"Hi, baby. What's up?"

"Hey, Mom… uh… Gods, I hate to ask, but-"

"How much?"

"… What?"

…

December 23rd, 209X

…

"How much do you need, and what happened?" Undyne ducked her head in shame, though Maurette Wagner's voice remained calm and even on the other end.

"I got into a little… accident. It… I've got most of it covered-"

"Undyne," Maurette cut her off sternly.

"… Two-hundred plus tax…" Undyne admitted, feeling a hot wash of embarrassment come to her face. She picked at the zipper of her leather jacket, the chill in her bones still making her shiver despite the warm auto shop she stood in. Gods, they'd waited hours for that wrecker…

"How much in total?" Undyne paused at that.

"I've got it, Ma…"

"How much?" Maurette demanded, her Davanian accent growing a little stronger and telling Undyne she was not in the mood for being run around any answers.

"A eight-hundred something... They gotta replace the front axle."

"That's not so bad, then. Are you okay?" Maurette's voice softened and Undyne felt her shoulders relax slightly.

"Some bruises, a little whiplash."

"Anyone else?"

"Al was with me, she's about the same. EMTs already cleared us. The other guy, though… he got some broken ribs and his car's totaled."

"Whose fault?"

"His. He was almost black-out drunk. T-boned us in an intersection off-campus."

"What a fucking idiot…" Undyne was caught off-guard by the venom in those words, yet how calmly Maurette said them. Maurette sighed to herself and Undyne heard her begin to move around. "I'll be there soon. Which shop?"

"You don't have to-"

"I'm going to."

"It's a three-hour-"

"Don't question me, young lady. My little girl just got wrecked far away from home with her sweet girlfriend. I'm not about to sit at home and listen to the aftermath. You may be an adult, but you're still young and I'm still your mother. I'm going to come help you. You've never done this before." Undyne went quiet for a moment after that, but a little smile came to her tired face.

"… Thanks, Ma."

"You just sit tight, tell them to hold the bill until repairs are finished. Grab a taxi back to Alphys' place and look after yourselves. I'll be there as soon as I can. Okay?"

"Okay."

"I love you, baby."

"Love you too, Ma. See you soon."

"Bye, sweetheart."

"Bye."

After Undyne put her phone away, she felt two small arms wrap around one of her own, and she looked down to see her curvy little girlfriend with her big round glasses and oversized duffle coat. "W-What did she say?" Alphys asked softly, blushing lightly when Undyne brushed her soft blonde hair back and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"She decided to be my hero. Again. She's gonna help me pay for it. I'm not gonna let her pay the whole thing- I'm sure she'll try… And she's coming up here to help me sort this all out."

"Your mom's the best," Alphys smiled, hugging Undyne around the waist.

"Did you call yours?"

"… N-Not yet. I don't want t-to make her worry…"

"You gotta call her. She'll flip if she hears about this later on and finds out you kept it secret."

"Yeah…" When Alphys made no move to take out her phone, Undyne chuckled.

"Want me to call her first?"

"… W-would you?"

"Sure. But you owe me." Undyne took Alphys' phone and found 'MOM' in her contacts list and hit 'call.' She settled on a bench against the wall, Alphys curled into her side, and listened to the phone ring. On the third tone, it finally picked up but it was a male voice that answered.

"Dr. Carter's phone. This is Dr. Gaster."

"Oh, hey, Doc. Is Aria around?"

"She's running a test on the new titanium geothermal steam turbines above the CORE basin."

"… Okay, I'll pretend I understood anything beyond the word 'testing.' I need to talk to her."

"Of course. I'll take over for her."

"You're the best, Doc."

"Mhm. Here. Aria, take a break. It's Undyne. No, I'll handle it. She called from Alphys' phone, so talk to her."

Aria quickly took the phone and answered. "Hello? Undyne? Where's Alphys?"

"Hi, Aria. First of all, chill out, it's fine. She's right next to me. But I wanted to talk to you first so you don't freak out."

"Freak out? What? What happened?! Is she okay?! Are you okay? What-"

"Aria. Breathe. We're fine. We just had a little accident."

"What do you mean 'accident?' Oh, you're not hurt, are you? Please don't tell me-"

"Breathe, lady. Believe me when I say we're good, okay? The car took all the damage. We're just a little sore."

"Okay… okay… What happened, exactly…?"

"Some drunk guy hit us in an intersection, took out my front axle. We're at the auto shop right now. My Ma's coming up to help me figure all of this out. I've got Al and she's perfectly safe. She's probably less bruised up than me, the truck hit on my side."

"I'm glad you're okay, then… I mean, Alphys is my little girl, but I'd be absolutely heartbroken if something happened to you."

"Aw, I didn't know you liked me."

"Oh, hush. You know I adore you. Maurette and I have been friends since we were little girls. Now, as much as I do love you, I need to hear Alphys' voice for the sake of my poor heart."

"Yeah. Just don't get too crazy on her."

"Just hand the phone over, Undyne. You're so troublesome."

"Love you too." Undyne smiled down at Alphys and gave her the phone. While Alphys quietly assured her mother of everything Undyne had said, and relayed the whole story of the police and EMTs and the drunk driver, Undyne leaned back on the bench and checked her own phone again to see there was a text from Papyrus. Undyne hadn't even thought to call him. They'd just left dinner with him about ten minutes before the crash, and he would've been expecting a text when Undyne got home. He always expected her to let him know her journeys went safely, even if it was just a short drive from the academy to get coffee.

Make it home okay? he had typed, and Undyne quickly tapped a message back.

not quite, got into an accident but we're good.

WHAT

it's fine, promise.

I heard on the news there was a crash… someone was hurt!

drunk guy, yeah. but we're okay. in the shop, gonna call a taxi.

No you're not! I'll be there in twenty minutes!

you don't have to, paps.

As your best friend (other than Alphys, of course!) I must! Don't move!

you're the best.

Sans doesn't call me The Great Papyrus for nothing! And I'm off!

Undyne grinned to herself at that, tucking the phone away once more just as Alphys said goodbye to her mother and let out a deep breath.

"Well, that w-wasn't so bad," Alphys said with a breathy chuckle.

"I softened her up for you. Pap is coming to pick us up. He insisted."

"My place or yours?" Alphys asked, leaning her head on Undyne's shoulder and looking up at her.

"Considering pretty much all my stuff is at your place except the furniture…"

"Oh, yeah… I-it's so weird when I remember… you're actually moving in with me…" A blush came to Alphys' face at that. "Gosh, s-sometimes I forget I actually have a r-real girlfriend and sh-she actually wants t-to-to live with me. In a house… Together."

"Al, I've been crashing at your place more often than not for like… three years. Even when we just started dating properly, I stayed at your house most weekends."

"I-I can't believe you actually waited for me to finish college, a-and you still wanted me then, after four whole years. And you… you still want me now…"

"Damn right I do." Undyne leaned down and pressed a kiss to the smaller woman's lips, making Alphys' whole face go beet-red. They had first admitted their crushes on each other thanks to their friend Frisk almost eight years prior, but Alphys, having finished high school at fourteen, was going to college in Echo and she was afraid of ruining any chance at a relationship by getting too involved in her studies. So Undyne had told her in no uncertain terms that they couldn't date until Alphys was sure she wanted to. Alphys had secured her first doctorate in the time it took others to get a Bachelor's degree, and even though she planned to continue school, she finally had the courage to ask Undyne out and Undyne hadn't hesitated to accept. Their relationship was easy and casual, having known each other since they were toddlers and having gotten close as teens. Even so, Alphys was still constantly overwhelmed by the very fact that Undyne loved her and wanted to be with her.

By the time Papyrus drove up in the red sports car he'd built himself, Alphys had begun to doze off against Undyne's side. She was quickly startled awake when Papyrus burst in through the door and bellowed, "Undyne! I have arrived!" All eyes in the shop turned toward the tall, lean, and handsome Royal Guard trainee in his tight black t-shirt and tan cargo pants and combat boots. His white coat and red scarf and gloves had been hastily thrown on, the jacket hanging open and the scarf in danger of slipping off his shoulders. Not seeing Undyne anywhere in front of him, Papyrus scratched his scruffy chin in confusion. "Huh…"

An arm suddenly snatched Papyrus down and a fist messed up his short dark hair. "Ah! Please don't noogie the chauffeur!" He laughed as Undyne squeezed him against her side.

"Rule number five, Pap- never be caught off-guard!"

"I wasn't off-guard! If anyone else would've put me in a headlock, I would've flipped them like you taught me!" Once she let go, Papyrus stood up straight and combed his hair back into place with his fingers.

"Uh-huh, sure. Now get us the hell out of here. It smells like oil and B.O." Undyne looked up at him with her hands on her hips and he gave her an innocent smile.

"Well, you were working on the Jeeps earlier…" Seeing Undyne take a step toward him, Papyrus instantly fled back out the door.

"Oh, you're gonna get it!" Undyne called after him, chasing him toward his car and stopping short in awe when Papyrus took a flying leap over the entire hood of the car and hid. "Shit, since when can you jump like that?"

"A good Royal Guardsman practices in everything, of course!" Papyrus stated, popping back up and puffing out his chest. "I do all kinds of jumping! Long-jump, hurdles, high-jump, pole-va- Augh!" Papyrus suddenly spluttered when a wet snowball hit him right between the eyes. "Undyne!"

"Rule one of Disney movies, Pap. Never monologue," Undyne laughed, tucking her hands into her jacket pockets as Alphys came to her side. Undyne neatly ducked a snowball thrown back at her, but wasn't expecting another to suddenly hit her from behind. She whipped around and spotted Papyrus' older, shorter, and much stockier brother.

"'Ey, Undyne," Sans grinned, another snowball already in his hand, the opposite hand tucked into this usual blue hoodie with a plastic bag full of drinks hanging off his arm. He looked like hell, dark rings under his eyes, his dark hair messy, and the blonde stripe above his right eye showing its dark roots. He'd probably been working late again at the lab.

"And what're you doing here?" Undyne asked, turning to him with crossed arms.

"Came long to grab some stuff from the gas station. Got you and Al your favorite." Sans let the snowball drop and he approached. He pulled a bottle of Alphys' favorite brand of soda out of the bag and handed it to her with a smile, and then gave Undyne a bottle of her favorite raspberry tea. "Get in and we'll get you home, huh?"

"Thanks, Sans," Alphys smiled sweetly to him, kissing his cheek.

"Yeah, thanks, shorty," Undyne chuckled, getting into the back seats with Alphys while Sans took the front and Papyrus slipped into the driver's seat. While it was a sports car, Papyrus had been excited at the idea of being able to drive with friends, so he'd made sure there was plenty of room. He would've built a convertible limo to fit them all if he could have.

Once on their way, Sans tossed a small pill bottle back into Alphys' lap. "Take a couple of those, both of you."

"What? Why?" Alphys asked.

"I can see you in the rearview rubbing your neck, Al. It know it's gotta hurt. Whiplash sucks. You'll probably need ibuprofen for a couple days."

"You're the best, Sans," Alphys smiled, watching as Sans flashed his own usual grin at them in the mirror.

Undyne and Alphys finally settled onto the couch almost an hour later. They'd welcomed the boys in for a while to see what was new as Undyne moved into Alphys' home, and to see some of the plans for renovating one of the rooms to be a small gym space. Undyne flopped over on the couch just as Alphys sat down, laying her head in Alphys' lap. Undyne couldn't help a little smile when she felt Alphys play with her long red hair. Gods, she loved this nerd. That thought crossed Undyne's mind almost every day when Alphys was just being her usual self.

"You look pretty tired, babe," Undyne murmured, studying Alphys' half-closed eyes and listening to her breathing slowing as she grew sleepy.

"Only a little. But I want to be awake when your Mom gets here."

"Come on," Undyne sat up and pulled Alphys down to lay beside her. "Twenty minutes won't ruin us." Undyne reached for a blanket, but when she looked back, she saw Alphys' face had turned red again. "What?"

"N-nothing."

"Al," Undyne chuckled as she realized why Alphys was suddenly bashful. "We sleep in the same damned bed, babe. You can't get nervous every time I lay down next to you."

"I-I know… It's just… last time we… s-slept on the couch…" Alphys curled up tightly in embarrassment.

"Oh my god, Alphys," Undyne laughed, flopping back down beside her. "We've been sleeping together for three years, and you still blush like crazy when you think about sex?"

"N-No…" Alphys insisted despite the clear evidence on her face. Undyne turned on her side, still giggling to herself as she propped her head up on her hand. "What…?"

"You're just fucking adorable," Undyne stated, grinning when Alphys covered her face and mumbled something incoherent. When she had the courage to peek out at Undyne again, she saw Undyne's grin had become a smirk.

"… Now what…?"

"We could make the couch a thing, y'know."

"Oh my god…" Alphys couldn't help a laugh, but tried to climb over Undyne and escape. Undyne caught her around the waist, eliciting a squeak from the small woman before Undyne silenced her with an adoring kiss as Alphys fell limp on top of her. Alphys could only move her hands to cup Undyne's angled jaw, her breath completely stolen away. Undyne had a knack for doing that to her at any moment she pleased.

When their lips parted, Undyne's smirk returned, softer then. "We've got a couple hours, y'know…"

"Is that enough?" Alphys asked softly, her blush remaining but the embarrassment subsiding at the warm look in Undyne's eye.

"It's enough for me to have some fun at the very least," Undyne promised, turning them both and placing Alphys' back to the cushions. As terribly unsure and afraid as Alphys could be in the realm of love, even with a dedicated girlfriend of four years, Alphys knew well that Undyne would take care of her and never push her. And that made Alphys even more willing to let Undyne do as she pleased. Alphys shivered at a kiss pressed to her neck. Her fingers spread out over Undyne's back, and she smiled to herself at just how lucky she was.