"I'm so glad you were free, little light," Reaper lazily grinned as he approached his front door.
"Pfft, not like I have a job," Jewel laughed.
"Sure you do, it's just not on a set schedule. I know the feeling," he chuckled. Reaper stopped at the door before looking up. "So, ready for the surprise?"
"Can't imagine what you have planned," she teased. Really, who else would be at his house?
The mischievous skeleton held a knowing smile as he opened the door and led her inside. He stretched a little as she shut the door behind her. As if on cue…
"Brother, is that you?" they heard from the other room.
"Yeah, it's me Paps," he said, his smile only spread. "And a guest."
The blacked-cloaked Papyrus came out from the kitchen, the natural hiding spot of all Papyruses, and he blinked as his eyes focused on the young woman.
"Brother, is this who I think it is?" he asked, his eyes starting to light up.
"Yup," Reaper grinned, before side-stepping, just in time to have his brother run up and try to grab Jewel. Reflexively, she teleported just enough to get out of his grasp.
"Sorry!" she quickly apologized. "I'm not like you."
Papyrus was confused, and Reaper laughed, a light tone he hadn't had in years. "And Paps isn't like me."
"Oh! You mean the death aura," Papyrus quickly realized. "Sans is right. Unlike this lazybones here, I've mastered restraint on my aura! No mortal being will be harmed from a simple touch unless I wish it! So long as I wear gloves," he grinned, holding up his hands to reveal the black gloves hidden inside of his long sleeves.
Jewel blinked a little, confused, before turning to Reaper. "Why don't you do that?"
Papyrus seemed to enjoy the flustered look that appeared on his elder brother's face as he struggled to come up with an answer. His look was smug and he held his arms over his chest in triumph.
"To put it simply, my brother was too lazy to ever really learn."
"When was I ever going to need restraint?" Reaper defended himself. "How long have we been around, Paps? All I had to do was keep my distance until I was needed, I never—!" he stopped before glancing back at the human in the room. He sighed a little, a sad, nostalgic smile on his face. "I never thought that I'd… get attached to anything mortal. Until you came around, I had no reason to even think to hold back. And even after I started keep an eye on you, I kept… lying to myself. That I wasn't ever going to need to approach you. I thought I could just watch from a distance like I had before, just occasional glances at one another…" He laughed a little, thinking back. "You were such a weird kid!" he remembered with a grin, "What tiny human kid was never scared of the scary skeleton in black robes?"
Jewel chuckled a little, thinking back as well. "Well, let's face it. I had a weird view of death from the get-go. I mean, it kinds of happens when you can see spirits."
"So, that's how you met?" Papyrus spoke up. "You never did tell me that, brother."
"Then he'd have to admit he was letting a six-year-old do his job for him," Jewel teased.
"Brother!"
Reaper and Jewel laughed. "He didn't ask me to, it just sorta… happened. I mean, it was in a schoolyard. Death hanging around a bunch of kids could be seen as weird."
The two would begin to reminisce, telling the story to Papyrus as he intently listened, not that there was much to tell. Despite how young she was, Jewel was quite advanced. It came with being abused. Anything to take one's mind off of it. She was also often told to read the dictionary for punishments by the teachers, mostly, for talking in class. To be fair, she was talking to the ghosts. That's how she learned no one else could see them.
Reaper, from his perspective, didn't even realize it until he happened to cross by on another job that spirits were lingering. He had been careful as he approached, avoiding the children, trying not to show a trail of death as he crossed the grass. The only restraint he had was not to let his aura seep out of his feet, a way to keep himself invisible. However, he soon realized even his magic wasn't enough to keep him hidden from all view.
"That's when I saw her the first time," Reaper explained as he and Jewel both sat at the table, while his brother finished his prep for lunch. "She was sitting in the grass just talking with this wayward spirit."
"So it wasn't malicious, right?" Papyrus asked, concerned.
"Nah. She was a teenager I think?" Jewel thought back. "Had been killed way back before it was a school. Just never really… moved on. Too much sadness, I think? Hard to really remember all the details, my reading abilities weren't as good then," Jewel chuckled with a slight shrug. "Either way, I saw Reaper and well—"
"Wait, Reaper?" Papyrus blinked, looking back at him. "You're where he got that name?"
"I swore I told you this, Paps," Reaper chuckled. "She said her world had a name for guys like us."
"Well, one of the many mythos for death," Jewel laughed a little. "As a little kid, I mean, it was the easiest way to explain the concept of death. The "Grim Reaper" who would come and steal souls of the living."
"That sounds… violent," Papyrus disapproved.
"Well, no one really likes to die, most just accept it," Jewel shrugged. "I remember a few cartoons with depictions of the Grim Reaper."
"Really? And my brother fit the personification you knew?"
"Nah," Jewel chuckled. "Not by appearances anyway. You're more like what humans would expect in the looks department, but you're far too cheerful and upbeat. Pops is more like what they would expect, in all honesty, when he's actually serious about his work. Neither of you would really be an ideal fit, Uncle Raps."
"Wait, what?" Papyrus turned, looking at her with wide eyes. Reaper held a small smile, his head tilted slightly to the side feigning curiosity for Papyrus. He knew this bit already.
"What? Uncle Raps?" she blinked. She then couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her. "Well, I mean, Grim really doesn't suit you. Both of you reap souls, you're both a "reaper" but you both can't be named that, right? So, shorten Reaper Papyrus with dad's nickname for you and you get Raps."
The newly dubbed Raps' eyes had tears well up in them before he rushed over and wrapped his arms tightly around the human. Jewel couldn't help but hold her breath, waiting for the feeling to take her, fighting the urge to teleport, but much to her surprise, she really didn't feel that death aura. It had been something she had introduced to by accident, getting too close to Reaper as a child. He really did repress it well. Enough to where she felt comfortable hugging him back.
He felt more tears as he felt her arms wrap around him in return. He was a being of death, almost no one let him hug them like this! This human really was something special! "So, you…" he glanced to his brother. "You really adopted a mortal child?"
Reaper had to shake off the pang of jealousy in him. It wasn't as if he was ever jealous of his brother, in fact, he always thought the world of him. But that motion… he regretted not listening to his brother all those years ago. Learning that restraint would have meant he could hug his little light. But it was too late now…
"Heh, what can I say, bro? She really wormed her way into these old bones."
"Nyeh! No!" Raps pulled back and glared harshly at his brother. "No, none of those!"
"Oh, come on, Uncle Raps," Jewel grinned. "You don't like rib ticklers?"
Raps blinked as Reaper put a hand over his mouth, hiding a snicker as his brother tried to process if that was innocent or intentional word play.
"Not when they're lazy puns," he decided to clarify. "It's low-brow."
"It shouldn't matter what makes people laugh," Jewel then said sagely. "You two know better than anyone that life isn't as long as people make it out to be. And even immortals like you two, maybe especially you two, deal with more than what they should. A little levity shouldn't be downplayed so long as the job gets done, right?"
Both immortals stared at her, Raps' mouth slightly agape as he tried to figure out a response, opening and closing his jaw as words failed him. Reaper, for his part, just wanted to hug her. His hand shook under the table, needing to hide it from her the only thing that made his thoughts bearable.
"How old are you?" Raps then asked bluntly.
That shook Reaper from his thoughts for a moment. "It doesn't matter, bro," he said softly, a smile finding its way back to his face. "She's always been wiser than her age would suggest. This is no exception."
Raps seemed to accept that and went back to prepping up lunch. Reaper, however, got up.
"Dad, you okay?" she asked.
"Yeah," he grinned lazily. "Just gotta check on something."
"Need help?" she offered.
"Always," he laughed. "But I got it this time. Relax, you're our guest. It's the first time you've been here. Eventually I hope it'll be like you're home, but for now, let us spoil you a little," he winked at her.
"Yes, this is the first time I've gotten to meet my niece!" Raps loudly proclaimed from his spot at the counter. "You should take it easy as our guest! Besides, it's rare my brother actually wants to do any work, please don't persuade him otherwise!"
Jewel couldn't help but snicker as Reaper lightly shook his head with a bemused smile. "Just relax and spend some time with your uncle. I won't be long," he said as he went further back into the house.
She glanced down the hall, curious, but decided to let it go. Maybe it was a god thing, who knew? She stretched a little and looked across the table at her uncle. "So, whatcha making?"
"Spaghetti, of course!" he declared.
She really should have known better, but what else was there to talk about? Their job was pretty depressing. However… "Spaghetti sounds awesome," she responded genuinely. "Did dad ever tell you that it's my favorite?"
"Really? That's amazing! But of course, any niece of mine would love it! Even if this will be your first time trying mine! It's out of this world!"
"I don't doubt it," Jewel grinned, "You and dad are pretty otherworldly."
Raps groaned a little bit. "Please, he didn't infect you young, did he?"
"Guilty as charged," Jewel chuckled a little. "He always tried to cheer me up with a pun or ten when I was down." She smiled fondly at the memories, before glancing back over at her uncle. "You think Pops could learn restraint on his aura?"
"I do believe so," Raps declared genuinely. "It would be harder for him now than it would have years ago. His power has only increased, obviously. I wonder if he will ever truly give it a try."
"Well, it'd be nice. I'd like to be able to hug my dad too."
Raps' smile fell a little as he turned back to his niece. "My dear… it would take him longer than your lifespan to learn, I'm afraid. It took me almost a hundred years to get mine under control, through trial and error. While I could guide him, it may not happen. If he began when he first met you, he would be able to hold you now, but…"
"Ah," Jewel said with a sigh. "Guess I can't keep holding off on my natural life span by hiding in a timeless void forever while he learns."
"I'm sorry, my dear."
"It's okay," Jewel sighed, but she held a gentle smile. "Not your fault. Least I can hug you, right?"
"Of course!" Raps grinned. "Any time you wish it! Just be mindful if I'm working, the gloves might be off."
"In more ways than one, huh, unc?" she teased.
"What?"
She sniggered a little but easily waved it off. "I'm gonna look around a little, okay?"
"Well, lunch is almost done, I can give you a full tour once we finish," Raps explained.
"I'll stick to the front then," she said as she headed back into the living area.
Unlike other Sans and Papyrus' homes, theirs was built well before the main timeline. It had an older feel, almost like a cottage in an oasis. She had seen the lush green outside, probably a gift from Life. There was a distance around the house that was darker, obviously, more rock than green, but that made sense. Life did make it easier to grow plants in unnatural surroundings.
The entrance and living room were all one space. Books were lining the walls, just nonstop. She wondered how long it took her father and uncle to read all of these… and how many more must be in the private rooms? She stopped at a vase holding a glass flower on one of the bookshelves, her eyes examining it. It seemed an unnatural color, it wasn't reflecting light normally.
"Dad still got a thing for flowers?" she called to her uncle, examining it closely, but she didn't touch it.
"Oh, definitely!" Raps answered with mirth. "Did you see the one in the living room? That was a gift from Life! She made one that would never wilt just for him! It was so sweet!"
"It's definitely beautiful," Jewel agreed, though her eyes seemed to get a few shades darker.
"Bitch stole your idea!"
"We don't know how long ago it was given to him," Jewel thought, her eyes never leaving the flower. Despite her defense of Life, the tone of her thoughts betrayed her true emotion.
"Still a bitch. When does Life of all things get off on trying to create a glass version of a flower? Her magic can't encompass glass work!"
"Please, quit yelling, we do not need ears to hear you and your voice is naturally loud as it is. Besides… it is hardly helping."
"Gods can create almost anything… glass is simply an element of the earth too, heated sand, which is ground up and refined rock… who's to say she couldn't create a plant-based one, or even rocks don't fall at least partially under her banner? Some religions agree with that aspect, you should know," she continued in her head. The last thing she wanted was her father or uncle hearing her. "Besides, I hardly own the idea… how long have humans done this kind of thing?"
"…still bullshit."
"Agreed. But you can still do other things for him, Jewel. After all, he chose you to be in his life, none of the other gods can take that away from you."
"Or, ya know, fuck it and just do what you wanted to anyway. Just because she did it too doesn't mean it'll mean any less. Hell, you still love Angel even though you got me."
"Cur."
"Just… just stop," Jewel barely whispered, a tear falling from her eye. Silence finally overcame her senses and she started to space out, just staring at that flower.
"…ight…. Light?"
Jewel snapped her head up, blinking rapidly. She glanced over at Reaper standing beside her, a worried look etched into his bones.
"Light, are you okay?" he asked. "Paps said you were spacing out, you didn't even react to him touching you."
Not even physical contact? Damn, she was out of it… "Yeah," she said softly. "Just got lost in thought…"
"Light…"
"Really, I'm fine," she said giving him a smile. "I…" She took a breath, a hand over her chest. "Remember, my powers are different now? Well, I, uh…"
"Wait… Angel and Fenrir?" he asked, noticing her hand placement.
"Yeah, I can… talk to them at any time now, not just when I'm asleep. But sometimes I space out."
"What's so life-threatening they had to contact you here?" Worried was a weak description of his tone.
Jewel blinked, but she laughed a little. "Oh, oh no, dad. It's not just a life or death situation anymore. They can talk to me about anything and everything. Just like we can. They're fully sentient."
Reaper still looked concerned, that news not quite the best to hear. "That's… I guess a lot really has happened in the last three hundred years…" he said softly.
"I've grown up, at least I've liked to think so," she said softly. "But, I'll admit, I still have my childish moments, I mean," she glanced back up to the glass gift. "Looks like someone beat me to your forever flower, huh?"
Was that was this was about? Reaper held a soft smile. "She didn't beat you."
"Please," Jewel laughed lightly, "How old are you two? There's no way she just figured this out in the last three hundred years."
"It's not a competition, Light. And you can't have a garden with only one flower. You told me that, remember?"
Jewel blinked a little, turning to him. He smiled and motioned for her to follow him. She didn't notice Raps wasn't in the kitchen, nor did she notice the other doors he could possibly be in. She followed Reaper through the home to his room where he simply opened a door. Despite his occupation, he didn't like just black. Lots of natural colors were in his room. Sure, he had black sheets and blankets, but his room was natural wooden colors, just like the rest of their home.
On the far wall, he opened up the closet door and pulled out a little lockbox. He set the box on his bed, motioning for her to sit on the other side. Once she sat herself down, he carefully unlocked it, an actual, physical key needed for it. Opening the lid, a wave on nostalgia hit them both like a truck, memories of her childhood flooding back.
Inside the lockbox was a cascade of various things she had made as a child. Drawings, string bracelets, and more importantly, some delicately held together origami flowers lying on top.
"Don't you remember?" he asked with a smile. "I didn't even adopt you at the time. You noticed me following you around more and had the guts to confront me about it."
Jewel chuckled a little bit. "I remember being totally freaked out and yelling at you that I didn't die, you didn't have a right to follow me."
"So you were scared of me, eh?" Reaper teased.
"I saw you all the time with that big scary scythe," she defended her childhood self. "I wasn't some wayward spirit, you were definitely fitting the definition of a reaper right then. I thought you were gonna steal my soul right out of me and I'd watch myself die again."
"Yeah, the timing wasn't great," he admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "But you warmed up pretty quickly once I promised you that I wasn't going to steal your soul. You were picking dandelions to give to your mom and you tried to give one to me…"
"I got you to take it," Jewel chuckled, a little proud in her statement. "Probably better the dandelion taught me that lesson as early as it did."
Reaper chuckled a little, his sockets going dark as he got lost in the memories, a wide smile etched on his face. "You came back and brought me a chocolate rosebud with foil around the chocolate and a fake stem and leaves. I didn't even tell you I liked flowers!"
"You didn't? I swore you did…" she tried to think back.
"No, not directly. It was always "you know how much I love flowers" or something like it afterward. You picked it up all on your own. Simply by how I watched you pick the dandelions and my reaction when one wilted in my hand. You told me that chocolate can't wilt," he laughed lightly. "I never could bring myself to eat it. It was the first gift I had gotten from you that didn't wilt," he smiled. That dandelion was always going to be the first. "Unfortunately, chocolate is still food, it didn't survive as much as I wanted it to. I still have the stem in here somewhere," he grinned a little.
"I remember that," she chuckled a little. She used a pipe cleaner and some fake ivy leaves from a fake plant at school to make it with some foil and colored plastic wrap around two Hershey Kisses.
Reaper chuckled a bit as he gently picked up one of the fragile origami flowers. "Then you started to expand your artistic range," he grinned. "You were obsessed with making these flowers once you learned how," he laughed. "You gave so many to me, I couldn't store them all. I told you one was enough, but you said,"
"But you can't have a garden with just one flower," she remembered, glancing into the box. Underneath a multitude of different sized origami flowers, she saw the old notebook paper she used… she drew daisies and other simple flowers on them and used thread to go around the pencil drawing, coloring the lines and "sewing" the flower. All the paper showed its age. It didn't seem so long ago, she was still in her thirties physically… "I really made it my life to make you all the flowers I could, didn't I?"
"You did," he smiled. "And these are far more special to me. You're my little girl, Light. Life might have made me an eternal flower, and I'm grateful for it, it means a lot to me. But do you know how often I would complain to her?" he chuckled a little. "You… you just picked it up and started showering me with flowers the second you thought I liked something. You did it out of the kindness of your heart, you didn't even know me at the time. These flowers are the most precious things to me because just as the real thing, they won't last forever. They won't wilt to my touch, but time will eventually take them from me… and at least with these, I can try and keep them safe. I can tend to my garden, somehow, even if I can't show it off."
Jewel couldn't stop the tears that filled her eyes as he spoke. Reaper was always the one who supported her growing up. Other than her grandparents, he was the one who was there. He cared, he visited, he was always an ear for her, and he did what he could when he couldn't be a literal shoulder to cry on. It had been a long time since she thought about those times, even if they were always in the back of her mind. To literally see how much care he put into preserving her childhood gifts to him…
"Dad," she sniffled, "I need you to do something for me."
"What is it, little light?"
"I need you to work with Uncle Raps, because damn it, I just want to hug you," she said as she wiped her eyes.
Seeing her cry like that brought tears to his sockets as well. He should have done so years ago… When he thought he lost her, he didn't think there was a point… he was kicking himself for wasting time wallowing about her being gone. Time didn't mean much to him as an immortal, but he was the one who adopted her… she had lived passed her original life span, numerous times now. He couldn't keep taking this for granted.
His hand trembled as he delicately put the flower back in its box before he wiped his sockets with the sleeve of his robe. "Don't do that, you know I can't stand to see you cry," he tried to smile, but he couldn't help himself. He couldn't help her when she cried. A joke didn't always work, she was a pretty physical person. Always had been. Touch was how she developed her empathy. Most people, humans, and monsters, forget how powerful a touch could be… he had forgotten…
"Then learn. Because I can't learn that trick you'd do with me. My magic isn't like that."
"You always sell yourself short," Reaper smiled softly at her. "Tell ya what. I'll learn with Paps while you try and learn with your friends. I'd teach you but I might be using all my spare time," he chuckled nervously.
Jewel couldn't help but laugh a little, wiping her eyes again. "S'a deal, Dad."
"Good," he smiled a little, taking a breath and making sure his own tears were stilled. He put the lockbox away. "Now, dry those tears," he said as he turned back to her. "I have another surprise for you."
She rose a brow but wiped what moisture that was left in her eyes away. "Another surprise? What, did you bake or something?"
"Heh, very funny," he dryly laughed, "No, but you have to see it. I was going to bring it out myself, but Paps got worried about you. He's waiting with it in the living room."
Jewel was utterly confused, but she got up and left the room, Reaper not far behind her. He wasn't going to miss her reaction for this. In fact, he teleported ahead of her so he could get a good shot with his phone. He loved the camera on these things.
When she came down the hall, time seemed to freeze. Blue eyes met wide black sockets with a single glowing eyelight. Wearing a grey onesie with a hood that matched Reaper's, the tiny baby looked up from his spot on Raps' lap and held a wide smile as he looked up at her, a babbling giggle escaping his tiny mouth.
"Oh. My. Gosh! What a cutie!" Jewel squealed as she went over to the tiny skeleton.
"Go on, he's got no real magic yet," Raps grinned as he held up the little baby to her.
Jewel took the baby from her uncle. He squirmed a little but he stared up at her with his one big curious eye before reaching up for her hair, and pulling. "Ow, got a grip there little dude," she grinned down at him. It didn't really hurt, but the "ow" did make the tiny baby stop for a second.
"You are just the cutest thing," she grinned as she tickled his ribs, making him squeal out in delight.
Reaper felt his soul swell up, taking a multitude of photos. He just couldn't help himself. He finally stopped just long enough to look over without the camera screen, and his grin just grew. "I'm glad you think so," he explained, "because that's your little brother."
Jewel's head snapped up and she looked at Reaper with wide eyes. "W-wait, what? You…"
"Yes, yes, I've heard it already, more than I'd like to admit," he sweated a little. "Death creating life, I get it."
"N-no, I mean… who? Life? I thought even her magic couldn't stop yours."
Reaper blinked but smiled at his daughter. "You'll see. I was going to introduce you after lunch. Figured you'd want to get as many baby cuddles in as you could. You were always a sucker with kids, and from what I saw the other day, that hasn't changed."
Jewel laughed a little as she looked down at the little bundle of joy in her arms. "Yeah, I don't think that part of me ever will," she smiled down at the tiny baby, extending her finger to him and he happily grabbed it, waving it around. "What's his name?"
"Goth," Reaper chuckled a little awkwardness to his tone. "It's… kind of a mash between mine and my mate's name."
"You mean the Death version anyway."
"Yeah," he chuckled a little.
"Can you… I mean, he's yours but…"
"Yeah, he's my boy, he's immune to the death aura. We won't know if he'll take after me or not until he's older. We'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it."
"If he does, fear not! I, the Great Papyrus, will teach him how to restrain his aura from the start. He will not be taking after his lazy father," he narrowed his eyes at Reaper, who chuckled.
Jewel laughed a little before looking down at her little brother. "How old is he?"
"Seven months, just about," Reaper smiled.
"You know this just raises all the questions about how skeletons have kids for me now, right?"
The God of Death's face paled a little further as a blush dusted his cheekbones. "I… didn't ever think I'd be having that talk with you…. let alone at your age," he commented awkwardly.
"Well, excuse me, dad," she laughed, teasingly, "I'm hardly a monster. I can easily return the favor with the human birds and bees talk."
"Nope, I'm good," he sweated, backing out of this conversation.
Raps, on the other hand, tilted his head. "How do humans—"
"Nope!" Reaper exclaimed. "It's lunchtime, no more of this talk!"
Raps and Jewel laughed as they watched the God of Death exit the living room and head directly into the kitchen.
"Don't worry, Uncle Raps. I'll explain it later."
"Thank you, dear. If he doesn't, I'll also try and explain our version. But when the little one is down for a nap."
