Geno's POV weeks later

I sit in the save screen reading a book. I have fully recovered by now and have been chilling in my AU again. I wrote back to everyone who wrote to me and dropped them in portals to their addresses.

Bzzt!

My phone buzzed with a message from Reaper. I smile, seeing that he wants to hang out again. Then my smile fades, remembering how the past "hangouts" have gone. I open a portal to his AU, replying to his text. I take my book and go through. I look around and spot Reaper. Sure enough, he was having another flirtatious conversation with another god that I saw at the party.

Guess Gaster's party plan worked. He's certainly connecting with others.

I just sit and continue to read, used to this is some ways by now. He has been flirty with other gods and runs late for our hangouts lately or completely forgets about them. I try to ignore it until he comes over, but then heard giggles. Then weirder noises. I glance up to see their flirting became kissing and then the two ran off.

Aaaaand he forgot! Ditched again!

I open notes on my phone and added a tally mark. I roll my eye and sigh, trying to reason with myself. He's gotten more breaks and freedom than ever before lately...He's just trying to enjoy it. He is allowed to hang out with others, I can't really complain....He just is being an idiot.

His brother comes over, seemingly oblivious to his brother's behavior.

"How's the hangout going, Geno?"He asks

I glance at him. Did he really just ask that?

"Yeah, being invited to witness his flirting or kissing sessions before getting ditched again is a reaaal blast. And he didn't return my scarf."I say

He glances over and looked shocked.

"Well that's very unlike him...I'm sorry."He says

"It's not on you...You can't control him. He's just an idiot."I say

He sighs with a nod.

"Umm, pardon me. Are you Geno?"A voice asks

I look over to see a god I saw at the party walking over.

"Yes, is something wrong?"I ask

"My name is Elden. I was wondering if we could hang out."He says

I look at Papyrus.

"He's the god of loyalty. You'll be just fine with him."He whispers to me

I look at Elden and smile.

"Sure!"I say

He takes me by the hand and we walk away, already starting up a conversation.

That started up a great relationship between us. We'd hang out so often and seemed to bond so well. He just had a welcoming aura that made me feel relaxed and was so friendly.

We did so much together over the next few months. We'd joke and chat, sharing interests or showing hobbies. He didn't push my boundaries but showed me that it's ok to let my guard down and leave my comfort zone every now and then. He was a real good guitar player, able to make songs up off the top of his skull or randomly play a tune. We'd take strolls through the rain or at peaceful nights to stargaze together or something. As his title suggested, he was always a loyal friend too. He never ditched me for others or made me feel less than others. He was sweet. And he never stole from me. Very reliable.

Everything was on our own time and at our own pace. There was no tension or surprise secrets revealed out of nowhere like it was with Reaper when his world first came to mine. He didn't force me to reveal my eye like Life did or call me names. He was very trustworthy and kept encouraging me to embrace myself. He never judged me and made me feel special or that I belonged, unlike how whenever I'm with Reaper in a group I could feel others judging and just overall being out of place with them. Reaper and his brother made me feel special or that I belonged, I'm not denying that, but sometimes just the way that they spoke or referred to me set me apart from them. I have told them this but Reaper doesn't seem to understand the issue while his brother understands and tries to cut back on it. The terms "mortal", "immortals", "gods/goddesses/higher beings, etc", "name on list", "deadly job" never came up between us like it would with Reaper. That didn't seem to matter to him. And he had more knowledge about things other gods don't seem to understand so I wouldn't be awkwardly explaining things like gifts or birthdays and "mortal traditions" to him as often as I did with Reaper. Just our first meeting was different. It wasn't planned and I wasn't being used as a tool as Gaster seems to consider me to keep Reaper happy. Elden came on his own because he genuinely wanted to get to know me as a person.

And he was very protective too. Always finding a bright side but never let anyone get away with anything wrong that they did. Like one time a stranger saw me without the glitches over my eye and they threw a tomato at me.

"Freak!"They yelled

Elden yelled and chased them away. Then he returned looking ridiculous. He had a mustache and doggy nose drawn on with marker as well as blue to green little wisps on his head.

"Oh look! I'm weird and unique! Oooo! Nobody else is like me! How horrifying! Boooga booga booga!"He said as if telling a ghost story and with animated hand gestures

I chuckled, looking at him and shaking my head.

"Ya see how ridiculous that sounds? Who cares what they think! You're very unique and special! Irreplaceable! And if they don't get that, too bad for them! You should be proud of what they comment on! You got them trying to do the right thing and stop a bad human. Honest."He told me

I smiled and thanked him.

He always seemed to have a way of getting a smile on my face.

Reaper still invites me to hang out but it rarely ends up actually happening since he's sooo busy flirting with other gods or whatever. He should just date them at this point. Either that or they're influencing them since beforehand he never ditched me, called me mortal so often, or did much of his behavior now. Then again, I met him while he was losing himself so how much do I really know about him? That's a question for another day, so I've hung out with other friends like Elden more often or just sat in my save screen by myself.

One of being in the save screen reading I heard the familiar sound of a portal opening and shutting.

"Ohhh Geno.~"I hear Reaper coo

"Yes, Reaper?"I say, not even glancing up from my book

I see his arms at my sides and could feel him lean on me.

"How's my favorite mortal?"He says

Being called a friend instead every once in a while would be nice.....

"Good I guess....You?"I say

"I'm doing great, sweetheart! I came to hang out with you since today has nothing special happening!"He says

And he forgot....Sweet....I'm not getting ditched today.

"And how long is this going to last before you ditch me again?"I ask

"What do you mean?"He asks

"Reaper, everytime we've tried to hangout lately you either don't show up, are late, or ditch me for some flirting and kissing session with another god. You've changed.....I don't like getting invited over just to see you leave me or be with someone else. You can hang out with others but don't invite me if you don't include me. What happened to me being your friend? The only names I hear out of your mouth these days are mortal or sweetheart besides my actual name. And who knows how many other people you've flirted with have been called sweetheart. It just doesn't feel fair or right..."I explain

A portal opens in front of me.

"Besides, I already made plans with someone else. Someone who doesn't ditch me."I say, standing up

He looks at me with a blank look on his face.

"Hey, Geno! Today's your special day! I have everything planned and set to-Oh, hello Reaper."Elden says

"Special day....?"He says softly

"Hey, Elden! How have you been?"I say, approaching him

"I'm good. Am I interrupting something? I could pick you up later."He says

"Nah, you said you had this planned for weeks. I don't want to ruin anything. I am ready to go."I say

He nods and takes my hand, taking me through the portal.

We walk down a trail in what appeared to be a forest with fireflies lighting the way. I was honestly curious about where he was taking me. He never really revealed his plans to me.

"I know you're not much of a party person but I still wanted to do something special for you. This day only comes once a year after all. Please forgive me if I messed up, this is the first time I've gotten the chance to celebrate this kind of occassion.......And here it is, after you."He says, pushing some branches aside

There was a beautiful little clearing with hibiscus flowers and orchids growing and fireflies making them light up. His guitar was magically playing a song, hovering over a picnic blanket spread out on the grass with a basket or two.

"I thought we could do a nice, simple and relaxing celebration right here. Nice and secluded with no disturbances. What do you think?"He says

"Oh goodness, Elden! It's lovely! Thank you!"I say

We walk over to the spot and I remove the glitches by my eye, feeling comfortable enough with him to do so. I walked towards the picnic blanket but felt two arms wrap around me. A darker aura was near me. I look over and see Reaper pulling me closer to him.

"Reaper! What are you doing here?"I say

"I'm curious. What's so special about today? And why are you showing your eye?"He asks

"That doesn't answer my question that well. You followed me here just out of curiosity? Why? It's my birthday. Is there something wrong with my eye being shown?"I reply

"Birthday....That mortal tradition...? No, there's nothing wrong with it....But why show him it?"He says

"Pardon me, I meant what I said with no distubances and you're disturbing him."Elden says, pulling me out of his hold

Elden pulls me closer to him and could tell that I was upset.

"Booga booga.~"He says, leaning his head closer

I know what he was referring to and started laughing.

"Message recieved, hah! Message recieved!"I chuckle

He smiles.

"Now, you go sit and enjoy yourself while I deal with the god of death here."He says

"Okay."I say

I sat on the picnic blanket and could hear them talking.

"Who are you?"Reaper asks

"Elden. A loyal friend obviously. Now, I have had some issues with your treatment of Geno for a while now."Elden says

"Why is he more comfortable with you than he seems to be with me?"Reaper asks

"Well trust and reliability could play a big part. You did hide a lot from him that was shoved in his face by other gods trying to hurt or use him after all. Everything has been rushed or tense. And your behavior lately from what I hear has been a problem. I mean, would you be a fan of being invited by a friend only to get ditched or neglected for kissing or flirting crap sessions?"Elden says

Reaper is silent.

"I saw at the party that you both got along so well and it was obvious how you felt towards him, what changed? Why are you hanging out with those folks even?"Elden asks

"They said they'd help with my feelings....Show me how to act...."Reaper says

"Puh-leez. They only know how to cause trouble. If you really want to know how to act, you could've just asked me. I'm the god of loyalty after all. And loyalty goes a long way with people. And since I'm buds with him, I know what works with him."Elden says

"Y-You're not...into him?"Reaper says hesitantly

"Nope. I look for only friendship with him. A friend is what he needed and wanted right now...He's had a lot on his mind lately...Like a Slash incident? Some things that I can advise with him is to just be yourself, not who others tell you to be. He loves you and your personality and it confused him when you changed. Don't ditch him. Don't invite him just to exclude or leave him. And if you're going to flirt with him, don't flirt with others in front of him with the same nickname. It makes you seem less genuine and more like what mortals call a player. Get to know and understand other things that us gods consider mortal traditions. Don't call them mortal traditions to his face, it is rude and makes things awkward. If it's special to him you should treat it like you would with your own traditions. And NEVER call him just a mortal, it is rude and insensitive. It's like a constant reminder that he can die and you cannot, or in other words that he is different. Gods already judge him as a sore thumb or being somewhere he doesn't belong, don't be part of that. Give him a special nickname that you use only for him instead so that he feels special and not a problem. He's not just a mortal, he's your friend. It's only fair to not treat or speak to him as less than you but as an equal. ESPECIALLY ON HIS FREAKING BIRTHDAY! Be transparent with him unless you absolutely have to keep it secret. He doesn't like things kept from him. Transparency, loyalty, respect, trust, reliability, and being your genuine or authentic self can do a lot. There's a lot more that can help with that, but that's a few of the main things I wanted to explain."Elden explains

"O-Oh...Okay. Thank you."Reaper says

I glance over to see that Reaper had a notepad, writing everything down.

"Today's his birthday?"He asks

"Mhm. It's like a creation day that the gods may celebrate. You can join us if you'd like. I'm sure he'd like to celebrate with you since he kinda thought that party was for your birthday at first."Elden says

I glance away, focusing on the sky. I lay down, gazing at the sky and making up constellations. I feel a hand wrap around me on both sides of me.

"Hello my angelic kitten.~"I hear Reaper say

I look to see him beside me.

Angelic kitten?

"Pfft, that's unique."Elden says from the other side of me

I was stuck between them. But I quickly got comfortable and we had fun. All three of us. We even had a picture taken of ourselves to save. It was like a fresh start for Reaper and I because he acted like himself for the hangouts afterwards.

But something weird started up.

Every few weeks letters would pop up in my save screen. They were always short with creepy messages and didn't have any way for me to trace them back to a sender. Then a letter came with a picture. I picked it up and felt chills go down my spine.

I opened the letter hesitantly that literally had my name on it.

"Dear Geno,

You can run as far as you can and try your very best to hide. You can tell whoever you wish. I'll get rid of them. You can think that you can escape me. But you can't escape your destiny. You will be MINE and only MINE. I'll be seeing you very soon."

I hear a portal open and instantly summon a Gaster Blaster. I look to see that the Keeper of Balance decided to pay me a visit instead of whoever sent the letters. I unsummon it and apologize. He frowned.

"What brings you here?"I ask

"I just want to remind you about the warning I gave when we first met. Don't want Icarus flying too close to the sun."He says

I remember what he whispered to me and grip my scarf tightly.

"O-Of course..."I say, looking down

My soul sank as he lectured and ranted to me. He left an hour or two later.

Great....more threats....

I stood there, thinking and trying to make sense of what's going on. I knew I had to tell someone at least about this stalker's threats.....Gaster too on second thought. He is escalating and running out of patience after all. I open a portal and enter the big, magnificent hallways on the other side. I walk down them, curiously searching for the door to the correct room. I find it labeled with a golden P on the door. I knock gently on it, still nervously holding the picture with the creepy note taped to it.

Papyrus opened the door and looks at me. His smile fades when he saw how uneased I was.

"Hey, Papyrus....C-Can we t-t-talk?"I ask

"Sure thing. Come on in."He says

We go in and he locks the door. I showed him the letters and picture that were sent to me for the past few weeks and explained everything to him. We talked for hours about the issues and what we could do or who the stalker could be. But in the end it was just theories and promises that everything will be okay. I felt better now that someone knew what was going on.

When he let me out I walked down the hall as he told me to go. Reaper's room was down that way. It's up to me to tell him or not but just being with him will put me at ease. I walked to his room but right as it came into my sight, I got whacked on the back of my head with something rough like a crobar.

"You're all mine now."A voice says

Then I got knocked out.

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TBC