Sooo, guess who's officially done with all her finals? And high school in general. I can't believe I'll be going to university in a few months. Might be 19 but I'm still simping for a skeleton. Nothing changed <3
2nd POV
The bookshelf had 78 books on it. 12 were thin, 66 thick. 40 were bound in brown leather, 18 in red dyed one, 12 in blue and 8 in green. The bedside table had a thin crack in the wood right on the side of it and the paint on the wall right near the window was starting to peel away.
It had been over an hour since Gaster left and it was safe to say you were getting absolutely bored. With the wound still freshly bandaged and tender, you didn't want to risk trying to walk around and reopening it. You had a feeling he would not come rushing in if you did end up bleeding out on his carpet.
Because of it, you were bedbound and thus, the only thing you could do to elevate your boredom was looking around the room and trying to spot as many details as possible. It had gotten boring after barely 20 minutes.
You sighed, your head falling back against the pillow as you stared at the ceiling. Was this really your life now?
Before you could get lost in your head again, you heard footsteps outside your door. Two sets of feet stopped right in front of it, one really light -probably one of the children then- and one heavier. Your suspicions were confirmed as soon as they started speaking as you could hear it was Paps and Gaster.
You knew nothing other than that however, as the door was muffling whatever they were talking about. It must have been an argument though, as Gaster's voice raised while he was speaking. After a few minutes of back and forth from the two, the older let out a sigh loud enough that you could hear it clearly even when being in another room and then walked off.
A knock sounded not even a moment later and you barely had time to finish saying 'come in', before the door swung open and, just as you guessed, Paps walked in, holding a tray with a plate on it.
"HELLO HUMAN! I, THE GREAT AND WONDERFUL PAPYRUS, HAVE MADE YOU SPAGHETTI TO MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER! DAD HELPED ME!" So, his full name was Papyrus then, good to know.
You smiled at the kid and slowly sat up, making sure not to jolt the wound as you did so. Papyrus grinned back, waddling over to you to hand you the plate.
You picked it up, along with the fork laying right beside it, about to pretend you needed to eat, when your stomach grumbled.
Huh?!
That... was not supposed to happen. Angel bodies did not need sustenance to work, they were kept functioning solely by God's magic- ah. Of course. They had probably cut you off from that magic the moment you fell, thus making your body need to find the required nutrients the old way. Through food. It had been a luxury before, but now it seems that it has once again become a necessity.
You scooped some of the spaghetti onto the fork and put it in your mouth, chewing slowly to savour the taste. It had been a long time since you last had the chance to eat. Papyrus watched as you did so, eyes big and sparkling as he waited for your opinion on his cooking.
"It's delicious, kid. You truly are great and wonderful." He grinned brightly at your words, puffing his chest out in pride.
You continued on with your meal, while he climbed up into the bed to sit by your legs, blabbing on about the exact steps he took to make the perfect spaghetti. It didn't take long for you to finish your entire plate, especially considering your stomach had been empty for longer than you could remember, body sustained solely on magic, only to suddenly be needing food once more.
Once you were done Papyrus grabbed the plate from your hands and jumped off the bed, rushing out of the room to put it away. You thought that it was it for the company and were about to try and get a nap in -if you need food again, you probably will also need sleep- when you heard his footsteps' pitter-patter. He poked his head through the doorway and, seeing you were still awake, walked back in. In his grasp was a book that you couldn't really see the title of.
"THIS ROOM IS BORING, SO YOU MUST BE BORED TOO! I THOUGHT I COULD READ YOU SOMETHING IF YOU'D LIKE!" He waved the book above his head as he said that and you couldn't help but laugh.
He was adorable.
"How can I say no to such a gracious offer? I accept of course, come here." You patted the space beside you and he didn't waste any time climbing back into the bed and plopping down.
He opened the book on the first page, scrunching his face at the letters. After a few seconds of silence he hesitantly read the first sentence.
"LONG LONG E-EGO!"
You chuckled softly and corrected him, to which he nodded and tried again. It went on like that for the first few minutes. He'd read a sentence and if he got any words wrong, you'd tell him the correct pronunciation. As the story progressed though, he started having trouble with more and more words, pausing and looking up at you without even trying to say some of them first.
Beforelong your roles switched around. You started to read instead, Papyrus snuggling to your shoulder, minding the wound on your side. The time seemed to flow faster thanks to this, your mind getting a chance to rest as you read some fairytale the kid brought with him. He soon began to fall asleep, his head lolling back, quiet snores filling the room.
You smiled down at the kid and closed the book, putting it on the nightstand before carefully getting your arm out from under him. Minding your freshly bandaged wound, you got up from the bed, turning around to pick him up. You can find his room, probably...
Before you could even take a step with Papyrus securely in your arms, the already familiar blue magic surrounded him. He didn't even seem to notice, content to keep on sleeping.
Looking up you unwrapped your arms from around the kid, Sans standing in the doorway and making Papyrus float over to him. He barely spared you a glance, giving you a short nod. Then, before you could answer, he walked out with his brother securely in his arms.
You chuckled and shook your head, turning around to get back into the bed, the wound starting to act up. You had a feeling that even if he didn't show it, Sans did appreciate you going along with what Papyrus wanted.
***
It didn't take long for a routine to form. There was only so much you could do when bedridden after all.
Every morning, you'd wake up to a plate of whatever food was made that day, along with a change of fresh clothes. Gaster would either usually already be there too, writing something down in that clipboard of his, or come in a mere minutes later. He'd check on your wounds, change the bandages if need be and then be off to what you assumed was work. He must leave someone with the kids though, because not too soon after he's gone, you could hear a resonant voice downstairs that would disappear as soon as he's back.
Once Dr. Gaster was home he'd check up on your wound again and then leave you be to make dinner. It would give you around an hour of time that you'd spend with your wings out. They cannot be hidden for too long, it becomes painful to an unbearable degree, so even an hour a day is better than nothing. Later on, some light exercises would join that, once your wound was not at a constant threat of opening up again.
Papyrus would always be the one to bring you dinner afterwards, along with a book he'd like to be read to him on this particular day. You'd never say no to him of course, so every evening he'd snuggle to you, placing his head on your shoulder, while you narrated the story to the best of your ability. His giggles at the funny voices, or little gasps at dramatic moments made looking like a fool absolutely worth it.
It wouldn't take long for Papyrus to fall asleep on you and mere moments later Sans would be there to pick him up and take him to his room to sleep. Unlike his younger brother, he didn't speak at all, at least not towards you, his posture always tense whenever he was in your room to watch over the kid. Whether it was his father's -or someone else's'- stigma rubbing off on him, or distrust towards humans that he grew on his own, it was clear he was only tolerating you because of Papyrus. You couldn't really blame him though. It was probably very well known what happened during the war and why the monsters ended up locked underground with no way out.
Even so, a small, albeit fragile, bond was being created between you two as he'd give you a nod in thanks every time you got the youngest skeleton to fall asleep with you. It might not be trust yet, but it's a start.
After all of this, you usually wouldn't stay up for too long considering you didn't have anything to kill boredom with and since now your body required sleeping too, you'd just have an early night.
Days passed in this exact monotony, broken up only by Papyrus bringing in a new book or toy every evening and whatever talk you and Gaster would share while he looked over your wound.
Your relationship with the Royal Scientist was... complicated, for the lack of a better word. While with Sans and Papyrus it was more straightforward -Papyrus adored you, Sans tolerated you- with Gaster, you honestly had no idea. He still looked annoyed at the fact you dared to be alive and was not above making a comment about how easier it would be for him if you try something stupid and bleed out.
Yet, at the same time, he was surprisingly gentle with your wound, watching himself as to not jostle it too much when bandaging, or making sure not to make them too tight or too loose. He didn't spare on the ointments either, your wound healing well and clean because of it. It sent very mixed signals your way and you honestly had no energy to try and decipher them.
The only thing certain thing between you two, was the constant sarcasm and sass. Whether it would be you starting it, or him, once it began, it wouldn't end until he had to leave. In a way you found it fun.
It reminded you of your old squad. Although forming strong bonds was a bad idea in the angel army, nobody could deny the fact that a General and their Battalion were close. A bond was needed if one was to fight beside one another after all and with such bond came feeling comfortable with each other. You cannot count the times you gave an order to your team, only to hear a sassy remark as they did so and vice versa. You didn't even realise how much you had missed it, having grown distant when you started to help the monsters in fear of getting caught by one of them.
It was good to have it back, even if it was mostly insults that you hurled at one another, or found small things that annoyed the other party and used said things against them.
The most notable instance of that was when you found out from Papyrus that his dad's full name was 'Wing Ding Gaster'. Considering that even when formally introducing himself, he only said 'W.D', he must not be a fan of using it. A perfect revenge for the fact he refused to call you anything other than 'human' or an 'annoyance' if you managed to get on his nerves enough.
Which is why one day when he was checking something in his notes and, as usual, didn't use your name like you had asked him to, you already had a response ready.
"Alright then, Wing Ding."
He spluttered, turning to you with a glare.
"Who told you that?"
You simply grinned back at him and shrugged.
"That is for me to know and for you to never find out. Really though, 'Wing Ding'? No wonder you introduced yourself as W.D only. It would have killed the intimidating factor you were going for otherwise!"
Gaster grumbled something under his breath in response, a flash of blue and red appearing in his eyelights for a moment before fading back to white.
"I would appreciate it if you referred to me as Gaster only." You smirked when he said that.
"And I'd appreciate it if you referred to me as (y/n) instead of 'human', yet here we are."
"Touché."
You beamed at your victory, to which he just rolled his eyes, going back to his notes and starting to write something down.
"But seriously, what kind of a name is that? Sounds like something you'd name a pet, not a kid."
The writing stopped, the pen being put down a little too forcefully for you not to notice as he turned back to you with a cold expression.
"My mother chose it. She died not too long after the war started."
You did not mention his name again after that.
When you weren't at each other's throats however, you could actually have decent conversations. He was a scientist, so his knowledge far outweighed your own, a truth that he surprisingly did not use against you. He was, in fact, very eager to share things and proudly show off the monsters' achievements. It was from him that you found out that they've outpaced the humans in terms of technology, or at least they have the last time you've seen where your species were in terms of inventions. Gaster's pride and joy was going to be a project he has been working on for quite some time now. A source of pure unlimited energy he was calling the CORE.
He spoke of it as if it would solve all of the problems in the Underground and, though you were yet to be able to leave the room, you somehow believed him. Even with all the insults and snark, you could admit that he was clearly a very intelligent man capable of that task.
You held some respect for him, even if he was a complete jerk sometimes.
A sentiment that he seemed to share. He did put trust in you, considering he was allowing Papyrus to come to your room. Clearly he had faith that you wouldn't do anything to the kid. You wouldn't of course, Papyrus was a sweetheart deserving only of the best things.
With time, maybe, Gaster could grow to trust you more.
That thought was what kept you awake some nights. The thought that they'd all start to like you, like the 'human' that isn't as bad as she seems. That they'll start to fully trust you.
Because that mistrust was right. That wariness towards you was perfectly logical, especially if they were to ever find out exactly what you are.
It made you worry about what will happen once you recover. You just hoped that you would not get too attached either. It would be dangerous. For all of you.
"How can I take the pain away-"
A/N
Only the Og's remember the Bill Nye joke. As much as I loved it, it did not fit the timeline and thus, had to be deleted. Sorry everyone, hope that some nice fluff and more sass between the main pair will be a good enough replacement!