Chapter Text
The first time he’d seen you had been a complete accident.
You were humming a tune, something that was sweet and kind of melancholy, but still brought a smile to your face. Body swaying, feet gently padding against the wooden floors as your soft voice brought to life pictures that only you could imagine. You were beautiful in that moment, he thought, untouched by time itself.
Gaster wasn’t a sociable monster. In fact, he tried his best to avoid crowds as much as possible. That proved to be rather easy, as his physical appearance had caused most humans (and monsters) to flee from his sight. He’d grown used to it in the short time monsterkind had been returned to the surface, but often found himself rather lonely.
He sought out quiet places. Peaceful parks, empty theaters, silent streets. That was how he ended up here, in an old antique store. He found it rather humorous, considering he might as well have been home, an ancient being among ancient artifacts.
And you.
You were familiar and new all at the same time, swaying to your song amongst the shelves of dusty and rusted artifacts. He was never really partial to humans, at least not in a way that would leave him breathless. But, as he stood partially hidden by an old wooden shelf, that proved to change.
It was apparent you were convinced the store was empty aside from yourself, so when you opened your mouth to sing, the tall monster stilled even more.
“If I could begin to be, half of what you think of me,
I could do about anything; I could even learn how to love.”
Your movements were soft and swift as you dusted off some kind of metal contraption, placing it back down on the shelf with a dull ‘clink’. He found himself wondering how soft your hands were.
“When I see the way you act, wondering when I’m coming back.
I could do about anything; I could even learn how to love like you…”
Your gentle words bounced off the surrounding objects, ringing through the air and reaching Gaster as he hid himself even more. He wasn’t careful enough, his elbow nudging a large, glass vase from it’s perch and sending it straight to the floor.
A startled gasp caused him to look up from the shattered ceramic to your wide-eyed, terrified look. Gaster instantly straightened, his long, holey hands fidgeting just in front of his chest. His eyes flitted all around, feeling rather uncomfortable under your stare that had ceased to leave him.
‘Oh, no,’ he thought, ‘I’ve terrified them…’ He flinched, awaiting the shrill scream that would no doubt leave you.
“Oh, my God!”
Yeah, there it was-
“Are you alright?!”
Gaster’s eye flicked back up to you, involuntarily taking a step back as you rushed to him, duster left on the shelf.
“Sir, are you hurt?” Your hands, almost too-small hands, were poised out in front of you as you looked him over. Once you’d successfully found no wounds or cuts, you let out a sigh. “Thank goodness… I keep telling Morty that we need to move that vase… Someone was bound to knock it over.”
Gaster simply stared at you, mouth slightly agape. You… You weren’t scared of him? How were you not running away, screaming in terror? Not only had he broken something, but he was just watching you dance and sing and it was creepy and he was creepy and-
“Sir?”
Oh, you were talking to him.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
Oh. You cared for his wellbeing…
You placed a hand on his forearm and he flushed, embarrassment flooding through him. “I am sorry.”
You cocked a brow, tilting your head to the side. “For what?”
For watching you. For being creepy. “For… For knocking over the vase. I should have been more attentive.”
A little smile passed over your lips, followed by a lithe giggle. Oh, and your hand was still on his arm. “Oh, don’t you worry about that! Do you know how long that thing has been here?”
Gaster decided he liked your laugh.
You gave him a pat on his arm before you moved around him to the front desk, reaching behind it and grabbing a broom and a dustpan. As you returned, Gaster stood awkwardly to the side as you swept up his mess.
“Do… Should I pay for it?”
You laughed again as you swept the pieces onto the metal pan, shaking your head as you answered, “Not necessary. Trust me, it’s alright. Sure, Morty won’t be too happy, but I’ll just say it was my fault.”
As you passed him again, he noted how much he towered over you. You barely reached his shoulder, and yet you didn’t cower. You didn’t look at him like he was a freak (which he was), or that he was terrifying (which he was). But you smiled at him, which was more than he’d ever gotten.
He decided he liked your smile, too.
After you’d cleaned up the mess, you rejoined him between the bookshelves. “There! All clean, like it never happened.”
Still embarrassed, Gaster looked off to the side. What should he say? Thank you? I’m sorry? “I enjoy your singing.”
Your eyes went wide for a moment, smile faltering a bit.
Well, that wasn’t what he wanted to say.
“O-Oh.” Your face tinted red. Were humans supposed to do that? “Um… I didn’t… You… You heard that?” Now it was your turn to fidget, hands wringing the front of your shirt slightly.
Oh, stars… He’d really messed up now. Now you knew he’d been watching, been listening like a fre-
“Thank you.”
What?
“What?” He blinked down at you, taken aback by your gratitude.
“I said, thank you,” you smiled sweetly up at him, that pretty blush staining your cheeks, “I don’t usually sing in front of others, I honestly don’t think I’m that good.”
“Oh, but you are!” Gaster was really walking a thin line here, but he took his chance. “At least, from what I have heard… You have a lovely singing voice.”
Shrugging your shoulders up slightly, you glanced away. “Well… Maybe I’ll sing for you sometime.”
Gaster decided he liked that idea.