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“Wh-What?” The terrified voice of a soul at its end trembled as it spoke to the literal grim reaper before him. “You’re dead, pal,” came the matter-of-fact reply. Reaper had a lazy grin across his face as he stared back at the man. A large dark void had surrounded them both, freezing them in between space and time. Reaper kept a slight distance between them both, not wanting to completely overwhelm the soul.
“Th-That’s impossible!” The man had fallen backwards in surprise when Reaper had shown up. He now laid on his back, propping himself up on his elbows as he stared on in abject terror. “How?!” Reape let out a faint chuckle at the question. “ How ?” He repeated, mulling over the word in his mind as he recalled the rather comical scenario that had played out mere moments before. The man before him had been working his carnie job, running a ball toss-type game, when he had begun to egg on a group of teenagers that were getting progressively more frustrated with him. His taunts had begun cutting deeper into them as his disposition became progressively nastier. Eventually, one of them snapped and threw a ball directly at the man’s head. Their friends, laughing at the absurdity of it, joined in and began to pelt the man with hard, plastic balls. They were heavier than most carnival balls, so after enough of the assault he collapsed to the floor. The balls, however, were unrelenting. The man was continuously pummeled for a few minutes more, which in turn led to his untimely demise. Reaper let out another little snort of laughter as he watched the memory over and over again in his mind. He saw the man’s features wash over with realization as he recalled his final moments, a deep embarrassment radiating off of him in violent waves. “You’re kidding me, right?” The man was becoming more disgruntled than afraid now, brows furrowing into a slight scowl. “Sorry, pal,” Reaper shrugged, his lazy grin still prevalent as he began to float closer. “Can’t do much about it now.” The man began to scoot backwards as Reaper approached. The tall skeleton was unphased and nonchalant as he leaned down closer to the man. “Shoulda backed off when ya had the chance, eh pal?” He grinned once more before reaching out and placing his bony hand atop the man’s head. The human’s form began to dissipate, leaving Reaper in the dark void that was slowly ebbing away as well.
As the last of the shadows faded from view Reaper looked around, finding himself at the scene of the crime. He was invisible to any mortals around him, spotting the group of teenagers he had watched pummel the carnie to death being questioned by police officers to the side. The ball-toss booth was surrounded by police tape by this point. Reaper glanced around, noticing that the entire surrounding area was completely vacant due to the… tragedy that had just occurred. He decided to take a peek around the booth, carefully stepping around the body laying on the ground. The booth was small but covered wall-to-wall in stuffed animals. He let his eyes wander around the various prizes, a smile gently playing at his lips as he landed on a rather large bear on the back wall. His eye sockets flickered deviously as he approached the bear, deciding to lift it from its place on the wall. He flung it over his shoulder as he continued to glance around the small space, landing on a group of differently colored cats. Digging through the pile of stuffed felines he triumphantly raised two up in his grasp; one a solid black and the other a white calico with black and caramel-brown splotches decorating its fur. Thoroughly satisfied with his plundering, he tucked the plushies under his arm and summoned his scythe to his free hand, using it to rip open a portal to a familiar dark void.
Stepping through the portal he looked up at the crude shack he had helped his lover build within the Save Screen. Each time he viewed their work his soul swelled with pride. He closed up the portal behind him and waved away his scythe, stepping up to the door of the little shack and knocking against the wood. “Geno,~” he called out in a sing-song voice, love lacing his words as he shifted the gifts to be as hidden as possible behind his back. A shuffling noise could be faintly heard from the other side as the smaller skeleton approached the door, opening it up with a soft smile resting on his face. “Heya, Reap,” he greeted, radiating a gentle warmth as he stared up at the other. “How’s work been?”
Reaper couldn’t help but melt at how gentle and genuine his lover’s words were. He was pleased whenever the usually irritable and aggressive facade dropped and he was able to see just how deeply Geno actually cared for him. “Oh, you know. The usual,” the God replied nonchalantly. “Though I did happen to see a guy get an overflow of instant karma. I feel kinda bad for laughin’ about it, but at this point ya gotta find the humor in this line of work, y’know?” Geno hummed in thought for a moment, nodding as his eyelight remained transfixed on Reaper’s face. “You alright there, angel?” Reaper spoke with a slight laugh. “You seem… rather engaged.~”
A gentle blush dusted Geno’s face as he continued staring up at Reaper. “Can’t help it if my boyfriend’s so engaging.~” Reaper was mildly surprised that Geno hadn’t missed a beat with his flirt. A smirk fell onto his lips as he stared back at his lover, his face now flushing slightly as well.
“Well,” he began, “ I do hope I can rip your attention away from my handsome face for just a moment, love.~” Geno rolled his eye and shifted his weight, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he silently prompted Reaper to get on with whatever he had to say. “I may have picked up a few souvenirs from my last stop,~” he proudly brought the mound of plushies out from their hiding spot behind him and presented them to Geno, grinning as wide as ever. His lover’s expression immediately shifted to one of awe and excitement as he enthusiastically took the stuffed animals from the God’s arms, hugging them tightly. “Reaper, they’re adorable!” His voice was high and bright, a pure and genuine happiness exploding from him at the sweet gesture. Reaper’s smile only grew as he watched his lover gently swing side to side, cuddling up against the plush toys. “I’m glad you like them,” he mused, completely enamored as he watched Geno’s smile widen. “I got the cats because they reminded me of us, and the bear is just a cliché so you know I had to,” he winked.
Geno moved the plushies over to one arm and reached out to pull Reaper into a hug, nuzzling his face against the God’s cloaked shoulder. “Thank you Reap, I love them,” he whispered into the fabric. “And I love you ,” Reaper retorted as he wrapped his arms around Geno’s waist, maneuvering to plant a gentle kiss to the top of the other’s head. Geno giggled a bit as he burrowed his flushed face further into Reaper’s cloak. “I love you too,” he murmured softly. “This was really sweet of you.”
Reaper tenderly kissed his lover’s skull again, smiling against the bone. “You know I’d give you the world if I could, angel. If I can give you any part of it then I’ll jump at the chance.” He felt the other hum quietly against him before pressing a soft kiss onto his shoulder through the fabric of his cloak. With a chuckle he reached his hand up to cup Geno’s cheek, gently lifting him up so that they could lock eyes again. “How about a real kiss, eh love~?” The smaller skeleton let out another flustered giggle as he nodded, leaning in and pressing their faces together in a loving kiss. He could feel Reaper’s thumb trace delicate circles against his cheek, sending a pleasant warmth throughout his bones. After pulling away he couldn’t help but simply stare at his lover again, and judging by the look in Reaper’s eye sockets he felt the same.