A tone sounded from the corner of Alphys' work desk. Undyne gritted her teeth as she teared her eye away from the colorful and violent history book. She grabbed her cell phone with a scowl to check the incoming text message she received. She had told Papyrus countless times that if she was with Alphys, do not text her, but he just doesn't take the hint. Her expression softened when she realized it was a text from Alphys:
hey. :)
She rolled her eye playfully and turned her attention to Alphys who was adorably hiding behind her desk, discreetly checking if Undyne had seen her message. She blushed deeply when Undyne offered her a big, toothy grin.
"Hi, Alphy," Undyne said to her friend. Alphys waved shyly in reply. "You know, you don't have to text me when we're not even ten feet away from each other."
Alphys' cheeks burned brighter. She covered her mouth with her claw and cleared out her throat. "You seem busy… I… I… didn't want to disturb your reading."
Undyne closed the history book and set it down on the tile floor along with her cell phone. "I have my whole life to read that," she rose to her feet, "What's up, Al?"
"I, uh… I need help r-reaching something. You know… Kinda short here…" she muttered, gesturing to her small body.
Undyne nodded and placed her hands on her hips, ready to help, "Okay, what do you need?"
Alphys pointed to the top of her refrigerator. "I think I have a d-drill bit up there and I need it to secure this screw."
"And once you're finished screwing that in, then we can watch anime like you invited me over in the first place?" Undyne asked, tapping her combat boot on the ground.
Alphy lifted a finger, "First of all, y-you invited yourself over unannounced by kicking my door off of its hinges, screaming that you d-demanded we watched anime," she lowered her finger and began nervously scratching her arm, "An-and to answer your question, yes. Then, we can watch anime."
Undyne punched the air with her fist in victory. "Alright! Let's do this!" She shouted, followed by a bellowing "NGAHHHH!" She reached on top of the fridge but to no avail, she couldn't. Outraged by the challenge, she began jumping wildly to reach the top of the fridge. Her brows furrowed and her teeth bared, implying that she was about to kick it up a notch. Alphys' eyes widened in fear as she reached out a claw.
"U-Undyne, NO!" she shouted, voice cracking, "P-Please don't break my fridge again! I can't afford another one…"
The head of the Royal Guard was seething, "The damn thing is testing me!" She let out a roar, glaring at the helpless kitchen appliance.
Alphys smiled at her, "I-I admire your determination b-but please… I'll just go buy another bit. It's not worth it." She was about to turn to the door of her lab to go out and get another bit but Undyne's hand grabbed hers, stopping her.
The world felt like it had stopped in that moment. Undyne's scales itched the same way they always did when she got nervous around Alphys. Alphys died… metaphorically.
"Al-Alphys, wait!" Undyne stammered, hesitantly releasing her crush's hand, her touch lingering a bit longer. The air was thick with unspoken confessions and quiet exhales. "Let… Let me pick you up. M-Maybe we can reach it… together."
Alphys swallowed hard, trying to remember how to make words happen, "Uh… um… n-no…. It's okay. Besides, I like being close to the ground. I wouldn't want to, you know… fall and uh… die and… stuff."
She was silenced by Undyne's calming hand on her shoulder. Their eyes met.
"If you fall, I will catch you…"
A pause. Alphys bit her lip and nodded in agreement. Undyne offered her a reassuring smile before picking her up gently by the hips. Alphys' body wriggled a little, adjusting to being away from the safety of the ground.
Undyne's grip on her was tight but not painful. Alphys could tell she was trying not to hurt her with her strength but also not to let her fall.
Within moments, Undyne lifted Alphys high enough so she could see everything on top of the fridge. It had been so long since she had cleaned up there that she had forgotten what was up there. There were some nuts and bolts, some stray dog food, and a few dust bunnies nibbling on their dust carrots. Finally, there was the drill bit she was looking for. She sighed in relief and grabbed it. She looked down and was about to tell Undyne that she could put her down but she was interrupted with her thoughts.
In that moment, Alphys could safely say that she was on top of Undyne and Undyne was beneath her. Not in the not-so-innocent-or-platonic way she always imagined but still. Her face flushed. Not a good time to be thinking of this kind of stuff, Al...
In the midst of her inappropriate thought process, she heard a familiar tune grow louder and louder along with the pitter-patter of small paws on the tile of her floor. She looked around only to find an annoying white dog bounce playfully through her lab, toward the two monsters.
Undyne wobbled beneath Alphys, trying to gently kick the dog away with her foot. "Get out of here, punk!" She snapped at the dog. The dog ran around her legs excitedly, causing her to trip. She tumbled to the ground, catching Alphys safely in her arms.
They landed one on top of the other, facing each other with red faces. The dog ran away. Its annoying deed was done and it was moving on to its next victims. The two monsters were quiet for a moment before Undyne finally broke the silence.
"See? I told you I would catch you…"
There was a brief pause before they both broke out into fits of giggling, still tangled up in each other on the floor. Undyne stood up and gently placed her crush on the ground. They brushed off their clothes and calmed down their laughter.
"Come on, Alphy," Undyne said, "Let's go watch anime already!"
Alphys held up the drill bit to Undyne, "G-go get it set up. Let me finish this real quick."
They smiled at each other.
"I'll be waiting."
