Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Again, Gaster was in the race car bed. And again, he held onto my plush shark.

Now that I wasn't startled by his appearance, I held a smile at the sight. It was adorable seeing Gaster tucked into bed alongside the shark. He held onto the shark tight, face buried into the plush's and his pixel hair hiding him. Even in sleep, his hair kind of buzzed.

Still, I couldn't help but worry about when the other skeletons find out Gaster's doing this. Because there's no way in hell Gaster is telling any of them that he's up here. None of the skeletons would agree to let Gaster with the "infected human." So if someone finds out…

I got up from the bed. I went to the dresser to get an outfit to change into. I stopped.

On top of the dresser, a chessboard had been set up. It was at the very beginning of the game, with the white pawn before its king having moved ahead two spaces.

There was a small cardboard disc set by the chessboard. One side had white paper taped to it while the other side was coloured in with a black marker. It was flipped to the black side.

I felt a smile rise. I reached out. I moved the black pawn to meet white's first pawn. I then flipped the coin to the white side. 

I did learn how all the pieces moved, once upon a time, but I've never had the chance to actually play chess. I didn't learn how to plan ahead like many experts did. I kind of took it all one move at a time.

But still, this'll be fun. And it was fun to see the little coin there, too. It was a neat way to play the game without having to sit down and play a full game.

Gaster will most definitely win this game, though.

I soon grabbed my outfit of the day. I grabbed my bag on the way out. I went to the bathroom and got through my morning routine. I ended up packing my pyjamas in my bag again since I didn't want to risk waking up Gaster.

I was out quick and heading to the kitchen already. On the way down, I did glance over any notifications I might've had on my phone. A couple of news stories. One said something about the D.I.C. declining a proposal.

Like always, they've denied the Bayside Proposal.

Well, fuck them. They have nothing better to do than to be wrong.

I got to the kitchen. I reached into my bag. I pulled out my water bottle and went to the kitchen sink. I started filling the bottle.

I heard a creak. I barely jumped. I quickly turned to look.

Gaster stood right at the kitchen entryway. He was still in pyjamas—a plain t-shirt and pyjama pants with Christmas trees printed on them. In his hands was a notebook and a pencil.

My body relaxed. I held a smile. It suddenly felt really easy to smile. I shut off the sink and moved to close my bottle. I then waved. "Morning," I greeted.

Gaster moved the notebook and held it under his arm. He then performed a sign, careful not to drop his notebook.

"...Is that 'good morning?'" I guessed.

Gaster nodded.

I grinned. I tried to perform the sign back despite the full bottle in hand, and Gaster gave me a thumbs-up as a response. Somehow, I felt better learning a second sign.

I will have to keep practising it to actually commit it to memory, though.

"Need any coffee?" I offered. I motioned to the nearby coffee machine. "It's not too hard to get some going."

Gaster seemed to light up. His posture straightened, and Gaster immediately nodded.

I quietly laughed. I set my bottle onto the counter and turned to the nearby coffee machine. I wasn't at all sure how the night-owl skeletons would react to a pre-brewed pot of coffee, once they're awake. I could only hope that they won't immediately go blaming me with Gaster now staying here.

There was a paper nearby that explained how to use the machine. The handwriting was neat and in all capitals. I followed the instructions and started up the machine. It worked on brewing a pot. I turned and leaned back on the counter to wait.

Gaster came over. He moved to stand directly next to me. His arm pressed against mine. It might've been a bit odd, but I didn't mind at all. Gaster trusted me enough to stand literally right next to me. Even after everything I'm sure the other skeletons have been telling him about me. It was kind of nice.

Or, it was beyond nice. It was heartwarming. For once, someone in the cabin didn't fucking hate me.

Gaster opened his notebook. He looked down at the page. More questions, maybe? Gaster turned the notebook to me.

At the top of the page was both Gaster's alphabet and the English alphabet. Right underneath it, though...

"Your Soul is nice to sense."

I paused. "...Nice to... sense?" I quietly read.

Gaster nodded.

"You can... You can sense it?" I asked. "Right now?"

Gaster again nodded.

I was bewildered. Was it because Gaster sensed it last night that he could continue to sense it? Like hearing a quiet noise and now being unable to ignore it?

"That's..." I let out a laugh. "That has to be one of the kindest things anyone's ever said to me." I looked at Gaster. "Thank you. Really."

Gaster offered a tiny nod. There was just a hint of grey on his cheekbones.

My smile grew. It was almost weird feeling this form of fondness in the cabin.

"What's it…" I trailed off. "…What does it feel like?"

Gaster turned even more grey. He looked away.

Was that a personal question? My soul was like a reflection of myself. It's everything about me, right? That's probably a really loaded question.

"Sorry," I said. "You don't have to answer that."

Gaster only barely nodded.

The coffee machine eventually finished brewing. Gaster's blush calmed by then. Gaster turned and searched for a good mug to use. He poured himself a cup and returned to stand next to me.

"There's a bunch of coffee ingredients around here I could probably find," I offered. "Sugar, milk, whatever else…"

Gaster shook his head and took a small drink. Seems he likes his coffee plain.

He then proceeded to lean against me. I had to adjust my stance to not fall over.

I offered Gaster a small glance before looking down at my water bottle in thought. Despite only knowing me for two nights, Gaster was acting really close to me. Physically, at least. Did he not believe the others about me being infected? Or maybe he did, but he trusted me enough to not attack him?

And why was he this attached to me? I was a stranger, and the other skeletons were supposedly his family. Hell, I'm surprised Gaster wasn't another fucking soulmate of Altair's. Why stick next to me?

Either way, it was at least nice just existing next to each other. I didn't even know just standing here, up against one another would feel so nice. It felt soft. For the first time in this damn household, I felt calm. I felt at peace.

I closed my eyes for a moment and breathed. The idea that Gaster could sense my soul, even right now, also brought some softness. I wasn't completely invisible like I thought I was. Just maybe invisible to everyone else. Maybe like a noise no one could hear or a detail no one noticed, but once Gaster did, he can detect it instantly.

My soul isn't so silent, after all.

The nearby backdoor opened. I opened my eyes and glanced over.

It was Papyrus, a tall and athletic skeleton I hardly ever saw. He wasn't dressed in his usual outfit and red scarf. Right now, he had on a tank top with "Jog Boy" written on it in large letters, simple blue shorts, and running shoes. He still had his red gloves on, though.

Papyrus stopped at the doorway. He looked at me with a mix of surprise and fear.

I always found it insane that this guy went on a run so damn early in the morning. Every single morning, he goes out before I wake up and comes back after I'm out of the house. No wonder he says people call him "the Great Papyrus."

Right now, though, it was odd that Papyrus was back so early. I was always gone by the time he came back. Did something important happen?

I certainly wasn't going to ask what was up. Not like he would be willing to share with me.

I offered a wave. "Morning." I then turned to Gaster. "Guess I should head out," I mentioned.

Gaster stood upright. He looked at me. He set his cup onto the counter and lifted his hands to sign, but stopped.

I could only offer a tiny smile. "See you later, G-man." I picked up my backpack and packed my water bottle back inside. I made my way to the front door, slid my shoes on, and stepped out into nature.

Despite the slightly-chilly weather, it was really sunny outside. It brought only a tiny bit of warmth, unfortunately. I was glad to have the jacket on.

Though that did mean Papyrus saw me in my work jacket. Would he start asking questions, too?

I got to my bike. I kicked the stand closed and started the ride to work. It did all make me wonder if Crooks had said anything to Altair. Altair hasn't spoken to me since the night Gaster showed up. Maybe Crooks kept it to himself.

I biked a lot faster than normal. Spirits were high. I felt so much better. I don't think I've felt like this in quite a long time.

I approached the library earlier than usual. I hopped off my bike and parked it at the back before heading inside the library. I made my way to the storage room to get properly ready for the day. I put my black watch on and soon stepped out of the storage room.

I looked up to see Cassandra by the door.

Cassandra held a small grin. "Good to see you in high spirits."

I paused. "Huh?"

"You're here ten minutes early," Cassandra told me.

"Well, that… actually isn't my fault," I mentioned. I still smiled. "I did have a nice morning, though."

Cassandra's grin turned into a warm smile. "Glad to hear," She said. "Maybe you should take more breaks."

"No, I can't do that," I insisted.

"Hey, I can keep the library safe," Cassandra told me.

"I can't have you ruining your clothes, with your ," I retorted.

Cassandra held a soft smile. "The infected have been getting rare," She said. "About once a week, right? And I do have a gun license. I might purchase something if you take more breaks."

I breathed out a laugh. "Maybe a while from now," I shared.

Cassandra sighed. "Take one before you need one," She told me. "Because it really does change your mood. I can tell."

I held a little surprise. It wasn't the break. I knew that. It was the fact that my soul actually wasn't silent that gave me this fuzzy feeling in me.

As much as I wanted to share that, it just seemed too complicated to drop, right now. I was ten minutes early, but with how long we've been chatting, it wasn't that much of a different, anymore.

"…I'll consider it," I shared.

Cassandra sighed. "Good enough for me."

We soon bade one another farewell. I turned and stepped out of the employees only area. I went over to the café.

Jordan was here, finishing up with the machines. She looked over and offered a smile. I went over.

"Morning!" Jordan called. She set her arms on the counter. "Can I get your number?"

I smiled. "Honestly, like a seven," I said.

Jordan looked surprised. "Really?" She asked. "Maybe you need more breaks, here and there."

I quietly laughed. "No, no, I'll be fine," I shared. They both think it's because I took a damn break. "…But maybe every once in a while."

Jordan chuckled. "Finally, you're agreeing," She said. She then tilted her head. "Let me get you some breakfast."

Jordan turned and went to make something simple. It didn't take her too long at all, and soon I had a cup and a bag of food with me.

Jordan offered a wave. "Have fun out there," She told me.

I chuckled. "As much fun as I can, sitting around." I picked up my breakfast. "Thanks."

I made my way out to the back. I stepped out and went to the table. I set my breakfast onto the table and went to the bows. I got the bows ready for the day before heading to the table to eat breakfast.

With time, breakfast was done and over with. I had a small bin underneath the table that was emptied nightly. I set my trash in the bin.

I felt too energised to stay seated, though.

I got up. I went to the old target I kept out here. A basic circular target with a frame. I picked it up and moved it away from the library.

I went back to the library and picked up a bow and a few of the older arrows. I held onto one arrow and turned to the target. I set the arrow onto the bow. I pulled the string back and released.

I spent a short while, firing arrows. It was something that required a bit of thinking, but not too much. I could kind of think over everything while I fired, but I didn't dwell too far into the details.

Now that I was thinking about it, I could've unpacked my pyjamas from my bag, when Gaster woke up. It wasn't too much of a hassle, having them with me, but I just didn't want to forget them in my bag on accident, somehow.

And while on the topic of clothes, it brought to mind Papyrus's athletic outfit. I don't think I've ever seen it. Or maybe I did. I didn't remember. The tank top seemed handmade. And it was kind of funny.

Though why did Papyrus come back so early?

My last arrow hit the target. I took a breath in and released it. I went over to grab all the arrows and start again.

I tried not to think about the skeletons often, while I was out of the cabin. But sometimes, I wondered how things would've played out if they weren't taught to hate me. Some of the things I overhear are hilarious. Half of them tell jokes, the other half pretend to hate them. Some love puzzles, some love video games, most of them liked card games.

If they were never told to avoid me, would they have talked to me like a normal person? Or would my silent soul still make them scared?

"Your Soul is nice to sense."

I stood off against the target. I held a smile. I'm not completely silent.

I readied an arrow. I pulled the string back.

The back door flew open.

I let go of the string out of surprise. The arrow missed the centre of the target. I lowered my bow and turned around.

A familiar delivery driver was at the door. Carlo was an elder man with short grey hair and sunglasses over his eyes. He dressed in a standard delivery uniform with a matching cap. Under one arm was a small box.

Carlo held a big grin. "Good morning, Hunter!"

I offered a smile and a wave. I still had no clue why Carlo called me Hunter (the name, not the job, considering he's called me "Hunter Last-name" a couple of times), but after trying to correct him the first few times and getting nowhere, I've just decided to accept it. Maybe he knew someone named Hunter and has labelled me the same.

"Morning, Carlo!" I kindly greeted. I went over to the bow stand to set my bow down.

Carlo came over to the table. He moved the box from under his arm to his hands. "Special delivery," He told me. He set the box onto the table and took out a book.

It was the monster sign language book I requested.

"I was told to bring the last one right out to you!" Carlo explained. He held out the book.

I stared in surprise. I went over. I gently took the book from Carlo. "Already?" I asked.

"Order came yesterday," Carlo told me. "Extra payment to get it here early, today."

I couldn't help but feel surprised. The one time I request a book, and it's requested to get here immediately? I thought it'd be a few days.

I smiled. "Thank you," I spoke. I glanced down at the book. I felt happier.

"Of course!" Carlo stated. He offered a wave. "I'll be seeing you next time I deliver here!"

I nodded and waved. "I'll see you next time."

Carlo soon headed back into the library. He took the empty box with him.

I sat down at the table. I still held a smile. I looked down at the sign language book. I flipped it open and glanced through. The first few pages had an alphabet, then there were several pages that explained grammar. After that was a simple dictionary.

I could start with the alphabet. If I could at least get the alphabet down, it could help. When I interact with people who know monster sign, they would at least be able to spell out what they're signing and help me learn through exposure.

I spent a fair bit of time looking over the alphabet and trying to spell out a few words. Some of the letters, I could memorise pretty easily. Some of the others, though, I kept getting mixed up with a couple more.

At some point, Jordan stopped by to pass me my usual for lunch. She even threw in a free cookie. Jordan didn't stick around too long, though she did give me a quick "good luck" regarding the sign language book in front of me.

"Lukas could probably teach you if you waited long enough," Jordan reminded me.

"No," I replied. "His 'total immersion' teaching style is not fun. And he never offers hints."

Jordan soon went back in. I finished up my lunch and tossed the trash into the bin underneath the table. I then went back to reading. The book did have some practice pages for spelling words, and I did my best to get through the practice problems.

Eventually, the door opened yet again. I looked over.

It was Gaster.

Gaster had a bit of a different outfit, today. He wore a white button-up tucked into simple dark blue jeans and a brown satchel by his side. His cool pixel hair was covering most of his face, and he had a black sunhat over his head.

I felt a smile rise. I was about to speak, but I stopped myself. I practically jolted out of the chair to grab the book. I flipped through until I found the right sign, and I dropped the book onto my lap.

"Good afternoon," I signed.

And Gaster lit up. He immediately came over to stand by me. He signed back a "Good afternoon." He then looked down and pointed at the book on my lap.

I closed the book and showed the cover to Gaster. "Just came in this morning," I shared.

Gaster offered a sign. Or, it was a letter, I realised.

I felt a little surprise before turning to the book. I flipped it open to the page on letters. I glanced back at Gaster for a moment. "...The letter H," I slowly spoke.

Gaster then signed another letter.

"The letter I," I soon answered.

Gaster waved.

I smiled. "Well, 'hi' to you, too," I shared. I barely tilted my head to the chair next to me. "You're welcome to sit."

"Thank you," Gaster signed. He soon sat down in the chair to my right.

I set the book onto the table. I left it open to the alphabet. I could look over the alphabet from my seat. I then sat back.

Gaster opened the satchel. He took out a small collection of cards. He took out a card and showed it to me. "How are you?"

I smiled. "I'm doing good," I replied. I was definitely downplaying how good I felt, but I didn't really want to talk for too long. I was excited about the book coming in so quick. I then decided to ask, "How are you doing?"

Gaster offered a new sign before he got ready to spell it out.

I sat up to better see the sign language book. It took a bit of time, but I managed to translate.

"Good," Gaster had spelled out.

I smiled. I mimicked his motions, telling him "Good," too.

Even if he couldn't exactly smile like I did, Gaster just seemed happy.

Gaster put his cards away. He then took out a notebook. He flipped it open. At the top was our two alphabets, and below it was the statement Gaster had written earlier today. "Your Soul is nice to sense."

Why did he capitalise "soul?" Was it a proper noun in the monster world?

Gaster started writing something down, stopping frequently to glance between the alphabet at the top and what he was writing.

For having seen my alphabet for the first time just the other day, Gaster was pretty fast. It honestly seemed like he had half of the alphabet memorised already. Even if his speed made his handwriting uneven and a bit difficult to read, it was still damn impressive.

Gaster soon showed me his notebook. "You didn't have breakfast, this morning."

"Oh," I spoke. "I get breakfast here. It's…" I sighed. "It's too much of a hassle to cook myself something and immediately clean up afterwards. Especially since I don't really know how to cook."

Gaster tilted his head.

I didn't really want to say that I didn't cook at the cabin because I was sure one of the skeletons would reprimand me for using the stove when I've "ruined it before." (I never did. Someone burnt something and blamed it on me.)

Instead, I held a smile and shared, "I never add enough seasoning. Everything I make is bland. So I just get food from here, instead." I then offered a shrug. "But I can make food over a real fire. Not a lot of people can do that."

Gaster set his notebook on the table. He took out some of his cards again. He flipped through them and showed me one reading "Why?"

"Right before the cabin, I was kind of homeless for several months," I shared. "I had to learn how to cook things over a fire, since it's cheaper to buy raw food than cooked food, and I usually didn't have enough money for cooked food."

Again, Gaster held up the "Why?" card.

I breathed out. "Kind of complicated," I said. "Lawmakers are terrified that cured people are still secretly infected. I stayed at some shelter for a few years where doctors can monitor me and "catch" any signs of the infection before I attack. They weren't all that nice, so I kind of just broke out. Travelled by myself until I got really sick and needed the hospital. By that point, the laws changed and I was put with a mage instead of at some shelter."

Gaster slowly nodded. He looked down at his cards, but then he paused. He set them back into his bag before raising his hands and offering a new sign. He then prepared to spell.

I sat up and grabbed the sign book. It took a bit of translating. He was teaching me the sign for "What?"

Gaster signed "What" then spelled out a word. A pretty long word, actually. He spelled it out once before spelling it again at a much slower pace.

With the first three letters being I-N-F, I had a feeling I could guess the rest of the word.

But just to be sure, I asked, "Infected?"

Gaster nodded.

"Well, uh, when I say 'infected,'" I began, "I'm usually talking about the corpses that walk around. They're infected with the Titan's Parasite—the, uh, third stage specifically. They look for other animals or humans to pass the infection onto."

Gaster pointed at himself. He offered the first three letters of "infected" and pointed at himself again.

Was he asking if he could be infected?

"Monsters can't be infected," I said. "The parasite is a single-celled parasite. You're only made of magic and not any biological matter, so it can't infect you. And the infected don't try to attack monsters. But if you're in the way, they will hurt you. They absorb any magic they come into contact with."

Gaster held up his hands to sign before hesitating. He then picked up his pencil and started writing instead. Eventually, he showed me his notebook. "You stop them?"

"Yeah," I replied. "And it's actually a little easier, too." I pointed across the field. "Those two black poles, over there?" I began. "They're magic radar devices, or something like that. Like… they work like normal radar devices, but they output a very, very tiny amount of magic instead of… whatever radar is. The infected, since they absorb magic, set off the devices, and the devices send out an alarm." I lifted my hand to show off the watch on my wrist. "My watch buzzes to let me know."

Gaster nodded. He looked down and began to write in the notebook. He was writing in his symbol-like handwriting. Despite some of the more complicated symbols (like a couple of different hand-like shapes and even a tiny skull), Gaster wrote much faster than I probably would ever be able to.

"They installed those poles just over a month ago," I added. "They can actually detect the infected before I can even see them. So it's gotten a whole lot easier."

Gaster kept writing. He had to be taking notes, right? It was honestly cute.

Though I felt bad thinking it was cute. He was stuck in the void and now back. Everything was new. He was taking notes to learn what he's missed out on.

Gaster paused in his writing. He looked up at me. He then glanced back down at his notebook and kept writing.

Was he taking notes on me?

I actually felt a bit flustered. Really? He can't be, right?

Gaster looked at me again before going back to writing.

He had to be.

I looked back towards the distant forest. Damn. No one's ever done that, before. At least, not casually. I'm sure the doctors had some shitty notes on me, back when I was in that shelter.

Gaster moved the chair a bit closer. He leaned towards me. His shoulder settled against me.

I had a tiny bit of surprise. I tried to force my sheepish feelings away. "Just a warning," I began, "if an infected does show up, I'm bolting out of the chair."

Gaster nodded as a response. He then readjusted himself before reaching up and taking his sunhat off. He then lowered his head onto my shoulder.

Huh.

I looked over at Gaster. Or, well, at his hair. I could barely feel some sort of static-y feeling at my shoulder through my shirt. Like holding a hand in front of a box television. My thoughts about it being similar to TV static weren't too far off, I guess.

I wasn't really sure what to make of it. Gaster was a skeleton, right? None of the other skeletons had hair. And this pixel-style static-ness in the real world is really jarring. I haven't met many monsters, but I wouldn't really expect any of them to have hair straight out of an old video game.

I'm sure it was something to do with escaping the void, but how? I didn't know shit about the void other than the fact that Gaster was there and was rescued.

"…Can I ask why you have hair?" I quietly spoke.

A short pause, then Gaster wrote in his notebook. He held it out to me. "I don't know why."

Guess I'll never know. "Alright," I replied. "…It's pretty cool."

Gaster lowered the notebook. I heard his voice for a moment, though he stopped speaking immediately after. He soon raised his hands. He wasn't facing me, but I could see his hands enough to tell he was signing, "Thank you."

"Of course," I replied. "Never seen anything like it, before."

Gaster made another noise. It was too quiet to understand. He went back to writing in his symbol handwriting.

I did find myself wondering about Gaster's voice. Did it hurt to speak? He did speak a bit last night, saying he needed to be "developing" it but didn't want to. Maybe it was just weak. Was it because he was in the void? I doubt he'd be talking much if he was in the void.

Were there other issues he had? Things like pain? Pain that he couldn't get better from because of his return?

But my voice died before I could even think of asking. That was all too far. We didn't know each other that much. That wasn't something I should ask. Hell, it should be something I let Gaster tell me in his own time.

If he ever does trust me that much.

Gaster suddenly held out his notebook towards me.

I looked over. In the sea of symbols, a question jumped out.

"How do you move without magic?"

I was thankful for the topic change, but a damn biology question of all things?

"Humans, uh, have something called 'muscles,'" I began my explanation. "They're... underneath the skin and can either tense or relax to move the body along its joints." I glanced at Gaster.

Gaster had tilted his head up to be able to look at me. He stared at me.

"...Here." I held out my right arm to Gaster. I motioned to my forearm. "Put your hand here and hold on tight."

Gaster sat up. He reached out and grasped my arm.

I started opening and closing my hand. The muscles in my arm barely flexed against Gaster's grasp.

Gaster was staring at my right hand. He set his notebook onto the table before holding out his other hand. He reached for my fingers and started moving them individually. I moved my fingers to follow his touch to make my muscles move.

Then, though, Gaster's hand went to the back of mine. His thumb pressed the back of my hand, and Gaster stopped. Gaster let go of my arm. He moved his right hand and held it directly next to mine. His left hand went to my hand, and his thumb pressed against the back of my hand. He was feeling out the bones underneath my skin.

Maybe he didn't know that I had a skeleton.

"Yeah, I have bones," I shared. "Pretty spooky, huh?"

Gaster continued to stare at my hand. He placed his right hand over mine. His fingers were just a little bit longer than mine. I could see part of the back of my hand through the circular hole in Gaster's.

I stared at the hole. It was too clean of a cut to be a simple accident, right? And both of his hands had the same large hole in the back. What could have happened?

That was just another thing I couldn't find the strength to ask. It was something Gaster would have to come up to me to share.

Well, if he isn't forced to stay away from me.

Gaster suddenly looked at my face.

I was a little bit startled. "…What?"

Gaster reached up and pointed at his face before moving to point at mine.

With the context of bones in mind… "Yeah, I have a skull, too," I said.

Gaster looked at me for a long while. Then, very, very slowly, he lifted a hand towards my face. It settled against my cheek.

I did my best to keep still. A thumb pressed at my cheekbone just underneath my eye, and I felt my eyelid twitch at the closeness.

Gaster raised his other hand and set it on the other side of my face. His thumbs began pressing against my cheekbones.

Instinctively, I closed my eyes. Gaster's thumbs moved a bit higher and ever-so-carefully began tracing out the lower edge of my eye sockets. His movements were extremely delicate, only shifting millimetres at a time. He also didn't press too hard. Just enough to feel the bone underneath my skin.

Gaster's thumbs stopped. They moved away from my eyes and moved down to my cheeks.

I opened my eyes. Gaster was looking at me. His fingers were at the back of my jaw, and I can feel him gently pressing against the hinge of my jaw, just below my ears.

The door to the library opened.

Gaster jerked away from me. I looked to see who showed up.

Surprisingly, it was Damien. He had stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the both of us.

"...Am I interrupting something?" Damien quietly asked.

I shook my head. "No, you're not," I lied. "Did you need something?"

Damien blinked. "I, uh, was... going to ask if you were busy on Sunday," He said. "My birthday's that day, and I was thinking of stopping by Henson's Steakhouse to celebrate." He offered his usual half-smile. It seemed a little bit nervous. "I think most of the people here aren't going, since it's a steakhouse and everyone's either vegetarian or vegan. They do have vegan options, but, uh..." Damien trailed off with a small shrug.

I held a tiny smile. "Sure," I answered. It seemed nice to have something else to do on Sunday, especially for dinner. I didn't have to buy something in the morning and save it for later. I could have a fresh meal, even if it'll be a bit more expensive.

I need something nice to look forward to. Even if it's just dinner.

"Sunday evening?" I asked.

"Yeah. At six," Damien answered. "I think Nicholas and Cass are the only ones that said they're definitely coming."

"Nice," I said. "Thanks for inviting me."

Damien seemed a little bit surprised by that. "Of course," He told me. He offered another smile. "I tried that spider doughnut place. The spider lady asked if a 'stubborn human' told me to go there."

I grinned. "And you corrected her and told her that I'm actually a very chill and easy-going human, right?"

Damien chuckled. "Nope, I just agreed with her."

I laughed. "Aw, c'mon," I retorted.

"Hey, Jordan told me you were supposed to take the whole day off, yesterday," Damien protested. "And you still came in to work half the day. Sounds pretty stubborn to me."

"I've just got a strong work ethic," I replied.

"Uh-huh," Damien said, completely unconvinced. "Sure." He then held up a hand, some nervousness returning. "I'll, uh, leave you to it, then," He said.

I waved back. "Later."

Damien soon went back inside. The door closed behind him.

Gaster nervously turned back towards me. He offered a sign that I didn't know. When I looked at him, confused, he began spelling out a word.

I was quick to get the sign language book and try to translate. He was spelling "sorry."

I shook my head. "Sorry for what?" I asked. "You didn't do anything wrong."

Gaster pointed at his face, signed, then spelled out another word. "Ask."

I felt almost surprised. "You don't have to apologise for not asking," I softly said. "I get that learning that I have a skull is… probably mind-blowing. I…" I held a tiny smile. "I was pretty surprised to see a bunch of skeletons walking around the cabin, when I first showed up."

Gaster stared at me.

"I was perfectly fine with it," I reassured. "Don't worry."

Gaster glanced down at his lap. He picked up his notebook and pencil. He lied his head back onto my shoulder and went back to writing.

Genuinely, I felt a little disappointed. I kind of liked that.

Gaster soon held out his notebook again. "Do you work Sunday?" I spotted the question.

"No," I answered. "The library is closed on Sundays."

Gaster lowered his notebook. He started writing almost frantically on the page. He crossed out a couple of misspelled words.

Finally, he lifted the notebook. "Is there something we can do before that dinner?"

I felt a smile rise. It was kind of hesitant. "Yeah, I… can think of a few things, but…" I sighed. "Why, uh… ask me, though?"

Gaster stared at me.

"…It's just, uh…" I sighed. "Your family worked pretty hard to get you out of the void? And I thought you'd… miss them, maybe? I thought you'd… want to spend time with them?"

A beat of silence. Gaster still stared at me. I was quickly feeling regretful.

"Never mind," I said. "Sorry, uh… I'm just confused. Everyone else there dislikes me, one way or another. Guess I'm not used to someone in the cabin being friendly towards me."

Gaster looked away. "It's complicated," He whispered.

I shook my head. "No need to explain if you can't or don't want to," I said.

Gaster looked back up at me.

I held a very small smile. "You can tell me if you want to tell me," I said. "And if you never do, I won't hold it against you." I offered a shrug and shook my head. "You already told me a fair bit about being in the void. Don't feel like you need to tell me everything."

For a long moment, Gaster stared. Finally, though, he lifted a hand. "Thank you," He signed.

I almost verbally replied, though I stopped. I reached out to the sign language book and flipped around. Once I was on the right page, I turned back to Gaster. "You're welcome," I signed.

Again, Gaster stared for a long moment. He soon glanced down at his notebook. He picked it up and pointed at the last question. "Is there something we can do before that dinner?"

I still felt a little hesitant. If any of the other skeletons find out about this…

I pushed my fears aside. I smiled. "There's a few stores, here and there," I answered. "All in walking distance, but if we buy anything it'll be a pain carrying it all day." I offered a shrug. "If you haven't been to the centre of Ashfall, I could take you there. There's a lot of local places there."

Gaster nodded right when I finished speaking. "Good," He told me.

I quietly chuckled. "Sounds like a plan," I offered.

Gaster again nodded. He started adjusting himself, and soon he had his head on my shoulder again. He reached out.

I held out my right hand. His left hand moved to interlock fingers with my right.

I smiled. I couldn't help but feel a stab of pain at my heart, though. How long was Gaster stuck in the void for? To get so attached to me, a complete stranger, in just two days? He had family that were looking after him. Ten other skeletons were looking after him. They were family members. I was a stranger.

And yet, Gaster was here with me.

Gaster's other hand went to my arm. His fingers squished against the skin. His hand went up to my wrist and his thumb pressed against one of the bones there.

The handheld radio on the table crackled to life. "Scout, to the front desk, please," A voice spoke.

I let out a long sigh. Another interruption. And not only that, but one that required me away from my post. I have been called away from my post a couple of times because of customers demanding to see me. It was quite rare, but it happened.

Gaster sat up. I reached out and picked up the handheld radio. "Yeah, give me a minute, over," I replied. I then glanced at Gaster. "Shouldn't be too long," I said.

Gaster let go of my arm. He sat completely upright.

I soon got up from the chair. "Be right back." I went to the door and headed into the library. I made my way to the front desk.

My mood turned sour as I got closer.

Standing before the front desk was a shorter skeleton. Blue jacket, white t-shirt, black shorts… It was none other than Sans. Head of the house, a jokester, a laid-back guy…

And the first to threaten me when I moved into the cabin.

I grew closer to the front desk. I glanced over at the two employees behind the desk. Kael and Nicholas. Kael was a tall man with a beard and an orange turban atop his head. Nicholas was a younger individual with a simple baseball cap over his black hair. In his hands was a tablet.

I offered a short wave and a smile to the duo before turning my attention to Sans.

Sans stared at me. It was already hard enough to discern emotions off of skulls, but Sans usually hid his emotions seamlessly. He was just staring at me with the white lights in his eye sockets.

Sans quietly chuckled. "Bit weird to see you here, huh?"

"I'm sure it is," I shortly replied.

"Do you know this person, scout?" Kael nervously asked.

"Yeah," I replied, turning to Kael. "Same house as my placement."

Both Kael and Nicholas held a look of surprise. Nicholas looked more nervous than Kael, however.

"Placement?" Sans repeated. "What do you mean by that? I thought Altair invited you to stay with us."

I turned back to Sans. "By the Department of Infected Care's legal order, it's required that I live with a mage," I informed.

"Never heard about this before."

"Because Altair didn't think tell you," I fired back. I couldn't hold my tongue as I added, "Just made something up, instead."

Sans chuckled. "If anyone's making things up, it's you, kid," He retorted.

I had to reign myself back. If I say something wrong, it'll follow me back home. "If you're only here to insult me, I'd suggest that you just stop and leave."

"I just wanna ask what you even do, here," Sans said. "Heard from Crooks that you work here. And Paps said something about seeing you this morning in some uniform."

"I keep guard," I plainly replied.

"From what?"

I didn't exactly have much of an option. "The infected," I stated.

Sans paused. He took a moment to process my answer. Then, suddenly, the lights in his eye sockets vanished. "So you do kill your own kind, huh?"

The air seemed to vanish. It grew cold. It was more than silent.

I grit my teeth. I was ready to retort with rage.

Someone stepped in front of me. I glanced over in surprise.

Gaster.

The lights returned to Sans's eyes. He looked even more bewildered than I felt. "...Web?" Sans hesitantly began. "Do you even realise who you're defending, right now?"

I stopped. Web?

Gaster started signing something. With Gaster standing in front of me, I couldn't read any of the signs. Not that I would understand.

"What—" Sans cut himself off. "You've only been here for two nights, bro. I've known this Human for two months, and Altair's known them for years."

I felt a spark of anger at that lie. Altair hasn't even known me for half a year. Why the hell is he telling the skeletons that he's known me for years?

Gaster responded quickly.

"Whatever this kid's told you, I'm pretty sure it's a lie," Sans argued.

Gaster shook his head and signed something much longer.

I don't think I've seen Sans this frustrated, before. "You've only been here for two nights," Sans repeated. "You should probably spend a bit more time before jumping to conclusions like that."

Gaster shook his head. He signed for a bit, motions growing more frantic.

Sans let out a chuckle that held no amusement. "As if," He lowly spoke. "You?" Sans's eye lights looked at me. "With this thing?"

Kael stepped out from behind the counter. He moved to stand before Sans. "I believe you should leave." Kael's voice quavered, but Kael stood firm.

Sans glanced at Kael. "Leave?"

"You've overstayed your welcome," Kael sternly spoke. "You first insinuate that our scout is a murderer, and now you talk about them like they're less than a person. We do not tolerate any verbal harassment at this establishment."

Sans seemed a mix of surprised and irritated. His eyes flickered towards me before he finally turned to Gaster. "C'mon, Web," Sans said. "We're heading home."

Gaster, though, shook his head.

Sans stiffened. "...Fine. See if I care." And in a blink of an eye, Sans vanished. There was no smoke or glitter of magic. He was just gone.

Kael took a step back in surprise. He released a shaky breath before turning to me. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," I said. "Not the worst thing I've been called." I held a smile. "Thank you."

"I... should have stepped in earlier," Kael quietly spoke.

I shook my head. "It's alright. You still stepped in." I then glanced at Gaster, who turned to face me. "And thank you, Gaster. Though I... don't think you should piss off your brother like that."

Gaster shook his head. He started signing, stopped, signed again, then stopped again. He turned away.

I sighed. "Yeah, I... I get that he's not saying nice things about me, but it's... not exactly his fault."

Nicholas held up their tablet. "Jordan and Tian mentioned your placement not liking you," He told me.

I offered a small nod. "Yeah, the mage I'm with," I mentioned. I glanced at Kael. "He's a firm believer that I'm still infected. Told everyone else that lives there the same thing. Some of them are a bit, uh, forward with their dislike of me."

Kael released a breath. "I don't get why people believe that..." He quietly spoke.

"...At least he doesn't hate monsters," I quietly said. "Don't know what any of them would do if that was the case."

Kael stared at me for a short while. He looked conflicted.

"Who's this?" Nicholas asked, immediately changing the subject.

Gaster reached to his side. He glanced down in surprise. He forgot his satchel outside. Gaster turned to me.

"Oh," I voiced, "uh." I turned to Kael and Nicholas. "His name's Gaster."

"I saw him yesterday," Kael stated. He offered a small wave. "Nice to meet you properly. My name is Kael."

Nicholas held up his tablet. "I'm Nicholas. Please don't call me Nick."

Gaster offered a thumbs-up to Nicholas before offering a wave to both the two humans.

I held a smile. "I'll be heading back out, now," I spoke. "Sorry you two had to put up with him."

Kael shook his head. "I don't blame you at all," He told me. He turned to Gaster. "Thank you for stepping in."

"Thank you," Gaster had signed.

I smiled. I turned back to Kael. "He says 'thanks,' too," I translated.

Kael looked ready to protest, though he stopped himself. He offered a smile.

I took the lead to the back. Gaster's hand slipped into mine, and I accepted it. I pulled the back door open and lead us back to the table.

We sat down. We were just quiet. It wasn't uncomfortable. It was kind of nice. It gave me time to think.

Why'd Sans call Gaster "Web," though? Nickname, maybe? Or a middle name? What kind of nickname was that, even?

To be fair, most the skeletons had shitty nicknames. I wouldn't be surprised if it was another shitty nickname.

"Hey, uh…" I began.

Gaster looked up at me.

"Is 'Web' a nickname?" I asked.

Gaster shook his head. He then sat up and reached for his notebook. "No idea," He eventually wrote.

"…Weird," I mumbled.

Gaster just nodded.

Again, we were quiet. It was nice. If I wasn't at work, I'd probably go to sleep.

Eventually, though, the door opened and broke the silence. I looked over. It was Tian.

"Hey, uh…" Tian hesitated. "Someone named 'Papyrus' is here to see 'Web.' I don't… know if he's talking about Gaster, but…"

Gaster reached out. He started packing his notebook and cards away.

I sighed. "Heading back home?"

Gaster offered me a nod. He then reached into one of his pants' pockets. He took out a folded piece of paper and passed it to me. He then waved farewell.

I waved back, and Gaster soon went in with Tian.

I looked down at the paper. I unfolded it.

"It's hard to describe, but your Soul is like being outside in the grass with you."

I flushed. Really? Out in the grass. With me?

I looked up. The forest was calm as always. Outside, relaxing, with no threat of infected or danger or disease…

Yeah. That sounded perfect.

I was smiling. I tried to push it down. I really couldn't. I folded and pocketed the paper. I had to put it somewhere nice.

Time ticked by. It was the homestretch. Not long, and I'll be heading to the range, then the cabin.

I heard the door open. Jordan stepped out. She had two paper lunch bags in hand. She came over.

"Hey," Jordan greeted. She set one of the lunch bags on the table before taking the seat next to me.

"Hey, yourself," I greeted back. I took the bag with a small "thanks." I then asked, "What's your number?"

Jordan took a breath in. "…Honestly, a couple of question marks," She mentioned. She glanced at me. "…That skeleton? With the long, uh, weird hair?"

"...Yeah?" I asked.

"You two dating?"

I was taken aback. I looked at Jordan, confused. "What- We met literally two days ago."

"And he's out here, sucking your face," Jordan argued.

I was completely bewildered. "Huh??"

"Damien told me what you two were doing," Jordan retorted.

I guess I could understand how he could have misinterpreted that. "No, he wasn't 'sucking my face,'" I said. "He didn't know I had a skeleton, and I told him that I did. He put his hands on my face to check for himself, I guess."

"Sure," Jordan sarcastically replied. "That totally was what happened."

"Why the hell would I lie about that?" I asked.

"There's no reason to be embarrassed," Jordan told me. "I think it's cute. Even if he's quiet, he defended you from, what, his own brother? He spent most of the day with you, too. You don't have to deny anything."

I breathed out. "We're not dating," I stated. "I don't really understand why he's hanging out with me, but…" I barely shrugged. "He was stuck somewhere without anyone around to help him for… I can't even guess how long. I think he doesn't want to be alone and has just… elected me the person to hang out with."

Jordan then held a warm smile. "Well, he picked the right person to be with," She told me. "But I wouldn't be surprised if you did start dating."

I shot Jordan a pointed look.

Jordan held up her hands. "Hey, he came up to the café and passed me a paper asking me what you like to drink. He ordered the same thing before leaving. That seems kind of like a crush to me."

My pointed look was replaced with surprise. He did?

A different question then popped into mind. Considering Gaster only recently appeared back in the real world, did any of the other skeletons pass him any currency?

"Did he pay in, uh, G, or whatever monsters use?" I asked Jordan.

"I gave it to him on the house," Jordan told me. "Thought it'd be nice since he stood up for you like that."

I let out a long sigh. Right. I'll most likely deal with Sans when I get back.

"…You going to be alright?" Jordan asked.

"I'm sure that other skeleton will have a stern talking-to with me about 'staying away' from his brother."

"You're both legal adults," Jordan retorted.

"Yeah, but Sans thinks I'm still infected," I growled.

Jordan groaned. "Of fucking course," She grumbled. "Overprotective brother being wrong about being overprotective."

"Unfortunately," I mumbled. I breathed out. "I'll be fine. It'll just be annoying."

Conversation kind of changed. It was mostly Jordan throwing out "date ideas" while I kept deflecting. She changed it to "hangout ideas" and toned back the romantic side of things, and I ended up playing along.

Unfortunately, not having a car meant no nice drives to different places like a fairground or a museum. We'd have to take some public transport, and I didn't really want to risk any potential racism being thrown Gaster's way.

Eventually, Jordan and I finished up eating. She took the trash bin with her to empty. She came back moments later to return the trash can before bidding me goodbye.

And soon, eight o'clock rolled around. The library was closed, and the last of the visitors should be gone. I went and closed up shop.

I moved pretty fast. I undid the bows and went back inside. I grabbed my things, bade Cassandra a good night, and set off to the range.

My visit to the range was the same as always. Shirley did comment on my good mood. Hell, Johnson did, too, and he's usually bad at picking up emotions in others.

Was it actually that obvious? I didn't feel like I was smiling like I had won the lottery, or something. I just told the two that I had a nice interaction with someone new. Shirley accepted that at face value, and Johnson made a joke about a potential partner. I only waved him off.

My archery practice came and went, and I was on my bike heading back to the cabin. I bike at my normal pace. The dread of heading back to the cabin cancelled out the niceness of today. But still, I had some strength.

From the end of the driveway, though, I spotted Sans on the porch.

I took an even breath in as I biked closer to the house. I soon hopped off and walked the rest of the way there, heading to the side of the house to park my bike. I kicked the bike stand open and let go of the bike. I turned and made my way to the porch.

I stopped at the base of the stairs and looked up at Sans.

Sans stared at me. "...You need to stay away from Web," He warned.

"You need to talk to him about that," I told Sans. "He found out where I worked and he showed up on his own."

"Why is he even hanging around you?" Sans asked. "Everyone's been telling him what you are."

"You need to talk to him about that," I repeated. "I asked him the same thing, he told me it was complicated, so I didn't push him."

Sans looked at me, almost surprised. "You didn't bug him until he told you?"

"No," I spoke. "As much as everyone you know says the opposite, I'm actually not that fucking miserable of a person. His business is his business. If he wants to share it with me, he can. Otherwise, it isn't my place." I glared at Sans. "Just like how it's not your place to dictate who your brother can hang out with. If you have a sincere issue with Gaster being around me, you need to talk to him about that."

Sans stared at me. "…Gaster?" He asked. "What kind of a name is that?"

"That's just how he introduced himself," I retorted.

Sans's smile seemed tighter. "He doesn't even trust you with his real name," He growled. "Why is he hanging around you?"

I narrowed my eyes. "You should know my answer, by now." I went up the stairs. I passed Sans.

"So how many have you murdered, 'working' there?" Sans asked me.

I didn't answer. I went for the door and stepped into the house. I just closed the door behind me.

Some of the skeletons were there. A movie or a T.V. show was playing. I didn't recognise it. Altair wasn't here.

Funnily enough, Gaster was at the sofa, too. He seated upright and rigidly.

Gaster glanced back. His tense posture lessened when he spotted me.

I offered the smallest of smiles as I slipped my shoes off. I waved before turning and heading up the stairs. I wish I could say "good luck" to the impending chat Gaster would have with Sans, but I didn't want to get any attention on me.

I made it all the way to the attic. I dropped my backpack onto the floor and let out a soft breath. A smile rose as I took out the slip of paper Gaster passed me.

"It's hard to describe, but your Soul is like being outside in the grass with you."

I went to my desk. I looked around for a nice place to put the paper.

My eyes stopped on the little wooden figure. It was dressed the same as last night.

But taped over its face was a piece of paper. It had Gaster's face drawn on it.

I felt a smile grow. I put the paper down. I went to grab my headphones and turned on some music before looking around for any paint that might be stored up here.

I managed to find a small box of paint. Only lightly used. It brought sadness to my heart. One of the skeletons tried out painting, and now the paints were up here and forgotten about.

I found a few paintbrushes and a small plastic palette and brought everything to the desk. I sat down and popped open the black and white paint bottles and dropped a bit of each onto the plastic palette.

I picked up the little wooden mannequin. I very gently took off the paper taped to its face and set it on the desk. I picked up the paintbrush and began.

Initially, I was just going to paint the head white. Over time, though, I removed the outfit and started painting the body to make the paint job more uniform. Then, I picked up a container of black paint to paint the joints of the wooden mannequin to make the white sort-of standout more.

A while passed. Half an hour, maybe? I wasn't really keeping track. At some point, I switched from music to online videos.

I finished up painting the full doll. It wasn't the best job, but it was honestly really neat to see. Once it seemed dry enough, I picked up a thin paintbrush and reached for the black paint.

With the paper as reference, I carefully painted Gaster's face onto the mannequin. It was pretty easy considering the simplicity. Gaster didn't exactly have the same skull that the other skeleton monsters have. Eye sockets, but one was partially closed. Instead of a row of teeth, a carved smile. A porcelain mask, I think was what I first thought.

What even happened? I knew that escaping the void would not be easy and required sacrifices, but Gaster was so different.

I did my best, and I lowered the paintbrush. I stared at the little mannequin.

How the hell was I supposed to do the hair to match? Gaster's hair looked like it was made of static and pixels. Maybe white yarn would work? I could make it look fuzzy, kind of like static. But the pixels wouldn't happen.

I'll have to look around for some white yarn for the hair. Tomorrow, maybe.

I grabbed an outfit for the night. A basic t-shirt and shorts. I really should get proper pyjamas, but that meant one more outfit I needed to wash every Sunday. I grabbed my dental set on the way out.

I silently left the attic. I stopped by the bathroom to brush and wash up. I then made my way back up. I headed to the old spaceship bed and dropped onto it.

Eventually, I fell asleep.