Outertale AU (requested by M. McKnew)

"C'mon, please?"

"NO! IT IS INCREDIBLY RISKY TO DO THAT AND I DON;T KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF YOU DRIFT TOO FAR!"

"Paps, I believe in you-you're not gonna let me float away."

Papyrus tossed his constellation-patterned scarf over his shoulder, looking at his girlfriend with exasperation. Tabatha looked quite childlike with her pout and clasped hands, but he wasn't about to be swayed by her adorableness!

"I AM NOT GOING TO RELEASE THE GRAVITY MAGIC!" he insisted for about the fifth time. "I DON'T KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF YOU SLIP OUT OF THE CORE'S GRAVITY FIELD! IT'S NOT LIKE WHEN WE HAD THE BARRIER PREVENTING ANYONE FROM MOVING OUTSIDE THE AIR POCKET. FOR ALL I KNOW, YOU WOULD JUST FLOAT ON THROUGH AND BE LOST!"

"I know you wouldn't let that happen," the brunette teased, taking the skeleton's hand in her own and kissing the back of his glove. "The Great and Stellar Papyrus is too vigilant to let his lady love roam into danger."

"WELL...WHAT YOU SAY IS TRUE, BUT..." the lanky monster shifted awkwardly, a galaxy blush across his cheekbones. He then seemed to snap back to reality and raised a stern finger at her. "HEY! IT'S NOT FAIR WHEN YOU USE YOUR CONSIDERABLE FEMININE CHARMS ON ME! YOU KNOW THAT FLATTERY IS MY ONE WEAKNESS! WELL THAT AND MY SIGNATURE DISH..."

The young woman seemed to realize her case would not succeed and sighed, hands going to her hips.

"Alright," she conceded. "Then can we go to Starfall again? I want to look at the cycling waterfalls again and the reflecting pools...ooh, or maybe the overlook!"

"DO YOU NOT THINK STARRIN TO BE JUST AS BEAUTIFUL?" Papyrus asked, his tone hinting at how her clear preference nipped at his pride. Tabatha rolled her eyes affectionately.

"It has its charm, but I find it just too cold all the time! My toes are freezing after just an hour!"

HM...YES, STARFALL IS MORE TEMPERATE...COME THEN, MY LOVE! LET US DEPART AT ONCE! I KNOW JUST THE SPOT WHERE WE CAN SEE THE CYCLES OF THE WATERFALLS!"

The brunette giggled as the galactic officer to-be grabbed her hand and marched off, snow crunching under their boots and slowly descending back down from where it was kicked up. They passed through the rest of town fairly swiftly, only pausing to admire the gyftmas lights that decorated the skelebros former house before they rushed to the bridge that crossed the gap between the two asteroids. Tabatha paused when she was about halfway across and peered down off the edge.

"Holy crap, that's scary," she commented, staring down into the starry abyss below. "It literally goes on forever..."

"YOU WOULD LIKELY LAND ON ONE OF THE SMALLER ASTEROIDS THAT DRIFT BELOW THE FIVE MAIN CLUSTERS," her boyfriend added, leaning over himself to get a look. "YOUR CELL PHONE IS ENHANCED WITH MONSTER TECHNOLOGY, SO YOU WOULD STILL BE ABLE TO CALL FOR HELP AND SOME GALACTIC OFFICERS WOULD BE ABLE TO GET YOU BACK UP SAFELY. YOU'D BE FLOATING IN THE LOWER GRAVITY, BUT YOU WOULDN'T BE VERY FAR AT ALL."

"It's easy to forget gravity doesn't work out here like it does at home," the young woman mused. "If this was like Earth, I'd fall forever into the void..."

Papyrus shifted a bit uncomfortably before suggesting they move on. His girlfriend agreed and they finished their crossing in moist air of Starfall teased their senses with sounds and the sensation of soothing coolness which felt almost warm compared to the frigid atmosphere of the previous asteroid cluster. The towering skeleton's energy returned as their feet squished on the damp grass that flourished on the nutrient-rich surface of the space rock beneath their feet. He proudly named each of the falls they passed, as well as the more significant pools that reflected the stars above.

"THIS IS THE BIGGEST OF THE FALLS!" he proclaimed when they finally neared their destination. "IT IS USUALLY CALLED THE MOST BEAUTIFUL, BUT I HAPPEN TO KNOW OF A PLACE THAT IS A BIT BETTER!"

The excited monster jogged of to the side where a patch of echo flowers grew. Hidden in one of the walls was a crevice just wide enough to fit through, which Papyrus did with had to wriggle a bit before she could make it but once she did, her jaw just about hit the ground.

The open-air cavern in which they stood had not one, not two, but three waterfalls and the ground was carpeted with echo flowers to the point of being unable to see below the luminescent petals. They all shared the same source, but trickled down off the wall in different paths, reflecting the glow of the stars and the foliage in different patterns. The three trails all rejoined as they spilled into a large reflecting pool that was clear enough to act as a mirror.

"Oh my gosh," Tabatha breathed, hand over her mouth. Her eyes were wide as she took it all in. "Paps...this is..."

"I KNOW." His voice was reverent, significantly quieter than his usual volume-enough so that, while still easily audible, he didn't disturb the peaceful scene. "IT IS A VERY SPECIAL PLACE."

"How did you find this?"

"IT WAS WHEN SANS AND I WERE VERY LITTLE; HE WANTED TO GO TO THE OVERLOOK WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE PALACE SINCE SOMETIMES EARTH IS VISIBLE FROM SPECIAL SPOTS. I GOT BORED WAITING TO SEE THE PLANET, SO I WENT EXPLORING AND STARTED PLAYING IN THE ECHO FLOWERS. I FOUND THE OPENING AND CAME THROUGH TO THIS BEAUTIFUL SIGHT! EVER SINCE THEN, IT'S BEEN MY SECRET PLACE FOR WHEN I NEED TO SLOW DOWN A LITTLE BIT-IT CAN BE EASY TO FORGET THAT WHEN THE ASTEROIDS FLY AROUND THE SOLAR SYSTEM AT TOP SPEED ALL THE TIME."

Tabatha chuckled and strode to the center of the flower field, turning in a circle to take it all in before she fell back into the flowers.

"It's so beautiful," she murmured.

It's so beautiful...It's so beautiful the echo flowers repeated, carrying her words out like a ripple. Papayrus slowly picked his way through the gleaming plants and laid down next to her, a contented smile on his face. All around, the flowers whispered what they'd heard, barely audible and hissing like a light wind. Water dripped into the pool in a soothing rhythm. The skeleton's gloved hand reached out to his human's and their fingers locked as they stared at the stars. Everything seemed to fade away as the pair stared into eternity, their entire sense of self fading as they felt like tiny specks amidst the larger universe. Temporary. Fleeting.

Tabatha's gentle laugh broke the spell. Papyrus turned to look at her and she stared back with wonderment in her dark eyes.

"We're floating," she giggled. The young skeleton jolted upright only to realize she was right: they were hovering perhaps ten feet off the ground, suspended without his gravity magic to hold them down.

"...DO YOU WANT TO GO BACK DOWN?" he asked, adjusting his body so he stood vertical.

"No," the brunette sighed, her ponytail billowing like she was underwater as she too straightened. " I wanna stay up here in the stars...with you."

No more words needed to be said as Papyrus wrapped his arms around his beloved, her returning the embrace with equal fierceness. Her lips pressed against his teeth and he leaned into the kiss. Even gravity magic couldn't have secured him to the ground now: he was flying high, knowing her love was what really kept him anchored every day."

And here it is! My first ever request fill is now finished! Took longer than expected because my original draft was deleted. Hope you like it, M. McKnew!

And here's a quick shout out to the reviewers!

Kagayaku Hoshi-chan: That is quite the skill you have...for all you knew, this could have just been a cuddle "human-is-sick fic". But the cuteness and pure fluff is the entire reason why I wrote it in the first place. *internal squee* Though, let's be honest: if there was even the slightest chance Gaster would be able to observe a human/monster hybrid, he would so jump on it. In a darker AU, he could be terrifying with that scientific curiosity.

TabbyCat: The headcanons are so real. Their baby even has a name and rough image in my head.

GoldGuardian2418: (See what I told Kagayaku for some extra throughts) Gaster may be Papyrus' father/father figure, but that doesn't mean the younger skele and his wife aren't fair game in the name of almighty science!