Gaster rushed through New Home; night had fallen—or at least the facsimile of night, where the lights were dimmed—and he passed few others, but that was quite alright, for he sought only one: he came to a stop not before a proper building, but a familiar hole, a burrow, if you will. Kneeling down, he rang the delicate brass bell beside the wooden panel that served as a door. He waited a minute, or maybe it only felt like a minute and was actually little more than seven seconds. Either way, nothing happened. He rang the bell thrice more.
"?￢ﾚﾐ?￢ﾘﾜ ? ﾟﾓﾪ ?￢ﾜﾋ ❄✋ ✏ ?￢ﾜﾌ?￢ﾘﾜ ? ﾟﾏﾱ✏"
COME NOW, WINTIN! WAKE UP!
Twelve seconds passed; he managed to hold himself for that long, and he was reaching for the bell once more when he heard a rumbling beneath the earth. The panel flipped as a very sleepy, serpentine monster emerged. The soft plates of her head shifted and reshaped as she pushed herself up, drawing upon the strength of insectile legs to lift herself from the hole; muscles and flesh adjusted beneath brightly patterned skin as cross-shaped eyes came to focus on Gaster.
He didn't give her the chance to speak; the moment their eyes locked, his hands were a flurry as he said, "I think I've done it; I think I've cracked the configuration for the machine we've been working on! I'll need you to double check my work, of course, but I was thinking about it all night—Asgore needed company, you see, he couldn't sleep, and I wasn't tired yet so I decided to stay up with him and told him about what we've been working on. He didn't understand, of course, but I think talking to him and explaining all the nuances to someone who understands nothing, really, he's wonderful, but he doesn't have the mind for it. Regardless, that's irrelevant, now—"
"Gaster, please. I've not understood a word you've said," cut in Wintin, at last, causing Gaster's hands to still. She looked around. "I haven't seen a clock, but it's dark here, and there's not another soul about. Do I want to know what time it is?"
"Probably not," said Gaster, his gaze falling to the side.
"And is whatever news you have for me of such vital importance that it can't wait until the morning?"
"We has been puzzling over that equation all day; you left so frustrated that I thought you would want to know the moment I had a breakthrough."
She sighed deeply, but a small smile pulled at her jagged lips as she bent down to touch her forehead to his. "Go to bed, Gaster. If you keep staying up for the king, you'll end up sleeping through our entire workday, and how lost would we be without you to be our endless lab hazard? Tell me about your breakthrough in the morning."
Gaster chuckled, a little self-conscious, but still reached up to stroke her cheeks before they separated and he said, "Alright, I'll go home. Sorry for waking you. Sleep well, friend."
"Good night, and next time you have a three am breakthrough, go wake Dion or Dumaya, would you? It's always me; how am I ever to be rested when I am so often woken by your brilliance?" She smiled as she teased, exaggerating exasperation as she pulled herself back down into her hole.
"I'll try to be more thoughtful," he said, laughing. "Sweet dreams."
"Sleep well."