NO POV weeks later

Reaper leaned on a branch while hidden in a tree. His cloak was bubbling with hearts, his face once dark and grim now bright with a blue glow in the cheeks and a goofy smile. His eyes twinkle as he watches the source of this happiness wander around the land. He sighs and quietly mumbles Geno's name. Little did Geno know how hard this god of death fell for him.

But Gaster certainly did.

"My, my, I haven't seen you get like that as far as I can remember! Did Cupid stop by without me knowing and hit you with an arrow?"Gaster says

Reaper was at first surprised that his father found him, but quickly got over it and focused on what he said. His face burned up more. He certainly didn't want his perfectionist father to learn about his feelings. Or who they're toward.

"No! And shut up! I don't know what you're talking about with getting a certain way! Shouldn't you be balancing weights or something?"He snaps

"But I always put family before work. And you have been acting different lately, as if you always have your head in the clouds. Plus your blushing face and the fact that your cloak was bubbling with hearts is very telling. Come on, Sans. You suck at keeping secrets. Which goddess did you meet out in that multiverse that caught that guarded soul of yours?"Gaster says

He sighs, knowing his father was right.

"It's......not a goddess I have fallen for."He says

"So you admit it! Awww, my son is in love! Who would've thought!"His father cries out in laughter

"SHUT UP! It's a natural thing! Now keep your voice low! I don't want Geno down there to hear!"He snaps

"Oh he can't hear us, loverboy!"Gaster says teasingly

Oh how wrong Gaster was. Their argument got quite loud and Geno took notice. He could hear them, but only bits and pieces that only left him in confusion on what the heck he might be hearing or the location.

"Goddess love natural voice to hear? That doesn't make any sense...."Geno thought

"Well if it's not a goddess, what god did you meet?"Gaster asks

"It's...not a god either."He says

"A mortal? You've got to be kidding me. Is that why you're behind on work? Cause you don't want to kill them? You do realize that goes against your very job right? Your very purpose of being a god?"Gaster says, his tone turning more serious and strict with strong hints of disappointment

"Oh yeah, cause I'm just the janitor for the rest of the gods is such a special and great job. They break rules without punishment and yet when I try to bend them for the same happiness as them, I'm the bad guy! Hah! How ironic. The keeper of balance not keeping balance with everyone and choosing favorites, huh? Besides, it doesn't matter if it's my job. These are my feelings and you can't change them. You can't change anything about this. And you certainly can't force me to kill him. I couldn't even if I tried."He snaps

Gaster quickly connected the dots, glancing at Geno who was sitting and admiring the sky down below. This was not the way he intended his plan to go.

"Of all people........Son, I set you two up to meet so that you could have a friend. I made him immune to your touch so you don't kill your new friend by mistake. I set him up to be your friend and so you could stop being depressed during meetings and on the job. I was NOT playing matchmaker. He wasn't supposed to become a distraction for you! You are a god! He is a mortal! Mortals fear or glorify us! Love us! You aren't supposed to love or glorify a mortal!-"Gaster starts criticizing

"Yeah like people love the being that kills them. Ask around, I'm not that popular with mortals."Reaper pipes in

"Ahem! And if you were to choose a mortal, was he really your best choice? Have your standards been that low? Look at him! He is a literal mess bleeding out!"Gaster says

"You just don't see the beauty of his perfect so-called imperfections. Plus, there's more to love than just looks. Who he is......is beautiful."He says

"HE IS LITERALLY ANOTHER VERSION OF YOU!"Gaster snaps

"Says the one who reads fanfics of two Sanses getting together in their spare time. AHEM, Mister Killermare Shipper."He comments

Gaster was silent. He knew his father's guilty pleasure.

"Also, you kinda set things up perfectly for me so you screwed yourself up in that. You know I never follow your plans, even secret ones. So thank you for making him immune to death, I don't ever want to lose him."He says, honestly grateful as he smiles

Gaster sees this genuine joy and sighs.

"He....is not completely immune, Sans. That'd be too powerful and ruin the balance. Your touch may not kill him but your scythe or, gods forbid, someone else's attempts to kill him will still do the job. He can still die, he's a mortal after all. That's why I didn't want you to fall for mortals. I didn't want to risk them dying and you having the pain and soulbreak afterwards. Gods and goddesses are a much safer investment."Gaster says

"And your wording is exactly why I fell for him. You don't see things in a humane or monsterane way. You literally just compared loving someone to investing money in a bank. Part of love is risk and sacrifice, little might you know. To love someone is to risk opening up to them and for them to risk opening up to you to connect. Without that risk and sacrifice, it's not as fufilling or much of a connection. Love is not some equation to solve and people are not problems to be fixed, they are living beings with thoughts and feelings like the rest of us. Diverse stories and wisdom waiting to be told, experiences to discover and explore, someone to connect and spend time with. But no, you and everyone else are too busy bragging about how great you all are with immortality and purposes. How abnormal or powerful you all are and mocking the mortals that you all play around with like toys for your enjoyment that I have to clean up after. You all never took a chance to learn the things that I did. You don't understand it, only Papy does so you're in no place to judge or make comments about how I should feel. Geno is different from all of you and that's a good thing! We tell tales, experience things together, laugh together, make memories together and learn new things! He doesn't expect things from me or compare me to others! We have a real bond and there's nothing anyone can do. He makes me feel genuinely happy and unlike the other gods and goddesses I'm surrounded by, he makes me feel normal. Like maybe, just maybe, I'm a living being worth care and respect and not just a killing machine made to clean up after other idiots' messes! So don't tell me who I can and can't love, Dad aka beloved and highly respected Keeper of Balance! Cause you have no idea what my job is like or what it's like to be belittled, disrespected or thrown around for others' enjoyment! You don't know what that's like and to only have one person to turn to that is going through the same thing! And then to find a light in the dark, regardless of who they are, is such a wonderful, glorious feeling that you will never understand! Someone who brightens the world and treats you with a sense of care or equality that you've never gotten and made you remember that you're special...worth something...are someone too, is a concept you are too stuck up to even begin to learn!"Reaper snaps, exploding with rage that he has been forced to bottle up for a very long time

"Tch, no wonder you kept your identity a secret."Gaster says

"Yeah, I'd like to see you tell a friend that you were sent to kill them and see how it goes. I didn't want that or my reputation as a god of death to change things between us. And you know what? He didn't change. He treated me just like he did before with the respectful and caring bond we made. The love we share doesn't change. Love does not discriminate like you or others do. It doesn't matter who are what you are, love will find you. I don't care what you claim to be perfect or imperfect. He is perfect in my eyes and that's all that matters. Plus your perfection standards are twisted. No god is perfect. We may be immortal but we're all just as flawed as them. And yours is being too book smart to understand people or have social, emotional smarts. So I don't care what rules you have for love because you don't seem to understand what it means to fall in love. You understand fatherly or friend love a bit and you're trying to still learn the concept of brotherly love between Papy and I, but you haven't even started to learn the kind of love I'm feeling. The kind where you will do anything to keep them in your life and to spend the rest of eternity with them. I mean, Papy and I weren't even born the natural way or have a mother so it's clear that you've never had that kind of bond with someone!"He snaps

Gaster was in shock, speechless at his words. Worst part of it was that he actually had good points and reasoning in his argument. He couldn't argue back without making up nonsense. His grip on the branch slipped and within seconds he hit the ground hard, startling Geno.

Geno turned in surprise, seeing Gaster laying there under the tree and shakily sit up. He quickly got creeped out.

"Uuuuh......Were you.....watching me? And for how long?"He asks

"My son has a-!"Gaster begins but an apple drops on his head, knocking him out

Geno was extremely confused and glanced around. Reaper sneaks up behind him and hugs him, making it seem like he had only just arrived.

"Hello, sweetheart~"He coos to Geno

Geno turns his head and smiles.

"Hey, Reaper! How are you?"Geno says

"I'm good. Oh! There's my dad! What's he doing there?"He says, acting clueless

"I dunno....He fell from that tree but I dunno why he was in it to begin with."Geno replies

"I'll go take care of him. Cya later."He says, scooping Gaster up and leaves

Geno shrugs and waves goodbye to him. Then Blue calls him to hang out and he heads off to join his friend, clueless to what had gone down between Reaper and his father.

Geno's POV days later

I was just sitting in my save screen, questioning random thoughts that came to my mind and watching a random AU's pacifist run. I hear a portal open behind me. That caught my attention and I check my phone. Nobody is planned to visit or not right now. I glance up, thinking it's Reaper but instead there stood Reapertale's Muffet.

"Excuse me, is this the save screen of the friend Sans visits so much? Geno Sans?"She asks

"Yes, it is. I'm Geno. Why? What did he do now?"I reply

"Ah! It's a pleasure to meet you! But I have other things to tend to. THIS IS THE PLACE DEARIE!"She says, then shouts into the portal

And with that she left but then Asgore walked through with a paper in hand.

Oh dear....If he's coming it must be serious.....Reaper what did you do?

I grew worried now, not only wondering what Reaper caused but if he's okay.

"Can I help you, sir?"I ask, nervously fiddling with my scarf

He lifts the paper up, looking between it and me.

"Ah! It is you! Good!"He says, plopping down and shutting the portal

He just sat there, staring at me with a smile.

"Ummm, is something wrong?"I ask

"No no, I just wanted to meet the mortal Sans befriended that everyone is talking about. You may continue whatever you were doing. I will not bother you."He says

"So....he's okay, right?"I say

"Yes, why would you think otherwise?"He asks

"Usually when someone from your world comes to mine, it's because he did something and needs help."I say

"Well he is mischievious. But he certainly makes things more interesting."He chuckles

He is silent for a few moments.

"I.....wanted to thank you too, for everything you've done."He says, his tone switching to a more solemn and thoughtful one

"Huh?"I say

"Before he met you, he was hardly his normal self. He was always gloomy and really starting to distance himself from everyone, looking depressed in meetings or all the time. I started to get worried about him even though Gaster said that he'd be fine in a few days. Those days would pass with no change. It was like he was losing himself. He was always so...empty. But ever since he met you, he's been himself again. Smiling, upbeat, goofy and making comments and such. His father may not like the interruptions but I take it as a good sign and quite like hearing his views. He keeps us all at a shorter distance now and seems like his happy self again. You lit up his life and caused him to make that change. I will even go as far as to say as you saved him from losing himself completely. So thank you, Geno. I won't bother you or him about your connection like others do. And if they try to, just send them my way. I'll handle them."He explains

I look at him in surprise. I never knew I had that impact on Reaper. Then again, he always seemed happy with me so he didn't exactly show that there were problems or whatever. I smile, glad that Reaper didn't change...I like who he is.

Asgore chuckled, taking me out of my thoughts.

"But it also seems that you have a special place in his mind too. He often will be daydreaming or mumbling to himself and I've noticed that he will make time to see you regardless of what's happening. Heh, even during meetings you are on his mind. I thought he was taking notes once but when I confiscated his paper from the meeting, it was just him doodling you and him. He does capture your image quite well...."He says, showing the paper he came with

It was completely covered in doodles and sketches with random bits of words scattered around the page. I can see that Asgore used it as a reference, explaining why he looked between me and the paper. His eyes lit up as if he got an idea.

"We are having a party tomorrow similar to what you mortals call birthdays with him. I'm sure he'd love to have you there so if you don't mind, would you please join us tomorrow?"He suggests

"Sure!"I say

"Awesome! I'll send Mettaton to come get you when it's time! We're having more guests too! See you then!"He says, going through a portal

(MESSAGE FROM AUTHOR:I LOOKED UP INFO ABOUT REAPERTALE METTATON AND COULD NOT FIND MUCH. MANY ARTWORKS, BUT NOT MUCH INFO. SOME SAY THAT HE IS THE GOD OF POPULARITY, WHICH MAKES SENSE SO I AM JUST GOING WITH THAT. IF THAT IS NOT TRUE OR I HAVE BAD SOURCES, PLEASE CORRECT ME!)

It shuts and I was now left with my thoughts. A birthday kind of thing, huh? Well maybe I should bring a gift.....But what could Reaper possibly want that he doesn't have? He's a literal GOD.

I look at my scarf and get an idea. I start crafting and soon have a box wrapped up with his name on it. Soon enough, I heard the signature oooh yeess~ of Mettaton's.

"Hello darling.~ I'm here to-oooh my....You are not going to the party looking like that."He says

I look down at myself and could understand what he meant. A guy with a bleeding wound isn't exactly nice at a party. Before I knew it, Mettaton was fixing the "problem".

Reaper's POV meanwhile

"Uuuuuggggh, do I have to be here? It's always so boring and now you guys tripled it by bringing more gods and goddesses here! And it's not like I'm doing anything important here!"I groan

"Oh hush, Sans. Socializing is always important. You've gotten too distant from your kind of people. Besides, you dunno where the party may go."Gaster says

"My kind of people? Oh I see what this is really about. You're just trying to change me or get me with some immortal being instead of Geno. Well it's not going to work."I snap

"I see that very unlikely. After all, there are only immortals here. No mortals of the multiverse were brought for this party. How could you possibly avoid-?"Gaster begins

"Ohoho! Glorious news! Hey Sans, I invited your friend Geno over and he just arrived! Why don't you go see him?"Asgore says

Gaster's jaw dropped while I only smiled even more.

"Thank you Asgore! I think I will!"I say proudly, heading off to find Geno

I look over a railing beside a staircase, seeing in the crowded space below stood Geno. I quickly notice some changes in appearance with him. He still wore the scarf but now wore a black to blue shaded outfit and an eye-patch instead of glitches over his eye. He looked amazing. I already knew who I was spending the party time with.

But he quickly disappeared among the crowd, looking very nervous. I had to find him and fast, knowing some of the people Gaster had on the guest list and their.......tendencies.

Geno's POV again

I walk around, slowly getting around different people. It was overwhelming the amount of gods here and not knowing half of them. I just want to find Reaper or at least his brother cause I know I can trust them. I just don't want to be stuck with all their stares....I felt really out of place. And I only seemed to encounter the wrong people in the crowd.

Gods of love or lust getting flirty or touchy. Who knew there were so many gods for affection. There were gods of:adoration, devotion, compassion, charity, sympathy, romance, marriage, affairs,passion, intimacy, worship, etc. Then there was gods of hate, loathing, envy, vengeance, lies, dislike, resentment, disgust, animosity, psychos, insanity, maniacs, lunatics, sociopaths, criminals, narcissism, selfishness, greed, and such. Not great crowds. The affectionate ones didn't know boundaries and were very nosy about why a mortal is here, and the goddess of marriage even trying to team up with the god of love to match me with someone. The hate group tried to take their anger out on me for whatever reason.

Yeah not the best of times.

I just held onto the box and tried to weave through the crowd. I eventually find Papyrus and sigh with relief.

"Hey Papyrus!"I say

He turns and his eyes lock onto me in some sort of shock.

"Geno! What are you doing here?"He asks

"Asgore invited me."I say

"Oh thank goodness. My brother would've been miserable here without you.....What's that?"He says, pointing to the box

"Asgore said that it was like a birthday party for Reaper so I got him a gift."I say

He looks at me in confusion.

"Birthday....? Gift....?"He says

"It's something mortals do to celebrate together and appreciate each other...?"I say, unsure about his knowledge based on his obvious confusion to the concepts

"Geno, this isn't a birthday party. This is a party my father organized for my brother to reconnect with others but also is to unite the gods across the multiverse. I guess Asgore misunderstood...But thank you for the thoughtful gift. I'm sure he'd love anything from you."He says

"O-Oh, okay."I say, taking in the information

A goddess grabs Papyrus and they disappear into the crowd. I glance around, unable to spot Reaper. I just keep moving, trying to find a less crowded area. Two strangers blocked me in a hallway though.

"Hello there handsome.~ Want to know your destined future? It's with you and me.~"One says

"Oh shut up, Destinio. You won't be fooling another mortal like that."The other snaps

"Uuuh, who are you both?"I ask, holding the gift tighter

"This is Two Fates and I'm Destinio. He's God of Fate, I'm God of Destiny."The first says

"Don't listen to his speeches. He only twists tales of destiny to please himself."Two Fates says

"Ummm, and what do you both want?"I ask

"You're the only mortal here, of course we're going to try to get to know you better.~"Destinio says

"Scram."Two Fates says

He runs off.

"I've gotten some sightings and want to warn you before it's too late."Two Fates says

"O-Okay...."I say

He pulls me into a room and sits down beside me.

"You and the god of death seem to have various futures together. Some are deadly, some are loving. I can't spoil anything but I can give warnings. His scythe can kill you and other versions of him may try to kill you. And there is a mysteriously growing lack of Genos so other versions may try to take you, thinking your their version or to replace their version. Some are bad, some are more loving. I think you'll quickly figure out which is which. But your god of death seems very close to you as well. He seems to love and value you quite a lot. If things go right, I think you'll find a very good fate in store for you. Sure, he may not have the best reputation but history and tales have shown that the gods of deaths often treat their loved ones the best and protect them best, unlike other gods. Just don't get stuck alone with creeps like Destinio. Trust me, he is not someone that you'd be safe around. That said, I'll let you stay here. You seemed to be drowning in those crowds and need some space. I'll find that god of death to ensure you don't get put into any danger."He says

He walks out and within seconds Destinio was in my face and holding me down in the chair.

"Hmmm, I wonder what's under that little patch of yours. A cute little secret, perhaps?"He says, lifting my eye patch up

"You're not gonna like it. I'm telling you now."I say

"Hah, yeah right."He says

Within seconds he was squatting on the floor and puking. Reaper comes in and glances over.

"What's his problem?"He asks

"He crossed some lines he shouldn't have and is paying the price. I warned him though."I say, pointing to my covered eye

Desirio coughs and gags.

"That is the most disgusting thing that I have ever seen!"He snaps

"What did you just say?"Reaper asks with a venomous tone and his eye-lights gone

"I said that is the most disgusting and ugly thing I've seen! It just made me puke! He's a freak!"He says, turning to face him

I hide my face in my scarf, glancing away. I glance back to see Desirio staring at me. His tension disappears and his shoulders slumped, a goofy smirk on his face.

"But we're all flawed....He's a cute freak.~"He says

"WHAT?!"Reaper growls

"Uh-huh.~"He says, clearly not paying attention

Next thing I know, those two took it into the halls and were full-on wrestling and fighting each other over something. Two Fates and another god tore them apart and Gaster came to lecture or criticize them. I just sat in the room having witnessed it unfold through the doorway. Gaster glances at me and slams the door shut.

"Let's get this party going again."He says

I just sat there and sighed, getting the clear message that I don't belong here and questioning if I should have come at all. But then the door opened back up and Reaper zipped inside. He looks at me with a smile and clear joy on his face, shutting and locking the door behind him.

"There, now nobody can bother us."He says, then quickly knocks me in the chair with a hug

He stayed like that for a few minutes, hugging me and mumbling to himself things I could not hear. He released me and noticed the gift I still was holding onto.

"What's that?"He asks

"U-Umm, Asgore told me that it was like a birthday party for you....."I say, then notice his confusion

"What's a birthday? Is that a mortal thing?"He asks

"Y-Yeah...It's when mortals celebrate the day they were born....So Asgore told me this party was like an immortal version of it but your brother told me the truth when I got here. But I came here with this, a gift for you. It's something mortals do on birthdays to show love to the birthday person...."I say, extending the gift to him

It's like it all clicked in his mind and he smiled, taking it. He unwrapped it and took the lid off. He froze seeing what's inside.

"It's not the same but it was the only thing I could think of to give you, so I made it......."I say, glancing away

My soul was pounding and I didn't understand why. Why am I getting so nervous around him now? Then again....Given what I've been told...

"I love it! Thank you, Geno!"He says, taking me out of my thoughts

I look over and he is already wearing the scarf I gave him, looking overjoyed. Then he glances around and leans closer.

"What did that asshole Destinio do with you?"He asks

"Nothing. He only talked and looked under my patch...."I say

"You look great. I was a bit surprised by the style change but you look great in anything."He says

"Yeah, your Mettaton was sent to bring me here and least to say he was not pleased with my appearance hehe....."I tell him

He looks at my patch and silently took it off. He smiled now that he could see my entire face.

"You looked like you had some stuff on your mind...Is everything okay?"He asks

"Yeah...Someone named Two Fates just gave me some warnings and it's kind of on my mind."I say

His gaze was full of concern now.

"What about?"He asks

"Other versions of you that may or may not be as friendly and disappearances....."I say, glancing away

He has me look at him again.

"I will never hurt you, Geno. And you can tell it is me because I'll be wearing this."He says, tugging his new scarf up

The door swings open and a bunch of gods peak in.

"How the h-"He begins

"It's my gift to lockpick."One says

"Are you two going to kiss or what?"The romance goddess from before asks

My face burns up.

"Well now that you mention it.~"Reaper says, leaning closer

"REAPER!"I snap, covering my face with my scarf

I peek out and he kisses my forehead. I recall what Two Fates said and my face just burned even more. But we're just friends! I shove his face away, trying to understand my feelings.

"You both are adorable! I'm gonna go write a fanfic!"The god of fanfics exclaims

(😏)

I shake my head, my gaze falling on Reaper's hands that hung low at his sides. I reach out, feeling a warm feeling in my soul shard when I held his hand. He smiled at me. He took me down the hall and we just enjoyed the party together. Then Gaster pulls me aside.

"Listen Geno, I think my son is getting dangerously close to you. Plus the protection on your soul is running low so I will have to try to find a way to protect it. Just....try to keep at a distance from Sans, okay? I'll put a barrier on your AU to keep him out until further notice."He says

I glance over at Reaper who was happily talking with his brother, showing the scarf I gave him. I may not understand my feelings but I know I want to still hang out with him. I'd hate that he visits at a time when the protection on my soul runs out and suddenly our time is up. Especially after being told how he has changed and in that sense knowing how it will affect him. I look at Gaster again and nod.

"Okay...I-"I begin

As soon I said that, he shoved me through a portal and it shut afterwards. I found myself back in my save screen. I shake my head and not even a few minutes later I get messages from Reaper.

YourIdiot:Hey, where'd you go? I can't find you.

Me:Gaster said he has to handle some things with you and sent me to my save screen.

YourIdiot:Ugh, he's up to something, I just know it! >:(

Me:He seemed to be honest and just ensuring nothing goes wrong....He says it might take a while though...

YourIdiot:Of course he does.😒

Me:What?

YourIdiot:Nothing...nothing. I'll make sure he sticks to his "word". See you whenever that time comes. Love you.~

Me:Love you too, buddy. :)

I got off of my phone and just dozed off for a nap. I had no clue how soon Two Fates' warnings would be proven to be true......

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TBC