He kisses you softly, and you feel his warmth all the way down in your heart. The afternoon felt like some strange, fragmented dream, and only now does the weight of what just happened finally settle on you. Even when you were afraid of the floor giving out from under you, it didn't feel like you were in danger of actually dying. But if what happened to Gaster is any indication, you could have been risking a fate worse than death. Mettaton pulls away, his eyes shining, and you never want to let him go.
"I love you so much," he murmurs.
"I love you too," you rest your head on his shoulder and try to get a grip on the emotions welling up in your chest. Things you've tried so hard not to think about start to burst up from the ground. "I never thought...if something like that had happened to me when I lived on the surface...I don't think anyone would have come looking for me."
"Don't think about that right now," Mettaton's hand runs softly through your hair. "Right now, you have me. And you have Alphys and Blooky and those ridiculous skeletons and Undyne and Frisk and even the king and queen, and we all care about you, and we all want to keep you safe.