Gaster waved back at Asgore. "Greetings, Your Majesty," he said, opening his umbrella. "You wanted to speak with me about something?" Asgore smiled cheerfully. "Of course, but let's not cut straight to business. Walk with me for a bit, Dr. Gaster. Ease your nerves, you seem tense lately." Gaster smirked. Asgore was always concerned about him. "If that will make you happy, sire, lead the way," he said. He walked up to Asgore and held his umbrella tightly over his head. Asgore was holding a small leaf-like umbrella, but didn't seem to mind the light rain on his head. "King Asgore, won't you get a cold?" Gaster said, concerned. Asgore shook his head. "Don't worry about me, Gaster, a little rain won't make me sick. Besides, we've all been through things worse than a common cold. Enjoying a calm night like this with a friend is worth getting a chill." Gaster smiled at him. "I trust your judgement," he said. Asgore stepped through a bit of water, but the scientist hesitated. "Oh come on, Gaster, a little cold water won't kill you," the King teased. "You're not a cat. Just step through it, it's not even that deep." Gaster looked down. "I'm going to get wet." "You're not going to get wet." Asgore insisted calmly, holding out a hand to his friend. "You have boots on for a reason, Dr. Gaster." he said. Gaster sighed and took his hand, carefully stepping through the water. "That wasn't that bad, was it?" Asgore said as Gaster stepped out of the small stream. "I guess not," the Royal Scientist said. "Actually... even being here is kind of refreshing. I haven't been to Waterfall in a long while, I usually just take the Riverboat home. And the landscape here is very pretty. The way the Echo Flowers and the patches of wild grass glow is... nice. It makes it look exotic, almost like something you would see on another planet. They're unique to Waterfall, too. You won't find a place this kind of pretty anywhere else in the Underground, perhaps not even on the surface." Asgore smiled. "Behind all those smarts, you're very poetic, Gaster," he said. Gaster blushed, embarrassed. "Well that was a bit embarrassing... I never really say things like that out loud..." he said quietly. The king chuckled a bit. "It's not embarrassing, it's adorable," he said. "You try to be so serious all the time, but when you open up like that, it shows the other, more soft-hearted side of your personality." The scientist looked away. "I guess so..." he said. Woshua walked by and nodded respectfully at the two monsters. "Hello Dr. Gaster, hello Your Majesty," he said. "Enjoying a night away from royal stress?" Asgore nodded. "Waterfall is a nice place to go to relax a bit," he said. "Not sizzling like Hotland, not full of life like Snowdin, it's a perfect mix." Gaster smiled a bit. "I couldn't have said it better myself," he said. "Waterfall is a truly lovely place."

Woshua smiled, and the tiny bird on his back chirped. "It is, isn't it? Well, I won't bother you two gentlemen any longer. Have a good afternoon!" he called before trotting away. "You too, Woshua," Asgore responded. "Stay safe," Gaster told him. The two walked along for a while, waving at citizens who passed by, until they reached a quiet little area by the water. Asgore sat on his knees on the grass and signalled for Gaster to sit with him. He complied and sat down, still thinking about what it was that Asgore wanted to talk to him about. Asgore put down his umbrella and turned to Gaster, like he could read his thoughts. "You're probably wondering what I wanted to speak with you about, right? And why I asked to meet in Waterfall, out of all places?" he asked. Gaster nodded. "Yes, actually," he responded. Asgore sighed. "I know I say this a lot, Gaster, but I'm worried about you. I'm starting to get scared." Gaster looked surprised. Asgore hadn't used the word "scared" in this situation before. "Why is that?" he asked. "I'm fine, Your Majesty, I assure you." Asgore looked down at the water. "Every time I tell you to take better care of yourself, you look worse the next time I see you. You seem to be getting sick, and it doesn't help seeing you so tense all the time, which is why I suggested we go to Waterfall for a bit of a relaxing walk together. I don't like seeing you so unhealthy like this, Gaster, I'm really starting to worry. I can't lose another one of the important people in my life." Gaster sighed and put a hand on Asgore's shoulder. The King had lost all of his family in less than 48 hours, his children dying and his wife leaving him, and although it had been years, he couldn't stop thinking about the three of them. "I know, Your Majesty. I understand losing someone you care about is difficult. I'll try to take better care of myself, if it will make you happy." Asgore looked up, his smile brighter than the shining rocks on the ceiling. "Thank you, Gaster. You're one of the only three people I have left. I hope you will not let yourself get sick like I fear you will." Gaster smiled a bit, too. "I'll try to take better care of myself, Your Majesty. For your sake."

Asgore signalled towards the water, and Gaster looked at it. He was a bit surprised when he saw his own reflection. He never paid much attention to his own health, too caught up in his research, but now he saw what Asgore was talking about. He did look unhealthy, and tired even more so — dark circles rested underneath his eye sockets. "Wow, I guess I am a bit sick..." he said. "I didn't want to mention it, since I don't like taking days off, but I really haven't been feeling my best lately..." Asgore looked concerned again. "You need to tell me when you're sick, Gaster! What would happen if it got worse?" Gaster sighed. "I know, I know, you can stop lecturing me now," he said. "I just have important research going on and I don't want to throw off my mental schedule to get better. I'll be okay, trust me, I just need a bit of medicine and I'll feel better." Asgore sighed. "If you insist, Dr. Gaster." He signalled towards the water again, but this time, when Gaster looked at it, Asgore splashed water in his face. He chuckled as Gaster tried to dry himself off with his scarf. "I can't believe I fell for that!" he said. Asgore was muffling his laughter with his hand, which gave Gaster an idea. He smirked and splashed water on him, too. "Ah! Haha! I deserve that," Asgore laughed. Gaster smiled, feeling his face heat up a little bit despite the slight chill in the Waterfall air. The King was a very good friend of his, them having known each other for years now, and he had been mentally denying it, but he felt something... different for Asgore, too. He kept those emotions pushed in the back of his mind, however, hoping to eventually forget about them, but he couldn't. "Hell you do, King Fluffybuns," he told him. Asgore laughed again. "I'm never going to live that nickname down, am I?" he asked. Gaster shook his head, laughing in spite of himself. "Probably not," he said. Asgore smiled. "You know, when you're not business-serious, you have a great sense of humour," he said. The Royal Scientist smiled back at him. "Do I really? Or do you just enjoy my company? Because you say that a lot, too, you know."

Asgore chuckled a bit. "Both," he said. They smiled at each other before it started raining. "Well, guess we should have kept our umbrellas open," Gaster said with a slight laugh. They opened their umbrellas again and stood up. "This was nice," Gaster said, wiping some water off his face. The king nodded and smiled. "It was. We should do this more often, Gaster. When you've gotten better, that is." Gaster nodded. "I enjoyed this. It really is pretty out here." The two walked back to the Riverperson and took the boat to Hotland. "See you soon, Your Majesty!" Gaster called as he and Asgore parted ways. "Make sure not to work too hard, Gaster!" Asgore called. "Tell Dr. Alphys I said hello!" As Gaster turned and went inside, told Alphys what Asgore said, and went back into the elevator, he started thinking about the subjects. 1-S and 2-P had been left alone before, but any time he left the lab for any reason, he couldn't help but worry about what could happen while he was away. What if the force field malfunctioned and came down, and they tried to escape? What if they somehow fell to physically fighting? What if one of them somehow got hurt and the other couldn't heal them enough? Given their unbreakable bond, Gaster didn't worry about that second one all too much, but he was still concerned. He felt more emotion for these two artificial skeleton children than he would like to admit. Which is why their safety was what panicked him the most when he arrived down at the lab and saw multiple pieces of rubble from the ceiling obstructing his path.