Sunlight spilled through the slit of a curtain, illuminating spokes of dust floating in its path and pressing against a pair of yellow lidded eyes just right. Alphys stirred with a groan from deep in her belly. Her eyes fluttered open only momentarily before squeezing shut again, and she flipped herself in her bed.
It had been over a year since Frisk had freed them all from the underground. A hard year. Human-monster relations were tender; humans had felt a surge of fear and panic at first. With the help of Frisk, Asgore and Toriel had dispelled those fears. Humans learned quickly that monsters were nothing to be feared anymore. Still, for so long humans had convinced themselves that monsters had been a work of fiction... the concept of living together was still a new one.
Most of the Underground had dispersed to see the world. Many stayed close to Mount Ebott. Alphys was one of them. She liked the rolling hills of trees and cool springs, visible from her backyard. She also liked the industrial skyscape, visible from her front. More than that - fear gripped at her any time she considered leaving Asgore and Frisk behind. Even... Even when...
Undyne had left, too. She had extended an invitation to join her (and Papyrus, as well as Sans) to Alphys, but Alphys couldn't bring herself to follow her - love or not. Undyne talked about exploring the outside world in it's entirety and had set off to do just that during a time where relations with humans were still finicky and uncertain. Alphys almost had begged her not to leave. In the end she couldn't bring herself to hold Undyne back and, instead, exchanged with her a tense and tearful goodbye-for-now.
That had been a year ago. Alphys had felt her absence echo painfully in her chest every day since.
But - the realization that morning was trying to burst into her room snapped Alphys into sudden, total consciousness. She rolled out of her bed a little too excitedly, falling to her back with a heavy thud. She paused there a moment to evaluate her life in one quick burst before shooting up and snatching her glasses off of her bedside table and practically smashing them onto her snout. She was panting now - more in excitement than exhaustion - and threw the curtains open in a dramatic sweep.
"AUGH."
She shielded her eyes with her arm. Sunlight was great and everything - when you were adjusted to it. She often felt accosted by the bright star when she was first getting ready for the day. Mostly, she left her curtains drawn and blinds shut. Alphys didn't travel beyond the walls of her home much and frankly, she felt there was no need for the sun to be constantly barraging her eyes, making the colors on her TV or computer monitor less vibrant. How could she deprive herself of the true deep pinks and pastel blues in Mew Mew Kissy Cutie? For the sun?
Today the sun was her friend. She had only a small lamp on the short stubby table next to her bed, and the light it gave off was soft and barely reached the end of her bed let alone her wardrobe.
What to wear? She thought, rummaging through a drawer full of white lab coats. Sweat beaded on her forehead. No no no, none of these would do. She opened a second drawer - one she had fondly labled her "Frisk" drawer (the one at the way bottom had been dubbed the "Mettaton" drawer, and she never touched it) - and bingo. Yes.
She discardered her pajamas and replaced them with a baby blue blouse with sleeves that reached the middle of her forearms and slick black pants - struggling only a moment to poke her tail through the hole in the back. She even dared to slip a bracelet onto her wrist.
Today was the day Undyne said she'd be back.
Although far away, Undyne had always kept in touch through the phone. Occassionally, Alphys had even received letters. She had them tucked away in the drawer by her bed, pulling them out to read them on an almost nightly basis. The day Undyne had mentioned coming back, Alphys felt a permanent shift in her mood. Apparently, according to her dear friend, coming back had always been the plan. The when was what had been up for debate.
Alphys snatched her phone from amidst the tangled bedsheets and quickly thumbed through her messages. It was close to 12 in the afternoon, she noticed. She saw she had a few texts from Frisk prodding to see if she was awake yet, one from Mettaton - chain mail, which she derived from the wording was his own creation -, and ... that was it.
She frowned and sat on the side of her bed wth a dejected sigh, forwarding Mettaton's chain mail to everyone in her contacts as usual and mentioning to Frisk that she was, indeed, awake. Swiping over to her account on UnderNet to send them a friendly poke, she saw she had an unread message notification flashing in attempt to snatch her attention.
It was Undyne!
Sent hours ago, in the earliest whisps of sunlight, Undyne had wrote her:
"We're about to board the plane! See ya when I see ya."
A smile stretched across her face and she shut her screen off, shoved her phone in her pocket, and hustled out of her apartment.
oOoOoOoOo
She hadn't been the only one waiting to greet the returning trio at the airport; there, she met up with the former rulers of the Underground and their adopted child Frisk - who was carrying a pot, Flowey planted in its soil. In the time that had passed since they had watched their first sunset together, Asgore and Toriel had begun mending their broken bond. Not nearly enough to reconcile and get back together - much to Asgore and Alphys' dismay both - but enough to get along, for Frisk. Frisk rarely went anywhere without their flower companion.
Now here they were together in terminal... something or other. Alphys had been paying more attention to her phone, guided by Frisk, in an attempt to ignore how crowded it was in the wide open halls of the airport. Her phone was tucked away now and she sat fidgeting with the cloth of her shirt, suddenly incredibly self conscious of her wardrobe choice...
The plane had touched down. She registered Toriel announcing this very distantly and instantly her stomach tied itself into knots of nerves, her ability to focus on anything but the racing thoughts or the pounding of her heart diminishing by the second. It was overwhelming. Seeing all three of them at once after such a long period of time - would things be the same? Would they be distant? What if they had only kept in touch with her based on pity?
Part of her argued against this line of thinking but it was a quieter voice, less certain than the one assuring her she was disposable and probably burdenous.
A small hand closed over her own sweating and shaking pair laced together so tightly the knuckles had begun to lose some color in the strain. The voices hushed immediately and her eyes flickered over to meet Frisk's, who was looking at her with a gentle reassurance. It calmed her, even though it outlined the fact that her inner turmoil had been splattered quite visibly on her face. Toriel and Asgore seemed not to notice, thankfully, facing the stream of people flooding into the terminal and greeting loved ones and friends - no doubt searching for the odd triad sure to stick out from everyone else.
'It's going to be okay,' Frisk signed with a determined smile plastered on their face.
Alphys felt some tension leave her shoulders. It took her a moment to return their smile, but she did, and then -
"YOUR MAJESTIES."
The familiar voice of Papyrus drowned out the sea of chatter around them all, attracting plenty of attention to the monsters that was, luckily, short lived.
Papyrus, being so tall with a visage that stood starkly against a sea of earthy flesh tones, stuck out like a sore thumb. He was striding over to them with a skip to his step, his much shorter brother Sans in tow and with a vastly different gait that eminated the laid back nature he possessed. Behind them, almost as tall as Papyrus, strut the lean yet muscular former leader of the Royal Guard, Undyne. All three of them looked absolutely brimming with joy to see the gathering awaiting their arrival.
Alphys stood up and clasped her hands to her chest, beaming and trying to fight back the bile that crept up the back of her throat when her stomach clenched hard on itself. It was, she thought, a rather confusing cocktail of emotions swirling through her.
"Papyrus! Sans! Undyne!" Toriel was the first to respond, throwing her arms wide and giving them a warm smile that could almost rival the ones she reserved for her adopted son. "It is so good to see you again."
They shared an embrace with Toriel, with Asgore (Undyne lingering longer for this hug than she had with Toriel), with Frisk - who was lifted into the air by their taller companions - and Flowey threatened them not to touch his pot at all. Begrudgingly he issued a hello, though, which was received with warmth as any friend of Frisk's was a friend of theirs.
Alphys did not expect to be lifted as Frisk had. Though she was about their height, she weighed a considerable amount more than they did and - and well she was an adult. Papyrus honored her expectations, leaning down and giving her a gentle but meaningful squeeze accompanied by a quick pat on the back. Undyne, however, hooked her arms right under the unsuspecting (and incredibly sweaty) Alphys' armpits and lifted her effortlessly into a hug.
"NGAAAAAAAH, ALPHYS," she exclaimed - much like she had done for Asgore and Frisk. Alphys was something akin to shell shocked, her breath caught in her throat and limbs and tail stiffening. It seemed like ages passed before Undyne let her back down onto her feet, which nearly failed on her to her dismay.
"U-Undyne," she squeaked, finally, pressing her glasses closer to her eyes. Her hands began to fiddle nervously with the hem of her shirt. "H-h-how w-was your tr-trip?"
Undyne shot her her biggest grin and put her hands on her hips triumphantly. "Alphy, you should have seen it," she boasted, chest sticking out. "Well, I mean, you saw the pics on UnderNet - but I mean really seen it!"
Alphys felt her cheeks grow warmer.
"Come on, now," Toriel piped up. "We can all talk more in the van! Let us go get your suitcases, hm? We have a surprise for you at home!"
Frisk looked at Toriel indignantly and signed swiftly, 'Don't tell them! That spoils the surprise!'
Toriel hid a chuckle behind her hand and Asgore chimed in, "No worries, Frisk! Tori wouldn't spoil the party - oops."
The reaction was instantaneous; Frisk threw their hands up in the air, Flowey let out a low rumble that Alphys supposed was laughter, Toriel face palmed, and Papyrus let out a dramatic gasp.
"A PARTY FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS?" He wiped away an imaginary tear. "I'M TOUCHED. I WILL PREPARE SPAGHETTI ONCE WE ARRIVE TO CELEBRATE YOUR CELEBRATION OF ME."
Undyne leaned in to the nervous group with a reassuring look, "Papyrus and I took a few cooking lessons together, I don't burn shi- I mean, stuff - to the ground anymore and Pap's getting pretty good."
Sans also leaned in close. "I thought it was im-pasta-ble, but she's right."
Toriel and Frisk giggled in spite of their frustration of a ruined surprised, and then the group departed.