Changes were almost immediate. Gaster's attitude dropped. From what visits Sans did see, Gaster was always down or just plain depressed. He talked to Alphys some more, and it always was about the same thing. About the girlfriend. About Sans. No one else but Sans knew, and it was driving him up the wall with the truth. Was Gaster really that obsessed with a girl he never even saw before?

He felt awful. Plain awful. He led Gaster on for months, poor guy was in a one sided relationship. Sure, he was hot, but he didn't know that Sans was actually Sans!

He couldn't sit back and watch Gaster get depressed. He had to do something.

"Heya..." Sans said, stopping Gaster from passing by his desk. "Uh... if anything's bothering you, I could give you advice."

"You could..." Usually Gaster would wave of any advice from anyone with an IQ less than his, but it must had been worse than Sans thought. "Okay."

That's how he found himself on a bench, next to Gaster, in front of the lab. His phone was already firmly muted, Sans didn't want to risk any accidental discoveries. He liked his job, thank you very much.

"So uh... ya gotta tell me what's going on before I can do anything," Sans said.

"She ghosted me." Gaster was blunt, looking out across Hotland with a sorrowful expression.

"Oh, is that just it?" Sans asked. "The maybe she just doesn't like yo...o..."

Gaster had turned his head so fast Sans was afraid he might accidentally break his neck. The man's expression was terrifying, as if Sans would explode if he finished the sentence.

"... like something that's happening in her life?" Sans offered.

"Something in her life?" Gaster asked.

Yeah, like the guy she's dating. Sans shoved aside that thought, trying to focus on the conversation he was having. He planned to hint at Gaster that she was breaking up with him, this wasn't going well at all.

"Something might have happened at home, or something like that?" Sans said, shrugging.

Gaster hummed thoughtfully, placing a hand onto his chin. Wait, this was progress. Maybe he would get tired of Sans' lack of response and decide that it wasn't worth the trouble. Yeah, that might -

"Do I have to break into her house?" Gaster asked.

Gosh darn it.

"No, no, don't do that! Girls don't like it when you break into your house... and guys as well..." Sans muttered the last part, scratching his cheekbone. "Why don't you wait for her to call you?"

"I've been waiting for days. How much longer do I have to wait?"

Sans looked out at two lava monsters playing volleyball in the lava. Ah, what he would give to switch places with them.

"What if she did want to break up with you? What'd you say?" Sans asked.

~~~~~~

Huffing, Sans set down his work bag, folding into his chair with wide eyes. Fuck. He was way more in over his head than he originally thought.

"I'd kill her."

Yikes.

Gaster was known for his stone face and cold feelings. He didn't fall in love with anyone. Maybe that was why he was so obsessed over someone he met online. This might be the first time Gaster has ever fallen in love. He probably just didn't understand normal dating behaviors.

But... why Sans?

What did Gaster see in this online account? All Sans did was act a little bit cute whenever he wanted free stuff. There wasn't much to it. Was it because he was a good gamer?

Wait, since when did Gaster ever show interest in video games? Everyone in the office always talked about how late he stayed, how much dedication he placed into his work. Hobbies were nonexistent.

Man, did Sans fuck up.

Sans made sure to give Paps his after school snack before he shut his room door, phone pulled out.

'Let me know when you get home.'

It didn't even take a second for Gaster to reply.

'Okay <3'

Gaster called around ten minutes later, when Sans was just contemplating selling his account or not. He clicked the green button on his phone, with a sigh, and placed it against his skull.

"Hey babe!" Sans said.

"Hi Sukeruton."

Hesitant, but ready. Gaster was definitely antsy about whatever Sans would say. Oh boy.

"Sorry about before." Sans faked a cough, followed by a sniffle.

"Before was just a misunderstanding, right?"

No, it wasn't. Sans wanted to break up with Gaster because he was a man who was tricking him. Under normal circumstances, Sans might have actually went out with him. He was attractive, rich, and extremely smart, not to mention very fun to play with online. But them going out, under these conditions, Sans didn't want to do. He was tricking a man by pretending to be a woman.

"I... my friends told me to... to test your loyalty, by saying that!" Sans quickly found an excuse, clinging to it to survive from this awkward situation. "I'm sorry! I didn't call because I'm sick, and I felt so bad afterwards that I had to call you tonight." Another fake cough. "I'm sorry."

A scummy excuse, but if Gaster didn't like that his girlfriend tested him, then they could breakup! It'd work!

Instead, Gaster did not even care in the slightest.

"Oh my - you're sick? Why didn't you tell me! I'll send you medicine right away!"

"No, you don't need to do that. I already had some!" Yet another lie to add onto the shit pile Sans kept growing.

"Oh, okay, good. I'll send you some soup, then. Take care of yourself, I don't want you to get hurt."

Sans wanted to curl onto the floor from guilt over how touching Gaster was. This guy was definitely in love. Just with a fake persona.

"Can I have your name? I gave you mine."

Shit. Yeah, he couldn't say Sans, because Gaster knew Sans. So...

"It's... Rebecca."

They talked some more after that, but ultimately Sans ended the day, still in a relationship.

~~~~~~

Alphys, his best friend, squinted at him during their lunch break. Sans had confessed his sins, waiting for her response as he slowly stirred his leftovers.

"Fuck, Sans," Alphys said, despite usually never cussing.

"Oh man, is it that bad?" He groaned.

"You accidentally catfished your Boss, the Royal Scientist, by pretending to be a girl, so yes it is that bad!" Alphys hissed.

"Oh no!" Sans groaned.

"He really likes you. I mean, he really, really does! He checks his phone every five minutes to see if you're online! He said he even has a special ringtone for you so he knows when you text him!"

"Oh no!"

Just end him. Just put Sans into a trash can and end him, right there. End his life.

"You even gave him a fake name, Sans, you're just digging yourself so far that you're going to dig us to freedom!" Alphys' tail shook rapidly behind her. "You can't just breakup with him, he's happy now. And probably madly in love with you. If you did you'd have to tell him the truth."

"And admit that I tricked my Boss. Alph, if I tell I'm going to get fired, and I need this job for my bro!" Sans pounded the front of his head with his fist lightly, trying to come up with solutions. "Gaster even came to my desk today and thanked me for my advice. I'm fucked!"

"Yeah, you are."

Sans frowned at her. "You're supposed to help me, Alph!"

"My qualifications only extend into anime and hot lesbians."

"Gee, thanks."

Alphys placed a hand on her chest, grinning at him. "I know. I'm so helpful."

They talked for a bit longer, but ultimately came to no possible conclusion. Gaster was madly attracted to Sans' persona, so he couldn't break up with him. And unless Gaster suddenly wanted to break up with him, Sans was pretty much stuck. Though, Sans did send a message saying he and his friends wanted dessert, earning them enough money to go out and buy nice cream. Hey, if he was stuck in this, he was going to at least try to get something out of it.

They played more later. Sans almost had a heart attack when Papyrus had come into his room during a voice call, asking Sans for help with his homework, but thankfully Sans managed to mute the conversation before his name was spilled from his brothers mouth.

"Oh, they already released a new survivor?" Sans clicked onto the expansion back. "Man, that's kinda expensive."

"Hold on."

Wait. Was he actually going to...

The expansion pack was a good amount of gold. Gaster wouldn't actually buy it for Sans, right? Right?

His phone dinged, and Sans checked. Gaster bought two, and gave Sans one. So they could play together.

"Wait, I can't accept this! This had to cost at least an entire paycheck!" Sans stared at his phone, tilting the mic back. "Gaster, I can't just accept this knowing you're practically throwing your money away."

"Rebecca, you can ask for anything, and I'll give it to you. Money is no issue."

"I mean, still... you already do so much for me," Sans said guiltily.

"Would you like to make it up to me?"

"Sure. I could sell the expansion and give you back the money if you want."

"No, I'd... can we meet up? In person?"

Sans almost dropped his phone.