Home Grown chptr7

To say things were awkward would be putting it lightly, with how Gaster and Grillby acted around each other. The two barely spoke full sentences between them, or shared full eye contact, and when they were in the same room the temper would suddenly rise a few degrees. Gaster found himself stuttering when in the same space as the walking torch and the flames that made up Grillby’s head flickered wildly.

It was obvious that something was bothering them, even to Sans and Papyrus who knew nothing of what happened between the two adults. At first Sans let his mind think it was just some weird adult stuff, his dad and other parent did a lot of that when they were still alive, but as the weeks rolled on it started to worry him.

They had stopped going over to Grillby’s for dinner for about a week and the fire monster stopped coming over to visit like he regularly did. Whenever Sans brought up Grillby, Gaster would blush a heavy purple in color and say he had to go do something; leaving Sans without another word.

The two skeleton children were starting to miss seeing Grillby, so when Gaster told them that it would be the fire monster picking them up from daycare and not him they were thrilled. Not to say that they hated their father picking them up, far from it, it was just nice to see Grillby walk into the daycare building and smiling at them warmly.

“… Are you and Daddy mad at each other?” Sans ask Grillby as the two sat in the kitchen. Papyrus had been put down for a nap and Grillby took this moment of silence to start dinner. The sudden question from the older boy did surprise him enough that stiffened up though.

“What would give you the idea I am mad at your father?” Grillby asked as he turned around to look at Sans. The boy was sitting at the table, his head resting on his arms that were folded on the tabletop. His gaze wasn’t on him but the far wall and it was clear with how his brow was knit tightly that something was troubling him.

“You two have been acting weird around each other for weeks,” Sans said, still not looking at Grillby. “Daddy won’t bring us over to see you anymore, you stopped coming over for visits, and when you two are in the same room it’s like you two are magnets repelling each other away.”

Grillby had to emit it, Sans was definitely Gaster’s son and not just for the reason in how he described the whole situation. Sans was very observant and did it very meticulously. He would watch silently and study things carefully before he made his move, and it seemed as though the boy had done a lot of it before he finally spoke just now.

“Your father and I aren’t mad at each other, Sans.” Grillby said as he walked over to the table and stood next to Sans.

“Then what is the problem?” Sans voice was beginning to rise, his anger and frustration finally having reached its peak. “Dad won’t tell me anything! And neither have you! I miss you Grillby, Papyrus misses you, what has gotten you and Dad so rattled?!”

Grillby wasn’t shocked at Sans shouting, he had seen the boy get angry before, but what did surprise him was what Sans called Gaster. It had always been Daddy with Gaster, never dad or father, just Daddy. So hearing Sans call the older skeleton by something else told Grillby that Sans was really upset; upset to the point of name changing.

Getting down on his knees to be at eye level with the boy, Gaster placed his hands on Sans’ shoulders. The boy was shaking enough that Grillby could feel it even through the thick jacket he wore.

“Sans… Look at me.” Grillby said calmly. When Sans didn’t move though the fire monster moved one of his hands to the boy’s cheekbone and made him face him. “You’re father and I… are going through something very complicated.”

“What can be so complicated that it is pushing you away, Grillby?” Sans asked, tears starting to form in his sockets.

“Adult stuff Sans.” Grillby said and he knew it wasn’t a good answer, but how does one go about telling an eight year old about… this? “We’re going through something you will hopefully not have to worry about for many years.”

“If this is what it will be like I don’t think I want to ever go through it.” Sans said as he finally let his tears fall. “Everything is changing and I don’t like it Grillby. Dad’s been so distant, you’ve been gone, the only one that hasn’t change is Papyrus… is it my fault you and Dad are having adult problems?”

“What?” Grillby was actually startled by this question from Sans; enough for his flames to fume up. “No, no Sans it is not your fault; far from it. It’s… mostly mine, actually.”

Sans seemed confused by this from the way his sockets stared at Grillby. The boy looked about ready to ask what the fire monster meant but was stopped when Grillby pulled him into a hug. The fireman’s warm radiated through Sans body and it relaxed him enough to rest his head on the offered shoulder. Grillby could care less about the tears that Sans cried as burned him, his main concern was to make the small boy feel better and right now he needed reassurance.

“I will work things out with your father.” Grillby said as he rubbed Sans’ back. “I promise.”

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Gaster’s mind seemed to be everywhere else but work today, and it was causing some problems. First it started with him dropped and breaking two test tubes, then him bumping into another scientist (sending the stack of papers they had flying), and from there things only went more downhill.

It got to the point that a few of the other scientists, mainly Kit and his merry band of followers, told Gaster that maybe it would be wise for him to head home; and leave before something else broke or exploded. Gaster quickly, a bit too quickly, reassured them he was fine, but to put them at easy he would go and take a break in his office.

Truthfully he wasn’t taking a real break, the moment he was alone he went straight to his private lab and started to study the human’s growing body, but it was a break from working on the core so that was something.

The human body was forming nicely, Gaster could already see the beginning forms of arms and legs, and its stats were stable. The soul’s glow was starting to be less visible now, with a more solidified body encasing it, but that didn’t worry Gaster. Honestly nothing about the human’s body worried Gaster, what had his mind in such disarray was what had happened a few weeks ago with him and Grillby.

That night the fire monster had kissed him was still very clear in his mind and he almost could still feel the warmth on his cheekbone.

Gaster didn’t know how to go about this actually. He had known Grillby for years and the monster had given Gaster no indication that he had those kinds of feelings for him. They had always been friends; just friends. It appeared though the fireman had been harboring deeper feelings for the skeleton, if the kiss was anything to go by.

Gaster’s mind was slowly processing this new information; even weeks after it happened.

Grillby liked him.

Grillby liked him.

REALLY liked him.

…

Yeah. Still processing.

“I just don’t know what to do.” Gaster said aloud while rubbing his eye sockets. “I… just don’t.”

 Feelings. Strange. Love. Same?

The human soul was sending Gaster messages like this ever since he started talking about his problem with Grillby to it. It didn’t quite understand what Gaster was telling but it did get bits and pieces. It understood the feeling the skeleton said this other monster had for him clear as day, because it felt the same emotion for Gaster as well.

The human soul loved Gaster, and it knew Gaster cared for it. So it processed that if another loved Gaster like he did the soul, then he should feel the same as he did for it.

Gaster couldn’t stop the smile from forming on him. The human’s soul was so pure and innocent, like a small child, so it didn’t understand fully the different forms of love there were. The love Gaster felt for the soul was a fatherly bond, an affection formed between a creator and creation, but… the emotions Grillby had for him were different than that.

“It’s… complicated.” Gaster responded to the soul’s inquiries.

The soul sent him the feeling of being confused and Gaster felt it best to drop the subject now while he still had the chance. Picking up his clipboard and notes, Gaster walked over to the DT tank’s monitor and read over the information it gave for the human’s body and soul.

“HP is steadily rising to adequate levels.” Gaster said as he wrote down the new information. “Body is forming properly from gathered information.”

Gaster frankly didn’t know for certain how a human gestation cycle worked. He knew bits and pieces from the books he had gathered, but a lot of pages were ruined and illegible. What he did gather was that humans took at least 40 weeks or roughly nine months to become fully developed enough to survive in the outside world. Compared to most monsters, especially skeletons (which only lasted 3 months), this was a long developing progression.

He also found that he had to be careful in what he observed. Humans were known to be born with deformities and some could be life threatening. Gaster didn’t want anything like that to happen to his human so he always checked very closely, and if by any chance he saw something he was ready to use his magic to fix it. This human was going to be born with no complications, not with Gaster around.

“Still too early to determine gender,” Gaster said as he looked up from his notes. “But in a few more weeks genitalia should form enough to define that.”

This was something Gaster was looking forward to finding out. With skeletons you couldn’t tell the child’s gender till they were born, but with humans (especially in this case since the barrier that encased the growing body was see-though) you were able to tell in just a matter of weeks. Gaster was actually interested in which gender his human would decide upon taking and would accept either.

But now that Gaster thought of the human’s gender, it brought up another question. He still did not have a name for the human. He had dug around and found a few human names that sounded alright, but none of them seemed to fit the human or its soul. Everything just seemed… imperfect.

But he still had time. He still had enough time till the gender was known and the actual birth happened to think of a fitting name.

“Soul energy is stable.” Gaster said as he stared down at the faint red glow around the forming body. “In about another week or two the soul light should no longer be visible.”

The soul sent Gaster the feeling of being tired and soon the skeleton could sense it lulling into sleep as he wrote down in his notes. He found that the human, even early in development, could rest. Gaster had once startled it out of sleep once enough to make the tiny body jolt a little. The sight was adorable in Gaster’s mind.

“I think that is enough for now.” Gaster said as he set his notes down. “It’s getting late and… I need to go pick up the boys from…”

That’s right. He had needed Grillby to pick up Sans and Papyrus from daycare today. He had needed to stay longer at the lab today because it was Friday and he had to stay to lock up. Gaster could remember the awkward call he had given the fire monster and how he quickly hung up once he got his answer. He was not looking forward to seeing Grillby tonight.

 …Feelings. Love. Return. Love.

Staring down at the still form of the human body, Gaster felt his soul go heavy with uncertainty.

Did he feel the same way for Grillby? Gaster didn’t know what or how he felt. He still loved his first partner, but they had been gone for some time now. Grillby was still here though. Grillby had been there for him when their sudden death nearly broke Gaster. Grillby had been there to help Gaster pretty much raise his sons. Grillby had been there to make sure Gaster kept himself healthy and not overwork himself. In almost everything Gaster did…

Grillby was there for him; supporting him in every way.

Letting a sigh escape him, Gaster walked over to the door. Why was everything in his life so complicating? Couldn’t he just have a normal life, or at least a normal day for once? Then again, if he did ever have a normal life he probably would never had created the human soul.

So maybe a normal life wasn’t as thrilling as it sounded.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Gaster had decided on taking the River Person today on his way home. The idea of taking a relaxing and quiet ride down the river sounded appealing to Gaster and it would give him a few more minutes to think things over before picking up his sons.

The River Person’s quiet ‘tra la la’ almost lulled Gaster to sleep as the ride went along and when they finally reached Snowdin the hooded figure had to rustle Gaster out of his tired musing. Apologizing to the River Person Gaster exited the boat and was about to walk down the path but was stopped when a voice from behind him spoke out.

“Tra la la, don’t deny the chance at love.” The River Person said calmly. “You will never get a moment at it again.”

Turning back to the boat, Gaster was about to ask what the River Person meant but it was too late; they were gone. The mysterious River Person had been known to give monsters advice on things that were troubling them and it seemed as though they had sensed Gaster’s.

Letting what the hooded figure said sink in, Gaster felt his face heat up in a blush. Should he allow himself to have these feelings for Grillby? Where would they lead him? How would it end? Gaster was so engrossed in these thoughts that he didn’t realized it that he had walked all the way to Grillby’s until he was in front of the door.

Never before had the door seemed so big and imposing. Reaching out to it had never been a problem, Gaster knew it was always open for him, but what lay behind it made it difficult to even touch the doorknob. Slowly, as if the knob would bite back, Gaster wrapped his hand around it and gave it a turn. Pushing the door open Gaster cautiously walked into the house.

It was quiet and the living room was dark. Grillby must have put Sans and Papyrus to bed, it was rather late, and from the way he didn’t get rammed into by his sons proved his theory. Closing the door Gaster saw that the kitchen light was still on or at least some form of light was coming from it. Making his way to the room Gaster found that the light source was Grillby.

The fire monster was sitting at the table, his hands folded together in front of him and his flames burning shortly.

“… We need to talk Wing Ding.” Grillby said, not even looking up at the skeleton.

Gaster couldn’t find words to speak, if he did they probably come out all muttered, so he just took to sitting next to Grillby. For a while the two didn’t speak, just sitting at the table silently. Gaster was starting to wonder if they would stay like this for the rest of the night if one of them didn’t speak soon, and thankfully Grillby did.

“I’m sorry… about what happened that night.” Grillby said as he placed his face in his hands. “I… didn’t mean anything by it.”

“What…” Gaster said in shock. “You’re sorry; for what? You did nothing wrong Grillby.”

“But I did.” Grillby said as he finally looked up at Gaster; his flames turning a light pink in color. “I messed up. I had been thinking about it a lot, and it was a spur of the moment thing. Look what it has done. We barely talk or see each other like normal and it’s not only just affecting us.”

“… what do you mean?”

“Sans asked me about it today.” Grillby answered Gaster. “He thought it had something to do with him.”

Gaster looked horrified. He didn’t want Sans to think this, whatever this was, was his fault.

“I told him it had nothing to do with him,” Grillby said calmly. “But I did say we would talk about this.”

Gaster nodded, they did need to talk about this and hiding from each other wasn’t helping them none.

“Okay. Let’s talk.” Gaster responded. “Grillby, I—“

“I’m sorry, Gaster.” Grillby cut in. “Can we just go back to the way things were? Act like this never happened?”

That had not been what Gaster had expected. He honestly didn’t know what to expect, but not Grillby asking to forget like the whole never happened. Gaster knew that he would never completely forget this as well, so it was best to just to deal with the issue instead of brushing it under the rug so to speak.

“But it did Grillby.” Gaster said as he stared at the fireman. “And… no amount of acting will make it go away… I want you to be honest with me about this Grillby.”

Grillby seemed a bit surprised by Gaster’s words and from the slight discoloration on his cheeks it was clear that he was. Slowly reaching out to take his hand, Gaster gave Grillby’s a firm squeeze.

“I… am still not sure how to feel about this.” Gaster said truthfully. “But… I do know that out of everyone in my life, you have always been there for me and seeing you happy has always made me happy.”

Gaster really didn’t know where he was going with this, he was just letting his words slip out of him as they did, but from the way Grillby was squeezing his hand told that he was at least saying something right.

“And I… I don’t want things between us to be askew but maybe the both of us can give this a chance.” Gaster said as he felt his blush returning to his face. “I think the both of us have been… suppressing these feelings for a while and you’d just decided to act on it more than I did.”

Silence again enveloped the room again. Gaster found his gaze going to the tabletop but his hand remained entangled with Grillby’s. The fir monster was burning brightly now, from what Gaster could see out of his peripheral vision, and he was starting to worry that maybe he had been wrong in what Grillby felt for him. He was about to take everything he said back when he felt something warm rub against skull.

Skeletons weren’t able to kiss like most people could, seeing as they didn’t have real lips, so a form of ‘kissing’ for them was to nuzzle into their partner’s skull. Grillby of course knew this, having known Gaster for so long and having found out, and was rubbing his forehead against Gaster’s.

“I would like that.”

If Gaster’s mind was a computer, it would have crashed and bluescreened. He had only ever nuzzled his first partner and his sons before and the sensation he felt with those had been like a slight tingling. With the way Grillby nuzzled into him it felt like a warm embrace was encasing his bones and it made them vibrate.

Acting on instinct now, Gaster found himself pushing back into the touch and leaning into the warmth that was Grillby. A smile graced his features and from what he saw Grillby was too.

This… this felt nice.

“EEEEWWW!”

At the sudden scream both Gaster and Grillby pushed away from each other and turned to the archway that lead to the living room to find that they were being spied upon.

Sans was peaking over the frame with Papyrus sleepily held in his arms and he had a disgusted look on him. Both boys looked extremely tired, Papyrus looked ready to fall asleep in his brother’s hold, so they had been probably listening in on them for a while.

“You two were kissing?! GROSS!” Sans whined as he made a gagging sound, but quickly composed himself and gave the two adults a concerned glance. “Did… you two fix your problem?”

Sharing a look with Grillby, Gaster found himself smiling again as he stood up and walked over to his sons.

“I think we just did.”

The smile that spread across Sans was so wide that Gaster wondered if it would get stuck there. Picking up the two, Gaster turned to find Grillby standing next to him and he too was smiling.

“Yes, Sans, we fixed it.” Grillby said as he pressed a kiss on Gaster cheekbone.

“EW! Quit it!” Sans said but he was still smiling. “You two are gross!”

“Gross…” Papyrus said with a yawn as he snuggled into his father’s chest.

“I think you two should go back to bed.” Gaster said as he turned to walk into the guest room where the boys had been resting. “It’s late.”

“Awe, but I’m not *yawn* tired.” Sans said as he rubbed his sockets while lazily resting his head on Gaster’s shoulder.

“Sure you’re not.” Grillby said as he gave the boy an affectionate pat on the head. “How about this, if you go to bed your father and I promise to take you out to play in the park tomorrow?”

“You promise?” Sans asked sleepily, already falling back into slumber.

Gaster looked up at Grillby, the two shared a loving smile, and the older skeleton nodded.

“We promise.”

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

If you had asked Gaster where he’d find himself in his life a few months ago, he probably answer with how he would be working on the core and doing his best to raise his sons. Now is response would be slightly different.

A few more weeks have passed since that night at Grillby’s and Gaster found himself in a state of bliss he hadn’t felt for a long time. He smiled more often and finished work a lot faster to get home early. He and his sons found themselves at Grillby’s even more than they usually did. Gaster could honestly say that things in his life were finally going his way.

“Sans and Papyrus were such a mess,” Gaster laughed as he told the human about last night’s endeavors. Grillby and Sans had found a box of paints at the dump and his sons couldn’t wait to use them; literally. The moment the children were free to use the paints, they didn’t wait to get some paper and just started to finger paint on each other. “Took me the better half of an hour just to get them into the tub, and the other half to clean them up. Didn’t help much that Grillby was laughing the whole time about how colorful the bubbles were.”

The human’s soul gave the feeling of acknowledgement and the feeling of love at hearing the story about Sans and Papyrus. The body was steadily growing, a bit faster than is probably should Gaster noted, but nothing to worry much over. It’s arms and legs had finally become fully developed and Gaster found himself counting the tiny little fingers and toes that it had.

Gaster had done the same with Sans and Papyrus when they were first born. He wasn’t sure why, but just counting the tiny appendages made him smile. It was a sign that they were forming properly and that was a good thing.

“I swear if Grillby could be touched by water I would have splashed him.” Gaster laughed lightly as he skimmed over his notes.

Everything so far was looking well when concerning the growing human body. It looked like the pictures from Gaster’s books and it appeared to be healthy. It still would be a few weeks until Gaster was about to figure out its gender but Gaster was patient. The soul’s glow had finally disappeared by this point and left the body surrounding in the faint purple glow that was Gaster magical barrier and the blue of the surrounding DT.  

Everything appeared to be normal, everything looked to be developing properly, but there was one thing that was different from Gaster’s books. Unlike normal humans, this one would not have a bellybutton. Seeing at there was no direct connection to the human body and the barrier surrounding it there was no umbilical cord and in turn there would be no bellybutton.

Gaster could say he didn’t realize this at first but it was no big worry. As long as the DT and his barrier continued to provide sustenance and the nutrients needed to keep the body growing, a human without a bellybutton wouldn’t be a problem.

“I swear Grillby can be so childish sometimes.” Gaster said as he set his notes down. “After I had finally got the boys cleaned up, he goes and gets the paints and starts painting on Me!”

Gaster laughed at the memory of Grillby painting on his skull. The fire monster had given him a star over his left socket and a fish under his right, and that was enough for Sans to slip in the pun of him saying something seemed ‘fishy’ and that he gave Grillby a ‘star’ of approval for his artistic skills.

Obviously the puns had set Papyrus off and the tyke had ended painting Sans all over again in his frustration.

“But… it was nice.” Gaster said as he folded his arms over his chest. “It’s nice to have someone there; knowing he’ll be there. I knew Grillby was there for whenever I needed him but… this is a different need.”

The soul responded with being confused but Gaster’s mind was elsewhere.

Maybe he could make this work; him and Grillby. And maybe, just maybe, once the human was born…

They could work it into their lives as well.