[It feels like everything goes quiet inside of Mettaton as Bucky speaks. He feels strangely calm as the man goes on. He looks to Mini, who has wheeled away a bit from him, silent, but deeply confused and a little hurt. The smaller bot looks to his father. Mettaton gives him a gentle smile.]

Mini, darling, could you give us a few moments alone by going back to our room? It's all right.

[Mini stays in place for a moment, turning his "head" from Bucky to Mettaton until finally letting out a beep. Ok. He wheels away a bit but stops before fully leaving. He lets out another, smaller beep (sorry) and then departs completely.

Mettaton watches his son go. He'll have to talk to him later to make sure he knows that this wasn't his fault. But for now, he has someone else he needs to attend to.

Bucky is pushing himself away from him and Mettaton lets him take the space. He needs it, clearly.]

Things between Alphys and I are strained because of me. It's that simple. I'm worried that she's going to replace me with better friends and frankly, she already has. But that's not on you, Bucky. You had no part in that whatsoever.

[He wants to keep him. He wants to keep whatever this is between them. But at the same time he knows that doing this is only going to hurt Bucky and himself. He has to let him go eventually.

At least he can try and let him go gently.]

Please try to breathe. You're panicking.

[Even though his instincts tell him to reach out again, he resists.]

You're right. I don't know what you've done. I doubt you've told me everything. But I still care about you. If that's too much, then it's ok to step away. I won't blame you for a moment.

[An out. He's giving him an out to back away, to go the way he wants to go. It's fine. Mettaton is fine. Losing another close friend is... fine.]