'Til When Will We Part? (Reaper!Sans X Geno!Sans)

TW3P Part 1

Reaper hummed to himself, kicking one dangling leg as he lounged in an old tree. The branch he was on was withered as were those around it, but the tree as a whole was still alive. Plants were cool like that; they didn't die unless you killed all of them. 

There was a skittering sound from above, and then a squirrel fell off of its perch, landing right on Reaper's lap. 

"Whoops!" Reaper picked the creature up by its tail with one hand and held its tiny soul with his other. "Sorry, little buddy. Looks like you fell to your death. Heh." He listened to the little soul and gave a reassuring smile. "Oh, don't be like that. You died, but everything's going to be alright. Okay? I promise."

The soul seemed to give a little nod and Reaper floated off of the branch. "I guess I'd better take you to your new home. Hang on, we'll be right there."

Reaper focused his magic and suddenly found himself back in the underworld. He felt the soul in his hand relax as it saw how peaceful the place was. It was dark and quiet, but there were little things lighting it up with various colors. Glowing rocks in the walls and floors, floating souls playing together peacefully, and a small river that flowed with magic. 

"Alright, listen up, little buddy," Reaper said, sitting down with his legs crossed. "You can hang out and play here until your satisfied. There will be plenty of people to keep you satisfied. When you're ready to move on, my brother or I will help you cross that river there. Or, if you're feeling brave, you can do it yourself. Once you make it to the other side, you'll forget this life, and Toriel will give you a new one. Do you understand?"

The little soul bobbed in the air and zipped off to make friends. Reaper chuckled and saw Papyrus in the distance. He could tell even from this distance that his little brother was troubled, so he walked over to investigate.

"Hey, Papyrus, what's the matter?"

"Oh, Sans." The younger death gave his brother a sad face. "This soul has been here much too long, but they're too afraid to cross the river and forget everything. Can you help me put them at ease?"

"Of course, Papyrus." Reaper looked at the quivering soul and smiled softly. "What's the matter, kid? What's got you so nervous?"

He reached out to touch the soul and memories and feelings from its past filled him. "I see... The friends you were waiting for never came here, huh? You don't have to worry about them, kid. My brother and I do our job well, so if they're not here then they didn't die. They're still alive out there, and you might meet them again, even if you don't remember them." The soul still looked uncertain, so Reaper gave it a little pat. "Tell you what, when I do see them, I'll tell them about you. I'll make sure they know just how much you cared about them. Alright?"

The soul gave a nod and Papyrus picked it up to take it across the river. "Thank you, Sans. You always know what to say to them." 

"Tell you what, brother, I'll take care of the souls and you can take care of me. Because you always know what to say when I'm feeling down."

The much taller skeleton blushed and tugged on the collar of his robe. "You really are a sweet-talker. Well, I'll be back in a minute."

"No rush. I'll keep an eye on the little guys."

Reaper watched his brother leave and got into a more comfortable position, reclining against a surprisingly soft rock. He was thinking about slacking off for a while longer and taking a nap, but something suddenly... cracked. 

He heard it, clear as day, an ominous cracking sound. He hadn't sat on any twigs, and the sound wasn't coming from his body or the direction Papyrus went in. In fact, it didn't seem to be coming from any direction. 

He was going to ignore it; pretend he hadn't heard anything, but then he felt the presence of fading life and he knew he'd found the source of that sound. It was far away, very far, but it was suffering, and it felt wrong to just leave it alone. 

Papyrus is the one who gives people painless deaths; I just take their souls. But that life feels like it's really weak and in pain. I don't think it would mind settling for me.