Gaster enters his house and slides his feet out of his shoes, placing them against a wall and out of the way. He notes a second pair by the door that are covered in mud and carelessly tossed to the side. Sans must already be home. Gaster moves the shoes to the proper spot, making a mental reminder to clean them later.
He walks further in, glancing in the kitchen and bedroom in hopes of finding Sans, but he isn't in either, nor the living room. Gaster sets his satchel down on the couch and heads to the left to check their office, but it's just as empty as every other room. As he stands there, looking at the turn-off computer screen in puzzlement, he realized that the bathroom, which he has passed by twice, had its door closed.
Gaster promptly turns and moves to the bathroom. He knocks once, and when no one answers, he opens the door and peers in. Sans is in the bath, his head submerged to his nose, the house phone held loosely in front of him above the water.
Gaster knocks again to get his attention. "EVERYTHING ALRIGHT, SANS?" He signs out. The shorter skeleton sighs and hands him the phone, which he sets on the sink counter.
"Fine. I got a call and needed to think about things. You're home early." Sans sits up and stretches, and his joints pop.
"YES, I AM. DO YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT?"
"Not really. You want to join me?" He gestures to the water, "It's still warm."
He takes a second to consider it. He has a stack of reports from work in his satchel he needs to review before tomorrow, but Sans obviously needs comfort. "OKAY." There will be time to do work later; he'll just stay up if it comes to it. Gaster begins the process of undressing. He unbuttons his overcoat and slides out of it, then folds it and sets it neatly on the tiled floor. Soon, his cotton turtleneck and slacks follow. He hesitates before stepping into the tub, forcibly suppressing the urge to tamper with Sans' heap of clothes.
Gaster reaches out to take hold of the railing against the wall so he doesn't slip while entering and break something (it had happened on multiple occasions), and sees Sans raking his eyes down his body. Having been caught, Sans ducks his head, flushed, but he's grinning anyway. That's a good sign if any. Gaster settles down into the water, and he and Sans shift their legs around a bit to find a comfortable position while facing each other.
The water is more of on the hot side of warm, but it is still relaxing on his tired bones none the less. "Oh yeah, I forgot to say 'welcome home.' Welcome home, Gaster." Sans says.
"HELLO, SANS. HOW WAS WORK TODAY?" It's difficult to complete the signs while in the water, and Sans furrows his brows as he translates, but the gist of the message is received.
"It was fine. Probably not as cool or exciting as the Royal Scientist's day," he winks, "but it wasn't bad. And yours?"
"STRESSFUL. HAD ANOTHER MEETING, THEY NEEDED ME TO TALK. DIDN'T GET TO EXPERIMENT." Gaster shortens his sentences in hopes of it being easier on Sans.
"Well that sucks. You should make it a rule that you won't talk to anyone why doesn't understand Wingdings."
"WOULD NEVER HAVE MET YOU. YOU USED TO COMPLAIN ALL THE TIME ABOUT IT." Gaster smiles, remembering how in the beginning he, the Royal Scientist, was forced to change his ways to make Sans, an assistant, listen to him.
"THEY AREN'T BAD MONSTERS, JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND ME. DON'T BLAME THEM."
"Gaster, you're such a pushover. The biggest pushover around. Only the king is a bigger pushover than you."
Sans quiets down, staring over Gaster's shoulder without really seeing anything. He grinds his teeth.
Gaster changes positions, bending one knee up out of the water. He taps Sans' foot in warning, then picks it up and guides it to his knee. Somewhere behind him is a cup with a toothbrush and toothpaste. He finds it, squirts a bit of paste onto the bristles, and begins cleaning the phalanges on Sans' foot.
"Oh come on, I'm not that dirty, am I? I let a Woshua clean me every week." His joke is feeble, and neither of them laugh at it, though Gaster does give him a worrying glance.
After a second, Sans clears his throat. "I, uh, got a call. From the Capital. The rest of my family lives there, you know. I should probably visit more often, but I really prefer it out here. It's better here, more quiet. Everyone's so kind and helpful. We all just want to keep up hope, ya know?"
"Well, it's my brother, Papyrus. You've met him before, I think. He isn't doing so hot. I mean, it's not like he's sick or anything, it's just, he's not in the best place at the moment. He's a good kid. Probably the only regret I have about moving in with you out here is that I don't get to see him as often."
Sans pauses, then continues. "He never really did well in school. He's not stupid, but his mind just works differently than other monsters. He got in trouble for cheating on tests often. The problem was that if someone around him looked like they were having trouble, he would try to help them. He wasn't trying to go against the rules, he just wanted to help. He didn't have many friends, not in the past and not now. He's too nice, everyone he gets close to ends up taking advantage of him. His heart's too big." Sans drops his foot off of Gaster's knee, then props up the other one. He wiggles his toes as Gaster begins scrubbing.
"The Capital isn't the best place for someone like him. People out there are so dreary, always moping about, looking to the King in hopes of him solving all the issues. You know how things spread there, how quickly monsters turn on each other. Every day they pray for another human to come down from Above just so they can slaughter it." He shakes his head, grinding his teeth again.
"The other day, Papyrus heard some folks talking about the war, and how they can't wait for the barrier to broken so they can get their revenge. He went up to them and said, well, probably something silly like 'why attack the humans when we can make peace with them', and they didn't take it too well to it. They beat him up. He didn't even try to defend himself, that goober. He's alright; he's going to recover and everything. Would've thought it would have scared some sense into Papyrus, but he was more upset that a human might get hurt. I can't believe him."
"YOU LOVE HIM." Gaster signed out when it's clear Sans' finished.
"Well, yeah. Him being created was the best thing that ever happened to me." Sans turns away for a second. "No offense, of course."
"IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU SO ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT SOMETHING OTHER THAN SCIENCE AND ME." Gaster expects a laugh, but none came. "THANK YOU FOR TELLING ME."
"Nah, I needed to get it off my chest. I feel a ton better." Sans grins. "A skeletTON." He winks, and Gaster splashes him. And then they're laughing and splashing chilled water at each other. At one point, Sans lurches forward and tackles Gaster, both of them submerging.
They quickly rise for air, Sans nestled in Gaster's arms. Unable to properly sign, he gives a meaningful look at the fluffy white towels. "You're right, it is getting a bit cold. Guess we should get out."
They help each other out of the tub, Gaster taking the time to drain the water and put the toothbrush back in the holder as Sans dries off. He does as well, and he puts his clothes back on. They part ways, Sans towards the bedroom with a towel around his waist ("THE BLINDS ARE UP, WHAT IF SOMEONE SEES YOU?" "They'll see a skeleton, geez, calm down, I'll wear it.") and Gaster heading for the kitchen.
Sans finds him a few minutes later, standing over a kettle. Gaster had set out a glass of ketchup, and he downs it in a single gulp. He moves over to the table and sits down, and Gaster soon follows suit.
"HE CAN COME STAY HERE." It is much easier to sign without the water, thankfully.
"Huh?"
"YOUR BROTHER. WHY NOT INVITE HIM TO STAY WITH US? THERE'S NOT MUCH HE COULD DO IN THE DAY, BUT WE HAVE AN EXTRA BEDROOM."
Sans blinks and sits straight. "You're joking."
"I'M NOT THE COMEDIAN IN OUR RELATIONSHIP."
"I love you. Can I tell him now?" Sans is already standing.
"YES, THE PHONE IS IN THE BATHROOM."
Sans bolts from the room. Shortly after, he can hear Sans' excited voice from the other room, no doubt telling his brother about the good news.