Archive of Our Own

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Until six months ago, the village of Ebott was a sleepy little town, nestled in the woods at the foot of a mountain. The Ebott National Park, right down the road, was home to an abundant forest, and numerous hiking trails that criss-crossed the foothills of Mt. Ebott. All Ebott was known for, was being a quiet place to stay the night, with good food and affordable rooms. All of that changed, however, when the monsters emerged from a cavern in Mt. Ebott, and thrust the little town into the spotlight of the world. The monsters wasted no time, seeking audience immediately with world leaders, and doing their best to communicate to humanity that they came in peace. They sought neither war, nor conquest, but rather a peaceful life where they could travel freely between the surface and the underground. The leader of your country, a peaceful man, met with the monster queen several times, in publicized meetings, and an agreement was reached. He ceded the lands of Ebott National Park to the Monsters as a show of good faith, and was the first world leader to recognize the Sovereign Nation of Monsters. They got to work immediately, building up a small town named “New New Home.” With its new claim to fame as the nearest town to the Sovereign Nation of Monsters, Ebott flourished, expanding and upgrading in order to keep up with the monster city, which had been built into the foot of the mountain that once concealed the entrance to the underground.   You were surprised when you discovered that New New Home was open to tourists and human visitors. Given the fact that humans were the ones that had sealed the monsters away, you had expected them to be afraid, or at least defensive, but the news interview with the Queen of the Monsters made it very clear that the monsters only wanted to get along with humans. The King and Queen made several appearances on talk shows and the news, though the King seldom said much, and preferred to spend his time in New New Home or the Underground.The only place in New New Home that was restricted was the actual entrance to the underground, but you couldn’t really blame the monsters for wanting to maintain a bit of privacy. It came as even more of a surprise to you though, when you first saw a monster shopping in a little store in Ebott and learned that through the agreement, they were also allowed to come and go in town. Good for them , you thought. You hoped they would be able to adjust to people, and that the people in town, barring the few outspoken monster-discriminating shopkeepers and residents, would adjust to them. Monsters were even working through the government to be able to travel to other places in the world unimpeded.   You knew that there were always going to be some humans who could never learn to love anyone who was different from them, and that they would protest and call for the monsters to be put back. The handful of human supremacists in town took to refusing service to the monsters out of racism, fear, and illusions of superiority, while others took bolder steps and outright harassed the monsters who were just trying to live their lives. Thankfully, it was no secret that those humans were viewed by the rest as shameful, a disgrace to the good name of Ebott. Slowly their stores closed and their protests were drowned out by the overwhelming support the monsters received from human communities all over the world. Communities of every color, nationality and orientation stepped forward, offering open arms to the monsters, and promising them a place in their towns and homes. You were staring at the clock on the wall, slowly clicking the pen in your scrub pocket in a mindless tune, as you thought about all the ways the world, and even more so, your world had changed in the last few years. You were just trying to pass the time before your shift ended and it was officially the weekend. Four years ago, you had moved away from the big city, an hour away, and found yourself a job at one of the local animal hospitals. You had been working there ever since. It didn’t pay a lot, despite your degree in the field, and sometimes it drove you crazy, working forty hours even on the slowest of weeks, but it was steady income. You enjoyed the work and helping animals everyday, even if your coworkers, and the occasional overbearing pet owner, made you want to scream sometimes. Sending a healthy animal home to their happy owners was the one thing that made it worth it. The thought of your unbearable coworkers made you groan internally. Today had already been one of the most boring days you had had in quite a while, and it still wasn’t over! You had one vet working and hardly anyone had come in for appointments. Your boss sent most of your coworkers home almost an hour ago, leaving behind nothing but a skeleton crew. You were the last vet tech working, along with the receptionist, the vet who was sequestered back in his office, and one assistant. It seemed like the clock was moving in slow motion just to spite you. The last hour until close seemed like a decade standing between you and your evening plans. If the doors just stayed closed, the clinic empty, for fifty-eight more minutes, you would be home with plenty of time to spare before your band’s show tonight. The new bar, that had opened up a few weeks ago, was the talk of the town. It was one of the first businesses owned and run by a monster, in the city of Ebott itself, rather than in New New Home. The little bar hadn’t seemed like much in the light of day, when you had met with the owner, but it had a reputation for being a whole different place after dark, so you were really excited to see what the place had in store for everyone tonight. Taking a deep breath, you stretched out your arms and back, forcing a yawn back, and shaking your head to clear the drowsiness that had crept up on you as you daydreamed.   It’s only an hour, you thought to yourself, maybe if I restock supplies or check the calendar on the computer, I’ll be able to pass some time.   As you debated restocking supplies for the third time, if only to avoid dealing with the office’s cranky receptionist, the familiar sound of a chart, not-so-gently thrown into one of the boxes up by the lobby reached your ears. Odd, you thought, usually the receptionist would be loudly complaining about a walk-in this late and demanding a smoke break, but for once the older woman was silent as a mouse. Interesting. You stretched once more before walking up to the wall of charts. Taking the folder, you flipped it open curiously, hoping to see what it was about your next client that had left the naggy receptionist quieter than you’d ever seen her. The lack of a name at the top of the folder immediately told you that it was a new client and you hummed in interest as you flipped the chart open. The lanky vet assistant walked up behind you, leaning over you to look at the chart. You had gotten used to your coworkers reading over your shoulder, since it wasn’t hard to do at your height, so you shifted the file to your other hand so he could get a better look. There was only one short note from the receptionist: Found dog, broken leg. Will be keeping the dog. You tried and failed to suppress a sigh. The receptionist was notorious for leaving the shortest, most vague notes on patients. Had the dog been hit by a car, or injured itself some other way? How old was it? Those were the things that would have been useful to know. You would have to find out yourself, you thought, sighing again, nothing else you could do.  You turned to the assistant, Brian, who was still lurking over your shoulder. “Hey, you mind making sure the x-ray is on, while I bring them in and take the history?”  He nodded and you flashed him a grateful smile. If you two could split the job, maybe, just maybe, you would get out on time. It's not like it would take two of you to do the history anyway. Glancing, once more, down at the chart in your hand, you opened the door separating the waiting room from the rest of the clinic without looking up.  “The Dreemurrs, we will take you now.” The room remained curiously silent, causing you to finally look up from the chart, which only left you more confused when you tried to meet the eye of your newest client. Sitting on one of the benches out in the waiting room was a small child. Only a child, no adult figure in sight. There was a potted plant sitting in their lap, and a dog laying on the floor beside them. The child wore a pink, purple and blue sweater that looked way too oversized for them and their short, shaggy brown hair fell over their face in bangs that seemed to hide their eyes from any angle you looked at them from. If you had to guess, the kid was maybe eight at the very most, and you would have had better luck guessing the gender of the potted plant in their lap, than the gender of the child. But even the flower seemed peculiar the longer you looked.  The flower in the pot was perhaps a small sunflower of some kind, but the longer you looked at it, the less it looked like any flower you had ever seen. It certainly didn't look like a real flower, so maybe it was a fake one? As your eyes wandered over the strange trio, they landed lastly on the dog laying by the kid's side. It was flopped over on its side in the sun patch from the window, looking asleep. It had markings in white, brown, silver and black along its coat, and looked to be no more than six months old. Despite its size, it was gangly like a baby deer, a sure sign that it was a puppy, maybe a mix of a wolfhound and a shepherd if you had to guess.  You repeated their name clearly, and this time, the kid heard you call their last name. They jumped down from the bench, keeping an expert hold on the flower pot with one small arm, while keeping the other hand on top of the dog’s head to keep it still. You took that as a hint to come and help, so you quickly walked over to the odd group and placed your hand over the dog's side to take over for the kid. Now that you were right next to the dog, it was easy to see which leg was broken.The back right leg was twisted at an odd angle and just dangling. The sight made you frown.  “Hey there, let me pick up the puppy for you. It’s a good thing you brought him in. Follow me, okay?” You kept your tone soft, not wanting to freak out the kid or the dog, since doing so would only make things worse in the end. To their credit, the kid, while they didn't answer aside from giving you a quick nod, seemed to understand what you needed from them, and made room for you to properly get your arms around the puppy without them being in your way. You walked your little group into the second exam room, and quickly placed the heavy puppy on the table before closing the door behind you. You took your pen from your pocket and opened the chart that you had shoved under your arm in order to pick up the puppy. You began making quick notes on what was going on with the dog. This included confirming the age by looking at the teeth, which left you surprised when you saw that it was only about twelve weeks old. The puppy’s temperature was normal and you took his weight while the kid got settled into the chair across from you. “Alright, so can you tell me what happened?” You looked up from the chart to speak to the small child, giving them your full attention with a small smile and waiting for them to explain what was going on. The kid started to sign, too fast for you to understand, given the very few signs that you knew, and you felt the corners of your smile begin to slip a little bit in your confusion. “Uh, I’m sorry um…” You paused, trying to sneak a glance at the chart to find their name, but before you could decipher the secretary’s scribbles, a high pitched, obnoxious voice chimed in, which startled you so profoundly you could have sworn you were going to have a heart attack.  “The human’s name is Frisk, dummy, and before you ask, I’m Flowey. Flowey the flower.”  You realized, belatedly, that the flower was talking to you. It turned its head to look at you, and gave you a lopsided smile, waving its petals in a vague sort of greeting. You placed your hand on your chest, where you could feel your heart pounding with surprise, and blinked a few times to make sure you were actually awake, and hadn’t dozed off at work.  You had met monsters before, plenty of times, in fact, but you had never seen a monster that resembled a plant before. Dog monsters, goat monsters, rabbit monsters, skeletons and ghosts were all things you had gotten used to seeing around town, in the clinic, or on the news, but a sunflower? That was new. Then again, the more you thought about it, it did make more sense for the kid, Frisk, to be holding a flower monster rather than sitting in a vet clinic all alone. You took a deep breath to try and calm your still pounding heart, and once it was normal, you smiled once again, and returned to the conversation at hand.  “Alright then, Frisk and Flowey, you can call me Brighid. Do you mind telling me what happened to this puppy?" You rubbed your free hand over the puppy’s ear, and could feel abrasive grains of sand and flea dirt under your thumbnail. You tried not to cringe at the feeling. Frisk turned to Flowey and began to sign rapidly, but the flower monster didn’t seem to have any trouble following the kid’s movements. Flowey nodded and began to relay the message for you.  “Frisk says that we were on our way home and saw someone dump the mutt out the door of a moving car. See, Frisk is such a bleeding heart that they couldn’t stand to see it hurt. That’s why they had the smiling trash bag come by and drop us off here.”  As Flowey was translating for you, you couldn’t help but be surprised by the brash way he spoke about the dog and Frisk. A smiling trash bag? You couldn’t think of who they could mean so you put that thought aside for later. Sparing a glance over at Frisk you quickly noticed that the kid didn't seem bothered by Flowey’s choice of words, as they were happily nodding along as the flower monster spoke. Strange, you thought, this must just be how Flowey speaks about everyone. Your thoughts flashed to your friends, lovingly crying out ‘bitch!’ every time they saw each other, and you wondered if maybe Flowey’s seemingly harsh language was like that, an alternative term of endearment.  “Oh, the poor puppy! Well Frisk, Flowey, let’s see what we can do for him. We are going to have to take an x-ray and give him something for pain, for sure." The dog seemed to know you were talking about him as you explained, and he yipped happily, nudging his large head into your hand. "Even though he acts like he doesn’t need it, I'm sure something to help with the pain will be useful in a few.” You paused thoughtfully, before continuing.”Sorry to have to ask, but are you Frisk’s guardian, Flowey?” Flowey cackled a rude harsh laugh. “Ha! As if! That would be the smiling trash bag’s job.” You smiled again hesitantly. “Ah, okay then. Well the vet will need to speak to Frisk’s guardian before we can get you all squared away. We like to make sure an adult knows before we send a child home with a new pet. Plus, sorry Frisk, we can’t let underage kids pay the bills.” Frisk nodded vigorously before taking a cell phone out of their pocket. They started typing  furiously, which you could only assume was a message to whoever it was that had dropped them off here.  “I’m going to go talk to the doctor really quick and let them know that your pup is ready for them to see, okay?” Flowey nodded.“Yeah yeah, Frisk is texting the smiling trash bag right now, so he should be here soon.” “Sounds good,” you replied. “I should be back in just a few minutes with the vet, so hang tight.” You left the room, closing the door softly behind you, and let out a sigh. This was going to be interesting, whoever this ‘smiling trash bag’ was, and you weren’t sure if it would be good-interesting or bad-interesting. You tried to picture it in your head, a smiling trash bag, but all you could picture was a monster made of literal trash. Flower monsters might be new, but you were pretty sure there wasn’t an actual trash bag monster.   Oh well , you thought, at least I’m not just standing around anymore.   Brian poked his head around the corner, looking for you. “Hey, the x-ray is all ready to go. Do you need me to go into the exam room with the doc or do you want to do it?” You shrugged, and Brian leaned against the wall while you logged into the computer and started typing in the dog’s information. “You can go in with the doctor if you want. Just watch what you say, the client is a kid who uses sign language, and has a talking a flower monster translating for them. Plus their guardian hasn’t arrived yet.” Brian was so obviously flabbergasted, it was like you could see the gears turning in his head.  You paused to focus on what you were typing for a moment before continuing. “The dog is cute as hell though, and he’s going to be a big old boy when he grows up.” “How old is he now?” “Judging off his teeth, the big boy is only about 12 weeks old, and he already weighs about thirty pounds. Looks like a wolfhound-shepherd mix, so like I said really cute.”  In true Brian fashion, as soon as a cute dog was mentioned, he immediately forgot his earlier confusion about the client. “Oh man, I’m going to have to look, mind if I go in?” “Nah, go for it.  I’ll get dressed for the x-ray we need to take, and I’ll set up everything we need for the dog’s cast.” You glanced at the clock, which had somehow shot forward 20 minutes, and your thoughts flashed again to your evening plans. “Hopefully we can get this done a little quicker than usual, since we don’t have any other clients, and still get done on time.” “Awesome.” Brian replied, before he disappeared back down the hall toward the exam rooms. Notes finished, you walked over to Dr. Johnson’s office and stuck your head into the room. You gave him the rundown on the client and handed the chart over to him before walking back to the x-ray room. He went into the exam room, where Brian was waiting with the dog, while you walked into the x-ray room to get dressed. You had just finished putting on your lead apron and neck protector when Brian walked into the room, the puppy in his arms, followed by a worried looking Frisk. You noticed that Flowey was nowhere in sight, and neither was the adult Flowey had promised was on his way. Once you had loaded the x-ray up on to the computer, Brian beckoned you over.  Brain passed the dog off to you and carefully leaned in so that he could whisper in your ear. “The kid wanted to watch. That guardian you mentioned showed up, and man is he creepy. He’s just a skeleton wearing a hoodie. Glowing eyes inside of a hood.” He shuddered, “I know it’s not “pc,” but he was spooky! A warning would have been nice.”  You could only roll your eyes at that; honestly, skeletons weren’t all that odd or scary. There was one you had seen on TV with the Queen of Monsters a few times, and that one seemed like he was really friendly and happy. Frisk was a good kid, so even if their guardian was a monster, you doubted they would be someone ‘scary’ like Brian made them sound. You were used to kids who acted out and cried when they were dragged into the clinic with their parents, fussing about having to wait, and throwing tantrums when they got bored. Those were the kids that you didn’t like to have back in the treatment room, but when the kids were poorly behaved so were their parents. Those kids almost always had parents who threw tantrums when they got the bill, argued with the doctor, and tried to treat infectious diseases with essential oils and crap. It always seemed like the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. If that was the case you could only assume that Frisk’s guardian was a good influence on them. Frisk was quiet, compassionate and listened to instructions, so you didn’t mind them watching.  Putting Brian’s dramatic introduction aside, you turned and waved Frisk into the tiny room. “You can watch until we need to shoot the x-ray then you’ve got to step out into the hallway, okay, Frisk? It will only take a minute for the camera to take the picture, and as soon as its finished, you can come back in.”  You waited for them to nod and you smiled again. Frisk was a cute kid, especially in that oversized sweater. The way they nodded so eagerly, and wanted so badly to make sure that the puppy was okay, was endearing. You placed the dog onto the x-ray table, and took out the measuring stick. Frisk was being surprisingly helpful by standing near the dog’s head, stroking it lovingly, and keeping it distracted while you positioned its broken leg. You had to keep a firm hand on the puppy as you tried to keep it still, since the puppy was straining toward Frisk, trying to lick them.  Frisk looked at the tool in your hands with a puzzled expression, so you began to explain what you were doing while taking the dog’s measurements. “I have to know how big Mr. Puppy’s bones are or we won’t be able to see them in the picture,” you explained, as you gently slid the measuring tool under the broken leg and closed the tool over the bone at the widest part. Frisk had taken a step back and was now hovering at your hip to see your what you were doing more closely. Measurement taken, you removed the tool and walked over to the chart on the wall with the adjustment settings. “This chart tells me what settings to use on the camera. Mr. Puppy is a big boy already, and once we get his leg fixed up he’s going to grow up to be big and strong!”  The child’s face lit up at the mention of getting the puppy all fixed up, and you took a moment to adjust the numbers on the machine. Brian stepped away for a moment to put on his own neck protector and lead apron, before coming back over to help you flip the dog. “Now I’m going to have to lay the pup down on the table, so they are on their side. It’s not going to be comfortable and they might not like that, but I promise that we’ll be careful okay?”  You tried to make sure you didn’t baby Frisk about what was going on. You had always hated adults speaking to you like you were stupid when you were a kid, so it felt wrong to do that to someone else. Frisk seemed to understand the importance of what you were saying, so they nodded, reached up on their toes to pat the dog on the head, and then stepped back to give you and Brian the space to do your work. Once you were in position you said, “Alright, one, two, three.” You and Brian gently flipped the dog onto its side, making sure the bad leg was touching the table. The puppy whined a bit as you flipped him, but didn’t snap at you or try to get away. You flipped off the overhead light for just a moment so you could line up the dog’s leg with the projected frame of the x-ray. Once you had everything set, you turned back to Frisk who had stepped back toward the door, their face illuminated by their phone in the dark.  “Alright I’m about to take the picture Frisk, so I’m going to need you to step out of the room and close that door behind you. When you hear the beep, you can come back in, alright?” Frisk gave you a double thumbs up, and spun on their heels to disappear through the door. It seemed like such a well-practiced move that you couldn’t help but chuckle at them. You got the impression it was something they had seen someone they admired do in the past.   “I’m telling you, that skeleton dude is creepy, Brighid.” Brian asked as he tweaked his grip on the dog’s leg, making sure his hands wouldn’t be in the frame. You fumbled in the now dark room, trying to find the pedal to take the x-ray, cursing under your breath before replying.  “Skeleton dude? Oh, right, you mean Frisk’s guardian, the one Flowey was talking about.” You had already chosen to ignore Brian’s nonsense so you were a little irritated that he was bringing it back up. “I really don’t see what the issue is, we deal with bones everyday. Next thing I know you’ll be telling me x-ray photos are ‘spooky’ too, so you can get out of doing work altogether,” you said teasingly. You couldn’t see his face but you got the distinct impression that Brian rolled his eyes.  “Yeah, yeah, well, we’ll see if you can meet that monster without being creeped out,” Brian retorted. “You could have warned me that that flower had a mouth on them, though.” “Eh, so do I,” you said, your voice dripping with sarcasm. “Maybe Flowey is just having a bad day. Happens to everyone, y’know?” Your foot found the pedal to take the shot and you snapped the picture with no further discussion. Flowey aside, you hadn’t been bothered, startled, or freaked out by any of the monsters you had met so far, and you doubted that Frisk’s guardian would be any different. The machine beeped, and you flipped on the light before letting the puppy sit up carefully. Just as soon as the light clicked on, Frisk walked back into the room to pet the puppy and scratch him behind the ears. “Alright let’s see what we are working with.” You mumbled, sitting down at the computer to wait for the x-ray to load up. You glanced at the clock once again, noting that another 10 minutes had zipped past, before turning your attention back to the, now loaded, in-focus, x-ray on the computer in front of you, and saying, “Aw shit.”  The dog’s leg was fully broken in two places below the knee; you had hoped that it wouldn’t be as bad as all that since the dog wasn’t acting like it was in pain. You swore again under your breath, thinking about how the dog’s cast would have to be changed every week since he was still a growing pup.   You removed your x-ray gear before stepping into the treatment room, expecting to have to go hunt for Dr. Johnson. To your surprise he was sitting in a chair at the treatment table, waiting for the x-ray to finish. As soon as you opened the door, he followed you back into the x-ray room to take a look at the damage you would be working to repair every week for at least the next month.  He sat down at the computer and frowned at the x-ray, but Brian was calling to you from the x-ray table to come hold the overgrown puppy in place so he could take off his lead apron. As soon as you turned away, Dr. Johnson stopped called after you, “Brighid, can you please bring the child’s… dunkle… in to look at the x-rays?”  You raised an eyebrow at the odd word, but shrugged it off. There was only one person, or, you thought, monster, who could be Frisk’s ‘dunkle’.   “Sure thing,” you replied, looking over your shoulder at him. “It’ll just be a moment.” Dr. Johnson nodded once and resumed looking at the x-rays that were pulled up on the computer.  Frisk looked excited at the mention of their ‘dunkle’, hopping from foot to foot and grinning, but they seemed unwilling to leave the puppy’s side for any longer than absolutely necessary. You decided not to bother asking what a dunkle was, since Frisk wasn’t likely to answer you and Brian wasn’t likely to know. You shrugged mentally. Maybe it was a monster thing. Once Brian had taken off his gear, he took back over the job of handling the puppy, so that you could go get Frisk’s companions. One look at Brian’s expression made it clear that he would prefer to be holding a flea-bitten plus-size puppy, over talking to monsters, any day.    Deciding to search for the word ‘dunkle’ online later, you went down the hall, back to the exam room, to bring Frisk’s dunkle back to the x-ray room. You knocked on the door before entering the exam room, but when you opened it, you were met with a rather strange sight. You thought you knew what to expect when you met a skeleton but the skeleton in front of you was different than the one you had seen on TV.  He was short, just about the same height as you, with broad shoulders, and a sturdy frame. He was quite literally big boned, but his face, though skeletal, was expressive and currently split by a mischievous grin. His face was also rounder then what a normal human skull would look like, and though he had no eyes to speak of, a bright cyan blue light was glowing in his left eye socket. The right, on the other hand, was a black void. He was standing in the middle of the exam room, with his right hand tucked into his hoodie pocket and his left extended out into the air in front of him.  You couldn’t help but look him over, trying to take in everything about him you could see. His hoodie was a dark blue, open in the front, showing a plain t-shirt beneath it and he was wearing gym shorts, which allowed you to see that, without a doubt, he really was a skeleton. You could identify the bones in his leg with just a glance, before they extended down into a pair of plain black sneakers. It took you a moment to overcome your curiosity, as you gazed at him silently, before you remembered what you were there for, and realized what was going on in front of you. In the grasp of, what you could only assume was, magic, you saw Flowey slowly spinning in the air, holding his little leaves over his mouth as if he was trying not to puke. “heh, look at that, it’s a spunflower …” The skeleton said, sounding amused. His voice was rich and deep, but his pun was almost immediately interrupted by an angry, muffled screech from Flowey. You had almost decided to turn around and come back in a few minutes, when they noticed you staring at them from the doorway, and suddenly froze.  The skeleton wore a sheepish expression for a moment as he glanced back at you.“uh, hey there miss, don’t mind us,” he said, “s’just a fun game me and the weed like to play.” “Put. Me. DOWN!” Flowey hissed, his face contorted into something much less cute than when you saw him earlier. In fact, if you had seen that kind of look when you had first met him, you might have really had a heart attack earlier. Now though, you couldn’t help but notice that his expression bore a striking resemblance to the sour puckered face of the office’s receptionist when she was feeling vindictive. The thought almost made you chuckle.  Sans gave Flowey an evil grin, his sheepish expression vanishing, and replied, “if you say so,” before releasing the magic holding Flowey up in the air. The potted monster crashed down onto the table with a heavy thud, but his pot didn’t shatter, and although his face still looked sour, he was obviously relieved to be back on a solid surface. The skeleton monster turned to finally face you all the way, allowing you a better look at his face. Both eye sockets now had bright blue-white lights flickering in them, giving the impression of eyes, and you were relieved that the unnerving blue light and void combination had vanished. Sans seemed to relax when he realized that you weren’t afraid, and he offered his left hand out for you to shake as he introduced himself. “sorry about that. my name’s sans, sans the skeleton. i’m frisk’s dunkle.” The sheepish expression returned to his face as he spoke. “also, i would appreciate if you didn’t tell the kid about what you just saw... they don’t like it when we don’t get along.”  You couldn’t hold back a grin as you reached out and shook the offered bony hand, but you were surprised by how warm and heavy his hand felt in yours. There was nothing about how his hands looked that would make you think they would be warm, and it took you a moment to remember that, yes, magic was real, and monsters were made of it. You knew this, in concept, but this was the first time you had seen and experienced it first hand. You were trying to keep your scientific mind from doing a comparison between magic bones versus real, dead, animal bones, when a loud “plllllbbbbbbbbt” sound erupted from his hand as you shook it.   “whoopee cushion in the sleeve,” he said, laughing warmly. “gets them everytime!”  You really did laugh at that, letting go of his hand after a moment, before quieting your giggling and answering him. “I’m Brighid, and I’m a vet tech. I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything this time, so your magic tricks are safe with me.” You winked and Sans’ smile spread even further.  Flowey, on the other hand, stuck his tongue out at Sans with a sour expression. “We took a picture of your dog’s leg.” You continued, “If you would just follow me, the doctor would like to show you the x-rays.” As you turned around to lead the way, you froze, a horrifying thought crossing your mind. “U-Unless that’s rude, oh my gosh I didn’t even think of that, is it rude to you?”  Your face began to feel hot and you could feel yourself blushing crimson in embarrassment as you realized that maybe showing broken bones to an actual skeleton was in poor taste. To your relief though, Sans seemed to understand, and he waved a hand at you shrugging. “eh, it’s no bone off my nose, you’re fine.” He chuckled and you smiled weakly, relieved that you hadn’t made a bad impression on him. He started to follow you out the door, but he paused when he noticed you looking back at the little flower left behind in the exam room. You looked from Sans, and back to Flowey, noting Flowey’s pouting face as he crossed his little leaves in front of him. “Should they come with or…?” You left the question hanging in the air as Sans followed your gaze back to Flowey.  For a moment, it seemed like he was really thinking of leaving the little flower behind, but after a few seconds he sighed and went back to pick Flowey up. “good call, i would not have heard the end of it from the kid,” he said.  Sans and Flowey in tow, you began walking back through the clinic, leading them through the treatment room and into the x-ray room, where Frisk, Dr. Johnson, and Brian were waiting. Brian’s face drained of color as soon as he spotted the monsters coming in behind you, and he suddenly became very preoccupied with checking the puppy for ticks. And trying not to make eye contact, you thought in disgust.  To Dr. Johnson’s credit, he seemed entirely unfazed. As soon as Sans came into the room, Frisk began signing at him rapidly, and Sans started signing, one handed, in reply. He’s just as quick, you noted mentally, as you tried, and failed, to make sense of their conversation. Their conversation was brief, and fast, and you didn’t recognize many signs besides dog and car, but, once complete, Sans turned to Dr. Johnson and introduced himself, shaking the doctor’s hand. Without a whoopee cushion, this time, you thought.  The doctor wasted no time, leading Sans to the computer where the x-rays were displayed. Sans walked around Frisk to follow Dr. Johnson, and handed Flowey off to them as he passed. “Alright, Mr. Sans, as you can see here, the pup has a compound break on the tibia, here and there.” The doctor said, pointing out the breaks to Sans, who leaned over his shoulder to look at the display. “ah, I see. well, tibi-honest that looks like a nasty break doc. what can we do about it?” Sans said, his bony smile lighting up. You stifled another chuckle at Sans’ latest pun, and, once you heard Dr. Johnson confirm that the pup would be getting a cast, you stepped back into the treatment room to get the cast materials ready. Only a moment later however, you noticed a tiny shadow behind you, and when you turned, Frisk was following you. You gave them a small smile as you moved the mat to the wet table and started to warm up the water.   Some light sedation is probably necessary, you thought to yourself, but I would rather not sedate a dog that’s so young. Re-aligning a broken bone can be pretty painful though. You drew up the sedation, to have it on hand just in case, but also grabbed a needle and filled it with pain medication. If I give this to the puppy now, it will be working by the time we’ve finished cleaning him up, and that might cut out the need for sedation.   You had assumed that Frisk was following you because they were curious, but when you felt a tug at your scrubs, you looked down to see Frisk looking up at you, an unasked question in their worried eyes. They were staring at the needle in your hand, and their fear was evident on their face. You squatted down to rest on the back of your heels in order to be on their level.  “Hey, don’t worry Frisk. We’re going to fix him up; it’s just going to take some time for the bone to heal. I need to give the puppy some pain medication so that it doesn’t hurt while we fix his bone,” you said, tapping the needle you had placed in your scrub pocket.  Frisk tilted their head, looking apprehensive, but eventually nodded. You gave them another small smile. This kid is already starting to grow on me , you realized, even though I might not see them again. There’s just something about the kid that makes me adore them.   “Sorry,” you said, making a circle on your chest with a closed hand. “I don’t know many signs, but if you have a question don’t be afraid to ask. I’m sure I’ll figure it out, and if I can’t maybe Flowey can translate for me. Or maybe your dunkle Sans can help.”  Frisk had set Flowey on the treatment table when they had followed you into the treatment room, and when Flowey heard his name, he gave you a wink. When you mentioned Sans, however, the little potted flower monster blew a raspberry at you.  You resisted the urge to blow a raspberry back at Flowey, and instead stood up and looked back over into the x-ray room. Brian was still standing next to the dog on the x-ray table, but it appeared that Sans and Dr. Johnson had finished talking, since Sans was standing in the doorway watching you, his hands in his pockets. His eye lights had narrowed and dimmed, but when you blinked, they were back to normal. Strange, you thought. Before you could give it anymore thought, however, Dr. Johnson walked out of the x-ray room,and gestured for you and Sans to join him at the treatment table. “Alright Brighid,” Dr. Johnson said turning to you, “You know what to do. Brian should be able to help you get everything set.” He paused looking back to Sans. “Mr. Sans, while you’re more than welcome to stay, many owners prefer not to watch. You can feel free to wait back in the exam room if you would like.” He hesitated there, clearly doing the same mental gymnastics you had gone through earlier, trying to determine the best way to be tactful when talking about bones with a literal skeleton.  As he did before, Sans shrugged off the topic altogether, flashing the doctor a smile. “nah i’m good here, but thanks doc. i think it would be neat to see how you humans set bones.” Dr. Johnson looked relieved. “Alright then, if you want to have a seat right there, Mr. Sans, we will get your puppy taken care of and then you’ll be free to go. Don’t forget to bring your dog back in a week, though, as we’ll need to change the cast regularly as he grows.” The vet’s tone was jovial, and he gave Frisk a small wave before walking back to his office to finish the chart and order up the medication for the puppy. You had just finished gathering your supplies when Brian came walking out of the x-ray room with the puppy and set it gently onto the wet table beside the tub in the treatment room.  “Alright little one, let’s get this pain medication into you before we start.” You said out loud. Sans had taken a seat next to the treatment table and pushed Flowey to the furthest corner of the treatment table, precariously close to the edge. Once Brian had positioned the dog correctly, you injected the medication into the puppy with a smooth and practiced movement.  “See just one small poke. Once the water is nice and warm we can get you all cleaned up.”  You began pulling supplies out of the cabinets beneath the tub, shampoo and flea medication, and once everything was set, you checked the water again.  “Frisk,” You called out, looking around for the kid, before spotting them sitting next to Sans, having a conversation in sign language. When Frisk heard their name, the two of them paused, and looked your direction. You smiled at them. “Do you see the cheese on the table to your right?” Frisk looked around for a moment before pointing to the nearby can of cheese whiz. “Yep that one,” you said. “Do you want to come over here and give this good boy a treat for me while I wash him off?”  You often assigned tasks like this to kids so that they could feel like they were helping, but you had never seen anyone light up at the chance like Frisk did. Their expression was exuberant, as if you had told them you were taking them to an amusement park, not asking them to feed cheese to a dog. Frisk nearly bounced out of their chair in excitement, as they made a beeline for you, cheese in hand.  Once Brian had passed the dog off to you, and the dog was situated in the tub, he slipped out of the room quietly to go ‘clean up’ the X-ray and exam rooms. You were irritated for a moment since Dr. Johnson had told him to help, but you decided to let it go. I can probably do this better and faster on my own without him, you thought. Brian was known for being fidgety anyway, and you didn’t need him setting the dog, or clients on edge. Turning your attention back to Frisk, you said,“Alright then, give them a little bit at a time. You don’t want them to get to full on the stuff.” Sans chimed in behind you,“i dis-a-brie. kid, you should go all out! after all, we don’t know when he ate last.” The skeleton grinned at his own pun, but Flowey let out a shrill, “ughhhhhhhhh.”  You giggled a little, and so did Frisk who was dutifully feeding the dog fingerfuls of cheese. Thankfully, Frisk seemed to disregard Sans’ advice, and was careful not to give the puppy too much. The puppy stayed mostly still and didn’t fight you while you bathed him. It didn’t take long to scrub the sand and fleas out of the dog's short fur, and he took the flea meds you had grabbed for him willingly, once you had coated them with cheese.  Once you were done, you grabbed a towel, and moved the freshly cleaned dog over to the other table where Sans and Flowey were waiting. Frisk moved flowey onto the top of the tall step stool that was usually kept in the corner, and pulled their own chair around to the same side of the table as you, so that they could reach the dog and continue petting him. Once everyone was situated, you finished toweling the dog off, being careful not to jostle his broken leg. “Alright,” you said, turning to Frisk once again, “Now I’m going to start making the cast on his leg. If he gets too uncomfortable, I’m going to give him some medication to help him relax. It will probably make him sleepy, but he’ll be okay. I want to make sure I don’t hurt him while I work.” Frisk nodded, but didn’t seem willing to leave the dog’s side. A thought struck you. “Have you thought of a name for the puppy?” you asked, looking at Frisk.  Their face shifted into a concentrated expression, but after a moment they turned to discuss it with Sans in rapid sign language. Sans shook his head, but after a moment his face lit up, and he signed something back to Frisk. Frisk instantly grinned. “the dog’s name is dump ling,” Sans said, grinning. “you know, because he was dumped on the side of the road.” You grinned at his silly pun, and nodded, laughing. “Okay then,” you replied. “Dumpling it is. This is going to take a while, Frisk, so it will help me a lot if you can keep petting Dumpling to keep him from getting restless. Frisk continued to give the dog cheese as you flipped him over and got him to lay down with his broken leg up, facing you. Sans seemed absorbed in his phone while you began to work. Though Flowey had been moved out of your way, and set on a step stool, he was still opposite the table from you, next to Sans, which probably explained his sour and impatient expression. You grabbed the medical tape and began wrapping it around the dog’s leg to make the stirrup that would hold up the cast, and the room gradually fell silent. You didn’t mind chatting with clients most of the time, but you preferred silence when it came to tasks like this. You were grateful for the quiet, since it helped you focus. You hummed as you worked, wrapping layers of gauze and splinting material around the dog’s leg. Dumpling didn’t even whine as you straightened out his leg in order to make sure the bones were lined up, and it wasn’t long before the puppy dozed off. It wouldn’t be the first time that an injured animal had succumbed to sleep while you worked on them; you prided yourself on being level headed, and you were always the one they called for when an animal was too hurt and scared to be handled by the other techs. Slow movements and humming had always seemed to work better for you than the tense anxiety that rose off your coworkers like steam on hot pavement. You were glad you hadn’t had to sedate him.  You continued to hum as you worked, gradually forgetting about your surroundings, focused entirely on the dog in front of you. You didn’t notice that anything was off until you looked up to ask Frisk what color wrapping they wanted for Dumpling’s cast. Flowey was staring at you, his face disturbed, and the lights in Sans’ eyes had gone out. Your thoughts began to race, wondering if it was your humming that had upset them, or if they were just horrified by the process of forcing a bone back together with tape and gauze. Your hands froze, and the tune you were humming died on your lips. You mumbled an apology and ducked your head before they could see your face reddening.  Sans coughed, and rubbed the back of his head, as the lights in his eyes flickered back to life.“sorry about that miss.” he said, “i didn’t mean to stare. i, uh, just got caught up watching you fix the dog. you’re really skilled at that.” It sounded a bit like a lame excuse but you tried not to dwell on it. Flowey’s expression was unreadable, and he offered no apology or explanation. “It’s okay Mr. Sans, I didn’t realize my humming had gotten so loud,” you replied. “I kind of tune out my surroundings when I’m working. Sorry.” You were saved from the awkward conversation by a tiny hand tugging at your sleeve. Frisk had a roll of medical wrap, pink and decorated with sheep, in their hand, and was offering it up to you. You wasted no time, and quickly wrapped the dog’s splinted leg with the wrap, ignoring the odd look Frisk was giving their monster friends. Sans had flipped up his hood as if trying to hide his face.“nah, it’s not that,” he said, “it was nice, the humming i mean. i was just surprised the dog fell asleep so quick. You must have that special touch, huh?” Flowey looked like he was going to explode when Sans said that,“A special touch?!? You smiling trashbag, you mean a -” whatever Flowey was going to say was muffled until it was unintelligible by Sans' hand, which he had thrown over Flowey’s mouth. Sans mimed like he was wiping sweat off his forehead, which struck you as silly, since you were pretty sure skeletons, even magic skeletons, didn’t sweat. “don’t mind the weed miss, he still needs to learn that if you don’t have anything nice to say, it's better to say nothing at all. and he never has anything nice to say.” The whole scene was absurd; a skeleton pretending to wipe sweat from his forehead, with one hand over a talking flower’s mouth, and the flower trying to bite the bony fingers that were pressed over his mouth. You were unsure of how to move forward, so you simply turned away and fiddled with the dog’s wrap once more for good measure, just to make sure it was on there very well. That was when a small voice spoke at your hip, accompanied by a familiar tug at your sleeve.“Don’t worry, Dunkle Sans always acts silly around pretty ladies.” Frisk said quietly. Sans and Flowey stopped their shenanigans immediately, and swiveled their heads along with you to look down at Frisk. The kid was wearing what could only be described as a shit-eating grin, and there was a mischievous twinkle in their eyes.  Sans made a sound like was choking for just a split second and buried himself deeper into his hoodie. You decided to ignore the flustered skeleton, and turn your attention to Frisk instead. “Thank you for the complement Frisk. That’s sweet.  And thank you for using your voice to talk with me. I’ll try and learn more signs so we can talk better next time. But it’s okay if Mr. Sans acts a little silly, everyone does when they meet new people. We’re all still getting used to one another. We’re bound to seem a little strange to each other from time to time.” Frisk smiled back at you when you said this, but didn’t reply. You gave Frisk a gentle pat on the shoulder and a warm smile, before you pulled away to put Dumpling down on the floor. He awoke as you shifted him, and once he was on the floor he shook himself out and woofed quietly. The puppy tried bounding over to Frisk, but fell onto his butt as it discovered that it's leg was bandaged straight, and wouldn’t be bending anytime soon. Frisk only laughed and walked over to the pup, who began excitedly licking Frisk’s hands and face. Obviously understanding that you were finished, Sans stood up and walked over to stand by Frisk, picking up Dumpling in an easy movement and holding the giant puppy like a baby. You slipped a leash over Dumpling’s head and offered the handle to Sans who took it silently. “Alright then,” you said, “I think you’re all set now. If you guys will just follow me, I’ll get you all checked out and we can schedule a time for you to come back next week so we can adjust the cast.” Frisk walked over to the table where Sans had left Flowey and grabbed the little plant monster who almost immediately began whispering jabs about Sans into Frisk’s ear. Frisk was obviously trying not to laugh, and Sans just buried himself deeper into his hoodie, pretending he couldn’t hear. The scene made you smile, and you checked them out at the front desk. Once they had paid, Sans took Dumpling outside, but Frisk set Flowey down, and darted behind the counter to wrap you in a quick hug that caught you by surprise. You waved goodbye to the kid as they nipped out the door, Flowey in hand, and found yourself smiling. They had been a friendly group, just like all the monsters you had met in your line of work, and you were glad to know that you would be seeing them again.It wasn’t until you glanced out the door after them, that you realized it was almost dark, and your breath caught when you checked the clock.  “Shit!” You cursed, frantically moving through the clinic, cleaning up your messes and shutting down equipment. “Shit-shit-shit-it’s-already-seven!” You grabbed your keys and clocked out, before running out to your reliable, if run-down, car, hoping the car would start for you without trouble. “They are going to kill me~” You sang to yourself as you turned the key, but you breathed a sigh of relief when it sputtered to life. You zipped through town, catching both lights that stood between you and your apartment while they were still yellow, before skidding into a parking spot as close to your apartment as you could get.   There was no denying that your apartment was shitty. The apartments you lived in were undeniably the worst in town, with jacked up rent prices, loud neighbors, and narrow staircases that made moving in an absolute nightmare. But it was home until you could afford to move out; You were stuck there, just like everyone else living there; everyone who made enough to pay the bills and not a penny more. You all but ran head-first into the door when your key caught in the lock, but you caught yourself and jiggled the key until the latch came undone. You immediately dumped your bag by the door before dashing back the hall. You opened the door to your bathroom, and cranked the shower over to HOT, hoping against all hope that the shower would be at least lukewarm by the time you finished grabbing your clothes and towel. You mentally thanked the past version of yourself that had decided to pick out your clothes ahead of time. Clothes, phone, make-up and towel, all in hand and accounted for, you dashed back into the bathroom. You tapped your friend’s contact in your phone to call her, put the phone on speaker and tossed it into your bathroom sink before jumping into the still cold water.   “Fuckkkkkkkkkkk.” You groaned, shivering at the cold water, and mentally cursing it into oblivion, as you ducked your head into the freezing cold torrent. “Hey girl, where you at?” A female voice came over the speaker as your friend Ava picked up the phone. “Sorry!” You cried, “Work held me late because we had a last-minute walk in but I’m in the shower now. Give me 15 minutes, and I’ll be on my way okay?” You squirted shampoo into your hand and began the task of washing your hair as quickly as you could. It was no easy feat, given that it fell to the middle of your back, but you got it rinsed and slathered in conditioner, before you began scrubbing your nails and hands to rid yourself of the smell of cleaning chemicals and animals.  “Damn, that sucks,” Ava replied, “Where was everyone else today?” “Take a guess. They got sent home early, as always, and I got stuck working until close.” You tried not to gasp as you stepped back into the still cold water to rinse yourself off.  “Again?! I hate that they always do that to you! Did I ever tell you I hate your boss?” You smiled ruefully. “Only a million times, Ava,” you replied, “That makes two of us. At least my last clients were interesting though. It sounds like the start of a bad joke: a kid, a talking flower and a skeleton monster, walk into a vet clinic.” You turned off the shower and started to wring the water out of your hair, waiting for Ava’s response. “A kid, a talking sunflower and a skeleton? That is an odd bunch. But then again, odd has started to become the norm around here; just look at our boss for the night.” Ava replied. “So what did they come in for? Was it another rabbit situation?” You giggled, grabbing your towel to finish drying off, before you answered her. “No, it wasn’t anything as embarrassing as that! Someone tossed a dog out of a moving vehicle, and the kid, Frisk, decided to bring it in. They named the dog Dumpling because it was dumped out of a car,” you said, laughing again at the name Sans and Frisk had picked out. You put on your underwear and slacks, before grabbing your hair brush to do your hair. “Wait hold on…”Ava said, sounding startled. The line went silent, and once you saw that she had just put you on hold, you put your phone back on the counter, glad that it hadn’t died on you like you thought.  You sang softly to yourself as your braided your hair, turning occasionally in the mirror to make sure that your hair was still neat in the back.  The line clicked and Ava exploded over speaker phone,“HOLY shit Brighid!” she screeched. “What?! What?” You jumped at the sudden noise, dropping your hairbrush. “You said the kid’s name was Frisk?!? As in Frisk Dreemurr?!?!” She replied, still not explaining. “Yeah? Wait, I didn’t tell you their last name. Are they famous or something?” You glanced at the clock, cringing at how little time you had left, before tying off your braid with a white ribbon.  “Uh, YES!” She replied, exasperated. “Dreemurr, as in KING AND QUEEN DREEMURR! As in the King and Queen of Monsters!?! That “kid” is their adopted child, the Ambassador of Monsters, Brighid!”  You froze at that, your eyes wide as all your other thoughts came to a screeching halt. That kid was the ambassador everyone was talking about? The one who freed all the monsters from the underground?! You groaned, placing your head in your hands. I gave the AMBASSADOR OF MONSTERS a talk about how sometimes people don’t understand each other, and how that was okay! No wonder Sans was so freaked out by me, you thought, I treated Frisk like a normal kid and acted like a weirdo in front of them! Frisk is basically royalty! “Oh no babe, you didn’t give the kid a lecture did you?” Ava asked sympathetically when she heard you groan.  “No!” You replied, pulling yourself out of your thoughts. “I just made a comment, when their friends were giving me a strange look about my humming. All I said was that people who just met were bound to find things strange about one another, but that it was okay!” You reached for your makeup, applying it quickly, with a deft hand, before carefully sliding on the white top you had picked out.  “Oh, well that’s not so bad,” Ava replied, “What did you think of them? Not just Frisk but the monsters too. I haven’t met that many.” “Frisk was a sweet kid,” you replied. “They gave me a hug before they left and everything, so I must not have fucked up too bad. The flower, Flowey, had a bit of a mouth on him, but the skeleton, Sans, seemed really nice. He really took care of Frisk, and seemed to really like puns.” You paused for a moment, applying mascara and a deep red lip stain, before continuing. “Plus I really liked his hoodie. It looked comfy.”  You could almost hear Ava raising her eyebrows. “Sounds like just your type,” she replied. “Maybe you’d like to get comfy with him.” You rolled your eyes, but you were glad that Ava couldn’t see you blushing pink. “ Please Ava, he was a client. You know I don’t like to mix business with pleasure,” you shot back. At least not that I’m willing to admit! You thought. “But, it’s not like he was that cliched spooky, scary skeleton type. He was just a guy in a hoodie and gym shorts, but I guess he was kind of cute. And his magic was this pretty shade of blue…” You said trailing off.  Ava sounded smug when she answered you. “ Uh-huhhhhh… So you’re not interested, but he was cute, and his hoodie looked comfy, AND his magic was this ‘pretty’ shade of blue?” she replied. “You sound awfully interested for someone who’s ‘not interested,’ Brighid! Maybe the next time you see him, you’ll be out in town, that way you won’t be mixing business and pleasure!” “Ugh Ava, don’t make it weird! I’m probably going to have to see them a few more times when they come back to get Dumpling’s cast re-done,” you answered. “I know it’s going to be me, since Brian looked like he was going to piss himself everytime he got within 20 feet of Sans. Also, I’m hanging up now! I’m about to leave, so I’ll see you at the bar in a few, okay?” “If the skelly’s not your type, I’m sure I can hook you up with someone here!” she replied teasingly. “Not listening!” You called back, hanging up the call with a final huff and tap before giving yourself a final once over in the mirror. The outfit was simple and elegant without being too formal. A white blouse, a black bow tied around your neck. Black slacks, and a white bow tied at the end of your braid. Simple makeup that wouldn’t run, and brought out your eyes in the best way. You finished off the look by clasping the black buttons at the end of each sleeve, before nodding at yourself in the mirror.  You slipped into the plain black flats you always wore for shows, because even though they didn’t help you look any taller, you had chosen comfort over vanity a long time ago. You did one last check, grabbing your keys, phone and wallet, before rushing to the door. You grabbed the large black instrument case from the front hall, locked the door and headed to the car. You were ready to get this show on the road!

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

You screeched into the parking lot of the crowded Grillby’s Tavern, and tried frantically to find a parking spot. You were in luck; someone was pulling out. Whipping into the spot, you had barely thrown the car into park before you were scrambling out, instrument in hand, and booking it to the door of the pub. Two large monsters in standard bouncer attire, black shirts and black jeans, who were wearing strange helmets, flanked the front door of the bar. When they looked up and saw you approaching, instrument in hand, you flashed your musician pass at them and they opened the door for you without a word. You zipped inside, weaving through the crowd and trying not to hit anyone with your instrument case, as you made your way towards the bar’s kitchen.

The inside of the bar, which had seemed small, even in the light of day, when it was empty, seemed even smaller now. The little bar could only hold around 150 patrons, and it was packed. Both humans and monsters weaved through the crowd, and it was easy to see that Grillby’s Tavern was almost at max capacity. The dark, shiny, L-shaped bar to the right had patrons on every one of the light colored wooden bar stools, and the faces of the bartenders were intense and focused, illuminated by the soft lights hanging over the bar. The wall of bottles and mixers glittered invitingly, and you had to resist the urge to stop and order a drink.

I’ve got to make it to the stage!

You thought, forcing yourself away from the show the bartenders were putting on, shaking drinks and flipping bottles, and towards the door that led to the kitchens and the stage.

You slipped through the door and took the stairs up to the stage in two large steps, bursting through the back curtain to where the band was waiting, before finally pausing to catch your breath. “Whoo! Sorry I was almost late. I got stuck at work again today,” you said breathlessly. You straightened up and twisted your back, cracking out the tension that had been building up all day, before you stepped out onto the stage to get your instrument set up.

“Don’t worry babe; I already told them you might be late.” Ava called out to you from her spot at the mic. Her service dog, a white lab, laid quietly at her feet, wearing custom faux leather studded earmuffs and a vest that said ‘service dog’ in glow in the dark letters.  
 
The other members of the band, Ava’s husband, John, and your friend Chris, hadn’t

looked back at you yet but they said, in unison, “Have we mentioned that we hate your boss?”
 
You couldn’t help but grin at that, “Only a million times,” you replied with a laugh. 
 
Ava looked back at you now, and whistled low and long. “Would you

LOOK

at that, boys! Brighid’s all dolled up!” She nodded in approval, her cherry red bobbed hair flashing in the lights. “I love to see you doing something with that cute face of yours!”
 
Her husband John grinned at you from behind his drum set, and Chris blew two long notes on his sax, a musical wolf whistle.
 
“Har har, Chris,” you replied, rolling your eyes and grinning. You stepped forward on the tiny stage, finding your spot, stage right behind Ava, and flipped open the locks on your bass’s case. Your upright bass always drew a lot of attention, but you were used to that. “Where’s Daisha?” you asked, turning to Ava when you realized that your keyboardist was missing.

“She’s handling the final details right now, and paying for our spot tonight. Oh, and the owner said we were each allowed a drink, on the house tonight!” Ava raised her half finished glass of something green and fruity to you, and smiled. “Cheers,” she said, “You look stunning and I’m really glad you decided to join back with us.”
   “Thanks, Ava,” you said, “It feels nice to be back. But I’ll pass on the drink for now. I’m just not ready to be drinking in public yet.” Your smile fell slightly, as you took your seat behind the bass.“One of you guys can have it tonight; don’t worry about me.”  
“Are you sure, Brig?” Chris asked, “We’re all here for you if you want to do some drinking; we won’t leave you alone.” 
 
His face was serious, and you knew they were all there for you, but you just shook your head. “I swear I’m fine,” you answered. “I may have a glass of wine when I get home this evening,  but right now, I want to play with a clear mind.” They seemed to understand, and accept that you were okay, so they dropped the subject. 
 
The stage was almost set, so everyone turned back to their individual tasks, doing tuning and sound checks. You turned your attention to the crowd as you tuned your bass, plucking the strings gently and adjusting them as needed. The crowd was unlike any other you had ever played for; it was made up of more monsters than you had ever seen in one place, but there were also humans mixed in among them, laughing and chatting. 
 
A green fire elemental was weaving through the groups of people, who were talking loudly and drunkenly, and gathering up empty cups and glasses as she went. When she walked past the stage, you couldn’t help but notice that she bore a striking resemblance to the owner; You wondered if they were related. You realized, as you watched her move, that there was another floor to the bar, a half floor raised up above the lower crowds. You could see a group of dog monsters lounging and drinking up there, in what appeared to be a VIP lounge. They appeared to be playing a game, and the green fire elemental frequently returned to their table, replacing empty drinking jars with fresh ones. Occasionally a sound would echo down from there, though you weren’t sure if you were hearing actual barks, or barks of laughter.
 
The entire bar was finished in various wood tones, which only made the crowd in front of you appear even more colorful and diverse. The green waitress flitted between groups of monsters, and it seemed like she knew nearly every patron in the bar. Even the humans among the crowd looked delighted when they saw her, stopping her to chat and laugh, and you were glad it seemed like everyone in the bar was getting along.

It's a lot easier to KEEP a crowd happy than it is to MAKE them happy,

you thought. All in all, you decided that you liked the bar a lot. It was friendly and welcoming, and you could see yourself coming back to listen to other bands play while you enjoyed a drink with your friends.

Plus,

you thought,

It would be great to be able to play this venue more than once!

Just as you finished tuning your bass, the owner, Grillby, walked up the steps to the stage, Daisha in tow. She took the stairs in two bounds, just as you had, her white blonde afro bouncing, before taking her place at the keyboard. She gave you a little wave, and a smile, before turning her attention to Grillby who had paused toward the back of the stage, looking at you.
 
His fire glowed warmly when he spoke. “Ah, Brighid, my dear, it is nice to see you again,” he said, smiling.  
 
“Hey,” you replied, “How goes it Grillby? You weren't kidding when you said the bar came alive at night! It’s gorgeous here, we’re so glad you picked us for your first live show.” You had really hit it off with Grillby when you had come in to interview with him. He was a lover of classical and jazz music, just like you, and after talking about music over lunch with him a few times in the last week, you had come to consider him a friend.

His fires crackled brighter when you said that. “Thank you,” he said, “it means a lot to hear that you humans are enjoying our monster flair. It warms my heart to see so many humans here in the crowd. I really hope that for our races, spending time together peacefully like this, becomes more commonplace.” He looked over the band members standing nearby, who were all smiling.

Ava spoke up first, replying, “If the crowd’s like this every weekend, I don’t doubt that those humans will spread the word.” 
 
“Definitely!” Chris agreed. “But I gotta ask Grillby, I heard word that you guys have some primo stuff called monster alcohol. Any chance you can hook me up with some?” Chris was a remarkably large man, who, standing over six feet tall, towered over even Grillby. 
 
He was known for his liquor tolerance, but before Grillby could even answer him, everyone else in the band, including you, cried, “NO!”

“You have work tomorrow!” Daisha replied, “And while you can handle human booze just fine, who

knows

what monster liquor would do to you!” She crossed her arms, believing her point made, but John still chimed in to drive the point home.
 
“Just wait until next weekend,” John said. “You have both days off, so if we go out Saturday and you get really messed up, you can sleep it off on Sunday. Besides, Ava and I wanted to try it too, so let’s do it when we’re not scheduled to perform, and make it a party!”
 
Chris feigned shock at the ‘betrayal’ of his band mates, and Grillby erupted in laughter. “Well, well, Mr. Chris, it seems that the Jury has spoken,” he said teasingly, as he turned to look at you all. “I’ll be sure to keep him out of the good stuff, no matter how nicely he asks. But let’s get down to business. Ms. Daisha, would you like to fill them in? I need to get back to the bar.”
 
Taking her cue from Grillby, Daisha pulled out a sheet of paper from her pocket and unfolded it. “Alright,” she said, “We’re the only band Mr. Grillby booked tonight, so we should be able to play all of our pieces, a total of about two hours. It’s almost 8 now, so he recommends we play the classics until 9,  and then take an intermission. Intermission is an hour, and we can drink between our sets. The second half is our cover pieces, but Mr. Grillby said that the monsters are more likely to know our covers, so don’t worry if reception to the first half is a little weak.” 
 
She paused after saying this to take a swig from a water bottle. “We’re free to start as soon as we’re ready,” she said, “But Mr. Grillby asked me to make sure we introduced the band. You’ve got that, Ava.”

Ava nodded, “Brig, how do you think the crowd is feeling? Do we need to hype them up?” she asked, turning to you. You had always been the best at reading crowds, but for once you shook your head. 
 
“Not much,” you replied. “The crowd is in a good mood, and seems pretty mellow. I think even our classic songs will go over pretty well, but I bet they’ll really love our covers set.” You smiled at her reassuringly, and she seemed relieved.

“Alright, then!” Ava said, before looking back over the band, “You all ready to go?” Everyone nodded in response, taking up their positions, so she turned back to the mic and took a deep breath before clicking it on. She motioned to the monster working the lights from the balcony, giving him a “three, two, one,” before she began speaking.

“Hellooooo everyone!” She called cheerfully over the mic. “I’m Ava, and we are the Jazz Radicals! We are so honored that Grillby gave us this chance to be the first band to ever perform here, live. As our name implies, we’re a Jazz band. We’ll start with some classics, but after the break, we’ll move into our cover songs. We hope that tonight will be a big success for both us and Grilby’s Tavern. We’re really excited to be able to share our music with everyone here, but especially our new neighbors from New New Home! Thank you for coming, and we hope you enjoy the show. Be sure to support Grillby’s by buying lots of delicious drinks!
 
Ava gave the band a hand signal behind her back, and, as the applause died down, you began gently plucking the strings on your bass, falling into a practiced rhythm. Right on cue, Chris chimed in on his saxophone, and a moment later Daisha and John picked up their parts, playing a slow tune, Ava’s favorite song from the set. The song picked up slowly, until Ava came in, her alto voice crooning gently,

“
I'm feelin' mighty lonesome,

haven't slept a wink;

I walk the floor from nine to four

in between I drink

Black coffee…”
 
  You all knew the set well, having practiced it dozens, if not hundreds of times, and you found yourself slipping into the gentle rhythm of the song within moments. It was key, in a bar like this, to scale your volume just right. If any one of you played too loudly, it would be too loud for the patrons to hear one another, but if you played too softly, they wouldn’t be able to hear you at all. It didn’t matter how good you were; if the patrons couldn’t hear you, or couldn’t hear

over

you, they weren’t going to enjoy the show. You were grateful that the Jazz Radicals seemed to slip into the appropriate volume almost immediately, but it wasn’t surprising to you.
 
The Jazz Radicals had been playing together, in one form or another, for the better part of the last two years. Before you had moved to Ebott, you had all played together in an orchestra in the city, but even after you moved, the five of you kept in touch. It was always easy to pick out the misfits in an orchestra, and your little band was definitely that. Chris stuck out due to his height, as well as his long mohawk. Daisha’s afro, like a fluffy snowball, always drew attention to her. Ava had been wearing her hair in that shade of red for years, and her husband John was always at her side. As for you, well, you weren’t sure what it was about you that made you stick out, aside from the fact that your bass stood taller than you did, and you hung out with those four “weirdos”. 
 
Daisha moved to Ebott shortly after you, and crashed in your apartment for a while until her paintings began to sell regularly from Ebott’s kitschy little art galleries. Her landscapes and still lifes of wildlife were remarkably popular with tourists. So when John and Ava began talking about settling down and buying a house, you were quick to mention how nice Ebott was. They bought a lovely house about a half hour from the main town, and Ava took up gardening. It wasn’t long before Chris and Daisha moved into their spare bedrooms as tenants. Chris was the last to move. When the firm he worked for opened an office in Ebott, he jumped at the chance to live somewhere quieter, especially since all of his friends had moved there too. 
 
You had all enjoyed playing in the orchestra, but one night, shortly after the five of you were reunited, you had all met up at Ava and John’s place. As was usual for you and your friends, a bit of drinking led to the five of you pulling out your instruments. That late night drunken jam session went so well, that the next morning, in the sober light of day, the five of you decided to try your hand at making a band. The orchestra had been nice, but rigid and strict, and it couldn’t hold a candle to the sense of peace you felt standing on stage, playing music with your friends after a long day. 
 
The Jazz Radicals moved almost seamlessly from one song to the next, pausing only for scattered applause, and it made you feel like you were walking on air. Men and monsters alike were watching you as you played, and the sounds of conversation in the bar had quieted to a low hum. Your slow intro songs moved into more upbeat songs as you played through the first half of your set, and every member of the Jazz Radicals had seemingly become one with their instruments. You were no exception, swaying your hips alongside your bass, leaning into the rhythm as the beat picked up. The bar-goers were almost all on their feet by this point, swaying, and seeming to genuinely appreciate the music. Grillby’s was no place to sit down, after all, and the band and audience alike seemed lost in the songs. It stayed like that until the last song of the set, when Ava stepped away from the mic and picked up her trumpet to accompany you, as you took over vocals.
 
You paused, before stepping forward to take the mic, bringing your bass up to share  center stage with Ava. The crowd erupted with applause, and you waited for it to die down before speaking. “I’m Brighid, and this is our last song before intermission,” you said into the mic, “Our lovely vocalist Ava is also a talented trumpet player, and will be accompanying me for this piece. Without further ado, this is

I Put A Spell on You.”

Daisha began playing the familiar intro chords, and on cue you began to sing. 
 
“I put a spell on you,” you sang, beginning to strum your bass, each note heavy and poignant. “Because you’re miiiiiiine.” The drums and saxophone, as well as Ava’s trumpet, picked up and you were once again lost in the whirl of music. 
 
You were a third of the way through the song, when you looked up into the crowd to make sure the audience was still engaged, only to notice a familiar face sitting at the corner of the bar. A certain skeleton was sitting on the very last stool, closest to the stage, facing you, with the lights in his eyes completely gone. 
 
You hadn’t expected to see Sans

SO

soon, perhaps, but you shook the thought off, since you were, after all, playing in a monster bar. Unlike his blank expression from earlier in the day, which had seemed shocked, the expression on his face was something like admiration, or awe. The rest of the crowd was listening intently, but none of them were as transfixed on you as he was. It seemed like he had been mid sip, from what you could only describe as a

ketchup bottle?

But had stopped when you had begun singing. He was leaning back on the bar now, his face relaxed and smiling, and despite your best efforts to seem aloof, you couldn’t look away. It may have been your imagination, but as he looked up at you the smile on his face seemed to widen even further. Before you knew it, it was like you were singing to him and him alone. 
 
That is, until Ava noticed that you seemed distracted. She took a step backwards toward you, getting ready for your duet at the closing of the song, and followed your eyes. The movement caught your attention, and you finally tore your eyes away, but not before it was too late. Ava’s face split into a wicked grin around the mouthpiece of her trumpet, and she raised her eyebrows at you in a not-so-subtle call out. You turned your attention back to the audience at large, who was still moving in time with the music, swaying, and enjoying themselves, and tried not to meet her eyes, but Ava was obviously not deterred. You could feel the eyes on your back as Chris, Daisha, and John seemed to supernaturally tune into what was going on. Even without turning around to look at them, you could tell they were probably all wearing their own wicked grins. 
 
Their apparent hive-mind made them great to work with, especially as musicians, but made keeping secrets a nightmare. They were your friends, and even if they drove you crazy, when you looked out over the enraptured crowd in front of you, it was impossible for you to be mad at them.

They only want me to be happy,

you thought, resigned to your fate,

even if that means loving me to death.

You put aside the thought as the song finale came in, and Ava set her trumpet down, leaning in toward you to sing,
 
“Oooooooo I put a spell on youuuuuu,”

“Because you’re mine” “Because you’re mine”

“Because you’re miiiiiiiiine, ooooooooh yeah!” The two of you finished in harmony.   
 
As the last note died in the air, the audience burst into applause, and Ava took over the mic once again.
 
“Thank you! Thank you!” she said. “Our show is not over, but it's time for intermission! We’ll be back in an hour for our cover set, where we play jazz adaptations of popular songs and soundtracks from some of your favorite movies, games and shows!”

That announcement brought forth another, even more raucous, round of applause and Ava bowed low, signalling for the curtain to close. You smiled, thrilled that the audience had enjoyed your show this much so far. As the curtain began to drop, you couldn’t help but glance back toward the bar at Sans. He was clapping along with the crowd, lights twinkling in his eyes once again. Despite your failed attempt at subtlety, he saw you looking and gave you a little wave before lifting the strange red bottle back to his lips. You felt your face heating up, and you were glad, when a second later, the curtain drew past you, hiding your beet-red face from the audience.
 
You turned to slip out the back door of the stage, your stomach growling, but the band was looking at you expectantly. 
 
“Going to go make eyes at that cute skellie?” Ava asked teasingly. 
 
“No!” you protested, “I’m going to get some food! I just didn’t expect to see him here…” you trailed off, face still red. 
 
Ava rolled her eyes dramatically. “Uh-huh. Alright then, you go and ‘get something to eat.’ We’ll give you a few minutes of

alone time.”

She wiggled her eyebrows at you suggestively, but you brushed it off, and headed out the backdoor to the stage.
 
 The rest of the band was grinning too, but

they

at least had the courtesy to pretend they weren’t paying attention to you. You sighed.

Here goes nothing,

you thought.

He’s sitting at the bar, and I need to go to the bar to order food. It would be weird if I

didn’t

say anything to him.

You took a deep breath, steeling yourself, before stepping out of the kitchen door. Sans was leaning on the bar, but he looked your direction when he heard the door swing shut behind you. You stretched, and deliberately looked away from him, before walking over to him. You made a point of leaving a stool between the two of you, and ordering a good juicy burger from the waitress, before you finally acknowledged him. When you finally looked his direction, the twinkle in his eyes told you plainly that your act hadn’t fooled him. 
 
“hey there miss,” he said as way of a greeting, “fancy meeting you here. i didn’t expect to see you again so soon.” His tone was warm, and you felt yourself relax a little, despite yourself. He paused a moment, taking another sip from his strange red drink, that you could now see, without a shadow of a doubt, was

definitely

a ketchup bottle.
 
“Hey Sans,” you replied hesitantly, eyeing the strange bottle. “How are you? I didn’t expect to see you either.” You must have been staring, because he set the bottle down again and sighed. 
 
“Go ahead and ask,” he said. “I know you’re curious.”
 
“Are you drinking

ketchup?!”

you asked. “And second thing,

HOW are you drinking anything at all?”

Your hand flew to your mouth. You hadn’t expected the question to come out so excitedly. “Shit, I’m sorry!” you spluttered, “Was that rude?”
 
Sans laughed, a deep warm laugh. “No, not at all. You wanna try it?” he asked.
 
You eyed the bottle suspiciously. “Uhh… sure…. But there’s no alcohol in it, right?” 
 
“Nope,” he replied, tilting the bottle toward you. 
 
You took it hesitantly, and gave it a sniff, crinkling your nose at the unmistakable smell of tomatoes and vinegar.

It looks like ketchup, and it smells like ketchup,

you thought,

so it must be ketchup.

You felt strange about drinking from the same bottle as him, but you were past the point of no return, so you slowly brought the bottle your mouth and took a small sip. 
 
Your first reaction was

OH GOD IT REALLY IS KETCHUP

followed by intense confusion as the red viscous liquid magically dissolved in your mouth, before you even thought to swallow the noxious fluid. Your mouth was filled by a strange tingling sensation, as if you had just drank pop rocks, but it was definitely not the feeling of alcohol,

or

anything else you had ever drank in your entire life. You set the bottle back down on the bar, and looked up at Sans who looked amused. His eyes were shining with mischief, half moons of blue white light looking at you expectantly.

“how was it?” he asked, grinning widely.

“How..?!? What..?!?” was all you managed to say in response. 
 
“long story short, its monster food,” he replied. “there are some monsters who can eat human food, no problem, but some of us, like me and my brother papyrus, who are skeletons, can’t eat normal food. we don’t have guts, so we have to eat food made with magical agents so the magic in our bodies can dissolve it.”

You nodded as he spoke, trying to process the impossibilities of what you had just experienced, but magic was magic, so you shrugged off your wonder, and tried to change topics. “Ah magic, that explains it,” you said, “Despite seeing monsters almost everyday, and working for one like tonight, I still sometimes forget that it’s

real.”

Sans seemed especially amused when you said that, for some reason, clutching his ribs as he laughed into the bar. 
 
“Ummmmm,” you said, confused, “Anyway, I wanted to apologize for earlier. You guys were staring because I was treating Frisk like they were just a normal kid, right? I didn’t realize they were the

freaking Ambassador of Monsters.

I even gave them that little lecture about how sometimes people who just met don’t get along right away. Sorry if I was disrespectful to you, or Flowey. Please let them know I said sorry.” 
 
Sans only laughed harder at that, wiping a magical blue tear from his watering eyes, and you couldn’t help but bristle. “Geez, it’s not that funny,” you said coldly, the happy mood for the night slipping away though your fingers. “I know I was being ignorant, but you don’t have to laugh at me.” Your smile had fallen flat, and you slid off your bar stool, and started to walk away. You were prepared to go get your food from the kitchen and eat it backstage if he was going to be so rude. 
 
Sans realized you were upset, and before you could get more than a step away, he reached out a hand, tugging your sleeve to stop you. “no! please wait!” he said, “you’ve got it all wrong!”
 
You paused and looked at him, but your smile hadn’t returned. 
 
“seriously! i was laughing because humans are always so worried about offending us that after a while it’s just funny! you all jump through hoops trying not to embarrass yourselves, but monsters aren’t like that, and neither is frisk! the kid

loved you

! they spent all afternoon telling my brother and their mom about how much fun it was to meet you! They want to come with me again every time dumpling needs to have his cast adjusted,” He smiled reassuringly at you and you hesitantly took a step back toward the bar, to sit back down. When Sans let go of your sleeve, and you looked at him, you noticed that he was sweating blue, the same color as his magic.

It was at that moment that you felt a tap on your shoulder, and you turned to see Ava standing beside you, her dog Momo at a heel beside her.

“Hey Brig, I’m taking Momo out. You wanna come with? I can have them drop your food backstage for you if you want,” she said, looking a little worried. You realized that she must have seen you getting up and Sans stopping you.
 
You knew she was offering you an out, but you decided not to take it. “Nah, thanks Ava, I’m good. I think I’m going to order a drink after all.” She raised an eyebrow at you. “A

non-alcoholic

drink,” you said, clarifying.
 
“Okay then,” she said, smiling again. “And, who is this?” she asked, gesturing to Sans. 
 
You groaned internally, since she

clearly

already knew, but you introduced the two of them nonetheless. “Ava, this is Sans. I told you about that cute kid who came into the clinic earlier right? Sans is Frisk’s dunkle, their guardian. Sans, this is Ava, lead vocalist and trumpet player for the Jazz Radicals.”
 
Sans offered his hand to her, and she shook it, showing no sign that she thought there was anything odd about it. “It’s a pleasure,” she said. 
 
“no, the pleasure is all mine,” he replied, “you

blew

me away with that trumpet solo in the last song. i’ve really enjoyed the show so far.” You couldn’t help but chuckle at his penchant for puns and Ava relaxed a hair once she saw you smiling again.
 
“I’m glad to hear it!” she replied, beaming. “Well, Momo has to go, so I’ll leave you two to it. Don’t forget that we pick back up at ten!” she said turning to you. You nodded, and she left, giving the two of you a little wave, and winking at you slyly so Sans couldn’t see her.

Oh gods,

you thought,

Now I’m never going to hear the end of this.

You hopped back on your bar stool, and Sans smiled softly, apparently relieved. “really though,” he said, “frisk is such a good kid. my brother papyrus can make friends with just about anyone, but frisk is even better at it than he is. maybe it’s because they’re a kid, but they accept everyone almost instantly, so don’t worry about them.”
 
“Oh?” you said, arching an eyebrow. “And what about you? And Flowey?” 
 
Sans huffed a laugh again, before replying. “ha! flowey doesn’t make

friends

. they just have people they’re slightly less rude to. as for me, it takes an awful lot to rattle my bones. i’m trying to be more like papyrus. he doesn’t let anything get to him. he’s so cool.”
 
“That’s good to hear,” you said, relieved. “The world needs more people like that. I never know what is and isn’t okay to say around people. Especially around monsters. I just have so many questions, but like they say, curiosity killed the cat.”
 
“i get that,” Sans replied, “but i try not to let it get to me. feel free to ask me any weird questions you have about monsters. speaking of which,” he said, moving over to the stool directly next to you. His proximity to you made your breath catch, especially when he leaned in conspiratorially, to whisper, “i didn’t want to be rude, but what’s with the dog?”
 
Your thoughts went to the dogs in the VIP lounge before you realized he meant Ava’s service dog. “Oh! You mean Momo. She’s Ava’s service dog. You wouldn’t know it, but Ava is actually really jumpy. She’s lived through some dark shit, and doesn’t like people coming up behind her. Momo does a lot for her, and Ava doesn’t go anywhere without her.” 
 
“ah, I see,” Sans replied, “and i take it that it would have been impolite to ask about it?”
 
You nodded, “yeah, I’m glad you asked me and not her. Ava’s a good friend of mine but she tries really hard not to think about the past, and it’s a sensitive subject. It's rude to ask someone with a service dog what they are for. It could range from ptsd, sight, alerting for medical issues. Since they are working animals, they are treated, when working, as a medical device.”
 
As you finished that sentence, a heavenly aroma reached you, and you turned your head to see Grillby himself placing your food down at the bar. The burger looked even better than it had on the menu, and your stomach growled loudly in response. Grillby glanced at Sans and back at you as he handed you your food.
 
“I hope Sans isn’t making a nuisance of himself,” he said. “If he’s being a bother, let me know and I’ll call Papyrus for you.”

When Grillby said that, Sans looked like he was ready to retreat back into his hood. Although it made you smile to see him squirm under the fire elemental’s gaze, and the threat of having his brother called on him, you put a stop to it pretty quickly. “Thank you, Grillby,” you said, “but I don’t think that will be necessary. Sans was just answering some of my silly questions about monsters. Speaking of which, I think I’d like to order a drink.”

Grillby smiled at you and waited for you to continue. “I’d like a virgin Malibu Sunset, with plenty of coconut. And if it’s okay, can you pour Sans a glass of something since I’m not getting alcohol in my drink?”

Grillby raised an eyebrow at the request, but nodded. “I can, sure, but you know you

can

get that drink with alcohol, right? I can still give Sans something on the house, per your request, if you do want alcohol in that.”
 
“That’s a generous offer,” you replied, “But no thanks. I don’t drink in public anymore, and I like to keep a clear head when we’re performing.”  Grillby nodded, pouring Sans a drink from a decanter with horns on it, and you took the opportunity to dig into the burger in front of you. The meat was cooked just right, spiced just enough that it wasn’t bland but not so much that it overwhelmed the flavor of the perfectly seared beef. It was juicy, and the bun was the perfect kind of bread to soak up all the good juices. You shimmied a little in delight, and closed your eyes, enjoying the decadence. 
 
“That good, huh?” Grillby asked. You nodded vigorously, and Grillby chuckled. “Glad to hear it. Your drink will be up in a moment.”

Sans didn’t watch you wolf down your burger, choosing instead to drink down some more of his ketchup before turning to the bubbling purple liquid in the glass in front of him. “Thanks for the drink, Brighid” he said, lifting it to you in a ‘cheers’ motion. A chill went down your spine when he said your name, since up until now he had only called you “miss,” but you were thankfully able to hide your blush behind a mouthful of food. Once your burger was finished, you took your plate and set it in your lap, spinning on the barstool to watch the crowd as you ate your fries. Sans turned with you to watch as well. There was a small group of monsters gathered at the foot of stage, where your friends had come out to sit and eat their food. You thought about joining them for a moment, but, glancing over your shoulder at Sans, you decided that your current space was preferable.

And the company’s pretty great,

you thought to yourself. 
 
“Who are they?” you asked after a moment, gesturing at the small crowd of monsters, who you recognized were the ones that had been in the VIP lounge earlier. “I saw them sitting upstairs. It seemed like they must be important.” 
 
Sans followed your motion with his eyes before answering you. “Well,” he replied, “the blue fish lady with the eye patch is Undyne. The little yellow lizard lady is Alphys, her girlfriend, and the dog monsters, well, heh, they’re a bit harder to tell apart when they’re not in their armor, but, they’re just called the d-squad.” He turned to look at you, and definitely caught you staring at them. “That bunch, aside from Alphys, who is a scientist, are the royal guards. They’ve always been a rowdy bunch, since Undyne was their captain for so long.”
 
“Was?” you questioned.
 
Sans nodded. “Yeah,” he replied, “Back in the day, before the kid broke the barrier, they guarded the entrance to the surface. But now my brother Papyrus is the captain of the royal guard, and Undyne can fin-ally take it easy. They’re still royal guards but they’re a lot more relaxed than they used to be. They’re good friends of mine, y’know? We’ve known each other for forever.” 
You were a bit surprised at that last bit, and it must have shown on your face. 
 
“What, you thought I couldn’t hang with the

big dogs?”

Sans asked. Once again, you couldn’t keep the grin off your face at his jokes. 
 
“No, it’s not that. You just seem… too relaxed to hang out with guards and what not. They seem pretty badass.”
 
“Those guys? Nah.” He replied with a laugh. “Undyne dotes on Alphys all the time. I used to catch her practicing her ‘turn back now’ doom and gloom monologue all the time in the mirror. Alphys is the Royal scientist of New New Home, and loves making puzzles. And the D-squad all go bonkers if you throw a stick for them, or scratch them behind the ears. You don’t have to be weird around them. Actually,” he said, “You and Alphys would probably get along really well. Maybe you can talk with her after the show.”
 
You looked back over at the group of monsters, looking at them with a new perspective. Undyne and Alphys had pulled up one of the cocktail tables so they could sit, and were currently snuggled up together chatting with Ava and John. Both couples looked cute together, you decided. Alphys seemed embarrassed and was blushing a dark orange. While they chatted with the band, the D-squad had sprawled out on the floor and appeared to be losing a game of cards to Chris. “So it’s not rude to scratch a dog monster behind the ears, like you would a normal dog?” you asked curiously. 
 
“hmmm…” Sans said thinking. “i guess...you would treat them kinda how you treat ava’s dog momo. you wouldn’t scratch a dog you didn’t know, right? and you wouldn’t interrupt them while they were working.” He replied. 
 
“Yeah, I guess that makes sense,” you answered him. “While we’re on the subject of dogs though, how is Dumpling?” 
 
“the kid’s taking good care of him,” Sans replied, “but toriel keeps trying to talk to the dog like she does with the d-squad.”
 
“

Toriel?”

you asked incredulously. 
 
“yeah,” he answered. “c’mon miss, you knew the kid was the ambassador of monsters. you must have known that toriel was the kid’s mom.” 
 
You nodded but the shock hadn’t faded. “Yeah,” you said, “I mean, Ava told me about Frisk, but it hadn’t occurred to me that I sent an untrained, un-housebroken dog home to live with the

Royal Family of Monsters.

” 
 
Sans laughed again when you said that. “heh, yeah, i guess that would be a big deal for most humans, but toriel’s not like that. she’s kind of like everyone’s mom, but frisk’s especially. don’t worry, you won’t be in the

doghouse

with her about something as minor as that.”
 
His joke broke through your temporary horror, just as the green fire elemental appeared in front of you with your drink. “Here you are, Miss,” she said, “My name is Venus. My dad, -er, I mean Grillby, told me to make sure this drink didn’t have any alcohol in it. One virgin Malibu Sunset, with extra coconut.”
 
“Thank you!” you answered her. “It’s lovely to meet you Venus. I’m Brighid.” She reached over the bar and shook your hand when you offered it. 
 
“Likewise,” Venus replied. She flashed you a smile before disappearing back into the kitchen.

You smiled after her, before taking a long slow sip of the sweet cold drink. “Ahhhhh,” you said. “

That

is perfect.” You held the glass firmly, and kept it in front of you as you turned to continue chatting with Sans.
 
Sans grinned at you, “everything at grillby’s always is,” he replied, “but now it's my turn to ask a weird question. do humans really have huge families like i’ve heard? i’ve heard some people say they have

seven

siblings. that can’t be right, right?”
 
You shook your head, “Nope, that’s right. I’ve even met people who have as many as eleven siblings. Not me though. My parents passed away when I was young, and I was raised by my two awesome aunts,” you took a moment to take another long swig of your drink, nearly giving yourself brain freeze. Sans looked sympathetic when you said your parents had died, but it wasn’t a sad thing for you so you just shrugged.“I’m lucky, to be honest. I had great people to raise me, and in a lot of ways, the band is like my second family. They helped me through some difficult times in the last few years. I wouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t for them. What about you? You mentioned Papyrus, right? Do you have any other family?”
 
Sans shook his head. “nah,” he answered, “it’s just me and paps. or it used to be anyway. ever since the kid joined us, everyone has felt a little bit more like family.” He smiled as he said this, and you realized as you looked at him that this was the first time you had seen him smile really genuinely, not because of a joke. “although,” he continued, “i suppose next to your jazz band family, we’re not all that interesting.” 
 You couldn’t keep a straight face as you answered him.“Who are you kidding, Sans?!?” you exclaimed. “Don’t sell yourself short! You’re fun to be around. I find your puns pretty humerus.” He looked at you, his brow-bones shooting up at your retort.  
“you’re one to talk!” he replied. “especially about selling yourself short. you thought we were offended by your humming, when you literally perform music for other people on a stage! i had no idea you were so talented.”
 
You blushed at the compliment, and looked away from him, only to realize that the band was up off the floor, and you could hear muffled sounds coming from the stage. You whipped around to look at the clock at the end of the bar, and realized it was almost time to start back up.
 
“Shit!” you said, jumping from your stool to the floor and leaning over to jam the last of your fries in your mouth. “Sorry

,

Sans,” you said, before chugging the rest of your drink, “But the stage calls.” 
 
He smiled at you as you started to leave, saying, “i understand,” but before you had gotten more than a few steps away, you stopped, as an idea came to your mind. 
 
“Hey, Sans?” you asked, turning back to face him. “Do you have any requests? We cover a lot of songs, if you have a favorite, or know one that will go over well with the monster guests, please let me know.”
 
He was grinning again when he answered you. “play something from an anime, or a video game. trust me, it’ll be great,” he replied. 
 
“Thanks!” you answered, and he gave you two thumbs up before spinning around on his bar stool to finish his drink. The movement gave you an odd sense of deja vu, until you remembered Frisk, earlier that day, giving you a double thumbs up and spinning on their heels before they left the room. 
 
You darted backstage as quickly as you could, and took your place back at the front of the stage. Ava was smiling this insufferable grin, and you could already imagine her grilling you for details about your little sit down with Sans, but it was just about time to start, so she turned back to the band instead of harassing you. 
 
“Anything in particular you guys are in the mood to play?” she asked. John shrugged, Chris shook his head and Daisha replied “nope” so after a moment Ava turned to you. “And you sweetheart? Any ideas?”
 
You hesitated for a moment, but finally answered her. “Well, actually, Sans said that anime and video game music was really popular with his friends. Maybe we can start with Cruel Angel’s Thesis?”
 
Ava nodded thoughtfully, “Okay then, let’s sprinkle in some of our geek shit. It’s been a bit since we’ve performed it live, since humans prefer our top 40 covers, but a change of pace can be a good thing. It’s been a while since we’ve done Tank!”
 
With everyone on board, the lights in the house went down once again, and the curtain drew free of the stage. A hush fell over the crowd as Daisha began playing the intro notes, but as soon as the drums started and you began playing the rhythm line, it was as if a wall of electricity hit the crowd. Monsters of every type hit the dance floor and began moving and dancing with one another. Some, like Sans who you could pick out in the crowd easily by now, bobbed their heads and shoulders, while others, like Undyne and Alphys, were pretty much dancing a full swing. You were mesmerized by the crowd, and how fluidly they moved. If their reception earlier had been warm, this time around it was like an inferno.

Sans wasn’t kidding,

you thought to yourself,

I didn’t expect everyone to be so into this!

Cruel Angel’s Thesis drew to a close, and the fervor in the crowd died down for a moment until Ava took her place at the mic, putting her trumpet to the side. She accepted the applause with a grin and a nod before picking up the mic and beginning the next song.
 
“This was a triumph,” she sang. The next song was from Portal; the crowd recognized it instantly. As if she had dropped a match to a gasoline trail, the bar lit up again. The third song was a slower one, and the monsters and people paired up for a slower dance. One song after another drew raucous applause from the crowd, and even your modern non-geek covers were received wildly, particularly

Thriller

and

Never Gonna Give You Up

(even though you could hear a few people in the crowd groan when they realized that they were being rick-rolled through a jazz cover). Everyone really jammed to

Everybody Wants to be a Cat,

aside from the d-squad, who howled over the word cat several times. The first time they did it, Chris nearly choked on his Saxophone, and you could hear their barking laughter at his expense. 
 
The night seemed like it would go on forever, but before you knew it, you were on your last song. The set had taken longer than usual, since the crowd seemed to insist on applauding for at least 2 minutes after most songs, and by the time you realized it, it was already eleven thirty. The crowd had lost some of its energy as the show went on, and your bandmates were looking haggard, particularly John, who had been really going to town on the drums for some of the numbers. At long last, Ava gave you guys the signal, and began to sing the band’s outro song,

Bad News.

“
There's the final curtain

There's the dotted line

No more celebration

No rum, no brandy, no sparkling wine

The bad news has arrived

It's closing tiiiime…”
 
You and Daisha both joined in on the final chorus, and you heard several whistles from the crowd, one of which you strongly suspected came from Sans, although you weren’t sure if skeletons

could

whistle. Once the last note had fallen, Ava closed the act with, “You guys have been amazing! Thank you! Good night!” 
 
The lights went down again, and you all packed up your things before leaving the stage only to find a line of monsters waiting at the merch table. Usually, the Jazz Radicals were lucky to sell enough merchandise to make up the cost of gas and the venue fee, but it didn’t seem like that was the case this time around. As usual, John, in his typical anti-social way, sat down behind the table and left the rest of you to chat up the new ‘fans’. Your face burned when you turned around and spotted Sans looking your way. He was chatting with Ava, but still gave you a three fingered wave. 
 
“it was pretty cool of you guys to take my request to heart. seems like my pals really liked the show,” you heard him say as you walked over. 
 
“Yeah, seems like it,” you replied absent-mindedly. Daisha was standing at the edge of the stage, looking overwhelmed as Undyne talked at her excitedly. Chris appeared to have just embraced one of the larger members of the D-squad as the dog he was, and was scratching the monster vigorously. The dog monster seemed obviously overjoyed at this, and the other members of the d-squad were watching with envy. They appeared to be waiting their turn for scratches from the big man. 
 
“i think the name fits you, you know?” Sans continued. “that was a pretty

rad

show.” His wordplay caught you off guard since you hadn’t been really paying attention, and you stifled a laugh only to end up snorting. You were mortified, and although Sans looked highly amused, it seemed like he decided not to harass you about it. 
 
Before your conversation could continue any further however, a shadow loomed over you from behind and an excited voice called out for Sans. 
 
“Oy! Sans, it’s not like you to move so fast! I didn’t expect you to already be talking to the band!” Undyne laughed loudly as she approached you; her laughter seemed infectious, it was as if all the awkwardness you had just been feeling melted away. 
 
“hey undyne,” Sans replied, “lemme introduce you since i’ve already had the pleasure. this is ava, the vocalist and trumpet player, and brighid. she’s the one that patched up the kid’s dog earlier. that’s her day job.”
 
Behind them, Daisha, free from Undyne’s overwhelming presence, quickly snapped a picture of Chris rubbing the big dog’s belly, before she walked over to join you, eyeing Sans with a pointed look. 
 
“You HAVE to send me that picture later,” you whispered at her. She winked at you as way of a response. 
 
You turned to face Sans. “Oh, and Sans, this is another of my band mates you haven’t met, this is Daisha, she plays the -” before you could finish Undyne jumped in. 
 
“SANS! Did you know that the little keyboard she has on the stage is programmed with all kinds of instruments?!? She was explaining it to me! What an excellent piece of technology!”
 
“whoa, whoa now. that’s cool and all but lemme finish introductions.” he replied. “ava, brighid, daisha, this is alphys. she’s the lead scientist of new new home.” Undyne was such a loud and boisterous character that you had hardly even noticed the little lizard lady at her side. Undyne’s blue skin blushed when Sans introduced her girlfriend and she quieted down so you could better hear Alphys.
 
“It’s very nice to meet you,” Alphys said warmly. You, Ava, and Daisha echoed the sentiment. She was quiet and tiny compared to her boisterous eight-foot tall girlfriend, and the energy she gave off was relaxing compared to the high energy of the other people in the room. Despite that, she was obviously nervous, and you could see her fidgeting, rubbing her thumb back and forth over Undyne’s hand. “So you’re the one who put the c-cast on D-dumpling’s leg earlier? If you d-don’t mind, I would love to ask you some questions about veterinary medicine. Monsters heal very differently from my understanding of most normal animals.”
 
You smiled at her, and nodded. “Sure, go ahead,” you replied. 
 
“C-can you explain the purpose of the c-cast? I d-don’t understand why the d-dog's leg needs to be wrapped up like that for so long. Isn’t a month a rather long time? Monsters use magic to heal so recovery for us seldom takes that long.” Alphys explained, her tail curling around her feet as she spoke. Your ears perked up when she said that Monsters healed using magic, as so far there were hardly any available publications on Monster healing and medicine. You remembered that Sans had said she was THE royal scientist, so you couldn’t help but feel a little excited at the prospect of learning from

her

as well.
 
You tried to hide the excitement on your face, and answered her right away. “Oh! We had to put the pieces of the broken bone back together in Dumpling’s leg. But setting a bone is painful for the dog, so they either need pain medications or anaesthesia in order for us to repair it. Once that’s done, we use a cast to hold the bone in place while it is healing. If the bone gets out of alignment while it's healing, it would hurt him a lot. As long as the pieces of the broken bone are aligned, Dumpling’s leg will grow new blood vessels at the point of the break, and knit itself back together over time. Dumpling’s leg should be as good as new in a month or two.”
 
“Pain medication?” Alphys asked, “But I thought humans d-didn’t have magic.”
 
You shook your head, “No, we don’t,” you replied, “Our medicines are made from plants and chemicals. Not all medicine that humans use can be used on animals, so there’s also special medicines just for pets.”
 
Alphys seemed deep in thought, her tail lashing behind her. “Huh, plants and c-chemicals.”
 
“Well, what are your medicines made of? If Sans were to break a bone, how would you fix it?” you asked. 
 
“Well, since our bodies are made of magic, they c-can really only be treated with magic, though there are a few exceptions. We’ve recently synthesized some magic pills, but for the most part we rely on monsters that are skilled in healing magic, and some of us c-can heal naturally so long as we c-consume magic foods. If Sans were to break a bone…hmmmm….”She thought for a moment, “I think if a piece was broken off, it would grow back, but if it was broken in two, we would have to apply healing magic at the break site and -Oh! That gives me an idea! Maybe something like a c-cast would work if an injured monster c-couldn’t get to a healer right away. I wonder if a monster in a c-cast would heal on its own without additional healing magic?” Alphys suddenly exclaimed. “We were trying to think of ways to d-deal with injuries if they occurred to a monster while they were abroad! That’s incredibly helpful, Brighid!” 
 
Her face lit up as she spoke, and satisfaction spread over you like a wave. It was nice to be able to help one another. 
 
“If you d-don’t mind,” she continued, “What do you do about d-diseases? They’re fairly un-c-common in monsters, and usually go away with enough healing medicine, but we really d-don’t know what kind of things we’ll encounter when monsters begin visiting c-countries overseas.”
 
“Well that depends on the disease,” you answered after a moment. “Some diseases caused by bacteria are relatively easy to fix with basic antibiotics, but viral and genetic diseases vary on how well we can treat them. For many of those conditions, you can only manage the pain the patients are feeling and try to make them feel comfortable. For some viral diseases, we have developed vaccines that allow a human’s immune system to fight off the infection. Genetic diseases are trickier though. In some cases, like cancer, we do surgeries to remove the cancerous part, or use radiation to kill the patient’s abnormal cell growth. There are also mental illnesses that are common in humans, but those are harder to treat, because even the same condition can’t be treated the same way for everyone that has it.”
 
Alphys was nodding thoughtfully as you spoke, and had taken out a little notebook to jot notes down in. “Thank you so much!” She replied, once she finished scribbling her notes, “I’ll make sure to look into this more later. You’re very knowledgeable, you know. D-did you go to school for this?” 
 
“Yes,” you replied, “But not for human medicine. I went to school for veterinary medicine. So I’m not technically qualified to heal people, even though animal medicine and human medicine have some things in common.”
 
A movement distracted you, and you turned your head to see that Daisha had joined Chris in scratching various members of the D-squad. The expression on her face was pure delight, and you couldn’t help but grin. Sans was chatting with Ava at the bar next to the merch table, ketchup bottle in hand, while Ava nodded occasionally and took long slurps of one of her usual green cocktails. Undyne had, at some point during the conversation, unbeknownst to you, and apparently Alphys, gone over to chat with John at the Merch table. At present she was sliding a Jazz Radicals T-shirt over her head. The human size shirt was probably a large, but she wore it as a crop top and looked delighted. 
 
You realized you had turned away, and looked back to Alphys, but she didn’t seem to be offended. She was staring at Undyne with an unmistakable look of adoration and her yellow scaled face seemed to be blushing a deep orange. You blushed lightly yourself at the realization that the large monster

did

look awfully good in that t-shirt, with her blue belly exposed.
She realized you had noticed her and looked flustered, so you decided to pick the conversation back up. “Uh, anyway, what about you, Alphys? Sans mentioned you were the royal scientist for the monsters. What’s your specialty?”
 
To your surprise, this made Alphys considerably more flustered and she nervously clicked her nails together. “Uh, well I was royal scientist back in the underground so… I learned a lot from textbooks that humans threw away, since we didn't have any kind of formal schooling, and when monsters emerged from the underground…” She was rambling with no sign of stopping, but you were interested in what she had to say so you didn’t interrupt. “And so when we got out, I took a bunch of tests administered by all these c-colleges. So I have bachelor's-degrees in c-chemical, electrical and  mechanical engineering and robotics, and I was given honorary d-doctorates in biology, c-chemistry, and medicine by Ebott University. They kept talking about me being the forefront of advanced medicine but I’m…. really… not.” She trailed off, before flashing you a nervous smile. 
 
You were stunned but you tried to hide it so you didn’t make her more uncomfortable. “Wow, that’s amazing.” You replied. “You’re probably the smartest person I’ve ever met. You should be proud of that! If humans and monsters can benefit from communicating, the world could become a truly amazing place.”
 
Alphys blushed orange again when you said that, and a voice from behind you said, “Yeah, she’s pretty great right? She’s so passionate and analytical, I think it’s neat.” You realized that Undyne was behind you again, and heard the tail end of your conversation. She smiled widely at you, before tossing a shirt over to Alphys. “I got you that Alphys! Are you ready to go?”
 
Alphys nodded shyly, looking up at her tall girlfriend, but turned back to you before Undyne could pull her away. “I would love to talk to you more sometime. C-could I have your phone number?”
 
“Sure!” you replied, taking the phone from her outstretched hand and putting in your name and number. “I don’t talk on the phone much but text me and I’ll answer as soon as I can.”
 
She nodded, taking her phone back, and walked away, hand in hand with Undyne. You were excited to learn a bit more about monster science. It had been nice to meet a few different types of monsters, you decided. It was already 11:30 and the weight of the day seemed to finally be hitting you, as you fought back a yawn. You waved a farewell at Daisha and Chris who both returned the gesture, but as you turned to go say good-bye to Ava and John, you suddenly found yourself face to skull with Sans. You couldn’t help but yelp in surprise. 
 
“Ah! Sans!” you exclaimed, taking a step back. “Don’t sneak up on people like that!” 
 
“sorry,” he said, blushing blue under his cheekbones. “i said your name but i must not have been loud enough.”
 
“Ah, it’s okay. You just startled me.”
 
“uh… anyway….” he said. His face was still blue and he was being uncharacteristically quiet. You arched an eyebrow at him, worried that Ava had said something weird. 
 
“Yeah, what’s up?” you prompted. 
 
“i...uh… i saw Alphys give you her phone and...uh… was wondering if i could… have your number too….” He said hesitantly. “just in case! something could happen with dumpling and frisk really seemed to like you!” He was sweating blue now, and clearly nervous. 
 
“Yeah!” you said quickly, before you mentally cursed yourself for being over-eager.

Ava’s getting in my head, damnit!

You thought to yourself. “It’s chill. I expected you guys to have some questions,” you continued, recovering your composure. 
 
“...yeah?” he asked. 
 
“Yeah.” you replied, holding out your hand for his phone. He pulled an old style flip-phone out of the pocket of his hoodie and handed it to you. You had gotten used to smartphones, so it took you a minute to find his contacts and start typing. “Don’t hesitate to call or text me, I would much rather tell you myself than have you get bad information from the internet. And trust me, there is A LOT of bad information about taking care of pets out there.”
 
When you had finished entering your information in the phone, and looked back at Sans, the strange blue sweat had disappeared off of his face, but the blush had not.
“There, here you go, Sans,” you said, handing his phone back to him, before stretching and reaching for your bass on the floor beside you. “It was nice talking to you. I’m glad we got things cleared up about this afternoon, and I still have a million questions to ask you, but I should head on out.”
 
“heh, yeah,” he replied. “i had fun at the show, thanks so much. stay safe, and have a good night.”
 
Sans waved as you started to head out, saying goodbye to Ava and John and confirming the time for dnd next weekend. As usual, Chris appeared like a silent giant behind you, and insisted on walking you to your car. He always did after gigs that ended late, so you nodded, and the two of you walked out. He chatted about how cool it was to pet a dog that could tell you you were doing a good job, and bid you a good night with a large crushing bear hug before you pulled out of the parking lot. 
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
A little while later, you finally arrived home. You shut the front door behind you and locked it with a sigh, as you rubbed a hand over your mouth to stop a yawn from breaking through. Setting your bass to the side in its proper place, you went about your nightly routine. You set your electric kettle on to boil for tea, washed your face, and chucked your dirty show clothes into the hamper, making a mental note to do laundry this weekend. You slowly pulled on your pajamas in your bedroom, before walking back out to the kitchen to pour your tea. You leaned on the counter as you took the first sip, letting the warmth spread over you and take the edge off of your fatigue. 
 
Sighing happily, you shuffled back over to the bed, and sat down on top of the covers to meditate. Ava had gotten you into meditation a few months ago, when you were going through some rough things, and now you couldn’t sleep without it. It helped relax your body enough to overcome the anxiety of the day, and the insomnia that usually followed it if you didn’t clear your head before bed. Taking a longer sip of your tea, you rested your back against the wall, closed your eyes, and started to even out your breathing. Visualizing yourself in your mind like always, you started ‘feel’ along the edges of your mind, then mentally traced through your tiny apartment, going over each rune you had written into the windows and doors in your mind. While most people would call your runes and wards nonsense, ever since the monsters had emerged and confirmed the existence of magic, you couldn’t help but feel that your beliefs had been validated. Even if humans couldn’t use magic the way they could, magic

was

real. Either way, it helped you relax, and what you did at home and believed in was nobody’s business but your own. You finished your meditation, then finished your tea, before sliding under the covers and allowing your exhausted body to surrender to the warm embrace of sleep.

Sleep came easily to you that night, something you were thankful for since it didn’t happen every night. Your dreams were filled with odd shapes and hissed whispers that rushed against your head like water, but even as you were aware of them, you also knew that you would not remember the dreams come morning. After a while, your mind settled, and as if a weight was removed from your chest, you drifted off into a deep, undisturbed sleep.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!

Under your pillow, your phone vibrated. With great reluctance you cracked your eyes open, and growled deep in your throat at the disruption to your sleep. A good night’s rest was a rare gift and to say you were less than happy about being woken up would be a massive understatement. It took some effort for you to lift your head from the circle of pillows you were basically buried in, and another few moments of groping in the black-out curtain darkness of your room before you found the offending object that had dared to wake you.

If this is AVA, I SWEAR…

you thought. Once you had unplugged your phone, you pulled it up to your face, and curled back up into your nest of pillows and blankets. You squinted at the bright light that flashed when you unlocked your phone and scrolled over to the messaging app to see who was bothering you at such a heinous hour of the morning.
 
>

Can dogs have bananas?<

The screen read.
 
Owlishly, you blinked at the screen a few more times, wracking your brain as to who would be messaging you at eight o’clock in the godforsaken morning on one of your only days off. It was from an unknown number, and for a moment you could only guess that it was a wrong number text. After a moment of thinking though, the events of the previous day came flooding back to your mind, and you recalled that you had given out your number to two different people yesterday.

Well,

you thought,

two different monsters anyway.

It was too late for you to ignore them now, since you were awake and there was no chance of you going back to sleep. Reluctantly you pulled up your phone screen keyboard and typed up a quick reply.

>Yes, dogs may have bananas, but not the peel. Sorry, but who is this? Sans? Or Dr. Alphys?<

You were trying not be miffed about your unwelcome wake up, but were having a hard time. Tossing the phone onto the pillow next to you, you stretched out, not wanting to leave your nest of warm blankets just yet.

Just a few more minutes is all I want,

you thought.

>Oh! Sorry, this is Frisk. Dumpling wanted a bite of my banana!😊<

Your phone buzzed and you sighed after reading the text.

>Did Sans give you my number?<

you replied.
 Frisk texted back almost instantly. >I found it in Sans’ phone when he was sleeping last night!< they replied. You couldn’t help but chuckle at their mischief, but before you could reply, Frisk sent a follow up text.  >I hope that’s okay…<

>Yeah, Frisk, it's okay, I was just very confused. I just woke up. It’s not nice to go through other people’s phones though, so make sure you ask Sans next time. I wouldn’t want you to text someone creepy by mistake.<

You entered your contact menu, and saved the number as a new contact:

Kid Ambassador.

You suspected you were going to be receiving a lot of texts from Frisk. Your eyes began adjusting to the light, and you groaned as you flipped your blankets off of you, reluctantly deciding to get out of bed. You glanced back at your phone, noticing that it was still only a little past eight, and couldn’t help but wonder about Frisk.

It was early. Far earlier than they probably had to be awake, if you thought about it.

They’re doing so much, and they’re so young,

you thought,

I wish I was actually accomplishing something with my life.

You scrunched up your face and shook your head, trying to shake off the self-deprecating thoughts and stood up, twisting in order to crack your back. You picked up your phone just before it buzzed again. 
 
Frisk’s response was kind of flippant, but you remembered what Sans had said the day before, about how monsters don’t take things as seriously as humans do.

>Oh, I know <

It said

>but you were really nice yesterday, and Sans seems to like you so it must be alright for me to like you too!<

You were flattered, but decided to make sure everything was kosher anyway. You texted Frisk back,

>All the same, can you please let your mom know that you’re talking to me? I don’t want to get into trouble with your parents.<

You sent the text with a sigh, before rubbing your eyes and shuffling off through the apartment.

It’s amazing the kid is so trusting,

you thought. You yawned as you started the electric kettle for tea and dropped two slices of bread into the toaster, before hearing your phone buzz again. You grabbed your phone off the counter to see another text from Frisk, followed by a picture.

>Mom says it’s okay! Dumpling says hi!<

Frisk wrote.
 
Following the text was a picture of Frisk, sitting at a fully loaded breakfast table. A large bipedal goat woman was smiling at Frisk’s phone camera from beside him, with a pie in her oven-mitted hands. On the floor beside the table, Dumpling could be seen, apparently messily enjoying a large chunk of banana that you could see mashed into his bowl. The thing you noticed last was a pair of black horns peeping out from behind a newspaper at the far end of the table.

King Asgore,

you assumed. It was a sweet scene, so wholesome and tooth-achingly sweet that it almost felt like something out of a magazine.
 
Warmth seemed to emanate from Queen Toriel’s smile, and although you had only ever seen her on TV in the past, her cute oven mitts, delicate smile and motherly pose made you want a hug; the kind of warm inviting hug, that sets your soul at ease, the kind of hug only motherly people can really give. You guessed that King Asgore must not be a big fan of cameras, but as you looked at the picture longer you realized that you had no idea what Frisk had been feeding Dumpling since they took him home yesterday.

>You know Dumpling needs food besides bananas right, Frisk? Also, is that pie for breakfast?!<

you texted back.
 
The thought of pie for breakfast made you feel a little bit jealous, so you reached into the fridge and pulled out your pomegranate jelly to put on your toast. You never would have gotten away with pie for breakfast, but Frisk seemed happy about it, and you weren’t exactly qualified to make parenting judgements. You pulled the honey out of the cabinet next to the kettle, and leaned against the counter waiting for your toast to pop. Your phone buzzed again.

>Its snail pie!<

Frisk texted back. >

Mom said to ask if you would be able to show me what he needs. Mom and Dad have never had a normal pet before, so they don’t know how to take care of him very well either. Sans said he could take us today if you have time to show me. Plzzzzzzzz?!?<

There was another picture sent after the text this time, a picture of Sans. He was standing at a counter, holding up a mug of some kind of liquid, his eyes half lidded, looking sleepy. From what you could see, he looked just as worn out as you felt after last night. You could only see part of his shirt in the picture, but you were able to guess that it said “bone tired” on the front. He had plaid pajama pants on as well, and a pair of fuzzy pink slippers. You took a little solace in the fact that you weren’t the only non-morning person awake at this inhumane hour. You were too tired to be embarrassed about your feelings, and decided that sleepy Sans was definitely cute. You set your phone to the side while you made your toast.

It’s not as if I had any plans today, besides practicing for orchestra,

you thought to yourself,

but it feels a little weird. I just met Sans and Frisk yesterday. Oh well,

you decided,

I guess I’m glad they decided to ask me instead of trying the internet or asking someone unqualified. And if their mom says it’s okay, then it shouldn’t be weird. I’ll just think of it… as advanced pet sitting.

You swallowed a follow-up bit of anxiety about seeing Sans again, along with your last bite of toast, and picked up your phone to text them back.

>Sure, why not, Frisk.  It’s almost 9 now, so give me about an hour to wake up all the way, and I will meet you two at the pet store on Sunside drive, at 10. It’s just past the small park in town. You know where that is?<

You yawned before starting in on the other piece of your toast, eating with one hand and checking your emails with the other, trying not to get jelly on your screen. You knew that that pet store would have a decent selection, since Ava sometimes had you pick up things for Momo, and since it was just down the road, you wouldn’t have to worry about finding a parking spot. Your phone buzzed in your hand, and you pulled down the notification to see a text from Frisk confirming that they would be able to meet you there. 
 
You cleaned up your plate and finished your tea before sitting down to meditate, like you tried to most days. You spent about thirty minutes in meditation, letting your brain adjust to being awake, before you decided to get dressed. After checking the weather, you pulled on a long-sleeve purple top, and a pair of jeans, and slid on your usual flats. Although it wasn’t truly cold yet, there was a chill in the air, and the leaves were beginning to turn. It was already 9:45 and you told them you would meet them at 10:00 so you packed up your phone, wallet and keys, pulling on your canvas shoulder back, and double checking that the door was locked. You were more familiar with the area than they were, and decided it was better to be a bit early so that they would know they were in the right place when they saw you. You set off into town at a relaxed pace, glad you had decided on long-sleeves. 
 
Unfortunately, once you were walking, there was nothing standing between you and all your anxiety. A knot formed in your stomach, and you tried to force it down, and tell it that, no, not every person you passed was judging you, and no, you were not a walking disaster. You reached up and rubbed your necklace between your fingers, a long time nervous habit of yours. The gemstone fastened to the leather cord at your neck was a smooth flat oval, of swirled green and blue. To others it was just an odd trinket, but for you it was the last thing you had ever been given by your parents. Your aunts called it a “worry stone” and you had received it as a gift for your birthday shortly before your parents passed away. 
 
You smiled at the thought of your aunts. You decided to give them a call later that evening, to ask about coming home for Yule. The comfort you found in the thought of home served to quell your anxiety a bit, and without realizing, you began to walk a little quicker. The shopping center you were meeting Sans and Frisk at was on the smaller side, just a little plaza with a hair and nail salon, the pet store, an office building, and a small grocery store. You generally tried to avoid the hustle and bustle of main street when you could, since you preferred not running into your coworkers, or worse, while you were out and about. As you approached the store, you looked around the parking lot, wondering what kind of car Sans would be driving, but you didn’t see them. Finally reaching the curb in front of the pet supply store, you stopped to pull out your phone and text Frisk to let them know you were there. 
 
“hey, there miss, glad to see we’re in the right place.” You jumped as Sans’ voice was suddenly right beside you. You fumbled your phone, but managed to save it a split second before it hit the concrete. 
 
“JEEZ SANS!” you yelped. “It’s fine, but JEEEEZ.” You dramatically clutched your chest, where your heart was pounding away, and glared playfully at Sans. 
 
“heh, sorry about that. i’ll try not to startle you next time.” He seemed sheepish, and was rubbing the back of his neck with an apologetic expression. Frisk, on the other hand, was giggling, as they hung from Sans’ hand. 
 
You smiled at the kid. Their cheery disposition made the tension of you being startled melt away pretty quickly, and you sighed a breath of relief on the inside that at least things between you and Sans didn’t seem awkward after meeting at the bar last night. “Hey Frisk, have a good breakfast?” You said, putting your phone away. Frisk nodded enthusiastically letting go of Sans’ hand to sign rapidly at you. Sans was watching too, and as soon as Frisk finished, he translated for you. 
 “yeah tori’s pies are the best, i have to agree on that, kid.” Sans said as way of explanation, before moving the conversation on. “i don’t know about you two, but i’m pawsitively itching to see what is inside.”  Frisk giggled, covering their mouth with two sleeved hands, as you sighed, shaking your head but smiling all the same. 
“I guess this is a thing now.” you commented lightly, before opening the door, and waving the two of them inside. “After you.”
 
“what can I say, if i see an op

paw

tunity i have to take it.” Sans countered, making you groan. You looked up at the ceiling, clearly mouthing a prayer to make the pet-related wordplay stop, but Sans could obviously see the grin you were trying to force back. 
 
“I am dead, RIP me,” you said, causing Sans to chuckle. 
 
“if my jokes killed you, maybe you’ll come back as a skele

pun

,” Sans retorted with a wink. 
 
Your only response was to put both your hands on your face and say “AUGGHHHHHHHHHHHH” causing another ripple of laughter from Sans and Frisk. 
 
Frisk was only half paying attention to the banter between the two of you. The majority of their attention was on the colorful displays of dog costumes, collars, leashes and toys on the wall of the first aisle. They were wide-eyed as they touched various objects, recoiling from some, and nodding or smiling at the feel of others. You walked to stand beside them, and once they looked your direction, you squatted down so that you were on their level. 
 
“Do you want to look around the store at your own pace, or do you want me to show you what you need first, and then we can look around?” You asked, offering a 1 and a 2 for the options. Frisk seemed pensive for a minute, thinking it over, before replying with two fingers for the second option. You nodded your understanding and offered them your hand, which they took eagerly. “Alright then, let’s get started with the most important part, food.” Sans appeared silently behind the two of you again, but at least this time you were expecting him.
 
Guiding them further into the store and into the correct aisle, you looked over the choices they offered with a critical eye. “Alright, so first let’s narrow down what kind of food he needs. It’s safe to say he’s a large breed puppy, so look for bags that say that on the front. Stay away from grain-free foods; they’re not actually healthier, it’s just a fad.”
 
“why do they make grain-free if it's just a fad?” Sans questioned, poking at one of the bags, and glancing at you out of the corner of his eye socket.
 
“To make money, unfortunately,” You replied. “That’s what it comes down to it in the end.” Shrugging, you pulled a bag of large breed puppy food from the end of the row, and hefted it into the cart with a practiced motion. “For food, Dumpling can have as much as he wants, don’t worry about portion sizes till he is older. I like this brand because it’s balanced nutritionally and they do research to make sure dogs actually like it.”
 
“weird, you would think that would be standard practice,” Sans said. “shouldn’t they want what’s best for the animal?” he looked at you as he shoved his hands back into the pockets of the hoodie he was wearing.
 
You shrugged, and Frisk shrugged along with you. “I don’t disagree, but it’s just the way it is, even if it’s wrong. Pet food isn’t as standardized as people food.” Sans seemed resigned to what you said, so you moved on, in the conversation, and to the next aisle.
 
You talked as you walked, explaining to Frisk what you were grabbing. Slowly, the cart began to fill up, as you moved through the supply aisles. “Dumpling is going to need a kennel… a bed… food and water bowls… a harness… a leash…” 
 
Every couple of items you would guess wrong, and grab something with a texture, pattern or color that Frisk didn’t care for, and they would stop you. An hour passed quickly. You would pull an item, tell Frisk what it was and why Dumpling needed it, and Frisk would nod, or tug your sleeve and shake their head, before pulling you over to the version of the item that they wanted instead. For the most part it was easy to switch the items out, but a few things needed to be the ones you chose for Dumpling’s sake. You had to take away the rawhides that Frisk picked out, and swap them with a chew safe for puppies Dumpling’s age. Frisk was also upset when they learned that the wall of colorful plastic bowls was off limits, but once you explained the way bacteria can grow on plastic they seemed to understand, and reluctantly agreed on metal. That disappointment melted away though, when you showed them the metal food bowl with a gobble stopper shaped like a bone. Frisk, witty as always, signed to Sans, “Look, it’s you.”
 
It had already been an hour and a half by the time you had gotten all the necessities for Dumpling, at Frisk’s standards, but you didn’t mind.

At least Frisk is willing to compromise,

you thought to yourself with a chuckle,

the last time I went shopping with Ava, she looked at dog shampoo for a full hour before deciding to leave and buy a different brand online instead.

Frisk, however, seemed restless, so you decided it was time to set them loose. You walked them back to the aisle of toys, chews and costumes. “Okay Frisk, Dumpling is going to need toys! Rope is good for teething, so that he won’t chew up your furniture, but he can’t have bones, antlers, rawhide or horns yet. And if it has stuffing, he might rip it apart, so you’ll have to watch him. I suggest lots of tennis balls, ropes and chews. 
 
You knew that toys could run up a bill quite a lot and you side-eyed Sans, not wanting to ask how much they had to spend, but prepared to step in if Sans looked like he was uncomfortable with the growing stack of toys. Sans did seem uneasy, but the source was definitely not Frisk, who was going down the aisle, smiling, and picking out the toys that they liked the feel and look of. Sans had been quiet for awhile, mostly signing to Frisk rather than talking, and you were beginning to get anxious. Even though he wasn’t even looking at you, you could feel the tension in the air, and could tell that Sans had his focus on you. 
 
“so…” he said, quietly, arching a bony eyebrow.
 
“Sooo…?” You mimed back, looking at him in profile as he refused to meet your eye.
 
“do you not like my pet puns or something?” Sans’ question made your heartache in a familiar way. His smile seemed smaller than usual, and his eye lights were carefully trained on the rope toys in front of him so as not to look at you.

How many times has he had this conversation,

you wondered,

how many times has he been told to cut it out, or stop being annoying?

You knew that ache, this conversation, the avoidance.
 
“Actually Sans, they’re horrible and I absolutely love them,” you replied. He tried to hide his relief as his eyes flicked back to you, but his smile was noticeably warmer when his eyes met yours. Your eyes were locked for a moment, and you both froze, in a deceptively serious moment before you both burst out laughing, the tension broken. 
 
He wiped a blue tear from his eye, as his laughter died down and replied, “well, then isn’t it

fur

tunate that it’s pretty much im

paw

sible for me to run out of puns?” which set the both of you back to giggles. You leaned over the cart and groaned dramatically but couldn’t hold back the laughter.
 
“Keep it up and you’ll be in the

doghouse

with me!” you answered back, causing Sans to bend over, wheezing from laughing too hard.
 
As you and Sans laughed together at your own terrible puns, you noticed Frisk smiling coyly at the two of you from the end of the aisle. They were peeking around the corner at you, and despite the fact that their eyes were covered you could almost sense the mischief emanating from them. Once you and Sans could breathe without breaking into another fit of giggles, you turned to where you had seen Frisk, and Sans followed you to the end of the aisle. The cart was piled high with toys, so it seemed that Frisk had finished shopping for Dumpling and was ready to move on to looking at the other displays.
 
Frisk was standing along the back wall, where all the smaller animals like hamsters and lizards lived. Their face was pressed to the glass of a ferret enclosure, where a couple of ferrets were playing excitedly together. 
 
“They’re super cute, right Frisk?” You asked, holding back a giggle at their face smushed up against the glass. You squatted down so you could watch with them, and Frisk turned to face you, their smile huge and excited as they signed rapidly. 
 
Sans chimed in behind you, “frisk said ‘they’re very cute’. they wanna know if they can pet ‘em,” he said. 
 
“Probably,” you answered. “Stay here a second Frisk, I’ll go ask.” You stood back up and walked to the check-out aisle at the front to ask an employee. To your relief, they walked with you to the back and unlocked the enclosure, pulling out the ferret that Frisk pointed out. The employee took a seat behind the feed counter, and told you to let them know when you were done playing with the ferrets.  The one Frisk had asked for was a fluffy young ferret, with a brown bandit’s mask across its nose, and it was oh so very soft. You held it with both hands, one under its front legs, and one under its tail, as you knelt down so Frisk could pet it. They reached out a hand hesitantly, but pulled back, seeming confused.
 
“It’s okay Frisk, try gently petting its head, like this,” you explained, stroking your thumb past the little weasel’s soft ears. “They’re fast and slippery, so let me hold on to it, okay? I don’t want it to escape.”  Frisk nodded, and tried to curb their enthusiasm, as they gently and methodically stroked the snakelike little ferret, who wriggled in happiness and rubbed against their hand.
 
“a bit more lively than rocky, huh kid.” Sans chimed in with a chuckle. He was watching the enraptured Frisk with a warmth you weren’t used to seeing in him. 
 
“You have a pet named Rocky?” you replied.“What are they?” you asked, looking up at Sans from the floor, as you shifted to a sitting position. Frisk didn’t seem anywhere near done petting the ferret, and linoleum is killer on the knees.
 
“yeah, it's my pet rock, the best pet a monster could ever ask for. say do you think they have sprinkles here?” You paused, turning your eyes fully onto Sans, who was wearing an ambiguous expression, deliberately hiding whether he was serious or not. 
 
“Um, no? I’m sorry I don’t think they do???” You could hear your voice raise up an octave at the end. You wanted to say he was joking, but you didn’t want to be rude about some kind of monster pet. Maybe their pet rocks were different?
 
“ah, what a shame, guess they’re just going to wither away.” Sans shrugged, keeping an aloof air about himself, and you squinted up at him in confusion, deciding that he must be joking. You thought about the cracks he had made at your expense the night before, and how humans trying to be “sensitive” was funny to him, so you decided to play along.

I’m not that naive!

You thought to yourself. 
 
“If it’s a

magic

pet rock, I would imagine you need to feed it

magic

sprinkles, right? I don’t think most places in town carry food for

magic

pets. I had a pet rock in middle school, you know, and mine didn’t eat anything at all.”
 
“huh, well mine always has an appetite for

rock

candy.” Sans replied, finally cracking a smile despite his best efforts. Frisk too was covering their mouth with their long sleeves, trying to conceal their giggling. It was evident from their reactions that they had been trying to pull one over on you, but you couldn’t blame them. Objectively, once you knew that there was no harm in it, it

was

pretty funny.

Guess I’m starting to adjust to the Monster sense of humor,

you thought wryly. 
 
“Do you want to pet the ferret, Sans?” You asked, rising up from the floor. You all but thrust the cat snake in your hands at Sans who was full-on laughing upon the realization that you were wise to his shenanigans. He reached out with one bony finger to pet it, just as Frisk did, but once it saw the fluffy tunnel of Sans’ sleeve extending toward it, the ferret got other ideas. You jumped as it scratched free of your hands, and leapt into Sans’ sleeve, disappearing behind the puffy blue fabric before you could even register what had happened. Sans yelped and the three of you froze, watching helplessly as the ferret-lump in Sans’ jacket wiggled its way up his arm, momentarily peeking out of the neck of his shirt from it’s perch on his scapula, before deciding to nose-dive down into his rib cage. Sans shuddered, and you could hear the uncomfortable sound effect of little weasel claws on bone.
 
While you were still frozen, watching Sans twitch and shudder with a horrified expression on his face, Frisk decided to leap into action. They stuck one arm under the edge of Sans’ shirt, causing Sans to yelp again, and began rummaging around beneath it, trying to grab the wiggly little creature, to no avail. Sans’ facial expression had moved from amused, to uncomfortable, through the five stages of grief, before leaving him just plain mortified, but Frisk was laughing, apparently having the time of their life. You snorted, trying desperately to restrain the laughter, lest you wound his ego even further, so you turned to face the store employee, to see if there was anything they could do to help. One look at their horrified, “I’m totally getting fired for this,” facial expression instantly revealed that you were on your own. 
 
Luckily for Sans, and the poor dumbstruck pet shop employee, this was not your first time dealing with ferrets, and as soon as you regained your composure, you turned to the nearby rack of treats, and tore open a bag labelled for ferrets. You gently placed one hand on Frisk’s shoulder, breaking them out of their hyperfocus on playing ferret tag in Sans’ ribcage. 
 
“I think I can help,” you chimed in. A relieved expression spread across Sans’ face, “But I’ll need you to pull your hand out of Sans’ ribs, Frisk.” Frisk nodded, their expression super serious, as they obliged. “Good, okay Frisk, hold out your hands.” They did as you asked and you dropped a few treats into their little hands. “Now, lift up the treat…” you continued. Frisk did as you said, stretching their hands up towards Sans’ face. 
 
“uh, kid? why are you… oh stars.” The ferret had smelled the trap and peeped its head out from behind Sans’ collar, wriggling out from between his sternum and ribs, and down the front of his shirt before running down Frisk’s arm to munch on it’s ill-gotten rewards. You slowly guided Frisk’s hands back to their chest so that the mischievous ferret was clutched against their oversized sweater, and showed Frisk how to hold it so that it wouldn’t be escaping again.
 
“There you go, just like that, Frisk.” You said, letting their hands go and allowing them to handle the little creature on their own, before turning your attention back to Sans with an apologetic expression. “I’m realllly sorry,” you said, “Are you okay? I imagine a ferret using your ribs as a jungle gym doesn’t feel great.” Sans’ face was blushing blue, and you stood back up to meet his eye. “Ferrets love tunnels, and burrowing. I didn’t realize it was going to dive for your sleeve.”
 
“uh, yeah, i’m fine. it’s just… a really uncomfortable situation. i’ve uh, never had that happen before. never had an animal… try to

nest

in me.” he said with a shudder. “but don’t worry about it. it’s not your fault that it

weasled

into my jacket.” He smiled a little at his own pun, apparently ready to move on, not that you could blame him. 
 
“Frisk,” you said, turning back to the kid, “do you want to check out the fish next?” Frisk nodded and offered the Ferret back to you. The employee who had helped you hurried right over when you looked in their direction, and helped you place it back in its home, before nearly sprinting back to the front, their anxiety written all over their face. Frisk was already way ahead of you by the time you had replaced the weasel, and turned back impatiently to gesture for you and Sans to get a move on. Once you were beside them, they signed a question that for once you understood, much to Frisk and Sans’ surprise. 
 
Frisk’s question was “why are they alone?”
 
“Oh, these are Betta fish,” you answered them, “They don’t get along with other fish, so they have to be in a container by themselves. The big colorful ones are the males, and they’ll fight each other if they’re put in the same tank together.”  
 
“what color fish do you like?” Sans asked you, as he leaned in close to look at the fish. His expression was
curious
and either he really liked fish, or there was more to the question than he was letting on. The flickering blue-white light of his eyes seemed to hold a thousand questions, but he didn’t seem ready to ask them yet. 
 
“Hmm let's see, I really like this blue, white and black one over here.” You replied, pointing to one of the half-moon tail betta fish to show Sans. Looking down at Frisk, you nodded to the fish. 
 
“What about you, Frisk, what’s your favorite?”  Frisk thought for a moment before pointing to a blue beta fish with long red fins. They looked up at Sans and made a strange sign, as if throwing the letter U before it became a fish. 
 
Sans laughed, a quick snort, before translating for you. “frisk says that that one looks like undyne,” he said. You snorted too, before he continued, “but you didn’t hear it from me!” Frisk signed something else at Sans, and Sans turned his attention back to the betta fish. “which one is my favorite?” he said, repeating Frisk’s question outloud for your benefit. “hmmm. i suppose it would be this green one here.”
 
“Ohh, nice, I’m a big fan of that color too. Man, I really want it. Too bad, I don’t have the money for all the fish tank supplies I would need. ” You sighed, looking at the fish with a wistful look to your face.
 
“what do you mean?” Sans asked, his brow crinkling in confusion. 
 
“Just because a betta

can

live in a tank this small doesn’t mean it

should.

I would want a bigger tank, filters, sand, plants to hide in, etcetera, so that my fish could be happy.” You paused, and pointed to a large glass tank on display at the end of the aisle. “I would want one at least that size.”
 
Sans’ eyebrows shot up when his gaze landed on the large tank you were pointing at. The sign over the display read, ‘Now Only $299!’ 
 
“ah, i see,” he replied. “who-da thunk fish required so much stuff?” 
 
He paused, looking back at Frisk, who was watching a school of colorful minnows swim about in the lower tank, before looking back to you, his face blushing just the slightest bit blue. “thanks for coming out today though, really. i’m glad the kid messaged you. you’ve been a big help with all of this. whaddaya say we wrap things up here, and then we head off to lunch? our treat.” 
 
You blushed a bit in return, before clearing your throat. “Uh, yeah… that would be great. Thanks.” You had looked away from his eyes, and took a few steps over to Frisk as a way of moving past the awkwardness. 
 
“hey kid, you hungry yet?” Sans asked. Frisk looked up and nodded rapidly. “cool, then why don’t we check out with all of dumpling’s stuff, so that we can get some grub.”
 
You had almost finished checking out, when Sans spotted the open bag of ferret treats in the bottom of the cart. You had planned on paying for them, but he set them on the belt, saying something about how maybe Rocky would like a change from sprinkles. Before you could say anything, your stomach growled loudly, causing you to blush a deep crimson in embarrassment. 
 
“heh, good thing it’s lunch time,” Sans said with a grin, as he passed the cashier a black and silver card emblazoned with the logo of the Sovereign Nation of Monsters. The cashier seemed awestruck for a minute, but quickly ran the card, and handed Sans the mile-long receipt.

“Oh, you should keep that,” you said, “There are probably coupons on the bottom, and Dumpling is sure to outgrow his collar and harness in the next few months. He may even end up needing a larger kennel.” 
 
Sans seemed to be a bit surprised by that, but per your advice, he pulled the coupons off the bottom of the receipt and shoved them into the pocket of his hoodie, before picking up the big bag of dog food as if it was nothing, and walking toward the door. You were pushing the cart, while Frisk carried a few of the lighter objects, as well as Dumpling’s super fluffy dog bed. You all walked out into the midday sun, the chill of the morning cleared from the air to be replaced with a comfortable autumn day. 
 
Sans was joking about how the d-squad would lose their minds if they ever visited that store, when he came to a stop on the sidewalk. “okay miss, hand over those bags,” he said. 
 
Your brow knitted in confusion. “What? I can walk the cart to the car Sans, it’s no big deal.” 
 
“well, about that, we didn’t drive here.” He replied. 
 
“What?” you exclaimed, your confusion deepening, “You guys walked here? I’m not gonna make you carry everything home on foot, that’s crazy. I can call us an Uber or something!” 
 
Sans’ eyes were twinkling with a mischievous light that you had already become wary of. “well we didn’t exactly walk either,” he said, beckoning you over. “just hand me the bags, you’ll see.” He gave you a wink, and so you reluctantly helped load him up with bags. “you too, kiddo,” he said, turning to Frisk. Unlike you, Frisk didn’t argue and proceeded to load Sans up with everything they were carrying, in the silliest fashion imaginable, including persuading you to balance the dog bed on Sans’ head. 
 
 Frisk was giggling by the time you were done, and looked at you, giving you a “3,2,1, go!” hand signal. And just as they gave Sans the signal, everything Sans was holding, disappeared. 
 
For a moment, you thought it was exactly that, everything had disappeared. But when you played it back in your head, you realized that you

had

seen how the objects disappeared. It was quick, but Sans’ left eye flashed a brilliant bright blue color while his other eye light blinked out, leaving only the black void inside of the socket. Then, all the bags and the things that you had just watched Sans pay for, vanished into thin air, leaving Sans’ arms empty. 
 
Once you realized that Sans had caused the disappearance with magic, it clicked into place what had just happened.

He teleported them home?

You thought, your mind racing.

He can TELEPORT??

A thousand questions rushed through your mind for the skeleton standing in front of you, hands in his pockets nonchalantly, but you couldn’t manage to form the words. You realized after a moment that your mouth was hanging open, and you blinked, trying to pick something to ask out of the frenzy. Just like last night at the bar, when you tried his ‘drink,’ it seemed that Sans had a knack for piquing your interest in the most jaw-dropping ways. 
 
It took you several seconds to pull yourself together, close your mouth and remember to breathe, but every passing second seemed like an eternity when you allowed yourself to think the thought

Sans can use magic in ways that I can hardly even imagine.

The questions were endless.

What else can you do with magic?

You thought,

Can all monsters teleport? How strong is your magic compared to Toriel’s? Who’s got the strongest magic? Are there different types of magic? Who else knows about what you can do with magic? Am I the only one? Is this a secret? Am I supposed to keep this a secret????

Before you could work yourself into a tizzy, Sans put a hand on your shoulder. He had been laughing, but at the moment he looked more concerned than anything else. 
 “you okay, brighid?” he asked. That simple question was enough to drag you out of your very convoluted thoughts and allow you to answer him.  
“Uh, yeah, just one question. Hey, Sans? What. The. Helllllll.” You drew out the last three words forgetting that you did have a child in your midst, but again, your mind was still recovering from what you just saw. Sans seemed relieved that you were able to answer him with sarcasm so he withdrew his hand from your shoulder, and grinned, spreading his hands in front of him. 
 
“~maaaaaagic~,” he said, “like i said last night, monsters can do all kinds of things with it.”
 
“Really. You don’t say?!” You said, shaking your head. Frisk giggled, standing by your elbow. Of course

they

found Sans’ repeat attempts to give you a heart-attack, as he repetitively shattered your entire understanding of the world, amusing. A child laughing at your expense seemed to be just what the doctor ordered, somehow though, because it was what pulled you back to reality. Frisk’s smug face, and Sans’ relieved grin didn’t answer any of your questions, but it was hard to feel tense when Frisk was around, so you shrugged it off for the most part.

Sans can lift things, and also teleport them, evidently,

you thought,

so maybe it has to do with gravity?

You shook your head resignedly. “Ha-ha guys, pick on the girl who doesn’t know about magic. Well, you won’t get me next time! I’m going to ask you and Dr. Alphys a million questions, and then you won’t be able to pull one over on me anymore.”

Sans jokingly dragged one finger down his cheek in a ‘boo-hoo’ gesture, before answering you. “heh, i knew you would. it’ll take a long time to learn everything though, given that

we

don’t even know everything about magic and we’re

made

of magic. you can ask me more questions later though, i think that if the kid waits any longer for lunch, they might go a bit

nutty

on us.” He ruffled Frisk’s hair as he said this, before turning back to you. “do you have any allergies or foods you don’t eat? like i said earlier, food is on us for lunch.” He pulled out his phone and paused, waiting for you to answer.

“Nothing I can think of,” you said. “I’m not a picky eater, and I don’t have any food allergies, so I’m fine with whatever. Thanks so much for lunch.” You smiled at him, and he began typing away rapidly on his phone. “If you’re picking it up, we could always eat in the park. It has some shaded areas, and a swingset. It’s such a nice day, and it won’t be too long before the weather gets cold on us.” 
 
Sans nodded at your suggestion, but before he could say anything, Frisk latched onto your hand and took off towards the park, dragging you clumsily behind them.  “F-Frisk hold on a second please!” You yelped, surprised at the grip the kid had on your hand. You looked Frisk’s direction, but they showed no sign of slowing down.

“don’t go breaking her now kid, i’ll be back soon.” Sans hollered from behind you, laughing, but when you managed a glance back over your shoulder, the skeleton was already gone, apparently having vanished into thin air.

“I… um… okay then, that’s a thing.” You mumbled to yourself. With no notice, you had suddenly became the only adult around, left in charge of the literal royal ambassador of monsters. That realization made you refocus on Frisk, who had finally paused their merciless march, although they had

not

relinquished your hand. To your dismay, they paused only long enough for the crosswalk sign to light up, before moving on, pulling you at a slightly more reasonable pace toward the park. “Does, does he do that often?” You asked softly, looking down at Frisk. They seemed to think for just a moment, before nodding with a slight shrug.

“It seems like you’re used to it though,” you commented as the two of you crossed the street. Frisk seemed to relax a little once you were paying attention to them, and they skipped and swung your arm as they crossed, pulling you to skip with them. Once the two of you reached the other side of the street, Frisk acknowledged your comment with a nearly imperceptible nod.

That makes sense,

you thought,

since they live in the underground, and they live with a family of monsters. They probably see all kinds of crazy magic and just shrug it off.

“I think it’s really cool that he can do stuff like that. I was surprised, but now I just have so many questions,” you said. Frisk didn’t seem to be paying attention, though they had their head cocked to the side, as if they were listening intently to something; not you, obviously. Clearly something that you couldn’t hear.

I wonder if there are monsters with telepathy?!?

You thought in passing. You dismissed the thought, and sighed. “I can’t wait to see what happens when science and magic work together. It’s a shame that humans can’t use magic, but if we work together with monsters, we might be able to do some really cool things in the future.” Frisk didn’t answer you, at least not directly. They only tugged on your hand, pulling you toward the empty swings in the park in front of you.

“Alright alright,” you said with a laugh, “I’ll quit talking about all this nerd stuff. I’ll save it for Sans, as revenge for all his puns.” Frisk may have been a quiet kid, but usually their reactions were easier to read than this, which, in itself, told you that they were bored with the conversation. They climbed up onto the swing, finally letting go of your hand, and looked at you expectantly. Their impatient expression was cute in a way, an expression too mature for a child of their age, and you felt yourself grinning despite yourself. As they clearly wanted, you got behind them and pulled the swing back, pushing Frisk higher and higher into the air. Frisk laughed happily as they swung. Their obvious delight helped you relax a little, and you found that you forgave them easily for the rough way that they dragged you to the park.

Frisk had been on a mission, and I had been dragging my feet,

you realized with a laugh. 
 
You had been pushing Frisk on the swings for a few minutes before you noticed that the swing next to them wasn’t exactly empty. Sure, you couldn’t see anyone on the swing, but it was obviously swinging, as if you had given it a small push as well. At first you chalked it up to the wind, or the bouncing from you pushing Frisk, but the last swing beside it was perfectly still. You had fallen into a rhythm with Frisk, but the distraction caught you off guard, and absent-mindedly you dropped your hands as Frisk swung back toward you. They crashed into you, hitting you square in the gut and sending you falling back into the mulch with a grunt and a gasp. They had knocked the wind out of you. As soon as Frisk realized, they scrambled off the swing to check on you. Once they determined that you were mostly fine, though, they couldn’t hold back the laughter anymore. You resigned yourself to your fate, flopping all the way into the mulch to clutch your stomach, while Frisk stood by, offering you a hand, but still laughing. 
 
As if the universe was determined to add insult to injury, a familiar jibing voice was suddenly above you. “ouch,” Sans said, “you got to keep an eye on kids miss, they can have some bad mood

swings

.” Sans’ earthy chuckle was unmistakable, and you wished with every fiber of your body that

you

could teleport, to a universe where Sans

hadn’t

just watched that epic wipe out. 
 
“Noted.” You grumbled into the dirt, hoping against all hope that if you stayed here long enough you would become one with the mulch. You paused for a moment, but when the earth did not envelop you, you reluctantly lifted your head. Sans was standing beside Frisk, also offering his hand. You took both of their hands, but it was mostly Sans who pulled you to your feet as if you weighed nothing. Frisk walked around you slowly, checking your arms and legs for cuts and bruises in much the same way a parent would, but stopped once you gave them a thumbs up. It had been your own fault that you got hit, but Frisk kept throwing withering glares at the empty swing, as if they were scolding another person. Glancing back at Sans, you noticed how he was carrying a wide wicker basket in the crook of the free arm that was not currently holding onto your hand. Coughing you pulled away, making it seem like you were brushing the dirt off your clothes. “Well, that didn’t take long,” you commented.

“well, you know, time

fries

when you're having fun, after all.” Sans retorted with a chuckle. His eye lights were sparkling in amusement and you couldn’t help but feel that it was an omen of all the bad food puns to come. 
 
Refusing to acknowledge him, you offered a hand to Frisk who took it willingly. “I do believe Sans is going

bananas

from hunger, let’s eat before there’s

nothing left of him but bones

. ” You said in a completely deadpan tone before smirking at Sans. He clutched at his chest dramatically, as if you had truly wounded him, but his shit-eating grin gave him away.

I may not have as many puns locked and loaded as he does,

you thought,

but Sans doesn’t need to know that!

Frisk giggled at your clowning as they sat down at the covered picnic table beside you. Sans took his place in the seat across from the two of you, and pulled a wrapped sandwich and a bottle of water, one for each of you, out of the basket, before pulling out a sandwich and a bottle of ketchup for himself. 
 
“if I’m going

nuts,

then toriel’s food is bound to fix it, so

lettuce

eat!” He said, rubbing his hands together. You couldn’t help it; as much as you wanted to eat the food that Toriel had made for you, groaning at his food puns was almost an involuntary reaction. And he didn’t show any sign of letting up any time soon. “what? you

donut

like my food puns either?” Sans continued, leaning forward. His tone was teasing and his eyes were wide, a picture perfect expression of faux-innocence that left Frisk in a fit of giggles.

“Oh

no,

they’re

grate,”

you replied, sarcastically, “but I

yam

trying to eat, and it’s hard to do when you’re punning around.” You had unwrapped your sandwich but had yet to take even a bite for fear of choking from laughing at Sans’ puns.

“

wheat

a second, miss! puns are an art form, i’ll have you know. i do not

carrot

all for your assertion that i’m just “punning” around.”

“Sans please…”

“no, it's just too

munch

! you

bread-

er believe that i’m in-

salt-

ed! i’m a-

maize-

d that you can say such a cruel thing to me. i must

pun-

fess, i thought you were a nice person, but you’ve left me s-

peach-

less!” Sans’ punny tirade seemed endless, and despite your protests, you were in stitches. 
 
You had tried to keep a straight face at first, but to avoid the risk of snorting, you had given in, laughing harder and harder as he kept going. Once he finally paused, you wiped a tear from your eye, before answering him.  “Stop, stop, I’m

soy

sorry Sans, but these puns are un-

berry

-able! Don’t be un-

raisin-

able,

peas,

I’m begging you!”  You couldn’t help but giggle through your own puns, but it was worth it. Sans’ face was an image of pure joy; full of delight at your suffering, and surprise at your clever retorts. There was a light blue dusting to his cheekbones, and his eye lights were large and glowing with laughter.
  “alright, alright, shall we call a truce then, miss? I’m willing to extend you an olive brunch here.” You groaned again at the last pun, and gently tossed the balled up plastic wrapping from your sandwich at him. It gently bonked off his head, stunning him for just long enough that you were finally able to take a bite of your food. It was delicious, a smoked turkey and cheese sandwich on a wheat roll, with just the right amount of mayo and a sweet mustard that went together with the turkey in a way that was, well, magical. You were a little disappointed that it didn’t vanish like Sans’ ketchup had, but that didn’t change how good it was at all. I’d love to try more magical foods that actually taste good, you thought to yourself, unlike that ketchup...  
A movement beside you pulled you out of your thoughts, as Frisk stood up, signing something rapidly at Sans before taking off toward the playground. Not only was Frisk desensitized to how incredible magic was, it seemed that they were also desensitized to Sans’ puns, as they had managed to eat their lunch without any issues. Their sandwich was gone, and they had left their half-full water bottle on the edge of the table, where they could easily come back to take a sip. Frisk wasn’t wasting a single moment, climbing up the ladder to the nearby slide.

“Do they always eat that fast?” you asked casually, before taking another bite of your own food. You pretended to watch Frisk while glancing furtively over at Sans. Now that the pun wars had come to an end, Sans was likewise digging into his own food. You knew he couldn’t eat normal solid food, but he

was

eating his sandwich, albeit slowly. He took a bite every minute or so, but you never actually

saw

him do it; nonetheless his sandwich was disappearing bit by bit. He lifted the sandwich up, and he put the sandwich down with a bite taken out of it. He didn’t chew at all; in fact, you wondered if he actually even opened his mouth.
You had a lot of questions about Sans, but given that the only two skeletons you knew of were Sans and his brother, Papyrus, who you hadn’t met, questions that would have been clinical, asked from a scientific standpoint, seemed a lot more personal.

Sans took a swig from his drink before answering you, when you noticed that he

did

open his mouth a little to sip his ketchup. “heh, yeah they seem to have a never-ending stomach too,” he replied. “which is why tori made sure to pack us something extra for dessert.” Sans gestured to the basket, which was sitting beside him on the bench, so you leaned over to take a look inside of it. To your delight, there was a small pie inside. As soon as he opened the hinged door on the basket, the faint smell of cinnamon and fruit wafted out. It was already cut into three more or less equal pieces, and you would bet that it was still warm.  “you’re probably glad it’s not snail pie, right?” Sans said jokingly. “but don’t knock it until you try it. once you’ve had one of toriel’s pies, you’ll jump at the chance to eat

anything

if it came out of her kitchen.”

“They’re that good, huh?” you answered, looking over at the pie. “I’m not much of a cook, so the bar is pretty low for me. I would love to be able to cook something like that.” You took another bite of your “simple” sandwich and wondered how much magic had influenced the taste. It was good,

beyond

good for a sandwich, but frankly, money had been tight for a while. Aside from your occasionally splurge on farmer’s market jelly, you wondered if you had just forgotten what

real

food tasted like.

If she’s cooking with magic, there’s no way anything I could ever make would be able to compete,

you thought to yourself gloomily.

But at least I’ll get a chance to try it. Maybe I can find a mundane version and surprise my Aunts over the holidays.

“the queen is one of the best cooks in the underground,” Sans continued obliquely, “she made almost everything that you’re eating. though the turkey is asgore’s doing; toriel got him a meat smoker for their anniversary a few months ago, and he’s been spending all his time learning how to smoke meat. there’s gotta be twenty pounds of turkey, seasoned and smoked a half a dozen different ways, sitting in their freezer.”  
 
He paused to take another swig of his ketchup before continuing. “cooking is what toriel does in her downtime. she pickles, and jellies, and cans, and makes sauces and breads and pies. it’s been really big for her, since even before she adopted frisk. but now that she spends a lot of time doing queen stuff and trying to get her school off the ground, i think she does it so that frisk and asgore always have a home cooked meal waiting for them at home.” He paused again, looking thoughtful, as he drummed his skeletal fingertips across the table.“you know…” he said conspiratorially, “if you wanted to learn how to cook, she would be the best person to ask really.”
 
“W…what?” you squeaked, nearly choking on a bite of your sandwich. “I could never ask her something like that, Sans.” You took a long sip of your drink, trying to push down the sudden spike of anxiety that had accompanied his last comment. While the idea was tempting, the prospect of asking

a queen

for cooking lessons seemed a bit like calling in the military over a lost dog. Sure, it would work, but it would involve wasting the time of someone more important than you over something trivial.

Sans, however, was not deterred. “why not?” he asked, “she would love to teach someone how to cook, especially a human. she loves teaching, and i’ll even put in a good word for ya if you ask nicely.” he finished, winking. “i told you last night, brighid, don’t worry so much. tori already likes you, based on just what the kid has told her about you. i’m a great judge of character you know; i really think you two would get along.”

He was looking at you earnestly, so reluctantly you acquiesced. “Fine. I’ll keep it in mind if I ever get the opportunity to ask her. But she’s a queen. I know she’s busy, since I see her on TV, every other day it seems, and that was before you even mentioned that she’s starting a school. I had heard it mentioned in passing, but I didn’t realize she was actually planning on teaching. Maybe later down the line, if I ever get the chance to know her, but at this point I would just feel too… awkward. Talking about the things I’m

not

good at with strangers isn’t exactly my idea of a good time, you know?” 
 
Sans shrugged, before replying, “fair enough.”  He was smiling lazily, leaning on the table; even the light of his eyes seemed more relaxed the longer the two of you sat and chatted. A comfortable silence stretched between the two of you for a few minutes while you finished your sandwich, and he sipped on his ketchup. Once you had finished, he cleared his throat before asking, “hey miss didn’t say you had some questions? earlier, before I left to get the food?” 
 
“OH, that’s right!” you exclaimed, digging through your bag for your phone, before turning back to face him. You weren’t going to record your conversations with him, but you did plan on taking notes. You hadn’t had a chance to jot down what you had learned last night and earlier today yet, but you opened up your notes app and started a new file. Sans was looking at you with his brow bones raised and for a moment you were afraid he was going to take back his earlier offer to answer your “million” questions. 
 
“I know how this looks…” you said hesitantly, “but I’m not going to be writing down anything personal. I just want to take notes on some of the bigger concepts of magic, so that I can keep up when I’m talking with Dr. Alphys. And maybe some of the social stuff, since you pointed out that humans are a lot more easily offended than monsters.” Sans seemed to be thinking about what you said, but he didn’t answer you immediately, which made you decide to sweeten the deal. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know about humans!” you added-on quickly. “We can trade answers like we did yesterday. And either of us can pass if we don’t want to answer the question. Does that sound better than me grilling you?” 
 
Sans remained silent. 
 
He seemed to be enjoying your suffering, as he took another long sip of his ketchup and closed his eyes, for what seemed like an eternity. 
 
You nervously picked at the hem of your sleeve, but after another eon’s hesitation, his eyes flicked open and he answered you.
 
“sure, why not,” he said amiably, “sounds like fun. since you’re so eager, you can go first.”
 
 He flashed a devilish smile your direction that instantly deflated your anxiety, which, of course, meant that your mind was suddenly flooded with all of the questions you had wanted to ask earlier. You jotted down a few of the less pressing questions in your notes, so that you wouldn’t forget them, before turning the full force of your smile on him. You didn’t want to offend him in your pursuit of knowledge, but there was one question in particular that had been bothering you since you had gotten home the night before. With his latest show of magic, it was like a thorn in your side, nagging you to find the answer. He seemed to take a deep breath, as if expecting the worst, as you set your phone to the side, and started in with your questions.
 
“Alright, I guess my first question would have to be about magic,” you began. Like a flood gate had been lifted, your questions came out in a torrent. “I understand that you eat it, that you’re made of it, it can be applied as medicine, etcetera, the stuff I learned from you and Dr. Alphys yesterday, but I get the feeling there’s more to it than I understand. What

is

it? Is it a natural substance, like how humans are seventy percent water, or is it more like radiation, invisible, but everywhere? And do all monsters have the same type of magic, or are there categories? What is magic for monsters, does everyone have the same kind of magic, or does it differ from monster to monster?” You finished your question, nearly running out of breath as you did so. It was

technically

one question. You were hoping you had worded your question correctly, so that Sans would tell you if your theory about his magic was correct without you having to ask him directly. 
 
Sans let out his breath in a dramatic puff, “you don’t pull your punches, now do you miss?” Sans said, drumming his fingers on the table. As if he could read your mind, he held up one hand to stop you, before you could begin backpedaling and apologizing. “don’t worry, it's fine. let me think a minute, it’s kind of hard to explain. i guess… magic is probably closest to an electric charge. everything, down to your molecules, has a positive or negative charge right? protons are positive, and electrons are negative. well magic is kind of like a different form of electricity, where instead of a positive and negative charge, you would have a red and a blue charge. but atoms decay, occasionally dropping an electron or a neutron, and changing chemical composition.” he paused to look up at you as he went, to make sure that you were following along. He hadn’t lost you so far, even though it had been a few years since you took a physics class. 
 
Once you looked up from the notes on your phone, where you were drawing a small diagram for yourself, Sans continued. “with that understanding of electricity, you can think of magic like the shadow of electricity. when a molecule decays, energy is released, and that energy leaves a shadow; that shadow still follows the laws of physics and has power over nearby atoms.” you were writing in shorthand now to keep up, with an arrow drawn to a question further down the list, but Sans had been kind enough to pause again so that you could catch up. He stood for a moment, stretching and looking over at the playground, where Frisk was happily playing on the jungle gym, before he continued. “are you familiar with einstein’s theory of relativity, and the law of conservation of mass and energy?” he asked finally, before plopping back down at the picnic table.
 
“E=MC squared. Matter can neither be created nor destroyed, right?” you chimed in quickly. 
 
Sans nodded, “yes, that’s right. but if energy cannot be destroyed, where does it go when it is consumed? every time matter is subjected to a force, a little bit of energy is lost. all those little bits of energy leave a mark on the world at an atomic level. our current theory is that magic is what happens when those little bits of energy build up. magic builds up in places where a lot of energy has been used up. so ancient ruins that were used for hundreds of years, for example, as well as places that have been subject to great tragedies, like natural disasters. and those build-ups of magic determine what kind of monster you are and what kind of magic you can use.” he paused again, letting you catch up. you were drawing more arrows, and crossing off scribbled questions as he answered them, so you were grateful for the reprieve. 
 
“but there’s one more thing,” Sans said. “what our magic can do is a reflection of who we truly are at our core. you’ve already guessed that my magic affects gravity, right?” he glanced up to confirm that you were nodding, before continuing. “and you’ve seen that my magic is blue. every part of me is made out of blue magic. i know you see my bones as white, and whatnot, but if you looked through a super-microscope, i’m blue on an atomic level. given that monsters are energy made into a material form, we are able to use other energy in material form to keep our internal magic fueled. i.e. magic food.” he paused looking over at you warily. “i hadn’t expected you to start right in with particle physics, you know?” he said. “so does that answer your question of ‘what

is

magic?’” 
 
You nodded at him, chewing your lower lip as you went through your haphazard brainstorm list. “But if your magic affects gravity, how can you just, like, make stuff vanish, as if you are teleporting it?” Sans smiled coyly at you.
 
“ i guess you could call that a special kind of magic. as far as i know, i am the only one anymore who can do anything like that.” He took another sip of his ketchup as he gave you his ambiguous answer, and looked off into the distance, as if reminiscing.
 
“Only one

anymore

?” You blurted, but Sans was just shaking his head at you. You knew full well that you were being a bit unfair to Sans by asking so many questions at once, but Sans only chuckled, wagging his finger at you.
 
“ah-ah-ah!” he said, “you asked ‘what is magic?’ and i explained it to you the best that i could. it’s my turn to ask a question, don’t you think?” his tone was teasing and gentle, in a way that made you blush.
 
“R…right, sorry Sans, got a little carried away there I suppose.” You apologized, giving him a weak smile.

“heh, now, my turn,” he said. “if we are going to talk about magic, i want to know what

humans

think magic is

.

”

“Hm…” You had to actually think about this one for a moment, so you took a sip of your drink while Sans waited for you, patiently relaxed on the other side of the table.  “Boy howdy that is a complicated question,” you replied. “But it doesn’t have a scientific answer. Humans think, er, well

used to think,

magic was this unknown force of the universe, kind of an anti-science. If science is about rules, most humans think of magic as a tool to break the rules science gives you. So if you levitate Flowey, a human will know that you are using magic, because you ‘broke’ the rules, the rule in question being gravity.”

Sans snorted in derision, “that’s ridiculous. gravity is just an electromagnetic force. i can reverse that force with my magic. i’m not breaking the rules, i’m just pointing the force a different direction… hey wait a minute, you said you weren’t going to tell anyone about that!”

“No, I did

not,”

you replied, “I agreed not to tell

Frisk

, and they’re not in earshot. Talking to

you

about what

you

did isn’t breaking the rules.” You stuck out your tongue at him for good measure before continuing. “Anyway, as enlightening as your explanation is, that doesn’t change how humans think. If you’re doing something impossible, even through the application of science or sleight of hand, humans will call it magic unless they can see it and feel it and understand how it works.” You took a deep breath. “Until monsters returned to the surface, there was no proof that magic had ever existed, and it had become something you only saw in movies, or in a fantasy game. Magic for humans is mostly for storytelling purposes.”

Sans raised a bony brow at you. “is that so? well what about you? did you believe in magic before monsters returned to the surface?”
 
You had somehow known that this question was coming, but that hadn’t made you any more prepared to answer him. “Uhhh… well. Yeah. Yeah, I guess. I always thought of magic as just energy that anyone could tap into if they learned how. A lot of my friends are pagans, and the general belief is that you don’t use magic to break the rules, you use magic to set new rules over top of the old ones. So, like, Ava helped me make wards for my apartment a while back. I meditate every night, visualizing high walls around my apartment that keep negative energy and bad spirits out. That process of focusing, visualizing, and willing the energy to do what I want is what I used to call ‘magic’.” You paused trying to read his face, but his expression was ambiguous, unreadable.
 
 If Sans had an opinion about what you used to call magic, it couldn’t be read on his face. He seemed to be waiting for you to finish, so you rattled off something else you had thought of. “The other magic that I’ve always believed in though, is folk magic,” you said. “It’s old traditions and rules that are passed down between generations. Things like ‘use a nickname if you’re calling for a child at dusk, so the devil doesn’t learn their real name’ and ‘don’t walk through a ring of mushrooms in the forest, or walk through the patch where the grass is unbelievably green, or you’ll be spirited away by fairies,’” you finished. 
 
            
 
He let out a short bark of bitter laughter. “you humans have wild imaginations, huh?” he asked, in a voice tinged with sadness. “i guess it comes as no surprise that monsters are the bad guys in a lot of your stories.”
 
You shook your head vigorously when he said that. “No, not at all!” you said emphatically. “At least in Irish folklore, the fae aren’t necessarily bad. Sure, there were always tales of them spiriting away kids, but we know those were mostly made up to keep kids in the house after dark when there are other things outside at night that could hurt them. The lesson was that the fae were to be

respected

because they had powers that humans didn’t. I used to bake bread with my aunts to thank the fae when our garden did well, and also to apologize after the one time I moved all their rocks around in the yard.” You smiled at the memory. “I used to drive my aunts crazy, lifting up weird rocks on our walks, and digging up stones in the yard. I was always looking for fairies.”
 
His expression seemed to brighten a bit when you said that. “looking for fairies under rocks, huh?” he said, “you know, if you had managed to find them, you might have found yourself in a

rocky

situation.”
 
You snorted at his pun but didn’t let it derail your train of thought. “So the fae are real?” you eagerly asked. Sans just chuckled. 
 
“i honestly couldn’t say,” he replied. “i’m not exactly current with the history of all monsters everywhere. none have come forward to join the sovereign nation of monsters when we surfaced, if that’s what you mean. we don’t have any tinkerbell’s running around in the underground as far as i know.”
 
You sighed, looking down at the table and frowning. “Sorry, I know that was another question. I just… like… I’ve come to terms with the fact that humans can’t do magic. Sure, we do energy work, and I

do

feel like that helps me. The visualization and meditation, the ceremonies and warding; all that helps me feel at peace in my space, helps me sleep, and what-not. But I know now that it’s not

really

magic. I was hoping at least some of our folklore was based on real monsters. Hoping I could, I don’t know, talk to a faerie in gaelic, and connect to my heritage in a way that isn’t possible these days. I know it sounds dumb…” You could feel you face getting hot and realized you were rambling so you let the explanation trail off. 
 
“nah, it’s not dumb,” he said warmly, “i know that you’re curious. we’re curious too, you know? did you know that before we surfaced i had never seen the stars? we knew that they existed but we didn’t know what was real and what wasn’t for the surface world. when Alphys first learned about anime she didn’t know whether it was fact or fiction. when monsters were first sealed away, there were no cars, no planes, nothing. humans still thought the world was flat.” He paused, a smile slowly spreading over his face. “we were able to learn a lot from abandoned textbooks and things that made their way down to the underground, but it wasn’t until we surfaced that we got to experience those things for real.” His voice had shifted, and you could feel his excitement when he spoke about the wonders of the world that he had been able to experience on the surface. The twinkling lights of his eyes turned toward the afternoon sky as he spoke, before finally looking back at you. “i won’t count that question against you,” he said after a moment. “it’s your turn. what else do you wanna know?” 
 
You were grateful that he had shifted the conversation away from topics that made you self-conscious, so you took the bait and changed the subject, “Thanks,” you said, before thinking for a moment. You wanted the question to be a good one, so you looked down at the notes on your phone, “Oh yeah! You know where

I

work, but where do

you

work? I mean, unless being Frisk’s body guard is like your full-time gig.” 
 
He smiled at that, “nah, i’m not really their bodyguard. more like their cool dunkle. i actually work part time at the lab with alph, but i always try to help tori out as needed. i took the same tests she did and got my masters in engineering and physics, but the doctorate equivalent programs required these reaaaaally long essays, and that just seemed like more work than it was worth.”
 
You tried to keep your mouth shut when he casually mentioned that he had two master’s degrees but you couldn’t help yourself. “You realize that it’s uncommon for a human to have a master’s degree in

one

field, let alone TWO, right!? How old are you anyway?”
 
“heh, yeah i gathered that when i heard you talking with alph at grillby’s last night. i’ll be 27 by the end of the year.” As he answered you, he leaned over to the picnic basket that you had nearly forgotten about in your excitement to have your questions answered. He pulled out three little paper plates and divied up the pie before calling for Frisk to come over and join you. As soon as Frisk heard the word “pie” they came running, leaving the playground behind, completely abandoned.
 
As before, Frisk ate their food quickly. You had only taken a bite or two of your pie by the time they polished off theirs and dashed back to the playground to play with some kids that had just arrived. The fact that Frisk didn’t talk didn’t seem to matter to the gaggle of children playing some kind of tag game. Their laughter and antics made you smile, and you found yourself watching them absentmindedly when Sans cleared their throat. 
 
“so, heh, it’s my turn again,” he said. “and since i let your double question slide, let me ask about

your

job. what made you want to work in vet medicine? it seems like it would be sad to see hurt and injured animals all the time. and, uh, not to be crass but it seems like you work with some real…. jerks let’s just say.” Sans finished his question, and took another bite of his pie. You followed suit, taking a moment to think and enjoy the sweet butterscotch and cinnamon flavors of your pie, before you answered him. 
 
“Yeah, I guess you could say that,” you replied. “I wouldn’t use words that nice for some of my coworkers, but there’s jerks anywhere you go, so that can’t really be helped. Honestly, I chose the job

because

I can help a lot of those animals that are sick or hurt. It takes a lot of compassion and patience to do what I do, but I wouldn’t change my job for the world.” You paused taking another bite of pie. 
 
“And, this may sound a little morbid,” you continued, “but, I deal with a lot of death at work. While it takes its toll on me sometimes, I’m good at it. Death is always an inevitable factor no matter what you do. In the end we all return to the same place so, I take pride in giving animals a good death. Nothing we do will stop it, but we take steps to make it painless, easier for both the animals and the humans who have bonded with the animals.” You took another bite of pie, savoring it. 
 
“Plus it’s interesting,” you said, “Not the death part specifically, the science part. You watched me work on Dumpling the other day, so you saw, I’m trained in a lot of technology and biology. Nursing back an animal who was on the brink and watching them recover to return to their happy selves, seeing new pet owners experiencing the joys of owning a pet; those are the good things about my job. Not to mention that I love the lab work part of my job, looking at things under the scope, trying to figure out what is going on with said pet with the vet. Animals have an amazing capacity to recover, and having a good environment to heal in can sometimes make all the difference.” You were smiling warmly at this point, thinking back to the picture Frisk had sent you that morning of Dumpling sprawled out on the kitchen floor, munching on mushed banana. 
 
“but if you wanted to help people, why not work in human medicine?” he asked casually. 
 
You sighed. A long, tired sigh. You knew he wasn’t asking from a place of ignorance but you had heard that question enough times to be sick of it. “Honestly?” you replied. “When an animal hurts you, it is because they are sick or hurt or afraid. When a person does it, it’s either an accident, or because they’re just angry or mean. Even while I’m trying to help owners, I deal with owners like that. Animals aren’t like that. Honestly, the issues I have with owners is one of the many reasons that I really really want to own my own wildlife rehab center someday, since we live so close to the national park. But that is a different kind of licence then what I have now, so for now I will stay with companion animals.” You immediately became self conscious of the fact that you had been talking for a while, but Sans didn’t seem bothered at all. He had finished his pie and was leaning on the table lazily. 
 
“huh, you know, you’re a real kind and patient soul, brig,” he said smiling at you. You felt your face flush, since he had gone from calling you miss to calling you by your nickname in no time flat, but you liked that he seemed to be treating you as a friend now. It made your casual conversations a lot less awkward than when he was calling you ‘miss’.

Especially

now that you knew you were around the same age. 
 
“Eh, I don’t know about that…” you said, laughing a little awkwardly. “I can be a real… uh… jerk. Sometimes. I can fake it at work, but I’m sure you realized at the bar last night that I don’t do mingling and playing nice very well once I’m off work.”
 
He just shook his head when you said that, “ah, i didn’t mean that kind of thing. that’s not… real. you can’t fake the way you talk to the kid. if you didn’t love what you did, you wouldn’t hum when you’re working. i can tell by the way the animals relax when you’re handling them, y’know?” The compliment was genuine but you were trying not to get flustered. 
 
“I try, y’know? It’s like I said; it’s a lot easier to be kind and patient with animals than with people,” you replied finally. You finished off your pie, careful to get every crumb off your fork.

Dangit,

you thought,

Sans was right. Toriel’s pies

are

amazing.

You found yourself drawing a blank on what to ask Sans next, so when he looked at you, you told him to go ahead with his next question, since you needed to slim down your list. 
 
“so aside from the

Jazz Radicals,

do you have any other late night personas or hobbies? i know you said you work a lot, but what do you do outside of work?” He asked at your go-ahead. 
 
“Ha, no, no other late night personas,” you replied, crossing off ‘do monsters have a different cellular structure,’ ‘how does magic break the laws of the universe like that’ and ‘are fairies/bigfoot/folklore real’ off your questions list. “Unless you count when I dress up for conventions. I play the cello during some seasonal shows in the city orchestra, play dungeons and dragons with my other nerdy friends who you met last night, and make my own costumes for anime and comic book conventions. Besides that, I don’t know… I just like...practice my bass, drink tea, take a walk in nature, and meditate. I sometimes read a book or watch some anime.” You saw the question on Sans’ face before he even had a chance to ask, so you flipped through your photo gallery for your most recent work in progress photo. “This is the costume that I’m working on right now,” you said, sliding your phone across the table to him. “It’s from-”
 
“Soul Eater, right?” he said, finishing your sentence. 
 
“Yeah! The dress is a real pain though, since it has so many layers of ruffles. It’s coming along though!”
 
“it looks good!” he said, “alphys would probably love to get in on that. i watched that one with her shortly after we came to the surface. she’s been hosting these ‘relevant cultural data review parties’ most weekends, where we sit down and binge through an anime or two, though sometimes she throws in like old cartoons or superhero movies and she gives all us lab employees half pay if we show up.” 
 
“Really? That sounds so fun. Oh,” you said, swiping to the left, “That’s Maka’s scythe. I made it. It’s not a real weapon though, it’s made out of PVC pipe and craft foam.”
 
“ohhhh man. you gotta show that to undyne sometime. she’s got a pretty hard core

real

spear but she can’t exactly carry it around with her. do you know how disappointed she was when she found out that giant sword fighting robots weren’t real? i bet she would love to make something like that.”
 
You nodded, pulling your phone back to you. There were no more pressing magical questions on the list, at least not that you could think of, for the time being, so you just gave his question back to him. “So what about you? Besides hanging out with Frisk, and apparently marathoning anime while on the clock at work, what do

you

do in your free time?”
 
“heh, not much if i’m being honest,” he replied. “i kind of let the day take me where it takes me. i do spend a lot of time reading and napping, whenever i’m not hanging out with the kid, or with paps, or at the lab. though i’ve been doing some stargazing lately, since that’s something i couldn't do in the underground. i dunno, i just like to live my life pretty relaxed. i hate having a long list of things i

have

to do. i’d rather have a list of things i

wanna

do, y’know?”
 
“Yeah, I can feel that,” you replied with a laugh, “but if you’re into space stuff, have you seen the full color pictures of mars yet?”
 
“like in the sky?” 
 
“No, like the surface of Mars.” He shook his head. “Oh hang on then, you gotta see this,” you said, pulling up the pictures from the NASA website on your phone. “They had two rovers on Mars taking pictures and analyzing the soil until just recently. Two bad they both passed away. Those funky little robots showed us so much of the planet that we had never seen.” You sighed wistfully.
 
“they passed away?”

“Oh well, I mean they didn’t pass away in like a normal sense of the word. Their solar panels got covered because of dust storms, so they can’t transmit signal anymore.The Mars rover Opportunity was in action for fifteen years before we lost signal, while its sister Spirit lasted for around six years. Given that neither were expected to last more than three months, we actually got way more data than we had expected. We still have other rovers of course, but those ones made a huge impact on my generation.”
 
You sighed again. “For a lot of people our age, we got new pictures from the rovers every couple of months when we were younger, and at least for me, it was one of the things that got me interested in science. Like I was legitimately sad to learn we wouldn’t be getting any more after the Opportunity lost signal. Hold on, I think I know of a video you can watch about it that gives a summary of what it was able to find.” 
 
You took your phone back and pulled up youtube; however, rather than lean over the table that was starting to hurt your back, you jumped up and sat down next to Sans. Setting the video to full screen you watched the five-minute video that explained the little rovers’ time on Mars and some of the important discoveries they made, as well as why they had turned off after so many years. You chanced a glance at Sans, and you couldn’t help but grin when you saw how bright his eye lights were, how visibly excited he was.

“wow...that is...simply amazing. it wasn’t that long ago that i had never seen the sunset on earth, and now you’re showing me pictures of a sunset on another planet.” Sans finally spoke up after you two watched a few more videos about the new black hole photo and a few other videos about space that popped up right after the rover one.

“Yeah, space is really awesome. Some people are talking about like, having humans walk on mars in thermal suits in the next decade. Who knows, maybe we could get our first monster in space in the next few years. The fact that you guys have magic could open entire new pathways for humans and monsters exploring the stars out there together. I’ve got a lot of respect for the people in that kind of work.” You lined up another video for Sans to watch since he was having fun, and watched Frisk play for a little while. They were now putting the rest of the kids though some kind of ninja game, you guessed, based on how they were posing and trying not to get hit. Sans caught Frisk’s attention and signed something to them. Frisk gave Sans a thumbs up in return before going back to playing.
 
Sans looked back over to you after he signaled the kid, and seemed to be done watching videos. “did ya have any more questions?” he asked, smiling lazily.

“Of course,” you replied jokingly. “But from here I mostly just need help with the signs. I did tell Frisk I would practice. Am I signing this right?”
 
You rested your elbows on the table and gestured, pulling your thumb from your chest into a questioning thumbs up gesture, before imitating throwing something away. Sans thought for a moment, before answering you.

“heh, you didn’t catch the kid’s name sign for the dog. it’s a pun. pretend to pinch a dumpling closed, then throw it away. the throwing away gesture is just ‘dump’”

He demonstrated how you would ask correctly, but his signs differed a lot from yours, especially since he only used one hand. He crossed his fingers, made the symbol for dumpling, then made the thumbs up gesture. 
 
“Wait, I thought I had the signs right?” You said belatedly. 
 
“well, you do...for american sign language. frisk and most monsters use hands. for the most part, it's just a one hand variation for asl, but some of our signs are a lot different. we usually only use two hands as a sign of respect. like… your customer service voice? but it can be misread. if you’re just talkin’ with a friend, using two hands makes it seem like you’re really worked up. and

i

am almost never worked up.”
 
“Really?! I guess I’m going to need some lessons then, huh?” you asked, perplexed. 
 
“eh, it’s not that hard.” he replied, angling his body so that you could see his hands from his perspective. “here, lemme show you.” You tried practicing with one hand, sittin beside him, while he occasionally reached over and corrected your hand. He patiently showed you a few signs, and explained that for the most part when asking a question, you ask mostly with your expression.

You hadn’t even realized that he had been so close to you, actually touching your hands and correcting them, until you turned to look at him and realized your faces were only a few inches apart. As your eyes met, you felt your own expression heat up just as you noticed the blue dusting of embarrassment on his face. He quickly adjusted your hands one last time for the Undyne sign, before taking a generous step back. The bizarre warmth of his magical hands lingered on your fingertips for a second, making the air around you seem cold in his absence.

Oh gods, I must be touch-starved,

you thought to yourself, dismissing the strange longing you felt, before asking a question to break the awkward tension. 
 
 “So, if Hands is based off of ASL, why is it different?” you asked, once he had approved of the way you were signing Undyne’s name-sign. 
 
“they were the same originally,” he explained, “but hands was adapted to be easier for monsters to use. many monsters don’t have the same ability to speak as humans do. but hands is also adapted to work with only one hand, so that monsters that usually go on all fours only require one appendage to talk."
 
“So do Monsters speak different languages?” the question slipped out before you could help yourself. 
 
He dropped his hands and took a seat back at the table. “i knew there was no way you were outta questions,” he said, looking amused. “the answer is yes, but most of us learned them by choice. i know english, swpanish, latin, wingding, hands, asl and i can read mandarin, even if i haven’t figured out how to speak it. all monsters know signs to some degree because toriel always stressed the importance of being able to communicate with each other. almost all monsters speak at least english.”
 
That information was mind-blowing in its own right, so you didn’t take the time to puzzle over how one could

speak

WingDings. All you managed to say in response was, “Wow.” Before you could recover and move on to your next question, however, Sans asked you the same. 
 
“well what about you?” he asked. “do you speak anything besides english?” 
 
“Well, as you’ve seen, I know a little ASL. I also speak Gaelic, and know a bit of French. The only Latin terms I know are like… plants and medical procedures.” 
 
“gaelic?” he asked, “i’ve heard

of

it, but i’ve never heard it spoken. can you say something for me?” 
 
You grinned, blushing. “I can do you one better,” you said, before picking up your phone, calling a number and putting it on speakerphone. 
 
Someone picked up, and the voice on the other side, said, “A leanbh!” 
 
“'Dia duit, a Aintín!'” you replied, once you heard your Aunt Cait pick up. You explained that you were calling so that one of your friends could fully appreciate spoken Gaelic since he had never heard it before.
 
“That’s fine,” She replied in Gaelic, “I won’t be able to talk for long, since I’ll have to go out and feed the goats and horses here shortly. Moira is at a funeral this afternoon, I’m sorry you missed her.” She asked about your herbs and promised to send you a fresh jar if any of your herbs had run out or gotten stale, as well as asking when you were going to be home next. 
 
“Ah, I was thinking solstice,” you replied, “I know that’s still a few months off.” 
 
“An rud is annamh is iontach,” she replied dismissively, “It is soon enough. How are you, have you been eating? Cooking? Making Love?”
 
“Cait Aintin! I’m fine, I promise. I’ve been working, and eating and sleeping. I’m fine.”
 
“So that’s a ‘no’ on the love making?” She replied teasingly. “Well, you should do something about that. Ah, time for dinner, I need to get the bread in the oven. Tell your new

friend

that I say hello.” 
 
“Sure thing, Aintin. I love you.”
 
“Love you too. Stay safe. Call again Monday if you want to speak with Moira Aintin. Bye bye, a leanbh!
 
“I will, love you, bye!” 
 
When you hung up the phone and looked back at Sans, he was wearing the same strange expression he had had at the clinic yesterday when you were humming, a blank expression, his eye lights nearly gone within their sockets. 
 
“that’s really something, brig.” he said after a moment, his eyes flickering back on as he realized you were waiting for him to say something. “i don’t think i understood much aside from the fact that your aunts are named cait and moira. why did she call you alannah? is that a middle name or something?”
 
It took you a few moments to realize what he meant. “Oh! A leanbh, is gaelic for ‘sweetie’. My middle name is Treasa.”
 
“heh, good to know. i’m just sans. nothing in the middle,” he said. Jokingly he lifted the edge of his shirt to show his lack of stomach. “see?” 
 
“Good one,” you said grinning. “So what did you think?”
 
“it sounds really beautiful when it’s spoken. i thought it would be more like german, since it has so many consonants when it’s written, but it sounds really elegant.”
 
“Uh, thanks,” you said. “I can see where you would think that.” A blush rushed to your face when he said that, so you turned away under the guise of checking on Frisk. The sun was already trekking toward the horizon to the west, and you realized that this ‘short errand’ you had planned to run had turned into a full morning at the pet store, and full afternoon at the park.

I suppose it’s worth it, since I got to try Toriel’s pie,

you thought to yourself. Sure enough, when you checked your phone it was already almost 4. “Anyhow, I think it’s about time for me to start heading home, Sans.”
 
“ah geez, i didn’t realize it had gotten so late. hope we didn’t make you miss anything important.” Sans said. “the least we can do is walk you home though. i’m sure frisk would throw a fit if i sent you off by yourself.” He waved Frisk over as he said this, giving the kid a few moments to say bye to all of their new friends. 
 
Once Frisk came back, they made the sign for soap, causing Sans to balk for a second. “i don’t have any kid, and there’s no running water out here. here, jus’ rinse the dirt off with some water from my bottle.” Frisk frowned, looking down at their hands covered with black residue from the chains and rails at the park. 
 
“Oh, hang on, I’ve got something,” you said hurriedly once you figured out what Frisk wanted. They sat down at the picnic table, while Sans walked your table’s trash over to the can at the edge of the picnic area. “Y’know, Sans said

you

would be worried about me if I walked home by myself,” you told Frisk conspiratorially. Frisk’s grin turned wicked as they rolled their eyes in the direction of Sans, and took the wet wipe you had offered to clean their hands. 
 
Once Sans returned, you headed off in the direction of home at a leisurely pace, with Frisk walking between you and Sans. 
 
“how far off are ya?” Sans asked belatedly. “i know you walked earlier, but if it’s somewhere i know i could always teleport there.” 
 
“Ha, not

that

far,” you replied. “It’s a ten or so minute walk.” 
 
“yeah, that’s doable,” he replied agreeably. To your surprise, Frisk burst out laughing when Sans said that, and signed something rapidly at Sans with a scathing expression on their face. 
 
“i

do NOT

teleport every twenty feet. i may be lazy kid, but at distances that short, it’s

more

effort to teleport than it is to walk. now, if she had said the walk was a few

miles,

that would be a different story.”
 
He and Frisk continued their half spoken-aloud for your sake, half hands conversation as you walked, ribbing on each other in a light-hearted way. Frisk joked that Sans could fall asleep in the middle of traffic; Sans joked that Frisk would sell him to the devil for a slice of Toriel’s pie, and so on, until your little group reached the corner a few streets up. You had passed out of the nice neighborhoods as you walked, until you finally reached the corner in front of your apartments. 
 
“Well, this is my stop,” you said, nervous as you felt their eyes roving over the mildly dilapidated apartments behind you. “I’ll see you again soon, alright?”
 
“sure thing, brig.” Sans said. “at least at work, if we don’t see you before.” Frisk thudded into you, giving you a quick hug around the waist, before darting back to Sans’ side. 
 
“Bye then. Bye Frisk!” You replied, turning away, as Sans and Frisk waved good-bye. By the time you reached the foot of the building they were gone, vanished, either in the distance or by teleportation. An inexplicable tightness arose in your chest when you saw that they were already gone, and you shut your door behind you with a click. 
 
Like an elastic snapping back, a wave of exhaustion rolled over you as you stepped  into the cool dimness of your apartment. You flopped down onto the worn fabric of your cheap sofa, relaxing for what felt like the first time all day. You hadn’t realized how tense you had been, until you stopped waiting for the next surprise Sans was going to throw your way.

All the same,

you thought, as you laid sprawled on the couch, rapidly succumbing to sleep,

it was fun.

You awoke a few hours later, though for all you knew upon waking, it could have been a few days. Despite the fact that you fell asleep slumped on the couch, you felt legitimately refreshed. You sat up, rubbing your eyes, and groping for your phone to check the time. It was only 8, which meant that there were still a few hours left in the day.

Might as well get in some practice

. You had picked up the more worn of the two instrument cases you kept by the door and were searching a stack of sheet music for your current orchestra piece, when your phone buzzed, alerting you to twenty missed messages. 
 
The first message, from Frisk, was just them saying thank you again, while another few messages were from Ava, checking up on you as she usually did, making sure you ate, and sending you cat memes. You answered their messages, before moving on to the unknown number. All of the messages had to be downloaded. You were puzzled until the first few loaded. They were almost all memes, mostly about space. There was an overwhelming number of puns packed into them all.

Sans.

you decided, laughing.

Definitely, indisputably, Sans.

You shot him back a meme about summoning demons with your latin homework, before setting up your music and standing up to stretch before practice. 
 
Standing on your tiptoes, you rolled your neck and shoulders and stretched out, first your arms and then your fingers, before sitting back down to prepare your bow. You opened the faded cello case, and pulled out the bow to wax it. That finished, you tested your cello with a tuner, correcting the slight dissonance one knob at a time. Once everything was in order, you put your sheet music for the songs you were playing in the orchestra in order, and started to warm up. You put yourself through all the pieces once, and then again, to make sure you were still keeping up with the rest of the band. Satisfied that you had done your due diligence, you sighed. You put away your sheet music, and sat back into your tall chair, relaxed, before you began playing whatever came to mind. At first, a few small melodies, a tune from a video game you couldn’t remember the name of; until finally, you closed your eyes, letting yourself find the music. 
 
Each note played out under your fingertips, reverberating through the floor until it felt like your entire body was humming. You hadn’t realized you were humming, but your voice was leading your fingertips through a melody that was both familiar and foreign. Maybe it was a theme song you couldn’t place, or a lullaby whose words were long forgotten, but the melody seemed to tug at something in your mind. The feeling was peculiar, but somehow comforting. When you allowed your mind to go blank, and become one with your music, the song seemed to swell around you like the summer heat. The moment you tried to focus in on it however, it was gone like smoke in the wind. You couldn’t find it, but every time you stopped searching for it, you did. Frustrated, you huffed, your bow tripping, and started again, taking a deep breath. It lingered in the back of your mind, like heartburn in your throat, and no matter how you started, in a few short minutes, before you even realized, you would be playing it again. At last, you abandoned your search, and sensing your defeat, allowed the song to swell over you. It was endless, but nonetheless it ended. You opened your eyes after the last note faded from the air, and it was as if someone had let the helium out of your balloon. Your body suddenly felt exhausted, like it was made of lead. You shook the sudden fatigue from your head, wondering, one last time, what in the world that song was, or where you had heard it before, before packing up your instrument and music appropriately, and heading into bed. Before you knew it, sleep had found you again.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

When you finally opened your eyes around noon the following day, it was hard for you to get out of bed right away. You had spent the majority of Saturday with Sans and Frisk, and after working a full week, the idea of spending Sunday inside, taking some time to yourself, was too appealing for you to ignore. Although you had gotten a good night's rest, you still felt drained. Unfortunately, try as you might, you were unable to fall back asleep.
Reluctantly, you sat up and leaned over the side of your bed to grab one of the many crochet projects you had left dotted about the house. Christmas was only a few months off, so you had already begun working on several scarves and blankets for your friends, so that you would have nice gifts ready by the time the holidays rolled around. After digging around your nightstand, you found the project you had fallen asleep while working on last, and you sat back up in bed, rearranging your pillows for peak comfort. You sighed contentedly once you were situated back under your warm blankets, crochet hook in hand. Once you had undone the last few, sleepily stitched loops, you began the row again, easily picking up the blanket’s pattern that you had done seemingly a thousand times.
When you were young, you used to fidget incessantly, a habit that drove your Aunts crazy. In order to “make something of that fidgeting habit of yours,” as your Aunt Cait had said, your Aunt Cait taught you to crochet, and Aunt Moira taught you how to play several instruments. Although your Aunts were well-enough off, they were from Ireland, and had both grown up working hard lives in the motherland; though you never doubted that they loved you, they were actually fairly strict when it came to ethics, especially work ethic. Once you had shown that you could be put to work, they had you at it, practicing hard at everything you did, making presents rather than buying them, and making sure you finished what you started. Your first job as a young adult had been playing the violin at the funeral home your Aunts owned. You laughed at the memory of yourself as an awkward teenager standing at a stranger’s funeral trying to be somber while your friend Zoey, playing second violin for you, passed you scribbled notes between sad songs while wealthy widows cried dramatically in the background. The memory was warm and fuzzy for a moment, before reality came crashing back over you, and you wondered idly if she was doing okay, wherever she was.
You finished a few rows on the blanket you were working on before gathering your energy and getting out of bed to start your Sunday routine. You had a lot to do, you realized while eating a bowl of cereal, including grocery shopping, meal prep, and laundry, as well as trying to practice signs and cello. You started with laundry, tossing a load in the wash before checking your phone and noticing several messages waiting for you. They were from Alphys, asking excited questions about sewing and cosplay, since she had bumped into Sans and he had mentioned that you had a Soul Eater cosplay you were working on. After trying to answer her a few times, only for another message from her to pop up super fast, you decided to direct her to Ava, since Ava had helped you pick out your fabrics and patterns for the cosplay. Alphys eagerly agreed to you starting a group chat in the name of “monster-human relations” so you set it up quickly, and sent out a few invites. However, after only a few minutes, your phone was buzzing constantly, and kept making you lose your train of thought while you were writing your grocery list. You scanned the chat briefly, and then muted it, making a mental note to read everyone’s messages later. Chat muted, you finished your list, got properly dressed, and went out to run your errands.
By the time your head hit the pillow that night you felt even more drained than you did that morning, much to your frustration. You had tried to take it easy, keeping your meal-prep simple and low-effort, only practicing for the Christmas concert for one hour when you usually did two, and had even sat and watched an episode or two of anime before bed. Nonetheless, you were restless. Even your meditation had seemed to do little to help your mind settle, which, of course, made the prospect of going to work and dealing with Linda the next day even less appealing. You were tired, yes, but far from sleepy, and so you laid there, waiting, begging the universe for sleep, until your phone buzzed on your nightstand. You had scanned the group chat earlier before starting meal prep, but had muted it again before you started practicing so that your notifications didn’t mess up your metronome app. Justifying to yourself that it’s not like you were going to get any sleep anyway, you pulled your phone up to your face, and pulled down the notifications bar, that said you had 112 Unread messages in the group chat, as well as a text from Sans.
Sans: feels gourd, budIt was accompanied by a picture of Sans’ hands covered in pumpkin guts.You: Are you carving a pumpkin at 1am??Sans: no, i was carving a pumpkin at 11pm, enjoying the spooky candle shadows from said pumpkin on the porch with a glass of cider at 12am, and now I am awake, texting you.You: Wait, why were you up carving pumpkins?Sans: Do you want to use a question to know why? You had picked up your crochet once you had decided to text Sans rather than staring fruitlessly at the blank wall of your bedroom, but when he asked that, it threw you for a loop. It seemed odd that Sans would count that as one of your “game” questions, since he had answered the first question without counting it. It was your turn to ask, but you just wanting to know why he was up this late was more you making conversation, than you actually being curious. Although it gave you pause to think about it, you decided it didn't really matter since there wasn't a cap on how many questions you asked. You shrugged and texted back, curiosity getting the better of you.
You: Sure, I’ll use a question on thatSans: i’m going to prank paps SO hard on halloween.You: What’s that got to do with pumpkin carving? You texted him back, almost afraid to know what he had in mind.Sans: You’re not caught up on the group chat are you?  At his prompting you closed his texts and scrolled through the group chat, trying to find the last thing you remembered reading before you started cello practice. You quickly became aware of the fact that you were way out of the loop on the group chat. The chat had apparently gone way out of control rather quickly once Sans added Papyrus, Alphys added Undyne, and then Papyrus and Ava added just about everyone they knew, including all the members of the Jazz Radicals and the Royal Guard. You scrolled for what seemed like forever, trying to find the last message you had seen, a message from Sans asking about where to find road salt, since there was already ice on the roads in New New Home closest to the mountain, and the stores up the mountain were all sold out. Glancing through the chat log, you skipped through a page of hellos and introductions, pausing only to be surprised that the TV Celebrity Mettaton had been added to the chat by Papyrus, and to try and connect the dots of who Napstablook was (Mettaton’s… cousin? You weren’t entirely sure, but they were a ghost). The introductions were capped off with a self-aggrandizing conversation between Papyrus and Undyne, half of which was in all caps from Papyrus, before the chat changed into more of a questions game between monsters and humans.
From there on, it was normal questions like, if I wanted this where I would go for that or etiquette when it came to being in public with humans who did not have a lot of contact with monsters, like in other towns. Undyne was surprised that the proper way to greet a human did not involve challenging them to a battle, even in good sport, while Papyrus was bonding with Chris over the struggles of being tall in a world built for people who are average height. You finally located the source of the pumpkin puns when Ava asked the group what monsters thought of Halloween, and whether they found the costumes offensive, only to discover they didn’t celebrate it, and had no context for what it was. Ava sent a few pictures of kid’s costumes, of a witch, a vampire, and a skeleton, which were all apparently hilarious until the last one, which was, in the words of Papyrus, , because the skeleton was naked. You skipped past a lot of jokes about halloween costumes, until you found a text that Papyrus sent with a picture of Jack Skellington, from the Nightmare Before Christmas. He was confused, since there was no such legendary skeleton king in the annals of monster history.
Apparently all of the humans had looked away from their phones at about that time, because the next few pages of chat were Alphys, Undyne and Papyrus trying to figure out, on their own, whether the movie was fiction or historical. You couldn’t help but chuckle when you saw Sans playing along, trying to convince them all that Jack Skellington was an important monster who had managed to evade confinement in the underground, even though he knew about the movie.
Sans: heh, he gave ’em pumpkin to talk about, he was a real warrior king. they called him jack the ripper because of the way he tore open presents. during a great human celebration he and the grinch stole christmas, as their last hurrah before going into hiding. c’mon paps, didn’t you pay attention during history class? there wouldn’t be a whole movie about the guy if he wasn’t important.PAPYRUS: SANS! THIS IS NO TIME FOR YOUR WORD PLAY BROTHER! I HAVE FAILED AS A HERO IF THERE IS A SKELETON KING KNOW IN OUR HISTORY THAT I DID NOT KNOW ABOUT!Sans: that’s okay bro, we can always watch the movie about it later. He had sent a badly edited screenshot of the Nightmare Before Christmas title screen, that now reads “based on a true story” as the subheader*Alphys: Oh! I didn’t know that the movie was based on a true story! I wonder if he’s still around somewhere. v( ‘.’ )vPapyrus: UNBELIEVABLE! IF HE LIVES YET, HE SHOULD HAVE COME TO SWEAR HIS LOYALTY TO LADY TORIEL!Undyne: Don’t worry Pappy if he comes to start trouble I’ll help you take him on! (╯°□°）╯︵ /( ‿⌓‿ )\Alphys: (✿ ♥‿♥)Mettaton: Please don’t encourage her darling.
Apparently everyone was in on the joke, because eventually the humans came back but none of them did anything to correct the misinformation that Sans was spreading.Daisha: He has a Ghost dog tooNapstablook: ohhh, how nice…Ava: Maybe he’s still in hiding. Afterall, a year ago, none of us knew about you. Maybe he doesn’t leave halloweentown very often.PAPYRUS: WELL THEN, IF HE SHOULD DECIDE TO EMERGE, I HOPE WE CAN DO BATTLE WITH HIM AND THIS ‘GRINCH’, SO WE CAN GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER! Sans: just don’t get too carved up if you can’t beat him, little bro.PAPYRUS: BROTHER DON’T…Sans: what? i’m just sayin’ that i don’t want you to take leaf of your senses if you fall. there’s no need to go smashing pumpkins. you’d be out of your gourd to challenge the pumpkin king with the skeleton grin.PAPYRUS: THAT IS IT SANS! I’M GOING TO BED GOODNIGHT AND THAT MEANS YOU TOO! EVERYONE SAY GOODBYE TO SANS. 
You noticed that the time stamp on the final round of goodnights that Papyrus insisted on sending out read about 10:30PM, meaning that Sans had started carving pumpkins not even 30 minutes later. Once you reached the bottom of the group chat, you switched back over to texting Sans.You: Bravo Sans, you really got Papyrus believing that Jack Skellington is a real monster. Did Papyrus really fall asleep so quickly that you were able to carve a pumpkin less than 30 minutes after he signed off for the night?Sans: don’t let him know i told you this, but one story of fluffy bunny and he is out like a light lolYou: lol. I know you guys said in chat that you don’t really celebrate Halloween, but I know Ava throws a raging party every Samhain. I’ll be doing that this year, what about you?Sans: don’t know yet, i think the kid wants to go trick or treating so papyrus will probably take them around town. the two of them will be out like a light before 9:30 though, because they’re definitely going to eat way too much candy. though that party sounds pretty sweet if i can get me an inviteYou: Understandable. I can remember when I was a kid and my aunts had to keep me in check during Halloween. I was very excitable as a child and always ended up getting sick from eating too much candy. Back to your prank though, when do you plan to strike? There’s still another week or two until Halloween.Sans: nope it’s my turn to ask a question⚈皿⚈You: fine, go ahead.Sans: what’s samhain?You: A holiday celebrated by several types of pagan, basically the autumn harvest festival where you pay gifts to the gods to thank them for a good harvest and ask them to help you survive the winter. It’s also when we celebrate our ancestors, since the veil is thin enough to allow them to make their presence known. We make offerings to our ancestors, dead pets, etc and hope to be able to feel their presence.Sans: so it’s just another name for halloween?You: It’s Halloween with more alcohol, and less candy most of the time. For me and Ava, it’s also a bit religious, but that happens after the party ends and most of the guests have gone home.Sans: okay great i know what my next question is. do you still want to know when i’m going to prank papyrus as your question?You: sure, yeah, i’ll take that as my question.Sans: on christmas eve (•‿•) As soon as you saw his answer you burst out laughing, but it was called the nightmare before Christmas not the nightmare before Halloween.You: That’s brilliant, he’ll have totally forgotten about it by then (´∀｀)Sans: heheheheeh, exactly. I was practicing making my jack-o-lantern look like jack skellington. You: you’ll have to remind me about this in december, and tell me how it turns out. your turn to ask.Sans: cool. can you get me an invite to ava’s samhain party?You: lol sure, I wouldn’t have told you about it if I thought you wouldn’t be welcome. why are you up this late anyway?<Sans: are you sure that’s what you want to use your question on?You:  ughhhhh, yes. Why are you up so late?Sans: i took a nap earlier, so now i can’t sleep, which is why i’m up talking to you.You: R u kidding me Sans? You made me use my question over something as trivial as a nap!Sans: me? no, not ever brighid! how could you ever say something like that! naps are something that i take very seriously!!You:  you're full of shit sans lol >.< You made it sound like it was some deep dark secret or some other kind of trope bullshit.sans: heh, come on bud, don’t let me rattle your bones (⚈A⚈)Sans: what about you though? don’t you have work or something bright and early?You: I mean yeah but I can’t sleep. Whenever this happens, I end up just laying here doing some crochet until I just pass out. I’ll be lucky if I get 5 hours of sleep tonight.T_TSans: is that a normal problem or…?You: meh? It just happens every now and again. No big deal that I can’t handle with some coffee during the day until I get home for work. And because I’m such a good “bud” I won’t count that last question as a Question. >.> Sans: coffee is good  The conversation settled into a lull after that with each of you sending memes about not being able to sleep. Eventually you passed out for a few, very short hours, but when your loud alarm began to play, and your eyes cracked open, you felt as if you hadn't slept at all. The weekend had ended and Monday came for you with a vengeance you were unprepared to face. First, you were almost late for work after not getting a lot of sleep. Then, like a domino effect, your sleep deprivation caused you to make paperwork mistakes, which caused the harpy of an office manager to jump down your throat. The mistakes were nothing major, but with her watching you like a hawk, it was like a black cloud was hanging over the office. She reprimanded you between tight lips about being positive and energetic toward the clients, but the rotating door of negligent, antagonistic, cheapskate, uneducated owners seemed never ending from the moment you stepped in the door, until the moment you clocked out for lunch. The only bright spot during the day for you was reading the group chat messages during your lunch break, and getting memes from Sans. In an earlier message, Sans had mentioned that Papyrus still believed in Santa, and asked you not to ruin it, and you made sure to pass that on to the rest of the group outside of the main chat, since all of the monsters seemed to be committed to preserving Papyrus’ innocence. Despite the fact that he was in his early twenties, it was clear that he was the baby of Sans’ friend group, and they both enjoyed his pure delight in wholesome things, like really believing in Santa (who was just Asgore dressed up year after year), and enjoyed pranking him, like Sans’ thing with Jack Skellington. Today’s chat was carefully steered by Alphys, who was obviously trying to prevent a pun-induced supernova like the one that had ended last night’s chat, meaning it was full of scientific questions, and a lot of MMS pictures of various space and natural phenomenon. You had made the mistake of checking the group chat once this morning while you were in the bathroom and almost busted out laughing, because Papyrus had apparently downloaded a very kawaii sugar skull emoji pack and was responding to everything with stickers. During your lunch you texted Sans about how adorable his brother was being in the group chat, and Sans started doing what he always did, talking about how cool it was that Papyrus didn’t care what people thought of him, and how cool and confident all the time. You felt that the word adorable was probably more appropriate than cool but knew that it wasn’t something you could disagree with Sans on. In a blink, your lunch break ended, the afternoon appointments came and went, and eventually, almost an hour after you should have been off, you closed the door to the clinic and drove yourself home. You spent the entire evening in a fog, too emotionally fatigued to do anything other than sit on the couch watching TV and crocheting after making yourself a basic bowl of ramen. You slept fitfully that night, tossing and turning from a discomfort that you couldn’t quite place and an exhaustion that you couldn’t shake, despite going to bed well-before midnight. You tried to chalk it up to anxiety over your mistake at work, but that didn’t make the nightmares any less jarring when they woke you up for the third time that night. The following days were much of the same thing, you often staying up long into the night with the inability to sleep, accompanied via text message by the apparently nocturnal Sans. You talked and shared different memes with Sans when the rest of the group chat had already gone to bed. However, you felt yourself running low on steam by Wednesday and by Thursday you were like a train that’s about to go off the tracks. When Linda held you over Thursday, making you stay to clean up a mess that someone else had made while complaining about you to your face directly, you wound up being late for Orchestra practice by close to thirty minutes. Once practice ended, the director called you over to ask if you were going to be able to perform in the upcoming concert, since you were looking ill, and it was unlike you to be running late. You assured him that everything was fine, you were just working some long hours at work, even though the anxiety that had been building all week had formed a knot of fire in your chest. You felt like screaming, or sobbing, or both, but found that you were incapable of doing either. So it waited, burning in your chest, waiting for the straw that would break the camel’s back. The only thing that made you get out of bed Friday morning was the fact that Frisk and Dumpling were coming in for their recheck. When you woke up in a cold sweat at four in the morning for the fourth night in the row, you had deeply considered burning one of your very precious sick days in the name of your mental health, and calling your shrink to see if she would prescribe you some sleeping pills. The idea was tempting, but you imagined Frisk’s sad face when they found out you wouldn’t be there, and immediately abandoned the idea, shuffling out of bed, getting dressed, and going into work for their sake. Later, after a fairly hellish first few appointments, you found yourself in the back room taking five moments to breathe and calm your emotions after a nasty spat with a rude customer. You took the rare opportunity to check your phone when you felt it buzz in your pocket. Opening it up, you found a text from Sans and you smiled despite your mood, only for your expression to fall once you read it.
Sans: hey just to let you know, got called into work so my bro will be bringing frisk today.
Despite how much you had been looking forward to seeing Sans, getting to meet Papyrus in person was a pretty decent consolation, so you didn’t let your disappointment show when you replied, just saying
You: Oh okay, have fun at work.  Glancing at the clock, you knew you couldn’t afford to be away any longer without someone trying to find you for something, so you shoved your phone back into your scrubs. It would be nice to finally meet Papyrus; he seemed so nice in the chat over the last week, and seemed so welcoming when you saw him on TV. Plus, Frisk had quickly become one of your favorite clients in the short time that you had known them. When you reached the inner part of the clinic, you pushed aside the awkward ache you felt about not being able to see Sans today, chalking it up to the fact that you needed an easy client on a day like today, and nice as he was, first impressions still require more energy than you had budgeted for this afternoon, but it couldn’t be helped. There were only a few people who you loved as clients, but they were balanced out by the handful of truly nasty clients that you flat out refused to deal with if you could at all help it. Since your day had already been filled with unpleasant clients, you resolved yourself; you weren’t going to let Frisk’s room slip past you this afternoon. You saw that the door to the last room had opened and that there was a chart in the box outside the door. You quietly walked up to it, and sure enough it was Dumpling’s chart. You had suspected that that was the case since the last room in the hall was being avoided like the plague by your coworkers, not that there were very many around today to begin with. You had already had to run two seperate rooms at once earlier that morning when one of your coworkers called in sick literally five minutes before the first appointments of the day were supposed to arrive, leaving you double booked.
Thankfully, it looked like the clinic had cleared out for the most part, now that everyone was back from their lunch breaks and the first round of afternoon appointments had been finished. Checking the schedule, you saw that you were right, and at this point Dumpling’s room would be the last one you had to work today, so long as no emergencies came in. You breathed a sigh of relief, since you had been worried that you wouldn’t be able to give the room your full attention if the clinic ended up short-handed through the afternoon.
You put on your best customer service face before opening the door to the waiting room to call Papyrus and Frisk into the back with Dumpling. Frisk was looking adorable, as usual, and was currently wearing an adorable pink tutu, as well as their usual blue and black oversized sweatshirt. Just like Saturday, Flowey was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Dumpling was laying at Frisk’s side, staring up at them lovingly while Frisk scritched behind the lanky dog’s ears, stimming quietly with the soft fur at the back of the dog’s ears.
To your surprise, the skeleton monster that was undeniably Sans’ “little” brother, was nothing short of super tall. You had guessed as much based on the conversations that you had read in the group chat, but actually standing face to face with the 7 foot tall monster himself was different than you had imagined it would be. You had expected it to be similar to how you felt standing next to Chris, like you were standing in the shadow of a bear, but Papyrus was strange, seemingly larger than life. Standing next to Papyrus was more like how you would have felt if you were meeting a real-life super-hero. He gave off this radiating aura, that made it feel like a comic book banner reading “JUSTICE!” should pop up behind him at any moment.
This impression, however, quickly vanished when he jumped up in surprise at you calling for “Frisk Dremurr” and hit his head on the ceiling tiles in the waiting room, sending plaster dust raining down onto the bright red scarf wrapped around his broad bony shoulders. He was wearing a large orange sweater that had little leaves knitted into it and some jeans. Despite their enormous height difference, it was very clear that Sans and Papyrus were brothers. Although Papyrus’ face was longer than Sans’, they had similar brows and cheekbones. Despite their similarities though, Papyrus was more expressive as a whole than Sans was, opening his mouth visibly and showing an orange magic-manifested tongue, which he had apparently bitten when he hit his head.
Frisk looked up when you called their name, and jumped down from their seat, taking only a second to pat Papyrus sympathetically on the shin bone, while Papyrus fanned his tongue, before walking over to you and latching onto your scrub pant leg. After Papyrus calmed down, he righted himself, picked up his things, made a hand gesture at Dumpling. With Dumpling at his heels, Papyrus walked over to you. Dumpling followed him without looking around or sniffing anything, carrying his own leash in his mouth.
“Good Afternoon, Frisk” you said, smiling genuinely at Frisk, who was rubbing the soft blended cotton of your scrub pants back and forth in one of their hands. They reached one hand up and waved to you before releasing your pant leg and taking a step back so you could properly address Papyrus.
“And you must be Papyrus! Sans has told me all about you. It’s great to finally meet you, Captain of the Royal Guard Papyrus.” Although you probably didn’t need to greet him so formally, Sans had mentioned that Papyrus had been having a hard time getting along with humans in public settings, largely due to his height making places like coffeeshops feel cramped and uninviting. Not wanting that to be his experience every single time, you decided to lay on the flattery a bit, but you were unprepared for the sheer vigor he exuded in response.
“YOU MUST BE BRIGHID THEN, THE SKILLED VETERINARY TECHNICIAN THAT HELPED REPAIR DUMPLING’S LEG! IT IS A PLEASURE TO FINALLY MAKE YOUR ACQUAINTANCE, NYAH! MY BROTHER AND FRISK SPEAK HIGHLY OF YOU!” He shook your hand as he said this, with more energy than you had anticipated, nearly lifting you off your feet in his excitement.
“I’m g-g-glad to hear that!” You said shakily while you waited for Papyrus to release you. He seemed to finally realize he was shaking pretty much your whole body, not just your hand, after a moment or so, and released you sheepishly, his face burning orange.
“INDEED! WE ARE PREPARED TO FOLLOW YOU TO THE EXAM ROOM NOW THAT THE FORMALITIES ARE OUT OF THE WAY!” He declared loudly, trying to cover his embarrassment.
Once they had gotten into the room and gotten settled, Papyrus opting to stand while Frisk sat down in the plastic and metal chair in the room while they waited.
“How is Dumpling doing?” you signed to Frisk, one-handed, the way Sans had shown you, drawing the child’s attention from the chair they had selected to sit in.
They cocked their head at you before signing“Say again?” Their face broke into a wide smile as you signed it again, and they signed back “Good! Leg better! He’s smart!”
“I… think I understand that,” you said nervously, shifting your weight from one foot to another. “How’d I do?” Frisk simply gave you two big thumbs ups as they nodded, still smiling, which made you giggle. A giggle that quickly turned into an undignified squeak as Papyrus swept you off your feet into a bear hug, crushing you into his soft orange sweater and his not-so-soft rib cage while declaring at the top of his lungs what an excellent friend you were, learning hands for the sake of Frisk. He launched into a loud, very flattering monologue about how you must have spent so long studying, and when you squeaked out that Sans had helped, that only sent him launching into a shtick you were pretty familiar with at this point, about how great, and smart, his brother was, despite his inherent laziness.
Undyne was right, Papyrus was a huge friendly nerd.
“Pappy, don’t forget to ask if it is okay to hug a human first.” Frisk chirped out, coming to your rescue despite their earlier giggles.
“OH I AM SORRY MISS BRIGHID!! IF I HAVE CAUSED YOU ANY DISTRESS, PLEASE ACCEPT MY HUMBLEST APOLOGIES! I MERELY WISHED TO THANK YOU FOR GOING THE EXTRA MILE TO BE WELCOMING TO US MONSTERS! PLEASE ACCEPT THIS PLATE OF COOKIES FROM LADY TORIAL HERSELF AS THANK YOU!” In one smooth motion you were set back down onto the ground, had the dust patted off your shoulders, and had a large tupperware container that smelled heavenly placed into your hands. Taking it from Papyrus’ gloved hands you peeped inside to see wonderful chocolate chip cookies that felt warm, like they just came out of the oven not too long ago.
“Holy- I- I mean wow thank you very much. Let me go set them down so everyone can enjoy them, alright? Be right back, make yourself comfortable in one of the chairs.” You quickly left the room to drop off the cookies in the break room, and made sure to tuck one away into your bag for later since you didn’t have the time to eat one. To your dismay, you found a nasty surprise waiting around the corner on your return trip. Linda was standing outside the door, her smile sardonic as she placed one hand on the door knob, blocking your way.
“You’re the one working the Dreemurr room? No wonder they've been yelling. I should have known it would be you,” She said condescendingly.
Your manager was a portly woman in her early sixties, who, by all rights, should have retired several years ago. She was hardly fit to work in the practice these days, given her pretty much constant injuries over the last decade, but that didn’t stop her from singing her own praises about what a saint she was for continuing to work since she was raising her grandchildren. Leaving out, of course, the fact that she was raising them because both of the sons she raised wound up divorced and weren’t fit to be parents. If you so much as mentioned that you were tired or that your feet hurt, she would make it into a one-up game of how much worse her suffering is than yours, or use it as fuel to go on an anyone-under-forty-has-no-work-ethic tirade. If there was one thing you hated about your job, it was her.
You also dreaded working with her because of the exact stunt she was getting ready to pull, right this moment. She would storm in, take over a room, and act as if she was some god’s appointed saint of veterinary care. Meanwhile, she would use her time to talk to the client and brown nose, leaving you to do all of the real work. The only things out of her mouth for the rest of the day were sure to be saccharine sweet-talk, unless she was addressing you, in which case it would be demeaning orders, that you did not require, on how to perform basic procedures. You knew you were going to wind up entering the charges, positioning the dog, preparing the wrap, cleaning up after, and so on and so forth, all by yourself. You had planned on doing all the work to begin with, but having to do the same amount of work while working around the waste of space that the brown-nosing, kow-towing office manager would probably become in less than ten minutes, was significantly more irritating. She was the kind of person who did every job in the clinic in the most elaborate, excessive, inconvenient way possible, so she was “always so busy!!” but the only thing she actually did around the clinic was the payroll.
With great restraint, you plastered your customer service smile back on your face, and answered her, rather than grumbling.
“Yes, I am the tech working this room. I’m sorry about the noise, but Papyrus wasn’t shouting, he’s just naturally loud. Lady Toriel baked us some cookies, so I was setting them on the counter for everyone. I’m about to go in there and get the TPR before setting up for x-ray. Would you like a cookie?” You spoke in a measured voice, trying desperately to get out of the black cloud you could feel looming over you, hoping against all hope that you could get Linda into a better move.
“I’m on a diet!” she snapped, glaring at you. She turned her back to you and muttered something under her breath before she opened the door. You were almost certain it was, “I don’t want anything from those filthy monsters,” or something along those lines, so you tucked that tidbit of information away for future purposes. When she held out her hand for the chart but you refused to give it to her, she huffed, stepping back from the door with a roll of her eyes, and gesturing you inside with the same, pitying look she called “a warm, loving smile.” She gestured for you to come in, and so you did, despite every cell in your body begging you not to. You had been hoping to have a good weekend, but you could already tell that no matter what you did you wouldn’t be getting out of work on time today.
“Why, hello!” She crowed in the shrill, fake-nice, everyone-is-listening voice she always used with clients who were important in some way. “I’m Linda and I’m going to be your tech for the day. You seem to already be acquainted with Bridget here,” she said, butchering your name for the umpteenth time, despite the fact that you had been working there full-time for over a year, “so she’ll stay to be my assistant. It is truly an honor that the the Royal Family of Monsters and the Ambassador to Monsters have chosen our clinic for the care of your animals. I do hope our services have met your needs so far!” You chose to ignore the look that Linda gave you when she emphasized the word assistant; she was just the kind of petty person that went power crazy when given so much as an ounce of control over another person.
Papyrus didn’t falter at the new face, but he seemed to sense that your smile wasn’t as genuine as it had been before.
“WHY HELLO LINDA! I AM PAPYRUS, CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD AND THIS IS FRISK, THE AMBASSADOR OF MONSTERS, AS WELL AS DUMPLING, WHO IS A DOG! I THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION, BUT BRIGHID HAS BEEN NOTHING BUT A DELIGHT; SHE HAS GIVEN US GREAT SERVICE, NYAH!” Papyrus’ voice seemed to have gone up in volume, as if he took Linda’s loud declaration as a challenge. Linda’s smile faltered only when Papyrus said that you had been nothing but a delight, loud enough for sure that any clients in nearby rooms heard him say it clearly. At that declaration, her sappy smile fell a few degrees, and froze there. Despite how unfazed Papyrus was, however, Frisk was clearly immensely uncomfortable. Linda seemed to be staring the kid down, trying to get them to meet her eye, to no avail.
“Well, that’s great to hear!” she chirped through tight lips when she finally abandoned the attempt to make eye contact with Frisk. “I had heard that the ambassador was a child, but I didn’t expect her to be such a shy little girl!” Hearing Linda say this, Frisk seemed to wilt, and they scooted over one chair so that they could more effectively hide from Linda behind Papyrus’ huge form. You were about to go to bat for the kid, your job be damned, but before the thought could even register in your mind, Papyrus beat you to the punch.
“TECHNICIAN LINDA, I AM AFRAID YOU HAVE MADE A GREAT ERROR, NYAH! FRISK IS NOT ONE OF THESE ‘GIRLS’ YOU REFER TO! THEIR PRONOUNS ARE THEY OR THEM; PLEASE DO NOT MAKE THAT MISTAKE AGAIN!” Papyrus bellowed, causing the grin to slip from Linda’s face in its entirety for a few moments, until she managed to replace it, albeit with a noticeably more sour expression not hidden very well beneath it.
“Is that right? Kids these days... I’ll try to remember that.” She said dismissively, before tacking on, “I’m actually Manager Linda; I only help out as a tech when I can find the time around my main duties, but I always make time for highly valued clients such as yourself. Bridget, can you go ahead and take… Dumpling? To the scale please?” She said, simultaneously shifting the conversation away from her blunder and tightly latching on to the folder that you were still holding. Reluctantly, you relinquished it.
“EXCELLENT TO HEAR, MANAGER LINDA!” Papyrus said, essentially dismissing her before he turned to you, taking Dumpling’s leash from where it had fallen onto the floor and offering it to you. “BRIGHID, SINCE YOU’VE BEEN LEARNING HANDS, ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH BASIC COMMANDS FOR DOGS YET?”
You shook your head no, not willing to trust your voice because of the rage bubbling in your chest. Papyrus proceeded to demonstrate the hand gestures for you, slightly different than the standard ones used in dog training, along with explaining what each one meant, while Linda stood to the side huffing in exasperation while meticulously ‘reviewing’ the one page file on Dumpling. Explanation finished, Papyrus said, “YOU GOT ALL OF THAT, BRIGHID?” with a pointed look, turning his back to Linda so that she couldn’t see the concern on his face. You felt your face reddening, so you nodded and took the offered leash from Papyrus’ hand, before scrambling out the door.
You were fuming in the hallway while you weighed Dumpling, who sat on the scale relaxed, in response to the simple hand gesture that Papyrus had shown you. You were glad that Papyrus had gone to bat for Frisk so that you didn’t have to, but the look he gave you, of profound concern, before Linda sent you away, stayed with you even after you had taken Dumpling to be weighed. It was touching that he was worried about you, but there was nothing you could really do about her so long as you worked here. You may not have succeeded in telling him telepathically that Linda was a piece of shit, but he seemed to have gotten that message loud and clear all by himself. Really, it was Frisk who you were worried about, since they were the one still in the room with her. With that thought, and your bottled rage, for fuel, you carefully tidied up your emotions and steeled yourself, before going back into the room with Dumpling.
“Dumpling weighs 45 pounds today, Linda,” you said, once Dumpling was laying on the table. You thought you had been pretty respectful there, but she still glared at you while she scribbled it onto the paper.
“You must have measured him wrong last time then. He was in only a week ago, and only weighed 28 pounds. I find it hard to believe that he gained seventeen pounds in one week Brighid.” She said, mockingly, but she wrote the number down anyway, only to be interrupted by Papyrus.
“-ACTUALLY MANAGER LINDA, THAT IS EXACTLY THE CORRECT WEIGHT FOR HOW MUCH DUMPLING WEIGHED SEVEN DAYS AGO! HE HAS BEEN WEIGHED DAILY BEFORE TRAINING, IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT HE IS GAINING WEIGHT HEALTHILY, NYAH!” He said, correcting her when he noticed that she was going to scratch out the numbers from the last visit.
Her pen froze and her smile froze, before she began scratching the numbers in rather than scratching them out. “Really? What a big puppy he is then,” she said through gritted teeth, clearly irritated because she had been wrong, yet again. You took Dumpling’s temperature, pulse and respiratory rate with no issues, and called out the numbers for Linda to write down, only for her to thrust Dumpling’s folder back towards you so you could write them down, while she essentially became an annoying road block, asking annoying questions, in the middle of the exam room while you worked. Despite her attempts to rule the conversation, Papyrus was holding his own against her, taking his volume up a notch every time she did, much to her evident annoyance. That gave you the time to actually look Dumpling over, and get the work done, since Linda certainly wasn’t going to.
The cast was in good shape, though it had slipped down and gotten tight on him due to his growth, and would definitely need to be re-wrapped. As Papyrus had said, Dumpling had put on a healthy amount of weight; his coat was shiny, and he was starting to build some muscle in his non-injured legs. You could tell that he was well-fed but not over-fed, and getting plenty of exercise for what he could do. If not for the cast that you had wrapped yourself last week and the dog’s odd coat pattern, you would have thought that it was a different dog altogether. In a cute addition to the cast, someone had wrapped cushion tape along the knee of that leg, presumably so he could be more comfortable while lying down. Furthermore, his fur was clean and free-of-fleas, and both his ears and his teeth were nice and clean.
You had finished the exam and were getting ready to leave the room when Frisk caught your eye, from where they were hiding behind Papyrus. They were looking panicked as they clutched to the back of Papyrus’ pant leg.
“Need soft. NEED. Soft” They signed to you urgently, then again, more slowly. With Linda standing like a road-block in the middle of the room, there was no way for Frisk to get to Dumpling in order to stim without drawing her attention, so you reached into your pocket to confirm that you still had a tiny crochet project there. Linda was sitting on the left side of the table, but to the right of the table Papyrus had backed up not only so that you could get around him more easily, but also to serve as an effective barrier between Frisk and Linda. Reading the room, you carefully maneuvered around the table as if trying to get a more sturdy surface to write on, until you were standing as close to Papyrus as you could without making it awkward. Inside of your pocket, you carefully tied off the knot with one hand, and slid your crochet hook out, before “dropping your pen” and covertly handing the project over to Frisk who took it eagerly. After a moment, you saw their little hand form a thumbs up from between Papyrus’ legs, and you sighed a breath of relief before standing back up, taking one last note, and closing the chart. Information written down and exam finished, you tuned back into the conversation.
“WHILE I APPRECIATE YOUR INPUT MANAGER LINDA, WE ARE ALREADY WELL-PAST ‘BASIC’ IN TERMS OF DUMPLING’S TRAINING! WITH THE HELP OF THE DOG MONSTERS FROM THE GUARD, WE DISCOVERED THAT ‘DOMESTIC’ CANINES ARE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND MANY WORDS FROM THE COMMON LANGUAGE USED BY DOG MONSTERS!” Pap posed heroically, and it seemed as if his scarf was blowing in a heroic breeze, but you suspected it was the monster equivalent of prestidigitation. That thought led you to picturing Papyrus in a wizard hat, which caused you to giggle a bit despite yourself. Papyrus truly was too pure for a world with people like Linda in it. You could see why Sans doted on him and bragged about him constantly.
Unfortunately, people like Linda did exist in the world, and you could feel her gaze grow icy in your peripheral, killing your chuckle in your throat. You had been able to tell that her smile was as fake as her tan since the second she decided to start playing nice with Papyrus, but there was nothing you could do at this point other than hope that Linda wouldn’t be too grotesquely offensive to their faces. Everything about Papyrus struck you as Lawful Good, but Linda was Lawful Evil, no denying that. Realistically, they were clearly like oil and water. Usually, you considered your alignment to be chaotic neutral, but when you turned to face Linda, any good leaning traits in your nature vanished. When you saw that sarcastic smirk on her face, masquerading as a smile, and her raised eyebrow, indicating that she was going to chew you out later for something that just happened in the last few minutes, your alignment meter slammed all the way down to Chaotic Bastard. You were struck by the impulse to see how much you could make her sweat, just to see how badly Linda could mangle her brown-nosing session. With a smile that didn’t quite reach your eyes, you doubled down, rather than backing off like she clearly wanted you to.
“Really? That’s amazing Papyrus!” You cooed, doing your best imitation of Linda’s ass-kissing. “Do you think the D-Squad would be able to teach me any words in dog? I think it would be immensely handy; I’m always looking for ways to improve my skills as a vet tech.” Your voice had grown almost as sickly-sweet as Linda’s and the lights in Papyrus’ eyes hinted that he suspected your mischief, and planned to play along. “I have to say, I’ve never seen a puppy this well-trained for its age. You did a great job.”
Papyrus’ face was sufficiently flushed, allegedly from your flattery, but you suspected that he was one raised eyebrow from bursting out laughing. Linda didn’t seem to like being out of the loop, and she especially didn’t like being outdone when it came to ass-kissing. Sensing Papyrus’ mirth, Frisk scooched ever so slightly toward the outer of the two chairs and looked up at you, a question on their face.
“It’s okay?” Frisk signed at you quickly, looking worried.
“It’s okay.” You signed back, keeping your hands tight to your waist, so Linda couldn’t see your hands. Relief seemed to wash over Frisk, and they nodded, mollified, and sat back in their chair, finally releasing Papyrus’ pant leg so they could play with your crochet project with both hands. Papyrus caught your eye and grinned. Maybe he’s not as naive as I thought, you thought to yourself before picking Dumpling up to take him to the x-ray room. You turned to explain where you were going, and that you would be back in just a few minutes, but Linda cut you off. Last time, you had only sent Frisk out during the actual x-rays, but Linda shut the door with a curt “this should only take a couple minutes!” stopping them from following you.
As soon as she was out of the room, however, she bitterly spat a challenge at you.
“If that dog is so well-trained,” She said, looking doubtfully at the giant puppy you had slung over your shoulder, intentionally ignoring the fact that she was blocking the door to x-ray and Dumpling wasn’t getting any lighter, “You should be able to gather the cast supplies and set the frames for the x-ray while I go get the doctor. I guess if he jumps off the table while you’re out of the room, he’s not as well-trained as they think.”
You desperately wanted to fight her on it, but decided that a better vengeance would be letting Dumpling prove himself, and therefore prove her wrong. Once inside x-ray, you settled Dumpling down onto the table, his injured leg facing down for the x-ray, but left him be, knowing that even if the x-ray you took by yourself was perfect, she would call it trash and retake it anyway. You gave him the lay and stay commands, which he had done exactly as ordered, so you slathered some cheese whiz onto the side of the table for him to lick while you gathered the cast supplies; it wouldn’t take you long. Sure enough, when you returned, all of the necessary supplies prepped in the next room, Dumpling was still waiting on the table, laying how you positioned him, tail thumping against the table. You had just finished positioning him and were reaching for your lead gown, when Linda burst back through the door.
She looked sourly at the dog who was laying plenty still on the table where you had left him, despite the lack of someone standing nearby to restrain him. “Well, it’s not like he could very well get off that table on his own with a broken leg, but you shouldn’t leave animals unattended Bridget,” she said. It was your turn to bare your teeth, smiling wickedly while your back was still turned to her. She had assumed that you would fail in one of two ways, either failing to get everything done because you had to restrain the dog, or that you would fail to restrain the dog and then she could fire you for negligence over his injuries. Perhaps you were paranoid, but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that she wanted you gone.
Perhaps because you did not answer her, and perhaps because the client couldn’t be inside the x-ray room during imaging, she instructed you to hold Dumpling’s tail and extend his foot in an appropriate way so that the images would come out well, with a minimal amount of conversation. Dumpling seemed to understand that you wanted him to be absolutely still and didn’t fight you; though he did whimper when you extended the limb, despite your careful efforts to avoid hurting him. Once the images were taken, there was a beep, and the door to the treatment room opened to reveal Dr. Johnson followed by a slouching Papyrus who was trying very hard not to hit his head on the low door frame of the x-ray room. It took you a moment to spot Frisk standing in the doorway, looking around with uncertainty. Once they met your eye however, you were able to tell them to wait there in hands, since you would be heading into the treatment room with Dumpling momentarily. It only took Dr. Johnson a few minutes to examine Dumpling and Dumpling’s x-ray, and Papyrus was delighted to hear that Dumpling appeared to be healing splendidly and that Dr. Johnson didn’t expect him to even have a limp once his leg was finished healing, so long as he stayed on track from here.
Linda was hovering back a distance, staying out of the way of the hunched Papyrus, but, to your dismay, she spotted Frisk running their hands over your crochet project. She surely recognized where it had come from, given that crocheted scarves, hats and throws were what you had given a few of your coworkers as gifts last Christmas. Seeming to seize upon a way to get into Frisk’s good graces, she disappeared into the treatment room, and then out into the hall, and you thought you could hear the sounds of her hunting for something in her office. She returned, of course, only after Dr. Johnson had asked you to haul Dumpling over to the treatment room to have his leg re-wrapped.
Linda swooped in just before he left, assuring him loudly that she would take extra special care of Dumpling, taking care to mention that she would be the one re-wrapping Dumpling’s leg, and making a big show of examining the misfitting wrap from the week before and pointing out places that it had gotten dirty or worn through. Dr. Johnson nodded in acknowledgement of what she was saying, but quickly left the room once she was no longer looking directly at him.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, however, she quickly turned her attention back to Frisk, shoving some objects toward them, but not saying anything. Frisk, for their part, looked to be growing irritated, rather than afraid, and pushed her hands away when she tried to persuade Frisk to set aside the yarn project you had lent them and ‘play’ with the coloring books instead. You held your tongue, wanting to stop her but not wanting to lose your job, and were thankful when Papyrus pulled her attention away from Frisk.
“MANAGER LINDA!” Papyrus crowed, “I FORGOT TO ASK THE DOCTOR WHEN DUMPLING WOULD BE HEALTHY ENOUGH TO BEGIN COMBAT TRAINING! OVER THE LAST WEEK, THE PUP HAS UNDERGONE A BRILLIANT AND CLEVER TRAINING REGIMENT THAT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WITH HELP FROM MY EXCELLENT FRIENDS WITHIN THE ROYAL GUARDS, DEVISED. I SUSPECT THAT ONCE HE IS ABLE TO WALK SUFFICIENTLY, AND HAS GROWN A BIT LARGER, HE WILL MAKE A FINE SERVICE ANIMAL FOR MY DEAR FRISK, NYAH! THE LITTLE PUP HAS MANAGED TO MASTER ALL OF THE BASIC COMMANDS THAT ARE COMMON FOR THE DOGS YOU HUMANS REFER TO AS SERVICE ANIMALS, BUT HE WILL NEED ADDITIONAL TRAINING TO ENDURE THE TRAPS AND PUZZLES IN THE UNDERGROUND!” Papyrus said brightly, giving the dog on the table a rough scratch around the ears.
Linda’s thin eyebrows had risen so far at this point that you were surprised that they hadn’t disappeared into her hairline. “Combat you say? Surely you don’t mean with other dogs. It’s common to train dogs to learn tricks but I’ve never heard of a dog learning traps before,” She said with a scowl, before she began actually paying attention to Dumpling, unwrapping the splint from the week before none too gently.
“DO NOT THE HUMAN POLICE USE CANINES SUCH AS GERMAN SHEPHERDS FOR DEFENSE?” Papyrus asked, drawing a sharp look from Linda.
“If you want a dog trained like a police dog, that wouldn’t be a service dog.” She said in a flat tone as she cut through Dumpling’s wrap, having finished unwrapping the outer layer.
“And besides, it’s not like those classes are open to the public.” She continued. She threw the old wrap in the trash a bit more violently than was necessary, and you and Frisk both flinched slightly. “Either way, a lot of owners think they’ve got their dog perfectly trained, but you’ll see. He’ll relapse once he’s about six months old if you don’t neuter him. Service dogs are supposed to be neutered anyway; at least if you want any of his training to stick,” Linda finished condescendingly. You crinkled your nose while standing behind her, wondering what in the hell she was on about now.
Papyrus however, would not be deterred. “I UNDERSTAND YOUR CONFUSION MANAGER LINDA, ABOUT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SERVICE DOG AND A POLICE DOG, BUT SHOULDN’T SERVICE DOGS BE ABLE TO GO ANYWHERE THEIR OWNERS CAN? HE’S ALREADY GREAT AT PUZZLES, SO WE’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO STARTING TRAP TRAINING SO THAT HE CAN GO ANYWHERE IN THE UNDERGROUND THAT FRISK CAN GO! IF YOU KNOW OF A GOOD PLACE TO EXERCISE HIM, EVEN IF HE CAN’T GET ANY COMBAT EXPERIENCE THERE, I WOULD HAPPILY HEAR OF IT FROM YOU!”
Linda continued working as Papyrus spoke, pulling you over to “restrain” Dumpling as she began re-splinting the partially healed leg, before retorting back to Papyrus, forgetting her manners for a critical moment. “If it’s just for exercise, there’s a dog park downtown. But Frisk is a normal young girl, isn’t she? I don’t know what she could be getting up to that would require a fighting dog trained to disarm traps. Are you sure that it's safe for normal human children to be around that kind of thing?” Linda was questioning Papyrus flippantly, not hiding her irritation nearly as well as she thought she did. Papyrus, always good humored, seemed to be wavering on the edge of anger, to your surprise, when he answered Linda.
“FRISK IS THE AMBASSADOR TO MONSTERS, MANAGER LINDA, AND THEIR PRONOUNS ARE THEY/THEM!” He said finally, frowning. “I IMPLORE YOU NOT TO MAKE THAT MISTAKE AGAIN. A PROPER SERVICE ANIMAL SHOULD BE ABLE TO GO ANYWHERE THAT THEIR OWNER GOES, AND IN THE UNDERGROUND THAT MEANS SOMETIMES TRAVERSING THE PUZZLES AND TRAPS THAT BLOCK YOUR WAY, IN ORDER TO REACH YOUR DESTINATION! FRISK LOVES TRAPS AND PUZZLES JUST AS MUCH AS MONSTERS DO, NYAH!”While they talked, Linda worked, but there was no hope of Dumpling falling asleep during this re-wrapping. Linda pointedly grabbed two rolls of standard gray wrap from the lower level of the table, ignoring the cute and colorful patterned adhesive fabrics that you had placed in the upper drawer for easy access. She was working fast, true, but she was rough with Dumpling, causing him to whimper on a few occasions and snapping at you, “Hold him still!” or “Keep him quiet!” several times, despite the fact that Dumpling was holding still as a stone, and silent aside from occasionally whimpering. You did make a show of propping up his leg to ‘hold him still’ but really it was just so that Linda wouldn’t keep lifting his leg and thumping it back down on the table as she wrapped it. Her desire to brown-nose seemed to wither as Papyrus loomed over her, his displeasure evident on his face, which was unaccustomed to hiding how it really felt. She didn’t apologize this time, which made you nervous, but Papyrus let the subject drop.
“And all done, there we go all finished! Sorry it took me so long, but you know how it is. If you’ll follow me out sir, we can get your dog here scheduled for his next appointment,” Linda said. Linda’s hurry was evident in her work, and you strongly suspected that it would be tight and uncomfortable for the poor dog, at least until you could adjust it.
“WE APPRECIATE YOUR WORK MANAGER LINDA, AND WILL LOOK INTO THAT ‘DOG PARK’ YOU MENTIONED. THOUGH IT IS REGRETTABLE THAT THE WRAP FOR THIS WEEK IS SO PLAIN!” Papyrus replied, clearly not as chipper as he had been when he first walked in. “BRIGHID ALLOWED FRISK TO PICK OUT LAST WEEK’S WRAP, SO I’M SURE THAT THEY ARE DISAPPOINTED, BUT I SUPPOSE IT CANNOT BE HELPED, NYAH!” You grinned behind her back when Papyrus said that, suspecting that he had held that back just to get under her skin. She disappeared shortly after that, leaving you, of course, to check them out, but she was standing in the hallway, just outside of the door to the front office, when you bid them farewell. You didn’t even have a chance to watch them walk out the door before she called to you, her voice tense, from the hallway.
“Bridget a word please,” she said curtly, gesturing for you to step into the hall.
“Be right there ma’am.” You called back, taking advantage of the momentary privacy to roll your eyes and revel in the small victory of the day. Gathering up your bag and water bottle, you decidedly belatedly that your coworkers could suck it, and tucked the remaining cookies from Queen Toriel into your bag. After shoving it into your cargo bag you walked back to Linda’s office without clocking out; if she was going to yell at you, she was going to pay you for it. Taking a deep breath, you leaned against the frame of the open door. “You said you wanted to talk before I left?” You asked keeping your face as calm as you could. It was no accident that the clinic was empty now, since Linda liked to get you alone before she tore into you, so that there would be no evidence of her abuse. Linda kept typing on her computer for another minute holding up her fingers with a rude grunt, and telling you to wait until she was finished with what she was working on not for when you were ready.
“Last month when we talked about you being more friendly with people and being more interactive with our clients, your behavior in the last room today was not what I was talking about,” she said curtly, still not looking at you.
“Can you clarify what you mean?” you asked, “I tried to treat them the same way I would treat any clients that I know personally.”
“Really? You laughed in my face when Mr. Papyrus was arguing with me, and you failed to mention that the client was deaf in your notes. You set me up to be embarrassed today!” She said, standing, her voice rising.
“I did not fail to mention that the client was deaf, because Frisk is not deaf,” You said from between clenched teeth, keeping your tone steady despite the fact that you were fighting the tears welling in your eyes from anger.
“Oh really!?” Linda shouted. “Then you were making hand gestures at them so I wouldn’t understand what you were saying!”
You ground your teeth and tried to maintain some level of civility but it slipped out from under you and before you knew what you were saying you replied, perhaps a bit louder than necessary, “Linda, that was HANDS! It’s a type of sign language that Frisk and Frisk’s guardians have been kind enough to show me how to use. I don’t know why Frisk uses Hands, but if that’s how they want to communicate, isn’t it better for the sake of Dumpling for us to be able to understand one another!? If you want to learn Hands, I’m more than willing to call one of my friends in New New Home for you and find someone to teach you. Or better yet, why don’t I give Papyrus a call so he can put Queen Toriel on the phone to answer your prying questions about the nature of her child’s needs.”
You pulled out your phone, and tilted your head to the side, as if daring her. You knew you had crossed a line, but you weren’t willing for a moment to tear your eyes away from her stunned, fuming stare. The concept of calling Papyrus and using him as a way to get to the queen made you feel dirty, but you were tired, and had had more than enough of Linda’s disrespect for the day. Her mouth, puckered up with displeasure, reminded you of a cat’s puckered anus when they didn’t want to take the thermometer.
“I don’t think that’s necessary Bridget,” She said, looking away for a half second, before retargeting you with a sneer on their face. “My problem is not with the ambassador, after all, it’s with your work performance. I’ll be looking into this ‘monster sign language’ you claim to speak and I’ll find out what you were saying, just you wait. You’re on thin ice, do you hear me? You need to learn how to respect your elders and people who know more than you.”“Oh, I hear you.” You replied in an even tone. “Anything else? Because I’m still on the clock.” Her face turned beet red with rage as she glanced at the clock in the corner of her office and she shook her head almost imperceptibly.“Cool, night.”
You left, not caring that she could see you rolling your eyes, and clocked out with a smirk on your face. You were full of adrenaline right now, but stepping out into the cold evening air shut it down almost instantly. It was almost Halloween, and the days were short now. By the time you had gotten off it was dark, and the only light was from the streetlights and parking lot lights. Your car and Linda’s were not the only ones in the parking lot however. A red convertible with a tan canvas top was just pulling out of the lot. You didn’t recognize it at first, until a tiny hand with a purple sleeve waved at you as the car turned. It must have been Papyrus’ car, you realized, since you hadn’t seen them leave.
You waved back, a bit confused, but felt your rage melt away. Frisk and Papyrus must have been worried about me, you thought to yourself as you climbed into your car, and started it, waiting for the heat to sufficiently warm your frozen steering wheel. While you initially felt warm when you thought about how much Papyrus and Frisk must care to wait nearly an hour for Linda to finally release you, sitting in the cold car for a few moments gave you time to mourn your own happiness, and dive down into your anxiety. People that barely knew you were concerned for you, and while that said a lot about what good people they were, what did it say about this situation you were in, trapped, barely making ends meet by staying at a job where you were treated like shit. You cried, not from sadness necessarily, but anger, and frustration, and fear, but it only lasted a few minutes. It’s not like this was the first time that Linda had driven you to tears, so you talked yourself out of it, and scrubbed the cold trails of your tears from your eyes and cheeks.
You touched the steering wheel gingerly and found that it was still hand numbingly cold, so you made a mental note that it was time to start keeping a pair of gloves in the car. The vents were at least blowing warm air now, so you took solace in pulling out the container of cookies that you had stashed in your bag, along with your phone, to catch up on the group chat. You hadn’t had a chance to eat the cookie you had tucked away earlier, you realized, and pulled it out of the side pocket of your camo bag to enjoy it first. Every bite was a unique perfect balance of blissfully sweet caramel, rich dark chocolate, and perfect fluffy vanilla cookie.
“Hot-diggity-shit this is one baller ass cookie,” You mumbled, quoting a character from one of your favorite podcasts, before effectively shoving the whole thing into your mouth, indulging your inner goblin. The group chat was a mile long now, and you skimmed it for a moment, before your phone dinged in your hand, and a message made you frown.
Frisk: Was that lady mean to you after we left?
You winced; it was touching that the kid cared, after all, but you didn’t want them to worry about you. They were a kid, you were a grown-up, and that’s how it should be, after all, but you also felt a strong revulsion at the idea of lying to them. After a moment, you replied.You: She tried to be, but I think I won this time, thanks to Papyrus
Frisk:Yay! Pappy is the best!! 
You couldn’t help but chuckle when you read their reply, and, realizing that the car was warm enough to drive without freezing, you put your phone back in your bag, closed the cookies, and pulled out of the parking lot. In your rearview mirror you could see one light still on in the clinic; Linda, doing payroll, was probably still seething about having to pay you because she wasted your time by being petty. With that thought to warm you for the rest of the night, you headed to the bank to deposit your check.
Once you had cashed your check, you headed home, and, despite your exhaustion, paid your bills on your laptop, leaving you with a pittance to survive on until your next check. You groaned; the small difference in the electric bill because of the cold weather meant that what you had left this week left no room for even small luxuries. That thought led your eyes to the jar full of dollar bills sitting on the kitchen counter, your rainy day fund. The jar was at least half change but there looked to be enough to get yourself some snacks… and a bottle of wine.
It had been months since you had had a drink, even in the comfort of your own home or while visiting with your friends. You didn’t like who you were when you were drunk; a realization that had only come crashing down recently, when you had broken up with your ex-boyfriend Tristan. Tristan apparently only liked who you were when you were too shit-faced to argue with him. He regularly called you a “prude” and a “kill-joy” when you wanted to stop drinking after 3 rounds of shots and beer. You had gotten into that argument a few times before it all broke down for good, but the straw that broke the camel’s back was when you returned from the bathroom at the bar after Ava’s birthday party, and saw Chris punching his teeth in. At first you were outraged at Chris, for attacking him, until you heard him growl out “HE. PUT. PILLS. IN. YOUR. DRINK.” That was the end for the two of you. He had tried to explain it away in text messages and phone calls, dropping by your apartment in Phason City, and trying to catch you outside of work. He notably never tried to approach you after Orchestra, perhaps owing to the fact that Chris always walked to your car after rehearsal.
You winced at the memory, since the emotional scars were only a few months old, and tried to find the silver lining. Tristan getting caught that day, trying to roofie or otherwise drug you, served to shake the world around you in a way that you had been purposefully ignoring while you drowned your sorrows in liquor night after night. There were a lot of nights, you had realized, that you remembered saying okay to one more drink, only to wake up the next morning with no idea of what had happened after that. A few too many nights for it to be a coincidence. You got help after that, getting into some therapy, and you quit drinking and got yourself on a better diet, which now included antidepressants. You had left Phason City after that, deciding that it was better to commute to orchestra two or three times a week, than to spend every waking moment of your life looking over your shoulder for Tristan. After the first few weeks his advances had stopped being sweet and plying and he had become insistent, shouting at you that it would be your fault if he killed himself because you left him. Reporting him to the police had been fruitless; since he hadn’t expressed any desire to hurt you, only himself, they said they would keep the report on file and to contact them if anything changed. It was around that time that Ava and John bought their house, conveniently positioned half-way between Phason City and Ebott, and there were a few vet practices in town. You applied, got a job at Johnson’s Animal Hospital, and commuted from Ava’s house for the first few weeks to make sure that Tristan wouldn’t be able to follow you. You closed your bank account, changed your number, and essentially disappeared after that, getting set up as comfortably as you could be, while making little more than minimum wage.
You had gotten up while mulling over your thoughts, and stepped over to the counter, tipping the jar upside down and shaking it out so you could count it. All in all it totalled out to around forty dollars, more than enough to get yourself a bath bomb, a face mask, a jar of jam, and a bottle of wine. Thinking about that asshole who had served as the catalyst to pretty much your whole life exploding, which eventually led you to uproot your life when you were hardly in a position to do so, served as a cool reminder of what happens when you let yourself get out of control. This, you decided, was not that. The alcohol hadn’t been the problem for you, it was the lack of moderation that was the issue, and your therapist had noted shortly after you separated from Tristan that your reported alcohol abuse had subsided in no small way once you were out from under his influence. You were by no means in a great head space, but you weren’t starting a depression binge. You were tense, wound up from a week of work, and would lock yourself into your apartment for a nice hot bath with your phone on do not disturb, for your own safety. Mind made up, you nipped down to the neighborhood store and bought yourself a bottle of sweet white zinfandel, as well as a fresh jar of pomegranate jam, a face mask, and a bath bomb that smelled of sweet citrus.
Returning home, you did as you had promised yourself, locking the door behind you, and turning on your anti-drunk-shenanigans app, which essentially blocked you from texting, calling or otherwise contacting anyone aside from 3 listed emergency contacts, which for you, were Ava, your Aunt Cait, and your Aunt Moira. Furthermore, it blocked you from accessing any of your social media. You seldom contacted your Aunts when you were drinking, but you had used the app in the past when you found out that one of your childhood friends had died, and it was a blessing to be able to step away from the constant feed of well-wishes and remembering what they were like, giving you space to grieve. You didn’t dive into the bottle immediately, choosing to stay sober while you made yourself dinner. You had been sober for quite some time, and were expecting your tolerance to be non-existent at this point, so you made sure to pad the meal with toast, and leave a full, spill-proof cup of water on your nightstand.
Feeling a little silly for being so worked up about a night in, spent relaxing, you set to work making it so you could actually enjoy yourself now that your paranoia had been satisfied. You pulled the wine bottle from the freezer where you had set it to chill it quickly, and filled a mixing bowl with ice to serve as an ice bucket. The bathroom was sure to be warm and comfortable, but the idea of drinking bath temperature wine was not your idea of a relaxing time. You also pulled down and washed out a dusty wine glass from an upper cabinet of your kitchen. It was nothing fancy, but still nicely shaped and made of glass, not plastic, so you were satisfied. You nestled the glass into the mixing bowl with your wine bottle and the ice, and scooped it up with one arm, heading to the bathroom.
Inside the small bathroom, you connected your phone to the speaker you kept in there, and started a playlist, one you had made for yourself of relaxing celtic music. While the tub filled, you undressed, and piled your hair up on top of your head so that you could wash your face. Once it was out of the way, you carefully applied the mud mask. By the time you were finished, your small tub was filled, and you dropped in your bath bomb. It fizzed and the tub filled with the smell of pomegranates and oranges. You finished undressing and slid in, sighing with relief as your tension began to melt away from you. Leaning over, you plucked the glass from the ice, and opened the simple screw top of the wine bottle, pouring yourself a glass of fruity, mild flavored wine. You took a sip of the ice cold liquid as you settled down into the dizzying warmth of the tub, and closed your eyes contentedly to enjoy your bath.
By the time your bathwater had grown cold, you were feeling rather warm, likely due to the half a bottle of wine you had drank on your own over the course of about an hour. You had cut yourself off due to the churning of your stomach, but you felt good for the first time in a long while. Reluctantly, you drained the tub and stood, turning on the shower to rinse the mask and suds from your skin. You weren’t quite swaying on your feet, which you felt was a good sign, and you were able to wash and condition your hair, as well as rinse off, without your stomach flipping or anything. You stepped out of the shower, towelled off, and went back to your room to put on a nice, warm, fleecy, pair of pajamas. Once dressed, with your wet hair tied up in a towel, you grabbed your wine bottle and glass, pouring the now mostly melted ice into the tub, and headed back into the living room.
You sat on the couch, warm and happy for a few minutes, until you felt that you had cooled down and sobered up sufficiently to play your cello for a while. In the floor below you, you could hear your downstairs neighbors throwing their weekly rager, and a glance at the clock showed you that it was only about 9:00. They would be up for several hours yet, their music blaring. They were like clockwork nearly every week, and you knew that later you would hear sirens, indicating that it was one A.M.; noise ordinance hours in Ebott on the weekend.You went to pour yourself another glass of wine, but found that while you had cooled down, your wine had warmed up, and a trip to the freezer was required for more ice. You took your glass with you, and, once it was filled with some ice, you returned to the living. You felt pleasantly tipsy while you stood, swaying only a hair, the aches in your body and heart temporarily numbed. You picked up your cello. Those rowdy neighbors of yours would serve as an excellent cover for your, potentially very bad, drunk cello session. You didn’t have the mind to practice in earnest, but it had been a while since you had really played for pleasure, and now felt like the perfect time to genuinely enjoy the music you were playing for yourself.
You unpacked the instrument once you were plunked back on the couch and plucked idly at first, waiting for your fingers to pick up a song they wanted to play. It wasn’t even Christmas, and you had already grown tired of the bassline to Carol of the Bells. It was a lovely song, sure, but the months of practice before the annual Christmas Concert made you unable to enjoy it in your free time until a few months after the holidays. You were sure you would find yourself humming it in the kitchen in July. You played a gentle song first, but it didn’t suit your needs, and you moved into more aggressive basslines, your frustrations of the week unknotting themselves slowly through your music. You paused occasionally to sip your wine, and another hour or so passed in such a way, but you were not quite content, so you finished your latest glass of wine, which had become watered down by melted ice, and decided to try something different.
You closed your eyes, and banished your thoughts as much as you were able to, before you entered a sort of meditation through music. Gently at first, and slowly, your fingers began to pick out a familiar tune, the familiar intro to a song you hadn’t played in a couple of years. Not since before you moved to Ebott. The song was an old one, for you anyway; one of the very first songs that you had ever learned for yourself. It was Soilse in Darkness, also called Solace in Darkness. The irish title translated to “Light in Darkness” but you felt more inclined to the solace aspect as you began to play it in earnest. It started out light, a soft plucking melody that began high on the neck of your cello. Gradually, as your muscles remembered the tune, you began to bend the bow over the strings, bringing forth a song that began slow. The melody was carved out by your bow, a song that started low, a rhythm meant for tapping feet. It was a song that built up, and wouldn’t be complete without the pleasant harmonics that your fingers had remembered on their own. The song was warm, despite its initially slow introduction; it was just as warm to you as the bath you had climbed into only a few hours prior, or the warmth that flowed through you with each bubbly sip of wine.
Perhaps it was the alcohol, or your dreadful posture as you leaned into the back of your instrument, but you felt fuzzy; There was a pulling feeling in your chest, but you found it pleasant, as if it was beckoning you into the crescendo of the song. You leaned into it, chasing the blur in your mind that zigzagged back and forth as the tempo sped up. The song built up, faster and faster, the notes higher and higher. The melody became erratic, moving up and down the octaves of your cello, and pulling the deepest dregs of anger and resentment about your job, your week, and hell, your entire life, free of you. As the notes you carved out with your bow became staccato, you began to saw out a feverish melody that reminded you of fast twirling dancers, or perhaps a high-speed, high-danger sword fight. It decrescendoed, and slowed down to the pace of a rhythmic twirl. With your eyes still closed, the repeating melody that you descended down into seemed to cause bursts of colors behind your still closed eyes. You had begun humming it, at some point earlier without realizing it, and followed the melody of your bow, making your entire body seem to vibrate even more intensely. You moved through each movement of the song, the slower legato sections of the song soothing to you as you moved into the bridge between the raging inferno of the dance tune.
Eventually, the song approached its end, its fiery tempo slowing, and you felt the fire inside of you begin to fade as well as the song came to its end. The last notes seemed melancholy to you, but also spoke of relief. All battles come to an end after all, as do all songs and all lives. It spoke of rest between work, sadness between laughter, and it was as if your soul sighed in response, balanced in its own way. The fire was not quite out in your heart; it would burn again, both with happiness and anger, but it was tame now. By resting, relaxing, and playing music, you had found cool earth under the burning fire of your frustrations, and it served to smother the flames for a time. In the distance, under the fading echoes of your bow, you began to hear sirens. Before you could open your eyes however, your phone abruptly dinged, scaring you half to death.DING!
“Ah!” You yelped, trance snapping, as you struggled to catch your cello, which you had nearly dropped in surprise. You phone was sitting on the faux granite countertop and acoustics of the empty kitchen had magnified the sound to a startling volume. You were sad that the quiet moments after the song ended, before the spell was truly broken, had been disrupted by your phone. More importantly however, it shouldn’t have been possible. You were essentially locked down, you thought, but you wouldn’t have your answer until you got up. You tried to stand, but found yourself swaying more than you anticipated, and had to catch yourself on the arm of the couch. A glance at the wine bottle revealed why; there was only about a quarter of a bottle left. You had drunk more than you had intended in between songs, but rather than being upset with yourself, you found yourself giggling. Here you were, tripping over your cello and swaying on your feet, but you were content. Light inside. It had been a truly long time since you had had a good relaxing night in. Remembering your phone, you stood up from the arm of the couch and walked carefully to the counter.
A glance at your phone revealed how it was possible that you had been disturbed. When you had blocked your social media for the night, you had forgotten to lock down the messenger app that Sans preferred, an app called Line. Originally you had downloaded it at his suggestion, intending to put the group chat on the app, but it wasn’t compatible with Daisha or Undyne’s phones. Nonetheless, you and Sans had a text chain on the app, which you had forgotten to add to your block list. Your irritation with being interrupted was softened by the fact that you were interrupted by Sans, and also by the fact that when you glanced at your phone you were able to confirm that it had gotten rather late. It wasn’t one AM, as you had thought, but rather two AM. You decided that it was time for bed.
Seeing as you were about to shut off your drunk-mode and put your phone back to do not disturb mode instead, you decided it would be okay to read Sans’ message. Before you granted yourself that, however, you put up your cello and the remaining quarter of a bottle of wine, and rinsed the glass. Once tucked into bed, you pulled out the crochet project you had been working on and set it on your lap, before pulling up the message Sans had sent you.
Sans: *picture attached*
You snorted. Sans had a strange knack for knowing when you had had a bad day, but it wasn’t like it took a rocket scientist. Although, your drunken thoughts meandered over the idea that Sans would probably make an exceptional rocket scientist. You had seen Papyrus that afternoon, after all, and he had no doubt told Sans all about the entire nasty episode with Linda over dinner. In all honesty, you were surprised that this was the first message you had seen from him since he had texted you earlier that afternoon. You realized a moment later, of course, that he had probably been texting you all evening, like he usually did. Sure enough, there were several MMS photos in your other social media channels from him, mostly containing the pictures of cats he had been referencing in the meme he sent you. You were invisible on all of those sites still, opting to wait until the morning to read everything in your DMs and the group chat, when you were well and truly sober. The same however, did not apply to Sans. You decided to keep it short, to avoid you acting dumb despite feeling like you were sobering up.You: Thanks 😊 Had a quiet night in, am feeling a bit better. Headed to bed tho.

Sans: *picture attached* Quick as a whip, you had a reply.You giggled when you saw his reply. It was impossible that he had managed to download that meme in the split second after you answered him, so he must have already had it on his phone. You wanted, desperately, to use a question and ask him why in the world he had such a specific meme on his phone, and for just a moment you felt the heat of the alcohol in your head again. When Sans was like this you couldn’t help but find it cute. It was nice to have some company when you couldn’t sleep. Sans had claimed he was “naturally nocturnal” one of the times you had asked him, but you suspected that he had insomnia, just like you, and hoped he would be able to get some sleep tonight. At first he had blamed it on the fact that he napped a lot during the day, but Papyrus had been bickering good-naturedly with him in the group chat for the last week, teasing that maybe he needed to go back to taking naps, since staying up during the day didn’t seem to be helping him have time to clean up his socks. You found yourself thinking about the way the pale lights in his eyes twinkled when he was laughing with you, and that cute blue blush that spread across his face when he was embarrassed…
Rapidly, you sat up and rubbed your face. Your phone was open, cursor blinking on a reply to Sans. Unconsciously, you had typed out the word “why” but never finished the question. You turned off your phone screen and set it to the side, out of reach and buried your burning face in a pillow. You couldn’t risk drunk-you telling him those kinds of things. It was a risk, of starting something you weren’t sure you could follow through with. Sans was kind to you, patient, thoughtful, and sweet, and yes, he made you laugh, but that didn’t mean that he was interested in you. You told yourself firmly that you didn’t want to risk your friendship with him. You were glad that he couldn’t see your blushing face as you pushed aside the thoughts, blaming the alcohol, and put down your crochet, not even finishing a row. You closed your eyes and tried to sleep, choosing to settle your thoughts on the future rather than the past, or your face that was still warm from the alcohol and thinking about Sans. Tomorrow was a Saturday, and that meant Dungeons & Dragons at Ava’s. You would be starting early tomorrow afternoon, so that you could all head over to Grillby’s when they opened that night. It had come up in the group chat earlier in the week that the power girl band Napstablook was a part of would be playing at the bar this weekend; your friends had all agreed to go out and support them. More importantly, Chris had called the Jazz Radicals on their promise to have a night out, featuring the promised Monster Alcohol that Chris had so desperately been wanting to try. Everyone agreed to the standard rules of engagement for a night of debauchery, which involved taking John’s band van, with you as the DD. Thus, you would be in charge of wrangling the drunken herd of giant touchy-feely nerds that your friends were bound to turn into. The thought made you smile a little as you began to drift off, but it was the last meme that Sans had sent you that stayed in your mind as you fell asleep.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Alright, alright, let me do one more check guys, chill!” You giggled, as you adjusted the mirror and your seat.
You had woken up Saturday afternoon after your night of stress-drinking, and decided to throw away the frustrations of the week, along with the bottle of wine you had polished off the night before. You panicked for a moment when you woke up just a bit hungover, but had calmed down as the night came back to you, and your phone confirmed that you hadn’t sent anything stupid to any of your friends, especially San's. Once you were up for the day, it was Saturday’s business as usual, and you spent the majority of the day over at Ava’s, setting up for, and playing Dungeons and Dragons with the band.
It was close to 7pm now and D&D had ended in a splendid, chaotic way, as usual. Your friends piled into the van one by one, never stopping their ruckus and shenanigans, but it seemed like the five of you plus Momo would never make it out of the driveway. The van that you all called the “band van” was an old beat-up full size van with the back row of seats removed, so that there would be enough space to fit everyone’s instruments. Courtesy of its size, it was also the standard mode of transport for when the gang was in the mood to go to the bar. It had enough space to get everyone there and back, without requiring anyone to take a cab, so long as one of you volunteered to be the Designated Driver. As always, Chris was in the back row by himself, lounging diagonally to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling, John and Daisha were chatting together in the front row, and Ava and Momo were riding shotgun. You had checked, and double, triple, quadruple checked, that everyone had everything they needed, but John, Daisha, and Ava had all forgotten things on their first trips to the van, so you felt pretty justified in asking one last time. “Does everyone have everything they need? Wallets, ID’s, Momo’s bowl, whatever?”
“Yes, Brighid!” They all chorused mockingly.
Ava grinned, and looked back at the other three before tacking on, “If you forgot anything else, that’s your problem! We’re going to miss the opening if we don’t get! a! move! on!” She punctuated her last four words by poking you, tickling your side, which made you squirm away and giggle. You still ran a mental list as you looked through the rear-view mirror. In the bag next to Chris there were a few different card games for you all to play at the pub, everyone had gone to the bathroom ahead of time. Momo had done her business, eaten her dinner, been dressed up in ear muffs and boots, and the van was fully equipped with a case of water, several blankets and a big bottle of headache meds. The final set of items, arguably the most important, was a stack of buckets bungee corded to the inside of the van’s back door. John had no interest whatsoever in sacrificing his upholstery to the drunken debauchery of the night, especially since he was too squeamish to deal with scrubbing puke out of the microfiber seats.“Alright then, speak now or forever hold your peace, bitches!” You said. No one responded for a second, but out of the corner of your eye you saw Ava covertly gesture to Momo, and Momo howled a low note on her command, sending the whole van into a fit of giggles. Finally putting the van into reverse, you pulled out of the driveway.The drive to Grillby’s wasn’t far, but the trip was far from quiet due to everyone chatting about the shenanigans that your D&D characters had gotten into earlier, as well as planning which games to play at the bar. While Chris was focused on trying to guess which mixers would go well with Monster alcohol, and speculating about how hammered he would be later, Ava joked, “How lucky you are that you’ll have Rescue Ranger Brighid to save you in real life too!” In the campaign you all had been playing, everyone’s character except yours had failed their perception checks and fallen victim to a trap-laden bridge that sent them plummeting down into a canyon full of giant spiders. Because you had rolled well, you were able to pick off the spiders by bow while everyone else rolled to break free of the webs. Ava had pulled out all the stops with that encounter, planting a large boss at the bottom of the canyon that the party was meant to fight, but yet again you had ended up saving the group from the boss’ area of effect poison spell, leaving the Cleric and Barbarian with just enough health to take down the boss with a ludicrous attack that had since been dubbed “The Gnome Wrecking Ball”.“Maybe you wouldn’t need a Rescue Ranger if our Cleric actually knew how to heal!“ You joked, smiling at John (who played said shitty cleric) in the rearview mirror.“Hey, I know how to heal!” He argued, “But it’s a waste of spell slots if everyone has potions, you’ve got antidotes, and I can kill the boss by throwing Chris at it!”“He’s got a point,” Chris chimed in from the back row, grinning wickedly. “How long did it take you to plan that encounter again, Ava?”
She grimaced exaggeratedly. “Apparently not long enough. I’m still thinking about banning The Gnome Wrecking Ball.” Ava threatened lightly, before adding on, “Or maybe I’ll ensure that the next leg of the campaign includes monsters that are immune to non-magical damage.”“I would argue that next time I throw Chris I should get to add my proficiency bonus, since next time it will be something that I’ve done before,” retorted John, who grinned mischievously.“Yeah, and what if I cast a blessing on Chris’ gnome barbarian? Would that make him a magical improvised weapon?” Daisha added excitedly.
Ava groaned, and replied, “So help me gods above, I will make you all start with pre-gens next time if you start these shenanigans on me.”“Aw come on Ava, at least it's not a tentacle monster from the underdark that cleans up corpses.” You shot back, alluding to one of the first campaigns that Ava had ever run, which took place at a game shop in the city a few years ago. It had been hilariously derailed by an acquaintance of yours that had joined the campaign, and given Ava several months worth of headaches. You smirked when she huffed and looked out the window away from you. “It was allowed in the rule book! I could not say no to him!” Ava said, throwing her hands up dramatically to illustrate her frustration. As you drove, the conversation gradually shifted to planning an in-depth drinking game for everyone else to play while at the bar, and you habitually tuned them out. You weren’t unhappy being the designated driver, and seeing your friends silly drunk was always entertaining for you, but their conversation had little appeal to you, and besides, you had other things on your mind. You actually felt pretty good about your plans for the evening with everyone, and you were looking forward to watching Napstablook play, but thinking about watching a monster band play at the bar made you think about San's. You were looking forward to playing some cards with everyone, but a little voice in your mind wouldn’t stop reminding you that the chances of running into San's at the bar were pretty high. You cringed inwardly for a moment, and thanked all the gods you could think of for the fact that you hadn’t sent him any embarrassing texts last night. That was enough for you to easily decide that after your one woman bottle of wine last night, you weren’t in the mood to drink again anytime soon.  It was funny, in a way, that you could remember being the bane of John’s existence back when he was the usual DD. Two years ago, you wouldn’t have believed that one day you would be “the sober friend” and actually kind of enjoy it. It was nice to be relied on, and to know that your friends were going to be able to have a safe and fun evening thanks to you. Since it was a safe bet that you would be crashing on Ava’s couch after driving everyone home, you had made sure to wear practical shoes, and dress in something warm and comfortable to go out in. You had packed a pair of pajamas to sleep in as well. You also had your most current crochet project in your bag, sitting on top of your soft pajamas; You had even remembered to pack your earbuds, since John usually snored so loud that you could hear it through the walls. The drive slipped by even quicker than you had expected, and the next thing you knew, you were pulling up to the curb in the Grillby’s parking lot. John wrenched open the sliding door on the side of the van, and Ava and Momo hopped out of the passenger side as soon as you rolled to a stop. It only took seconds for everyone to file out and get in line at the door, saving you a spot while you found a place to park the massive van; somewhere safe, where it wouldn’t make it hard for anyone else to pull out of the parking lot. You locked the doors and tossed the keys in your bag, managing to easily catch up with everyone before they were let in. Though it wasn’t as packed as it had been when you had performed, there was still a line running down the curb for a bit. You assumed the shorter line was due to the fact that the band wouldn’t be going on for at least an hour and the dinner rush was still in full swing. You were pleasantly surprised to see that the bouncers greeted you all with a warmth that wasn’t shown to too many other humans. As you all got to the door and showed your IDs, the bouncers pulled out a purple stamp with the letters VIP and a crown decal on them and rang a small bell that you had seen sitting on the guard station, but never seen them use before. Ava had mentioned that she had called the pub earlier that week and reserved the upper lounge for you all, just to ensure you would have a table to play cards at, but they seemed determined to give you the full VIP treatment, as the bell apparently summoned Venus to greet you at the door.“Welcome back guys! Thanks for coming to support the band, I know they are suuuuper excited to get to play for humans for the first time! I know you reserved the big table up top, but since you were the only ones who made a reservation it looks like you’ll have the balcony to yourselves!” She waved you up the stairs where you had seen the dogs hanging out once before, and clicked a velvet rope behind you, closing the VIP lounge off to the public. You turned back and said thanks, but Venus just smiled and said, “It’s nothing, really!” before giving you a wave and hurrying back to the kitchen. She seemed to almost flicker between empty tables, and what seemed like only a second later, you saw her back disappear through the swinging kitchen doors, the empty tray that she had been holding when she greeted you, now miraculously stacked with all the empty plates that had littered the tables in her path. “Wow, Venus is one hell of a waitress…” You murmured in awe, before turning back to climb the stairs. By the time you got up there, your friends were settled down at a large balcony table closest to the railing, which had an amazing view of the stage and bar. You couldn’t help but grin as you sat your bag down at one of the empty seats, since your friends were all staring at you expectantly, waiting for you to signal the start of the night’s shenanigans. You stretched your arms back behind your chair, and sighed, before turning your smile to maximum wattage and addressing everyone.“Okay, you guys know the rules. Glass of water first, and food, then you are at the mercy of the booze gods.” You looked at your friends and smirked. “If you vomit it all up then you owe everyone ten dollars. You know what to say if you need an out, no more alcohol if you hurl, and all that good stuff that you all are always telling me about staying safe. That being said, it's time to hand over your brain cells and let the debauchery begin!” You rattled off the group's time-honored drinking policy to your friends, while they all grinned, and began making and taking bets on the fall-out order. It was something you all had done dozens of times together at this point, but the fact that the alcohol of choice tonight was a brand new, never before experienced variety of monster alcohol, meant that everyone was a bit giddy with excitement at the novelty. Once the bets were made, everyone handed over their IDs, debit cards, and food orders and you trotted over to the stairs, notebook in hand, and headed down past the velvet rope to set up everyone’s tabs. Although you knew that Venus would appear in a heartbeat if you pressed the VIP buzzer on the side of the table, she looked busy as she flitted about the floor below the balcony, and you wanted to see if you could talk to Grillby, at least to say hello for the night.The pub was transitioning out of dinner mode and getting ready for the show, evidenced by the diners trickling out, while more and more monsters and humans took seats at the cocktail tables adjacent to the pub’s small dance floor. The ratio of monsters to humans was a lot more even than it had been at The Jazz Radical’s show, which made you feel happy, but was also pretty annoying in terms of being a petite lady trying to push her way through a throng of pre-gamed college students. It seemed as though humans had a particular inability, or aversion, to moving out of the way and not blocking walkways, but, the monsters between you and the bar seemed to have a sixth sense for avoiding humans and after a few minutes of tapping your foot and trying to get through to the bar, only to be constantly blocked by drunken humans, a pale blue, feathered bird monster at the edge of the bar beckoned for you to take their place, as they hopped down from their bar stool. You squeezed into the seat, and flashed them a grateful smile, which they returned, before turning your attention to the bar, to try and wave down a bartender.  You could see Grillby tending the bar at the far end of the counter, but no matter how much you wanted to chat with him, you assumed it was impossible because of the rush. To your surprise however, Grillby spotted you out of the corner of his eye, and managed to flawlessly maneuver in between his barbacks until he was standing in front of you, grinning charmingly. A young male bartender had been about to take your order, but as soon as Grillby murmured something to him, he headed to Grillby’s recently vacated position, and began serving the masses at the far end of the bar without complaint. You smiled up at the large fire elemental, genuinely happy to see him again. “Talk about VIP treatment! Grillby himself is going to take my order? If that’s all it takes to get your attention, we’ll have to start booking more often,” you joked, and Grillby crackled with laughter. “Hardly,” He said grinning, “Only the VIPs I like get my personal attention. Besides, how else was I going to get the chance to ask you if you’d want to play here again? I suppose I could have called, but why miss an opportunity to do business in person?”At that, it was your turn to laugh. “Of course, of course, you are certainly a businessman. But we’re not here as The Jazz Radicals tonight. We may be VIPs because Ava booked the lounge, but otherwise we’re just your usual run of the mill patrons.”“I suppose,” he conceded, before grinning wryly, “but you’re still returning patrons who I know won’t cause any major property damage, won’t harass my waitresses, and won’t vomit on the lounge’s upholstery. That on its own means I like you better than most.”You knew when you were beaten, so you simply laughed before answering him. “How about I come in another day, before the dinner rush, so we can drink coffee and work out the details of our next performance? Sound good?”“Sounds good,” he said, his eyes twinkling good-naturedly. “Business has been trending upward since we booked you. I’ve had humans and monsters alike ask me when you all would be playing again. I’ll look forward to that talk. With that settled, what can I do for you tonight?”“I’d like to get a tab started for each member of the band. We came back as paying customers this time around so that everyone could try the Monster Alcohol we talked about last time, and because Ava was craving the pub’s onion rings. We all pay our own tabs,” you told him, as you handed over the pile of debit cards and IDs to the monster, who nodded, fire crackling. “And what about you? Am I correct in assuming you won’t be drinking?” “Indeed I won’t. I’m the Designated Driver for the night.”“What a responsible thing to do!" He said warmly. "As DD, we offer free sodas all night long so you don't feel left out. Also, you may be interested to learn that we now offer cups with lids, on a suggestion from Venus. If you need help or anything just let me know, my dear. I’m sure I have a few spare hands we can allow you to borrow.” His glance flickered to the rowdy college kids behind you, where a fight had broken out amongst the restless drunks, and the sound of a breaking glass echoed from somewhere on the far side of the dance floor. Grillby’s fire crackled a little bit, but you could tell that he was happy about business, even if there were some problem customers.“Sounds like you’re needed,” you said apologetically, “But thank you so much for chatting with me. Those cups with lids sound like a great idea for once the boys get sloshed, so let's plan on having all of the band’s drinks in those. For now, I’ll take a sprite in a closed lid cup, and then I’ll get out of your flames.”“My dear, you’re far too kind. I wish more of my patrons had a quarter of your sense and common decency. But you are right, catastrophe calls. Here’s your soda for now; Venus will be up with everyone’s food and drinks in around ten minutes. Once things calm down, I’ll come up and say hello.”You entrusted Grillby with your carefully penciled list of orders, pulling the page out of your notebook, before you began weaving your way back through the crowd. It was much easier to leave the bar than it had been to reach it, so in just a few seconds you were able to maneuver back through the crowd. A smattering of applause broke out as sound checks started, but a glance at your phone told you that the band still had 30 minutes before they went on. You couldn’t see the stage through the gaggle of drunks that were being pulled apart by the bouncers, a realization that caused a spike of anxiety to bolt through you. Decidedly finished with the entire concept of being alone on the floor of a packed bar, you turned and headed back up the stairs.  Your anxiety dissipated a bit once you reached the top of the stairs and saw all your friends turn to you with smiles. Calming your breathing, you took your seat and Chris dealt you in for the next round of Joking Hazard. A few minutes passed before a young human waitress made her way up to your table to deliver everyone’s drinks that had been poured at the bar into their lidded cups, as well as a round of water. You had barely finished one full round of cards when Venus, managing a tray laden with delicious greasy bar food, appeared at the top of the stairs. You all set your cards to the side and laid into your food with all the patience of a pack of wolves; Chris alone polished off three orders of onion rings, a plate of mozzarella sticks, and a basket of deep-fried pickles, which unfortunately did nothing to dissuade the young waitress who was eyeing him like a piece of meat. When the young human waitress returned to the table to collect all the emptied plates and refill everyone’s drinks, she delivered a napkin with her name and number written on it to Chris, which meant that the band had endless fuel with which to tease him for the rest of the evening as the games of cards went on.With everyone’s food eaten, and everyone’s first cup of water finished, it officially became time for the drinking to begin. Chris, unsurprisingly, was the first to order, and when he pressed the buzzer, he was delighted to learn that Grillby had assigned his newest bartender, the same one who had tried to take your order earlier at the bar, to the lounge for the night. The bartender quickly took up residence at the mini-bartending station in the lounge and got to work making drinks. Though you hadn’t tried monster alcohol, and weren’t sure that you wanted to, you had tried monster food, and you watched your friends’ reactions carefully as they all lifted their first shots to their mouths. Their expressions were like an open book. First, everyone except Chris grimaced, which meant that the alcohol burned. Then smiles spread on their faces, only to be replaced a fraction of a second later with confusion. “It disappeared in your mouth before you could swallow, huh?” you asked.“How did you know?!” Ava responded, before narrowing her eyes. “You haven’t been coming here on your days off and getting trashed on monster booze, right?”“What?! No! Last time we performed, remember how I was sitting at the bar with San's? I didn’t believe that he was really drinking ketchup so he offered me a sip, and one, yes, he really drinks ketchup, and two, it did the thing you just experienced. He said it’s because magic absorbs directly into your body as soon as you put it in your mouth. That’s why he can eat and drink without food awkwardly falling out of his stomach.”“Good,” Ava said, “I was just teasing, but I’m glad you haven’t started visiting bars alone again. That’s no way to enjoy alcohol. Well, it’s weird that it disappeared, but hey at least it shouldn’t mess up my stomach in that case.”“You know if you ever want to come out and do this again, I can DD next time,” John chimed in. “We appreciate you coming out with us and dealing with our bullshit y’know?”“Ha, I know John. Thanks for the offer, but I’m good for now. Now stop worrying about me! The band will be starting soon, and you had a bunch of drinking games you wanted to play didn’t you?”“That’s right!” Chris replied, cutting John off. “We know the band is called ‘Spectral Evolution’ but we don’t even know what genre they are. However! We do know Napstablook is a big nerd, so my bet is on them opening with a song from an anime or a video game.”“I’ll take that bet!” Daisha replied, quick as a whip, “I don’t think you should generalize all monsters as nerds.”“Good, then you don’t have a problem taking a shot for any and every geek reference they make right?” He replied, smiling evilly. “I do not,” Daisha said, “As long as you’re willing to take a shot for every original/non-nerd song they play.” Chris quickly agreed and thus the first drinking competition began, just in time for the lights in the bar to dim down, causing your friends to finally quiet down. You all had a perfect view of the stage, where the three piece band Spectral Evolution stood, ready to begin. “It's great to see you all tonight!” The lead singer, a mermonster with long hair covering half of her face, said into the mic. “I’m Shyren, and we are... Spectral Evolution!”  Napstablook, who you recognized, was to her left, positioned behind a large synthesizer with a variety of odd pedals you didn’t recognize, while a large seahorse monster was seated at the drum kit behind her. Their introduction finished, Spectral Evolution began playing a very, very familiar tune. As a cello player, you would recognize "L'amour est un oiseau rebelle", better known as Carmen Habanera, anywhere. Your friends looked shocked when Shyren took up the soprano vocals that they all knew far too well, but their surprise turned to amazement when Napstablook started pressing various buttons and pedals, giving the song layers. Once the drums picked up and the synthesizer took over, you suddenly realized that they were performing a dubstep cover of the opera classic. “Well it's not from an anime,” you said, turning your gaze to Chris.“True, but they did use it in that one episode of Courage the Cowardly Dog,” Chris retorted. “But I know, I know, I’ll take the shot.” He kicked back the shot, and gulped reflexively, even though he knew that the alcohol had already dissipated in his mouth. Your friends listened to the band play as they dealt out a hand of Uno. The game played on through a few more songs, with your friends pausing to take shots or egg each other on, as a dubstep remix of The Lost Woods, and the Game of Thrones Intro played, but when they dealt the third hand you tapped out. The thrumming electric sound of the band playing made it nearly impossible to talk to your friends, but judging by how they had splayed out around the table, you could tell from a glance that they were pretty sloshed anyway. One way or another, it was hot in the lounge, no doubt from the crowd packed in on the floor below, and you felt yourself getting anxious. Hoping to distract yourself, you reached into your bag, intending to pull out your crochet project for a while to keep yourself distracted, but instead you found yourself looking at your phone. You had expected to see San's by now, since he had said he would come if he could make it, but you hadn’t seen him when you’d been down on the floor, and couldn’t spot him from the balcony when you looked. You didn’t have any new messages, which only made you more fidgety, and you didn’t want to seem weird and desperate by texting him if he wasn’t even in the bar. Mind made up, you decided you needed some air.
A flash of green light passing by renewed you with some hope of reaching an exit sooner before the walls closed ever further in.

“Hey, I hate to ask but can you help me get outside to step out for a bit? I need to step out for air, like now.” Venus green fire flickered a moment, then the young bartender monster nodded in understanding, calling out to another waiter to take over the tray she was holding in her arms. With a warm hand she grabbed your own hand, tugging you along behind the bar giving Grillby a passing wave when he seemed to raise some flames in an imitation of a raising an eyebrow at her when you passed on by.

“Since everyone has been so nice to us and welcoming us into the community, me and Grillby want to make sure that your group is welcome and treated like family here! So, let the others know if they ever need to get some air they are more than welcome to come out here.” Venus waved a flame arm and let your hand go at the small fenced in employee patio. There were plenty of soft single chairs that could hold up to the elements (both weather and monster kind) and a table with an umbrella to give cover from the rain.  When you asked for help you didn’t expect this kindness from someone you had only known for a few weeks, any haven’t had many personal conversations with.

“I don’t know what to say Venus, I am so happy to hear that you two feel that way.” You smiled warmly at the fire elemental who squealed softly, clapping her hands together before reaching in and giving you a large squeeze around the shoulders. She was warm, and her fires didn’t burn your skin. You finally had that thought while you hugged. In fact, it felt like her body was made from a firm lava and the fires were her “skin”. Caught off guard you squeaked giving her a pat on the back as she let go.

“Alright I got to head back, just call if you need me!” With a wave the monster bounced back into the pub leaving you out in the lit area blinking. Well that was unexpected, it made you laugh, brightened your mood a bit, and easing the mounting anxiety as you took a seat at the empty table.

It was a circle so you could sit next to someone on the bench. The table was a solid wood that had a shiny finish that showed in the soft lights of the tea lights inside of the umbrella. Taking a deep breath of chirp autumn air, you pulled out your yarn and the hook pulled on the end of the yarn so that it would unwind easily as you worked. You just wanted some air, enjoy the quiet hum from the music as it filtered through the kitchen into the patio and reverberated throughout the walls from the boxed in break area. It made it so that even you could hear any music or acts that were going on without it being too loud. It was perfect for just being able to zone out and rest.

Slip knot made and looped onto the hook you pulled the yarn over and started a foundation chain going until you felt like you had it long enough before stopping. Quietly counting under your breath, you counted the loops on the chain, making sure it was even and then paused to think about what kind of stitch you wanted to make. This was just a cheap fiddle with yarn, it changed colors from dark blues to light and back again. You just wanted something you could fiddle with, so you shrugged one that you could slip into the rhythm that you can just do automatically with your hands allowing your brain to zone out. Looping the yarn around your hook once you slipped it into your starting chain and started to get to work.

“is this seat taken? you look a bit

bone

ly out here.” The chucking baritone of San's pulls you back to reality while you jump a little bit. Twisting Snapping your head up and twisting around you looked back at San's, who was doing his best to look innocent in the doorway light from the kitchen. As the door closed behind him and blocked out the loud banging and clanging of the kitchen in return to a low city background rumble.

Glancing down at your hands you found that you had worked a good few dozen rows now. Now that he was under a softer light, he looked more tired than he did inside at the bar, you noted when you finally looked back up at him. The small dips under his eyes looked ashy color around a more normal white for San's bones. He was wearing his blue hoodie with the hood down and the front sized up so you could see just the start of his shirt, it was a bad yellow color, and some black and white gym shorts and shoes. You guess he had to like gym shorts, or maybe he just had a hard time finding pants that would fit him? You didn’t know so you waved that thought away.

“W-well I don’t know

Sir

I just don’t know if you will find such a seat in this

packed

patio.” You stumbled out your reply trying to be coe when San's coughed then took a sip from the large bottle of ketchup, San’s paused mid sip and just gave you an unreadable look, his eye light looking right at you from where he had turned his head up to take a sip.

Right before you could start to do anything to correct yourself San’s reanimated, snorting back a half coughing bark of laugh before sitting down pulling a plate of warm fries from.. somewhere. You felt a knot you didn’t notice before release when you made him snort, but you moved your bag over a bit to give San's some room to place his drink down without all your stuff sprawling all over the place. In doing so you started to undo all your rows on your work and wrapped the yarn all the way back up to the slip knot. Now it was once again a blank slate for you to work with.

Sitting down next to you, San's let out a sigh and sat his drink down capping it so you didn’t have to smell ketchup, and by the way how it looked more liquid then normal ketchup and the brief sent of booze it seems like San's was drinking but he didn’t walk or talk like he was drunk, just buzzed.

“well what do you know, seems like i found a seat after all.” San's retort made you snort a little bit as you settled back down into your seat to relax again. You hadn’t expected anyone to come out here but you didn’t know how long you had been gone, you had only made a half dozen rows when San's came outside so it could not have been anything less than an hour at the very most you were out here. It felt nice to move a bit after sitting for so long. San's offered a fry to you and taking it you popped it into your mouth.

“Lucky you, so what’s up San's?”

“nothing much, just thought i would get some air is all.” San's lifted his hands up in a shrug. “can’t get enough of it since it just blows right through me!”

“Hahaha, okay even I think that was a bad joke.” But it had you laughing as you talked all the same with an easy smile.

“so, what about you?” You picked at the yarn to have something to do as you crossed your legs

“Needed some air myself, it got pretty crowded in there and just with all the noise I needed to step away.” You watched San's pick up the yarn, plucking it before letting it go and reaching for his drink again.

“and that?”

“Crochet, it’s kind of like knitting but with one stick rather than two.” You held up the yard to the light so San's could get a better look along with your hook. “Use it to fidget, find it just as relaxing, and you know making some comfy as fuck blankets and things is a plus, and I can take it almost anywhere.” You started to chain a few loops keeping your hands slow so you could talk to San’s without too much issue with your brain trying to work and talk at the same time. San took a drink and let the conversation lull for a moment watching your hands with a relaxed look to his eye lights.

“heh that is pretty neat.” The conversation lulled again and honestly you appreciated that San's could pick up the conversation and let it lull when needed around you and you in turn didn’t feel the need to

keep

talking to fill that void.. It was weird how attuned he was into that part of your personality, but you shrugged it off mentally, it’s not like you're hard to read.  “so, didn’t hear anything about dumpling so i guess that went okay huh?”

“It went great, it’s always better when we get sweets. But Toriels are like hella good, 10/10 will be taking leftovers home again.” Shrugging with one shoulder you glanced at him with a small smirk.

“it does seem you have a sweet tooth for toriel’s baking.” His smile curled up a little bit higher.

“I mean can you even blame me? I’m sure you have had some of her cooking, how could I not have a craving for that motherly kind of cooking. Like that is a rare kind of commonalty I’m tella ya.” You defended your sweet tooth using your whole work to talk a little bit when you got excited. Watching San’s smile grew like the cat who caught the mouse.

“you know if you like her cooking so much you could

always

just ask her yourself you know, just like i said before.”

“W-what? Come on San's, you already know how I feel about that.” You mumbled hunching down a little bit glancing at your work, before giving San's the side eye. “You can’t blackmail me into learning by tempting me with being able to make baller cookies any time I want.” You defended yourself on your stance once again giving a nod to the monster next to you who was chuckling silently at you.

“alright alright, i won’t blackmail you…” He paused making sure you were looking at him before grinning with an eat shit grin. Puffing out your cheeks you pouted and looked away from him with a small huff, you then felt one of your puffed-out cheeks being poked and his own chuckling when you squeaked.  “for now.”

“Anywayyyyy, but can I just say that Dumplings training is outstanding.” You could feel your cheeks burning, that must be from the cold, yep just the cold  so you changed back to the first question. “Like most people are lucky if they can get the puppy to even go to the bathroom in the right place. However, Papyrus was able to get Dumpling to do that and a whole bunch of other stuff. Also found out dogs could talk to other dogs so that also you know, made my day better.” You gushed about how proud you were of his brother, San got a dopey smile on his face and relaxed into the table taking a long swing of his drink.

“yeah my bro is just the best at trying new things. to be honest i think he is mostly happy about frisk asking him for help first before anyone else, you should have seen how his face lit up!” San in turn gushed about his younger brother, and you can’t really blame him anymore after meeting Papyrus in person finally.

“I think I can picture it. If he does not listen to what my boss told him today, then Dumpling should be clearing the underground according to Papyrus like he has to in a few months. That is, I am assuming that the amount of and I quote “traps and puzzles” that you guys have that he needs to be able to pass?” You left the question hanging in the air and San's just shrugged a shoulder while you snagged another fry.

“what can i say we monsters like our puzzles. so, what about your boss saying the wrong thing to my brother?” San's questioned his voice, gaining the barest hint of steel.

“I would not say “wrong”.” You sighed and rubbed your forehead, setting your project down. “And no I’m not irritated at you asking, just irritated at my boss, before you ask... Mind if I get up and walk in a circle, I need to move a bit, being sitting for a while.” You pushed yourself up as San simply took a long drink from his drink, found that it was empty and pulled out another one from his jacket... Maybe his ketchup was like beer in a way, you could picture that in a way. So as you slowly walked around the table stretching your arms out first wiggling your fingers.

“My boss is the type of person who thinks that she is right, always and if she was wrong it was not because of her willful ignorance but rather blames it on the others around her for the way they behave. Or, in short, a massive Boomer Karren. Remind me later to send you the memes if you don’t understand.” You paused leaning over to San's left to stretch out your back at the hips tilting your head a bit.

“sounds like she is just a joy to be around.” San nodded, taking another sip from his drink as you stood back up stretching your arms all over your head before crossing your arms.

“Just a

peach

, so to her she feels inferior and upstaged by Papyrus who not only is a new dog owner, a monster, someone of importance of social standing

and

who is already Dumpling so well trained?  She likes to make herself either the martyr, master caregiver, or a fucking saint in the eyes of people she can to make herself feel better when she is not the all knowing tec she claims to be.”

“huh, what a bitch.” Sans chuckled, smirking at you when you giggled as you walked around the table finishing another round. He was not stopping you, so you waved an arm and rolled your eyes, getting a little more animated in your movements. It felt,

really,

nice to vent to San's in person, it made something in your chest feel a little funny so you pushed it away as quick as your silly brain allowed it.

“You're telling me. I work over 40 hours a week; it took me over a year to just be able to have my weekends free again from her. She thinks because I don’t have a family at my age then I have all the time in the world. Oh and just to make it all worse on top of everything else this fucking week she decided that me getting along with Papyrus and Frisk, along with speaking in Hands to them made her think I was trying to upstage her and make her look stupid.”

By now you were fuming, arms crossed over your chest and face turned down in a scowl all the pent up emotions from the past week coming out. “I been doing so damn well with not using drinking as a way to destress after work, but she had to go and fucking…” You had started to circle again rubbing your face to make the scowl go away but just as you passed San's your foot caught onto one of the legs of the bench that you had misplaced your foot pitching you forward when you stubbed your toe.  You flung out an arm to steady yourself from tripping all the way by holding onto San's shoulders, throwing one arm out.

This was just great, just really great, tears welled up in your eyes as you held your foot off the ground shaking it out. You angrily sniffed, hands darting up to scrub at your eyes harshly angry at your own hubris in thinking you could get away with complaining without something happening. “And now look she is still making me cry even with her not being here. Ug! Is dòcha gu bheil thu air do shàrachadh le itch agus nach eil ìnean agad airson sgrìobadh leis!” Hissing the last part, you finally let go of San's shoulder, your foot still stung but it was not that bad just the shock of it all making it seem worse than it really was.

The whole time that you had tripped, grabbed a hold of him and let go all while angry scrubbing at your face and cursing in your mother’s tongue San's was still for about a second but when you grabbed a hold of his shoulder he simply put his bottle to the side and even leaned into you a bit so you had a more stable person to hold on to. As you rambled and fixed yourself up he gave you an understanding of an almost sage like expression to his skull. Once you had settled a bit and had a moment to breathe, he finally moved by taking off his jacket.

“here looks like you could use this.” You looked at the jacket confused before you felt the shiver running down your shoulders and arms from the cold. Looks like you had been so inside of your own head you didn’t realize now that you had got up and moved that you were cold. You looked at the door again that led back into the bar. You could just go inside and get your own jacket but that would require too much effort to do at the moment. “not like I need it. I’m just all bones after all.”

The joke made your turned down lips twitch up in a smile, slipping on the jacket over your shoulders. It was warm, more so thanks to San's body heat it seems, you didn’t know where he had been pulling bottles out from because you didn’t find any in the pockets since you shoved your hands in there to warm them up, the mystery continues it seems.

“Thanks... guess I got carried away there with the time and didn’t realize I was cold.” You explained giving your face another wipe before making your way to sit back down sitting backwards down onto the bench.

PIFFFFBFBFBFBFBFBFBbabbabhffffff

Everything was still for a single moment as you froze, processing both the sound and the feel of something under your butt being squished under your body. San was trying to look innocent sipping slowly on his drink looking away from you as if he had nothing to do with the toy being placed under your ass. You stared at San's with a look of shock and disbelief and the quick heating of your cheeks. But then you snorted, took a sharp breath and snorted again, unable to hold back your giggles at the whole situation you had found yourself in. San's  eyes lights brighten at the first snort and before long he was joining you in your giggles.

“Well, if your intentions was to cheer me up it worked.” You spoke between giggles, giving back the whoopi toy back to San's, how beamed his smile over at you and polished off the last of his drink. When you stood up to sit properly rather than backwards you found that San's had pulled out another bottle but somehow you could not figure out how he was doing that. “Okay, you have to tell me how you are doing that.”

“doing what Brighid?” San tried doing his best to look innocent in what you were asking him, you just gave him a silent glare for a moment, not buying the act for a moment from him.

“You know damn well what I was asking San's. Come on you can’t just keep pulling ketchup bottles out of thin air without me asking. So how are you doing that.” You watched San open up the drink and take a sip and shrugged, still grinning at you.

“It's a secret.”

“And I think that is a big fat lie but fine, but fine keep your secrets. I didn’t want to know how you do cool stuff anyway.” Picking up one of the empty bottles you gave it a closer once over and even sniffed it gagging a little bit at the smell of booze and Ketchup. “How on earth are you even able to drink this stuff? And don’t say magic…” You pointed the bottle at San's cutting his answer off before he could make the same joke again.

“eh, what can I say, I can't get enough of it.” San chuckled while you groaned, laying your head down on the table. “I would offer you a sip but you said that you didn’t drink in public.”

“Yep, and I don’t think I would want to anyway, I think I might puke it back up but thanks for thinking about it.” When you settled down properly again, you checked the time and made a note to go back into the bar in about 15 minutes. There was a lull in the conversation as you paused to listen to the hum of one of the more louder songs muffled by the walls.  You nodded your head along to the beat until it ended humming a little bit.

“hey Brighid, so I know you mentioned that you don’t drink in public but can I ask why?”

“…” You paused your humming, looking over at San's before closing your eyes and letting out a sigh. You didn’t really want to go into it but you had an idea. “Do you want to use that as your question?” You shot back at San's time to get revenge on him from earlier this week.

“i…hmm.” San's seems to make light of your question but he had a calculation going on in the lights of his eyes. “Yeah, as long as you are okay with sharing.” You gave him a little sad smile but nodded in agreement to answer his question. He seemed to let you take a moment to gather your thoughts before speaking, as your hands started a new crochet project for you to fiddle with as you talk. When you were ready you started to speak keeping your eyes on your hands, San's watching you work as he listened.

“Well, I am not proud of it but I used to use drinking as a way to cope with a really bad relationship I was in, and for the stress of the situation.” You started your voice even. “My ex at the time would also get me to drink way too much when we were out, and we went drinking all the time. I was drinking to the point of blacking out almost every day. When I started to have issues with my ex and I started to get wise how unhealthy both our relationship was and with my drinking I tried to stop drinking as much. I still did, um drink, and started having memory issues when I did. One night when I was out with my ex, he got really upset that I didn’t want to drink anymore than I already had that night with a bunch of people we knew, and we got into a fight. I went to the bathroom to text Ava to come get me.”

You needed to pause feeling a lump form in the pit of your throat making it hard to talk to. “….When I came out it turns out that Ava already sent Chris my way, and… he happened to come in right as my ex was putting something into my drink.” Taking a shuddering breath you bore your eyes into the yarn as you made the next stitch. Holding your breath for a minute San's let you take a moment to compose yourself before going on. You thought about telling the whole truth that it was not the first time you found out your ex did that when he was upset with you, but you didn’t want to share that. It made you feel sick with embarrassment from letting yourself get into that kind of situation.

“After that, I haven’t been able to trust a drink that I left behind or drink in public. But that was over a year ago, so I just stay as the DD.” You finished your last stitch and tied it off cutting the string turning to face San's. When you did you jumped a little in your seat, his skull lights were gone, his smile now turned down into a scowl. Before you could think that he was upset at you he blinked taking in a deep breath setting a new half finished bottle down so that you didn’t see him get out again.

“is it alright if I hug you?” He asked his voice even and calm but it made something in your chest squirm happily so you nodded before you even had time to think. The next moment you were pulled into a side hug with one bone arm keeping you close and squeezing you gently for a moment. “damn, that’s… stars that are rough Brighid.” Was all San said for a while and while you were flustered it felt nice in the hug, at least he didn’t blame you for not being not careful enough or a buzz kill. You could not help but adjust your head so that it was laying more commutable on San's shoulder, the warmth from his jacket and bones made the bite of the fall air a bit more bearable to be outside longer. “i guess that explains why ava gave you a look last week when you ordered your drink.” You chuckled at San's low sad chuckle but you gave him a weak smile.

“Yep, but on the upside that moment made me realize what was wrong in my life and I am much better for it. But thank you for listening to my answer.” You leaned away for a moment holding up the small bracelet that you had made with a simple pattern taking San's hand and slipping it over. “And thanks for being a good friend. You didn’t have to listen to me this whole time or come out here San's. I really appreciate it.”

“heh, hey now Brigit don’t get yourself

twisted

now, I don’t want you in

knots

over something like that now don’t ya?” you can't help but groan, throwing your head back a smile stretching on your cheeks more than San's more serious mood shifting back into his joker attitude at your smile holding up your gift to the light to look at it.

“I really should have seen the puns coming.” You sighed, turning your head to look at San rolling your eyes, San's chuckled at you again letting silence fall between you two again happily for now. San tilted his head back to look up at the sky, slowly sipping from his drink.

You found your anxiety ebb away a bit just listening to San's breathing so you leaned into the hug that you where still in, fuck it and adjusted your self so you leaned some more of your weight into his side, surprised at how full he felt through his shirt without his jacket. You felt him go still for a moment before relaxing. Just as you were truly enjoying the hug not even minding that it should have ended a bit ago, a loud and reverberating bang from the door being swung open making you jump away from San's turning to face whoever opened the door like that.

“Bitch!” Ava called out in a loving sing-song voice from the doorway a smile that spoke that she saw you hugging San's. “Nice jacket~” She hummed looking over the hoodie that covered your shoulders making your flush and quickly remove it and hand it back to San's with a mumbled thank you.  “Anyway, wanted to come get you we are about to play Super Fight.”

“Alright be there in a moment.” Ava gave you a wink before walking back into the building giggling. Both you and San sat in silence for a moment, but you cleared your throat as you started to stand up to go back inside.

“…hey San's. Do you want to join us tonight? We are going to be playing some card games that I think you might get a kick out of.” You offered rocking back on your heels looking at San's properly, ignoring the heat you felt on your cheeks and his own flush cheek bones.

“yeah yeah friend, that sounds like a good time.” San agreed after a moment acting as if he was not embarrassed by Ava as well.  San agreed, making you smile as the two of you head inside to rejoin the group together.

Turns out San's was really good at card games, and when the betting started for the loser to buy a round of shots you found out that San's was really good at holding both his shots and winning the game. Since you were the DD you got chosen to be the judge for a lot of the rounds that require it and almost everyone you had picked San's cards, it was almost like he knew just what to say to make you laugh. More than once you had caught San's watching how you responded to his cards or how you had to hold your breath from cracking up in the dead tone you tried to read the cards in before a snort broke your stern face.

Every time that you laughed you missed the bright look in San's eyes but your friends didn’t but since they were drunk they forgot it just as quickly as another game started. Porker was your worst card game and if you were betting money you would have been broke but since this was just buying another round of shots the group took pity after three rounds of you losing and called it a night with that, San's jumping in on the ribbing with your friend’s easy and natural that it didn’t make you feel about it. Soon as the night wore on the games slowed down as each one of you drifted into focusing on your own thing longer and longer, you faintly noticed that the conversation had turned to DND as San questioned the rest of the group on what it was and some of the stories they had from the afternoon.

The last call finally came around 1 in the morning, jolting you from the knot you had been focused on working on for the last few minutes. Glancing around at the now much emptier bar you then glanced back at your charges to gauge just how drunk everyone was. Chris and John were looking like they were just starting to yawn, Daisha was giggling at something on her phone while Ava was making heart eyes at her husband fully smashed. Lastly, you glanced over at San's who was, full out sleeping with light snoring filtering down the table.

“Alright people, time to pack up, I want you all to finish your glass of water right now.” You called out to everyone watching them groan but obeyed you and started to finish whatever glass of water they had in front of them. “I’m going to go take care of your tabs, be back in a few minutes.” You chuckled and took the small card pile down to the main bar where the fire elemental himself was tending to the last few pub people.

“Brighid, it seems like your group had fun tonight am I correct,” Grillby commented as he started to ring out everyone one by one. “I assume you are taking them home, my dear?” You nodded fighting back a small yawn of your own putting away each card once the monster bartender was done with them.

“Yep,  we did have a lot of fun, but I think San fell asleep from trying to outshot Chris.” You chuckled but you worried at your lip, humming a little bit in the back of your throat. “Is anyone going to come to pick him up?” You asked hoping that San was not just going to walk or heavens worse drive home.

“I should be able to call Papyrus but that will take him a while to come down.” The flame monster crackled tilting his head to the side.

“You know, I already have to take my group of drunk ducklings’ home, I can save Papyrus some gas and just drop San's off, it's on my way home to pass by the Gate. No Friend is going to be left behind on my watch, so what is one more.” You huffed making your choice with a nod of your head, the fire monster in front of you crackling in what you assume in agreement.

“That is very kind of you Brighid, I’m sure Papyrus will be very grateful for what you are doing. However, if I know San's you’re never going to get him to wake up right now so let me write down Papyrus’s number for you and the address to their home.” Grillby offered to make you smile at his offer by taking the soon produced paper with a smile.

“Thank you Mr. Grillby, have a nice night. Oh and tell Venus thank you again for earlier!”

“And to you my dear.” With a nod of his head, the monster bartender went back to the last of his pub-goers as you went upstairs to gather your group of drunk friend’s, as you did you gave Papyrus a quick text explaining what was going on and that you should be by in about an hour or so with his brother. You got a text back by the time you were up the stairs that he would be waiting for you when you came by with the address himself.

Glancing up at your group of friend’s you smile and clap your hands to get their attention. “Come on guys, time to go. Everyone grabs what they brought in with them and follows me.” You walked past grabbing your bag to slip over your shoulder then walking over to San's and tried to wake him up but no luck. Shifting the skeleton onto your back you were surprised at just how light he was but his warm skull leaned against your shoulder making you flush a little bit. Ava and Deisha giggled at you while Chris and John made it down the stairs without tripping by holding onto one another ignoring your state.

“Momo, follow.” You whistled at the dog under the table, knowing the dog would follow Ava and you to the car without getting in your way or too far away. It didn’t take long to get to the larger car, opening up the doors for everyone. You moved around the back as the group all climbed in to open up the hatch to the trunk as Momo followed you closely. Carefully you placed San's laying down in the back of the car before pointing to the back for Momo to join him. The dog jumped up and curled around San's laying their head across his chest letting out a small huff.

This had you chuckling a little bit, but it was cut short as you felt the same gaze from earlier, only this time it felt even colder. It made you want nothing but to get out of there so you quickly closed the hatch and jumped into the car. Maybe it was just you over reacting to something made up so you forced yourself to focus on getting the gang all fixed up. Before getting all buckled up yourself you passed out water battles from your bag, and made sure that everyone had the small plastic buckets from the back that served as vomit buckets. You took no chances even if someone was feeling fine you never knew and with monster stuff in the mix you just wanted to make sure.

Yawning, you started to drive out of town and onto the highway to Ava’s home. Along the way, you stopped at a McDonalds, everyone who was awake still chanting for chicken nuggets but you just got yourself a black coffee much to their disappointment. You knew well enough if anyone ate at the moment there would be puking. One time was enough for all of you to put a rule of not eating in the car while drunk really quickly. Ava was pouting about how “this family is a nightmare”. It took about thirty minutes in all to reach the house stopping the car in the driveway. You ushered everyone in the house and made sure they all got to bed for the most part before returning to the car checking on San's who was still sound asleep.

Shuffling San's into your arms again and over to your car, opening up the front door to flop him onto the seat. You had to lean over San's to buckle him up, your chest pushing up against his chest allowing you to feel just how boney under his shirt the monster really was. His ribs felt larger than normal human ribs would feel making you think he was truly thick everywhere not just his arms and legs. There was also a very faint humming front his sternum. You mistake it mostly for his deep breathing, but for some reason, the thoughts and you lingering so close to the humming flushed your cheeks hot. Geeze way to be a friend by creeping on their body while they sleep. I mean sure, some friend’s will find each other attractive and while you are bi and even think some of your own band makes are very active you never thought yourself to find San's of all people active anything like that. At least not while he is sleeping all peacefully in the front seat of your car. Huffing you pulled back brushing off the front of your shirt with your hands before closing the door. The cool air of the night helps cool off your cheeks fast enough that you were not just standing outside for more than a moment like a weirdo.

Half an hour later of a quiet road trip with only San's sounds of sleeping and the road keeping you company, you pull up to a checkpoint to enter the Nation of Monsters at the start of the Ebbot park. You were the only car there, and there was only one guard at the gate, one of the dog monsters from the bar about a week ago you noticed standing out by the gate smoking a dog treat. They watched the road with shifting eyes, taking deep breaths of the treaty between their jaws, and when your car moved faster the monster jumped a bit sniffing the air keeping his eyes on your car. Pulling up to a stop you rolled down your window looking up at the monster with a tried smile.

“Evening officer.”

“What is your business?”  The dog monster sniffed at you before blowing purple light smelling smoke into your car, flinching when you shifted in your seat reaching for your wallet in case you needed to show some I.D or anything. It made you pause for a moment, did they have an issue seeing? Moving your hand over to San's you cleared your throat when you watched the dog monster follow your hand to the short skeleton.

“Dropping off San's, he fell asleep at Grillby’s so I’m returning him to his brother.” The dog monster leaned into your car pushing way into your personal space but only sniffed at San's and snorted, leaning back out blowing another ring of smoke from the dog treat.

“Alright but don’t cause any issues now.” The dog gave you a look before you nodded driving past the checkpoint letting out a sigh. Following the directions that Grilleries gave you carefully, though you had to turn around a few times after missing a turn. Thankfully it seemed like you were the only car really out on the road right now as you tracked up closer to the foot of the mountain itself. Finally, you came across the right home and looked up at it smiling. It seemed so homey in the light of your car beams.

The house from what you could see was a two-story brick and wood house, with a large roof and a chimney poking out at one side. The house itself was square but had a circle round part on the front that was filled with the windows. You could tell the bottom was the dining room from the pulled curtains letting you see in a little bit. The top you could not make out since the curtains had been drawn closed and the shadow of the night made it hard to see. The house itself was a good size but well kept with a nice big yard all around that backed up into the woods. It also had a porch that went around the porch and some balconies on the upper floor.

Turning the car off you unbuckled and went around to the other door and opened it up. Grabbing San's so he was riding piggyback on with his legs wrapped around your waist and his arms going around your shoulders, already hugging you tight despite his blacked-out state you walked up to the door and gave it a careful knock before standing back waiting for Papyrus to open up. You really hoped that you had the right home. It took a moment but when the door finally opened you breathed a sigh of relief to be looking up at the tall form of Papyrus dressed in sleeping clothes, with checker fleece pants and a large shirt that was hanging off his shoulders with the words “cool dude” written on it.

“AH HUMAN, I SEE YOU HAVE MADE IT! THANK YOU FOR DELIVERING MY LAZY BONES OF A BROTHER TO ME!” Papyrus smiled wider, opening up the door wider for you to step into the home proper.

“Sorry, it's so late, I had to get the others home first.” You apologized for stepping into the warm home once Papyrus stepped out of the way turning your back to the taller brother so he could get his brother off your back.

“IT IS QUITE ALRIGHT HUMAN! NOW San's STOP BEING LAZY AND COME HERE!” Papyrus reached out and hooked his gloved hands around San's and picked him up while you let go but you soon realized that San's was not letting go of you. Papyrus stopped then tried again this time taking you with San's off the ground a few feet. “BROTHER LET GO OF THE HUMAN RIGHT NOW!” Papyrus started to shake San's and in turn you vigorously, that made the room shake and spin.

“Hey Papyrus, h-hey, maybe you should put me down please?” You requested letting out a sigh when Papyrus stopped the shaking then took stock of the situation and let out a mild nyeh, placing you back down on the ground. “Maybe I should take San's up to his bed? He might let go of me then.”

“YES… THAT SEEMS TO BE THE CASE. EXCELLENT IDEA HUMAN LET ME SHOW YOU THE WAY!” Papyrus was ever happy even this late at night leading you up a staircase to the upper floor and into one of the rooms. San's room was messy, the bed unmade items were thrown about in order of chaos that even you didn’t understand. “I YOU WILL HAVE TO EXCUSE MY BROTHERS ROOM, HE IS VERY UNKEMPT. I THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL DO WHAT MY BROTHER LACKS AND APOLOGIZE FOR HIM LEAVING HIS SOCKS OUT. VERY RUDE.” Papyrus apologized for the state of San's room, giving it a disapproving once over his brow bones narrowing.

“It’s alright Papyrus, I don’t mind that much.” You waved it off with one hand, keeping the other around San's legs to keep him steady on your back, even though it seemed like you really didn’t need to do that since he was very attached. Moving your way around some of the dirty clothes along the floor you made it over to the queen size bed. “Alright my dude, the Bridgit train has made its final stop, time for you to disembark.” You commented on San's trying to place him in bed by leaning down. But San proved determined to hang onto you like a spider monkey. You huffed and righted yourself once more to try again to place him on the bed. Again, it just resulted in you almost falling over onto the bed while Papyrus just watched you silently with a questioning look on his face.

“HUMAN, DO YOU NEED SOME HELP?” Papyrus raised a hand as if reaching out to you as he offered help but you only shook your head, trying not to let the flustered blush creep over your cheeks.

“No, it's fine Papyrus, just guess he is a cuddle bug when he is sleeping huh?” You commented with a weak chuckle and tried something else with getting San's off your back. Straightening up you turned around and flopped onto the bed with San hitting the mattress, then you tried to remove his feet around your hips, and just right under your chest, but the iron grip continued as you struggled. You were able to get all but one arm off you now when you tried to get up. But San seemed to have gained a few pounds as you found it was very hard to do so.

“WELL, THAT DOES NOT SURPRISE ME IF HE IS THE LAZY BONES! YOU KNOW HUMAN I FIND HIM SOME OF THE STRANAGET SPOTS NAPPING! JUST THE OTHER DAY I FOUND HIM SLEEPING ON THE CYCLING FAN IN THE LIVING ROOM!” You tried getting up again, giggling a bit at the thought of San's somehow falling asleep on the fan.

“How on earth did he do that?” You asked, glancing at Papyrus who just simply smiled at you as you leaned up puffing at the effort and the burn of your abs from your sudden workout from the slowly increasing weight of San's on your back.

“WELL, YOU SEE San's CA… San's! STOP MAKING YOURSELF HEAVY!” Papyrus stomped his foot just as you were about halfway up in the hell of a sit-up when all the weight suddenly went away and sent you off balance. You tumbled into the bed, landing on your side with a surprised yelp at the sudden change in positions.  Now with you on your side in the very faintly you noted that it was a nice and soft bed where San's cuddling your backside with one arm. You felt your face flush a hot red, so you flailed to get out of the bed quickly but the arm around your middle was now ironclad and refused to let you go.

“San's, come on let me go.” You hissed, lifting yourself so that you were half sitting up using your arm to lift you up as you twisted to poke at San's face with a flustered huff. This was embarrassing but really mortifying that he is doing this in front of his brother. You glance back at said taller brother who only looked surprised but then stars started to fill his eyes.

“OH HUMAN DOES THIS MEAN YOU WANT TO SLEEPOVER? WE HAVE ONLY HAD SLEEPOVERS WITH FRISK BEFORE AS THE ONLY OTHER HUMAN! I THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL TAKE THIS AS A MONUMENTAL EVENT BETWEEN HUMAN AND MONSTER KIND. WE CAN BUILD OUR FRIENDSHIP TO HIGHER LEVEL BY JOIN IN ON THE SLEEPOVER BOUNDING! NYEE Papyrus Pap clapped his gloved hands together, you tried to find something to say to, well say no and go home but the tone of his voice and the enthusiastic sparkle to his eye had you hesitating too long.

“IT IS A WONDERFUL IDEA ANY WAY!” Papyrus continued before you could say something, leaning over and taking San's iron-like hold on your body and made him let go, leaving the skeleton monster on the bed alone. You quickly jumped out the bed brushing off your clothes to get your flustered face under control. “IT IS VERY LATE, AND IT WOULD MAKE ME VERY SAD IF YOU HAPPEN TO FALL ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL! YOU CAN HAVE THE GUEST ROOM, THOUGH I GUESS IT WOULD NOT BE A TRUE SLEEPOVER… HRMM.”

“Are you sure that is alright Papyrus? I don’t want to intrude on you guys.” You offered to try your best to let the brother down but he seemed to not be taking no for an answer.

“BUT I MUST INSIST! COME FOLLOW ME FRIEND!” Papyrus waved you out of the room and into the hallway where he led you to another room. It was not as big as San's room but it was a very comfortable guest room. It had its own bathroom from the looks of it, a queen size bed with a night stand on each side along with plenty of pillows. Papyrus shut the door behind you, you glanced at the door knob and saw that it could be locked and did just that. It was not like you didn’t trust the brothers but you know, never hurt to keep your anxiety under control.

Now that you were alone, you felt all the energy rush out of you at once. So you stuck your arms into your sweater and pulled off your bra without having to take off your shirt. You could go down to the car and get your overnight bag but, at this point you were not sure if you would be able to not pass out on the couch rather than this nice bed. So you just made yourself as comfortable as you could with what energy you had. Yawning, you pulled back the fluffy quilt  slipping in underneath.

The soft bed, so much better than yours  that you felt yourself relaxed and more comfortable forcing a yawn from your mouth. You were thankful for the thicker sweater and yoga pants you had worn today. The only thing you could really do was kick off your shoes onto the floor, you wanted to push off your socks but the house was chilly, chilling you to the bone a little bit so you kept them on for now to keep you warm.

Pulling out your phone from your pocket you quickly typed that you were staying over at San's place to Ava so at least someone knew where you were at and safe from dropping them off. You also turned off your phone's alarm and put it on vibrate so as not to wake anyone up rudely before they were ready to wake up but you.

The annoying odd feeling of heartburn that had been a near constant over the last week slowly unwound in your chest as you closed your eyes letting out a deep breath as you felt sleepy eyes heavy and your mind slowly buzzing the world out for the first time in over a week. It was not until then did you feel the weight of the last week fade away leaving you fuzzy and floating off to sleep at peace.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The sun eventually woke you up the following morning; the soft light, somehow dimmer from the chill in the air outside, shined from the window near your bed. You blinked slowly as your brain dragged back into the waking world. Peaceful rest had finally come to you, allowing you several hours of good, deep rest that you had needed for weeks now. You closed them again soon after that, taking a deep breath in to start waking up, drifting in and out of dozing while you recounted last night's trip to the bar with a tug of a smile lifting at your lips.Strange, how at ease I feel. I was expecting not to get as nice of a rest as I did. Oh well, I won't kick the gift horse in the mouth and just be glad for the break.You closed your eyes again with a sigh. You had a feeling that it was way past your alarm, but you didn’t care, taking in a deep breath of the cool air in the skeleton home. Everything below your nose was covered in the thick down cover that had warmed with your own body heat and made you so lovely and toasty. You wanted just a few more moments of the beautiful, quiet morning, so you turned over onto the pillow next to your head.Squeak, Yip, pant pantYou blinked your eyes open again, watching your furry pillow, which panted with bright red tongue inches from your face, wag its curled tail before yipping again. Slowly, you sat up in bed, moving to hold the dog up onto your lap. The dog let you do what you wanted to it; you picked off the note that was stuck to its forehead, glancing at the door to see it was still locked.“Magic.” You nodded, just guessing since there was no way you saw the dog before you slept, and Sans never mentioned having a pet that was alive. Taking the note off the dog’s head, you sat it beside you, where it rolled over onto its back and wagged its tail a bit more as you read the note.DEAR BRIGHID,GOOD MORNING! IF YOU ARE SEEING THIS, THEN I HAVE LEFT FOR WORK ALREADY AND HAVE TASKED THE DOG WITH GIVING YOU THIS NOTE WHEN YOU WAKE UP. I HOPE YOU SLEPT WELL LAST NIGHT SINCE YOU DIDN’T WAKE UP THIS MORNING WHEN I KNOCKED! BUT THAT IS OKAY, FOR YOUR FRIEND PAPYRUS HAS MADE BOTH YOU AND MY BROTHER SOME BREAKFAST SPAGHETTI SINCE YOU BOTH MISSED BREAKFAST! IT IS IN THE KITCHEN; YOU JUST NEED TO HEAT IT BACK UP! HELP YOURSELF TO COFFEE OR mTEA, WHATEVER YOU WANT! THANK YOU AGAIN FOR BRINGING MY BROTHER HOME!PAPYRUS”You smiled a little chuckle, leaving your lips at Papyrus's blocky but neat handwriting that seemed to project his cheerfulness right off the paper. Covering a yawn, you stretched your arms over your head, stretching out all the way, deeding your breath as you did. Grabbing your phone, you looked at the time, confirming it was 10:30 in the morning, and Ava had replied to your text last night with a very flirty picture that made you quickly type back that NOTHING like that happened. You slept alone in the guest bedroom, thank you very much. The dog next to you rolled side to side until you reached out and started to rub its belly, taking the time to wake up a bit more and take in the room proper now you had the brain power to do so.The room itself was not large but rather semi-medium in size, with one large window to your left that looked out over the driveway that wrapped its way down a slope. The grass was cut short for the winter around the area of the house, but you could see just barely from the bed where the line before the forest was to reclaim the meadow not too far away. White curtains framed the window at each end, allowing the natural light to flood the room, making it bright enough for someone to comfortably see during the day when the sun was on this side of the house. It lit up the forest green room walled room, the white ceiling paint reflecting the light back down onto the room. There was a fan as well that hung from the ceiling, currently turned off.The bed was pushed against the wall, keeping both sides open. Each side had a lamp and a small table holding it up. Leaning over, you peeked into the drawer and found it empty of anything; you pursed your lips with a pout as you sat back up. There was a desk across from the bed and against the corner of the room with a single chair that someone could use to do whatever work they needed to. Some books were stacked across the surface, and papers that were coloring drawings and other such things, making it live. There was a bookshelf filled with more books and other such trinkets. There was a closed door next to that, so you guessed it must be the closet since the door opening to the bathroom was cracked, so you could see the bathtub from the bed. The floor was carpeted in a neutral grey color, a bright and colorful throw rug caught your eyes, and the bed sitting on top of it.You slipped out of bed, extremely happy that you kept the socks on because the floor was cold in the bathroom! You needed to take a shower and eat. Since both were offered to you gladly, you shoved your shoes back on and jogged quietly down to your car, grabbed your overnight bag, and headed back up to the guest room but paused on your wayfinding. Sans door cracked open at the end of the hall. He still passed out on the bed, snoring softly. Chuckling, you retreated to the room and started up the shower. There was already shampoo for several different hair types; the brothers must have a veracity of guests over often, or they went overboard with the accommodations. The shower was excellent; the water was warm without going cold on you, like at your place, so you savored the blessing for half an hour when you just enjoyed the shower.Warm, changed into a clean pair of yoga pants and a warmer sweater rather than the t-shirt you had in the bag, and your wet hair down in a neat braid against your head, you made the bed you had borrowed, gathered up your stuff and left the room passing by the open laundry room and Sans still asleep on his bed.The main upstairs room that held the staircase headed downstairs, a closed door that had Papyrus's name on it showing that was his room near the hall you just came from; there was a wet bar with a sink on it to the far corner right next to the door that leads out to the balcony where a very expensive looking telescope was set up to look up at the night sky from the comfort of their own home.Plush, well-worn couches and seats took up most of the room, along with several bookcases filled with movies and games, along a large TV to watch them on. The walls were a soft color that made the home feel warm and welcoming, and the carpet, while light in color, was plush and soft under your socked feet. Pictures litter the walls all over the house, some with monsters you had met, several ones of Frisk in different places; you paused at the more interesting ones to take a closer look as you made your way around the room and then down to the first floor itself. A rustic bar, talking to Grillby and some other monsters, dancing on a stage with strobe lights flashing in the background in front of a crowd of monsters, Undyne holding Frisk up by just her arm as they sat in front of a half-burnt building, both smiling brightly with teeth flashing and cloths dusted with soot. There were several other kinds of pictures of school days, everyday family-type things with one of the monsters who had come to know in the picture all different types and ages.A yawn broke your smile when you reached the bottom of the stairs; you walked the few steps around the corner to the foyer to place your bag down, ready for you to go when you left. You should go to the kitchen and make some food, but your curiosity was getting the better of you again. So you went down the very short hallway, opening the doors slowly so as not to make noise. There was a bathroom and a small closet where cleaning supplies were kept for the home. Then, a large study filled the brim with books, two different desks, one with the official-looking type of paperwork and the other filled with various books on science. Closing the door once again behind you go back down the hallway and into the main room, where the stairs go up to the second floor.It looked like a place where one would hang out with guests, with a lot of sitting space around the fire and TV; in one corner by the fire was a tiny dog bed that looked well-worn and beat up from a long life of use, a much bigger and newer bed with Dumplings name on it sat next to the small one.Several windows were dotting the wall, one on each side of a grand fireplace, a nice flatscreen TV hanging above it. You are going to have to bring up the fact that he said that he didn’t have a dog but the fact that A) the dog you rolled onto this morning with the note. B) the very used dog beds. There was a much larger window that looked out over the backyard, and a covered porch with another small fireplace and grill was outside.Finally, you turned to the right back into the kitchen, noting how there was ample counter space to cook on, let alone to put food on. Everything was immaculate, and the countertops shined like they had just been cleaned; in fact, the whole house was very neat, but for Sans's room, you thought, wondering if this was just Papyrus's doing.“Now, what are you doing up there a pheata?” You huffed, putting your hands on your hips and looking up at the small white dog sitting on your bed when you left the room. The last time was now on top of the counter by the sink. It just looked at you, panting like it knew what it was doing, but you could have sworn that the dog had been behind you this whole time, and you didn’t hear anything that sounded like a dog jumping onto the counter. Picking up the thirty-pound dog quickly, you set it on the floor.“Now, stay down.” You continued switching over to gallic like you did when you were alone and talking to something; it happened when you were still waking up and not paying attention. The dog, for its part, just stood up, walked over to the fridge, and sat down in front of it, reminding you to make some food, but first, you wanted to make some coffee so you could wake up; if it was being offered, you were going to take it. You thought you might make Sans a cup, too, while you are at it. You didn’t know if monster hangovers worked the same as humans, but you might as well do what you do for your human friends.Filling a pot with water, you took one of the big packets from a rack nearby; it was one of the older kinds of coffee makers that made bigger pots of coffee. There was a small French press next to it, but an everyday kind of coffee works just as well for you. Setting the pot on, you finally turned back to the fridge to pull out the leftovers that Papyrus said you could have.“Hey! What are you doing, dog? Get out of the fridge!” You hissed loudly, taking a few quick steps to scoop the dog back up into your arms as they had gotten into the fridge, the bottom half hanging out, wagging its tail happily when you turned around. “How in the fuck did you even get in there?” You question the dog now resting on your hip like a child, its tongue rolling out of one side as you glared at it a little; you were starting to get the feeling that this dog was not average somehow.“Now look here, we don’t know each other, but I don’t think Papyrus would like you sneaking into his fridge. I am not sure about the monster edict when it comes to pets, actually, now that I think about it.“ You trailed off, distracted by your thoughts, before snapping back to the present. “And I don’t think you are going to give me the answers I need even if I do ask.”You sighed, hanging your head for a moment before placing the dog back on the floor so you could get the food out; now, the dog was out of the way. You found the two plates of spaghetti covered in reusable plastic wrap condensation on the top, so it seemed like it was very fresh spaghetti with red sauce and meatballs, two on each plate.Honestly, it was the best-looking spaghetti, hands down, you had ever seen; your stomach rumbled, and you closed the door with your hip to look for the microwave.Finding it, you placed the first plate once you unwrapped it, and then you had to look for the draws for two forks to make the spaghetti into a ring around the plate to heat evenly. Along the way, you found a whole drawer filled with bones.“What the fuck.” English again as you looked at the bones and then back to the dog with a worried look. “Uhm, these are not real people's bones, right?” The dog just looked at you before it stood up on its hind legs and jumped walk, begging for a bone. You looked back to the drawer of bones and very slowly reached out your hand to touch what looked like a human’s arm bone, one you might find in cartoon shape.“Ah!” A loud yelp left your lips, hand snatched back against your chest as if you had burned it. Whatever you felt when you touched the bones didn’t hurt, but you were more than surprised by the feeling of a low vibration. Like when your foot or hand goes to sleep, it tingles. Carefully, you reached back out and gave it a longer poke, this time prepared for the odd feeling. The bones vibrated under your pointer finger; they didn’t give and feel solid enough, but it was that slight, barely there vibrations that unnerved you on a profound level that, frankly, you didn’t have enough coffee in your body to figure it out yet.“Hmm, nope, you can wait for your owners to give you a treat.” You pulled your hand back and closed the drawer with one hand and a nod as if to make sure everyone in the room understood you were just not going to delve into what kind of bullshit that was all about and just get some food into you. It took a few more tries, but you finally found the forks you had been looking for. You pushed the food around the plate more evenly before placing it into the microwave with the plastic cover that had been inside of it. Taking the wrap, you washed it in the sink, humming out loud to pass the time as the food heated up.“There will come a soldier
Who carries a mighty sword..”It was the first song to pop into your head, a nice little tune that was easy for your limited singing range. Turning the water off, you placed the warp where some dry dishes had been left out. Glancing at the time on the food, you started to clean the other warp from the other plate while waiting. You saw the dog out of the corner of your eye, wagging its tail to the beat, making you smile wider. By the time the song was finished, so was the food. You switched the plates out, careful of the hot plate starting again, but this time translating the music into your mother’s tongue just for the giggles. No one was watching but for the dog by your feet.“There will come a soldier
Who carries a mighty sword..”This time, the dog stood on its hind legs and danced around your legs as you swayed back and forth in your spot for your own little happy dance. Giggling, breaking a few of the lines of words as you picked up the dog and started to dance in a circle, bouncing it in a small dance, who began to yip with you in a mock of the song. The smell of coffee and cooked spaghetti filled the home when the final beep broke your song, along with a yawn not from yourself or the dog in your arms. Turning your head away from the coffee pot, slowly look at Sans, who was covering his mouth with a bony hand. It might have been because he just woke up, but he looked a bit blue around his cheeks, a fading blush? You both stood there looking at each other momentarily as your brain froze to what to say.“Dia dhuit ar maidin, Sans.” You gave him a pointed look, just going to skip over the fact that you were dancing and singing in his kitchen with his dog. Maybe if you didn’t, he wouldn’t bring it up.“So, mind telling me why I woke up with this on my bed?” You held the dog for him to see under its arms as if it was just rag-dolled with no care in the world. Sans blinked, looking like he was still trying to wake up, but only shrugged, giving his head a slight shake and you a wink with a lazy smirk.“Anything is paw-sible when you have a dog.” He gave you instead of an answer, and you gave him a deadpan, looked for a moment, then looked back down into the dog’s eyes before speaking.“I walked right into that one.” You sighed and then placed the dog onto the floor as it bound out of the kitchen to somewhere in the dining room, doing something out of your line of site. “I thought you said you didn’t have any… living pets.” You commented, turning back to the coffee pot to pour yourself a cup, and Sans one as well as he came up next to you, pulling his fixings out from the cabinet with magic to float it down; you watched, still fascinated by the fact he could do that sort of thing. It seemed like Sans was getting used to you watching whenever you could when magic came into play.“yep, it was fur the fun of it, heh, well i am not sure he is a pet, to be honest, we are not sure what he is. he just comes and goes as he pleases, been since i was a teen, papyrus says it’s annoying, but i think he is a good dog.” Sans finally shrugged, giving you some insight as to why he didn’t say he knew about dogs. You looked at the dog again and handed the plate of food to Sans.“I’m going to try to ignore that you said you didn’t know what it is for sure and just think of them as a dog; how about that.” You said, not letting your brain be broken this early in the day as Sans just laughed at your face, taking his plate and coffee to the table and sitting down to eat.“hey, now he is a special dog! after all, he is so smart; he majored in bark-ecology.” You could only groan, sitting across from Sans but smiling at the bad pun.“Alright, fair enough; by the way, you got any hangover up in your neck of the woods over there?” You questioned just to make sure you knew what that looked like if he was. As you waited for him to finish his current sip of coffee and answer, you started to dig into the food. The first bite, you slowly chewed, very confused at the taste and just by the dish in general. Swallowing, you looked down at the plate, poking around to make sure you didn’t see anything wrong with it visibly. It smelled so yummy, but the actual taste was both somehow undercooked and overcooked at the same time. The sauce was vinegar with a sweetness almost overpowering that. In short, it was not something you ever want to eat again if you could help it.“eh, nothing much. nothing a little bit of coffee and food won't cure.” Sans sipped his coffee again, not yet touching his plate, as he watched the window and birds fluttering over to the bird feeder.Maybe the meatballs were still good, so you sliced one in half and tried It next; it was not as bad as the spaghetti, at least cooked all the way through, thank god. Still, it was sweet and spicy with honey and hot peppers, but in all the wrong ways, that combo usually got right. But thankfully, it was magical in nature. You could feel the prickle like the drink you had the week before down your throat, making it not so bad. Also, it was free food, so you would not be rude and not eat something someone made for you, including since his brother was sitting RIGHT THERE. “I’m guessing that Papyrus let you stay over, and you’re not talking about your home.” Sans started taking another sip of his coffee, giving you a wink as you chuckled, nodding your head
.
“Yeah, it was really nice of him. I didn’t notice how tired I was until he mentioned it.” Taking another bite of now very crunchy pasta, you chewed on it quickly, downing it with some warm coffee.“heh, yeah, he is the best like that, always thinking about others around him.”“Well, I did drive you all the way back from the bar so.” You pointed your fork filled with spaghetti at the monster across from you with a smirk. “Might I recommend not going drink to drink with Chris again? The man is built like a brick house, and I’m sure he made some kind of dark pack with the elder gods to be able to drink that much and still have a liver.” You rambled while shoving the next bite into your mouth chewed, and quickly swallowed it and took another quick bite, slowly making a dent in the pile of insane food.“elder gods or not, i get what ava was laughing so hard about now.” Sans sighed, rubbing his nose bridge; you ate a few more bites of your food before putting your fork down to stretch out your back again, closing your eyes as you yawned.“All it takes is o…” You stopped mid-way through, putting your arms down to look at the white dog sitting on your empty plate. Your food vanished into who knows where; the only trace that you had food at all on the plate was the single noodle that the dog was currently slurping up into its mouth, looking you dead in the eyes as it did. Sans started to smirk and snort, clamping his hand over his mouth with a slight bony clink. You sat there stunned into silence, numb; you felt yourself project out of your own body as the dog started vibrating itself off the table where it paid no mind to you or Sans as it jumped, grabbing the handle and letting itself out of the house. Sans was wheezing between laughing now, no longer hiding his face, and banging the table as you slowly got up and closed the door before more cold air could come in. Taking a calm sip of coffee, you set the cup back down, looking down at the clean plates.“Sans, what the fuck is up with your not dog?” You vaguely heard yourself squeak out your question, only making Sans's howling laughter start up again. The corner of your mouth twitched a little bit, and you felt yourself feel a little fuzzy with giggles. “W-what don’t tell me, I have to burn a question on that?” You soon joined Sans just out of the sure absence, bewildering incident that was. “Doras feasa fiafraí, I feel like I just saw a fey, and I’m just not sure how to handle that feeling, Sans!” You laughed harder, feeling your sides ach as you started to wave at the door where the dog had left, not a trace of it left. “Takes your food without asking, keeps popping in places it should not be, like the fucking counter and the fridge AND THE locked room!”Gasping between your own fits of laughter, both you and Sans laugh it out, but every time you look up at the plate, you start to laugh again. With your sides cramping and your face burning from smiling so much, you both calmed down after a while, letting the silence take both of you as you sipped on your coffee. It was the only thing you had left to eat, and you were still hungry.“maybe they are, maybe not; the world will never know.” Sans shrugged as he got up, taking the plates to the sink for the both of you. “how about i treat you to some actual brunch. i don’t know about you, but i could go for some food.” Sans chuckled, giving you a wink as you remembered that Sans didn’t touch any of his food before it was absorbed by the dog.“Are you sure? I don’t want to impose any longer than I have on you, and I did have some of the… interesting spaghetti.” You tried to tactfully talk about his brother's cooking, but Sans gave you a knowing smile.“heh, yeah, buddy. and don’t worry, i won’t tell papyrus about the food. to be honest, i appreciate you at least trying to do it. most humans get one bite in and leave it at that. you know how hard he works at things, and spaghetti is one of them he really loves. he’s gotten better since we got out of the underground, but papyrus is still on the board for more work.” You felt some tension leaving your shoulders as even Sans admitted that the food was wack as fuck.“Well, alright, should we take my car or….?” You trailed off, following Sans as he waved you into a walk-thru pantry that led to the garage, you guessed, and was quickly affirmed in that guess when you opened the door.“na, i’ll drive ya. after all, you don’t know the roads around here like i do; besides, it's about time you saw the place.” Sans walked around you past the car you recognized Papyrus had driven the other day to the clinic. In the garage along with it were two different types of motorcycles, one two-seater for longer trips, you guessed, and one that was smaller and had a buggy attached to the side that someone could ride in. Sans walked over to the later one, now with a bright blue helmet with white flames, and another more normal helmet from the shelf nearby.“here, this should fit ya.”You thanked whatever gods made your luck better by already braiding your hair so you didn’t get helmet hair. Slipping it on, it was a little loose, but for something you needed for just a quick trip, it should do well, you figured, as you moved into the seat, buckling up.“Didn’t know you rode motorcycles; if you need any help finding a good place to fix them, ask Chris; he rides them too if you didn’t know.” You offered up with a smile as Sans did a quick check from his hoodie pockets to ensure he had everything. He unplugged the bike from its charge port before the door opened, and he started the bike.“oh, cool, i will keep that in mind. thanks, pal. yeah, pap’s always wanted to drive a car, so when he took his driving lessons, he dragged me along and thought it was a good idea.”“Less work than using magic to vanish in thin air?” You snarked back, watching the road as Sans took you down the driveway onto a two-lane street. Now that it was daylight, you could tell that you were higher into the hills around the mention than the rest of the village, and you could see the peeks of the rooftops down the hills and over the trees.“only when i’m feeling lazy, what can i say? i'm a bit of a ghost rider now.”"You know this is the first time you have ever mentioned driving, or I see any evidence that you drive, right Sans?” You poked his side with a giggle, leaning back in your chair, knowing he could do nothing to you, but you didn’t want to pester him so much as he drove you down the winding hill. Smaller houses started to show up on the sides of the roads, the backyards more that of a outskirts of town size than a subdivision.Then the houses met up with the town proper, buildings lining both sides of the streets, parking in front of one of the buildings. You must have had a wide-eyed look as you watched all the different kinds of monsters and buildings walking about and places for you to discover. Sans tapped the top of your helmet to get your attention; you felt the blush crawling across your cheeks from being caught looking.“want to look around, pal? i don’t mind giving you a scenic tour of the town. got to keep you out of trouble.”“I would have you know I am a model person of normal society.” You smirked, taking off your helmet as you continued. “That is for only looks; I’m always down for some seize the means of production in my societal code. It’s called being Chaotic neutral Sans.”“heh, buddy, you don’t think i know that look on your face by now when you get curious? who do you think i am as a friend, chop liver pal?” Sans pulled his helmet off, hovering a handout to take yours as you fake gasped, holding a hand over your heart.“Sans! I would never think of that; after all, you are my spooky friend.” Straight face the both of you before the first twitch of your lips broke your hold, leaving you to snort in a laugh and a shake of your head. “Yeah, that's really nice that you know what that looks means, my good ghost rider. Might give you an edge on the CN shenanigans.” That got Sans to blush a bit, making you chuckle as he sheepishly opened the door to the building you had stopped in front of.The building was a quaint downtown with office and loft spaces above the main shopping building. Outside the sidewalk were a few pink and purple umbrella-covered tables that met the sidewalk in its enclosed spot with iron fence work. The storefront was covered with a small overhang cloth awning and wide, ample, bay-type windows letting sunlight into the shop. The shop name in question was simple.Silk & SugarEven before the door was open, you could smell the warm bread and sweets being baked waft through the air as if to blow away the mistake that was your breakfast this morning. Walking into the warm bakery, you looked around to see where you need to order and to take in the sights. Sans seemed to take that as his cue to lightly guide you with his hand on your elbow to the mixed line of humans, but primarily monsters waiting to place their order with the adorable spider girl up front. Like the outside, the inside walls were a soft white, making the bright glow of any sun coming through the windows light the place with a pleasant light. There were several tables scattered around, some with long cushions that wrapped around the white round table, and others just had a single chair for a person to sit in around the table. But no matter the seat types, they were a softer cream of pink. The sitting room was spacious enough that one would not have to worry about taking up too much space and getting so close to the table without having people bump into them. It's almost the size of a good Krispy Cream Donut shop in a major city. It looked like you had just arrived at the end of rush time. Most seated people were already well into their own food or finishing up and chatting as they sipped different kinds of warm drinks or water. You noted that the humans seemed to be in small groups in pairings of one or two, always your age or much older, like they were vacationing rather than visiting. Rich ski trip, type folks.You let Sans pull you forward when the line moved a bit more quickly through the remaining people as you watched as a large spider monster that looked more like a normal spider than the monster woman running the counter dropped down from the ceiling, refilling a nearby table large glasses with a fresh drink and another plate of sugar-coated droughts for the patrons to share and dip into their drink. Behind the counter was light pink wood in fancy carving with a simple coffee maker and several teacups and pots on the shelves above the coffee. Attached to the counter were the display cases filled with pastries and cakes made every day, a second after that showing some fancy cakes with confection decorations that made you wonder just how much it really was for something that good looking. Behind that display case was an area one could watch waiting for your order; some spiders decorated one of their orders, working like a robot rather than individual workers. Up at the counter, you soon found yourself being pulled back into the real world by a chirping laugh.“… me and my pal here will take a dozen spider donuts and two ciders to go.”“Effufu, Sans, I didn’t know you had any other humans besides Frisky dear~. And my, is she cute for a human too.” Standing behind the counter, making your face burn as you cough off to the side, just distancing yourself from Sans an inch or so, taking a moment to cool your face a bit as the monster snickered at your reaction. “I mean no offense, dearie, by you being human~.”“N-no, that is, um, it's alright, no offense taken at all, rather thank you for the compliment.” You peacefully looked back at the spider monster, face still pink, but you smiled at the monster. Sans, you noticed out of the corner of your eye, content to watch you flounder around a sly smirk on his face.“Efufufu, you sound just as sweet as you look! I’m Muffet, owner of this cute little place.” Muffet grinned with fangs wide as she spread out one of her six hands, you noted when she moved for Sans’s card. Sans, for his part, did not pull out a card but a hand full of yep gold coins and handed it over to the monster, who waved a puffy light blue-sleeved Lolita-style dress hand over to one of the counters behind her some spiders filtered up with a box, Muffet for her part looking like she was going to box up the order herself as you made small talk.“stop teas-ing her; you’re going to break the nice human now, muffet.” That earned him a glare from your end.“Brighid, a pleasure to meet you, Muffet. I do say that the dress really fits your look.” You gave an approving nod, and that is when you noted that the spiders working on bringing refills or working were wearing little Lolita-style aprons.“Holy shit, this is just, just too cute that everyone has uniforms like this.” You gushed, waving off Sans as he chuckled at you, so you rolled your eyes and stuck out your tongue as Muffet placed a dozen doughnuts colored with purple and white icings in the shape of a web into the box, hiding a giggle behind a delicately gloved hand.“Careful, Sans, you might have some competition for her attention soon~.”“red tea to go, pal?” Muffet winked at Sans with half of her eyes, handing over the box of doughnuts to you. Sans sheepishly looked away as he took the two cups of warm cider from the spiders.“Come back soon, dearie~” Muffet called out to the both of you as Sans quickly left the store, leaving you and Muffet to laugh loudly at his retreating blue-faced form. Waving a goodbye, you wove your way out of the store, keeping up with Sans on the sidewalk, who acted as if that whole conversation hadn’t just happened. You could let it slide for now, so you held out your hand for a cup, allowing him to take a donut from the box in the crook of your arm.“Alright, Sans, let’s see what kind of tour guide you are.” You kept walking once he got his food and sipped your drink, humming lightly. The warm cider washed over your mouth, clearing away the rest of the evil spirit that was the spaghetti this morning with its hints of cinnamon and spice. Now, this was just the kind of fall drink you could have a day in and out. Making a mental note, you would have to come back sometime and ask if she had jars of the stuff or not for sale.“i like to think of myself as the punny kind of tour guide. the mountains aren’t just funny – they’re hill areas.” This ended with a bite from his doughnut, an actual bite you noted rather than having another stare down at the park. You groaned, unable to do anything with your hands now since both were full, and so was Sans.“all alright, i will give you that one. that one was just oak-kay; here, let me help you out.” The box was carefully taken from your hand by a tug of magic; it made your skin buzz slightly from where you had brushed up against it from holding the box of food.“Thanks, Sans!” You gleefully opened the box while it floated in midair in front of you for a doughnut yourself. Grabbing one of the tasty-looking treats, you froze, getting a better look at the underside of the box lid. There was a phone number with a cute drawing of a tiny spider and a heart that was very clearly from Muffet. Now it was Sans's turn to laugh at your expense, his merry chuckles filling the chilly air that did nothing to help your flushing face.“Oh geezers.” Clearing your throat, you carefully shut the box and nibbled your donut instead of saying anything while Sans got his laugh in. When you closed the box, Sans pulled out his phone and did something with it, and the box made a slight popping noise before vanishing from sight.“Magic?” Voice calm, you took another bight of your doughnut; it was delicious, just a hint of what you could now identify as what you have
dubbed “food magic” at the back of your tongue with each new bite-like spice.“nope, dimensional box.” Sans mimicked you and ate his food, keeping his face casual as if he were discussing the weather.“Ah, dimensional boxes. I see…” You nodded, sounding as if that simple answer was not mind-numbing-blowing and simply explained everything like normal. “This is a good donut.” You approved taking another bite, so much happier that you could eat something that wouldn't make you want to vomit. Contented to trail behind Sans, slowly watching from window to window that the single strip of the road offered to visitors.“just to warn you, pal, don’t think you will get free donuts if you climb that web. oh hey, look at that. looks like the nicecream shop is finally open.” Sans pointed to the other side of the road, where a modern ice cream shop seemed very busy with many more humans than monsters at the current moment despite the chill.“O-oh, well, I was not thinking about that. Not to say that I would not just what I’m looking for right now, ya know.” You gave a half-shoulder shrug, stopping momentarily to sip your drink, and motioned to the store. “I’m surprised it’s so busy; normally, in the cooler months, people don’t like cool treats.”“heh, nice cream is something you can enjoy anywhere. don’t melt normally unless you’re around lava, then not so much. a lot of small-time vendors have shops up here in town now, really took off into the unknown to look for something better for their dreams.” Sans stopped with you, leaning against one of the platted trees that dotted the sidewalk.“well, are you looking for?”That gave you pause, wondering what Sans was on about, but he kept his smile normal, watching you take a sip of your drink and retake the lead when you took a step away from the tree to keep going.“Like, for me, sure, it’s nice to think about, but I got burned too much last time, so I don’t want to play around. Got too much other shit to worry about dating anyone, monsters included, right off the bat. Oh, hey, is this a bookstore or something?” That was when one of the storefront windows caught your eyes with the gleam of books and knickknacks about the window. OH, how you wanted to go in and run your fingers along the older-looking spines.“not so much of a bookstore rather than a junk store. old gerson used to run it back in waterfall back in the day. he is one of the ones i was talking about small venders before. if you want to go in, there is no time like the present tense.” Sans was now only holding his cup in one bony hand, the other shoved back into the pocket of his hoodie, as his reflection in the window showed you. Nodding quickly, you munched the rest of the doughnut without a second thought, so you didn’t track any food in the monster shop and home. Giving a quick whipping down of the dry icing off your hands onto your pants to clean them the best you could, bound over to the door and practically vibrated as you opened the door and headed inside.The inside was just on the edge of slightly warm; if it had not been for the dryer weather, it would have been a bit more humid if it was inside. A chime rang out as you walked in, holding your cup in both hands to help them warm up as you looked around the rustic shop vibe the place had going on.“I’ll be right down there in a minute!” A crackly, clearly elderly voice called from the second floor of the store, hidden behind the more oversized items held in the loft area up above; if you had to guess, it must have been this Gerson monster.“take your time, gerson; not like we are going anywhere soon,” Sans called back, lifting his bonelids to the lofts above and going to lean against the checkout counter, seemly content to simply watch you explore the first floor of the shop.“Wah ha ha, alright lad, if you say so.” The voice called back, giving you plenty of time to look around. Several older-looking items looked like they came out of the 50s, repaired, and restored to how they used to look for sale. There was no rhyme or reason for a lot of the items that looked like maybe they had been just simple junk and rubbish, but someone had carefully restored them to their former glory. But what had your attention the most was the bookshelves of old dark hardwood filled with different kinds of restored books from various topics, just like the items around the shop. However, the books were noticeably older, a few even leather bonds.Trailing your fingers down one of the newer-looking books backed with leather, you simply traced the three triangles, circle, and wing-like carving, but there was nothing else, no name or author, just the carved symbol.“Now that be the history of the Delta Rune and the emblem of the Dreemurr royal family.” The crackly old voice called over your shoulder from the stairs leading up to the second floor was blocked by a gate, and at that gate was a very elderly-looking monster who looked at you with the book in your hands. You glanced over at Sans to find him… sleeping while standing before smiling at Gerson as they slowly took their time to walk over to you, tapping it with one of his scaly claws. “Now, this just a replica from the royal library I got the young monsters producing for ya humans. Tell this old monster, do you think ya humans would be interested in this kind of junk? It’s been quite a long time since I last been above.”“I think there will be some who would really like this. I really like the leather binding to this though the most, but that is just me.” You smiled, replacing the book back onto the self. “Are all the books here from Monsters?”“Not all; lots of them were just old books that made their way to us over the years from your kind just dumped down the river for us, I guess. If you’re looking for more Monster-kind books, I recommend the new Library old Fluffybuns built the first month up top. You will find it closer to the Queens school at the end of the main road, which is still being built.” Gerson walked around you and behind the counter, giving Sans not even a glance and acting as if that was normal for him to do.“Fluffybuns?” You had a feeling whoever this Fluffy bun was, but you were not going to outright say it to anyone, let alone an ancient monster.“The King, lass!”“R-right, King Asgore, got ya.” You shifted awkwardly, still not about to repeat the nickname. For some reason, the monster just found this issue funny enough to warrant an old crackling, wheezing chuckle.“Aye, lass, don’t worry about it. Me and the King have been friends for a very long time. Longer than we have been stuck underground, might I add? But I am being rude, my girl. I’m Gerson! Seller of junk and old monster with too much time on his hands.” Gerson smiled a crinkly smile at you, so you came away from the books and over to the counter closer to Sans.“Brighid, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”“A lass from the old country, huh?”“Well, my name is. Yeah, I was born on this side of the sea, I’m afraid, but my father's side of my family is from that side of the sea.”“I see, I see; when you return, you must share what has changed! Now let me see if we can’t get this set of lazy bones moving.” Gerson winked at you, raising his voice louder than what was really called for. “Oh, lass, would you look at who it is, Papyrus!”This caused Sans to snap awake, a mild look of surprise on his face as if he didn’t expect to have fallen asleep, but here you all were anyway.“Oh, not just the shadow playing on this old monster’s eyes. Sorry about that, Sans, my boy.” Gerson cackled, waving in return as you started to head out from the shop, waving goodbye yourself.“Oh well, he still has a lot to show me, so we should be heading on out. I will be back soon, though, Mr. Gerson.” With another wave and Sans's sheepish smile, he trailed behind you back outside, stretching his bones. You walked in silence, just enjoying the pleasant sound of the town around you for a bit, taking your time passing by each shop and looking at what they had for sale or offered before moving on. The air was clear and crisp, and the noise pollution was kept down to a very low volume thanks to almost all the cars being run on electricity. There had been one gas station a way back just inside the gates with some snacks, but other than that, it had been nothing but hookups for cars or bikes.“So, what are you looking for, Mr. tour guy.” You asked suddenly before you could think better of the question as your mind kept turning back to why he asked you the same thing after Muffet number on the box was discovered. It was a question that had been making its way into your thoughts now and again when you had nothing else better to wonder about as he led you down the street, pointing out things that might interest you along the way.“heh, well, i’m too much of a lazy bones myself. can’t really be bothered when I have my brother and the kid to look out for.” He replied lazily, giving a chuckle while you walked past different front stores.“O-Oh right, that makes sense…” Awkward tension filled you that ebbed into a touch of disappointment.I'm unsure what else I expected, but why do I feel disappointed. Glancing at Sans, who seemed to not notice your turn in mood, you decided to try to distract yourself by looking at the stores and houses along the road. Many of them had rabbit puns in the name, and while they looked normal on the outside, most of the buildings had a pestail color paint job to them, making them stand out.“Sans! Oh, good, I'm glad you came by today. Mind doing us a favor?” Before you had the chance to ask why, they all had rabbit puns in their store named a sizeable purple bunny monster, still wearing a sun dress in this kind of weather, with a grey fabric that wrapped over her shoulder from each side before crossing under her bust. Then your mind was filled with aww’ing sounds as a tiny rabbit baby poked one of its large ears over its mother’s shoulder to give you an interested look. They were just too cute, and you wanted to pet their little head, but when Sans turned and looked to see who had called him, you pulled yourself back before you could make a sound out loud.“i’m all ears; what do you need?” You thought the mother would be offended by San's rude pun, but she just laughed, waving him off as if he was talking about the time of day or that it was normal.“Do you mind picking up the rest of the kids from the daycare? Papa is running late in traffic and won’t be home in time to do so.” She then waved a hand over her other shoulder, and another baby popped up, sucking on its ear. “My sister is out of town, with the oldest kids taking that trip with Undyne in the woods, and I got to mind the store.”“sure thing, buddy, let me pick out some stuff for dinner at home in return. Let me just ask my companion here really quick. what do you say, brighid, want to see the library, or do you need me to get ya home?”“Let me just check the time.” You looked at your phone, noting some messages from the gang but nothing that needed your attention right then, at least. You still had to get home and at least get ready for the work week sometime that night, but finding it just about 3 p.m. in the afternoon, you figured you had plenty of time. “If I can get in on this dinner, then yeah, for sure, let’s pitter-patter then.” You eagerly agreed, laying out your terms, but Sans chuckled, his eyes rolling away from you and back to the mother.“i think you mean hop to it. be back soon with the kids, shouldn’t be too long.” Sans waved the purple rabbit inside goodbye, who gave Sans a relieved sigh and shuffled back into her shop. Sans let out a whistling tune of the Magic School Bus with you briefly trailing behind him, taking the chance to enjoy the way. Sans seemed to not be in any hurry to walk at more than a lazy pace, allowing you to take in the more suburban feel of the townhouses and the homes for the school that looked like they could fit up to 12 kids at a time per home. So, each one was a large box-style house, not unpleasant to look at. Actually, it was cute and quaint in style, and all the different houses, while simpler in style and shape, were different enough to give some personality to it.“here, bud.” Sans handed you another spider donut he had pulled back from his phone.“Thanks.” Taking it from Sans, both of you walked so you could eat and drink on the way to the school. As you munched on your doughnut, you watched as a few of the houses had both human and monster kids working out in the yard, raking leaves and mowing. As you passed by more houses, you found that all the monster kids who hung out around pre-teen and younger human children wore strips of some kind or shape or form. You noted that the teenage monsters hanging out with some humans around a grill did not have stripes on their clothing.“Hey, Sans, what is up with the stripes?” Taking a sip on your almost empty cup of cider, trying to make it last the walk, waiting for Sans to give you a perplexed side glance before his eyes lights widen a bit when you connect the dots to your question.“oh, monster kids wear strips of some kind on their clothes. it helps let us know who the children are. even with the monsters who age differently from others, it can be hard to tell. think back to frisk and what they wear; most of it is strips.”“Hm… so some monsters have a longer life span than others? I guess that makes sense, seeing how some Monsters remember before being trapped.” You trailed off as you nibbled your doughnut eyes, slightly unfocused as you thought about that. It did explain how the King, Queen, and Gerson all were still living if some monsters age differently.“some, yes, but really, most monsters live about 100 years or so, some longer, some much shorter. tori and asgore are a special kind of monster called a boss monster. they are stronger and longer lived than other monsters; they are really the last two.” Sans sighed a little bit at the end of his explanation, making you frown a little bit, so you reached out and gave him a little bit of a side hug.“You got to tell me, is it the same for monster teens to have the “no, I’m such an adult. Look at me; I’m not a baby anymore, mooom” phase that we do?” You asked with a smirk, leaning in and asking as if it was something no one should be talking about in public. You didn’t like seeing Sans visibly down, so you felt a bubble of giddy delight when Sans snorted, giving you a quick side hug before getting a smirk on his face.“oh yeah, you should have seen undyne when she was a kid just out of her stripes.” Sans then went into the story about how undyne had challenged the king when she was no older than Frisk to a fight and how the King simply let her wear herself out before offering to train her himself. Undyne father had been the captain of the royal guard before her, but the day that he was going to retire, a human had come from above and had been killing folks; one of the monsters who died was Undyne father.“I… I don’t know what to say about that other than I’m sorry that happened to any of you.” Your voice was soft, and you almost stopped, but Sans kept walking, waving it off as if it was no big deal.You didn’t like how Sans turned the conversation sad again, even if he was smiling and joking around and making the both of you laugh. Still, something rang hollow with each joke becoming more cynical. He didn’t say anything about being sad. Every time you had a chance to bring it up, he went into a different story about the stories from his childhood, making you more than frustrated about it. Brushing the crumbs from your cheek, you look around, trying to think of something.That something came in the form of Sans walking past the main entries to the large library campus rather than heading down to one side to some other buildings that must be the daycare. You paused at the main entrance; the building was made from purple stone that showed brightly and regally with the Delta symbol carved into the main doors that looked like they had been made of stone. Maybe forcing him to show you around would make him think about something else. Usually, you didn’t want to be in someone else's business, but today, you must have failed you're will check as you pushed forward, shrugged off the compulsion to see Sans real happy, not this fake happy.“Hey, Sans, what does it mean…“Only the fearless may proceed. Brave ones, foolish ones. Both not walk the middle road."” You called out, stopping Sans for a moment to point at the stone where it was written on the front door. In fact, now that you took a closer look at the whole front of the building, it looked like there was nowhere for the doors to open on their own. There was, however, what looked like the lever to the right of the stone door. There was a wide but short staircase that branched off on each side of the landing (with a ramp in the middle for others who needed it... The stones in front of you on the ground had six block-type bricks that raised up slightly. There was a switch in the middle between the two stairs, a kind of levers. Around the stairs, on each curved side, there was a perfectly trimmed hedge and small ground kind of flowers that still had the last of the colors of fall before the frost killed the rest without mercy.“oh yeah, i guess you would not know. monsters are all about puzzles, so to bring some of the monster culture to the place, frisk picked out the first three puzzles for the main door.”“…. Do you think I can give it a go? Please?” You wanted to take the front door, not the sideway Sans wanted to do; he seemed hesitant, and his face was the first unreadable. Had he gotten wise to the fact you were trying to distract him without outright saying it? So, you pulled your trump card you had quickly figured out from being around Sans that could be used in your favor.“Besides, won’t it be nice to see Papyrus's face over dinner? I know he trained Dumpling to do the same thing.” You offered it up to the air, and Sans watched you with dim eyelights, face just neutral. You felt odd about the look, putting your hand on your hip, waiting for him to decide. Finally, Sans gave a one-shoulder shrug, face sliding into a dimmed light look, and a stony smile crusted onto his skull. Sans shook his head with a sigh.“you right, friend, you should. it’s the hint to get the doors open for ya. go ahead give it a try then, i’ll be over here.” Sans placed his other hand into his hoody, watching you brighten and turn to give the entrances another once over while you pointedly ignored the tired look in his eyes.“Walk not the middle road...” You thought it was not hard to figure out, so you carefully stepped onto all the stone blocks but the middle ones before going over the lever and pulling it down. There were sounds of some kind of mechanics as the door started to swing open; smiling, you turned to look back at Sans, but he was gone, making you frown a little bit; he was probably up at the top inside, already knowing his “vanishing tricks.” Climbing up the steps, you confirmed what happened when the doors closed. You found him leaning against one of the walls to the right.“not bad, but then again, the humans wanted the door part easy, so see if you can figure out the next part, buddy.” The next room was a good-sized room that was rectangular in shape. At the end of the room was a doorway where you could see spikes preventing your way past the door. The flowing sound of water was audible to the room's glow from the sky lit above to provide light during the day, but you spotted a few lights that could be used if it got too dark outside to light up the room. Moss was growing along the wall, and a plaque in the middle of the room on the left wall. The room walls were made out of the same brick-like stone that made up the library's entrance, the same floor almost blending in with the walls, if not the lighter pink strips of smooth stones that etched out a bending line stretched across the room. On each of the long lengths of pink stone that were horizontal was a rock followed by a line, then a metal plate, four rocks in total.The plaque itself simply read as such.“Though our struggles are different, we are the same.” ( AN: this next puzzle is a mix between the rock puzzle and blueprint one by combining them together. Put the rocks on top of the blueprint layout that you have to push in the rock room in the game) You glanced back at Sans with a confused look. “Well, I’m guessing this is a safe puzzle outside of the spiky-looking spikes over there, right?” Sans winked and shrugged at you, making a zipping, his lips closed motion that got him a raspberry blown at him by you, but you smiled when he snorted at you, relaxing a bit.“Mharbh feòrachas an cat, ach thug riarachadh air ais e.”“What does that mean?” There was a sense of inquisitiveness in Sans's eyes now that was overtaking the flat. He tried false happiness to his bones, so it was your turn to shrug. Still, it was not as icy as Sans was outside, even if he already warming back up to his usual self.“What’s the Hands sign for cat again?” You just asked in return, not directly answering him, moving to the first rock and looking at the line before giving the stone a gentle push with your foot. It slides across the floor gently without you needing to move it again, sliding onto the metal plate with a soft click. You turned your head over your shoulder to watch as Sans signed before turning around all the way and signing simply.“Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.”“hehehe, getting better at hands, i see.”“Hell, yeah, I am; got to stay on the top of my game, you know.” You beamed at Sans praise, feeling warm in the chest as you went and pushed the other rocks into place just as you did the first one. When the final one clicked into place, the spikes blocking your way to the next part of the room slowly sunk down into the ground, leaving a wooden bridge behind for you to cross.“Well, onto the next part…” Sans was already gone again after you looked back at him, blowing another raspberry into the air, and walked into the next part of the room.The other half of the room was much like the last; the only difference was that the floor had been replaced with mostly water surrounding a chunk of spikes. At the end was another grand door like the one you first passed, so you guessed that this had to be the end of the puzzles you had to go through to get into the school proper; in front of that door was Sans, who waved at you before leaning against the door as if it was second nature to him.“Yeah, okay, Sans, I’m just going to say digging the aesthetics to traps and all, but don’t you think a library of all places is not the best place for spikes? Gods below help us if Linda finds out she might be right regarding danger. As dangerous that is on its own now that I say that…” You called out, putting your hands on your hips. Just a few blocking your way was one thing; having to get across a whole damn chunk of them with no other way around them, but water was another thing in itself. All Sans did was chuckle with unhidden mirth at your concerned look at the spikes but didn’t say anything else that would either explain or help you.You went back to the plaque to reread it before carefully looking at the pink stones laid on the floor. Okay, maybe this was not too hard, and the spikes were just there for the aesthetics of it all. Jogging back to the bridge and crossing it, you found it empty. Sans was nowhere in sight, which makes sense since he had been doing that every time you had solved something to meet you in the next room. Walking the same path, the pink stones played out; you found the spikes would whip back down into the floor to allow you to pass and would not return to standing upright way until you were two blocks of spikes away. “Okay, maybe not so dangerous, dangerous looking, yes.” You grumbled to yourself, happy for that one note.The final door you didn’t have to pull anything for, and you found it swung open quite easily when you pushed on it. The fall sun and fresh air greeted you as you entered an open courtyard and the library. The central courtyard was shaped in a half circle that wrapped around the front of the school’s inner walls, filled with all kinds of different hedges shaped in different animals and shapes, places to sit, and trees to have shade. On the other side of the courtyard was another building that connected to the one you just came out of, made from more modern building material than the stone walls behind you. It was clear that the way the library was designed, it had a lot of open rooms planned for the people to walk, sit, eat, or study.Your tour monster was standing not too far from the door, talking. Easily with dawning relation and dismay, you saw it was none other than the Queen of monsters herself, Toriel. Unlike what you have seen on TV, she was just wearing a simple pleated green skirt that came down to her bare paws, a cream tangerine sweater covering the rest of her body, with no other accessories but the small glasses she wore on her longer snout. In one of her big arms, she held some folders and binders; as her other paw covered her mouth, the trail ends of a snort fell silent as the two monsters turned to face you.Gulping, you felt so small compared to the Queen; even though she looked friendly and motherly, not to mention soft from her fur, the size of the monster and the still regal way she carried herself seemed to dwarf you in comparison, just a head shorter than Papyrus. Now, you were faced with the fact that you had no idea how to greet the monster in front of you as you shot Sans a pleading glance to help you out before you just shut down from anxiety, but you found none.“Welcome, my child. You must be Brighid. Sans was just telling me that you were going to be coming soon. I am so happy to finally meet you, child; Frisk speaks highly of you.” The queen moved over to you, making you feel ever so tiny as your face flushed hard at the compliment, causing you to sputter a little, trying to make words come out of your mouth right.“O-oh, Queen Toriel, um, thank you. I’m happy I could make a good impression on Frisk.” You glanced away, not able to meet her eyes quite as you bowed your head slowly, not sure if you needed to bow properly or the like. “Sorry, did I need to, um, do something else?” The queen just simply laughs, not rudely but one that sounds just like the ones your Aunts used when they were laughing at the innocence of a child when they said something silly.“There is no need for you to bow your head, my child; please call me Toriel, but if that makes you uncomfortable, Ms. Dreemurr is just as fine.” There was a warmth to her voice as she spoke, but it was the soft paw placed on your shoulder that made you look up at once and nod a little, giving a small smile of gratitude at her, your anxiety momentarily forgotten for now at that laugh.“I can do that, Ms. Dreemurr. Sans was kind enough to show me around town today; I’m very happy everything looks so bright for your people.” You gushed a little bit, looking around at the courtyard again before looking back to the queen, who smiled back warmly at you. Still, you could have sworn when you mentioned Sans showing you around town, that warm smile was beyond amused for just a moment before settling back into a more mellowed, amused smile.“Thank you, my child, that means a lot to us to hear. I am so happy you were eager to try the puzzles to enter the library rather than the other entrance. They are part of ancient fusions between diversions and door keys found everywhere in the Underground!” The queen, in turn, gave you a quick inside look at why the puzzles were made at least hard to pass through. For a moment, you thought about how it made sense. Now, thinking about it: if you wanted to keep someone out of your home, you would make it as hard as possible, giving you every chance to strike the intruder or get away. You were pulled back to the conversation quickly when the queen kept going, her smile growing even brighter, and you had the sense of “Oh no…”.“It is something I recommend you ask Papyrus this evening at dinner you are having with the boys. Sans was just telling me how you are interested in cooking with monster food!” There was a pause here as she glanced back at Sans, then back at you, a smile just with the edge of a teasing. “And how much you loved the cookies I baked the other day. It warms this old lady to have another human likes my cooking like that. If you ever want a baking lesson, just let one of the boys know, and they will contact me. I would be so happy to teach a human to bake.”This had your mouth hanging open, your eyes glancing over to Sans, who had just an eat-shit grin on his face, and okay yeah, you guess that was fair after what you did to him out front, but it still pissed you off a little bit. He knew how much it made you feel anxiety thinking about being around Frisk's family like that without fucking it up and making a fool out of yourself. But now he had put you in a very tight spot that forced you into a spot where there were only so many options you could take if any others gave themselves lightly if that. So, you were stuck between trying to not bother the queen with teaching you or letting your nature learn and see new cool things being the crutch of your very being.“O-ooh, did he know? W-...” You cleared our thoughts and gave a brighter smile, nodding your head. “Well, I would very much love to learn how Ms. Dreemurr; if the offer is extended to me, I will make sure next time I have some free time between work and my musical obligations, I will ask the boys about it.” You figured that this was just the best that you could do, it would not be right to drag the queen into you and Sans tit for tat, but that didn’t seem to be an issue for the two of you as the Queen let go to clap her hands together if not careful of her binders and folders.“Oh, this is just splendid child! I do apologize for having to cut the conversation short. I have a PTA meeting to attend. Thank you for visiting our home, Brighid, and you for showing her around, Sans. Farewell.” The queen waved back at the both of you while Sans walked around next to you now with a normal smile as he waved back at her.“see ya tori.”“Have a nice meeting, Ms. Dreemurr.” You knew she said you didn’t have to bow your head, but you did a swift one to show your respect. But you waved goodbye to her when you did, so you guessed that made it alright as Toriel was already walking away to her meeting.“whelp, now that’s done, let’s go get the kids and head back to the house, okay?” While Sans still had a smile on his face, there was an edge of tiredness to it that was not hard for you to miss, making you feel a little more guilty for making this trip longer than it needed to be. Even his eyelights seem a bit duller than normal to you.“Sure, lead the way, Sans. Promise I won’t go on any other side missions.” You gave him that much to put him at ease as you walked together with you a bit behind for a few minutes as you made your way the other way the queen had gone, through some main larger halls and out through one smaller courtyard that opened up to a small parking lot and the building with the daycare just across the small street, finally reaching what you had come to do all along.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

You ended up opting to stay outside of the building, making the excuse of replying to some messages, and you didn’t want to stand there in the way like a weirdo. The “daycare” was more like a large youth center that acted like a daycare in the loose sense of the word for the older children from what you had gained from Sans during the talk on the way here when you asked about it. From what little you saw when the door opened, the first room was much like a large lobby but more comfortable for people to pick up the kids. There was even a monster and a human working together behind a desk at the back of the room before the door closed off your view with a final click. So you did what you said you wanted to do. In the meanwhile, while Sans collected the kids, you replied to Ava from earlier, telling her some details about the day so far, along with assuring her that you already had the day during the orchestra performance was already marked down for half days. You had to fight your way to having that time off, going so far as to make sure you also had Yule off to see family; you had to work Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday hours, along with any ER calls you might get on the sporadic cases now. Looking at the group chat, it was quiet today, really, but if Sans and you were about the town and if the mother was right, Undyne was in the forest with a bunch of kids, and Papyrus was busy, you guess there was nothing to note there. 
 
There was a calamity of noise right by the door, distantly sounding like several voices crying out for ‘Sansy’ as the door whipped open with Sans crashing to the ground with a laugh of a yelp as he was covered with two three-foot rabbit children giving him larges hugs, there were five other children at a glance you had to figure to be between the ages of tens and under but not as young as the children giggling pulling your eyes back down to your fallen friend who was maybe around fiveish. 
 
“Sansy! You can’t trick us; you’re not asleep!” The twin, who was wearing the pinkest shirt with strips of white along the long sleeves, pouting at Sans, who, for his part, did look like he had suddenly fallen asleep on the ground. The other child, twins now that you had more time to look at them closer, who dressed in the same striped shirt but in blue, had started to poke at Sans all over his chest and face as if trying to get the skeleton to react or tickle him it was not that clear. You stood there and watched as Sans ‘snored’ in response to the children's prodding, quite loudly in fact that it made the others who had grouped up around the door into a fit of giggles that they did their very best not to show in front of their younger siblings. Taking a closer look, you noticed that everyone had a twin or in-the-middle set case triplets, a range of fur colors of soft purples like their mother or a creamy white. 
 
“Sansyyyyyyyyy!” The girl sighed dramatically, throwing her white ears back, flopping them to the side, puffing out her cheeks as she got off Sans, her twin following suit as they grabbed one of his hands and pulled, with all their little might, trying to pull Sans off the ground but he was not moving. It was the same kind of trick that he had used last night, you realized, suddenly making you chuckle at the children's effort. Your chuckle brought the children’s attention to you, unsure if you were friendly or if they should even be talking to you; you even noticed the older rabbits shifting closer to the door and filing out now so they could keep a closer eye on you. So, you gave them a welcoming wave before stepping over to Sans, holding a hand to him with the other on your hip.

“You need a hand there, Sansy?” You teased lightly, offering a hand to the skeleton, who was peeking out at you with one half-closed eye before he took it so you could heft him off the ground. Once he was up, the twins returned to his side at once, giving another squeal of happiness now that he was up and awake again. 
 
“Sans, Sans, who is this?” Rabbit in pink went hanging on Sans's left sleeve, pulling with one hand and looking you up and down as if you were going to throw down, spunky. Rabbit in blue was hiding behind the one in pink; the edges of his ears nibbled at the edges of his mouth, but he was giving you a similar look as their twin but not so fierce, if not a little worried. Chuckling, Sans gave you a shrug as if what you were going to do about kids with his free arm. 
 
“well kiddos, this here is brighid. she is what you call a human.” The kids in the back groaned a little at how he answered the youngest ones, but it made you giggle a little bit, making sure to give a little wave to the youngest set of twins by Sans. 
 
“Heya.” 
 
“Ohhhhhhhhh…” The youngest twin nodded as if that would be the end of it, but then she pipped up again as a clear thought ran across her face, looking up at Sans again. “Wait, is this the ‘pretty lady’ Frisky was talking about that you like so much?!” 
 
There was a heavy pause before you started laughing, but every second spent in silence had Sans flushing bluer and bluer, and that well just sent you right over the edge into a laughing fit in the end. Kids could be such a hoot sometimes when they ask questions like that so bluntly without the filter adults have. Besides, based on what Sans told you earlier today, he was not in a place for a relationship, so the kids had to be talking about a friendship with him, not a romantic one. 
 
When you could stand up, whipping the edge of your eyes with the back of your hand as you tried to calm down, you could hear Sans finally chuckling along with the rest of the group. Glancing over, you found Sans watching you, not as bright blue as before, but now it was a light touch of blue on his cheeks, looking at you with such a soft look that it made you flush across the cheeks just as hard as he did, you could hear the SpongeBob meme of “Oh no he’s hot” in the back of your head before you shut that down with a cough. 
 
“W-what are your names?” You asked, looking away from Sans and strictly looking just at the children and not the soft way Sans was looking at you. The child who asked the question had let go of Sans's jacket sleeve and was now pulling on your sleeve, pulling the other one behind them with the other hand. 
 
“I’m Delaney, and I’m six years old!” Delaney's fur was purple, the same color as her mother’s, her ears still a bit too big for her head, flopped over lower than her siblings; ironically, a rabbit ear style hairband colored cyan decorated her head. “This is my twin, Dylan. Don’t mind him though, pretty human, he does not talk much.” Dylan only gave you a nod of his white fur head ears similar to his sisters, but rather than let them dangle, he had one of them in his hand, alternating between nibbling at the said ear or rubbing it between his fingers. You took note of the same state of cyan, tiny little bow tie around his neck, both had a backpack strapped to them, as you gave them a nod before looking to where Delaney was pointing next. As she did, Sans took this chance, took Dylan’s hand, and led the group back out through the regular entrance. 
 
“And this is Callie, Chloe, and Claire!” Delaney chirped, swinging your arm as she walked and talked, introducing you to her family. The triplets were each carrying a string instrument of a small size, so they had to be some kind of violin on their backs, all looking up from their phones to address you. Each dress in what you had to guess was the current popular style for their age group, eight, you found out, thanks to Delaney. 
 
They were more than willing to open up to you, however, when you told them that you played the cello and standing base, along with the fact that you played in an orchestra in the big city. Callie, a cream purple color rabbit wearing a green bow behind her ears, who stood up and flopped only at the very ends, asked you several questions about what classical music you liked to play. 
 
Chloe, whose fur was grey but shiny in color, with two green bows by her ears, asked what kind of music you would be playing in the orchestra for the upcoming two-week performance at the start of December: Christmas song with a few classical songs peppered in. Chloe, a light purple with just a green hairband holding back a tuff of fur, wanted to know where she could find free music sheets for popular songs and that you were happy to help with. 
 
“And the two lazy fluffy butts in the back are Bailey and Bennett. They are the oldest here right now since big brother Alexander and sis Abigail went with Undyne today, so they are trying to act like boring adults and be all brooding artists.” Bailey and Bennett, stark white ten-year-old who trailed at the back of your group the whole time, each had a large folder to hold onto substantial drawing boards for ease of transport. The brooding artist remark had to come from the very hipster outfits, the colors muted in browns and greys that made it hard for one to tell if they had stripes from far away, but they still had them, along with bright yellow beanies that held their ears back to hang behind their shoulders. But soon enough, you had them coming closer to the group as you asked if they had made the beanie; when they said no, you said it was very artistry of them if they learned how to make one from yarn, even you could do it in a few hours if you had the need. 
 
When you finally reached the shop, you had just finished explaining to Delaney while lacking in any real sports, you did know how to shoot a bow and could use a stick for self-defense. You were not a half-bad shot at the ren fair, but it had been a while since you had a chance to do any sports that her older brother and sister were doing a “body training” camp with Undyne that they were busy with. The rest of the kids filed into the shop, with you and Sans last with young twins. Still, Delaney broke off from her brother to drag you away before you could get a good look at the store as she pulled you over to her mother to introduce the last of her family. 
 
“This is Mama, and they are Eli and Ella. They are too tiny to come with us to the fun place, so they stay here with Mama and Papa when they work.” Delaney proudly proclaimed to you, finally letting your hand go and putting her little paw hands on her hips, declaring that she was proud of her explanation. You had a moment of oh shit fear creep into your soul as Delaney had two hazardous combinations; you had suddenly come to sharp relation that this child had your quest for knowing things and Papyrus's style of enthusiasm. 
 
“Would you like to hold them?” 
 
“Huh? What??” The mother's voice broke you out of your thoughts, and it was like the rest of today’s thoughts of its kind shoved away for later thinking. “O-oh! Sure, if that is alright with you, Ma’am…” But a cream grey color fur, onesie-wearing rabbit child was placed into your arms as their mother just sighed, shaking her head but with a smile on her lips. 
 
“You kids are so nervous around the young.” The purple rabbit smirked as she held the twin, who was a rosy purple, both wearing blue baby caps to keep their long ears out of the way, for just long enough until you had the first one settled, then promptly handed over the other one. “This one is Ella.” The mother explained as she smiled at you, watching you try not to cry over how cute her youngest children were.
 
“Ella and Eli came right after Frisky saved us from the Underground!” Delaney very loudly proclaimed, pulling at your sweater to draw your eyes down to her as she jumped in place a little bit as she shared this info with you.

You wanted to feel like you had a few weaknesses in the world that could be used against you, one being cute animals, the others being children like the rabbit children and your stubbornness. 
 
“Baby, why don’t you go and get some sweeping done now for Mama while she talks to the nice lady?” Delaney was disappointed, wanting to tell you more about her young siblings, but stopped and did what her mother told her to do. You noticed that Sans was entertaining Dylan still, but you could not see what he was doing all that well. It looked like Sans was ‘helping’ Dylan do his chores by lifting him into the air with magic, doing something with the selves and moving things around, joined by Dylan's twin, who had ‘swept’ maybe all but two moments before Sans drew her into his shenanigans. 
 
“Names Jade, by the way, see Sans over there was showing you around town this afternoon. He behaved himself, didn’t he?” Jade brought you back to the conversation you were having with her, only yelping a little bit when both now Eli and Ella took turns tugging at your hair braid and poking your soft human ears, looking very worried as to why you didn’t have “normal ears.” 
 
“Brighid, and yes, he was showing me around town.” You smirked at the last part of her question. “Behaving, yes.” 
 
“Good, you just let me know if he doesn’t behave. I have known those boys since they were just little bones. Always getting into some situation one way or another.” You ducked your head down to take a closer look at the cute little ears of the twins in your arms rather than let Jade see the faint blush across your cheeks, and it must have just been you acting. After all, why would someone you just met think that Sans was dating you? It's just you overthinking things. 
 
“W-will do…” You mumbled sheepishly to Jade, rubbing one finger along the twin's ears. Their fur was so very soft, and both of the babies yawned a little bit, snuggling closer to your chest. 
 
“I’m going to see what got the kids and Sans all quiet. Be right back.” You nodded in understanding, barely noting the eerie silence hushed over the store, with kids in the picture that probably up to nothing good. So, you returned your attention to the babies in your arms, allowing Jade to go off and find out where the twins were with Sans. 
 
Watching them fall asleep in your arms, you thought about how blessed they would be, the first of a new generation to walk the earth free once more. Unlike their brothers, sisters, and community members, they would never have to wonder what the sky, sun, or stars looked like.
 
You felt your chest clutch at that thought, the babies in your arms finally asleep. You had a nagging feeling at the back of your head that maybe you were being a little silly over a pair of twins. It was not that big of a deal, but you still felt that they would be living through rough and exciting being the first generation to be born above the Underground. 
 
There was an eruption of giggles and laughter from one of the ales you could not see, along with Jade's motherly sigh and the mumble of Sans's apology, which gave you a chance to glance around to make sure no one could hear you being silly as you returned your glaze the babies now happily asleep against you each of their tiny hands either holding one another or your shirt. 
 
“Gum fàs thu sean san aodann. Bi ionmhas agus cùram le gràs. Beannaich solas na grèine agus solas na gealaich thu.” It was a hushed whisper of a small traditional blessing, one you have heard many times before from your aunts, but you added your flair onto it at the end about some cheesy stuff about the moon and sun because why not if no one else was going to hear you being cheesy. Adjusting the kids to one arm, you kissed two fingers gently and then bopped the bunny’s foreheads softly, smiling down at them now that you felt the blessing was to your satisfaction.
 
You guess the motion of moving them and giving them a bop woke the twins up slightly, each of them yawning loudly as they sleepily watched you with sleep-glazed-over eyes reflected a flash of green?? It was strange that they both did it simultaneously and gave you the same look, but you just left it as kids being kids in their little freaky way. 
 
“I see it's someone’s nap time; you two can pick what you want from the store. I’m going to go put them down for a nap.” You turned when Jade's voice got your attention again, and you smiled at her, handing over the kids one at a time, watching as they snuggled even more closely `into their mothers’ fur than you. When she turned to walk into a door behind the counter, you guessed it led to her own home, and you did the same to look for Sans. 
 
Now, given a chance to look around, you found that most items were simple food items, flour, simple pasta, and even in an upright cooler, “hot dogs,” all claiming to be something made from a ‘water sausage’ you noted. There were other items, a lot of root vegetables, stuff that didn’t need a lot of light to grow; you noticed that a lot of the stuff was vegan, but there was some common fresh fish, quite a few snails as well that you knew came from the local river but nothing like beef or even chicken you noted. There were other items since the store was more like a dollar general store outside the monster type of food. As you found Sans slowly replacing some cans of peas in one of the rows, you raised your hand to get his attention. 
 
“Jade has gone to put the babies to bed and said we can go ahead and grab the stuff we wanted. If you want, I can go grab it while you finish?” Sans leaned back on his heels with a lopsided grin and raised the rest of the cans with his blue, glowing magic and put them back into place as he replied. 
 
“well, you’re the guest friend, so you can pick it out. after all, you want to cook so bad with monster food, so here is your chance.” Sans offered the challenge. Well, it sounded like one-on at first, but there was just something off that you could not put your finger on. Maybe it was just you, so you smiled and straightened up from looking at some snacks to look at Sans nodding.  
 
“Hmm, alright, anything off the table?” You asked, giving the cans another glance over as you already gathered ideas for something that would probably impress both the skeletons and something you could make that the store offered to you.
 
“nope, go wild, friend.” In the moment of giggly excitement, you almost missed the odd, practically formal way he said, friend. It made you hesitate for just a moment, but Sans just walked on down the row of cans so he could point out a few of the essential items as if nothing was wrong with what he said. So, you brushed it off just as quickly, finally setting on one dish to make as you both hunted the items needed for hamburger helper. Since Papyris likes noodles and Sans likes hamburgers, you figured you could make a homemade kind for them to be safe for taste preference. 
 
 “Cool, what do you think? Is that enough for everyone?” You questioned Sans, handing out the objects you had been holding in your arms so he could bag them up and write down what you all took for Jade. If there were not enough or something that Sans or his brother could not eat, he would surely tell you, or well, you had to assume because Sans just shrugged a little bit. 
 
“think so, pap normally cooks, so this looks about right.” The nagging feeling that you fucked up with Sans over using his brother to get him to let you go through the puzzles back at the school. It didn’t help either that you acutely felt tired, not so much you wanted to go home but like you just had a workout or something. Maybe it was all the mental gymnastics you were playing now with yourself, trying to figure out if you did do something or if you were just being sensitive. So you wanted to try to pay it no mind. 
 
“So, all this came from the underground? I don’t recognize some of the food brand names.” You asked Sans when he passed the bag over to you to hold, holding onto the bag for him this time. As much as you like seeing new kinds of mind-blowing things, you had enough for one day with him doing such things. Besides, it gave you something to do with your hands as you returned to the parked bike. You smiled at him, hoping for his typical playful banter about you asking questions, but all he did was chuckle and shrug before leaping into a clear explanation. 
 
“yeah, everything with that logo of a mountain means that it came from the underground, and monsters can eat it. the whole science behind it is that all food made by monsters is in themselves magic in nature, just like us. fact, we don’t have toilets in the underground because no matter what, all food eaten by monsters gets turned into magic, but if you eat only monster food, the same thing happens to humans, if you get my drift. frisk found that out when they were in the underground.” Sans reached over to flip the pasta box over to point at a stamp you hadn’t seen before.

“as long as it has that stamp on it, me and paps can eat it, just so you know. unlike other monsters, we don’t have the organs to eat your human food without a bit of magical help." He tapped on the box once more to make his point, and you nodded a little bit, pointing next to a diamond stamp with a percentage that read as 75% with a green background. 
 
“but that there tells you how much more ‘magic’ was put into making them. the higher the number, the easier it is for monsters who don’t have the right parts to eat solid food. i can’t your human food without something made from magic like the ketchup, for, say. that is the highest grade of magic i can get my hands on without an issue; why i like it so much. some monsters like undyne can eat things that have lower magical stuff to them, like fish and whatnot. some monsters like grillby can live off fire just fine.”  
 
“Huh…” It was a little awkward when Sans's info dump without his usual preamble and jabs. You guessed he was too tired for your questions, or he was still miffed about earlier, so he just got it over with. But maybe it was just you, so you huffed softly, putting on the helmet that Sans had offered with no puns, waiting for you to get onto the bike yourself. Looking away, you shoved the helmet the rest of the way onto your head and pushed yourself into the bike's sidecar with all the food. Looking out of the side, you watched the road slowly drive by as Sans pulled back out into the street to head back to his home.
 
There were a few moments where you turned and opened your mouth to say something before closing it and returning to look out at the passing nature as you drove home. You had reason to believe Sans was unhappy with you, but you could not bring it up just yet. It was a cowardly move, yes, but you didn’t want to upset him more if that is the case. You didn’t see Papyrus when you entered the home, followed by Sans after he put up the helmets after closing the door. 
 
“my bro should be finishing up his run in a few minutes, i can show you where the pots and pans are if you want to get the water boiling.” Sans offered, leaning against the sink near the drawer filled with bones that you pointy looked at to see if Sans would talk about that, but it seemed like he was all out of sharing for the moment when it came to magic. 
 
“Sure, I’m sure your brother won’t mind me at least boiling water in his kitchen.” You joked, unpacking the bag from the store and laying out the pasta on the counter while Sans fished out a large pan for you. “Oh, you mind getting a skillet out as well?” You requested, glancing behind you for Sans, who was reaching into one of the cabinets nearby, his head all the way inside of them. 
 
“sure thing.” You didn’t hear much movement from the cabinet he was hanging out from after that, but you didn’t want to say anything to him and make him more upset, so you let it go as the sound of the front door unlocking and opening followed by a very cheerful, 
 
“HELLO BROTHER, I’M HOME!” 
 
“hey, bro.” 
 
“OH, HELLO AS WELL, BRIGHID, IT IS SO NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN. WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE BY THE WAY? COULD IT BE THAT YOU LOVED MY SPAGHETTI SO MUCH YOU WANTED TO HAVE DINNER WITH ME?!!” Papyrus squealed, making you wince a little on the inside, not from him doing so, just the pitch of it hurt your ears just a bit. Sans didn’t speak up from still inside the cabinet. Still, when Papyrus came over after putting on his house shoes and putting his bag away, he pulled out a sleeping Sans stilling, holding onto the pot and skillet, just looking disappointed at his brother. 
 
“Y-yep got it in one Papyrus.” You smiled, grumbling in your mind that Sans better be happy his brother was here, or you would have some words about him avoiding you when you did something wrong. But you chewed at your lower lip as you bent down, picking the pots and pans from Sans's hands. You did not deserve to be angry at him, nor did you have any right to be salty with Sans and try to push the issue with him to say that you were sorry. You would have to wait for after dinner before you left to try to make things right, but meanwhile, you watched as Papyrus, dressed in a very sports-like outfit that seemed more fitted for the summer than fall, carried Sans over to the couch before dropping him there. “Sans got dinner from the grocery store in exchange for us picking up the owners’ children from the daycare.” You explained as Papyrus walked back over, giving the bag an approving once-over. 
 
“I SEE! HOW CURIOUS HE WAS PRODUCTIVE TODAY AFTER HIS ROMP OUT LAST NIGHT! IT IS QUITE RARE FOR HIM TO OFFER TO SHOW ANYONE AROUND, ALWAYS CLAIMING THAT HE DOES SUCH A BAD JOB OF IT OR THAT HE IS TO LAZY. NEVERTHELESS, I WILL ALLOW HIM TO NAP TILL DINNER TIME! NOW, HUMAN FRIEND, DO YOU WISH TO BOUND OVER THE COOKING!” Papyrus grasped your hands together in his gloved ones, giving you the purest of smiles and literal stars from his eyes. Giggling, you wiggled one hand free, patting the top of his gloved one, and returned the smile quickly. 
 
“I was hoping you would offer; I would love to. I tried to get everything one would need for hamburger helper as you can get.” You blinked off the floor as Papyrus scooped you up into a massive bear of a hug again. When he straightened up, he was tall enough to have you lifted off the floor with ease. 
 
“OH BOY, OH BOY! WE ARE GOING TO HAVE THE BEST FRIENDSHIP DINNER TO DATE, I WOULD SAY! FOR AS REPRESENTED OF THE ROYAL GUARD, I MUST DO MY BEST TO MAKE THE BEST IMPRESSION ON OUR NEW HUMAN FRIEND! EVEN WITH THIS “HAMBURGER HELPER, " WHATEVER THAT IS!” Striking a dramatic pose in the middle of the kitchen with you still in the hug but now tucked against his side like a simple doll. A snorting giggle wiggled out of you where your body could not. 
 
“Papyrus, you got to put me down first.” 
 
“OH RIGHT MY APOLOGIZE AGAIN!” 
 
“No prob, anyway, you never had hamburger helper?” You tilted your head to the side, wondering if they had such a thing in the underground. 
 
“ER…NO, NOT YET. MY COOKING CLASS TEACHER TALKED ABOUT IT ONCE, HOWEVER.. BUT! I WILL MAKE IT A POINT TO LEARN FROM WATCHING YOU, MY DEAR FRIEND SO THAT I CAN PERFECT IT FOR NEXT TIME YOU COME AND VISIT! SO, FOR THIS TIME, BRIGHID, I AM PROMOTING YOU TO HEAD CHEF, AND I WILL GIVE YOU THE HONOR OF HAVING ME AS YOUR SOUS CHEF!” 
 
“Alright, well, go ahead and fill up that pot with water for boiling. Do you have any salt around?” You beamed up at Papyrus, taking the whole thing in stride. That is okay; it could be a learning experience for both of you. “Where are you taking classes at?” 
 
“THE LEARNING CENTER YOU HUMANS CALL “COMMUNITY COLLEGE.” I BELIEVE YOU MIGHT HAVE HEARD OF SUCH A THING BEING AN EDUCATED HUMAN SUCH AS YOURSELF MY FRIEND.” 
 
“Ah, I see. Are you taking any other courses at the college? Thanks.” You took the salt offered, setting the pot back down onto the stove, now filled with water. You added the right amount of salt for normal pasta water and covered the pan with a lid for the water to boil as you looked over the back of the water sausage pack to try to see if you needed to cook it like meat or tofu. More like tofu, you figured out, so you could work with that just fine. 
 
“I, ALONG WITH SEVERAL OTHER MONSTERS, ARE TAKING CLASSES OF THE BASIC STEPPING BLOCKS YOU HUMANS HAVE HAD FOR YOUR LEARNING FOR SO LONG! I AM TAKING ENGLISH AND MATH FOR POINTS YOU CALL “CREDITS”.” 
 
“Oh wow, yeah, that is cool of you to take classes like that. Alright, where are your spices?” You asked next once you saw that Paprius had the pot set to boil now. All you had to do was wait for that to finish, but you might as well start cooking the hamburger part of this dish. 
 
“RIGHT OVER HERE. BUT IT WOULD SEEM THAT YOU ARE TOO SMALL TO SEE IT, SO HERE LET ME, AS YOUR SOU CHEF TO LIFT YOU.” Before you could protest, Papryus gripped you under the arm like a child and hefted you to the cabinet above the stove. Yes, you would have to say you would not have been able to see all that the boys had in the kitchen. Still, that did not help you keep the light dusting of a blush and a squeak that left you all the while, but you ignored it the best you could, focusing on the conversation with all you might to get over getting handled in such a way. “THERE WE GO, PICK WHATEVER YOU LIKE, CHEF! BUT YES, IT IS VERY COOL; AFTER ALL, IF LEARNING HUMAN HISTORY, I WILL BE ABLE TO MAKE EVEN BETTER PUZZLES FOR MONSTER KIND AS CAPTION OF THE ROYAL GUARDS!” 
 
“Thanks, Papyrus. It should just be a moment.” You leaned a little bit, holding yourself still with a hand on the closed door as you plucked a few spices from the pantry, keeping them in the crook of your arm. “When we stopped by the school to pick up some monster kids, Ms. Dreemurr said to ask you about why Monsters are so big on puzzles. So why did monster kind develop such a love for puzzles and traps?” You closed the door to signal you finished, and Papyrus put you down on the floor without you having to say a word about it. 
 
“OH, YOU MET LADY DREEMURR THEN, HOW WONDERFUL! BACK BEFORE MONSTER KIND WAS SEALED AWAY UNDERGROUND, ONE OF THE MONSTERS' MAIN DEFENSES, OTHER THAN OUR MAGIC, WAS THE ABILITY TO SET PUZZLES AND TRAPS THAT WOULD MAKE IT HARD FOR A FOE TO HURT YOU! THE PUZZLES IN THE UNDERGROUND USED THE ENVIRONMENT AROUND THEM TO MAKE UP THE PUZZLES THEY HAD YOU SOLVE TO MOVE DEEPER INTO THE UNDERGROUND! WHY, SANS AND I HAD A WHOLE RUN OF PUZZLES AND TRAPS BACK WHEN WE WERE SENTRIES. THEY WERE THE CLEVEREST TRAPS THAT EVEN FRISK AND ALL THEIR FRIENDSHIPS AND CLEVER THINKING HAD TROUBLE SOLVING! BUT SOLVE THEM THEY DID, SO I IMPROVED THEM, AND NOW THAT IS WHERE I TRAIN DUMPLING. BUT NOWADAYS, MOST PUZZLES ARE DONE IN FAIR JEST AND JAPS, LIKE THE ONES AT THE LIBRARY!” Papyrus explained, looking at the things you had brought down. 
 
“Well, that is clever. Though, most humans, when we think of puzzles and traps, think about boulders that roll after you pick up something heavy or blow darts coming from the wall when you step on a floor panel wrong.” You chuckled, thinking about how your race had put more thought into the ‘dangerous’ traps and puzzles than the monsters if you didn’t count the spikes. “Can you show me how to prep this? I think it’s the same as tofu, but I want to ensure before I mess things up.” 
 
“NONSENSE, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS MESSING THINGS UP WHEN IT COMES TO FOOD! AFTER ALL, UNDYNE DAYS THAT ALL ACCIDENTS IN THE KITCHENS ARE HAPPY ONES! UNLESS THEY SET BUILDINGS ON FIRE THEN NOT SO HAPPY.” Papyrus waved you off as if it was not something to be worried about, setting your kitchen on fire. Still, you were distracted from that thought as you watched Papyrus pull out two baking trays. You quickly learned through his explanation that it was just like how you make tofu; once he assured you that since it was the same, you could go and get the vegetables chopped up that you were going to put in with the pasta, that you also made sure to put into the now boiling pot of water. 
 
As you chatted with Papyrus about what you saw today in town, you gathered the things you would need to finish cooking the meal and having Papyrus get the oven ready for rolls. Vegetables are washed and prepared for you to cut up, along with the cutting board and knife that Papyrus retrieves for you. You were smiling brightly as the two of you laughed over a few things; you recounted this morning and how you would be more than welcome to try it again sometime if the dog was not around to steal it.
 
“STEAL? DID THE DOG STEAL YOUR BONES TOO?!” You had to assure him that not the dog did not take any of your bones, you promised, but it stole the food. You really didn’t want to, but when you explained that the dog ate both yours and Sans' breakfast, you reassured him that next time, he would look so crestfallen that the words had left your mouth before you could close it. But you felt it was worth the following, ensuring gushing and hugging from the taller brother about how such a good friend you were and how he was so happy Sans was the one to bring you into the circle of monster friends. Still trapped in the hug as Papyrus went on about Frisk's time in the underground and how they, too, bounded over his excellent spaghetti as you did with him just now.

You felt the twist of guilt come back tenfold at how you treated Sans this afternoon. He had every right to be upset with you. You have only known each other for a few weeks, not as long as all the other monsters you met today, so you are trying to do the same with the teasing. It only irritated him, you see now, and if his younger brother ever found you had a feeling, he would find it very uncool. A little more determined now, you resolved to apologize to Sans before you went home and promise not to do it again, but you understand if you might have pushed him away as a friend for now with your action. 
 
But you did not want that to get in the way of your dinner with the brothers, so you pushed it all deep inside, locked it up, and laughed as Papyrus's story came to an end; he, in turn, finally putting you back down onto the floor proper. With everything ready for the next part, you showed Papyrus your mix of spices and olive oil to give the water sausage the flavor of hamburgers. Then you started getting the pan hot, so when he finished pressing the sausages out of the water, they would be ready to throw into the pan with the vegetables, simple onions, and carrots. You started to cut your back and turned from the sink where he was pressing the two baking sheets together. Over the next few minutes of you concentrating on cutting the vegetables and not your hand and Papyrus mumbling under his breath low enough that you could not hear, you could tell from the huffs he might have been getting frustrated with the sausage not being done to his liking just yet. 
 
So this was why, as you cut a relatively thick carrot in half to fry it up as a side, you jumped with your heart in your throat. A startled yelp, the knife clattering to the kitchen floor when a loud bang from behind you and the hairs on the back of your neck standing up started you out from your headspace. Whipping yourself around to look at Papyrus, vegetables are forgotten on the cutting board, and nothing but the blood rushing through your ears as you looked at three very large, very white, and very magical bones pressing the last bit of water out from the pan as they pushed into the metal with more strength than his arms on their own. Papyrus, for his part, stood proudly, his cap waving in the wind, looking at you for praise, you guess. 
 
“NYA! THAT WATER SAUSAGE WON’T GET THE BEST OF MY DEAR CHEF! IT JUST NEEDED A LITTLE EXTRA HELP FROM MY AWESOME MAGICAL ATTACKS.” He possessed a dramatic hand on his chest and one on his hip, and his eyes closed. You let out a shaky laugh. 
 
“That is awesome, Papyrus, so you can make this whenever you like? Can they be different sizes? How long can they last? I found some bones in one of the kitchen drawers this morning that look just like them but only smaller.” The floodgate had opened, and with Papyrus, there was no limit to the questions you could ask. So, you could not help yourself as you watched the three large bones blip out from the world before you.   
 
(If you are sensitive to blood, be warned, here for a cut that would need stitches.) 
 
“YES, YES MANY SIZ… BRIGHID, I THOUGHT THE RED STUFF WAS TO BE ON THE INSIDE, NOT THE OUTSIDE?” There was a flash of worry across his face as he pointed to your left hand. Jerking your head down as you finally noticed the wet, hot, sticky feeling, you blinked once. You had cut yourself by accident across the palm of your left hand where it was deep enough only now to notice it. You guess that the distraction and adrenaline from Papyrus's magical attack let you block out the pain. 
 
“Oh shit!” For a moment, you froze, the blood draining from your face. Your first instinct was to shove your hand on your shirt or something to stop the blood flow, but you didn’t want to ruin your outfit; you didn’t have many clothes to speak of, and it would take some work to get this much blood out of the woolen fabric. So after you spouted your surprise, you stayed frozen, indecisive about what to do. 
 
You didn't even notice that Sans had suddenly appeared just a few inches from you until Paypus let out a surprised nayh. Sans looked worried, confused, and angry with his dark, empty eyes and blue sweat dripping down his forehead. The sight made you step back in fear and muddled surprise, unable to help the tightness in your chest.

But nothing happened; instead, Sans shoved a kitchen towel into your bleeding hand before blinking out of existence. It was the first time you saw him teleport without him hiding it in some way. You twisted your head looking for him, but no, he was gone just as fast as he came over. 
 
 But lucky for you, Papyrus was much quicker to react to everything than you had been. He gently took your hand and pressed the towel into it with just a few short steps with his long legs. 
 
“SANS WHERE ARE YOU GOING? OH, DON’T MIND HIM! THE FIRST THING ABOUT BATTLE WOUNDS IS THAT ONE MUST STOP THE BLEEDING FIRST!” Papyrus stated in a matter-of-fact tone that was not condescending but more like an older sibling would to a younger one when they had gotten hurt. 
 
You felt you had heard this tone from someone somewhere before, but the memory was too dull to grab and focus on during your crisis.
 
“B... Battle wound?” You could not help the shake in your voice, your body going through its natural motions. When applying proper pressure, you hardly felt Papryus take your hand in his so he could help with his oversized gloves.
 
“OH YES, THE KITCHEN IS THE BATTLEGROUND OF FRIENDSHIP AFTER ALL! SO, IT IS A BATTLE WOUND, YOU SEE!” 
 
“Yes, I see now. I’m sorry about bleeding all over your nice hand towel.” You managed to get out after a bit of trying, hanging your head in shame, then felt a surprisingly gentle pat on the head. Maybe today was up and down with mixed emotions for you. Either way, your eyes grew hot, tears threatening to overflow as you tried to hold them back. 
 
“DO NOT WORRY BRIGHID. IT IS NOTHING BE SORRY ABOUT. OUR TOWELS CAN BE REPLACED, BUT FRIENDS CANNOT, SO AS LONG AS YOU ARE OKAY IN THE END, THAT IS ALL THAT MATTERS TO US.” Papyrus was smiling brightly, but you were unable to return it even as you raised your head and tried to, but it failed miserably; the thoughts of you were not that great of a person to warrant something like that. Then, a loud sizzle that made the two of you look over at the stove. Right, right, that was a thing, and you didn’t want to set the house on fire by being distracted.

Not again.

“Oh, turn off the stove, please. We can put it all in the skillet later, with the rest of the stuff to finish cooking. Who is in the “us” of that statement?” Could not help yourself asking, jutting your jaw over to the still-on stove. Papyrus did what you asked, having to let go of your hand as he shot you a scolding look while he tidied up the pasta on the stove. 
 
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN “WHO”? I MEAN ME AND SANS. NOT TO MENTION FRISK AND THE OTHERS TOO BRIGHID!”

“Well, might just be you for a while, I think, for the first part… I royally messed it up with Sans today.” You glowered down at your hand, seeing if the bleeding had stopped as the words spilled out before you could think twice.
 
“WHATEVER ON EARTH ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? WHY IS IT SILLY TO THINK SANS DOES NOT THINK THE SAME AS ME HOW COULD HE NOT?” Papyrus protested, hands on his hips now, giving you a very bewildered once-over.

“Damnit, deeper than I thought.”

You winced and sucked in a breath when you moved it away, the air stinging the now clear deep cut. Now that you could see and focus on it, and your adrenaline wore off, it started to hurt quite a lot, and it was still oozing blood slowly. You were going to for sure going to need stitches, and it sucked even more since it was in your dominant hand. Panic turned a bit inside of you; the first thought coming to mind after stitches was whether you would heal up in time to play in the upcoming concert. 
 
If not, then you would be giving up not only something you had worked very hard at doing to overcome some of your depression, but you had a spot during one song, a duet. But then your thoughts went to even worse ones: your job. Linda would no doubt try to take advantage of this, making it much harder to do your job in both mental and physical sense since it would be hard to do anything without it being uncomfortable and painful from the stitches. 
 
To top it all off, not only had you fucked up today with Sans, not reading the social cues correctly, not out of you being just unmindful but pushing him into doing something he didn’t want to do for your curiosity. And now, after one long week, you were standing in the middle of someone else’s kitchen, bleeding like a dumb ass to top it all off. The hot, wet moister on your cheeks barely noticed in your mind slowed down. 
 
“OH MY, COME ON NOW, I BELIEVE IN YOU NOW. AH THERE YOU ARE, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?” It dawned on you that Papyrus was gently shaking your shoulder when you didn’t say anything after your comment, and you were standing there going down a bit of a spiral, ignoring him and staring at your hand like it was the most exciting thing in the world. 
 
“Th…, thank you, Papyrus.” With a shuttering breath in, you tried discreetly wiping your eyes with your shoulder. You could feel the cut now, and you had stood there looking at your hand for a good minute without applying pressure, so you had to press the cloth into your hand again, letting the pain be something you could focus on and be in the present and out of your head.
 
“When I saw the front of the school today, Sans didn’t want to do the puzzles. I ignored that he was tired and wanted to get the favor over, but I kept pushing until he let me. But then Sans just acted like ‘normal’ if you could call it that, but… I felt like he was avoiding the whole topic, not saying his normal nicknames for me. Maybe it’s just me thinking that he is, and I’m unsure if I should say I am sorry or just let him be and wait for him to say something about it.” The words blurted from your mouth before you could think better. 
 
“I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO GAGE HOW BAD IT IS FRIEND SO YOU WILL HAVE TO TELL ME.” Papyrus sighed a little bit. You guess he was shaking his head from the way his scarf was wiggling before taking your hurt hand in his again, careful to help you hold pressure. Papyrus decided that your hand was more important than getting more information from you. 
 
“I think I might need stitches; it’s really deep.” You pulled the rag away again, this time not able to hide the pain as you winced and sucked in a breath. The bleeding had started to a very slow flow again now. 
 
“HMM, I SEE. YOU STAND HERE; DON’T MOVE NOW. I WILL GO GET A CHAIR FOR YOU TO SIT ON.” 
 
“ I-I really should think about I’m going to get home and fix this.” You didn’t want to spend the money on an acute care bill. Maybe you could get some lidocaine and do it yourself, but that thought made you a little bit squeamish; it would not go well, you decided. You watched as the younger skeleton brother grabbed one of the bar chairs, walked it over to the sink, then picked you up without asking and plopped you down into the seat. 
 
“DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THAT NOW! NOTHING LIKE A BIT OF MAGIC AND A WARM DINNER WILL HEAL THAT BATTLE WOUND UP IN NO TIME.” 
 
“Not to sound ungrateful, Papyrus, but I don’t think adding more bones to the problem will solve it.” You pointed out, looking extremely doubtful at him, if not a bit wary, that the thought of having bones poked into your cut was not something you wanted to have happen. Papyrus, for his part, got a very proud and gleeful glint to his eyes, taking your hand gently in his own, coxing your hand, and holding the rag away as best he could. 
 
“I’M NOT GOING TO USE BONES DON’T BE SILLY! NO, I’M GOING TO HEAL YOU WITH MY MAGIC!” Your jaw went slack as you watched Papyrus hold his other hand just slightly above your palm, as a gentle green glow both yours and his gloved hands. It prickles across your skin like harmless static, tingling almost as the hairs stand up on end on the back of your arms.
 
You watched ever so slowly as the blood stopped, clotted, and even started to form a scab over the cut before your eyes. After a moment of shock and wonderment, you closed your mouth, letting out the breath you had been holding. As you watched the soft glow of the healing magic, your hand throbbed painfully down your arm. It seemed like even if it was healing you, somehow, it didn’t help the pain one bit; it was hard to ignore the throbbing now.  
 
“My Brother, I Will Confess, Has A Hard Time Being Confronted With Situations That He Might Find Difficult.” Papyrus's voice, for once, was very soft; he didn’t look at you when you glanced up to see if he was but instead watched his work with an attentive gaze. You didn’t know what to say, so you sat silently, waiting to see if he would keep going. “We Can Only Assume He Is Doing What He Is Very Skilled At, Avoiding The Topic.” 
 
“…should you be telling me this Papyrus? Won’t he be upset at you?” You could not help but ask in a voice that matched his rather than the patent tone he had taken explaining Sans's behavior to you; it was starting to make sense, but it sounded a bit more like Sans was being passive-aggressive along with avoiding the topic of your blunder. 
 
“Maybe, Maybe Not. Even If He Is, Sans Knows Deep Down Inside Everything I Do Is For The Greater Good After All, I Am His Brother!” Even his ego was on a softer tone now to his normal gravitas, but even with him saying such things, you felt unsure but left it go after a moment, just taking in the slightly warm magic around your hand.
 
 “But You Are Correct Normally I Would Not Say Such Things. However, I Have Noticed Since The Two Of You Met, Sans Has Been Happier, Napping Less, And Just The Other Day, He Picked Up His Socks For The First Time Without Me Having To Force Him To! It Might Be Selfish Of Me, But I Believe That The Two Of You Will Figure Things Out And Will Keep Being Friends.” You felt your eyes pick at the edges with tears again at Papyrus's tender words, and you had to use your shoulder again to rub them away.
 
“Do you think the great Papyrus might have some advice on this friendship problem?” You asked, your lips just ever so twitching in a smile at your banter; even Papyrus gave you a louder 'Nyha!' Before settling back down. 
 
“My Advice? If There Is A Moment Where It Is Just The Two Of You, Say You’re Sorry And Leave It At That. He Will Know What You Are Talking About, I Promise. Besides, There Is Less Of A Chance Of Him Taking A Shortcut Away, I’ve Noticed That The Longer Make Your Apology, He Is More Bound To Vanish Or Fall Asleep!” He huffed, however, in good nature at his jab at his older brother, his eyebrows raising up in his version of a smile, and when he looked up, you could not help but a bit wider and not-so-wobbly smile back a bit, too, and join in on that little laughing huff. You had to agree that Sans had a knack for falling asleep at the drop of a hat. “But I Do Not Think You Will Have To Worry About Him Staying That Way For Long My Friend.” 
 
“How do you know that he will?” You sighed, glancing down at your hand to see if anything had changed; it looked less puffy around the edges of the cut itself now; it started to hurt a little less, but it was still tender. But you could not tell if the wound had closed up any below or not; it still hurt a lot, and now there were pins and needles in the meat of your hand where it must still be healing, so until you washed it off, it would be hard to tell.
 
“Nayhaha, My Brotherly Instincts Tell Me So! I Also Trust My Friendship Intuition Too Well, As Do You! Or Else, Why Would You Ask For My Advice? KINDNESS Will Always Draw In Others, Even If They Are As Suborn As Sans, Sometimes All You Need Time And PATIENCE.” Papyrus had stopped his healing when he finished speaking, leaving you to sit there in teary silence to mull over his words, but you also missed the mild warmth of the green glow; what a marvel healing magic was. If only you could do such a thing. 
 
“THERE! THAT SHOULD BE ENOUGH! WHY DON’T YOU WASH IT OFF, AND I WILL GET THE HUMAN HEALING KIT!” He was back to his average speaking volume; your heart-to-heart was over, and you were okay with that. Before you could get a word in edge-wise about what he was talking about, Papyrus went into the doorway where the pantry was and started to look for something. 
 
Getting down from the chair carefully, you turned on the warm water, waiting a moment before carefully sticking your tender hand under the flow. Washing your palm off, you inspected the cut, finding it to be much shallower now, to the point where you didn’t need stitches anymore. You marveled at the wonder that was monster healing magic when you heard papyrus coming back. 
 
“HERE, I BROUGHT YOU THE HUMAN HEALING KIT. FRISK MADE IT A POINT TO MAKE SURE WE ALL HAD ONE, AND NOW I CAN SEE WHY YOU HUMANS ARE SO FRAGILE.” You gave him an amused chuckle, turning the water off and giving your hand a careful shake to remove some of the water. 
 
“Some more than others, I’m afraid. Do you mind pouring the disinfectant over my hand, please?” 
 
“NOT A PROBLEM AT ALL!” 
 
You tried to brace yourself for the burn and the sting that you knew was coming and needed to happen, but that didn’t stop you from jerking your hand back after the first bits of the liquid poured into it with a loud whimper, biting your lip to stop and take a deeper breath clamping down on that good old flight or fight response. Still, it didn’t prevent Papyrus from going from smiles to downright panicked at the thought he might have hurt you with something that was supposed to help you. 
 
“OH NO! WHAT IS GOING ON? ARE YOU HURT AGAIN?” Panic words flowed out of his mouth as you cringed a bit but quickly tried to stave off his panic. He was getting chalky; you had to guess what a skeleton looks like when they pale. 
 
“No, I’m not! Promise! It just burns a lot.”

“I AM SO SORRY, FRIEND. DID I NOT DO IT RIGHT? OH NO, IT IS NOT POISONOUS TO HUMANS IS IT?! SURLY HUMANS WOULD NOT PUT SOMETHING IN A HEALING KIT THAT WOULD BURN!?!” Papyrus started panicking as he franticly looked back and forth from your hand to the offending bottle in his. If not for you trying to calm him down, you would have found it simply hilarious about his reaction, almost cartoonish. 
 
“Papyrus, it’s alright!” You tried again to calm the panicking skeleton, but this was starting to get a bit out of hand. You could not take the emotional whiplash you kept having today much longer. 
 
“uh, something else happened, guys?” Sans was then right in front of you again, standing slightly in front of his brother, sending both you and Papyrus scrambling back in shouts of shock and, from you, just a plain squeak; it really did feel like a cartoony situation. So, alright, Sans could, in fact, teleport. You had the passing thought before the look on Sans's face made you confused, even as your heart was deciding if it wanted to keep beating or not. Hollowed-eyed, you could tell that his smile was taut and nervous, almost like he was trying to act normal and cool despite his earlier actions. You also noticed that he was pointedly not looking at your cut at your hand.

'Is San's squeamish....?'

“SANS! DID YOU TAMPER WITH THE HUMAN HEALING KIT AS ONE OF YOUR PRANKS? THE THING THAT IS SUPPOSED TO CLEAN THE WOUND NOT BURNS! THIS CAN NOT BE RIGHT AT ALL!” Papyrus demanded, waving the bottle in his face, making him focus on that rather than your wound. He blinked, and his eyelights were back, and he visibly relaxed his smile and shook his head. 
 
“It’s okay paps, that is supposed to happen. It means it's working according to the humans at the store.” 
 
“OH, WELL THAT IS VERY SILLY OF THEM!” Now, Papyrus understood that he didn’t hurt you now that his brother assured him it was alright. 
 
“heh, yeah, humans are silly. why don’t you finish cooking dinner while i help brighid get a band-aid on.” Sans took the bottle from Papyrus, tossing it into the first aid kit and closing it with one hand, moving away from the sink before Papyrus could protest, but it didn’t seem to be an issue as he brightened up, clearly agreeing. 
 
“VERY WELL! I UNDERSTAND HOW TO FINISH IT THANKS TO BRIGHID TEACHINGS!” And with that, Sans ushered you over to the table itself to have some more light; when you looked for the knife you dropped, you found it gone, and then you felt the rag in your hand vanish for a new, clean one without blood, and you assumed that Sans just took care of it by doing his magic thing. Sitting down in a standard-size chair this time, you didn’t say anything yet, keeping your gaze anywhere but Sans's face now that you had his full attention again. 
 
Even though the cut was healed by magic, it still needed to be wrapped up, and none of the bright and colorful band-aids would fit your cut, so you had to settle for boring old wraps to cover it and keep it dry for now.  
 
“alright, let me see.” Hearing him take a deep breath as if preparing himself, Sans asked for your hand with his own held out. “hmm, yeah, should be fine by the morning as long as you eat a full meal tonight. shouldn’t even be a problem to drive home as long as you are careful.”
 
“Oh, okay.” You nodded, going along with it; you didn’t understand how, after how deep it was, you didn’t need stitches after all after Papyrus healed you up. You wanted to know more about this healing magic, what it was doing, and what it could do, but you didn’t ask. You didn't feel right just yet to start diving for knowledge right now. Sans was actually relatively quick when it came to dressing your cut, careful about not moving your hand too much in the process, yawning a bit as Papyrus had gotten started on finishing up dinner while he did the short work. 
 
“…Hey, Sans, I’m sorry.” You did take Papyrus's advice and leave it at that, saying no more, and Sans even looked surprised by that and hesitated for a moment, but just a little bit as he shrugged, leaning back in his chair, not cleaning up his mess on the table from digging around the kit. 
 
“don’t worry about its brig.” That made you hopeful that maybe you two could still be friends after all. It was all he said, and whether he was talking about what happened today or giving Papyrus a heart attack with the whole cut issue, it was unclear, but you took it as it was and grinned. 
 
Reaching over, you started to try to clean up after Sans, but you had to stop once he gave you a look and when you felt the twinge of pain. You didn’t have to worry for long as Papyrus had finished cooking and now was setting down three plates on the table and started to dig into Sans about his messes and how he should not have the injured pick it up for him. 
 
You enjoyed watching the brothers as you ate, rather slowly with your non-dominant hand, talk and joke around, including you in on the conversation that had turned into a clever riddle faceoff between the two of them that had you laughing and guessing along with them with a big smile on your face. When it was time for you to leave, Papyrus gave you one final bear hug, reminding you that he would see you on Halloween. He will be in touch later for the details of his big idea.

Sans walked you out to your car, hands shoved into his pockets so deep that you wonder if they continued forever. But like you had been doing since you said you were sorry, you let it be, unlocking your car and got it going so it would warm up enough you could touch the steering wheel. 
 
“sorry,” Sans mumbled, and even you almost missed it, over the sound of your car and Sans standing there waiting with feet kicking around a small patch of dirt, not looking at you. Sans hunched his shoulders closer to the sides of his skull like he was making himself smaller. 
 
“Water under the bridge, ghost rider.” Sans visibly relaxed his shoulders and body with you saying that. With a promise to text him when you got home so he knew you got home safe, and a tight but quick side hug before he stepped away and vanished from your sight when you blinked, only startling you a little bit. Now that you knew he could teleport, it didn’t seem to spook you as much when you saw it happen. 
 
Feeling lighter, happier, and much better about the whole day despite having a large cut on your hand, you left the mountain and headed back home. It was later than you had planned, but you could not find that it bothered you, so you just did a simple sandwich lunch, planning on doing the rest of the cooking after work tomorrow. 
 
When you awoke the following day, you were equally freaked out, amused, and amazed when you removed the wrap around your hand to find it had healed all the way, leaving only tender pink flesh where there had been a cut, new skin covering it. It was hard to think otherwise, but you, however, thought that was a damn cool trick to have.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Halloween came in the blink of an eye, or it felt like it to you, at the very least. Ava would throw a small get-together for friends and family every year with home-cooked food for sides like bread and sweets. This year, however, the group was to have monsters for the Halloween party, and it was going to be interesting. Out of the monsters, you knew the only ones that could come were the skeleton brothers, Alphys and Undyne. Napstablook would go but was offered a considerable offer to play at one of the proper nightclubs for the same night. Hence, everyone else who wanted to or could go to the club went to support him, Mettaton being the star he was going by to support his cousin; Alphys let that slip the other week that the two were related.
 
The last few weeks had been filled with work, practice for the winter show, and the show the band had at Grillby's again a week before the big day itself. On top of it, all the last few weeks, your tire went flat on your car, or odd things inconvenienced you, forcing you to walk a half mile to the nearest bus station to get to work, with the weather growing colder each day leaving you very cold in the morning or late at night on your walk home. However, none of you could make plans in person, but for a few times, you were able to see one another in town or at work for your case with Dumpling, even with Linda doing her best to keep you out from being in the same room with Frisk whenever they came in. But you never saw Sans after spending the day with him at his house.
 
However, that did not mean you two didn't talk; you spoke quite a bit in the group chat and in private. Since you're venting at Grillby's, you often confide in Sans about the little things that made you tick throughout the day or just send him pictures and memes that stringed days without saying any actual words to each other. Sans, in turn, returned your efforts in kind by sharing his day around humans doing odd jobs. You secretly enjoyed that Sans meme game, which had gotten superhuman good. He was good to start with, but now he was going as far as making memes of things happening in his life. He often poked fun at himself and what Papyrus yelled about him, not picking up socks and napping in odd places or the pranks he pulled on his coworkers at the odd jobs he picked up.
 
He would constantly find a way to make a pun about anything you two might be talking about and turn it into a clever wordplay that, while leaving you in the dust, made you smile. But he also had cynical humor that you found endearing, as you often had the same tone. Often late at night, when the two of you could not sleep, he would text you and just talk, you either staring off at a wall or working on a project with your hands. He would talk about anything and everything, or on awful nights, you played quietly on the cello mindlessly for the both of you, primarily just practicing songs for the winter show.
 
It helped; you started to get a feel for when Sans just needed a break, and you needed something to express either how he or you were feeling. You learned that his favorite subjects happened to be the sciences, especially anything dealing with Astrophysics, but he also would talk about the pranks or stories from his days in the underground or the odd job he had picked up that day. You would often chime in with questions or a remark, but usually, you were just listening to him talk. However, you kept your string of bad luck to yourself about your car and odd happenings the last few weeks; it was not worth bothering anyone. 
 
The one night that you thought you would be able to Sans again was when your group played at Grillby's a week before Halloween, each one of you dressing up in a classic Halloween outfit to boot, but Sans had gotten a job as a "living prop" in a haunted house and was on the clock during the show. It was hard not to be disappointed in how the world made it hard for you to see your friends like you wanted. Not only that, when you did get to do something with your friends, it often was doing something that required everyone's attention, playing at the pub, be it mandatory practice for the Winter Show also coming in a few weeks. By the time everyone was finished, everyone would only stay around for a tiny bit before heading home their separate ways. But you had a nagging feeling that Sans, who started out as a fast friend in no time flat, might start becoming something else to you. But you didn't have time for that kind of thinking, not enough to pay attention to it anyway. But if you did… you had some

options

to say about that topic.
 
Sans was a great guy, was great at making you laugh enough to make you snort, and was brilliant, let alone witty as hell. You were not about to tell your brain not to think of it as charming when he praised his little brother or when he clearly knew you were up to something chaotic in mind and could keep up with you in your questions. And if you were being honest with yourself, and that was a rare thing, you did find Sans somewhat attractive, but you let

that

thought come into your brain, examined it, and then let it go. Who didn't think that their friends were cute or even hot in some cases? You were not afraid to admit it, at least not to yourself alone, where no one could hear you or see you flush and wide grin when you got him to really laugh about something. But that was all it ever was, a thought in passing before it was shoved so hard out of your brain. Your interactions never went beyond friendship on either side anyway since neither of you was looking evidently.
 
But now, it was Halloween, and that is all you could think about now. Ava is the only other person besides your Aunts who followed anything similar to your personal little faith. Since your Aunts lived on the other side of the country, a few hours away, you tried to spend the major holidays with Ava since she lived much closer to you when you had to work. But this year, you took time off work the day before the 31st, then made sure you had someone cover for you for any weekend work so that you had the whole weekend to yourself.
 
There would be no work, no stress, no fuss. You would be in a safe environment around people who loved and cared for you like a second family, so you planned to try out the monster alcohol Undyne brought for the party. Ava also allowed you to do some personal practice during the night on her land, as you needed access to the space you didn't have at your current home.
 
So, you had stayed the night Thursday, crashing on the couch with a bag of all the stuff you needed for the weekend. Friday was spent cleaning the house for the party and making sure the bonfire pit was in working order. In the evening, when the light ran out, you two ran to the store and did your best to ensure you had everything you would need for the next day.

The doorbell rang out through the open front from Ava's humble home. You could hear it from the kitchen since the whole room connected to the front door, so it was noticed over the sounds of cooking things and dishes being washed. You and Ava looked up from your different cooking tasks, pausing as you tried to figure out who was at the door. Only the two of you are in the house, and the others won't return for a while. Coming up empty for an answer on the second knock, you shrugged finally. 
 
"I'll get it." Volunteering as you pulled the fresh cinnamon rolls out of the oven, letting Ava handle glazing them with icing once they cooled down. It was in the late morning, around eleven, when you had been pulled away from your cooking, you confirmed when you glanced at the clock on your way to the door.
 
"Trick or Treat!" Three voices cheered as soon as the door was open, wide enough for you to see who it was. Frisk, Flowey, a yellow dinosaur kind of monster about the same height as Frisk, and grinning and waving you a hello was Sans standing behind them with one hand in his pocket. Seeing that it was just them, you smiled wider and opened the door so that you could step outside and close the door behind you so the cats didn't try to get out.
 
Flowey just had a simple cat ear head bad strapped somehow over the petals on his head, and someone had drawn a whisker and cat noise in black marker, a small pumpkin bucket hung from one vine that had sprouted from the pot acting like an arm, and some type of grass had been ducked tapped onto the pot last moment. The other monster child held their bucket in their mouth since they had no arms. You could see their speech muffled. They were dressed in silver armor, where the metal plates, with black striped fabric underneath, connect it all together. Your only guess as to what they might be is that they looked like the royal guard armor you had seen around New New Home. Before you could get a word edge-wise in, the kid started to go on an epic story about Undyne, their costume, you assumed, with muffled words but big actions from his tiny body.
 
Frisk was in a very western cowboy outfit, holster gun, and everything, not to mention a sheriff badge to go with it. They held onto Flowey in one arm and held out their own bucket for you to fill with candy. You saw Sans behind them, looking at you with void eyes and a blue color creeping to his cheekbones. When he caught you looking back confused, he flipped his hood up and looked away.
 
You were so pleasantly surprised for a good moment at who was at the door that you almost missed the shifting of air subsequent next to Frisk, almost behind them. Blinking, you made sure it was not dust or something in your eyes, but the air shifted again, becoming more apparent when a cloud cast a shadow over the house. The hazy air shape seemed to condense into a see-through, colorless human child shape; it was still hard to see precise details. Like looking through a frosted window, someone was

there

. You were sure of it.

"Or am I seeing things again….?"

The thought was interrupted by a hand movement from Frisk.

"See? Hold, quiet."

Simple and quick, with the monster child still going on about how they had dressed up as Undyne and her epic tails, Sans blanking out, and Flowey more focused on Sans with a not-quite-right smirk, so only you noticed it. So, taking a deep breath, you decided to trust Frisk this once; you reasoned with yourself that if it was something terrible, Frisk would not be so calm, and if it was all in your head, Frisk would not be able to see it, too, right? Thus, if the kid knew about it, you were sure that it was at least not going to hurt them, whatever kind of spirit, guessing at this point, it might be. You just had to hope that things like wards really did work against spirits who wanted to harm anyone.
 
"Hey, there, guys! Snazzy outfits, I got to say." You jumped in once the monster kid took a deep breath from his story and smiled brightly at them, flicking your gaze over to Sans, who still had a hollowed eye; he might be broken if you had to guess. You didn't even think the poor guy was breathing, and you had no idea why. You had to glance down quick to make sure you didn't have like a hole showing your chest or something weird on yourself for him to look at you like that. It was hard to stay calm with the floating something, and now Sans 404 was outside your doorstep with two children and a bitter flower.

"Nice

socks

." Flowey started to snicker, and you frowned, looking down at your thigh-high

Socks

and, with it, the rest of your outfit. It was not something you were going to be wearing to the party, but something comfortable to cook in and not be uncomfortable beforehand; it was just an oversized

Skeleton sweater

, with two skeleton hands cupping your chest, short sleeping shorts that could pass for day cloths and then your black socks with skull and crossbones all around them.
 
"Uh, thanks, Flowey, nice cat ears?" You replied, not sure why he said socks in such a way like they were offensive or something; it made Sans snort a little bit; oh, look, it seems like he had restarted finally, and he hasn't said anything, so you are going to take that as a win. "So, Frisk, who is your friend?" You glanced again at Sans when he moved, turning his head to look away from the door. The tree next to the door seemed very interesting to him now. You forced back an eye roll at him. You had no idea what was making him act like that, enough to not say hello usually, but he did manage to mumble a hello, now muffled by the hood he had put up to hide his blushing face.
 
"Oh! Dudette, I'm Monster Kid or MK! Hi! Is that your costume? Can you guess who I am? I'm just the most awesome monster out there! Undyne, bet you didn't know that!" MK jumped in the air a little bit. He didn't even wait for you to guess who he was dressed as he was getting worked up by a voice muffled still by the bucket.
 
"Wow, it's nice to meet you, Monster Kid. And I must agree that is a very awesome outfit." Then you paused and paled at the most horrifying thought one could have in front of cute kids on Halloween. Why would you have any? Ava lived out in the rural area between the cities. No one had any candy in the house, either. You could handle possible real human spirits, but the thought of not sending them with anything was much more horrifying to you at that moment; you didn't want to ruin Monster Kids and possibly Frisk's first Halloween.
 
"So… I don't have candy to give you guys; we don't have a lot of kids who come this far off the main road. BUT…” You held up a finger before they could deflate on you with sadness. "I have cinnamon rolls; they are monster-friendly. What do you guys say? Want to see if I baked them, right?" You offered your peace offering, and both Frisk and Monster Kid nodded, turning to look up at Sans while Flowey groaned, leaning his head back while he did. You even got a little look of surprise from Sans out of the corner of his eye socket when he half turned face now not so blue anymore when he faced the kids, eye lights thankfully back; there had been almost a hunger to his darkened sockets that sent you stomach fluttered.  
 
"Ug, thanks, lady. It will take us

longer

to finish all this dress-up nonsense." Flowey pouted, and you could only roll your eyes at the flower's lousy attitude. At least he was not cursing with the kids around.
 
 "Why don't you guys come on in for a moment? If you don't have time to sit and eat them, I can wrap them up to go; I think I have cling wrap around here somewhere…" You felt giddy that it worked for the kids and waved everyone in. Sans finally put his hood down to look at you properly when he walked in, giving you a sheepish grin.
 
"thanks, buddy; they both forgot to eat this morning trying to get out the door, so we should probably sit and eat." Sans chuckled as you closed the door, wiggling your sleeves down your hands to cover them. Even standing by the door, the chill of the air had made your fingers numb.
 
"Taking them somewhere?" When you turned around, Sans looked away from your socks; you said nothing about it.
 
"yeah, out to phason city for trick 'treating before they have a party at the school. it was pap's idea, but i think it was more for his experience than the kids, heh." Sans explained, looking around Ava's home, giving you a quick side hug that you chuckled at. The house was a single story, with a simple open floor plan so that the foyer connected to the side room, living room, and Kitchen all in one path with a wall between the Kitchen and living room. The back hallway was linked to the kitchen by a door, and it had two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a laundry.
 
A door led to the mother-in-law's suite, and finally connected to the living room was the master bedroom. In the middle of the living room, blocked from your sight by some couches, a squeal of delight and Momo's small woofs of excitement she got when around small children. Ava was coming out of the Kitchen, giving Sans a wave and a bright greeting before turning to introduce herself to the kids who were playing on the floor with Momo. Flowey was nearby on the fireplace off the floor but not out of the way, grumpily greeting Ava, who had stepped around the corner to see what the fuss was about, not even blinking an eye at the current monsters in her house.
 
You paid close attention when she gazed over Frisk, hoping she would see it too, but Ave showed no reaction to something being near Frisk. This made you feel even more uneasy about the situation, but you could do nothing in mixed company for now. It seemed like only you and Frisk noticed the other being hanging around.  
 
"Looks like the kids found the dog." You commented, and Sans chuckled lightly, but Ava rose to get the treats to show off Momo's tricks for her training. Meanwhile, you didn't have to worry about any trouble; it felt like whatever was following Frisk was not strong enough to do anything here, so you relaxed what tension you didn't know you had in your shoulders. Call you crazy, but you seemed to be getting used to all the strange and weird stuff after a few weeks to get used to it, so rather than fret over an unknown being following Frisk in Ava's home on Halloween, with a bunch of real monsters you brushed it off and kept on with your life as usually as possible. That was a problem for you later.
 
 "Ah, you stopped by on your way then."
 
"heh, yeah, it was Frisk's idea." There was a slight shrug of shoulders.
 
"Wait, how did they know Ava lives halfway?" You paused and thought it, and Sans just shrugged again and made a non-comital noise.
 
"hey, brig got a question for ya, if cinnamon buns weren't allowed in your religion, don't ya think they would be called a

sin

namon bun?" 
 
"Oh sh… crap, I forgot about the cinnamon rolls." You laughed but gasped as you remembered and looked at Sans, watching him brighten more out of the corner of your eye like how your smile did.
 
"aw, come on, b, you didn't answer my question. but that is fine. how about this one, if you have to say what the cinnamon roll's favorite holiday is? i got to say it's

yeast

er, not halloween." Sans shrugged but gave you a lazy wink at the end.
 
"Sans no! That was bad, so bad. If you keep going, I might have to take drastic measures." You chuckled again harder, this time as you shook your head but still had a smile. You didn't mean it much as a challenge, more as a light jab, but the look that Sans got on his face, he took it as one and was really enjoying it. You might have blushed slightly at the returning look of pure determination to see how far he could push your buttons on this roll of puns and jokes.  
 
"what, disagree? maybe you should see the movie about the holiday of cinnamon rolls; it had a huge

twist

. you might even

rise

your intelligence some about the culture of the rolls." This had you snorting into your hand, and you could feel your face warm from all the giggling and laughter. So, you missed that both Ava

and

Frisk were looking over at the two of you, gave each other a look, then shook their heads and went back to giving Momo treats with Monster Kid, trying very hard to get the cats to come over to him rather than rubbing all up on Flowey, who trying and failing to hiss away the cats with no real threat.
 
"I'm calling hospitality laws! You can't attack me like that in a home Sans on such a day! I will get the rolls before you make me bust a gut." You giggled, walking away into the Kitchen to get everyone a cinnamon roll, tone joking about the threats. Ava had dyed the icing orange and black for the day, and they had cooled enough to be ready to ice and eat since you took a few minutes talking outside. Getting enough plates for everyone, you only paused momentarily about grabbing one for whatever Frisk had following them but thought better of it. They did ask you to keep quiet and leave one out for whatever they were; they were just asking for questions. You peaked your head around the corner to ask if Monster kid needed anything to eat his food and if everyone wanted a glass of water with it, but you felt bad that Sans didn't have anything to drink; he winked and pulled out a bottle of ketchup from his coat. You narrowed your eyes at him, giving him your are watching him motion since it was now a game for you to figure out how he was doing that without using his phone to use the storage dimension box. Alphys was kind enough to explain and show you in person how all the technology worked, and all it cost you was some downtime and fingers to help finish her new cosplay.
 
Carefully, you went back and forth, handing out the food and water; when Sans questioned where the others were, Ava explained that they were making last-minute food runs for tonight's party. You eagerly waited for Sans to dig into the roll. He would be the bar you had to pass for your cooking plans for tonight, so if you made the dough correctly, he should be able to eat it. Sans took a careful bite, his eyes wide, so he took another bigger bite, giving you a thumbs up.
 
"it's good." Sans complemented through stuffed mouth, and you grinned, clapping your hands in your seat.
 
"Awesome! That was my first try with the flour you guys have in New New Home. I was not sure if it would taste the same." You admitted a little sheepishness at the end when he raised an eyebrow at you, and you gave him an innocent shrug in return. Even Flowey was enjoying himself, with his quieter grumpy thanks when you put some food down in front of him; you noticed when he thought no one was looking, he would happily munch away rather than being a total dick. Sans looked at you confused, like when you handed him one wrapped up in tin foil, but you only gave him a smile and simply stated.
 
"For Papyrus, he fed me breakfast, so here is mine in return. All part of the holiday spirit and all that." You waved off any other questions about it when you gathered up the dishes once everyone was finished to the sink to wash off the sticky leftovers. Sans even came over and helped you out, if not by floating the dishes over to himself, where he sat at the bar when you passed them over to dry. Halfway through, Frisk tugged at your sweater to get your attention, asking for the restroom; Sans took over the dishes since there were only two left, so you could show them the way.
 
A fat orange cat named Ivory mowed loudly at you when you opened the door that separated the back side of the half, letting Frisk into the back hallway. Frisk leaned down and gave the chunk a pet before entering the door you pointed at and giving you a sign to wait for a moment. So, you did, but you closed the door to the Kitchen to keep the cat in, offering him a look as he sat forlornly and then up at you before letting out one long meow. Clicking your tongue, you picked up the cat in your arms, already a rumbling purr in the air as you waited for Frisk, giving Ivory a few strokes across his head.
 
That didn't last long as the foggy shape almost oozed out from the bathroom door. The cat in your arms scrambled away as fast as his chubby body could go, vanishing down the hallway, leaving you alone to confront whatever this was. Now that you focused on the being, it became a more precise shape, some still foggy along the edges, fading in and out of few, color drained from its form. It was a child, older than Frisk by a few years but not by much. Even without color, you could see the strips in the long-sleeved shirts they were wearing, which made you think of all the monster children and Frisk who wore the same clothing style. 
 
They could have been a little older than Frisk themselves. Their hair was cut short, but their bangs were not as heavy to cover their eyes sometimes, like Frisk's. Cold eyes regarded your arms crossed in defiance, covering a heart locket. Whoever this was was not too happy about you being able to see it; they tried to say something. You could tell from their movements but not hear what they attempted to speak to you.
 
"…." You kept eye contact, standing up straight, not letting the ghost child intimidate you, as you tried so hard not to freak out. There was an apparent difference between this ghost and the monster ones like Napstablook. He was a monster, true and true, but was ghost-like; he was never "alive" at the start to become your traditional ghost. Just poof, there is Napstablook. But this being in front of you was still see, though, like someone just turned up the opacity a bit for you to see better; Napstablook was solid, and so was every other Monster Ghost when you asked him a while back.
 
No, this was a real live, human-made ghost, and it was following the Monster Ambassador child who helped free a whole ass nation and one that Frisk was aware of them. Then, a memory slapped you in the back of the head; you remembered the time on the swings and how Frisk seemed to scold the air after the swing started to move and you got knocked down. How Frisk would sometimes seem like they would occasionally watch or giggle at something. Rarely had you even seen Frisk try to take something's hand in their own before frowning and coming to grab someone else's. So, you did what every person of your kind would do and tried to talk to them.
 
"Sup."

Nailed it.

You took a chance and signed in ASL a hello. The figure's eyes widened at you like they were surprised you had even spoken to them rather than ignoring them. Your eyes equally widened when they said something, but you didn't hear anything again; seeing this, they tried again, signed back in clear hands.

"You talk in hands like a baby!"

Blanching your face, grimacing slightly at the child before you. You should not have been so thankful you have made quick progress with Hands. You did not expect to be insulated like that, but you could only take it in stride now. Face turning stern, and with a glance at the bathroom door, you turned to the ghost slowly and carefully, signing each word, still not as fast as the others.

" Yes. Who are you? Why are you following Frisk? Why can only they and I see you? Do you mean Frisk any harm? Because if you do, I know of a few ways to get rid of unwanted hitchhikers."

Okay, it was not the best to threaten the ghost child with that question to ask the child ghost, but still, it was an essential question you needed and wanted to ask. You didn't know how this ghost worked, so you wanted to avoid risking them bringing Frisk any harm.

"Wow, way to start off with the threat, lady, but I guess you don't want to beat around the bush. No, I do not mean Frisk harms stupid humans; I didn't choose this, alright? Your guess is as good as ours; you're a freak, too, huh?"

It was almost funny how they rolled their eyes at you as if they could not believe you had just asked them that question. Rolling your eyes back, you crossed your arms as you stood off, looking at each other silently. Out of the corner of your eye, you spotted Frisk peeking out from the bathroom door by the sliver of the crack. So that is what this was all about.
 
Taking a deep breath before letting it out slowly, you waved Frisk out of the bathroom while you rubbed your head with the other hand. This is something you did not expect to deal with today, but here you were. Frisk crept out from the bathroom, sheepishly coming over to your side and holding onto one of your hands.

"Please don't tell anyone about them. No one's been able to see them but me, and they want to keep it that way for now."

Surprised, you looked down at Frisk as they looked up at you for the first time with a gaze that made it clear that they were determined to keep this spirit a secret, even from their family. But there was a clear sense of guilt that they could not do so but also relief. You just had the odd luck of being able to see the secret in question. With a strong will like that shown in Frisk's eyes, there was no amount of trouble they wouldn't get into if no one stopped them.
 
"I don't really understand what is happening here, Frisk, but okay, I won't." You finally promised them after a beat to think about it before just giving in to the flow of things. "As long as They promise not to hurt you, I won't say anything, alright?" Speaking softly, you patted the top of Frisk's head as they excitedly nodded, signing so quick to the ghost in question, who started to pout and float off to the side of Frisk when they began to talk to you. They must have been conversing, but it was hard to tell when you could not hear anything.

"Do you have a name?"

You finally got to jump in and sign now that Frisk had let go of your hand. The two of them looked at you before sharing a look themselves, and the ghost child said something to Frisk.

"They said they wanted to be called Casper for now."

You could only blink blankly at Frisk before shaking your head with a little chuckle.
 
"So the ghost has a sense of humor now…. Fine 'Casper,' do you know why I can see you?" The conversation would go a lot smoother for the three of you now that Frisk can help translate as you speak in hushed voices and sign together in the back hall.

"How am I supposed to know?! Ug!"

Casper seemed to huff as they floated back and around Frisk, making you feel dizzy just looking at them after a moment.

"Maybe something to do with your weird magic circle around here? Who knows, maybe you're a mage or something. You've done some weird stuff before."

Both you and Frisk looked taken aback; maybe this ghost didn't know what it was talking about. You were the first to speak, your hands rubbing together as your brows further narrowed as Caspier silently cackled, finding it funny.
 
"I don't know if this is supposed to be a joke or not anymore… Look, I was told by good authority that humans can't use magic and thus can't be mages. At least not in this day and age. If anything would be active, a human-made circle or ward would be the ambient magic, but it's too thin now."

"What are wards?"

Frisk seemed a little lost as they interrupted.

"They are… look, I will explain it later. I just…"

Your head was starting to hurt from all of this. If it was as simple as wards being able to have absolute power in this world with the ambient magic, then Ava should have seen the ghost as well. However, only you and Frisk could see this ghost for a longer time, and it was unclear if you would still see it after today. Pinching your forehead, you fought back the headache and the budding questions.

"Don't worry about me or how you see me stupid. It's better if you forget this even happened anyway… You just better go before the comedian comes looking for you and finds you talking to air. Probably being gross and thinking about your socks... adults are so gross…"

This brought a crucial point to the group, so you shook your head as Casper made a sick face and a gagging motion that left you confused as you looked down at your socks. Frisk just giggled, pulling you back out the door, no longer needing your help, leaving the conversation over before you could ask.
 
Sans was asleep on the couch, where Monster Kid and Ava had started to place things on top of Sans to balance on his sleeping chest. Across his chest first was one of Ava's cats sleeping already, followed by several folded-up blankets and pillows, and by the time you had returned, they had started to place one of the many more extensive sets of dice on his head, seeing how they could make it.
 
As soon as you looked away from Casper, they returned to the blurry patch of air in the corner of your eye. Now that you were not looking right at them or paying attention to it, you didn't notice it. Flowey was ignoring all of this and was making different faces, changing his face shape at the cats to get them to go away, hissing himself when they only came closer to stiff or paw at him now, chewing at the plants growing in the same pot, cat nip you had to guess now. So, as Frisk went over and snapped some pictures of the whole thing with Sans, you went in and rescued Flowey, taking pity on him and now removing the planted cat grass and nip, leaving it for the cats who didn't care out the monster at all just wanted their crack plants.  
 
"Trash bag fault," Flowey grumbled at you, huffing now that he was free but was in your arms. Brooding, he watched as Sans woke up, saw the remains of the grass, and smirked at the flower, who grumbled even more under his breath, making you chuckle. You helped Sans gather the kids to the car as he yawned and woke up enough to drive, warming the car for everyone. You and Ava gave Monster Kid a hug, along with Frisk. When you stood back up and as you were handing the pot back to Frisk, once they were in the proper care and buckled up, Flowey spoke up loud enough that everyone could hear.
 
"Just so you know, socks are underwear for monsters, and socks like that are adult clothes for monsters. Bye~”
 
Flowy closed the door, leaving you alone with Ava, who was howling in laughter while you buried your face into your hands and muffled your scream of embarrassment as you died on the inside while Sans drove away. Oh, that would explain Sans's look; oh boy, was that a look you didn't enjoy, but it made you feel a little embarrassed to think that way for too long. Once Ava had enough control over herself, she slapped you on the back, bringing you standing up again and back into the house before the two of you could freeze.
 
"I think I will take a part of that bowl now." You sighed, leaning on your friend momentarily before retrieving the hidden bong. You shook your head at how silly it was, but you made a mental note to keep the thing about what

kind

of socks showed off in mind. After all, Sans didn't like what you were wearing; his blushing face was cute, too…

just going to stop there. Yep, oh, look, weed.

"Alright, let's get the rolls up first. The others should be back any time now."
 
"Did you see Sans planted cat nip in Flowey's pot?" You handed the bong over to Ava, who took a hit herself before setting it down a little while after the two of you finished putting up the food.
 
"So, how did he react when you opened the door~?" Ava wiggled her eyebrows, making you giggle. You shoved your controller into her face so you didn't have to see that

grin

she had.
 
"Gross, like he ever would think of such things with kids around Ava!" You huffed, glanced away, and settled into the couch while Ava went to sip her coffee again. "Fine, he hid his face inside of his hoody." You mumbled, now playing with the joystick to keep your eyes away from Ava; you did not want to have this conversation. Ava had some extraordinary power, you swear it, to find out anything about anyone you might be remotely interested in.
 
"And how do you feel about that? ~" Ava's grin widened as she pushed herself closer, having lowered her voice to a near conspiracy level of a whisper. "What about your sweater?" You could feel the heat crawl up your neck as Ava teased you; you curled into your knees, bringing them up to hide your face.
 
"I think it was kind of cute when he got flustered, okay! There happy? Can I please enjoy my game!" You blew a raspberry at Ava, who laughed, waving you off to return to your game, shaking her head. At the same time, you did your best to regain control over your complexion as you turned back into your game, trying to forget about all that before Sans came back, or else tonight would get awkward.
 
By the time the doorbell rang again, alerting the house to the first partygoer, everything had been set up for the party. The bonfire pit in the back was already set up and ready to light, and the grill was warming up to cook burgers and corn, along with two large homemade pizzas, chips, and sweets, which were laid out on a table. All the cats had been shooed away back into the bedrooms so as not to get underfoot or run out the door when it was opening or closing to the outside. Everyone had done their best to make almost all the Food Monster editable, the pizzas being your idea, but the prepackaged items were a mix from human stores and the General store in New New Home. Soda, beer, cider, and Halloween color Jell-O shots covered the bar, ready for anyone who wanted them to take. Even the stuff you needed to get done for later in the night was set up either baking in the clay oven outside or chilling. Daisha, in her Cheshire cat Kigurumi pajamas, opened the door before closing it after a moment, and a low voice that made your heart jump in your chest and your smile grow wider came from the front room.
 
It took you a moment to figure out what was going on with Sans's shirt, it clicking a moment later, making you fall into a fit of giggles yourself at the 50 shades of grey color pallets strapped to the front of it; you couldn't help noticing the wider grin to his smile when you did. Surprised to find that Sans had shown up alone, not just first, Ava called the question from the couch, and with a shrug, Sans simply said.
 
"heh, wanted to surprise pap's." He left it at that before asking where he should put the beer and hot dogs he had brought for everyone. Chris popped his head out of his room, from putting together his Dark Soul hobo outfit, at the word "beer," towering over Sans, who didn't seem to mind as Chris showed him the way to the cooler and where to put the food. It didn't take very long for Papyrus to show up with Undyne and Alphys riding along with him to make it to the party, and that was signaled by Papyrus ringing the doorbell several times in the rapid season that even Momo dressed in her spider outfit barked at the door once in confusion. 
 
But even that didn't deter Papyrus until he was let in, showing off his shinning (underground) knight armor cape blowing in the non-wind as it shined in the lights of the house, giving everyone, even Chris, who was just a bit shorter than the taller bother, a bone-crushing hug before spotting Sans getting sidetracked by that to gape at his older brother. Undyne, who had THE on-point pirate outfit, posing off her ripped arms to everyone, her blue skin paled in slices from old wounds, and Ava very pointily on a stage, whispered to John, ' Sorry, honey, but I'm so gay, right now.' John only chuckles, kissing her cheek with a 'Yes dear, I know.'
 
This got a laugh out of Alphys and even for her to stop acting like the inside of her Kissy Mew Mew outfit was a shell to hide her raging red face, including when Chris brought out his bearded dragon, showing it off to the lizard dragon. Then it was only a matter of a few minutes for Undyne to see the animal, proclaiming that it was "Awesome" and "Babe, look, look, babe, it's like a tiny you!" "Wait, you have snakes? Hell yeah, I want to see them eat, show me!" for the trio to watch Chris feed his snakes. At the same time, Papyrus went a little pale and simply "Will be helping with the food and bringing the party score up!" leaving the rest of the group to dissolve into chuckles and head in the direction of food and spotting Sans already grilling some of the food he brought it was voted for the music to be put on the sun porch. The door is left open so everyone can come in and out as they please.
 
Lighting the candles and tiki touches in the yard to repel the bugs, several conversations mingled together from topic to topic between everyone, you taking the time to go and check on the outdoor oven to make sure nothing was wrong with it before rejoining a few minutes later from down a small hill where the fire pit was dug into. As you rounded the top back to the house, Papyrus came marching over to you, asking what humans need targets in the backyard for? Do humans train as a part of some kind of cultural bonding? In a somewhat confused voice, pointing over to the thick stack of hay spray painted with a crude target pointed away from the house and anywhere the dog might run to first behind the shed. Evidently, Ava told Papyrus to ask you to demonstrate for the group, and you made sure she saw your glower from across the yard when you agreed and got your bow and arrow from the shed. It was easier to keep it at Ava's than your apartment when you wanted to use it.
 
"So you and the large human Chris, right? Use this to practice your weapon skills for… fun?" 
 
"That sums it up. Yeah, it's a sport I enjoy, and Chris also uses it for his bows and guns for hunting practice. This is the only place for me to spend time doing archery, so it's easier to keep my stuff here where it's safe, and you know what gets stolen if my place gets broken into." You shrugged after explaining why you had a target in the backyard and a

weapon

was kept in the shed. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see the rest of the group watching from the porch, giving you a smile and, in Ava's case, a smirk and tilt of her head at Sans, who had all but abandoned the grill in favor of staring at you with blank eyes. You had to force yourself to strictly only listen to and then placate Papyrus, who started to scold you for not taking your safety as seriously as you should be, keeping your weapons with you in your home to keep from feeling hot under the collar from the look not sure how to think about that so you turned to try to calm Papyrus down with a smile. The older brother only relented and allowed you to actually show him your bow skills after promising him several times that it was okay; you knew some self-defense and had a big old walking stick that, if push came to shove, you learned how to throw at least one good swing with it, next to the door just for that.
 
A few arrows later, most of them landing in the last center ring with a few bullseyes thrown in the mix, you didn't feel so bad about being rusty from lack of practice. Still, the way that Papyrus had stars in his eyes made the slight burn in your upper arms and back worth it as you smiled back up happily for the glee he was showing just from watching. Once you had to retrieve your bundle of arrows from the stack, Papyrus asked if he could try it out. Still, when offered your bow, he only shook his head with a wave before summoning a long, thin bone to his hand, simply giving you a 'Nyee Nyeha!' bewildered look on your face. You sure were your other human friends as you all watched Papyrus throw the long spear-like bone into the center of the target and then again with the other one. Then another one, and just when he was pulling back to throw another now blue bone after a comment from Sans, Chris Undyne and Alphys returned, spilling out from the door in a huddle of laughter and giggles, Chris raising his flask up to you from afar.
 
"Guess who brought monster booze~" He explained before taking another swing, leaning against the wall, and letting out a sigh. "What you chuckle fucks up to?" He called out to you as Undyne, who looked like she had more to drink than Chris had even been able to drink in a short time. My eye snapped over to Papyrus's lips, splitting in a way too broad of a grin that made a shutter go through your spine.
 
"You punks doing drills without me?!?" The fish latterly roared, startling everyone but Papyrus, Sans, and Alphys. Papyrus looked sheepish, rubbing the bone to the top of his skull, now a typical color of bone.
 
"WELL YOU SEE UNDYNE B…. NO DON'T NUGGY THE SKULL!" In a blink of an eye, Undyne was on top of Papyrus, digging her fist into his skull without mercy in the most comical example of a nuggy you had seen to date. Giggling at the sight before a squeak left you when you had to step back and away from them when Undyne duplexed as if he was nothing. On the porch, John and Chris took over grilling, getting the burgers on for the rest of the group, when the first group of hot dogs almost burnt Sans, not paying attention like he should. You gave the same explanation to Undyne when she demanded to know what was going on with a wild look in her eye, and her eyes lit up much the same way, asking how the score was kept.
 
It took about three seconds for Undyne to go from scary interested to downright frightening competitive, and after a few rounds of three magic attacks, Undine's being a blue spear that she used like an extension of her own body with such grace and deadlines remedied everyone to never get on her wrong side without a good reason to. At Sans comments peppered in between rounds of narrating the fight like a sportscast between bites of hotdog and pizza, then drowning it in ketchup that clearly was to the equivalent of beer level from the way his face became more open around everyone like you have seen only in privet moments between the two of you before, you finally broke and asked if you could physically hold the attacks and get a closer look at them since it was clear that they could hold multiple at once without a sweat. The two happily obliged you. In fact, they want to

show

you as in here, grab it, and try to throw it, Bridget. I know you can, and don't be scared of it. It's not going to
bite you, wimp! Go on, grasp it like that; there you go, yay!
 
You sucked while you were fascinated by how the magic attacks as they had explained what they were when Papyrus first handed you a thick oversize bone about the length of your whole leg together. While Undyne darted over to grab some food and move Alphys, who was now drinking something human-made from Jon, closer to the fire that had been lit so she could watch her fling more spears and show off to the human's babe, it all in good fun promise hon to love you! Followed by a stuttering be safe. 
 
It felt sold under your hands firmer than how both of the bothers felt when you gave it a good squeeze, the feeling like your fingertips going numb and fuzzy of magic going away when you eased up quickly, feeling the heavy bone as it felt denser than it looked, geez how strong was the guy anyway? When you had enough of looking at it, you tried throwing it like one would a javelin you've seen on TV. It went about a foot in front of you before flopping into the dirt with a slight thud, and you rubbed the back of your head, blushing a little bit, suggesting you should start with something more for beginners. After all, he was way more skilled than you ever hoped to be. Flattery got you a wide grin and hug from the taller skeleton, summoned a much less dense bone by the heft of it for you, and started to drill you in proper bone-throwing poses, just like the Great Papyrus!
 
By the time Chris had come wandering back from inside the house, asking if anyone knew why a pink limo was parked out front? Papyrus squealed, leaving to go great Mettaton, who had ended up coming after all. You had gotten an okay grasp on how to throw a bone right. You did your best to keep a serious face about your job during the training from Sans dog bone-related buns without upsetting Papyrus. Let out a sigh of relief only to have it crush right back out of you as you were hosted up by the back of your outfit like a kitten by Undyne when you tried to leave for food, claiming that it was her turn to train you now that you knew

something

about holding a magical attack. Still, now you can learn the basics of fighting! The wide split grin was back, and everyone was distracted by

the

Mettaton coming to the party. The other humans were distracted from your pending doom, but Sans only gave you a shrug and a sorry look as if he could do nothing about it as you were dragged back, hanging your head in the defeat of your fate.
 
Undyne changed to scary drill instructor, a very drunk, love-struck drill instructor, but one nonetheless as she went over colors of attacks, bullets, and how monsters attack with patterns and complex designs is a monster custom that is part of who they were proudly wiping a tear from her eye after showing you a complex display of blue spears bursting from the ground without disturbing it in a pattern even you could not even dream of trying to out jump for you that had your mouth dropped wide in awe at the display of magic.
 
"Hey, Sans, what kind of patterns can you do?" You turned and asked, holding the glowing magic spear in front of you, a bright smile stretching your lips wide as you finally had a chance to see magic up close and hold it; just think of it. Just holding it made you giddy in a way you didn't expect. Alphys had pity on your poor soul and handed you an unopen monster bottle of cider during Undyne's lector over color attacks that you had had half of by now since you didn't even want to throw the magic attacks anymore. You just wanted to see more of the complex patterns that varied between your gathered friends.
 
"u-um, you know not as much as my brother or undone here, ya know?" Sans coughed into his drink, sitting up from his seat by the fire that had been mostly abandoned for now in favor of everyone going inside to see Mettaton and watch some movies. It could have been the fire playing tricks with the shadows on his face, but you could swear he blushed all over his cheeks as he fumbled to answer you. With no food yet but with a bit of cider, you felt the light buzz make you feel more at ease than usual as you leaned on the spear, pouting a bit. "Come on, Sans, even Alphys showed me her patterns, please?" You asked again, pleading with the short brother who rubbed the back of his head, closing his eyes to think about it.
 
"I don't know, bud, it's not that impressive." Sans didn't relent yet, not looking at you; however, when you huffed a little bit disappointed but not going to push him, you learned from last time not to push him too hard.
 
Undyne, however, evidently had a different idea than you as she leered over at Sans, smirking tightly at him. "Oh, come on, Sans, don't be so

lazy. Even

Alphys showed off a little bit, and you know how much that takes. Come on, show off a little bit for your friend," Undyne challenged, swinging a drink while Alphys squeaked, flushed, tried to hide behind her claws, and mumbled something about how it was nothing.
 
"B-but… I would like to see too if… if you're okay with i-it Sans." The lizard monster offered, siding with you, making you smile, looking hopeful at Sans again, holding your hands together in a pleading way in front of you.
 
"Come on, Sans, when was the last time you

did

a pattern run since the kid came along?" Undyne asked, and you wanted to know what she was talking about. Sans's reluctant sigh and shrug of agreement distracted you, and you smiled wider at him, beaming at getting one of your questions answered without asking him. Ha!
 
Giddily watching with the other two giving Sans room to work his magic, but you felt slightly confused when it was only a row of short, tiny bones that anyone could step over with ease, some alternating on top and bottom but nothing like the complex stuff you had even seen from Papyrus. But still, now you knew that his magic was like his brothers' bones, so that was something for you to be optimistic about for him, and it took a lot of effort on his part to do that.
 
"see, i told ya, i'm nothing like paps; that's all i got, pals." With a shrug, Sans sat on his log, taking a long sip of his drink. But before you could even concern yourself with him, a loud and blusterous level of energy for such a party coming from the porch grabbed your attention and forced it away from Sans.
 
"There you are, darlings! Everyone else has already come to greet me, but I could not find the last of our new human friends I have not had the pleasure of meeting!" Mettaton was standing at the doorway with a lovesick puppy Papyrus by his side beaming at Mettaton, and you figured that magic time was over since it didn't look like he was going to come into the yard any time soon, and you were getting a look from the pop monster dressed as Michael Jackson. So, handing the attack back to Undyne with a bit of pout that only made her laugh and snort before giving you a hard slap on the back before picking up Alphys and jogging inside for more food.
 
"Sorry, Mettaton, can't blame me for wanting to look." Give the giant robot monster a smile, holding your cider in one hand and the other out for a handshake. Giggling lightly behind one hand, Mettaton grabbed your free hand, giving yours a light kiss before letting go when Papyrus squealed behind him.
 
"Well, darling, if you wanted to see real magic, you should have just asked me first!"
 
It ended up being a full rendition of a lyric battle with almost complete effects thanks to Mettaton magic bullets that took on the small square robot form and copied the humanoid robot with perfect copying motion effects coming out of the umbrellas. At the same time, the song blasted from Mettaton's chest. Cheering for the show, everyone quickly decided that everyone should try it once Mettaton suggested it, saying it was good for his fans. You even went with the flow after a few others gave it a shot with different songs to try, with Mettaton leading you along in a duet from the Beetle Juice musical. Even though you had a blast being cheered on, you could not help noticing out of the corner of your eye that Sans didn't seem all too happy with you dancing around with Mettaton. Could he be jealous? The thought crossed your mind, but you brushed it off as Sans had blinked to another spot when you looked up next.
 
With Sans teleporting away, it left you to the mercy of Mettaton's attention, leading you to be swept back into a very drunk impromptu costume contest for his Instagram that, no matter begging, could wiggle your way out of, let alone the others. It took you nursing two bottles of monster cider before you ever felt like giving in to the other monster and a mighty amount of friendly persuasion from Papyrus and Undyne. Mettaton himself also took part and gave themselves the 1st place. Undyne was unhappy with her 3rd place being overstated by Momo 2nd; however, she was placated with another shot and praise from Papyrus.
 
After that, you were feeling pretty bubbly from drinking, but it was a more pleasant feeling than human drinks, so you kept going with another bottle as everyone dug into the food and sodas while Ava got the movies started on a cloth projector set up in the living room. After several films and smores later into the night, most guests have left, leaving the house quieter than before. 
 
Papyrus drove an extremely drunk Mettaton, Undyne, and Alphys home himself. While he tried to take San with him, the monster could not be physically removed from the couch; it is unclear if he was passed out because of how much he drank or if it was just him being him. So, in the end, everyone decided to let him be, cover him with a blanket, and place some water nearby. When the house had settled, and it was well into the dead of night, you finally moved out to the dying fire pit with a basket and your cello case on your back that you had retrieved from your car.
 
After setting down your things, you picked the side that was out of sight from the main house and facing the woods. You tended to the fire pit to rake in the coals closer to you so you could start to warm up. Once the fire coals and some small bits of wood had been tented to get the light going, you started the setup process. 
 
"I think I outdid myself this year; what do you guys think?" 
 
Finishing setting up, you pushed off the ground with a heavy groan, brushing the grass off your leggings and smiling proudly while looking down at your creation. It had taken some effort to drag the appropriately sized stones up the long sloping hill the day before, but it had been worth it now as the fire light flickered off the cold and straightforward stone dolmen.
 
"Sorry, it's not much...Mom, Dad." Touching the small, soft, black, complicated crochet cloth once more to pick off a stray grass blade so it would not get into the simple food laying out on top of the dolmen with a small, worn, tattered photo in a simple frame held up by some smaller rocks and a small candle that had been lit. It was of a woman, a man, and a small child who smiled at the camera, a soft glare from the coals covering their faces. "But hopefully you like the pattern." 
 
Closing the basket, you took a moment to breathe in the night air and chill, closing your eyes. Some part of you felt silly at the faint hope that if a ghost could be real, you could connect to them one more time. After all, Frisk has Casper; that is proof that human souls can exist after death. Maybe your parents could reach out. You never really believed in the things you did much before; it gave you comfort, and you knew on a personal level it was no different than someone praying to God… you just added extra flair, you guess. But after this morning, the seed of hope had been growing all night, keeping its roots in the back of your mind with every drink you had consumed tonight. 
 
Monster alcohol made you feel more clear-headed than humankind did, a different kind of buzz, you could say. It made your body feel warm, like a tiny ball of fire, mainly around your chest. Your fingers tingled with the fuzzy sensation one would have with a falling asleep limb, but not as unpleasant. 
 
After sitting silently and getting no response for a few minutes, you let out a deep, disappointed, self-reproaching sigh. Right, it was silly to think that you would get any kind of results, once again subsisting that Frisk was something of a unique situation and you would be different too. Getting cold on the ground, you pulled yourself up with a slight wobble as you moved and flopped to the chair near closing your eyes as you leaned back, head tilted up at the heavens, 
 
Maybe it was the monster school that made you feel confident like that; perhaps this was your version of drunk as clearer-headed you, or maybe it was clear that you were not in your sober set of mind. That was disappointing as you seemed to be holding it so much better than the others and even had more than you first intended since you didn't feel 'drunk' in a usual sense. Your whole body felt wound up in an unplaceable way with itself, leaving you feeling bubbly and warm, not like a drunk kind of fuzzy, but close enough. 
 
Settling into the chair, taking out the bottle you had saved for the last one of the night to drink, you hung out by the fire, doing your thing. At this point, you might as well keep drinking to mask your disappointment and keep that warm feeling going. Just as you took a swig of what was basically monster mead, you were disturbed by the unmistakable sound of

something

landing on the shed's roof behind you, like a bag of bones being dropped. You were a little taken aback by the interruption but not as surprised as you thought you might have been. 
 
"so what ya doing?" Sans's voice drifted over from the top of the shed where Sans had decided to teleport to. Since your eyes were closed, all you could hear was him shuffling around on the roof before what sounded like he settled down.  
 
"Oh, just, you know, human magic stuff." Leaning back in the chair, you hung your head back to look up at Sans upside down with a raised eyebrow. You had assumed he was already fast asleep, but he was awake, clearly tipsy, with another bottle of achachol in his gloved hand, sipping from it. "What are YOU doing?"
 
"eh, you know monster magic stuff," Sans smirked, eye lights more noticeable in the dark for the slight changes to the illumination, so it was the widening of the magic lights when you snorted just ever so with a new twinkle. "Just star gazing," Sans answered while he stretched out on his back, drinking from one of the bottles he had brought.
 
"I got to say I'm a little bit envious. I wish I could do some real monster 
magic stuff." Wistfully sighing as you stretched out your arms over your head, and thus your back as well for a nice whole body pops that everyone could hear eyes closing as you breathed deeply in, only to cringe when you listened to a hard thud from Sans falling from coughing that suddenly started with a sputter when your back arched.
 
"Do I need to call Papyrus or…" For once, you didn't want to see what Sans looked like in case he hurt himself. Something about that made your stomach, which generally could handle the gross line of work, turn slightly.
 
"no, it's fine." You dared to peak then, looking at Sans face down on the ground, holding up his thumb in the air as if he did not just fall to the ground for no reason. The giggling snort was out of your mouth before you could throw a hand over it to cover it a little bit; since there was no helping it, you continued to giggle softly while getting up to crouch down, holding out a hand to Sans so he didn't feel so bad about falling.
 
"Alright, but how about we don't teleport on top of the roof while drunk from now on?" you offered as Sans took your hand. He hauled himself up, took another bottle out of his phone, and threw half of it back before saying anything. You returned to your seat to let him sort out himself.
 
"good point, brig. did paps ever tell you about the time i napped on the ceiling fan?" As you got comfortable again in your seat, Sans sat down on the ground, leaning back against the side of the chair to look up at you with one bone brow raised at you.
 
"He mentioned it before, so I can believe it's something you've done before. I did see you fall asleep looking for pans a few weeks ago, remember?" You pointed out, leaning over to grab the bottle and taking a sip of the mead. Glancing down at Sans's skull, you tapped a little nervously on the chair you sat in; you didn't want to stop, but you didn't know if Sans would think it weird to keep going with him around.

"Father, mother, this is Sans… you might notice that he's a monster. Turns out a lot of things have happened since we last talked."

You stole another glance at Sans, who didn't stop you but was giving you a look of some kind with a raised bone brow part due to you speaking in Gaelic. Sans had pulled another bottle of his choosing out during your stolen glances and sipped from it. You took another deep swing of your bottle to get the courage to keep going. You already started. Might as well go all in… right?

"Well um… Father, you know what Aunit always says if doing many tasks to two head spaces, so I figured your tongue for the dead and mothers for the living… hah."

You ended with an uncomfortable little laugh before clearing your throat and taking a large bottle swig. That felt a bit embarrassing…
 
"so, who are you talking to, brig? cuse it sure not me, heh." Sans finally spoke as you gasped, finishing your swig and feeling the warm liquid vanish and become one with the warmth in your chest. 
 
"I told ya, human stuff." You could finally make out the upside-down drunk, unimpressed look in his eyes lights. Looking away, you took another big swig before going on. "I was just introducing you to my folks; you just have to do it funny. It's a whole thing." You gave up trying to go into details, setting down the bottle to get the poker for the fire to give it a small swirl; Sans just gave a soft snort. 
 
"talking to your folks? i could have sworn that you said they passed away, so how are you talking to them?" Your grip on the stick tightened for a moment before you went back to carefully tending the fire; he was just drunk, that's all. He didn't know how to say with tack. You tried to convince yourself of that as you formulated a reply.
 
"Yeah, my

dead

folks, you know the whole pagan thing I told you a long time back? I'm doing something that part of it sort of… I guess you could say." You gave up once you realized that it was probably pointless to get into details with him as drunk as he was. Setting the stick aside, you huffed yourself back into the chair; hmm, that warm feeling is starting to fade away, but why are your arms feeling more tingly in an unpleasant way? Oh well. 
 
"oh, so it's playing pretend, gotcha." 
 
"Sans, what the hell? Not cool; how much have you had to drink anyway?" You glared down at the drunken skeleton itching at your sleeves to help alleviate some of the irritation. You knew it was dumb to put that much effort into making a connection to the other side, but that didn't mean he had to be a jerk about it. 
 
"eh, you don't have to worry your pretty little old head over that." Sans waved you off, so you shrugged. You had only seen Sans going to full blast, so maybe he was just an asshole when he was tipsy, and you got lucky last time." besides, it's common sense. you can't talk to the dead, can't you? the dead are dead, done gone poof." 
 
Sans had a smile, and his tone was joking, but you were having difficulty determining if it was one of his fakes or if he really didn't know what he was saying. It was starting to get under your skin, like the lousy tingling going on.
 
"Well, sometimes people do things that don't meet the demand of common sense, Sans. This is my way of coping with grief." You tried to give him an easy out, hoping he would take mercy for you both so you could return to your night. "'

Pretend'

or common sense I…I want to do so. If you're going to be rude, please go back inside."  
 
"it's not just logic. it's common sense, bud." Sans shrugged up at you, not letting it go as he narrowed his smile at you, looking down at you like a child. "SOULS just don't work that way b. i hate to break it to ya, but it's the truth." Sans's tone was condescending, grating on your ears as you went back to rubbing your arms to try to help whatever your body was doing. You had to guess with the booze. You felt your emotions flair up like the stoked fire at your feet as your face flushed hot with embankment and anger. Anything you could have said to Sans now would only make things worse. You had to make a move, and you just ignored him. Finishing the rest of your bottle, now empty in your hands, you looked at the picture not far away.

"I'm sorry, Mom and Dad. He's not the biggest fan of this kind of stuff, but I promise he is a really nice guy…"

"come on, pal, don't act like i'm not here and stop playing pretend. you know it's not real, so stop acting like you're talking to someone who is there! he's dead, and he ain't coming back, so there is no point to any of this crap, pap's!" Sans's outburst startled you as you never heard him taking that kind of aggressive tone before, let alone seeming like he had mistaken you for his brother. The two of you stared at each other in stunned silence, your eyes just as wide as his faltering smile, a small crack in the ever-smiling face he ever put on. 
 
After taking in a sharp breath of air after what felt like forever, you finally spoke, breaking the silence first as Sans only looked off to the side in guilt. 
 
"Sans… I." You paused, trying to find something, anything to say in the middle of swirling emotions running through your body. "You… look, it might not be my place, but is there something you want to get off your chest about all this…" You finally broke eye contact with a wave of a hand to emphasize what you meant; you felt like you had some unresolved dead partner issues like you in his own way. You focused on the picture glaring in the fire's dying light with your own guilt. This was not how you wanted tonight to go. 
 
"what's there to say, pal?" You could almost feel Sans's sarcasm slapping the back of your head like an attack. "human and monsters' SOULS don't last around in a way you just 'talk' to. so what is the point of trying if no one is listening?" The hissing of another can be opened behind you. You suppose he had taken out another can of drink; how many has it been since this conversation started? You didn't keep track of yourself, so you certainly didn't count his. 
 
Meanwhile, you had picked up the picture frame in reach to hold, your irritation slowly mixing with sadness that this was how Sans was dealing with his dead father. He had only mentioned it in context in the past tense and never out right before, so you only had the context clues to make the connection about his father. You noticed something like there was something else behind your frame, so you flipped it over and unclasped the back, and oh look, surprise, it was another picture. It was you, a much younger grade school age, with your arms around someone else at a redness around the same age as you, but you don't remember who they were. It was hard to tell anyway since a sunspot blurred the face, like from an old camera that spits out the poloids.
 
"when

we

die, we turn to dust soul and all, just right there wherever we happen to lose all our hp. when

you

die, you just break and fade, leaving a body behind that is a shell. these are facts and known variables in the world, so realistically speaking to a person after death, as if they can hear, is impossible once the soul is gone. it's just a thing that kids say to make them feel better at night to sleep better when they are sad; it's pointless." Sans's remarks made you flinch back to the present, your hands moving to place the back cover onto the frame as you looked back at Sans, unable to mask the disappointment and sadness in your expression. 
 
"Sans, do you think of me as being foolish for doing all this? Despite what your science tells you?" 
 
"well, i didn't mean to offend you; sorry." Sans's joking, scoffing tone would be expected. It felt like jagged nails against your ears right now. You flinched and glared at him. Sans did not get the hint and kept going. Instead, his dulled eyes stared back at you. Great, now he was getting stubborn and irritated, too. "but only kids believe in that kind of stuff. santa, ghosts, heaven, hell all just do not exist." 
 
At this point, you didn't want to talk to Sans anymore as it seemed like he would not change his mind about how he felt about it, and since he was being kind of rude and lashing out at you over his own issues. If he was going to be like that, you would just be as petty and ignore him. Despite your emotions swinging one way or the other in a matter of moments, you could not help but smirk as you turned your head away and started to talk again.

"Sounds like he has some issues, but he should not take it out on us… So what if you could never hear me? It makes me feel better to remember you guys."

Hugging it to your chest, you heard Sans grunt and a more forceful clunk of the can on the bricks.
 
"come on, bud, you know I can't understand ya. don't go switching languages just because you know i'm right." Squeezing the frame harder, you bit back the bile that wanted to be said, but he was right. He was right; he didn't understand you. Fine, you would make him understand then. Your body felt like it was so tense, like a bow ready to be shot, and you just wanted this to be

over.

So, whirling back around on Sans, you marched over to stand before him, not breaking eye contact as you gathered your determination. 
 
"You're right; you don't understand. So what if it is proven that nothing is there after we die? We don't do this for the dead sake. We do this for the living sake." You bit back, holding out the picture for Sans to look at, making his eyes widen at the only picture he had seen of your parents. It was your only one, so you kept it safe in your room. "So what if some people believe that maybe they are still there? Is it harming you? No, it's not, so why are you being an asshole about it?" All that tenseness turned into something sharper, hardening over your skin. It felt like when Sans looked up at you with a flush blue face, pointing a finger at you.  
 
"no, have you ever seen a ghost?" Sans bitterly asked before drowning the rest of his drink and setting the empty can down. You could only shrug a slight smirk, twitching your lips briefly as you thought about this morning before shaking your head. No. You could not break an essential promise to Frisk even over a drunk fight with Sans. Despite your mind being a wreck emotionally, you still could understand that.
 
"No, I haven't, but you have no proof either. Just because the data has not been found yet does not mean it's not real." You pointed out, biting back at Sans, who just shook his head edges and tugged down to that fucking smile now. Something in you snapped, and it felt that everything in the world went against the grain of your being, then soldered into heat as you snapped back at him.
 
"Frankly, just because you don't want to believe in anything doesn't mean you can stop others from doing it just because there is proof or no proof! So what if I want to talk to my

dead

parents? I lost when I was

three

years old. I don't care if there is proof or not, so you need to stop being so childish and go back to the house if you're going to keep this shit up." Sans's face had grown a little harder and darker as you raised your voice at him, clearly done with his shit, and you didn't notice how your voice was echoing thanks to the hill.
 
"ha, me childish? you're the childish ones to keep doing things when you know they are not going to work. there are no ghosts beyond the grave to talk to you when you get sad and lonely. don't be like paps, okay?!"
 
Covering your mouth with a hand to hide the small gasp, you looked away from Sans, feeling a bit of guilt run over your skin, cooling you down to a more level-headed manner like water on a fire. Sans meanwhile eyes had gone dark, and slacked jaw staring into nothing it looked like.
 
Looking away, the two of you stood in tense silence, each trying to gather their thoughts about what to say. Pulling your picture back, you hugged it to your chest. Frankly, you felt like the few last fraying strings on a bow, only enough to make squeaking and sharp noises against the string. Like one of the few remaining strings, the idea grabbed at your brain and pulled your hackles up as you processed Sans's context to his words.

"What did he do?"

"Sans, it's my turn for a

question

." Ah, yes, that was better. The frayed feeling was being honed down to a focal point, sharp but holding your back straight without wavering; Sans's head snapped with a blank, shocked expression and voiceless eyes you missed since you were staring at something else you had to know the answer. "Are you by any chance upset at Papyrus for believing in something and has tried to convince him otherwise against his will?"
 
"…. so what if i have? it's for his own good, and it's none of your business anyway." Sans's voice was gruff and warning, but you finally stood up straight enough to gain a few inches over the top of his head.
 
"It is my business because you are both my

friends

." You huffed, pointing at his chest with a finger, narrowing your eyes slightly at him, making sure he was looking straight into your eyes. "Secondly, I know for a fact that you still read children's stories to Papyrus almost nightly, AND don't forget I am roped in with the Jack Skeleton prank; I thought I forgot about it, huh? So clearly, you are being this upset over something like

this

? It probably means that you have some things to work out about your dad rather than me."
 
Sans stood there with a fish out of the water. It was the first time you'd ever seen his mouth actually open as he tried to say something, but whatever it was, he was silent. Bolden a little bit, you took a deep breath to strengthen your resolve rather than be upset at Sans; you needed to focus that energy in another manner.
 
"Sans, I'm not upset at you. Well, no, I am upset, but I also see you have some feelings about a loved one who passed on?" You slowly let your breath out, keeping a hold of the feeling of the strings that seemed to vibrate under your skin uncomfortably; if you could only think about keeping all the tiny strings in check into a solid bow, it helped with the skin-crawling feeling, and you just chalked it up to anxiety at this point, so might as well run with it, you where really just to tried to care about what strange new things your body was trying to alert you to that is for later you.
 
"But I'm disappointed that you took it out on me, and it seems like your brother in the past; I forgive you this time because clearly, we both had a little too much to drink tonight." 
 
"wait…" Sans tried to interrupt. His eyes, still black, widened when you held up your hand again to stop him as you turned around to keep your back to him while kneeling next to your case, trying to fight back the angry tears you could feel burning at the corner of your eyes. You wanted to nosh and tear into Sans for saying such things, but you stopped when you saw the bracelet you had given him a few weeks ago at the bar, took a deep breath, and turned your head away from him again.  
 
"Sans, I'm going to give you a choice: either sit there in silence and watch or…." You had opened up the case to take out your cello; the plan was to ignore him until he went away, but as you unlocked the case and opened it up, what you saw made you freeze, your heart dropping down into the bottom of your stomach fast enough it made you want to vomit. 
 
The strings on both the bow and the cello itself had been cut several times. They clearly had been cut desperately, but how could you not fathom the answer? Mouth opening and closing, you felt your throat tighten up, forcing a choke sob back. Sans must have noticed your sudden change, as you could hear him stir behind you. 
 
"u-uhhh, i didn't mean to make you cry, bud, its just…" Guilty-sounding Sans tried to pat your shoulder, but you shrugged him off, snapping the case close as you took a deep, shuttering breath. On pure impulse, the next moment, you knew his drink was in your hand and then in your mouth, as you pounded it and tossed the can into the pit. You felt the last few strings of rationality slipping away as your emotions surged to the peaks. Sans only stood there frozen at your outburst, eyelids gone and empty hollow like how you felt.
 
"S-sans, I'm going to walk away right now, don't follow me. I need to be alone for a moment. Stay or don't. I don't care anymore..." Not able to look him in the eye, you quickly sped away from the fire pit back into the house as you dashed to the bathroom; with a new bottle of liquor in hand, you gave into the temptation of drinking away; the pain was too great for you to bear anymore. The picture of your broken chello strings stuck in your head is like an ugly picture. 
 
The tears burned down your face as you desperately tried to keep the sobs silent as you slid down to the floor. This was not fair at all; you knew you had been unlucky, but this seemed unreal even for you; the weight of everything in your life as of late seemed to weigh down on your shoulders, making it hard to breathe in between gulps of liquor that stung your throat in a way that you had long forgotten that soon numbed the pain in your heart and turmoil thoughts. 
 
How could you ever let yourself hope for even a moment that your parents could still be around as ghosts like Casper, who was clearly human, just like you? You felt like a child again, back with your Aunts learning how to contact the other side during this time, the hope that maybe you could have gotten some closer, but despite every single time, you tried with no effect or results. Eventually, around your late teens, you stopped trying and treated everything they taught you up to being eccentric pagans hippies. A bitter laugh left your lips as you finished the bottle with a hard swallow. 
 
Waving on your feet, you stumbled back into the yard to gather your broken cello and picture only to find a much soberer Sans looking guilty in the firelight. Pausing, not sure if you wanted him gone or his help to clean up the mess, your muddled thoughts were slowing down as the liquor hit more of your system as you moved around.

Wait, did I set up two pictures… who is that?

"look, um, maybe you were right, and i got too carried away… really carried away." Sans interrupted your one line of thoughts as he shuffled his bunny-shoed feet around in the dirt. Why did he have to look so cute when he was sorry. Wait, no, that's not the point. Shhh, he is talking. "and maybe you're right that i uh… have some issues when it comes to dad…" 
 
"and i know it won't make up for what i said, but i uh… thought maybe i could use my magic to fix your chello things so you could do what you wanted. oh, and i added pops to the group… if i can still watch brig?" As he explained, he pulled your cello and bow out from somewhere; even as he wobbled in front of you, or was that you, you saw that the once broken strings had been replaced by a soft glowing blue string of magic, the bow glowing the same with its own thicker string. 
 
With grabby hands, you gathered the instrument in your arms like a child and looked down at his efforts, feeling something tug at something in your heart that you hadn't felt in a long, long while. Trying not to tear up, you finally look Sans in the eyes for the first time since you practically ran off, cutting him off at the end. 
 
"It's perfect, Sans, thank you." 
 
"well, we don't know if it will work," Sans muttered almost to himself as he flushed in the firelight, the blue blush lighting up his face. Smiling, you sat down heavily into the chair, making Sans start a little bit as he finally looked at you and all the messy drunk you were currently being. You knew your eyes were swollen and red from crying, and there was probably a nice drunk flush to your face as you swayed in your chair, moving closely to right yourself to play the cello. 
 
"We can see! For science, I knew I would get to play with your magic today, hehe." After steadying the spinning world, you fiddled with a few short notes, pleasantly surprised that you could even make a sound—it was just like usual! Gasping delightfully, you plucked the warm magic strings, playing a quick scale to finish warming up. The strings tingled the tips of your calloused fingers; their gentle light enchanted the cello glow. 
 
"r…right, it's for science," Sans mumbled, looking away to hide his blush. You didn't notice his shy reaction or how he turned blue all over as you drunkenly prepared, getting used to the feeling. 
 
"Yes, science." You nodded as a matter of fact; maybe it was wrong of you to forgive him so quickly, but he used magic to fix something he had nothing to do with. Not to mention, he said he was wrong, and you were right, so that made you feel some kind of way. "All you need is something from a loved one you want to remember and some food and drink, something to do with sharing or something. If I came for a visit, I would want something yummy to hold me over till next time." You started to ramble using the bow of the cello to point at the setup, nodding your head in approval as Sans came up with a plate with a hot dog and a monster beer to place next to a burnt-around-the-edge picture. Just like you! 
 
"Here, let me just rearrange really quick." You chuckled, shooing him away a few inches so you could do your work in reach of the chair, making room for the plate in your hand and the photo frame from Sans, who hovered over your shoulder, fixing it to the other side with the candle placed between his and your photos. The photo looked like it had been acutely burnt at one point or another along the top, effectively cutting off the face of the tall monster who had a hand on a much smaller papyrus and younger head. In contrast, Sans, who only looked around like an older teen, was standing beside the monster with his eyes closed. While Papyrus was still wearing striped shirts, both Sans and the other monster wore lab coats over normal-looking clothes. Sans also seemed to have picked up on the offering of drinks as a new, unopened can of Monster beer was sitting next to your shot glass of cider. 
 
"They're perfect." You wiggled back to the center of your chair and smiled at Sans, who rubbed the back of his skull, sheepish eye lights glancing between you and anywhere else every few moments.
 
"My aunts always say that 'Fágann an bás crá croí nach féidir le duine ar bith leigheas; Fágann grá cuimhne nach féidir le duine ar bith é a ghoid.'" You opened an eye and looked out of the corner of your vision to watch Sans scrunch up his face and turn away from you as he leaned against the chair again. "It means 'Death leaves a heartache no one can heal; Love leaves a memory no one can steal.'"
 
"oh…" Sans mumbled from his hood, which had been flipped up so you could not see the top of his head. You let it go and looked up at the stars. You started to feel tired, but you hadn't even started the song yet. "that was deep."
 
"I mean maybe a little, but to me, it's just how we roll in my family… it probably didn't help my normalcy meter, though, that I grew up with one of my aunts owning her own funeral home. I played a few times for families who didn't have a lot. I remember I played with a close friend when she was around." A chuckle left you while you rubbed the back of your head, feeling a little confused; used to being around was an odd way of putting being missing, or was she? You couldn't even remember who she was outside of the name. You blamed it on the drink and were unaware of how much you had started to ramble while you fiddled with the blue magic strings. 
 
"so what do we do now… heh, i guess i should have asked how this all goes in detail before jumping in, huh?" Sans gave out a weak laugh that had you shaking with silent laughter as you shook your head.
 
"Come on, Sans, I know you're brighter than that. You know I would not leave you hanging; it's really simple, I promise. Here, just follow my lead." Clearing your throat, you straighten your back, ensuring Sans is watching. Keep a solemn look, doing your best not to break at the bewildered look Sans is giving out of the corner of his hood. "Dad, Mom, this is Sans; you would never believe that another race was living underground this whole time."
 
Sans blinked owlishly up at you, so you kept going, talking up to the stars. "He's a magic skeleton, but don't think that he's not a bonehead just because he is all bones. From what I gathered, San's is super smart even if he doesn't want to admit it." You watched as Sans turned blue and hid his face away in the hood of his jacket, making you chuckle softly under your breath; it was rare to see Sans flustered, so you kept going. "But I suppose he is also good at making jokes and puns, cleaver even maybe if it wasn't for all his napping in odd places and drinking ketchup like it was about to go out of style."
 
"don't speak ill of the ketchup…" Came a low mumble of disgruntles.
 
"Sans, I have literally seen you pound back a whole bottle of ketchup back to back at Grillby's last time like it was shot; it was both horrifying and surreal."
 
"…heh, fair enough."  
 
"However, despite his unholy thirst for ketchup, San is a really good friend, and his love for his brother is amazing. Not to mention, his brother is pretty amazing, too, like the most wholesome cinnamon that must be cherished and protected. You would have liked both of them if you had the chance to meet."
 
"you really think they would have liked me?" After a beat of silence, you felt a tug at your sleeve, so you gave a tiny shrug to the question, giving a hand that tugged a small pat. "Hmh, I think they would, Sans, probably all of you guys, if we are being honest. Now it's your turn, Sans."
 
Slipping his hand away, Sans shifted beside you so that he was leaning against the armrest, hoody up, skull resting on your arm now as he watched the sky as well. "hmm, i'm going to need a moment. it's been a while…"
 
"Take your time." You hummed softly, letting him take his time while you gave the cello a practice pluck. It let out a deep, warm note to your drunken, gitty surprise. You did this for a few minutes, doing little warm-ups that were on the sloppy side at times when you turned your head too fast and made your vision swim. 
 
"whelp, here goes nothing, uh dad, this is brighid. she, uh, a human friend me and papyrus made on the surface?" Sans trailed off, glancing back at you for support as he started; you paused your rendition of Mary had a little Lamb to give him a thumbs up to keep going and a warm smile. "we, well s-she doing this whole human thing where you talk to the dead. heh, i know you would have a field day with that."
 
"I'm guessing your dad wasn't big on the supernatural either?" You asked, understanding a little bit more when Sans agreed with a low, gruff huff that was almost like bitter laughter, setting the can in his hand down on the picture.
 
"something like that." Sans shoved his hands into the hoody, giving you a short, bitter smile. "he would try to fight the very law of the universe to prove if something existed. he once told me not to bother fighting god because there is no god to fight, only the natural phenomena in the world."
 
"Ah, I can see where the nerd comes from his family now, guys. What kind of fields did he study, he sounds like a smart guy."
 
"natural born genius, more than i will ever be by far in some areas. you know who built the plant's core that powers the underground and new new home?" Sans leaned his head back, looking up at you with a bit more of a twinkle in his eyes that made you feel warm on the inside. 
 
"Alphys mentioned it was the Head Scientist before her, right?"
 
"hmh." With your answer, Sans nodded.
 
"Why would that matter about your d… no way was he the former Head Scientist of the Underground!?" You leaned over Sans, now eyes wide with curiosity and breaming with different questions distracted that you wanted to play again thanks to your booze brain being a one-way track. 
 
"the one and only, come on, you're blocking the view brig." Sans gently pushed you away, his hand pushing up on your chest, and you were very glad. He could not see your blush like a drunk fool when you leaned back. 
 
"That is cool, but how come everyone only calls him "Former head scientist"? Did he not have a name for history or something?"
 
"heh, dad was a bit of an oddball, so he insisted on everyone calling him doctor. I think grillby, asagor, toriel, and old man turtle are the ones who know his actual name anymore." Sans shrugged, shaking his head, so you let it go, mulling over Sans's words.
 
"Ah, I understand then. Thank you for telling me about him… and thank you for the strings, Sans. I love it."  
 
You could hear the sharp intake of breath from Sans, but when it was only silent after that. You let out a sigh when the sudden notice of all the feelings crawling under your skin was gone, and

finally

, you could relax the tension from the fight while the wounds were still fresh and stung. You were glad it was over. It seemed. Sans seemed to be done talking, and you would not force him after he opened like that. Instead, you busied yourself with moving your cell phone closer so you could start setting up again.
 
"so, what are you going to play?"
 
"Are you willing to wait until it's over for my answer?" The edge of the wooden neck of the cello pressed into your chest softly as you listened to the silent dark, staring at the strings, idly running your fingers over the strings, feeling the vibration in your chest. Glancing at Sans, a soft smile as you explained. When you didn't say anything more, the skeleton blinked, seeming to get the point that it was now quiet time, and he quickly made himself comfortable again so you could just be focused on playing rather than him. When the rustling of clothes stopped and the sounds of night returned, you took a deep breath, enjoying the cool air as it filled your lungs. Letting it out slowly, you felt calm, and peace spread gradually through your body with each deep breath replacing the bitter stone that had started to form. It began with the first notes, plucking the strings at first and without needing to open your eyes to play, thanks to the years of practicing this one song every year.
 
Grounding yourself only in the song, you plated each note with what emotional strength you had left. You firmly blamed it on drinking a whole bottle of human ache for the world and an emotional rollercoaster from the monster kind. The more you played, the better and less stifled you felt. Humming along, you didn't remember how the song went, but phonically, you could hum it out and make up words, at least to you. But that didn't matter; unable to stop now, you had to finish what you started; you were determined to do that on the vague hope something would happen.
 
Voice and humming tones of strings echoed softly in the night as the fire reflected on the two of you, flickering in the slight wind, carrying your emotions with it. You could feel the magic circulate under the skin of your fingertips, pleasantly melting, almost with the faint fuzzy feeling you had been feeling all along. Everything seemed to equalize as the song ended, slowing down; all the energy you poured into it waved off your hands as they stopped, leaving you limp and exhausted.

"The only thing I remember about my mother is the song she used to hum all the time, like under her breath, without knowing all the time. So I remember that about her more than even her touch or color of her hair." It was hard to move your hands right, and when you opened your eyes, you felt the tears that stuck to the lases and cheeks before the world started to spin and your belly did unsettling flops. 
 
You closed your eyes and leaned back in the chair as the world swirled around you more and more as the full effects of your poor choices started to really hit you and your body. Slurring your words, you could only rub angrily at your eyes to clear the tears away. Time to seem to stop and start and jitter, the all too familiar feeling of blacking out as spots danced even behind your tightly closed eyelids. "Look at me, such a weirdo, huh, trying to talk to the dead like I had magic." Shaking your head, the world only spun faster and faster till you leaned against something plush and soft wrapping around you. The faint smell of ketchup rubbed your nose, tingling it, distracting you as something gently pulled your chello out of your limp fingers despite your slurred but weak protests.  
 
"sorry, brighid." it was a simple phrase that made your face scrunch up even more as you tried not to cry sloppy into the hoodie mass holding you. The emotional rollercoaster of the day had all but drained you of anything of strength, so you only shook your head, still deep into his hoodie. Even if it was for just a moment, you felt that you and Sans had a real heart-to-heart, and he finally understood how you felt about today and how you felt about your parents.
 
"No…I'm sorry for yelling about drinking and then drinking drunk… that was dumb of me…. I'm sorry." You hiccuped, leaning into him more as he was much warmer than the fire pit now that the coals had all but died out. Fingers stroked your head as you felt yourself be hosted up into the air through the fog and haze of your muddled mind. Insights told you to hold onto the closest solid object, so you did just that for life. In fact, you clung your arms around his neck, tucking your head unknowingly into the crook of his shoulder blade and clavicle. 
 
Holding you gently, Sans only signed and shook his head, telling you in a low voice to hold your breath, and you did before the world spun, and Vuridgo overtook you as you tried to open your eyes to see what was going on. 
 
All you saw was pitch blackness like you had never opened your eyes in the first place before you were back in the living room in the next blink. The world spun and spun, making you groan, feeling sick as you quickly regretted doing that and shut your eyes tight again. It took all your waning willpower to not throw up. 
 
Laying you down on something soft, you could feel Sans tuck you in with a blanket, probably the same one you had tucked him into before you went outside, along with the glass of water clinking to the tablet next to you. 
 
"Sorry, I'm a mess, I just miss them… all of them." You mumbled into the pillow being placed under you, slurring words only Sans could make out at this point. "All I got is the picture and my neckless now."
 
"shh, i know, i miss mine this time every year …" Sans's baritone voice soothed your feelings a little as you gripped the blanket tight in your hands as if to answer you to this place and time. 'Just try to rest, I'll be right here." The promise of staying by your side was enough to relax you a little bit more, the spinning slowly being overtaken by the sweet blackness of passing out; once that happened, you didn't have to think about anything else for a while, which was great. 
 
"Hmm." It was only a mumble affirmative before the darkness swept you away into a blissful coma of dreamless sleep. In the morning, however, you were awoken by a horribly heart-clinching night terror alone in the living room in the wee hours of the morning. 
 
It took a while to calm down, thankful for once that you could not remember what this one was about despite the confused, heart-wrenching pain in your chest about something. Looking around, you find your necklace and a glass of water. You didn't see Sans in the living room, and when you tried to think back to last night, you could only remember somewhat clearly up to him making you upset; after that, all kinds of fuzzy made you draw a blank. It had been a long time since you woke up this hungover, but also having been so drunk the night before you blacked out. 
 
Reaching for your neckless, you noticed that the string was broken, and the remains were set to the side. Had you taken it off last night or broken it in some way? You don't remember that. 
 
When you sat up enough to grab the necklace, a sticky note with Sans chicken scratch handwriting fell from your forehead and onto your lap.

'it broke last night after you passed out, not sure how.'

Frowning, you could not help but feel confused about how it broke after you passed out, but you were thankful that Sans placed it somewhere safe for you and the glass of water. It also saved you from dealing with being awkward around him after last night's events. You would have to sort through your feelings as it came to Sans and find a new string for your neckless. But first, you needed to deal with the train of hangover that was slamming into your head, promptly forgetting about what the night terroir had been about in the process...