Aw, yeah, almost six in the morning. Let the sinning continue. To be fair, I was asleep but then I woke up and didn't feel like falling back asleep so here's a new chapter of Sanster trash. May you enjoy it. Also, may I just complain about how unfair it is that FFN does not have a Gaster tag? Blasphemy, truly.

Patr(e)on : mjanderson

Tumblr : ibelieveinahappilyeverafter

Chapter Two

::

"Alright. Just go in there, pretend absolutely nothing is wrong, and it'll all work out. Probably. Maybe. Possibly- Nope, I'm out." Before Sans could dramatically flee into the night that was technically morning, he was being stopped by a hand on his back that was pushing him towards the door of the science labs in Hotland.

"Ah, Sans! It seems you've beaten me here, this morning." Fuck. Alright, alright, just- Don't panic. Just don't panic, Sans. Okay. The hand of your idol, crush, and hero was on your back. You can so totally deal with that. Just don't say anything stupid and conduct yourself in a responsible and mature manner befitting one of your new station.

"Oh, well, you know, my alarm clock went off a bit earlier than expected. It was kind of alarming." Plan failed, mission abort, run for life and beg for Mercy.

"Hm, I suppose time does rather fly when not paying attention. Especially since my own clock was thrown out the window this morning." Before Sans could respond, the two were in the lab and Gaster was greeting Alphys, who had just walked in as well, and, fuck. Fuck. He was screwed. He was doomed. Knock him down and sign his death warrant because W. D. freakin' Gaster punned. Punned. Ooh, he was so doomed there weren't even words to describe how doomed he was. "Ah, yes, I had almost forgotten!"

Sans nervously watched as Gaster went to rummage around another room for a few moments, horrible thoughts of being embarrassed and fired running through his head. It might have been bad enough that he didn't even notice Alphys poking him until it was less poke, more punch. "What?!" And, wow, okay, that was loud. Loud enough that Gaster was poking his head out of the room and looking curiously at the two of them. "I mean, aha, whaaat did you forget? Sir?"

"Oh, please, no need for that. You two can just call me Gaster, if you wish." Alphys was trying not to laugh at Sans' flustered state, the younger skeleton only giving a smile and trying to destroy his annoying, evil coworker. "Ah, as I was saying, I forgot yesterday to give you two your coats and ID badges." A few more moments of rustling around was heard before Gaster was coming back with lab coats and badges for them both, Alphys happily accepting hers and putting it on. "I'm afraid these are the smallest sizes we have."

"It's fine," Sans waved off, moving his bag aside and pulling his own coat on him and oh god he looked like a little kid playing dress-up. While the coat was a bit big on Alphys, it seemed to dwarf Sans, all the way down to the floor. Just enough to where he knew that he would trip on it. "Thank you."

"Yes, hm, welcome. Yes. You're welcome." There was a slight stumble in Gaster's words, but Sans didn't bother putting much attention in it at the moment. The monster was probably just trying not to laugh at his current predicament. "Anyways, it seems I've forgotten that there's some leftover paperwork I didn't get a chance to finish the other day, so I won't get a chance to show you around as I wanted. For today, at least, it'd be best if you kept to yourselves for a bit. Maybe go over anything you didn't understand yesterday with the papers."

Mercy thy name is W. D. Gaster. Really, it was a good thing Gaster was still talking and not quite looking at them, because Sans gave a small stumble where he almost fell over and started crying. Truly, he thanked whatever twisted gods ruled the Underground. "That'll be all for now, at least. Feel free to explore when you're finished, of course."

Alphys and Sans nodded their agreement before heading back off to their work benches, Sans remembering all at once that the twisted gods of the Underground hated his very Soul. Which was why he immediately tripped over his lab coat and end up in a heap on the floor, glasses falling off his face from the jolt and hitting the floor before shattering. There was a long silence between the three of them, Sans' letting his head in the ground in defeat.

So that was how the day was going to go, then.

::

Reading without glasses, Sans found, was tricky and difficult. By which he meant he had a horrible headache an hour into the day and was curled up on his desk in a pathetic show of pity invoking defeat. (How was it he even needed glasses? He was a skeleton!) Sighing, and figuring he really couldn't waste his second chance, he pulled a folder towards him. He had to pause and blink at seeing a familiar pair of glasses on his that… That were completely fixed. Putting them on showed they were indeed the same, settled on his face perfectly and nicely.

"Thank you, twisted gods of death and hate." There was a snort of laughter from behind him, but when he looked he only saw Alphys at her own desk and ignoring the world at large. Shrugging it off, he went back to work before he paused at the piece of paper on his desk, blinking at seeing it was familiar handwriting, but a very unfamiliar language.

Tucking it away to go over later, he got back to work, relieved beyond words to see the rest of the work was mostly just observations and things he had already read about the day before. It was a blessing in disguise that he was more than happy enough to accept.

This time, when lunch came around, Sans was happy enough to take a break, having made a great deal of progress with the work remaining. Thank whatever had made Gaster forget about his paperwork because otherwise he would have been doomed. "Have you two been understanding the work alright?"

"Oh, yes, and it's quite fascinating!" Alphys was looking eager to discuss what she had learned from Gaster's work, Sans content to quietly eat while listening to them, still turning the note over in his mind. It wasn't Alphys who had left it, so it had to have been Gaster, but why would he? And what language even was it. It looked like a form of-

"Sans?" Hearing his name, Sans tilted his head, resisting the urge to have any reaction besides a polite smile at seeing Gaster was looking at him with his full attention. Dammit, body, now was not the time to have a reaction that didn't even make biological sense. (Seriously. Magic could only go so far, and giving him the ability to blush in blue was crossing the line.) "Have you understood everything?"

"Ah, yes- Well, sort of." Oh god no he did not mean to say that. At the curious look, Sans figured he had been through a good Run, anyways. "Well… It's just that in some of your research, you had a theory that the physics of the Underground had separate properties than those of up top, on the surface. One of the theories was that the condescend magic in such a confined space messed with the very fabric of time and space, but, ah, I don't quite think that's all of it…

"When you think about it, it would take much more energy to affect the laws of physics themselves than just all of us in one space. Even with the monsters here that are made of magic, not a lot of them use their magic, so it balances things out rather evenly. I was wondering if it didn't have something to do with our location itself, besides just the fact we're all together."

"Oh?" Gaster looked honestly curious about what he was saying, Sans ready to flee before Alphys was keeping him seated with a casual movement to where she was sitting on his coat. She would die first when he became a mad scientist, he vowed. "And how do you believe location would affect it?"

"Well, ah, hm. See, we're underground- Obviously, heh, but, ah- Deep underground. Far enough away from the surface itself that our weather systems and environments are vastly different as compared to what's seen up there. On the same day it could be snowing in Snowdin, we'll have rain in Waterfall. It's to the point where standing on the border between the two, the rain and snow are easy and distinct to tell apart. And then we have Hotland, which is made of magma and lava. If the weather is so different and strange, couldn't it be possible that our position makes it easier for physics to, hm… Act a bit differently?

"So close to the core of the earth, the electromagnetic pulls and effects are much more pronounced on us than they might be on the surface, which is much further away. In conjunction with the condensed magical currents is it, ah, possible, that, um, that might be why you've observed all those strange effects? Maybe?" Alright. Strong finish. Way to go, you poor excuse of a scientist.

"I must admit, I've never quite thought of that." Don't blush, Sans, don't blush. "Perhaps with the two combined, it would indeed cause the strange effects!" Gaster was already up and ranting to himself, the two assistants only understanding every other word before the man was out of the lab, pausing just barely to give Sans a dazzling smile.

There was a long silence before Alphys was nudging Sans with a smirk, Sans huffing and pushing her away so he could escape. "Oh, shut up." And dammit, no, he was not blushing. Not at all- He was a fucking blueberry, who was he kidding. Alphys' snorts were a clear enough indication of that.

It wasn't too long before Sans was caught up on everything he needed to read and was boredly organizing everything into piles by subject, date, and final result. He may have gotten a bit carried away, since by the time they were being dismissed, he had done it to all of his piles and most of Alphys' before he was being shooed away.

A quick glance to make sure neither were looking once out of the building, and he was suddenly in front of his front door in Snowdin. OPening it tiredly, he flopped onto the couch, bag dropping to the floor along with his coat and ID badge. "Ah, brother! Did you have a good second day?"

"Well, I'm not fired, so that's a plus side." Sans yawned as Papyrus picked him up and carried him to the table, settling him down in a chair. Smiling a bit, Sans was stretching out and yawning again as he flopped down to lay across the table. "How was your day?"

"Spectacular! I made a new friend while exploring Waterfall! Her name is Undyne, and she seems very motivated!" Undyne… Where had he heard that name- Ah, well, probably nothing. Remembering the note he had found with his glasses, Sans pulled it out, studying it curiously.

"Hey, Pap, come here a second." Waiting until the younger was beside him, Sans was showing the slip of paper to him. "That language look familiar to you?"

"Hm… I cannot say it does. Undyne, perhaps, might know! I shall ask her tomorrow!" Waving it off, Sans tucked the paper back in his pocket.

"Nah, it's fine. I'll puzzle it out myself." A groan, Sans snickering as his favorite jacket was tossed over him, the skeleton happily snuggling into it while his brother went to work cooking their dinner.

"That one wasn't even that good."

"You're smiling, though."

"I am and I hate it!"

Sans only hummed and curiously looked to the note again, wondering what language it had been written in and why it was left on his desk with his repaired glasses. Just what was Gaster up to… Well, he'd figure it out eventually.

Hopefully.

In case it wasn't clear, Gaster totally came up with the excuse of paperwork just so Sans could finish reading without feeling bad or having attention drawn to it.