Mumbling
"I've taken my decision.
I'll be your girlfriend"
Gaster's eyesockets widened in surprise after hearing your decision about being his girlfriend.
"Oh. So...you actually accepted it. From what you said when leaving my office I thought you wanted to kill me for even asking you this, which I have to admit, it was...kinda inconsiderate of me. I mean, not every day you get asked to pretend and be someone's girlfriend to help them with their research. What made you change idea though?" he asked out of curiosity.
Darn it, that hit a spot, you thought.
You couldn't tell Gaster that you needed money because your personal funds were lacking: that meant showing something you considered a weakness of yours. Making errors for a time machine...you couldn't let yourself to do something like this. Not for...
"I...I uh...I actually am interested in your research and want to see your progress on it!" you said in a rush with a nervous smile.
Gaster though, didn't look so sure.
She's lying. She has hesitated for a moment before answering, and right after then she plastered a nervous smile on her face. She doesn't want to tell me why she has accepted my request. Might go a little bit deeper with questions and observe her reaction, he thought.
"Well then, I guess we are "partners" now. Oh, don't worry, I will pay you as I said before, as a thank you for the help you're lending me" he said to notice your reaction.
You subconsciously brightened up a bit when he mentioned the word "pay", and he assumed a few things.
Has she accepted my request for money? Is she greedy? I wouldn't think she is, a scientist of her caliber only works if she is affectionate to a research...I don't believe this option. Something happened for her to accept my request.
"Okay then, don't misunderstand me anyway, I still hate you and always will" you said with an evil smile, feeling slightly reassured by the fact that you could now continue your project with Gaster's money.
His lips curved into a nasty smile as well, as he looked pissed off and ready to snap. Surprisingly, you giggled a little after he showed you that face.
"Well...how are we going to proceed then? Do we, like, need to hold hands or what?" you asked, catching your breath after laughing.
Gaster's face shifted as he looked like he just remembered something.
"Oh yeah, about that...well, the most convenient idea would be for us to totally act as if we're really each other's soulmates"
You blinked your eyes in slight confusion.
Weird way to pretend, you thought.
"Okay, soo? What do you intend to do and what do you mean for "totally act as if we're each other's soulmates"? Do you have any suggestions for that?"
For the first time, Gaster looked unsure.
I didn't think this through-, he thought. What the heck should I do now?
"Err...actually, you mentioned before about holding hands, didn't you? Give me your hand a moment" he said, even though it looked more like an order.
You hesitantly stretched your hand for him to take, and he carefully took it in his.
You suddenly felt a weird feeling, something growing more and more in your chest. It was unstoppable. What was it? What were you feeling? You were starting to feel odd.
This sensation...
...I totally feel awkward about this, you thought, making a poker face.
It was awkwardness. The sensation you were feeling was awkwardness.
You looked at Gaster with a dumbfounded look, trying to catch the slightest minimum of a reaction from him, even though he didn't look much embarassed.
Still, he was really focused on this action, as if he was analyzing every single detail about it in his skull of his, and in fact, you met his professional gaze after a while, and kept it.
Am I supposed to feel something more of a relationship?, you thought, as the awkwardness in the air grew more and more.
In the meantime, he was coming up to a conclusion:
She is feeling rather unsure about this. Or, at least, she doesn't know what I expect from this gesture. To be honest, even I don't know, but judging from her reaction, she isn't feeling any type of particular reaction to this. Do I already have to consider this a failed test?, he thought.
He sighed as he noted internally that nothing could come out from this.
"Okay, you can leave my hand now" he told you, even though you weren't really listening, as you were lost in your own little world. In fact, you were looking rather sleepy, as if you could fall asleep right there and then.
Your eyebags were really showing: slightly redish, threatening to cover your cheeks.
He noticed this and shook you, to bring you back to reality: and at least, it worked.
"Uh? What is it? Have you discovered anything?" you asked, still half-asleep.
Gaster hesitated a bit, and then sighed again as he observed you and analysed your reaction and expressions again.
The only thing I discovered is that you need to sleep, dumbass. What could you have done to make you stay awake at night?
"No, nothing. Perhaps this isn't the way we should approach to make some progresses. I'll think about it in the next days. For the meantime, we'll have to act. Oh, and uhm...you can leave my hand now" he said, slightly uncomfortable.
"Oh, yeah..." you said, threatening to fall asleep again as you let go of his hand.
He sighed again as he noticed it.
Is she really in the conditions for this?
"Listen to me now. I want you to go home now and do nothing but get in your bed and sleep. Understood? I'll give you a free day for tomorrow so that you can rest"
"Hah, I know that you're just doing this to get rid of me Gaster. I wasn't born yesterday" you said with a half-naughty look and still menacing to fall asleep, which slightly pissed him off, misunderstanding his honest intentions.
"Tch, I won't pay you if you don't do as I say" he said, trying to extort you.
As he mentioned the word "pay", you immediately got all serious and professional, ready to put in act and listen to all of his orders. It didn't even matter if you looked greedy in his eyes, the only important thing was that you could gain something.
"...okay, as you wish, I will take a day-off tomorrow."
"Good girl" he said with a smirk.
...good girl? This man is strange.
You were now walking towards the door when you heard Gaster sighing bitterly. You turned around and noticed that he was rubbing his closed eyes in frustration.
"What is it...?" you asked with your last energies.
"Look at you, you can't even walk properly, and you really look like you are about to fall asleep with every step you take. You can't go to your house in this condition. Ugh, I guess I'll have to accompany you" he finally said
"Uh? But, really, there's no need..." you complained.
"No buts, I'm taking you home right now. Give me a moment so I can fetch my car keys" he said.
I don't want something happening to her, otherwise the Wizards would blame it on me forever.
You observed his slim and taller figure going into another room. Probably his bedroom, as you saw something that resembled sheets. But then again, you were half-asleep, so you didn't quite catch all the details.
You then felt someone shaking your shoulder, and when you looked up, you saw Gaster's face right up.
"C'mon, let's go" he then said. You could swear his tone was different, the type of tone people use when they do something reluctantly but because they care about a person. But, you couldn't really be sure about that.
You followed him outside of his house, and after a minute of walking, you two had reached his car. And totally not surprisingly, his car was black. You were starting to associate the black colour with Gaster by now, as he always wore black clothes.
You giggled a little thinking about this, and that caught his attention.
"What's so funny?" he asked, a bit suspicious.
"Oh no, it's nothing, it's just that I'm starting to think that if something is black, then it's related with you" you said as he opened the car door for you to take a seat.
He looked at you in bewilderment.
"You humans sure say weird things..." he said as he closed your door.
And when he opened his car door, he found you already fast asleep on the car seat, snoring a little.
"What the-" he was about to say, but then cut himself off, not to wake you up.
Geez...were you really THAT sleepy? he then thought.
He was about to turn on his car but a thought then rushed in his mind.
...where does she live again?
He was mentally yelling, he didn't know what to do at this point. To directly wake you up and ask where you live, or to sit there in his car doing nothing?
God damnit, why is this happening to me?!
He was rubbing his eyesockets in frustration when he heard you mumbling in your sleep.
"No...I have to...keep going" you just said.
He looked at you, slightly amazed. Surprisingly, your mumbling calmed him down. He sighed again, deciding to let you sleep peacefully, as he then picked his phone and made a call.
The other person luckily answered in time.
"Hello?"
"Toriel, I know this is a late hour, but I need your help. Where does Y/N live?"
Toriel sounded a lot surprised by this question, but then laughed afterwards.
"Funny, you came this morning to my house to ask about her life, and now you even want to know where she lives. Gosh Gaster, you surely have fallen for her, have you?"
Gaster almost choked after hearing Toriel's last phrase.
"Toriel, don't misunderstand me. It's an emergency, just tell me where she lives"
As she heard the word "emergency", Toriel sounded much more alarmed.
"What has happened to her?!"
Gaster felt a bit embarassed after her question. He was sure that Toriel would have laughed if he told her what you were doing in his car. But he had no choice.
"She's...sleeping in my car"
And in fact, after five seconds of processing, Toriel started laughing.
"Don't laugh too loud or you'll wake her up!" he said almost whispering.
"Oh wow, you actually care for her sleeping, don't you?"
"No, I just don't want to fight with her. C'mon Toriel, just give me her damn address!"
Toriel didn't sound much convinced by him not caring, but surrendered and just gave him your address. Finally having your address, Gaster put in motion his car.
There were streetlights on, and they reflected their light on your relaxed, sleeping face. Gaster looked at you, a little worried, but then relaxing after seeing that you weren't waking up even with the strong light on your face.
"Heh, she's really gone" he said to himself.
Actually, this may be the opportunity to conduct a little test. This time we should see if I feel something.
Once he stopped in front of a traffic light, he looked at you again. A little bit hesitantly, he approached you with two of his fingers and caressed your cheek.
It was soft like a cushion, and your skin was pleasant to touch.
Huh...I don't really feel nothing, he thought as he removed his fingers from you, considering it once again a failed test.
Maybe he didn't really feel something right then, but his fingers surely had memorized the softness of your cheek.
...
Not long time had passed, and he reached your house. He looked at it from the car window, and actually found it pleasant to look at. It had two floors and a little garden in front of it, there were many flowers and there was even a bench.
Huh. I admit I expected a different house indeed, he thought.
Reluctantly, he had to wake you up by now. After all, he didn't want to search for your keys: who knows where you kept them.
He gently shook you to wake you up, putting a hand on your shoulder. He accidentally touched your collarbone and immediately got flustered and all.
"Hm...Gas...ter?" you said, trying to acknowledge your location, only seeing the scientist beside you.
He cleared his throat, trying to forget the fact that he touched your collarbone, and replied.
"Relax, it's me. I've taken you home, but I need the keys to bring you in. Can you give them to me?"
You weakly pointed at your purse, and fell into uncosciousness again, your eyebags still tormenting you and pleading for some sleep.
He sighed again as he grabbed your purse, opened it and luckily found the keys immediately.
Just as he was about to open his car door, another inconvenient thought rushed through his mind.
How do I take her in?
He sighed again as his mind only came to the conclusion that he had to carry you using the bridal style. It embarassed him a lot, but it was the only option: he really didn't want to wake you up.
"Okay then...here goes nothing"
He got out of the car, and approached your car door. He opened it, carefully removed your seatbelt and gently carried you, holding you by putting one hand underneath your shoulders and the other one grabbing your knees, one of his fingers holding the keys. It was a bit troublesome, but at least he found you light to carry.
Luckily he had no problems opening the door, and once he got inside, he removed the keys and closed the door, not wanting anybody to enter your house.
He looked around and saw a completely different aesthetic from the one at his house: he found himself in the living room, and he observed an extinguished fireplace, with many photos and some plants around. It was lively, and right beside the living room an open kitchen, and he could see the most modern furnitures there.
As he observed around, he noticed that there were mostly photos of you and just one girl. He wanted to question who she was, but decided that it wasn't the appropriate moment.
He searched throughout the house for your bedroom, and found it on the second floor. There were many plants as well, and on the wall many pictures of different things: feathers, dream catchers, rabbits, everything.
He just put you under the sheets, not wanting to change you and put you in your pajama. The thought made him blush heavily.
"Well then...goodnight" he said as he was stepping outside of your room, but stopped when he heard you mumbling again.
"I...told you. I'll...bring you...back"
He looked at your sleeping figure, questioning what that statement was for.
"Bring you back"? Bring who back? What is she trying to accomplish?
Even though he was curious and wanted to question more, he then left, still thinking at what you mumbled before.
In the meantime, you finally started sleeping peacefully, knowing that Gaster could help you with his money.
You were really happy and grateful.