"Block R? What's this about Block R?"

"We replaced the capacitor bank, sir."

"Why wasn't I notified about this?!"

"We tried to call you, Doctor. Your phone went straight to voicemail. The same with Dr. Aria."

"… Who did you call, then?"

"Your son, sir."

"… I suppose that's… alright. Back to work, gentlemen. We need to figure out what happened…"

"Yes, sir."

…

January 19th, 213X

…

Dr. William Drager Gaster was finally back in his personal lab again, sitting in his personal office, in his own personal space. That was what he'd missed most about being away. It had been nothing but a straight week of dealing with politicians and self-righteous scientists from other countries, constantly rushed into dinner parties and brunch and other people's laboratories and onto crowded flights. It was nice to have elbow room again, to be in a space that no one else could just waltz into unannounced.

"Dr. Gaster?"

Well… almost no one. Gaster sighed, spinning his desk chair ninety degrees to see the familiar pixie cut blonde hair of his closest partner, Dr. Aria Carter. She adjusted her squared glasses on her small, pointed nose and clutched a clipboard close to her chest. Gaster hadn't gotten to see much of her during their time away. He was the famous Dr. Gaster, the creator of the CORE, and she was just the assistant according to the rest of the world. Little did they all know, she was the reason the CORE operated at all. Gaster was the designer and the inventor and the experimenter. Aria was the one who made sure everything he made kept running smoothly. And that was just their professional lives.

"Aria," Gaster murmured, leaning back in his chair. There was no need to be formal around her anymore. They'd known each other for more than thirty years, having met in school while Gaster was designing the CORE, and having become true partners as parts of the CORE were built over the course of twenty-seven years. Aria would manage what was functional while Gaster designed and oversaw construction of each new piece.

"I know you probably just want to pick up paperwork and go home, but… I wanted to bring something to your attention."

"I have plenty of time. I'll be here until six."

"But Doctor… you ought to go home… and at least take a couple days, if only for the jet lag."

"No. Too much is going wrong around here. I can't afford a vacation."

"Sir... I-"

"Why do you still call me that?" Gaster asked softly as he stood and faced her. The much shorter blonde stopped short and gazed up at his one emerald eye, the other long gone thanks to an accident in the CORE so long ago.

"W-what…?" Aria stammered. She hated that her stutter would come out in front of him. No one else could make it come out unless she was terribly nervous. She had worked hard to get rid of it.

"You still call me 'sir,' and 'Doctor.' You know you don't have to when we're alone."

"Sorry… force of habit…" Aria's gaze fell to the floor and she wondered why indeed she hadn't broken the habit yet. It'd been two whole months-

Gaster's hands on her shoulders made the blonde look up, just in time for Gaster to press a kiss to her lips. Her face flushed bright red, still unused to the sensation of warmth and the shivers that ran down her spine. God, he was a fantastic kisser, even when it was just a simple, warm peck like this.

Aria felt her knees quake when he pulled back and she was left staring up at him quite dreamily. The tiny, amused smile that curled his lips made her lock her knees to avoid them giving out. She was still in that terrible head-over-heels phase, while he had been cool and calm from the very moment she'd gotten up the courage to finally ask him out to dinner not as coworkers, but as a proper date. And then he'd taken her out on a lovely stroll at the foot of Mount Under, and she was hooked for good. As if his intelligence and decisiveness and handsome-though-scarred looks weren't enough, he'd proven to be a perfectly lovely gentleman and he'd treated her like a lady in a way that no one had since her late husband.

As Gaster watched her try to process everything, she heard a deep, short chuckle. "You're terribly adorable, Aria." That made her flush even darker. Oh, god, why adorable? Why couldn't she be something more… mature? She was almost fifty, for crying out loud! Her 'adorable' and giggly schoolgirl days should've been done in her twenties!

"Uh… um… thanks…" she murmured, unable to look at him again until he leaned down once more to embrace her for a long moment. He normally wasn't affectionate at all when they were at the lab, so Aria was caught even more off-guard. "William…?" she asked softly, keeping her clipboard clutched close while her free arm slowly wrapped around his middle. Gaster took a deep breath and finally pulled back, smoothing his short black hair back and scratching his unkempt beard. He hadn't had the means to trim it or shave the stubble on his face for about two days. Aria… kind of liked the look of it.

"I apologize… I… missed that…" Gaster admitted quietly. He rarely, if ever, admitted such emotional things. But being around other professionals for more than a week and unable to show Aria any affection when he was near her, had left him feeling a bit lonely even if he liked to pretend he was fine alone.

"Me… me too," Aria offered in return, wanting to reassure him that it was normal and absolutely alright by her.

"I'm sorry we didn't get to spend any time together… I thought it would be too forward to share a room with you at the hotels."

"You probably would've gotten sick of me anyway," Aria dismissed the notion with a quiet, nervous laugh.

"I doubt that," Gaster murmured and she paused. "We've known each other for decades, Aria. And yet you still intrigue me."

That made Aria stare up at him in astonishment. She felt… incredibly giddy all of a sudden. She'd forgotten what it felt like to get excited about her significant other actually being interested in her and what she did. She'd been a widow for nearly ten years, her dear, sweet husband Stavros having died of cancer despite their daughter Alphys' best efforts to save him.

"Aria?" Gaster asked softly, and Aria realized she'd been staring in silence for about ten whole seconds.

"S-s… sorry," Aria stepped a little closer to lay her head on his chest, using it as an excuse to hide her blushing face. "It's just… all new again. You know?"

"I know… I haven't dated anyone at all in the past fifteen years. I'm just working off memory at this point."

"You never dated anyone else?" Aria asked softly, wrapping both arms around him now and looking up in curiosity.

"I never even considered it at all, even if Asgore suggested it a few times… I think he gave up about seven years back." Gaster met her gaze. "What about you?"

"I've… had a couple boyfriends… but I made the mistake of looking for another Stavros… that, or the men who were interested were just… boring. They couldn't challenge my mind like… well, like you."

Gaster chuckled again and Aria was amazed that he was being so expressive. Perhaps he was just tired and his usual unemotional ways were failing. But he was never as lively as he'd once been over fifteen years ago. He never would be again, Aria knew. But she still liked the Gaster that was left. He was too serious, a workaholic, and a silent sweetheart that cared about her day-to-day life in his own quiet way.

"Why don't we finish up here… and we'll go out to dinner," Gaster suggested softly. "I suppose I could take tonight off at the very least." Aria couldn't help a wide smile. Perhaps she could charm him into taking a break. It was a difficult task, making William Gaster relax, but Aria was determined if only for the sake of his health. The CORE could wait.

…

Oh god. Oh god. Aria could barely breathe as she found herself standing in the bathroom in just a tank top and underwear. She stared at herself in the mirror over the sink and swallowed hard against the nervous lump in her throat. William is waiting, she told herself, trying to get up the courage to open the door and step back into her bedroom where Gaster was surely still sitting on the edge of her bed shirtless. He had been so lovely and gentle all that evening, that she'd let go of her inhibitions about getting closer to him. And after two glasses of wine each, they were both lightly buzzed. Their judgement wasn't skewed at all, but the warmth of the alcohol and the lovely dinner where everything had gone perfectly right… Aria had asked him to come inside when he'd brought her home.

She could still smell the scent of coffee drifting through the house. It had been her excuse, inviting him in for a cup or two to combat the alcohol and make sure he stayed awake on his drive home. She'd never actually drank any coffee herself, but she could still taste it from the moment he'd set aside his cup and took her in his arms for a passionate kiss. And now here she was… nearly bare… about to go to bed… with a man… for the first time in over ten years.

She slowly removed her glasses, setting them beside the sink, and she felt her heart racing like she'd just been terrified out of her wits and ran a mile in a minute. Her hands were trembling slightly, and it wasn't until she looked into the mirror again that she gasped and froze to see Gaster standing there right behind her. Before she could turn around, his lean, long arms wrapped around her curvy waist and she finally let herself exhale.

"Nervous?" He asked in that neutral, deep tone. Anyone who didn't know him would think it was emotionless, but Aria could detect the warmth and care that he had such a hard time showing.

"Uh… y-yes… I mean, a little…" Aria told him honestly, her hands settling over his. "It… it's been a long, long time…"

"Neither of us have touched another person since our spouses," Gaster murmured before leaning down and letting his forehead press to her shoulder. "I'm… somewhat nervous myself." Aria watched him in the mirror as he let out a deep sigh, his scarred, bare shoulders rising and falling in time with his breath.

"The great Dr. William Gaster is nervous?" Aria asked softly, finding the courage to tease him just a little, and that courage was rewarded with a warm, low laugh.

"I could ask the same of the brilliant Dr. Aria Carter." She felt a shiver race down her spine when his lips touched to her shoulder and she instinctively lifted a hand to comb back through his black hair. It felt so… natural to do that again.

"I don't mind admitting I've been absolutely shaking with nerves. I still am…" she murmured, and Gaster held her just a little tighter.

"You know you're allowed to back out, don't you?" he asked, and she nodded, leaning her head over to rest against his as she grew more comfortable.

"I never felt like I was trapped, William. I feel safe with you. Just… stage fright, you know?"

"I know," Gaster glanced up into the mirror, his dark green eye looking over the two of them. They were a strange match, really. The top of her head only came up to the base of his neck, and he was tall and thin while she was short and a healthy, curvy shape that hid the power she held in her limbs from years of working with heavy machinery and working with her hands. Her hair was a lovely pixie cut, shorter on the sides, and bright blonde with tiny bits of silver here and there. Her face was round but with a pointed chin and nose, and she had warm brown eyes that told of a deep capacity to love, but also a great intelligence. Gaster, on the other hand, had dark, very short hair and a beard lining his jaw- both flecked with silver, especially around his temples- but he never kept a moustache. His features were sharp and square for the most part, and his one eye was a deep emerald that was so often devoid of emotion even when he was being kind. Warmth didn't come to his expression often, but Aria knew the tiny indicators between contentedness and his usual neutral, even permanently annoyed state.

Aria finally took his hand and turned to face him, looking up at his handsome, slightly-gaunt face. "Come on. I think we both owe it to ourselves to have a little fun… right?"

"If not myself, then you certainly deserve it," Gaster murmured, making her blush slightly.

"Don't leave yourself out too much, William…" Aria murmured, feeling just a little naughty as she added, "I'd like to see what it looks like when you're having fun too." He could only chuckle, letting her pull him out of the bathroom and toward her bed. He felt… younger. More alive. And he was willing to share that with his dear partner.