((Well this took waaayyy longer than it should've and that sucks -p- but nevermind that! What matters is its here so enjoy it!
Word count: 1503))

~^^~

Gaster sat at the desk in his office, repeatedly tapping his pen on its surface while glaring down at the documents and blueprints that lay dormant and untouched in front of him.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, was all that could be heard throughout the empty room.

Yet, despite the lack of sound in the room, a flurry of thoughts and worries flew threw Gaster's skull at lighting speed.

'You're supposed to be working.', one thought said.

'Stop wasting everyone's time and and do something.', another growled.

'You'll never finish this project.', a third said.

'You're useless.', one hissed.

'Everyone's depending on you and here you are sitting on your ass, doing nothing.', the last sneered, more fierce than the rest.

Gaster took in a deep breath. 'They're just thoughts', he told himself, 'they can't hurt you.'

Oh, but they did. No matter how many times he tried to deny their words deep down he knew they were right.

Pretty soon his deep breathes turned into short, desperate gasps. His soul pounded in his ears and chest and sweat began to roll down his forehead and onto the forgotten papers.

'Its happening again.'

This is the third time this week these symptoms had occured. He'd managed to calm himself down before but now they've come back with full force and Gaster was too panicked to even think. His eyes darted around the room, suddenly very conscious of his surroundings. The room felt cramped and uncomfortable, as if the walls would close in on him at anytime.

He had to get out of there.

Despite his shakiness, Gaster was able to stand, though as soon as he left his chair he felt as if his legs had been reduced to jello. Fortunately, before his butt made contact with the tiled floor he was able to grab hold of his chair and right himself.

Finally finding his balance, he took a few shaky steps towards the door, his exit out of this living nightmare.

"Just...a little...farther...", he mumbled between breathes, taking another wobbly step. His hands trembled and his vision swayed but he kept forward, keeping his objective in mind.

"Almost...there...", he breathed. And he was right. The door was just a few feet away. He was so close.

And then he fell.

Losing his balance, Gaster tumbled to the floor with a choked gasp. The pounding in his ears grew louder and more eminent. His vision blurred and tears pricked in the corners of his eyes. So close yet so far.

Drifting in and out of consciousness, Gaster only had the strength to mutter two simply words.

"Help...me..."

And then there was darkness.

~^^~

Visiting the laboratory was very common for the king, and frankly he very much enjoyed seeing what the scientists where up to every now and then.

The entire main laboratory went dead silent as the king's mighty form emerged from behind the two sliding doors and entered the building. No one dared to make a sound, a tense silence constricting the air around the lab.

Though, that tension quickly loosened when the giant boss monster's face broke into a big grin.

"Howdy everyone!"

A series of greetings and friendly smiles followed Asgore as he began to walk around the room.

He would stop and chat with a few of the monsters, some of them he was more familiar with, a newer ones he tried to get to know. All part of being a gentle and caring king.

After a while he began to walk further into the lab in search of the royal scientist, Gaster. He'd stop by his office whenever he got the chance and check up on him, seeing how his latest projects were going and making sure he wasn't over working himself. Everyone needs rest, he always said.

When he finally reached his door, remembering how Gaster preferred him to knock instead of barging in and scaring the wits out of him, he reached his hand (paw??) out and politely knocked on the cool metal of the door, waiting for a 'come in'.

But it never came.

He was only met with silence on the other end of the door. Asgore reasoned that he must not have heard him (he'd get sucked into his work like that) so he knocked again, this time speaking.

"Gaster? Are you in there?"

Silence.

Something wasn't right. Grabbing the handle of the door, the king twisted it and opened the door. He looked around, surveying the room for any sign of the scientist.

Until he looked down.

A gasp escaped the king as he stared down at the sight before him; Gaster lay sprawled out on the floor, completely unconscious.

Uh-oh.

Without a second thought, Asgore scooped up his limp form, and rushed out the door.

He had to get help.

~^^~

"daaad."

"daaaaaad."

"hey dad!"

Gaster awoke in his bed with a start, bleary eyed and he had a slight headache.

"Ughh", he groaned, "where...am I? What happened?"

"you passed out, dude. you're at home."

Standing next to his bed was none other than his eldest son, Sans. The same old grin plastered on his face yet concern in his eyes.

"you feelin' better?", he questioned.

"Mmhh", Gaster massaged his temple with a boney hand and nodded, "yes, quite. Wait, how did I get here?" He knew Sans didn't take him home and none of his workers wouldn't have bothered him while he was in his private office. So who?

"oh yeah that reminds me, someone wanted to see you.", Sans replied, giving his father a wink.

Before Gaster could question any further he had left the room, leaving Gaster clueless.

But soon that cluelessness cleared away as soon as Asgore walked into his room, his face riddled with concern.

Oh.

Oh.

"Gaster! It's good to see you awake. Are you alright?", the king asked.

Gaster's face burned a bright purple. Of course the king had to go worrying about him. Not that he wasn't great ful, its just kind of hard to hide your feelings for someone when they're standing in your room, showering you with questions like a mother worried for her sick child.

Asgore took notice of this and quickly went over and felt the scientist's fore head, checking his temperature.

"Oh Gaster you're burning up! Are you sure you're alright? Maybe you should have the next few days off and recover."

"N-no! I mean--I'm fine.", Gaster quickly replied, but really, he wasn't fine. He wasn't fine at all. He emotions were conflicting and all over the places. On one hand he felt like an idiot for not even being able to make it to a door without passing out. On another hand he was embarrassed that Asgore carried him from Hotlands all the way to Snowdin and was currently in his slightly messy room that he hadn't had the chance to clean. And on the third hand he wanted to lean into his touch because he was so tired and Asgore felt so warm and-

"Are you sure?"

Gaster nodded.

The king sighed and shook his head, removing his hand from the scientist's forehead (which he may or may not have upset him just a bit). "Gaster, what have I told you about over working yourself? We both know it's bad for your health.", he scolded.

"I know, your majesty, but-"

"No buts about it", Asgore interrupted him, "you're getting the rest of the week off and that's final." Asgore was not about to let Gaster run himself into the ground. He cared about all of his subjects, Gaster included.

Gaster sighed. Despite his happy demeanor the king could be as stubborn as a mule.

"As you wish, your majesty.", he reluctantly replied.

Asgore's face broke into a big smile and Gaster could practically hear hear heart flutter, "Very good!", he said, standing up.

"Now, get some rest, you'll need it.", the king said as he began walking towards the door.

As much as Gaster hated to admit it, he was tired. Like, really tired. Maybe he was over working himself.

Too sleepy to think about it, the scientist closed his eyes, already feeling himself falling unconscious.

Just as Asgore was about to grab the door handle he looked back at Gaster. He looked so...peaceful when he slept.

He walked back over to the bed and leaned over Gaster's form before placing a single kiss on his boney forehead before turning back and exiting the room, closing the door behind him.

Moments later, a small smile crept onto Gaster's face.

Maybe a break wouldn't be so bad after all...

~^^~

((Aaaaand its over. This was a request from RomanoSandersSide so here you go! Again, sorry it took so long ;-; So vote, comment, actuslly do something with your life, idc, as long as you enjoyed!))

----------
~Toodles~