Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Gaster sat at the coffee shop, sipping on his usual, black cinnamon coffee, while trying to get work done on his next book. He stared at the screen as he set his cup down, and sighed, rubbing at his forehead. Nowhere…he was getting nowhere.

He’d written five books on different sciences, his research, yet here he was with absolutely nothing. There was no feeling in the world more frustrating to Gaster than feeling like he wasn’t making any progress. Gaster was getting to the point where the scars over his eyes were aching.

“How’s it goin’, Dr.?” Muffet asked as she approached Gaster’s table. Gaster and his sons were frequent guests at Muffet’s cafe, so she and Gaster had started getting a bit friendly over the years.

“Dismal, Muffet. Absolutely dismal.” Gaster chuckled, though it sounded a bit forced.

“Aw, don’t worry! You’ll get an idea for your book soon.” Muffet reassured, setting a fresh cup of coffee on Gaster’s table, “On the house!”

Gaster raised an eyebrow, “You? Giving out free coffee?”

“Don’t get used to it, Dr.” Muffet snickered, “I’m just bein’ nice, since you’re all pouty over here~”

Gaster smirked, knowing she was lying. Muffet had given him free coffee on multiple occasions, but he’d never mention it to her, since he knew how she was with her other customers. The occasional free cup was just another thing that reminded him of how long he and Muffet had known each other. He still remembered bringing his sons here to get peppermint hot chocolate when they were still children.

“Well, my compliments to the coffee maker.” Gaster chuckled, sipping the fresh coffee.

“Why thank you~” Muffet winked before going to another table.

Gaster went back to his laptop, drinking his coffee while he tried to figure out his whole book conundrum. After a little while longer, he decided to take a break, and closed the laptop, picking up his phone. There was a text message from Papyrus, who’d gone out with Sans earlier that day to celebrate Papyrus starting his first year at Ebbott University.

“LOOK WHAT WE FOUND IN THE SQUARE TODAY!”

Gaster smiled, his black eyes twinkling with a bit of fondness as he looked at the picture Papyrus had sent him. It was a photo he’d taken of Sans while the older brother was holding a little white dog, who had a red ball in its mouth. Sans had a playful pouty look on his face, blue and brown eyes looking hopeful. Gaster quickly sent a reply.

“So you two want me to let you keep the dog?”

It wasn’t long before Papyrus responded.

“HE’S REALLY CUTE, AND SANS LIKES HIM ALOT, TOO.”

“You two are adults. I don’t see why you’re asking me if you can keep him.”

“WELL WE STILL LIVE WITH YOU SO…”

Gaster laughed a bit, his smile growing into a grin. He ran a dark hand through his silver streaked black hair, contemplating if he wanted to deal with a dog in his house. As much as he didn’t really like dealing with animals, he was pretty happy that both of his sons were going to be going to the university where he worked.

“Alright. You can keep it, but if he shreds my couch, you two are getting me a new one.”

“SANS SAYS YOU HAVE A DEAL! WE ALREADY HAVE A NAME FOR HIM.”

“What’s his name?”

“TOBY!”

Toby…that was an interesting name for a dog. Yet, if that was what his boys wanted to call the dog, that’s what the dog would be called. Gaster was already wondering if Sans and Papyrus were already getting Toby a bed and other canine necessities.

“What time are you two going to be bringing Toby home?”

“PROBABLY IN A COUPLE HOURS. WE’RE GONNA PICK UP SOME DOG FOOD, A COLLAR, AND A DOG BOWL. SANS WANTS TO GET HIM A BED.”

Gaster knew it.

“Alright. Also, your capslock is on again.”

“I KNOW. I LIKE IT.”

Gaster couldn’t help but laugh. Papyrus was always the one to add a little something extra, no matter what it was he was doing. It was just one of the many things that made the young man so…himself.

“Alright. I’ll see you two later, then.”

“SEE YOU!”

Gaster put his phone in his jacket pocket, draining the last of his coffee. His mood had greatly improved after talking to his sons, which made him feel better about stopping work on his book. In his head, he was going over the pros and cons of his sons now having a dog while he packed up his stuff.

“Same time tomorrow, Dr.?” Muffet asked, now wiping down the counter at the front of her cafe, “It’s Sunday, which means half off on the cinnamon rolls you like!”

“You know I wouldn’t miss it. Have a good day, Muffet.” Gaster gave her a little wave as he left, hitching up his collar as he walked out into the crisp, cool air of autumn.

Gaster strolled down the street, readjusting his shoulder bag as he went. Autumn was probably his favorite season out of the year. It wasn’t too hot or cold, the leaves were beautiful shades of yellow and orange, and the atmosphere was just so cozy. It gave Gaster’s usually bubbling mind some time to just relax and enjoy being present in the moment, something Gaster constantly struggled to do.

Taking in the sounds around him, Gaster felt his body relax, listening to the sounds of the town around him. He hummed a little tune to himself, closing his eyes for a moment. He heard some kids running through the park he was passing by, the smell of one of the usual hot chocolate vendors pushing along their car, the sounds of someone playing guitar. It was all just a perfect combination of the little things he never took enough time to appreciate.

Then Gaster ran into what he could best describe as a brick wall. He went colliding into the ground, thankfully with his bag on top of him, so he didn’t break any of his belongings. After he hit the ground quite ungracefully, his glasses went flying off of his face, leaving everything rather blurry as Gaster tried to figure out what happened. He’d walked this route many times, and he’d never had anything in his way before.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Came a low, gentle voice, “I should’ve been paying attention to where I was going.”

Gaster felt a pair of large, strong hands grab him under the shoulders in a surprisingly careful grip, and help him up to his feet, but not before dangling him in the air for a couple seconds. Whoever helped him up had also picked up his glasses, and fixed them back on to Gaster’s face. Blinking a few times, Gaster took in the man before him.

The man was rather tall, and broad, with graying blonde hair and amber eyes. His skin was weathered and had the tan of someone who spent a lot of time working outside. He wore a denim jacket with a fuzzy white lining, and had his hair pulled back into a ponytail. There were dirt and grass stains on the man’s jeans, and his boots were scuffed from being well used. All in all, the man had a very rugged appearance, but his expression was so soft, and kind.

Gaster felt his face grow increasingly warm.

“I’m so sorry about that.” The man offered a charming smile that made Gaster want to faint as he held out his hand, “I’m Asgore, what’s your name?”

Chapter Text

Gaster didn’t know how this had happened. He was in his house, waiting for his sons to come home with their new dog, drinking tea…with an incredibly attractive man drinking his own cup of tea next to him on his couch. It felt so unreal that Gaster had been certain he was dreaming at first.

Asgore, as the man had introduced himself, had been incredibly apologetic about knocking Gaster over earlier, and had insisted on walking Gaster home to make sure he was alright. Gaster hadn’t wanted to be rude, so he allowed it, listening to Asgore spout apology after apology along the way. He kept telling Asgore that it was alright, but by the time they’d reached his house, he’d gotten the crazy idea to invite Asgore inside for tea, as a show of no ill feelings between the two of them.

He felt like a fool, inviting a complete stranger into his home, but there was something about Asgore that had him captivated. Asgore was currently talking about how he’d recently moved into the neighborhood to be closer to his children, which made Gaster’s heart skip a beat. So this man was a father as well…although, unlike Gaster, he was divorced. Gaster had never been married.

“That’s very sweet of you.” Gaster said after a moment, “Moving all this way to be closer to your children is a very admirable thing.”

“Oh, it’s just part of being a father, I suppose.” Asgore chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck with a small smile.

“I understand.” Gaster sipped from his cup again, giving Asgore a quick glance, “I have two sons of my own.”

“Really?” Something flashed in Asgore’s eyes, excitement most likely, “How old are they, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Not at all.” Gaster chuckled, “The older of the two is Sans, and he’s 21. Papyrus, my youngest, is 18. They’re both attending Ebbott University now.”

“Two of mine are going to the same university!” Asgore grinned, and Gaster felt his stomach do a strange swoop while Asgore continued, “I have three kids, see? The oldest is Asirel, he just turned 20, Chara just turned 18 themself, and Frisk, who’s the youngest, is 15. They want to go to the same college after highschool.”

“Really?” Gaster smiled a bit, “I wonder if Sans knows you’re oldest.”

“It’s possible. Asriel’s always been pretty social.”

“Sans has never been the social type, yet he somehow attracts friends like a magnet. I sometimes wonder if Papyrus is a little jealous.” Gaster said with a chuckle, brushing some loose hair behind his ear, “Papyrus has the biggest social battery out of the three of us. He definitely doesn’t get it from me, that’s for sure. I’m always a wreck around people.”

“Well…I don’t think you’re a wreck.” Asgore said quietly, looking down at the mug in his hand, “In fact, this is the most enjoyable conversation I’ve had with someone outside of my family in quite some time…so thank you.” Turning to Gaster, Asgore gave a shy, slightly crooked smile that made Gaster feel like a bolt of lightning had struck him.

“I-I-” Gaster quickly averted his gaze, clearing his throat, “While I’m n-not sure why you’re thanking me for that…I suppose I’m quite happy to know you enjoy my company…Mr. Dreemurr.”

“Oh there’s no need to be so formal.” Asgore chuckled, the sound making Gaster want to faint, “Asgore’s perfectly fine.”

“O-Okay-” Gaster tugged at the collar of his turtleneck before returning weakly, “I was going to say you could just call me Dr. Gaster, but that sounds silly-” The smaller man gave a nervous laugh, “So Gaster’s fine.”

“A doctor you say?” Asgore raised an eyebrow.

“Not that kind.” Gaster corrected, taking off his glasses to wipe them…mostly so he didn’t have to look Asgore in the eyes, “I’m a physics professor at Ebbott.”

“Really!?” Asgore’s eyes gleamed with excitement, “Then it looks like we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other!”

Gaster flinched, looking up at Asgore with confusion, “What do you mean?”

“When the term starts, I’ll be starting at Ebbott as their new groundskeeper! Looks like we’ll be coworkers!” Asgore grinned, over the moon to have someone he knew working at the same place as him.

Gaster, on the other hand, was having an internal panic. Being around this man had him feeling all sorts of weird things, no he was learning that he and Asgore were going to be seeing a lot more of each other. How was he supposed to function when there was someone who made him feel all off balance and fluttery always in the near vicinity? Gaster didn’t believe in any sort of higher power, but if one did exist, it definitely hated him.

“Oh…well, I hope you enjoy your new position.” Gaster managed to say, hoping he was successfully masking the overwhelming amount of nerves he was feeling at the moment.

“Thanks.” Asgore chuckled, still looking like a child who’d received the world’s largest cake, “I look forward to seeing more of you, Doc.”

That caught Gaster off guard, “...Doc?”

“I think it suits you~” Asgore smirked, setting down his now empty mug of tea, “Plus, with the turtleneck, it matches your whole genius persona.”

“I-” Gaster was baffled, wondering what Asgore was going on about before realizing…Asgore was teasing him…well, two could play at that game.

Gaster crossed his arms, smiling a little as he retorted, “Well, flower boy, I could say the same about the dirt on your pants. It really fits this whole down in the dirt, magical green thumb hippy aura you give off.”

Asgore snorted back a laugh, putting a hand over his mouth, “What- I do not give off the same aura as a hippy!”

“You smell like dirt and flowers. I beg to differ.” Gaster chuckled, hiding his face behind the back of his hand, “Though…I don’t think it’s a bad thing.”

Asgore felt a shiver run down his spine, “You…wait, really?”

“It’s a change of pace from what I’m used to.”

“And…” Asgore found himself scooting a bit closer to Gaster, “What are you used too?”

“Oh, I’m usually held up in some lecture hall, or lab, so it always smells like sterile equipment, chemicals, and such.” Gaster chuckled, finding himself not really minding how close Asgore was to him, “Around you though, it smells…fresh…new.”

The two felt their eyes meet, and Gaster felt his heart race in a way he wasn’t familiar with. Since meeting this man just hours ago, Gaster had started feeling things he found strange, new, exciting, and yet…it felt so familiar. It was like they’d been like this before…in some other time…some other place…

“You’re quite intriguing…” Asgore chuckled lightly, “And…nice to look at.”

“I could say the same about you, flower boy~” Gaster was utterly shocked with himself. Was he FLIRTING!? Flirting with a man he’d just met. Gaster felt his fingers start to brush against Asgore’s, feeling the slight roughness of the other man’s skin.

Asgore intertwined his pinky loosely with Gaster’s, “You’re pretty snappy with those comebacks…” He leaned closer, speaking in a low pur, “ Doctor ~”

Gaster let out a slight gasp, face burning before-

The door opened…Papyrus and Sans walking into the house with a small, white dog, and bags of new dog toys and equipment.

“Uh…” Sans looked between his father, and the stranger on their couch, “Are we interrupting something, Dad?”