Edited

Chapter 30

Hindsight is Always 20/20

Corbel stared directly at his father, ready to get the actual conversation started. He definitely had more information on him than he had when he first walked into the door and he knew that with the information, he'd be able to present himself a lot better.

But even so, he couldn't quite figure out where to start. After all, they had a lot to discuss and none of it was going to come easily.

"Dad . . ." Corbel tried again slowly, choosing to start with one of the main themes of his father's story, "About returning to work at the lab . . . I've been thinking a lot about it . . . for a long time. And I've decided . . . not to."

There was a beat of silence where Gaster listened to Corbel's quiet words. He still sounded so nervous. But at least he was looking at him now as he spoke. Already, that was progress.

He let out a long breath in order to steady his initial shock of the declaration. He was prepared to speak with his son regarding his relationship with Serif and warn him about distractions in the workplace if he were to return and resume his lab partner responsibilities . . . But for Corbel not to resume lab work at all . . .

"What led you to that decision?" He asked evenly.

Corbel hesitated, trying to gauge his father's reaction and his expression, or rather, lack thereof. He was nearly impossible to read and he supposed that he was trying to remain neutral so Corbel could speak freely, but some reaction would have been nice.

Did the news upset him? Was he expecting this? Did he understand? Was this the ultimate betrayal? Corbel had no idea.

The most he could do was continue with the same trepidation.

"I . . . I've been considering leaving for a while now . . . since before the incident. Since halfway through my Bachelor's. I was close to switching majors too."

A slight change in expression. Gaster's eyes narrowed as he calculated that time and the things that happened in that span.

"So long." He said quietly, "Did you dislike working with me that much?"

"It wasn't you." Corbel defended. "Do you think I hate you?"

Gaster remained quiet for a moment, but did not answer.

"Dad. I don't hate you!" Corbel pressed, "There's no way I could ever hate you! You're my dad! I mean, sure, we might not be on the best terms right now . . . And yeah. You've said and done some stuff that really pissed me off, but I still love you! This decision doesn't have anything to do with any negativity between us!"

"Then . . . Why? I thought you enjoyed working at the lab. You always seemed excited to come in."

"Y-yeah. Well, I can't say I didn't enjoy my time here. It was definitely a good experience and I got good experience out of it! But if I'm being completely honest, with myself and with you . . ."

". . . It isn't your passion."

Corbel shook his head, closing his eyes for a second as he held his breath, waiting for the reaction.

On the other side of the room, Gaster turned his eyes away as well.

"If that's the case," He began with a low, almost somber tone Corbel was not expecting, "Why did you stay so long? Why stay in a field where you're so dissatisfied?"

Corbel's eyes opened wide as he snapped his attention back across the room. "Y-You're not upset . . . ?"

"Why would I be upset over something like this?" Gaster questioned, turning his attention back as well to study Corbel with a ponderous expression, "Is that what you've been so afraid of? You thought I would react poorly because of that!?"

"I-I thought that . . . Well, the last time we spoke and we disagreed . . . A-and well . . . You were so set on me following in your footsteps and . . . Then there's the Gaster Legacy . . . Our entire family serving the Royal Family . . . If I didn't follow through . . . If I left and there was no successor . . ."

Gaster hesitated for a moment, dumbstruck as he stared at his son. He lowered his head once again, his shoulders shaking slightly. Corbel looked along, the action catching him off guard. Was he actually . . . laughing?

"Oh God, I'm such an idiot . . ." Gaster said softly.

Corbel frowned in his confusion. "Dad . . . ?"

"Of course that's what you thought. Just like I did, you saw your future as a book that was already written. Something you had to follow letter by letter until the end, instead of what it really was: blank sheets ready to be filled in! You hold the pen that writes your story, Corbel. Not the Gaster Family. Not some legacy! And definitely not me! And . . . I'm truly and deeply sorry I made you think for a second that you didn't have that choice."

Corbel's mouth fell open, and as he listened, his eyes widened once again.

"One second . . . ? Try my whole life!"

"Corbel. After everything I just told you, about my father and my own rebellion, my deviation from his plans for my life, did you honestly think that I, of all people, wouldn't understand? After all, the last thing I want is for you to end up like me."

Corbel stammered over sounds, trying to find something to say. Finally, those sounds became letters which became words. During this time, Gaster crossed the room to join his son on the couch, sitting next to him and setting his recently repaired favorite mug on the table.

"I-I well . . . T-to be fair." Corbel continued, "I-I didn't know all that a-about you and Grandpa Harrington or Great Grandfather Kozuka when I came into this. I had no idea you had gone through the same feelings I was going through. I thought I was coming in to deliver the most devastating news I could to you and that it would further push us apart. I was so scared that . . ."

Gaster reached out and draped an arm over Corbel's shoulders.

"I'm so sorry, Son." He said softly, "I never meant to make you feel so trapped in this life. Of anyone you could possibly talk to about this, I'm probably the one who would have understood the most, and yet, you were too afraid to come to me. I'm so sorry that this is what it's come to."

Corbel quieted, his eyes trained on his hands, which were still loosely clasped in front of him. He seemed to relax a bit.

"I offered you the position as an intern here because I thought that's what you wanted! You always loved science and I thought that by working here, I could help you nurture that love. You could find a field that best suited you and you could prosper in that field."

"I did love science, Dad . . ." Corbel sighed in response, " . . . when I was five. During that time, I also loved playing space rangers and eating dinosaur oatmeal. Back then, you were my hero. You were everyone's hero, but for me, it was special because you were my DAD. I used to look for shirts with collars on them so I could dress like you at school. And I did all the puzzles and mind games I could because I wanted to be smart enough to do projects like you did . . . But all of that, they were hobbies and kid games. I did love science. I still do. But it wasn't ever the actual science I loved as much as it was the person doing it."

Gaster froze, listening to his son speak. The story was both heartwarming and absolutely crushing. On one hand, hearing all of this from his boy set his Soul alight and ignited a pyre of pride. But on that other hand, his initial fear was finally realized and vocalized. He didn't know his son at all. They'd been growing apart for so long that it nearly led to the absolute dissolution of their relationship.

"All this time." Gaster muttered, "Six years. No, longer than that. Since you were little. I had no idea. If that was the case, why did you come to work in the lab at all? When I originally offered you the position-"

"It was to set you straight. I was your monitor. Assisting you was something to do between times."

"And when school started again?"

"I was getting college credits for staying at the lab. It looked good on transcripts. It got me into school near the Capital, it paid for my dorm and supplies. It accelerated my progress in the program and now I'm 21 with a Master's Degree in Physics with a focus on Theoretical Physics! Overall, it was a pretty sweet setup."

"Not to mention the added incentive of your budding relationship with Serif."

"Well . . . yeah. But I wasn't gonna bring that up right now. It's still a sore subject."

"But it was a factor in why you decided to stay as long as you have."

Gaster's grip on Corbel's shoulder got only slightly tighter.

"Corbel. We're being completely open with each other. And while we are, I'd like it if we could talk about this too."

Corbel sighed, preparing himself, once again, for the sour notes in this conversation. "Okay. We need to clear the air. As long as we're talking . . ."

Gaster nodded, taking a breath as well, "I do understand, you know." He explained, "I know what it's like to fall for someone your parents . . . your father doesn't approve of. I understand how you feel and I know how strong that feeling is."

"Then . . . Why?" Corbel asked, his voice retreating for a moment, the close proximity demanding the quiet. "Why are you so hard on us? Why are you so against us being together?"

"Understand where I'm coming from Corbel. You are my son. My only. You've fought so hard to be where you are. Just to live this long, you've already had to suffer so much. And, on top of being my son, you're also the last Skeleton . . . or so we thought. Sans' existence is still a mystery. We have no idea where he came from or if there are any other Skeletons living out there, hiding, all thinking they're the last."

Corbel hummed slowly.

"But Skeleton or not, what I saw from him when it came to you was a pattern of peaks and pitfalls. The peaks were so high. You were genuinely excited in ways that I hadn't seen since you were a little boy. You were finally smiling again and enjoying yourself only to drop so low in the matter of a few hours. With freefalls that left you to crash in your lowest and darkest self. You refused to socialize or even eat. You'd lost your sense of 'Self' in him and it was worrisome to watch. It was then that I thought that it might be dangerous to have someone like that, who had so much sway over you, so close to you on a daily basis. I was actually glad when you asked to be taken off of his projects. A little separation would do you good, I thought, and you could regain your 'Self'. But then, came the incident. Once again, you let yourself be swayed by his poor judgement and it nearly took you away from me for good. I nearly shattered when I saw what happened to you. Your life was hanging on by a thread because of something so avoidable! Because he wanted to play hero to a human girl. How was I supposed to feel when, after you've only just barely recovered from that, you come home announcing that the same one who nearly led you to your death is your boyfriend?"

Corbel could feel it in his grip and hear it in his voice as he spoke just how much his father was holding back.

"Of course I was upset. It was as if none of that mattered to him! How we felt, what we went through. He wasn't in the room with you every day, watching you slowly fall to pieces. He wasn't there reconstructing your bones, making grafts and hoping to high heaven that they would actually work! He wasn't there when you woke up in so much pain that we couldn't bear to keep you conscious! He wasn't there when we had to wake you anyway to attach the grafts and clear away brittle or broken bones to make way for those grafts! When we had to physically take your body and break it ourselves . . ."

Gaster lifted a shaking hand and covered his mouth. He took several steadying breaths as he recalled what it was like and pushed it away once again. When he spoke again, his voice was nearly a whisper.

"Do you have any idea what that's like? To be so close to losing someone and to know that with one wrong move, they'll be gone forever . . . ? It's absolutely terrifying. And if I kept you awake for too long or if I broke a bone in the wrong place . . . I . . . I would've had your death on my hands and I don't think I would've been able to handle that."

Corbel kept his jaw tightened while he listened, his father's words and his composure becoming more and more broken. In response, Corbel shifted slightly to sit closer.

"I have no idea what that's like." He said softly in response, "I don't remember any of what the reconstruction was like and I hope I never have to experience anything like that. I do know that when I was in that cave, I was afraid that everyone was going to die and there wasn't anything I could do about it. Alia was frightened and hurt and lost. And Sans' leg was out of commission. And I was having a coughing fit. We were trapped in there no matter what. Even if I could somehow get the others out of the cave, there was no way to know if they'd make it out of the Ruins. No way to know how much of that was coming down."

Gaster held Corbel closer.

"I didn't know, but I had to do something. Even just a boost forward to get them toward the exit. But I knew, there was no way to do that and get myself out too. And when it came down to it, I did have their lives in my hand. Either I take the risk and give them a chance, or we all die. I chose to at least save them. It was the most sure I'd ever been. But it was also the most scared I'd ever been. It's not the same at all, but it's the closest I can relate . . . But do you know who can relate to that fear?"

Gaster took a beat before answering. A deep groan preceding the answer.

"I don't see how he possibly could."

"He might not have been in the room, but he still knows how it feels. He did feel the panic and he did hear me screaming when you woke me up. Every moment, Sans was worried that I was dying and that he would be the one shouldering the blame of my death. He still has nightmares about it. We both do. He still blames himself too. And from what I heard, you were ready to let him take that blame. Even after what you just said. You're still blaming him even when you know he didn't do anything to cause it, he didn't plan it, he didn't have a hand in what happened and he doesn't deserve to be made the villain, especially when things did turn out all right."

"Yet again, you're justifying his actions."

"I'm not justifying anything. I'm simply stating the facts. I don't understand what's so difficult about accepting that this thing happened, accepting that it was an accident and moving on from here. Nothing has happened since. In fact, Sans has been helping me and talking to me. He's been counseling me and talking me down when my thoughts get the better of me and I become confused or overwhelmed. Comforting me when I have migraines. He listens when I need to work through my frustrations and he adds in opposing viewpoints to help me see the full picture. He was actually the one who talked me into coming to see you. He advocated on your behalf. He's been absolutely nothing but supportive. And if you gave him a chance, I know he can prove to you what I already know."

"And what would that be?"

"That this thing stands a chance. We're working hard to prove to you that we can do it. I . . . I love him, Dad. I trust him. And if you can't trust him, then, at least trust me. You say you understand how I feel. That you and Mom have been where we are. If that's true, then prove to me you understand and give us a chance. Mom gets it already. Now, it's your turn."

With a breath and a long pause, Gaster pulled Corbel against his side, using his hand to keep his son's skull against his shoulder.

"It won't be easy." He answered, "And I'm still not inclined to believe this setup is really the best for you. I still think you deserve so much more. But, we've gotten this far. And it really does seem as if he's being a positive influence. If, as you say, he's been acting as mediator between us and facilitator to your recovery outside of your therapy sessions . . . I suppose I can . . . see how this goes."

"You mean it?" Corbel pried, skepticism in his voice.

Gaster shrugged, "I can't say that I approve, but . . . I won't stop you from doing what your Soul dictates. You're my son. My boy. All I want is your happiness. If that happiness is with Serif . . . Then, I won't stand in your way anymore. Or at the very least, I'll do my best not to impose my own opinion on the choices you make."

Corbel hesitated for a few moments, still unsure of what to think. Did he actually hear that right? Did his father . . . actually give him the 'okay'? Or at very least, he wasn't fighting against it anymore. He was still in doubt of how true that really was and he didn't know how long this act of goodwill was good for.

But, at the very least, it was a start. He could work with that.

Eventually, he felt his face relax into a soft smile as he rested on his father's shoulder. That went about as well as it possibly could have gone. He'd been worried and fretting and dreading this meeting for weeks and it was all resolved so painlessly. Everything was out in the open now and it was all okay. He let the relief fall over him like a warm blanket and he even let his eyes close. This is how it was supposed to be.

"Thanks, Dad." He hummed.

It was a few moments of peace and serenity before either one of them could move or speak again, the moment, once again, demanding quiet.

Soon, that silence was disrupted with a soft humming sound as a thought came to Gaster's mind.

"So . . . Daydreamer, huh?" He questioned, a hint of a tease in his voice.

Corbel tensed, a little embarrassed. He must've overheard it on the phone when Sans caught up to him in the hallway. "Um . . . y-yeah. Sans says that I tend to space out when I'm really caught in my own thoughts. He noticed it a long time ago when we would work on projects together and he always said I looked like I was daydreaming. I guess . . . he found it cute. And I . . . well, it's kinda grown on me, you know?"

Gaster nodded, "I do know. Your mother used to always light up when I used her nickname. It's been so long, though, I doubt even she remembers."

"Oh, I'm sure she does. If it's anything like this feeling, she remembers. What was your nickname for her? I don't think I've ever heard you use it."

Gaster smiled, "It was a name from when we were much younger. Your mother would dart back and forth between tasks and never stay still for long. She was always busy. But through it all, she would flit around, dancing and singing and flying by as if she could defy gravity. She always had a song in her head. Because of that, I adopted the name Hummingbird for her."

"Hummingbird?" Corbel questioned, his soft smile spreading, "It's cute. You should definitely use it more. She'd like it, I know."

Gaster hummed with a short nod, "You're right. Look at you. Are you a relationship expert or something? You've helped me patch things with Nyala before."

Corbel actually chuckled at that. "If I were an expert, then we wouldn't have needed this talk today. But I am attentive when it comes to Mom. I'm sure she misses you. She mentioned that you've been spending long hours here again. Have you been neglecting the schedule?"

"No. In fact, I've been trying to adhere to it as much as I am able . . . but perhaps the time has come to reevaluate the situation. Now that I know you will no longer be returning to the lab, I'll need to hire another intern to take your place."

"I'm sorry it took so long for me to tell you . . . I really caused a backup, didn't I?"

"No. I'm sorry you felt like you couldn't tell me sooner. I'm glad you finally did, though. Now you don't have to worry about being pressured into anything you can't give your full devotion to. Out of curiosity. Have you decided what your next venture will be? Where does your true passion lie?"

Again, Corbel hesitated momentarily. He never thought he'd actually be having this conversation so casually with his dad as if nothing was wrong.

Nothing was wrong. This was the way it was supposed to be. The way it should have been from the beginning.

"Well," Corbel began, his smile returning, "At my core, I'm a music lover . . ."

Through the afternoon, Sans sat in the atrium, waiting and wishing good night to the others as they left for the day. When asked why he was hanging around, he told them about Corbel's meeting with his dad, but nothing specific. The others seemed okay with that and told him to keep them posted on what was going on. He nodded and told them he would tell them as much as Corbel felt comfortable sharing. Again, they were okay with that answer and left him to wait.

It'd been easily over an hour and the last assistant left well over half an hour ago . . . He was starting to get anxious. He removed the package from his pocket once again and flipped it over and over, trying to distract himself by guessing what could be inside.

There was even a moment when something in his heart seemed to seize for a second when he thought about what was going on in Gaster's office. It was a certain nervousness that caught him off guard as if it didn't belong to him. He took a few breaths to calm himself, reassuring himself that it was going to be alright.

But still, as the time crept on . . . getting closer to two hours now, Sans couldn't help the nerves as he hunched over in his seat atop the counter, his hands grasped together.

Without anything to really occupy his time, and, per policy and employee restrictions, he was unable to continue working now that he was of the clock, the time dragged on at a decelerating pace.

"This is taking forever . . ." He muttered at the two and a half hour mark, "But I guess that means they're getting some good talking in. If so, then that's good. They need it. They really need it."

It was yet another thirty minutes or so before the was any change. Sans had taken to resting his head on the counter and drumming his fingers. He was starting to get drowsy and a bit hungry if he was being honest. He hadn't had much to eat for breakfast or lunch and he was holding off for dinner. After seeing Corbel earlier, he'd hoped that they could get dinner together. At this rate, though . . .

The elevator shifted into motion and alerted Sans that someone was approaching. Upon hearing it, he lifted his head and turned his attention to the elevator.

Moments later, there was a chime, signaling the stop.

The metallic door parted and revealed not only one but both Skeleton men. Corbel had his hand to his face as he smiled through tears. Gaster stood near him with a hand on his shoulder in comfort. They exited and stood together near the door for another few minutes, speaking in quiet tones. Sans stood, but decided to keep his distance and give them space.

When their short talk slowed to a stop, Corbel embraced his father for a long moment. Gaster returned the hug, a small smile in place. It was heartwarming to see. It looked as if they'd made some major progress during their talk. Good.

They parted, Corbel wiping at his eyes again and Gaster kept his hand on his son's shoulder before jerking his head over to the atrium.

When Corbel turned to look and saw Sans standing there waiting for him, his smile only spread. He raised a hand to wave and Sans returned it, his own smile firmly in place at seeing the end result of the father/son exchange.

Corbel pulled away from Gaster then, with a wave in his direction and a quiet, "See ya next week." Gaster let him go with a nod. He then turned his attention to the other waiting near the entrance and gave him a solid nod as well.

At first, Sans was surprised by the gesture, unsure how to interpret it. Eventually, he nodded back to the doctor in acknowledgement raising two fingers to gesture back.

In the next moment, Corbel reached him and threw his arms around him in a firm warm hug which Sans returned, all other thought exiting his mind.

His smile transformed into something fond as he pulled away to look back at Corbel and the lingering tears in his eyes and his cheeks coupled with the unfaltering smile.

"Good talk?" He questioned.

Corbel grinned, taking Sans' hand in his as he led the way out to start the walk home.

"Very good talk." He answered.

From his spot by the elevator, Gaster watched as the two made their way out. His smile fell slightly, not in disapproval, but in thought. Or maybe it was a little bit of both.

He couldn't say he was completely okay with this development quite yet, but at the very least, he didn't feel as if he wanted to attack Sans at every encounter anymore. Even when he and Corbel walked out hand in hand, his initial reaction wasn't to jump down Sans' throat. After all, following the conversation he'd had with Corbel, it wouldn't look good if he suddenly attacked his son's boyfriend within seconds of seeing the two of them together. Besides . . . Corbel really did seem happy. Something he hadn't seen or paid attention to that first night.

And Serif seemed at peace as well. Gaster was sure to study the expressions on his face when he saw Corbel getting off of the elevator, and when they hugged, and when he held Corbel's hand.

Sans seemed happy too.

Maybe they really could make it work. Maybe Corbel could be a good influence on Serif. Maybe . . .

Maybe he needed a bit longer to get used to this.

When the door closed behind them, Gaster let out the long breath he'd been holding.

Corbel had given him a lot to think about going forward. All of it was going to take effort in order to work well. He needed to reevaluate his relationship with his son and work hard in order to get to know him again after years of distance between them.

He'd have to take this relationship with Serif with an entire mine's worth of salt as well. It seemed it would be essential if he wanted back into Corbel's circle.

But the most pressing thing, and the one he could do something about right away, he would have to re-establish the relationship with his wife . . . Again. Corbel had given him some tips and suggestions, using what he knew about her as well as drawing inspiration from the rosy fluff of his own new relationship to do so.

Gaster turned to head back down to his office, swiping his key card to activate the elevator.

It seemed as if he still had a lot of work to do.

"Well, don't just sit there and twiddle with it. Aren't you gonna open it?"

The two sat on the couch in the living room of Corbel's dorms after having finished their takeout dinner. Sans groaned that he'd be nothing but bones if he didn't get some food in him soon, a joke that gave Corbel a good laugh.

Corbel held the package from his father in both hands as he sat back against the cushioning of the couch. He'd already told Sans everything they'd talked about and how surprisingly chill the doctor was being throughout the conversation. The whole thing brought a smile to Sans' face. Finally, things were starting to come back together. He knew that as difficult as the first steps were to take, the easy part was over and it would be a lot of hard work from here on out. Of what he knew of Corbel and his family, though, he had no doubt that they would be able to do it. And of course, he'd be there to help in any way he could.

Sans gave Corbel the package after he finished his recount of the conversation with the doctor, saying, "Well, it's a good thing there was no desire to leave this behind in defiance or anything. Though, I can't tell you how difficult it was to keep from opening it myself. You'd better take this off my hands before I do."

Corbel chuckled and took the package, thanking Sans for keeping it safe while he and his father spoke. He also apologized for keeping Sans waiting for so long with nothing to do.

"Hey, don't worry about it." Sans shrugged with a grin, "I'm just glad you and the doc were able to patch things up. You guys really needed the talk and it seems to have worked out perfectly, so, all's well, right?"

"It is." Corbel hummed.

"And now you can start to reconnect . . . starting with whatever that thing is. You said you had an idea of what it could be. Care to explain?"

"Alright. Alright, Mr. Curiosity." Corbel smirked, beginning to open the package at the edges. The suspense must have really been eating at Sans after having spent the majority of the afternoon pondering over it. "Well, Dad said it had something to do with my therapy sessions, right?"

Sans nodded.

"And that it was supposed to have gone to me a while ago?"

Another nod.

"Well, in my last session, before everything blew up, I was having a lot of issues concentrating and keeping everything straight. It was the same night you told me about the migraines. I'm sure it was a migraine that I was experiencing during that session too. And I'm sure that Dad came to the same conclusion."

"Mm-hm?"

Corbel opened the packaging to reveal a small case with a faux leather shell. Protective, but pliable. Pressed into the corner of the case were his initials, C.H.G.

"Well, what I didn't tell you was that, in that same session, Dad ran some tests. He discovered the reason for all of my frequent headaches and why the tests were so difficult for me to complete. I was having trouble focusing. Not just on the tasks, but in general."

Corbel then opened the case to reveal a pair of clear rectangular lenses, held together by a thin bronze wire frame.

"One of my eyes was damaged in the collapse, and even though he'd been able to save my skull from falling apart, there wasn't anything Dad could do for my impaired vision."

Sans actually frowned at that. "This whole time, you were having trouble seeing? You were having all of those headaches because you were straining your eyes so much? You continued to go to school and study and write your thesis all while you couldn't see?"

Corbel gave a one shouldered shrug as he removed the glasses from the case, looking them over. "I could still see." He defended, "Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to do it. But it was at a reduced quality. My right eye is almost always blurry now and it does get frustrating pretty quickly, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle."

"Why didn't you tell me about it?"

Corbel noticed the bit of a sharp edge in Sans' voice and it drew his attention right away. He looked up at Sans who looked back with a furrowed brow.

"Sans . . . ?"

"This entire time, you've been suffering, unable to see, and you didn't say a thing to me, even though you knew what was going on. You played it off and let me think that everything was okay. You didn't tell me that there was a solution or that it was so easily obtainable!"

"But I-"

"You and the doc were fighting. I know. And of course that didn't help things. You were bitter and resentful for a long time, refusing to go back to therapy. Refusing to even talk with your dad. Refusing just about everyone except for Mama Gaster and me. But if I'd known . . . I could have at least gotten them for you so you could see better, so it would relieve your pain. You know how much I hate to see you suffer, right?"

Woah, this was not the way Corbel thought this was going to go. He was expecting the nerd comments and the mild teasing and even the comparison to how much he really did look like his father. But this . . . Had he hurt Sans by keeping this from him? Did he feel betrayed?

"Sans, are you mad at me? I didn't mean anything by any of it, you know. I just figured, it was my issue and I was in the situation of my own doing. It wasn't your problem to work through."

Sans raised a hand to his head, covering his face with his palm.

"Damn it, you Gasters!" He muttered, "So stubborn! Every one of you!" He sighed, opening an eye through his fingers to look back at Corbel and his withered expression. Damn, he'd brought down the whole mood.

"No, I'm not mad at you, Daydreamer" He answered through a quiet sigh, "I just wish that you'd come to me sooner. This could've been resolved so much faster, and you wouldn't have had to been in that pain for so long."

Corbel lowered his head, looking over the wire frames. He did have a point. "But we were working through things too. If we were like we are now, I might have asked you to, but we weren't quite there yet. Not to mention you and Dad. The circumstances were so much different then than they are now. I really think that this is the only time this would have worked."

"You do have a point there . . . Alright, you win." Sans conceded, deciding to drop the issue there. Instead, he held out his hand.

"Okay, then. Let's see 'em."

Corbel looked up from the glasses and to where Sans sat next to him. The frown was gone, dissipated in an instant, and a soft smile had taken its place.

With a short and only slightly hesitant nod, Corbel handed them over for Sans to look at. To him, they must have looked strange. Corbel had seen human eyewear before and really, they weren't that different from this pair, glass lenses held in place by frames and connected by a bridge where they would rest on the bridge of the nose. Where they really differed were the arms. Where human eyewear would stretch to rest behind the ears, the arms to these were about half the length. Without ears to rest on, the arms had to fit snugly and cradle the skull just behind the zygomatic arch so they wouldn't fall. The end of each arm was also padded for comfort.

"Huh . . . That's different." Was all Sans said about it as he turned them over in his hands. In the next moment, he waved Corbel closer, inviting him to lean forward so he could place the glasses on.

Corbel obliged, leaning in to let Sans help him.

"Close your eyes," Sans instructed.

Again, Corbel obliged.

Sans slid the glasses on with no effort at all. They fit perfectly and they easily found their place on Corbel's face. Since they were so close, Sans also took the opportunity to pass along a soft kiss, holding him in place while he had his eyes closed. Corbel smiled into it and kissed back.

When they parted, Corbel was slow to open his eyes, knowing that he'd have to adjust right away.

When he did, he only opened them part way, focusing little by little. He blinked several times, squinting and picking little things to focus on. The folds of his jeans, the zipper to Sans' jacket, the blue plaid of the collar of his unbuttoned shirt and the white crew neck he wore beneath. Sans' smile widened when he finally lifted his gaze all the way.

"There he is." Sans mused, tilting his head, "Good morning, sunshine!"

Corbel blinked a few more times to make sure he was seeing things correctly. Yeah, the fuzz was clearing, and becoming sharper.

"Good morning . . ."

"Those glasses look really good on you." Sans complimented with a wink and a smirk, "Like really good. In fact, I think you may have just uncovered a hidden weakness."

Before he could even try to stop himself, Sans went in for another kiss. Again, Corbel smiled into it, pressing back and enjoying this new discovery and his new ability to the fullest.

He could get used to power like this.