The book o' random Oneshots

Papa's home

An old favorite, this little destructivedeath fic.

Error settling into an old home in a new way.

Enjoy!
~~~~~

Goth was little more than nine at the time Error stepped into his life. He was barely four when Geno disappeared from it. Reaper and his child suffered the loss together, equally lonely and confused... Not to mention afraid. When Reaper had found Error, it was coincidence and fate that led to their love for each other.

It was a push beyond either of those things when Error slipped up and Reaper found out who he once was. It had been a big fight, at first. So much anger, loneliness, sadness, betrayal, and confusion. They met in the middle. They talked, they understood, they made up. They're closer, better for it now. Goth watched all of it confused, with their own complex feelings. The situation was far too complex for a child their age to understand, they tried to let it come naturally.

"You make my daddy happy." Goth said to him one day, as he knitted on the couch.

Error looked up, startled, and seemed to shift through a hundred different expressions before settling on the softest smile. "I hope I always do..."

"He's been sad... For a while."

"I know..."

"He misses papa."

"Oh I know... I don't think he misses him so badly anymore... Though, he does miss him a lot."

"I miss Papa too," Goth murmurs, looking down at their little hands. They're weaved together nervously.

"Of course you do, he's your papa. He's an important part of your world."

"I... Barely remember him though! Isn't that... Strange? To miss someone you hardly even knew?" Goth asks, frowning.

"No, Goth. Not at all. You're always allowed to miss him. I know he missed you..." Error said softly.

"... Missed... Me?" Goth questions.

Error nods, "I won't promise you nearly anything but this, not in the whole time you'll know me. But I promise you. That man missed you every day he woke up, whether he knew it or not, there was a void in his soul. One where you were supposed to be. His little souling. He loved you more than anything, he still does." Error opens his arms to offer a hug. Goth nearly barrels into him, a ball of restless confusion.

"How do you know?" The child asks quietly

"I... It is... Complicated."

"I can understand. Please... Please tell me... I— I wanna know." Goth says, leaning back from the hug. "I can take it. I just... I wanna know what happened to my papa..." He pleads with Error, teary eyed.

Error relents, resolve crumbling like a house of cards. He could never say no to Goth. "Alright... Well, get comfy," Error sighs. Goth clambers into his lap and looks up at him impatiently. "So, your Papa was sick, and it was getting worse. He was sick because his soul was away from home," He began, settling Goth into his lap more comfortably and setting his knitting to the side.

"His home wasn't here?"

"Hah, his home was wherever you and Reaper were. A home filled with everyone he loved," Error said softly, rocking Goth in his arms. "But his world, where his soul belonged? That was not here. So his soul got sick, and the doctors didn't know why," Error continued.

"The doctors looked for answers everywhere, but they couldn't find anything. They theorized it may have been because of the pregnancy, or because Geno had been away from Reaper for too long at times during it. Reaper was sad. Geno was sad, he wouldn't be able to put all his energy into raising their new souling. But they both thought they would be okay."

"And they were okay, for... Four or so years. Then... Geno's soul got too sick. He was called back home. But his home didn't exist anymore. So he went... Nowhere."

"Nowhere?"

"An endless white expanse. The place called nowhere," Error said. "When he was there, time passed strangely... It felt like eons. He was scared, and alone. And the nowhere, it changed him. Made him look and sound different... Made him different."

"Why?"

"Because he couldn't be sick anymore. It was trying to fix him. But, he couldn't really be fixed," Error explained. "So... He looks and sounds different now. And he feels different now. And I use a different name... But I... I love you the same. I love your daddy the same."

"... Papa?"

"Yes, starlight?"

"You did come home..."

"I'm sorry it took so long."

"Are... You gonna leave again?

Error hugged him tight, sighing deeply. "No, not ever again."

"Do you promise?"

"I swear on my soul."

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Well, that made me cry 🫡👍

Remember to attain an appropriate amount of human sustenance, take your meds, and have a good hydration. Don't forget to have a wonderful day, either! Much love from a mothy friend. This is it for my time with you today, But I do hope you enjoyed this chapter you silly little butterflies.

- Arca