The barrier is broken. Thousands upon thousands of new opportunities and experiences are open to the monsters of the underground.

The surface wasn't too different since the last time they were there. There were still homes, cars, bathrooms, phones, and so on. Some features evolved and changed, but it wasn't difficult to get used to.

Frisk introduced their family and friends to the monsters, demonstrating that they were not a threat, and hoping that everyone could get along. Thankfully Toriel and their mom bonded quickly, and the ghost family befriended their cousins with ease. There was still suspicion and caution, but overall, the news of the monster's peaceful return began to gradually spread, and solidarity took shape.

Months passed, and everyone seemed to have found a new place on land. Toriel became a teacher, Papyrus and Undyne became lifeguards together, Mettaton became an actor and writer of many arts, and Asgore became a gardener. Though, you may realize that two very important people are missing..

Sans saw this as a perfect opportunity to pick his life up again, so he started researching human jobs in science. They all seemed so interesting, so new, so exciting how human knowledge expanded. But then he noticed the amount of time it would take. The years of effort it would take for his talent to get noticed, let alone accepted. He adored the chance at something new for once besides laying in his room all day, wondering when things would change. Though, the motivation in his soul wasn't as passionate. It ached.

Alphys thought the same. Finally, something new for once that wasn't hiding away! Although, every time she stepped into a lab, or touched a vial, a nauseating lump formed in her throat. So she became a teacher at Toriel's school…for a week. That's when she realized that talking in front of 20-30 people made her stumble upon her words and actions, and made her palms sweat and shake. Next, she tried helping Mettaton write some plays. But, in his words—"Overly lovey dovey tales with no drama, no trauma, no weeping, no shrieking, isn't a tale at all!". She argued that stories can be just as interesting when they're peaceful and happy, and it was a passionate debate indeed. But he didn't want to hear it.

And now, she doesn't know what else she wants to do. She considered working as a cashier, but she heard horrible terrible tales from those who work as one, so she changed her mind fast. Then she came to the conclusion that..

She wasn't good at doing much at all.

It wasn't easy for her to accept at first, but it'll be fine, right? Thankfully Undyne let her stay in a spare room for now, so she doesn't have to worry about paying rent or anything at the moment. She'll ease herself back into science soon, she promised herself. She will. And she has a good plan on how to do just that.

"You wanna learn about physics?"

"Yes please. If you don't mind, of course."

A familiar skeleton stood at her (Well, Undynes) doorstep. Alphys had just called him over the phone for a favor, and seconds later, there was a knock at the door. She and Sans had a past together, working together for Asgore. They were good friends, though ever since…someone vanished and Alphys became the new head royal scientist, they started to drift apart, and they never spoke again. There were no harsh feelings towards each other, in fact, it was the far opposite. Far far opposite. But those feelings stayed buried for years. They've only met again thanks to Frisk. And now here they both are, alone together again.

"Well, it's not like I have anything better to do. So why not?" his voice alone proved he was truly smiling.

"Really? Thanks!" Alphys beamed. "I'm more of a biology kind of gal, so this is a little new to me…oh! Uhm, sh-should I go to the library real quick for a book or two? I'm not all that prepared because I didn't know if you'd say yes or not.."

"Nah, I got one." a book simply appeared in his hand as he held it up. Where'd he get that?

"Oh! Ok! Good! Come on in then!" she stepped aside to let him in, and then showed him the way to her room.

She opened the door for him, and he winked at her. What did he mean by that? Anyways, it was a decently sized place. The bed was in the corner with a small bedside table and a lamp. Then there was a bookshelf filled with manga, and a desk with a computer and an extra lamp. A small walk-in closet was on the opposite side of the room, and it mostly had oversized shirts and sweatpants, with some more professional looking clothes sprinkled in, and a lab coat that remained untouched for what felt like forever. The room had an overall pale yellow, blue, and white theme, and was comfortable to live in.

Sans brought in an extra chair and sat at the rectangular wooden desk, allowing room for Alphys to sit beside him. He opened up the book, and skimmed through pages to look for something at the very least intermediate for Alphys to pick up on. Finally, he landed on the section about biophysics. There was no need for Alphys to mention her main interest in biology earlier, for he remembered way back then when she quietly thought aloud while she worked around the lab. With the way she spoke without prompt and under her breath, they most likely weren't meant to be heard. But he recalled how focused and passionate she was. It's nice to look back on.

She scooted closer to him so she could read, and that's when they got started. Sans patiently answered all of Alphys questions, and checked if she understood certain concepts that might have been beyond her understanding. She was a quick learner though, much to his surprise. Not that he expected less, he just thought it was impressive. Though it was hard to focus because of all the birds chirping and cars passing by. Closing the window didn't really help much. The surface still needed a lot of getting used to. Sitting there alone was also quite uncomfortable. Despite its horizontal length, the desk was truly just made for one person in mind. They had to sit close enough together so that they could both read the passages, but the space wasn't perfect enough to contain the both of them, so they had to push their shoulders together. It isn't as romantic as visual novels make it seem. About an hour or so later, once they'd reached the half point of the section and went through all that trouble, they decided to take a break.

"So," he started while folding the top right corner of the page and closing the book, "what made you interested in physics of all things?"

"I, uhm, j-just wanted to try something new is all!"

"Mm," he didn't seem to take that. "Yeah, I get that. How's life been treating you?"

"It's been fine! You?"

"Same here."

I mean, it's not like they wanted to lie. They knew neither of them would judge. It's just that now didn't seem like the right time, not when they're together again after so long. It didn't feel right to ruin the casual mood.

"I heard you've worked with Tori at the school for a while. I'm sure those kids had you working down to…."

"Don't even finish that." she giggled. "I'm not even a skeleton! How does that joke even work?"

"Eh, just wanted to see you laugh."

Oh ok.

"H-how about you?" turning the topic around was a good plan. She can't lose it at a moment like this. "Are you working anywhere?"

"No, not at all. I thought about.." he trailed off. It's too terribly easy to be vulnerable around her. "Have you thought about working at the yellow M place?"

"Oh no. I refuse. Why would I want to be yelled at 24/7?"

"It wouldn't be that bad. Maybe you could just work behind the scenes, like a cook or something."

"Sans, I've been microwaving cups of noodles for years now." she deadpanned. "I cannot cook at all."

"You've been handling chemicals for just as long, and you can't even scramble an egg?"

"It got stuck to the pan."

A sudden laugh erupted out of him. Alphys didn't get why he found her so amusing, but it's nice to make someone happy for once. The laughs turned into giggles, and soon only little "Heh heh"s before he settled down with a wide grin. Well, it's always a wide grin, but Alphys grew to learn which were genuine, and which were just..there. She felt more comfortable with the former. It made her want to smile too.

"You're silly, Alphys. I like that about you."

"I-it's not like I'm trying to, but, thanks?" she smiled awkwardly. She had to cup her cheeks to make sure she wasn't heating up.

Did she actually like that, or was she just being polite? Sans was silent for a minute, and Alphys stayed in her chair, swinging her little legs. He studied her face while she wasn't looking. One hand was resting on the desk, and the other was propped under her chin. That's when he saw the little giddy smile and a light dust of a dark yellow on her face.

Ohh.

A teeny flutter tickled his chest. He couldn't help but to giggle again. Alphys turned to see what was so funny this time, and he waved as a way to say "It's nothing.", but he couldn't stop. Something felt warm, hopeful. And before he knew it, it took control of him, and released something he never thought he'd say out loud.

"You're cute, Al."

WHAT.

Wait.

Let's slow down. Pump the brakes. Hold on.

"I-I am?!"

NO.

I mean, she is.

What is he doing?

He paused, but something told him to keep going. "Yeah, you're sweet, smart, goofy. You're nice to be around." is now a horrible time to not make eye contact? Doing so might just kill him.

She swung her legs in a much more intense motion. Is this happening? Is this really happening? Right here? Right now? In front of her? In her room? The two of them? Alone? Together? Really?

"Sans, pinch me."

She saw several drops of sweat on his skull, and the smile was noticeably quite strained. But he got up and pinched her forearm anyways.

…..

Ok, so this isn't a dream.

It's really happening.

It's really happening!

But now what? What does she say? Does she just thank him and move on? Does she compliment him back? Yeah, let's do that.

"Thank you! You're cute yourself!"

Oh my god no not like that. Cute doesn't fit him at all.

"I-I mean, cool? Handsome? Uhm, you're…n-neat?"

"How about we start over?" he suggested with a slight tease in his voice.

"Right! Good plan!"

How is this happening though? They were just reading a few minutes ago, how are they being so open now?

Recall that it's been years since they've been together like this. Alphys always thought Sans was funny. Sans always thought Alphys was cute. They always thought of each other as nice friends who could share a joke with one another, even in the most boring places. Someone who could always lend an ear to a ramble about cat girls fighting alien boys. Someone who was consistently kind, even if they didn't know what was the matter. There has always been this small admiration..but it froze once circumstances changed in a blink of an eye. Did it die out? Or was it buried in responsibilities and pain?

Or did it burst?

A boney hand was on top of her claw. It was cold, but gentle, genuine. The silence was heavy. He slid his other hand under her claw. She held it as firmly as she could without hurting him. Then they peeked into each other's eyes.

"S-so..uhm." Alphys began. "Y-you…like me? Like, like me like me?"

"You sound like one of the characters you keep talking about." Sans joked.

"Oh hush! You're making me even more embarrassed!"

"Ok ok!" he took a brief yet deep breath. His voice became smaller than intended. "I..I do. I have for a while."

She sandwiched her claw on his hand. A handwich, if you will. "I-I do too! For years! I thought I'd never see the day where I would tell you! Let alone hear you say the same thing. There's just..no way someone could seriously love me."

"Well I do. I love you a lot, Al. You're weird in the best way possible."

She would've squealed right then and there if it was appropriate. "Thank you." then a thought occurred to her. "So, uhm, are we, like, dating now?"

He looked to the side and thought. His silence was unbearable. "Sure, I don't see why not. Can't promise I'd be the best lover though. Just let me know if you need a shoulder to lean on, ok?"

She couldn't help but to smile. It reached her eyes and she leaned out of her chair to hug him tight. It startled him for a moment, but he embraced her back. Neither wanted to let go.

"Would you mind telling me now why you want to learn about physics so suddenly? I mean, you just confessed something huge. Surely there's nothing else to hide."

Oh right! The physics book! She was so caught up in her little fanfiction moment that she completely forgot about studying!

"I..I just..want to ease back into lab work." the tone in her voice shifted drastically. "W-with working for Asgore and the poor monsters that I failed on..I..I just can't seem to do anything anymore.

B-but I love science! I love learning new theories and solutions and codes! I don't want something like this to be ruined for me, s-so I thought that maybe I could continue from a different perspective."

He would've frowned if he could. "I understand. You're strong for still standing after all of this..I would've given up."

"D-don't say that! You're strong too! I would've given up after I became the new head if I were you!"

A quick laugh escaped him. "Maybe we're both weak?"

She giggled with him. "Maybe we are."

And that was ok.

"So!" Alphys let go of him and sat back into her seat, clapping her claws together. "Should we go back to work? It feels like this break has gone on forever!"

"Right." he sat too. "You have a lot of catching up to do if you want to learn physics so badly. It's alright though, I gotcha."