The feeling of zinging was something Sans never felt before.

Looking into the soft eyes of the goat man in front of him, Sans' body froze in his spot, unable to tear his gaze away as his soul started thumping wildly in his chest. Everything seemed to just disappear from the world at that moment, Sans unable to process anything else but the blonde haired male in front of him.

Tall and wide, curly blonde hair, muscular, it was his perfect package. This guy was freaking hot, there was no doubt about it. Sans could feel the sudden link created between their souls from zinging, horrifyingly connecting him to someone he didn't even know.

"No, no, no!" Sans said as he managed to snap out of the sudden spell he was placed under, backing away from the man.

"Uh oh..." Papyrus mumbled.

"You guys zinged?" Alphys asked, "King Asgore and him zinged?"

King Asgore?

He just zinged with the freaking King Asgore?

Everyone knew about the King's situation. He had been alive for over a thousand years, but never found his soulmate the entire time. Some people believed that he didn't have a soulmate, or that his soulmate had died at a young age. The King was known as the most powerful monster born, and some people even said that his power was the reason why he couldn't have a soulmate.

Well, that apparently wasn't the case.

Sans didn't want to zing! He didn't want to be tricked by his body, he didn't want any of this. Especially not with the King of all monsters.

So he ran.

"W-Wait!" He could hear his so called soulmate yell, but Sans was already gone, collapsing into his room.

This wasn't good. His body would trick him into thinking this guy, who he didn't even know, was the love of his life.

He wouldn't be fooled.

He wouldn't allow it.

~~~~~~

"Mommy, Daddy?"

It was late at night. They were both up, again, the bags evident under their eye sockets. They had been at it once more, in yet another argument that led to Sans not being able to get enough sleep. If this continued, the neighbors would call the Royal Guard, again, on his parents. He would fall asleep in class, again, from the lack of sleep during the night.

"Honey, go back to bed," His Mother had told him.

He tried that. Several times.

"But the neighbors might call again," Sans said, "And I have a test tomorrow."

They were supposed to be soul mates. They had zinged at a wedding both of them were forced to attend, and they had started dating immediately, and gotten married only a month after.

It was too early.

They were arguing once again about his Mother, and where she had went out. Her work shift ended at six, but she never came home until Sans was getting into bed. They would argue where she was all night, Papyrus always ended up crying. And Sans was the only one left to take care of him.

"Sans, it's fine," His Father had said, "We're zing partners, this is how it works."

"But this happens every night," Sans said, "The teachers said I might have to repeat a grade if I keep falling asleep in class."

"Fine, fine, we'll go to bed," His Mother said, "You're Father just has to learn to respect my privacy."

"Your privacy?" Gaster would snap, "There's a difference between search history and disappearing for hours always saying it's none of our business!"

And just like that, they were back at it again.

~~~~~~

It was just a dumb biological function that made his soul thump like that, it didn't mean anything. He didn't even know the guy, there was no way he was meant to be his soul mate.

The others could believe whatever they like, but he knew that it was just a trick. A false sense of love that really was just a way to encourage reproduction between monsters. Of course, zings could fall in love, but a zing was just for repopulating their species, not for romance.

He didn't want to end up like his parents. Always arguing, never happy, they believed the lies that others told them. It only ended in misery.

The poor skeleton found himself sobbing into his hands as he leaned against his bed, scared out of his mind. His 'soulmate' was the King of all people, of all the options he was forced onto him. Was there a backout button? A switch to choose no mate?

Sans didn't want a zing! He didn't want to turn out like his parents, a shadow of their past selves, unable to experience happiness because of their relationship. It was horrible to watch, as they went downhill, leaving Sans alone in the world to fend for himself.

What if his soul forced him to love someone he didn't want to love? What if the King turned against him, hurt him? What if he turned out like his Mom?

It was hard, living the way Sans did. He was scared of love, which is why he did things highly frowned upon. Sleeping with someone who he hadn't zinged with, having one night stands with people who's soulmates have already died. Grillby was one of his more active ones, the fire elemental had lost his wife to waterfalls environment, so they had a fling from time to time. Sans didn't want to be tricked into love, he didn't want it. He liked his life now!

It was also hard, watching others do the very thing he swore never to do. They all told him how happy they were in a relationship, but he just couldn't believe it. Was it built off of true love, or the idea that they should be in love?

In a sense, zings were like arranged marriages. You just meet a person, and you're expected to fall in love, have children. Just like that, and you're already bound to someone you don't even know. It made no sense, why did people frown upon arranged marriages but accept soulmates with open arms? It was the same thing, practically. Someone, or something, assumes it knows what's best for you and expects you to marry them. So how was it different?

You can't just stand by one idea and deny another. If people were allowed to go against arranged marriages, then they should be allowed to go against soulmates as well. Sans always scowled at monsters that claimed that human arranged marriages were terrible, but then would get married to a monster that they zinged.

Why wasn't he allowed to choose who he fell in love with? Or if he even wanted love? It was his choice!

Wasn't it?

He had received backlash for his choices, from certain, old school monsters. It wasn't like Sans was saying that everyone shouldn't follow a zing, if they wanted to they could, but Sans believed he shouldn't follow it if he didn't want to. He didn't want love, shouldn't that be allowed?

Soon, he was sniffling away his sudden outburst of tears, rubbing them away from his eye sockets before he pulled out his laptop. It was a welcome distraction, not wanting to think of the situation that had just occurred. He cared about the kiddo and wanted to help them, yeah, but he didn't want to look at King Asgore again. At what the world thought was his soulmate.

Youtube was soon opened and he was barely even paying attention to the video, his mind all scrambled from the thoughts of the King to even pay attention.

Why was the King of all people his zing? Was it because the King could place a law forcing monsters to marry their soulmates? So fate would screw Sans over and not let him choose his own destiny?

Suddenly, Sans could feel a tremor in the underground shake his house, bracing himself against the wall as his entire house shook lightly from the tremor.

No way.

"Did... did Frisk just break the barrier?" Sans asked quietly.