Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

3rd Pov.

The quiet sound of a far away band playing music filled the silence of the day as (Y/n) walked down the street. She hummed quietly along, the song quite a popular one in their city. She tapped her fingers to the beat against her forearm, bright (e/c) eyes roaming around the park she chose for her walk. Despite being the middle of the day, there weren’t that many people out beside her, luck being on her side and giving her some peace and quiet.

The choice to go to the smaller, less popular park was the correct one after all.

Her eyes settled on a bench, or rather the small white lizard in glasses sitting on it, fidgeting with her hands and sleeves. (Y/n) smiled, turning towards where her friend was already waiting. She sped up her pace, forgetting the sightseeing and going straight towards XAlphys. Before she could do it however, a different figure beat her to it, making her stop completely in her tracks.

The tall figure conversed with XAlphys casually, his expression calm and stoic. His hands were casually clasped behind his back, the white of his pristine bones broken only by the small hole in each of them, with an x shape on top of it. He easily towered over the lizard, needing to turn his head at quite an angle to be able to converse with her. (Y/n) supposed it probably was a problem with most people, as the only monster she’s seen remotely close to his height was King XAsgore himself.

(Y/n) couldn’t help but stare as XGaster continued his talk with XAlphys, too nervous to approach in case it was related to important work. It was no secret that the scientist was not fond of sharing what he’s working on, his assistant being the only other person to be aware of his plans. (Y/n) didn’t want to cause any problems should she overhear something she wasn’t supposed to and, thus, settled for standing a good distance away and taking the sight in while she could.

She hoped that the conversation wasn’t about something important considering XGaster’s casual appearance. She doubted that he’d work in a turtleneck and a long, purple coat over the top of it. Then again, she’d never seen him in a lab coat, so perhaps it was indeed what he wore even while in his lab. She reckoned he’d look unfairly attractive either way.

She was brought out of her, admittedly common, thoughts by the sound of retreating footsteps as XGaster walked away from XAlphys, who let out a quiet sigh and slumped against the bench. With a small frown, (Y/n) approached her friend, taking a seat right next to her.

“Lab emergency? We can reschedule if it’s important. You know I wouldn’t mind.” XAlphys jumped at her words, but then relaxed, realising it was just her. 

“No, no. It wasn’t that luckily. He just needed to remind me of something, that’s all.” Despite the reassurance, (Y/n) could tell that there was something her friend wasn’t telling her. She didn’t push though, figuring that it must be something connected to their work that others weren’t allowed to see.

“Also, you were staring. I could feel your gaze the entire time.” (Y/n) made an undignified sound at that, her face turning bright red at the unimpressed words of XAlphys.

The poor, poor lizard monster had to listen to a few too many rants about XGaster and was taking any occasion to jab at (Y/n)’s lack of taste in men. 

“Did he notice? Oh sweet XAsgore please tell me he didn’t. I didn’t mean to, I swear I just decided to wait until you were done talking in case it was super secret important lab work.” She defended herself quickly, hoping that it wouldn’t sound like excuses. It obviously did, despite being the truth. Her crush on the unapproachable skeleton might be apparent to anyone who even remotely knew her, but she was no creep and wasn’t about to creepily stare at him whenever he’s out in public.

“He didn’t. He was too busy telling me I have to sort everything he’s been working on when I’m done here.. Again. ” XAlphys made a quiet, unhappy groan, clearly not thrilled for the hours of paperwork that awaited her the moment she stepped foot in the lab again.

(Y/n) didn’t like that look on her friend’s face one bit. She knew that XAlphys was always busy, their hangouts becoming quite rare because of that fact. With how tired the lizard looked, she clearly needed a long break. One XGaster must not be able to afford for their research to be pushing his assistant so hard.

Despite knowing it was very, very idiotic of her, she voiced her idea anyway, hoping against hope that XAlphys would agree, if only to lessen her workload.

“I could help? I know you’re technically not allowed to show anyone, but you need a break. I’d be more than happy to do the sorting so you both can focus on more important things than misplaced paperwork. I wouldn’t tell a fly, I’d even ignore the content of the documents, I swear.” She offered, her words coming out fast and a bit jumbled, but still getting her point across well enough.

XAlphys looked up at her, simply staring for a long while, the gaze making (Y/n) just the slightest bit nervous. While her friend was never really intimidating, sometimes the look in her eyes was… worrying to say at least. As if she knew things no person should, not without losing their mind at the very least.

“You know I can’t (Nickname). You’d need to look at the content of the papers to sort them correctly. XGaster is very particular in how he wants his documents to be segregated. I can’t just let you do it instead of me, even if it’s very tempting. I’d get into so much trouble!” Despite the no, it was clear that XAlphys was seriously considering the idea if the way she was biting her lip said something.

(Y/n) took it as her chance and wrapped her arm around XAlphys’ shoulder, pulling her into a side hug and smiling down at her.

“I’d take the blame if anything were to happen. And we’ll make sure I only come in when XGaster isn’t in his lab. You could oversee everything while working on something else. You know I wouldn’t do anything to sabotage you, or your work. I just want to help my best friend not be so overworked.” XAlphys ran her hand down her face, closing her eyes before groaning.

The lizard fixed up her glasses before giving (Y/n) a nod, to which she bit back the urge to whisper-yell ‘yes!’ to herself. That would be embarrassing, especially in public.

“Alright! Just… be careful. Don’t touch anything other than the papers. Leave and come exactly when I tell you on the dot . And no peep about what you see to anyone ! You may be an idiot, but you’re my idiot that I don’t want to die for being caught where she shouldn’t be.” XAlphys grumbled out, lightly pushing the human, earning a proud grin and a shove in revenge.

“Awwww, you care for me! And here I thought you merely tolerated me because I’m friends with XUndyne and helped you talk to h-” (Y/n)’s mouth was promptly covered by two scaled hands of a very flustered lizard. She barked out a laugh, smugly looking at XAlphys who was now blushing just as darkly as the human had been when XGaster was mentioned.

“I take it back! You’re not my idiot! I’m going back to the lab!” XAlphys yelled out, throwing her hands up in the air for a second before jumping off the bench. 

Despite her words, (Y/n) saw her friend pause when she didn’t immediately follow. She snorted, shaking her head in amusement before getting up too, quickly jogging up to XAlphys and following her back to the lab.

She’ll finally be able to help not only her friend, but the brilliant mind of XGaster too, however small sorting paperwork might be.

Chapter Text

That was the first of many times (Y/n) visited the lab, a routine forming for her and XAlphys, one that seemed to be working out well for everyone. The desk was cleaner than ever, with every paper carefully placed in the correct folder. XAlphys looked much more alive and relaxed, finally able to spend much more time with her friends and crush now that she didn’t have to stay after hours to sort the research. And (Y/n)? She was glad to be helping out her friend with something she found quite relaxing. Learning a few things about the man she had a slight admiration towards was just a pleasant bonus.

At least for her it was. Most probably would not take it well to know he had the ability to overwrite the very fabric of their world. Or that he had done so before. She however didn’t mind. At least it explained the weird resets where everyone would go back to square one with their behaviour and relationships between one another. Why she was the only one to remember them though, was still a mystery unsolved. She assumed it probably had to do with the red in her soul, the determination, like the one XChara and XFrisk apparently had. It wasn’t much, a stroke of red against a (s/c) sea, but it might just be enough to be letting her remember what everyone else doesn’t. She was glad she was smart enough to not mention them to anyone, even XAlphys.

Their perfect plan was bound to fail eventually, as anything based on deception does.

(Y/n) had been in the lab that night, sorting through the paperwork as usual, a content smile on her face as she looked through multiple ideas, plans and failed attempts. She placed them in their corresponding spots with utmost care, making sure to sort them by their relevancy and date of creation, as she had found out XGaster preferred. 

XAlphys, for once, wasn’t there with her. While the monster still didn’t like leaving (Y/n) all alone in the lab, she had grown just a bit more comfortable with the thought of doing so, especially if it’s for something important. With the knowledge that XGaster had a meeting with the royal pair and would be gone for at least a few more hours, she could leave (Y/n) to do her thing. The human would be done long before he’d come back anyway. Or so they both thought.

Merely an hour or two after XAlphys’ departure, (Y/n) was still working on the papers. She didn’t want to rush them, not when they contained such important ideas and possible alterations to their world. She was lost in her task, swaying slightly to the beat of a song stuck in her head, completely disconnected from the rest of the world.

The sharp point of a spike millimeters away from her neck brought her out of the daze though. She froze up instantly, her eyes glancing down at the floating hand in front of her. Pure white, with sharp fingers and a hole in the middle, one that now had the aforementioned spike inside it.

“You have exactly three seconds to get away from my research and tell me what you are doing in my lab before you won’t be able to speak at all.” A low grumble came from behind her. She didn’t need to turn around to know exactly who it was.

Was it a bad moment to think he still sounded pretty even when angry? Probably.

She slowly turned around, holding her hands up in surrender and trying her best to not move her neck in any way, lest the sharp end would spell her undoing.

She was met with a very agitated XGaster, his eyes not only narrowed, but the usually white pupils now bright purple and glowing . Multiple other summoned hands floated around him, all with similar spikes at the ready should she do anything he’d find unacceptable.

“I can explain-!” Her response was meeker than she intended it to be, her voice high pitched and quite terrified. Rightfully so.

XGaster merely raised an unimpressed eyebrow, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes further. She gulped, taking a small breath to try and calm her nerves. Out of all the days for him to come back early, it just had to be the day she’s in his lab-

“I’m a friend of XAlphys-” She started, only to be cut off by XGaster’s voice.

“The human. Yes, I am aware of who you are. And that changes things because?” He sounded impatient, the hand by her throat floating forward just a bit more, the spike poking her skin. It didn’t break it yet, but it was close enough for her to feel the pressure.

She didn’t want to throw her friend under a bus, but she wasn’t about to lie to him. Hopefully he won’t fire XAlphys because of this. She’d feel awful if her helping lead to that. If she survived this encounter that is. And so far her chances of that were looking slim to say at least.

“XAlphys let me in here. Please don’t be mad at her, if anything be mad at me-! You see I noticed her being tired. Well more tired than usual- And she told me that she had to sort the papers after hours. And I just wanted to help her. And you too-! Your research and work are honestly so impressive and being able to lessen your workload by doing the boring tasks-” She shut up when he brought his hand up. His actual, attached to the body, hand.

She truly expected to be done for. This was it. There she goes, dying because she was an idiot who thought she’d be able to avoid being caught forever. 

The spike against her throat backed up just the tiniest bit, enough so that she could breathe without fear of breaking her skin. XGaster rubbed his temple, but at least he didn’t look a second away from murdering her.

“You’ve been here multiple times . Without my knowledge.” His tone was still irritated, but it was already going back to its usual flatness, missing the low growl from before.

It didn’t stop (Y/n) from shrinking back a bit. She fidgeted with a paper in her hands nervously, giving XGaster a slight nod. Realising what she was doing, she quickly placed the document where it was supposed to go, ignoring the gaze drilling into her as she did so.

XGaster’s eyelights followed her movements, pausing upon his own desk. Sorted to near perfection, as it had been for the past few months.

“You’re the one that’s been doing this?” She almost jumped when he spoke again after a long moment of silence. Still, she nodded again, moving aside a bit to let him see the desk fully.

The floating hand did not follow.

“Yeah. I apologise for not asking for permission. It was supposed to be a one time thing between me and XAlphys, but she looked so much less stressed the first time so I just kept doing it.” She explained, rubbing the back of her neck with a nervous smile. 

XGaster let out a quiet humm, the arms he had been crossing moving to instead clasp behind his back as he approached her. All except for one floating hand disappeared, the last left beside him, waiting for a command.

“What is your goal? What are you getting out of this? Surely there must be something you want.” He pressed, a hint of mistrust still there in his tone.

(Y/n) blinked, realising what he was implying and shook her head quickly. She held her own hands to her chest, clear in his view, showing that they were empty of any papers now.

“Nothing. Truly nothing. My only goal was to help my friend and the brilliant mind she works for.” Her voice held nothing but sincerity, her eyes downright shining with the truthfulness of her words.

He had never seen something like this. Someone who wanted to help. Did she not read the papers she was sorting? Not know who she was so determined to help?

“And you are not scared? Intimidated? Did you not read my notes? You must have, to have sorted them so well. Then you know what this is. What it’s capable of.” His hand hovered in the air, raised up as a button materialised right under it.

(Y/n) stared at it for a moment, taking in the unassuming and simple thing that was capable of so much. An undetailed, purple frame with ‘OVERWRITE’ written inside it. A button that could change everything. She knew she should be scared.

She wasn’t. At least not in the way he expected her to be.

“I know. And I know why you’d think I’d be. I’m sorry some… people have been causing problems for you. But I’m not scared. I mean I am , but not because you have the button. Your ideas are groundbreaking. If they stopped getting in the way, everything would be so much better by now. They just don’t get the simple trial and error it takes.” XGaster stared at her as she spoke, his expression unreadable.

A tense silence passed between them. Then, after a long moment, he fixed his glasses. The button and last floating hand disappeared. He backed up from her and then turned around.

“How often will you be able to come?” (Y/n) didn’t answer at first, too stumped into silence to understand what he meant by the question.

After a few seconds it finally hit her though, a giant grin spreading across her face.

“Whenever really. I have a very flexible schedule.” She tried her best to keep the excitement out of her voice, but was very unsuccessful in that regard. A fact XGaster graciously didn’t comment on.

“Then I better see you here at 10 on the dot tomorrow.”

“Yes sir!”

Chapter Text

The jingle of keys echoed through the small flower shop, most shelves empty by the time evening rolled around. (Y/n) grabbed the few remaining vases and bouquets, putting them safely in the back as she took off the safety gloves and sighed in a job well done. This was a long day, way longer than she wished it to be.

Not because of the customers or anything like that, most of them are always pleasant actually, but because she now had another job she was far, far more excited for. It was almost 10. Which meant it was almost time to go to XGaster’s lab. Officially, for the first time, instead of having to sneak around long after hours. She shouldn’t be giddy over it, yet here she was, her mind occupied with what she could possibly help with today while she left her shop and moved to close the front door.

Only to then be collided with by a very tall, strong body that might as well have been a wall of bricks. She grumbled, barely managing to hold upright as a white hand was extended to help steady her, the scales smooth and cold to the touch.

“Sorry ‘bout that. I needed to catch you before closing.” XUndyne said, in a tone that sounded anything but apologetic, something (Y/n) was used to by now though.

“I have a solution, perhaps you should come early? Just a thought. That way you wouldn’t have to charge here like a maniac.” Came (Y/n)’s response, her (e/c) eyes narrowing in fond irritation. XUndyne just laughed at that like it’s the funniest joke she’s heard, patting (Y/n) on the back hard enough to send her stumbling again.

“You know I have work too! The guard won’t lead by itself! It’s not my fault you close right after my shift ends.” (Y/n) just rolled her eyes at that and sighed, already knowing to pull her keys out again. It was just in time too, as soon after XUndyne turned to the now unlocked door and barged right in, the poor hinges saved only by mere seconds.

“Do you have those flowers you said XAlphys likes? You promised you’d keep a bouquet for me to give her.” (Y/n) was already halfway to the back, digging through the leftover flowers that didn’t sell before emerging with the surprisingly modest bouquet.

“You know I do have things to do after work right? I shouldn’t let you come here after closing, friend or not.” She was regretting her words by the time she was half way through the sentence, as XUndyne was now giving her a smirk and wiggling her eyebrows.

“Right, of course! I can’t be holding you back! Alph told me that you’re officially buddy buddy with the doctor now. I’m so proud! It took you long enough to get the guts to talk to him. What you see in him though, I’ll never know…” The bouquet was shoved into the Royal Guard’s hands with a bit more force than necessary, something the fish monster didn’t even feel happened.

“I swear to XAsgore next time I’ll give you a bouquet she’s allergic to on purpose!” The loud cackle of a laughter from XUndyne turned into a panicked frown.

“Alph has flowers she’s allergic to?!” It was (Y/n)’s turn to grin, moving past XUndyne casually to once again lock up the shop and shrug, her expression one of feigned innocence.

“I don’t know… does she?” The grin soon enough evolved into laughter as XUndyne’s gaze turned to the flowers in her hand, staring at them as if they were a bomb and not simple, innocent roses. “Relax, I’m not about to sabotage my friend’s love life. These are not any she’s allergic to.”

With a wave she began to walk away, still grinning proudly while listening to XUndyne frantically shout about whether XAlphys was actually allergic to any flowers or not. She wasn’t, being a lizard and all, but that was something XUndyne didn’t need to know… yet. Not until she shows up on time for once.

***

It was fascinating to be in the lab as a welcomed guest instead of sneaking around. Usually by the time she was at XGaster’s desk it was; dark, empty and silent. It would just be her and XAlphys, then later on just her, standing over the papers and sorting them by date, timeline idea and by relevance to the current plans. This time however, XGaster was still there, looking over a few summoned entries with XAlphys beside him, listening carefully. 

There was barely a glance when she walked in, merely enough for him to give a small nod at her being right on time. XAlphys on the other hand was already grinning at the sight of her friend, waving her hand quickly to catch the human’s attention.

“Right on time (Nickname)! There’s been a few complications in the plans due to XFrisk and XChara, so we may need to reorganise if you could-” XAlphys launched into a more detailed explanation, one (Y/n) listened to intently, nodding along while already sorting things out in her head. “-And so I think anything that was in the K folder will need to be spread through to other ones instead and completely deleted.”

“Got it. Good luck figuring out a solution. I’m sure you’ve got it Alph.” The lizard grinned up at her, the smile genuine and almost confident. But it was enough to see her friend actually ready to take on an unforeseen complication without a breakdown first. She was already so proud of how far XAlphys had come when it came to that.

Without any distractions, (Y/n) turned to the sorted folders, taking out the offending parties to begin sorting through the files once again, this time taking into consideration how the two kids can react to the ideas and, in turn, how they could completely mess the timeline up if allowed. Throughout the entire conversation XGaster had not spoken a single word, seemingly engrossed in his own task and too busy to monitor her or XAlphys. But she could occasionally feel his gaze on her back, fleeting as it was, for merely a moment or two before it would be right back on the notes as if nothing ever happened.

She didn’t really mind, understanding that it was out of precaution. A man in his line of work had to be paranoid, it was natural. So she was more than content with continuing on like this, merely cracking some jokes with XAlphys to pass the time while working and practically ignoring XGaster so he can focus on his own research.

But then, right as XAlphys was calling it a day and finishing up her shift, something she didn’t expect happened. Now that Alph had gone home, she thought she’d spend the rest of the time in silence. She wouldn't want to disturb him after all, but to her intrigue, he spoke up first.

“You and XAlphys are quite close.” It was a statement yes, but she could feel the question bubbling under the seemingly innocent phrase. His voice might have been calm, almost disinterested, but the calculating gaze was anything but. His ability to appear casual while digging for information still amazed her. No wonder the royal family ate his words up without question, he had more than just the gift of his abilities, he had the foresight to be observant and learn what people want to hear in order to give him the most beneficial information.

“We are, she’s been my friend for years.” She offered the information as easily as breathing, watching from the corner of her eye for any change in XGaster’s posture or expression. So far there were none, but she knew better than to assume his brilliant mind wasn’t cataloguing her every word with cold efficiency. 

“How did you two meet?” A scrape of claw against the nearest desk as XGaster spread his notes out on an empty one, gaze narrowing. Not just at the writing, but at her, still gauging her out, trying to figure out her angle, any possible benefit she could get out of this. And she knew from the slightest crease of his bonebrow, that he cannot find a single one.

“At a library. I happened to be taking a book she just finished reading and was handing back. She got very excited and started rambling about it. We simply clicked and have been inseparable after. It did help that Undyne was a client of mine and I got to help push them closer.” Asgore knows they needed it. How two intelligent and strong willed women were so blind and dancing around each other was beyond her.

A small hum from behind her signalled that he was listening, his own answer coming soon after. “Clearly, that help was needed.” She covered her mouth to stifle a giggle, pausing her sorting for a moment.

“You tell me. I don’t know what to do with those two anymore. But I won’t say no to the additional income their dance around each other brings.” The last of the papers were finally put away, the desk reorganised properly once again, this time with the new data in mind. She was almost tempted to simply leave considering XGaster wasn’t one to enjoy casual company, but with him talking to her it felt rude to do so. 

“Client?” She glanced behind her just as XGaster’s own gaze turned to her, eyes meeting eyelights for a moment. They were as cold and impassive as always, but she could see the curiosity hiding under the surface.

“I run a small flower shop in the city. Nothing fancy or anything, but local enough to have returning customers. Undyne and her attempts to figure out the ‘perfect date flower’ have been the most loyal one so far.” Again, she gave the information freely, watching as XGaster took it in, perhaps thinking over whether it was the truth, or perhaps simply collecting anything he could add in the notes regarding his world. She was a part of it after all, and thus anything about her fell under the category of creating a perfect story. 

What is a story, after all, without well developed side characters?

“A flower shop. I didn’t take you for a florist.” It was her turn to be intrigued, though unlike him she didn’t try to hide that fact, tilting her head to the side in curiosity.

“Really? What did I strike you as then? A thief?” There was mirth in her tone, the joke something she didn’t expect him to grace with any more conversation. He didn’t look like a man that enjoys humour after all.

Yet, once again, she was surprised when the long silence was broken by his own voice. “A journalist. You’ve got a talent for taking in information quickly and efficiently. You’re observant and you hide the signs of you being somewhere well enough that I only caught you because you were still here. You don’t have any problems changing the order of the notes multiple times if need be. That and you stick your nose into things that do not concern you”

Despite that last jab, the words sounded almost like a compliment to her abilities. She couldn’t help but smile, eyes on the back of XGaster’s head as he had already turned back to his own task, once again fully focusing on the notes.

“It did end up letting me help you, didn’t it?” A gruff noise was her only answer. To anyone else it would have been a sign to shut up and leave as fast as possible, never to return again.

She ended up staying until they were both done for the day.