"You guys got any sweetener? Or like, flavoring? Something?"

"Nah, just sugar. We all take coffee black here."

"That's probably why you're so short, Sans, I told you coffee is bad for you!"

"Get me out of here... You people are crazy... No flavoring..."

Alex looked revolted by the thought of drinking any coffee without sweeteners and added flavoring such as french vanilla, and Papyrus just over all seemed disappointed in the two for even drinking that much caffeine. Maybe the shortness was true, but come on, that can't be a real thing that happened. It was just to scare kids away from every even trying the stuff.

... Right?

The kids were given hot chocolate before they all fell asleep on the couch in one big pile, having been exhausted from a day of playing outside, and the tormenting Papyrus after getting to the house. Toriel wouldn't be around to get them for a while, she had said over the phone that she would be by sometime later to get her kids and bring Alex home.

Now, Alex was currently looking through every food cabinet in the house in search of something to make the thought of coffee even remotely pleasing, having refused to drink any hot chocolate since it wouldn't contain caffeine necessary to keep her awake. Sans and Papyrus sat at the table just watching her on her own quest, though no matter how much they convinced her she was determined to find something.

"You people are terrifying," she said in horror, finally giving up her search and sitting down at the table, resting her chin on it in defeat. "Coffee without sweetener... You're crazy..."

Sans chuckled lightly, raising an eyebrow as he watched her become so defeated. "Coffee isn't good for you anyways!" Papyrus said in a matter of fact tone. "Drink milk! It'll help you build strong bones!"

"I don't want strong bones I want to almost cause my heart to explode from caffeine overdose."

Papyrus looked terrified at her, while Sans covered his mouth to muffle his laughter as his shoulders shook up and down.

"You shouldn't want that!" Papyrus shouted.

"Shhh!" Alex scolded quickly, putting her index finger over her mouth. "You're gonna wake the kids up."

"Oh, oops... Sorry."

She laughed a little and shook her head, sitting up now. Leaning with her back against the back of the chair, she crossed her arms over her chest, hiding her hands under her arms and getting them lost in the oversized sweater that she still wore.

"Um, Alex?"

The female turned to Papyrus when he said her name, raising her eyebrows in attention and wondering why he had called to her.

"Why are you wearing one of my brothers sweaters?"

"Pap she's been wearing it since she got here like two hours ago."

"I know! But the kids were too distracting!"

Alex laughed a little, and shrugged. "He let me borrow it, since the only thing I have under this is a tank top, and I get cold really easily... I think I'll keep it."

Sans shrugged and laughed lightly, while Papyrus was the one to freak out more than him, looking very panicked by this for some reason and was spewing nonsense about how it would be stealing if she didn't ask, and that Sans would more than likely be heartbroken from losing one of his favorite sweaters. He only relaxed when the noise of the door opening caught their attentions, and in a few moments Gaster appeared in the doorway.

"Oh, I was just about to ask why there were sleeping children on my couch, but I see we have more company," he said.

Alex quickly stood up, looking a bit nervous. "Oh, hello, I'm sorry I met up with Sans at the park and they were really cold and soaked from the snow so they offered for me to take them here and-" Gaster cut her off with a wave of his hand, a small smile and shook his head. "It's all right, I don't mind. We normally have company over anyways. My name's Gaster, I'm their father. it's nice to meet you."

He held out his hand, and she only looked at it for a moment before shaking hands with him. "I'm Alex, sir," she smiled a little and relaxed, finally sitting back down after shaking hands.

"Glad to see you made some new friends today," he said as he walked over and poured a cup of coffee. "Four new friends! Wowie!" Papyrus exclaimed in excitement, though was shushed once more by Alex due to his volume. "Do you and the kids need a ride home, Alex?" Gaster asked. She shook her head. "No, their mother, Toriel, is going to get us sometime soon. She'll bring me home as well."

Gaster nodded in understanding. "Well, I'll be in my room if any of you need me," he said as he left the kitchen, taking the cup of coffee with him.

"He seems nice," Alex said after a few moments of him leaving, and smiled a little more.

"Of course, father is very nice indeed!" Papyrus said happily, though was careful to make sure he didn't raise his voice too high this time. Sans also gave a nod, as he said, "Yeah, dadster's pretty great."

Alex propped an elbow on the table, one hand holding up her head. Softly, she muttered something, and before either of the brothers could question what it was she said, her attention and theirs was caught by something else.

"Oh, hey Frisk," she said, as the child entered the room and yawned. "Sleep well?"

The child nodded happily, smiling sleepily as they walked over to Alex, who picked them up and had them sit on her lap, wrapping her arms around their stomach and they laughed lightly. "Hope either of you know sign language," she said with a large smile on her face, "because I have absolutely no clue how to."

"Only a little," Sans said, and his brother nodded in agreement. He couldn't quite remember where he had figured out sign language, but he did know that Frisk used it in the Underground too, however now that he was human it was harder to understand. Maybe he should go and study it more.

"Chara normally translates for them, sometimes Asriel," she explained, although Sans knew this quite well from the previous times he had met up with the children.

"Tiny child," Papyrus said, looking over at Frisk, who smiled widely in return, "why is it you can't speak?"

Frisk looked over at Alex. "I already know this one. Frisk is mute, Toriel said that they never picked up in speaking. No one knows why, though. Frisky won't tell us." In response, Frisk shook their head, still smiling. It was something that normally had to be explained. "While they were learning sign language, Chara did as well, although they don't sign, they only translate for Frisk, and this is how they carry out conversations."

Alex suddenly looked up, before grabbing something out of her pocket. She opened her phone, and smiled a little before returning it back. "Go wake up your siblings, Frisky, your mom is on her way," she said, ruffling their hair before placing them doing. With a nod, Frisk ran happily out of the kitchen to fulfill their deed with determination.

"Those kids seem to really like ya," Sans said. "I wish I had tiny humans that adored me," Papyrus said in longing with a heavy sigh, making Sans chuckle lightly. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, seems as if Frisk is warming up to you real fast," Alex said encouragingly, which gave Papyrus a small smile and caused his face to blush lightly.

"Hey, do you two have numbers, so we can text or call?" She suddenly said, looking back and forth between the brothers.

"Why, of course!" Papyrus said, taking out his own phone and holding it up. Sans gave a shrug as he said, "Yeah, but I don't really use my phone. Pap can give you my number."

Sans watched as the two gave each other their numbers, as well as Papyrus doing just as he said and giving her Sans' number for him. He noticed that Papyrus looked really happy, and it caused him to feel a lightness in his chest. It always made his brother happy whenever he gained a new friend, and he should be friends with everyone in the world. Whatever was going through her mind, Sans knew that Alex would be able to feel better by talking to Papyrus and having him close by. He knew he always did.

It didn't take long for Toriel to show up, by this time all the children were awake and geared up, and hurried out to the car as Alex was getting her own on. Before putting on her coat though, she realized she still had on Sans' sweater. "Oh! I'm sorry, here," she said, taking it off and holding it out to him with a smile. "Thanks for letting me borrow it."

"No problem, kid," Sans said as he took back his sweater, smiling as well, but it would go unnoticed as it was hidden behind his mask.

After giving a goodbye, she left and the house was quiet.

"So, that's who you were telling me about!" Papyrus said happily, turning to Sans with a very wide grin on his face.

Sans nodded. "Yeah, glad you guys finally met."

"I've heard a lot about her at school!"

"Oh?" This was the first time Papyrus had brought this up, so it caught Sans a bit off guard.

He nodded enthusiastically. "A lot of her artwork is shown at school! I just didn't know you meant her!"

Well, that was something he didn't know about. He hadn't known she was an artist. Occasionally in the Underground she would show some interest in art, but he never saw anything that she drew, or if she even cold. Maybe it was just a thing she was able to do here?

"I'm gonna go to bed, Pap. I'm kinda tired."

"Oh, good idea! I'll call you after I make dinner if you wish to eat!"

"Thanks, bro."

Sans walked up the stairs, not feeling whole but not feeling empty either. It was a neutral feeling, and it felt a bit relieving to him. At least he wasn't swamped with overfeeling, however as he passed by Gaster's room, he was stopped by his name being said.

Looking over, the door was a little open, so he walked in and opened it fully. Gaster was seated at his desk, his head in his hands and a bunch of papers thrown this way and that on the desk, some in English and some... not so much. It was a strange form of writing Gaster came up with so no one would be able to read his notes, and possibly steal them. It was called Hands, though only a few possessed hands as symbols, others were some like religious symbols, or ones that looked like cartoon drawings. Strange, but smart at least.

With a loud sigh, Gaster turned and looked over at Sans, and by the look of his expression now knew just how serious this was, whatever it was that he had called him in here for. "Sans, how long have you known those kids? And Alex?" He asked.

Sans shifted, trying to remember how long it had been since he met Toriel and her children. "The kids I've known since I first woke up. I just met Alex about a week ago," he answered honestly. There was no point in lying to him, and if it was troubling Gaster then that meant it was something big and serious.

"Did you ever notice anything... strange about any of them?"

"Like... Like what?" he let out a nervous laughter.

Gaster said nothing for a moment, before turning away from him, and now stared at the notes that were scattered about on the desk. "I'm not quite sure how to put it... Something just seems off about them to me."

"Well, we're in a new place, everyone's bound to act a little different."

"Not in their personalities, Sans. Something much more important than that... Do you remember the use of souls, and how monsters and humans souls were different?"

Sans nodded. "Yeah, I think so. Monster souls were weaker than humans. Humans couldn't use magic." He remembered the basics, and then some. Learning about souls from humans and monsters was rather complicated, so it really didn't seem to bother Gaster too much that Sans didn't. Perhaps everything will come back eventually, but right now he couldn't wait for that.

"Let's go," Gaster said, suddenly standing up and walking to the door.

Sans stepped out of his way, giving a confused look. "Wait, where are you going?"

"Not just me, you as well. We need to go to my lab right now."