W. D. Gaster - An Undertale Story

Chapter Thirty-Two

   Gaster had fallen asleep at the coffee table in the living room. He wasn't fully used to sleeping in a couch, but he didn't exactly sleep on the couch. It looked as if he actually slept on the floor. He had been working on the blueprints for experiments with Determination, resulting in him losing track of time and drifting to sleep. Gaster didn't feel like waking up this morning, but he became curious as he overheard Sans and Papyrus, who were in the kitchen. They were muttering and whispering words that Gaster was unable to make out. He also heard Papyrus giggle a few times.
   Curiosity seemed to be pulling, gripping at Gaster's sleeve. He quickly stood up and walked to the kitchen, rubbing his eyes to wake up. Papyrus and Sans noticed this and immediately stood straight as if they were putting on an act.
   "What are you two being so secretive about?", he asked with a chuckle. Sans and Papyrus looked at each other then back to Gaster, but neither said a word. Gaster was about to ask them once more, but he smelled a sweet, strong smell as the oven timer went off. Gaster tilted and looked at the oven then back to his sons. "What is that?"
   Papyrus stifled a laugh. Sans looked at Gaster with a kind of smirk. Gaster was beyond confused, but by the expressions on his sons' faces, it seemed that he should know what they were doing.
   "Dad, c'mon. Do you really not have a calendar?", Sans asked, his signature chuckle given. Gaster thought for a moment, and realized that he truly had not been checking the calendar of his. He had been so caught up with the CORE, the house, Determination, and many other events and experiments, so many things that he didn't keep up with dates anymore. All he knew was that it was winter time for the Surface, considering that the Underground schools only found it fair for monsters to have break times as well, and Sans and Papyrus were on Winter Break.
   "Uhmm... Remind me of the date again?", Gaster said, although it was more of a question. He was slightly nervous, especially because his sons used the oven. Yes, they knew how to cook at a young age, but he still worried.
   Papyrus opened the oven as he grabbed a black-and-red patterned pot holder from the counter. He placed it on his right hand and stuck the hand in the oven. He pulled out a tray with some sort of sweet treat. Papyrus pulled it out quickly so that Gaster wouldn't see the baked food.
   "What's-", Gaster began to ask what it was, but Sans and Papyrus cut him off with a loud shout.
   "Happy birthday!", they said aloud simultaneously. Papyrus showed the treat, which was a cake. Gaster smiled happily and lifted himself onto the marble counter. He was just getting used to not having a table. They decided to get rid of it because they had no need for it. The three rarely ate together in the kitchen. They usually always ate in the living room together or individually in different areas of the house.
   Gaster was overwhelmed with happiness. Even Gaster himself hadn't remembered his own birthday, but his sons had. It filled him with a large amount of joy that he couldn't believe. Sans and Papyrus hugged Gaster tightly, happily. Gaster hugged them back, as he always did. Papyrus pulled away from the hug and pulled open one of the drawers. Sans rushed over to him and pulled Papyrus's hands back.
   "Paps, don't! I'll get the knife!", Sans exclaimed. Papyrus rolled his eyes, which was somehow possible, and huffed, annoyed.
   "SANS, I'M 6 YEARS OLD. I THINK I'LL BE FINE TRYING TO GRAB A KNIFE.", Papyrus objected, crossing his arms with a slight pouty face. Sans chuckled as he pulled a kitchen knife out of the drawer.
   "You're still my lil' bro, so I watch out for you.", Sans explained. He lifted the knife up to the cake.
   "Oh, I can cut that, Sans.", Gaster said as he reached for the knife, but Sans pulled the sharp object away quickly. Gaster widened his eyes in surprise, confused. Sans shook his head a bit, which caused Papyrus to giggle.
   "Uh-uh. This is your birthday. We will do the work.", Sans explained as he waved the knife around. Gaster laughed a bit.
   "Alright, but just be careful with that knife.", he said. Sans continued to cut the cake. Gaster observed it. The main icing was a light pink color. In dark red icing, there was a message that read "Happy Birthday, Dad". As Sans cut it, Gaster noticed that the inside was a dark brown color, signaling that it was a chocolate flavor. It sparked a question out of Gaster. "Did you two make this?"
   Papyrus nodded excitedly. "YES, SIR! I ACTUALLY DID MOST OF IT! SANS JUST PUT IT IN THE OVEN, I DID THE REST.", he explained, practically jumping up and down with happiness. Gaster chuckled softly. He loved the child's innocence that Papyrus showed.
   Sans nodded, confirming that Papyrus was telling the truth. "Heck Dad, why do you think that we asked for all of this stuff when we went to the Shop the other day?", Sans asked, one brow raised. Gaster smiled, shrugged, and nodded, understanding. It was true, he should have realized. He had just figured that maybe it was for some sort of project they wanted to make. But now Gaster realized how obvious it was.
   Sans asked Papyrus to get some of the clean plates from the cabinets and clean forks from a drawer around the kitchen. Papyrus did, setting three plates and forks out across the table, one for each skeleton. Sans put one slice onto one of the plates. Gaster picked up the plate, a fork, and cut off a bite-sized piece, eating it. To Gaster's surprise it tasted more like a professional chef had made it rather than a six-year-old child.
   Gaster looked at Papyrus in surprise after he swallowed the delicious treat. "You made this?!", he exclaimed. Papyrus nodded hesitantly, unsure if the question was a good or bad one.
   "This is amazing!", Gaster complimented. Papyrus smiled like he never had before, for this had made his day. Gaster continued to eat his slice of the cake, as did Sans and Papyrus. The three were all happy with how it turned out.
   "Dad, we made you something else.", Sans informed. Gaster turned his head to see Sans.
   "Please don't let it be food, I'm full.", Gaster joked. Sans chuckled, but shook his head.
   "No, actually it's a birthday present.", he said. Gaster smiled. He already had all he wanted in life. How could this be any better than having the two best sons in the world?
   Sans and Papyrus walked out of the kitchen. Sans made a hand movement that signaled for Gaster to follow them into the living room. Gaster did so and was excited, curious to find out what the gift was. Sans and Papyrus pointed at the couch to show Gaster to sit down. Gaster sat on the left cushion on the couch, fidgeting his hands nervously. Papyrus walked upstairs, while Sans stayed downstairs to talk to Gaster.
   "We worked extremely hard on this present, so I hope you like it.", Sans explained. Gaster nodded.
   "Sans, it's from you and Papyrus. I know I'll love it.", he said. Sans chuckled and smiled happily. Papyrus rushed back down the stairs with a rectangular-shaped object that was wrapped in wrapping paper in his hand. He handed the gift to Gaster.
   "Can I...?", Gaster began, knowing his sons would probably know what he would say.
   "GO AHEAD, OPEN IT!", Papyrus pressed. Gaster nodded and began to rip the wrapping paper off of the object. Once unwrapped, he absolutely loved what it was. It appeared to be an image of Gaster, and at the bottom of the image, there was a message in Wingdings that read "WE LOVE YOU, DAD". Gaster smiled, gushing happily at the gift.
   "I love this so much... I can't even begin to express my love for this gift.", Gaster said, a tear of happiness forming in his eyesocket.
   "Do ya wanna now something cool?", Sans asked, a bit of pride in his voice. Gaster looked up, curious.
   "Sure!", Gaster responded excitedly.
   "That's not a photograph. It's a painting. Paps and I painted the picture together.", Sans explained. Gaster widened his eyesockets. He looked back down at the image. Yes, once you knew it, you could see the painting texture, but at first glance, it looked like a photograph.
   Gaster stood up and pulled his sons towards him. "I love you both, so, so much.", he said softly. The three hugged. They hugged for a long amount of time, but then they let go. Sans and Papyrus went upstairs. Gaster looked back down at the painting. He noticed that it seemed his bones were slimming down through the years. At this point, Gaster felt like a transparent stick.
   He looked back at his notes and experiments.

   That was it.
   That was why Determination melted monsters. Gaster noticed it quickly as he glanced back and forth between his notes and the painting.
   He had to tell someone.