Undertale & Deltarune Oneshots

☆Intelligence- Gaster & Papyrus

Plot: When Papyrus begins to doubt how smart he is and starts mentally beating himself up over it, Gaster has to reassure him that he is, in fact, smart

Requested By: acethenonbinary01

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Being the son of the kings top scientist was great! They learned so much from him, ranging from basic school knowledge all the way to college level physics, though that was mostly for Sans, not for Papyrus. It's not that Gaster stopped him from learning with Sans, but Papyrus just couldn't wrap his head around it. The words turned to mush in his head, it was no use. Sans was just better than he was. Though, Papyrus didn't lose hope and he chose not to believe that, he kept trying to learn things like his brother, but every time he just couldn't do it.

Now they were sitting in Gaster's lab that was behind the house, both of them asking questions about the work he was doing. Gaster explained it normally like he would to any normal scientist before putting it in easier terms. That was just a habit that he picked up when the boys were younger, and they didn't mind it. Even Sans couldn't understand things sometimes when Gaster explained it normally. Still, even with the simpler explanation, it just went right over Papyrus's head. He recognized some of the words but he didn't remember what they meant, and he assumed Sans understood perfectly.

He felt tears welling up in his eyes, quickly jumping down from his chair and running out of the lab, leaving Gaster and Sans confused. Gaster told Sans to wait in the lab while he went to talk to Papyrus. He followed him into the house, not seeing him anywhere downstairs, so Gaster assumed he ran up to his room. As he walked up the stairs, he heard sobs from behind Papyrus's bedroom door. Gaster sighedbefore gently knocking on Papyrus's door.

"Papyrus, can I come in please?" Gaster asked, worriedly. Papyrus has never acted like this before.

Papyrus really didn't want anyone to see him like this, and he didn't want to say something wrong and make his father or his brother feel bad over his own feelings, but he never denied his father entrance to his room when he asked. He agreed and watched as Gaster walked in. He saw him curled up on his bed with his knees to his chest and his head resting in his arms, tears still pouring from his eyes.

Papyrus wiped the tears from his eyes with his arm and looked up at them apologetically. "I-im sorry..."

Gaster walked over to Papyrus and sat next to him, yet Papyrus wouldn't even look at him. He sighed and placed a hand on his sons back. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Papyrus. I'm just confused as to what upset you," Gaster said. Papyrus sniffled, but didn't say anything.

Now was the time where Gaster had to recall what he used to do when his boys were baby bones. Whenever they were upset, specifically Sans, he wouldn't want to talk to anyone. He would only nod or shake his head to yes or no questions. Perhaps now Papyrus would respond the same way.

"Did Sans or I upset you?" Papyrus hesitated for a moment, but slowly shook his head. Gaster smiled a bit, at least he would answer questions. "Did you get hurt?" Papyrus shook his head again. Well that narrowed it down some. But before Gaster could ask another question, Papyrus asked one of his own.

"Do you think I'm smart, Dad?" He asked, finally lifting his head out of his arms but still not looking at Gaster.

The older skeleton was in shock. Did Papyrus seriously doubt his own intelligence? Sans had always reassured him that he was still smart when he helped him study, and Gaster had always helped Papyrus retain knowledge over the years. Where on earth was this coming from?

"Of course you are, Papyrus, why would you think you're not?" Gaster asked, seeing tears falling from his sons eyes once more.

"I can't understand things like you and Sans. Even when you make it easier for me, I just can't remember it. I feel like I'm not as smart as you both, like I'm not smart at all. Im not as good as you and Sans, you both are so much better than me and Ill never catch up. I just want to be smart like you both." Papyrus said, lying his head back onto his arms. "I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings..."

Gaster sighed and gently pulled Papyrus into a hug, feeling his soul break when he felt Papyrus cling to him like a scared child. He gently rubbed his sons back, lying his head ontop of Papyrus's skull.

"Listen to me, Pap. You haven't hurt my feelings in the slightest for telling me your own feelings, and I know you wouldn't upset Sans either. While it is true that you don't learn things as quickly as Sans, you are still capable of learning the same material. You just need a little more guidance, guidance that Sans and I are more that happy to provide. That doesn't make you any less intelligent than your brother, and if you want to learn I promise you I will do my best to help you understand if that's what you truly want," Gaster said, knowing that Papyrus would understand and would keep these words in his mind for a long time. He always retained the words of reassurance that Sans and Gaster said. "And do you want to know a secret?" Gaster said, sitting up straight and watching as Papyrus finally made eye contact with him.

"What?" Papyrus asked, feeling slightly better than before.

"You are better that Sans at other things," Gaster said, watching as Papyrus's eyes lit up with pure excitement.

"Like what?"

Gaster smiled, "well for starters, you are so much more artistic than Sans. He says all the time how the only thing he can draw is a stick figure. And Sans is nowhere near as good at puzzles as you. You've been solving puzzle cubes and some of the most difficult puzzles I have since you were little. And don't tell Sans I told you this, but he still hasn't figured a few of them out yet. I believe you've solved them all." Gaster couldn't help but chuckle when he heard Papyrus giggling at everything he said. "While Sans enjoys more books and learning things constantly, you are so creative, Papyrus. I remember the time you helped with the design of one of my projects at work, and your ideas worked so much better than mine outside of the inner workings on the project. Without your creativeness, Sans and I would be such boring individuals." Papyrus laughed and hugged his father again, feeling Gaster wrap his arms securely around him. "Please, Papyrus, never change who you are."

"I won't, I promise," Papyrus said, a small giggle following. They stayed like that for a while, a father/son bonding moment that they honestly both needed. And now Papyrus felt reassured, all doubt about his own intelligence and importance had left his mind. "Can we go back to the lab? I want to find a puzzle and help Sans solve it!"

Gaster smiled, standing up with Papyrus in his arms. "I think that's a good idea. Would you want to show me too? I dont think I've solved one of the new ones yet." Papyrus nodded and smiled, relaxing against Gaster as he carried him back to the lab.