with his arms crossed over his chest, trying and failing to glare daggers at the back of Douglas' head. "Everyone calls them monsters, but they can't be! Mum wouldn't accept a job from monsters."
And therein lay the amusement. "Actually, Arthur," Martin started, his hands tapping at the wheel of the van nervously. "They are. Monsters, I mean," he added, before his jaw clicked shut. It didn't remain shut for very long. "That's what they call themselves. It's not a bad thing, really. It's just... well, they don't say it the way we used to think of it." The explanation was jumbled and awkward, and so very Martin that Douglas couldn't quite resist the smile that crept onto his lips.
"What Martin means, Arthur, is that in this case, the word monster is not an insult. Rather, it's a title, much as Australian might be used for your father." The mention of Arthur's father dampened the young man's spirits a bit, but not too terribly. Douglas had been working on that for some time. "So when we call them monsters, we aren't being rude. We're accepting that this is a title they use for themselves."
"Oh," Arthur said, his bouncing stopped as he pondered that for several minutes. The silence crept through the van, lingering until Martin broke it with a soft question.
"So you're... really okay with them? Monsters, I mean?"
"They certainly can't be worse than Mr. Birling," Douglas observed casually, untwisting the bag of jelly babies and offering the open package to Martin. Without looking, Martin slipped a hand into the sack and took a few, popping one into his mouth immediately. "And they'll have new stories to tell us, rather than expecting us to be so very excited at the same old jokes as always." He offered Martin a crooked smile as Martin turned into the gated neighborhood that housed the monsters. "Besides, it should be quite an adventure, being the first pilots to fly the monster ambassador."
"The only pilots," Martin muttered, to Douglas' surprise.
"Sorry, Martin?"
"Carolyn said the king agreed to have us as the sole charter service for the Ambassador of Monsters, provided we were willing to offer a few extra services, like ground transportation." Martin's eyes darted briefly to Douglas. "With the money, she's getting another plane to expand MJN."
"A new plane," Douglas said thoughtfully. "Captained, no doubt, by Herc? I would've expected you to choose to fly with him." He turned to face the window, scowling at the faint jealousy in his tone.
Martin laughed awkwardly, squirming and staring at the road. "I missed GERT-I," he admitted, whisper-soft, after several minutes, but the words were nearly drowned out by Arthur's cry of delight.
"SKIP! MARTIN! LOOK!" Arthur poked his head between them, waving ecstatically at the driveway Martin was aiming for. "IT'S SKELETOR!"