Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Frisk, wait!" you called out to the child in the striped sweater, them turning back to face you. They gave you a confused look as you managed to catch up with them but then hunched back, your breathing uneven.

"Don't just run off! You know I don't do well in the cold."

Frisk gave you an apologetic smile, lending their hand out to you. You smiled back, taking their hand as the both of you continue to walk through Snowdin.

At the moment, the both of you were trying to find Sans since... actually, you didn't know what reason. Frisk just asked you to come with them to look for him.

Your feet stepped lightly on the snow and you watched as monsters decorated some of the trees and had snowfall fights. It was the season where you get gifts and is very cold.

"HELLO HUMANS! (Y/N). FRISK." greeted Papyrus as you passed by him. He was helping some of the townspeople decorate a tree.

"Papyrus?" you asked.

"YES, HUMAN?"

"Why is there spaghetti on the tree?"

"BECAUSE I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAS COOKING THAT MUST BE THE GREATEST DECOR FOR ANY TREE. NO SILLY SHINY THING CAN OVERPOWER IT!" he beamed, showing off his masterpiece which was the plant. The other monsters laughed or shook their head in disapproval.

Apparently, Papyrus thought that spaghetti looked nice on trees. Oh well.

"Ah..." you trailed off as you glanced back at Frisk, who gave you a shrug, "Good luck with that then."

You then remembered.

"Have you seen Sans?"

The skeleton hummed and looked around.

"THE LAST TIME I'VE SEEN THAT LAZY BONE WAS AT OUR HOME. WHY DO YOU ASK?"

"Frisk needs to see him."

Papyrus turned to the child. The two exchange glances, as if they were having a conversation. You looked at them confused.

After a moment, Papyrus chuckled, "NYEH HEH HEH! WELL THEN, FRISK. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL NOT LET YOUR SECRET-" And with that, the skeleton is cut off by Frisk covering his mouth and shaking their head.

The skeleton nodded and went back to continue his tree.

Your friend pulled you along, heading to the home.

"What was that all about, Frisk?"

They didn't give an answer. You huffed.

*You encounter a free time skip.

The both of you entered the home and were now eating some instant noodles since it was the only other thing besides spaghetti.

As you talked about Frisk's adventures when they first came to Mt. Ebott, the door opened.

Click.

"hey frisk, (y/n)." He greeted as he held a wrapped box. You looked at it curiously.

"What's in the box?"

Sans took a look at the box, then at Frisk and then at you. He smiled lazily as the skeleton placed the package on the table.

"tibia honest kid i would've opened it earlier but i wouldn't hear the end from frisk."

Frisk playfully smacked him on the shoulder as he smiled a little wider and then left the house. Possibly off to Grillby's to take a break.

You turned to face the other, then at the gift. It was wrapped in light blue gift wrapping and a small white bow on top.

Awkward silence loomed over as the both of you looked at different things except the both of you. It was only then you felt someone tug on the side of your shirt.

You faced Frisk to see them shyly handing out the present to you. A small blush crept up your cheeks as you took it politely.

"Thanks Frisk... You really didn't have to."

They smiled and waved at you dismissively, as if to say "It's alright."

"May I open it now?"

Frisk nodded.

After placing the ribbon on the table and removing the wrapper, you are met with a brown box. You open the box and giggled.

Inside, there was a sweater that looked exactly like Frisk's. Blue with (favorite color) stripes. You took it out, examined it and put it on excitedly. From the corner of your eye, you could see your friend smiling.

On the bottom of the box, you saw a small note. There wasn't much written but you picked it up and read it.

"(Y/N),
Toriel helped me make it for you this holiday. I hope you like it.
Frisk <3"

You snuggled into your new piece of clothing; it felt really cozy. Frisk tapped you on the shoulder, and looked at you with a curious expression.

"Do you like it?" They asked with a soft voice.

Smiling faintly, you hugged them saying, "I love it Frisk, thank you."

The both of you enjoyed each others company until a certain skeleton's voice rung through the household.

"SANS! WHY ARE THERE TWO FRISKS!?"

Chapter Text

The flower looked at you disapprovingly. You continued to pour water on it.

"Why are you being so nice to me? I'm still plotting my plan to destroy you!" the plant hissed at you angrily but your response was laughter.

"Don't you mean potting?" a voice spoke from the other side of the room.

The two of you turned to see Sans leaning on the door.

"That was horrible, Sans, " Flowey growled.

For once, you agreed with the plant. The skeleton shrugged and left the room.

"The reason I'm being nice," you started, placing the watering can beside him, "is because there's no point to fight."

Flowey scoffed at you.

"What?" you asked, a little annoyed.

"Nothing," he huffed back, facing another way quickly.

After everything has happened, Flowey was just left out. Feeling pity, you decided to take the flower and kept him in your room.

Sure, all the comments and insults from the flower do hurt sometimes but it was his nature. You shrugged most of them off or come up with a comeback, which usually leaves him speechless. You also sometimes caught him smiling (A somewhat genuine smile, not the creepy one.) Nonetheless, you still did your job to take care of Flowey.

You walked over to one of your bookshelves, picked a book and sat down on your bed. Why? Just to relax.

Flowey watched you intently. He had mixed emotions about you, prior to how you have treated him so far. To be honest, he didn't hate you. It just seemed... confusing.

Confusing due-to-the-fact he attempted to kill you, like any other human he's encountered.

Yet, you were treating him this way.

"What?" His thoughts cut off when your voice rang. Flowey faced you, dazed.

"Is there something on my face?" You asked once again. Has he been staring at you for a while?

He huffed and faced another direction.

"Whatever..." murmured the plant.

. . .

"(Y/N)."

"Hm?"

"... I need water."

You smiled faintly and stood up to water him once again.

"Yeah, okay."

Chapter Text

"Do you like the cinnamon-butterscotch pie, Frisk?" Toriel asked Frisk, who was seated beside you. They smiled and nodded happily, taking a bite of the said pie. She turned to you and asked the same question.

"It's delicious!" you beamed happily. She smiled at you and continued to fix whatever needed to be fixed.

At the moment, you and Frisk were invited by Toriel to stay at her home for the afternoon.

As the three of you enjoyed each others company until Frisk received a call. When they were done, they explained that they needed to go. After a few goodbyes and hugs, Frisk left.

Now, you and Toriel sat at the table in awkward silence. No words were spoken, the air felt suffocating and the silence rang in your ears.

Has there ever been a time in your life even more awkward?

Probably. But you couldn't think of any.

"(Y/N)," Toriel called you, you then immediately looking up at her. She gave you a warm smile and shook her head lightly.

"Do you still remember the first time..."

She stopped for a moment, letting out a sigh.

"The first time you fell into the mountain?"

You nodded your head.

"I'll be honest but I miss my little home in the Ruins," Toriel chuckled a little, "Even if it did get very lonely as each child left..."

"How about you, (Y/N)? How did you feel about the underground?"

You hummed and tapped your fingers on the wood table, deciding your words. A lot did happen and a lot has passed, so you had mixed emotions.

"I really liked-or still like the underground."

Toriel nodded at your answer but then turned away. You looked at her, confused.

"What's wrong, Toriel?"

She walked to a desk and picked up a frame. You stood up and walked to her, then examined to see the picture that contained her, Asgore, Asriel and the first human.

"I miss my children, (Y/N)... Asriel and the human... They were really something."

Sniffling sounds came as you glanced at her, little tears forming. You couldn't help but feel sorry; she lost a lot in one night.

Right then and there, you hugged her.

Toriel was taken aback, but then returned the gesture.

"Thank you," she wiped a tear away, "I shouldn't look into the past so much, we have a life to live."

You smiled at her as Toriel placed the frame down on the table.

"Papyrus and Undyne invited us to spend some time together," she lent out her hand to you so you happily took it.

"Then let's go!" You beamed, the both of you walking out.

Chapter Text

"Come on, child. Talk to it," Toriel encouraged you as she stood in front of the next entrance. You looked at her then at the dummy.

♥ Check

A cotton heart and a button eye. You are the apple of my eye.

The dummy doesn't do anything.

♥ Talk

You said some things to the dummy, like how the sewing on it's figure is nice. ... It doesn't seem much for conversation, apparently.

Looking at the ground, you saw a stick and picked it up.

♥ Fight

Since you didn't know how to fight properly, you weakly threw the stick at it and it harmlessly bounced off the dummy.

Dummy got bored and was tired of your aimless shenanigans so it floated away.

Confused, you looked at Toriel but only saw a face of disbelief.

"L-let's get going then." said Toriel as she walked through the door.

You had one job.

Chapter Text

"Ribbit." [What are you doing back again, (Y/N)? The other humans will fight you if they see you here with us.] Froggit ribbit-ed at you, a sad glint in its eyes.

"Oh no, (Y/N)," Whimsun sniffled, "You shouldn't be here... with us..." and later, the monster broke down, small droplets dripping down its cheeks.

You sat down and leaned your back on the alleyway wall. You pat Whimsun as it cried and Froggit hopped beside you.

It's been rough for some of the monsters during the past few months. A few are unable to communicate or fit in with the humans and therefore cast away. The alleys and abandoned areas were where you found most of them.

"I come back to check on you," you mentioned, gesturing to some of the others walking around.

"I'm here to help you. You all can fit in."

"Croak!" [That's easy for you to say. Others like Astigmatism and Vegetoid got in and are welcomed.]

Whimsun calmed down a little, only for it's words to come in hiccups.

"Yeah... The other humans d-didn't give us a chance..." and with that, it hyperventilated. You stroked its wings, its breathing then returning to normal.

"You promised me you'll be Getting Braver Everyday right, Whimsun?"

"And you Froggit, you will be a Professional Frog. Am I wrong?"

The two shook their heads, for they have once told you the same words.

"Ribbit, ribbit..." [But I am not sure to as why some humans treat us this way. Are we not being nice?]

You pat Froggit as its eyes turned more sad. All the time underground and in the Ruins, they hoped for freedom in the overworld. But now, they are repaid like this.

"Everyone is different..." you trailed off, hearing loud voices of angry people from the entrance of the alleys. You stood up and dusted off dirt on your clothes. Turning to the two monsters, Whimsun tackled you.

"Will you come back tomorrow (Y/N)?" the fairy-like creature asked, hope lacing its words. You felt something brush on your leg. You turned your attention to Froggit looking up at you.

"Ribbit?" [Will you?]

Smiling, you knelt down to their level and hugged the two.

"I will."

Chapter Text

"Loox, put Moldsmal down. Migosp, stop trying to eat Vegetoid," you groaned, watching over the monsters. They didn't listen.

Since you needed some extra money to pay off some debts, you worked as a caretaker for both humans and monsters. Most of the time it was children, but now...

You had to watch over four annoying monsters who wouldn't even bother to face you, much less listen.

"STOP!" you shouted and they all halted, immediately running over to you (except Moldsmal, he had to hop over) and sat down.

"Alright," you huffed, "I have an hour to spend with you four and for the past 20 minutes all you have done is ignore me."

They all looked down, ashamed. You can't help but feel bad.

"Listen, I'm not sure why your families asked me to look over you seeing that you can take care of yourselves but..."

Ring ring! Ring ring!

You trailed off when the phone from the other room started to ring. You told the monsters to stay where they were and proceeded to the room.

The four sat together in silence as they thought about what they could do while you were gone.

Vegetoid then jumped, showing that the carrot had an idea. The other three looked at it curiously as Vegetoid went over to a cabinet with art supplies.

* The call was probably 10 minutes long.

When you walked back to the room where the others were, you see the group huddled together. Around them, crayons and papers were littered around.

Going over to their area, Loox saw you and immediately hid whatever it was working on behind its back. The other three did the same.

"What are you all hiding?" you said with a smile as the monsters exchanged glances.

A moment later, Moldsmal slowly approached you and pushed a piece of paper near your feet. You picked it up and saw a little crayon drawing of the slime monster and you.

You faced Moldsmal only to be met with three other papers. They had you and each of them.

Smiling, you collected the papers and patted each one of them.

"I love it, thank you."

Loox, Vegetoid and Migosp smiled. Moldsmal jumped happily, very proud of its work.

"Now, come along. It's time for a nap."

Chapter Text

It was the 25th of December so humans were celebrating for the day. The monsters, who also celebrated the day (but under a different term), had fun.

You snuggled up in a sweater Toriel had made for you with hands in mittens and a cup of hot chocolate beside you. Looking out the window and seeing different families (both monster and human families) around...

It filled you with determination.

A moment later, your phone rang along with a personal ringtone Napstabalook made for you. You took out your phone to see a pre-recorded message from Alphys.

"H-hey (Y/N)..!" you heard her voice stutter.

"I w-was wondering if y-you wanted to hang o-out with us — U-Undyne, Frisk-k, and some o-others at the park t-today?"

You listened to a moment of inaudible murmurs and Alphys panicking if she explained it right or not.

"Toriel, Papyrus and Undyne p-prepared s-some food if we get hungry and we m-may play some g-games–"

You later heard a crash in the background then a squeak from Alphys as she said a quick "B-bye!". The call ended from there.

Thinking you really didn't have any plans for the rest of the day, you decided to head out.

*You found a free time skip.

"HUMAN! WOULD YOU CARE TO HAVE THE 'SNOWBALL FIGHT'?" Papyrus called to you from the other side of the field, holding up a snowball.

You placed the carrot on the snowman you and Frisk were working on then turned to Papyrus.

"Why not?" you said, motioning Frisk to join you. They smiled and nodded, then making snowballs.

"Frisk is on my team!" you called back to Papyrus. After a moment, you see Sans lazily walking around.

"Sans!" you called to the skeleton who looked at you with a confused expression.

"We're having a snowball fight! Pick a team!"

The skeleton looked over to his brother's side, then to yours. With a shrug, he walked over to Papyrus who was preparing snowballs of different sizes.

"Did I hear 'fight'?!" someone shouted and you all turned to see Undyne.

"UNDYNE! THE HUMANS AND MY BROTHER ARE ABOUT TO HAVE A 'SNOWBALL FIGHT'."

"Huh? A snowball fight? What kind of lame game is that?"

"I-it's a g-game where t-teams throw ball-shaped snow to the opposing t-team. If a team g-gives up or their 'fort' is destroyed, the other team w-wins," Alphys explained.

"Snowballs? Destroying forts? I can do it! Alphys and I are one team then!" Undyne shouted, then pulling a rather reluctant Alphys.

You watched as the fish-like monster pulled the reptilian away and started their snow fort. You turned to Sans and Papyrus to see their fort nearly finished.

A moment later, Frisk tapped you on the shoulder. You turned to them as they gesture the really nice fort they made around your area.

With a thumbs up, you heard someone yell "Go!" and then the coldness of a snowball hitting your face.

"It's on."

*After barely dodging:
3 boulder-sized snowballs,
One spaghetti- snowball,
and some MTT-brand snowballs

. . .

"WOWIE! THAT WAS FUN! WE SHOULD HAVE MORE GAMES LIKE THAT BUT WITH MY PUZZLES!" said Papyrus, handing plates of spaghetti to the group.

"but we lost," Sans said plainly, drinking a bottle of ketchup.

"SILENCE SANS! WE WOULD'VE WON IF YOU WEREN'T SUCH A LAZY BONE!"

During the game, other monsters had watched and ended up joining mid-game. Some included Asgore, Toriel, the two Royal Guards, Dogamy and Dogaressa and (to everyone's surprise and dismay) Flowey.

But he left after the moment a snowball hit him.

You brushed away some snow off your coat. A plate of spaghetti was shoved in front of you and you looked up to see a smiling Papyrus. You smiled back and politely took the plate.

"NOW THAT EVERYONE HAS MY GREAT SPAGHETTI," the skeleton started, quickly getting a paper bag and going through the contents in it.

"What's in the bag, Papyrus?" Toriel asked, taking out her cinnamon-butterscotch pie. Immediately after, each person had a slice.

"SANS AND I HEARD THAT HUMANS HAVE THIS TRADITION THAT EVERY TIME, ON THIS EXACT DAY, THEY WOULD GIVE EACH OTHER PRESENTS!"

Papyrus looked at the humans for approval — to know if what he said about gift giving was correct — so you and Frisk nodded.

"like what we did back in snowdin," His brother added.

"SO WE PREPARED GIFTS FOR EACH ONE OF YOU!"

Subsequently, each person was given a gift.

You got a paper that had Papyrus's spaghetti recipe. Everyone else got the same thing. (Except Undyne. She probably already knew what Papyrus places in his cooking.)

"NOW YOU ALL CAN BECOME AS GREAT ME! THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"

Sans had given all the others a bottle of ketchup or a hotdog.

Everyone except you and Frisk.

When the skeleton came to the both of you, he handed you a key.

"remember the time you both faced me at the judgement hallway..."

You and Frisk exchanged looks.

"the looks on your faces while I was talking..."

"you've both already heard my spiel, haven't you both?"

He let out a sigh.

"you always act like you know what's going to happen. like you've seen it all before."

Frisk nudged you on the side. You looked at them and saw the worried expression they had.

Oh yeah, that time. The time when you had to say the secret and ridiculous code words.

"but i'm gonna throw you both a bone and save it. i'm pretty sure you two are time travelers so this is the key to my room."

"it's about time people knew the truth."

You then noticed that the key was on Frisk's key chain. And with that, Sans walked back to his place.

"Now that the two have passed THEIR gifts, you all better appreciate what I got for you all!" Undyne said proudly, waving around a bag with presents.

*You got a free time skip.

Placing the last gift in your bag, you checked its contents to make sure you didn't lose anything.

You had received a file with all the Mew Mew Kissy Cutie episodes from Alphys, a mini version of Undyne's spear from her, a book about snails from Toriel, a bag of tea from Asgore, some MTT items from Mettaton and a bunch of other things.

You looked up at the sky and see that the once blue afternoon was now a purple dusk.

Did time really fly?

The others didn't seem to notice the change in the world above them. (Besides Frisk, who admired the scene with you.)

A few minutes passed and now the stars were twinkling. An idea then popped in your mind.

"Everyone," you called, their attention then averting to you.

"Close your eyes."

Most of them did but some were unsure, but did anyway.

"Now look up. Eyes still closed!"

They followed.

"Now open your eyes."

A mixed reaction of happiness and awe filled the silence as the monsters gazed into the night abyss.

"This is beautiful..." Toriel said, smiling.

The others agreed.

"Happy Holidays, everyone." You beamed, a wide grin on your face.

"Happy Holidays!"

Chapter Text

Today you didn't have any plans, so you decided to go and visit Napstablook.

Now, the both of you just laid on the floor and listened to the music they made.

As the tunes played in the background, the whole rooms turned into an infinite galaxy. You never understood how this happened and you never will, but it always felt relaxing.

"Hey... (Y/N)..." the ghost called softly. You propped yourself up as the stars faded and faced their direction.

"What is it, Nap?" Napstablook didn't mind the nickname since they knew their name was long.

They opened their mouth to say something, but then faltered when they faced the other direction.

"It's nothing..." the ghost trailed off, facing the computer. You frowned a little and stood up, walking to them.

They didn't notice you approach them only until you stood beside them. Napstablook turned to their left and saw you looking at their screen, but then looked at their direction. They quickly looked back at the screen.

"Is there something wrong? Is it me?" you asked worriedly. The ghost shook their head.

With a sigh, they started, "I just don't understand why you hang out with someone like me... I'm boring and you're friends with technically... everyone..."

"You're my friend; Napstablook. I hang out with you because I like to. Sometimes Undyne and Papyrus can be a little too rowdy for me," you chuckled, the ghost smiling a little.

"I'm glad that you're my friend," you finished with a grin.

A moment later, Napstablook floated to the door.

"Want to try and play Thundersnail?"

*After the game. . .

You had encouraged your snail too fast. It got overwhelmed and flipped itself so the other snails won.

Watching your snail attempt to get up filled you with... less determination than any other moment.

You laid your back against the wall, fiddling with your phone. The ghost watched you quietly.

"(Y/N)... about what you said earlier..."

You turned to them.

"I'm glad you're my friend."

Chapter Text

"I bet I can light up the biggest firework tonight, punks!" Undyne shouted, pointing at her firework which was shaped like a fish. It was also larger than any of the other fireworks stationed around.

This made some of the nearby monsters and humans move away in caution. Undyne didn't seem to mind.

"U-Undyne, it might be t-too dangerous–"

"There's nothing I can't handle! Watch me!"

You laughed as you lit up a little stick, which then started sparkling. You looked beside you to see Monster Kid holding one with their mouth and Frisk playing around with a couple of them.

It was the New Year; Year 201X. So why not celebrate it.

"IT'S THE NEW YEAR! IT'S THE NEW YEAR!" you heard Papyrus shout, happily going around with those noise makers and flailing his arms. In the background, you see his brother just sleeping under a tree.

"Hello my child."

You turned back to see Toriel, smiling down at you as she knelt to your level.

"Frisk and their friend had left to get more sparklers. What is troubling you?"

Looking over to the area your friends were, Toriel's statement was true. You watched as the two ran back to the house.

With a sigh, you sat down and stared at the sky.

"It's a New Year, Toriel. It's also almost a year since monsters surfaced."

She sat down beside you and pat your head.

"It has been a while hasn't it, child?"

You nodded.

"What has been the best thing that has happened to you this year?"

You took a moment to look around you. Monsters and humans got a long just fine, playing around and minding their own business.

"This," You gestured to the whole area.

"The best thing that has happened to me is meeting... everyone. I wouldn't of known all these amazing creatures and their story. None of you wouldn't be here if Frisk hadn't helped you all.  I know I wouldn't be the same without falling down a mountain."

You chuckled at your last statement, Toriel laughing with your as well.

"hOI EVERYONE!!!!" a voice boomed throughout. Everyone turned their attention to a group of Temmies and Temmie with a graduation hat, who was the one speaking.

"tONIGHT US TEMMIES WiLL BE LIGHTin FIREWORks yaYA!!"

Everyone erupted in cheers.

"Hey! Their firework is bigger than mine-" Undyne yelled, only to be shushed by Alphys.

"bUT FURST WE MUST COUNT DOWN! it iS ALMOST THe NEW YEARS!!!!"

Once Temmie had finished the sentence, everyone looked at their watches, phones, clocks or whatever device they had to see the time.

Just a few more seconds!

20...

Everyone waited in anticipation, the area going dead silent. You swore you could hear ringing in the deafening silence.

10...

Looking around, each creature had a different expression. Excitement, happiness, calmness,- everyone was different. You can't help but smile.

5...

This was it.

3...

2...

And...

"1!"

A moment later, the sky was filled with bright lights, crackling sounds and ecstatic cheers. Each creature watched in awe as synchronized and timed fireworks were sent into the sky.

You watched as different shapes appeared. Flowers, stars, animals, some monsters, some names- there was even a spaghetti firework!

Seeing all this happening filled you with determination.

"A Happy New Year indeed."

Chapter Text

"Look, I don't want to fight," you said as you placed your stick down, your eyes still on the three monsters.

"Honk. HOOONK!" Migospel honked – you guessed – and giggled, pacing around. It thought that the fight is like a performance.

"Hisssss," Parsnik stared at you, the snakes on its head slithering hungrily. You pondered why the reptiles haven't eaten the carrot but then again you fell down a hole you could've avoided.

Moldessa made slime sounds as it wiggled around. You sighed, not contented with their answers.

After falling down the mountain, being helped by Toriel and leaving the area she told you to stay in, you were wandering around like the restless human you were. The purple-hued walls intrigued you and you couldn't help but continue on through the passageways hoping to find secrets.

During your journey, you were walking around the Ruins until you picked up a paper with the name "Frisk". Confused, you tried to find whoever had written this but ended up meeting the three monsters.

You were not 100% sure, but the case may be that they had mistaken you for this Frisk person.

No matter. You faced them with determination.

You decided to deal with Parsnik first, since it seemed the most dangerous. Reminding yourself it was like Vegetoid, who you had encountered a moment before, you patted your stomach.

"Eat your green tasty snakes," it said. Some of the snakes on its head crawled down and went towards you. In the background, you heard Migospel cheer happily. With your reflexes, you dodged most of them until you spotted a green snake. You immediately grabbed it and it disappeared in your hands, you then feeling better.

You saw saw the carrot smile at you then bury itself back into the ground from where it came. You turned to the other two monsters and saw Migospel frown at you.

Now, Moldessa.

It seemed like the monster couldn't decide on a face, seeing it try to make its face like a movie star but then shift apart. You also can't help but feel bad because it couldn't distinguish between a friend or foe due-to-the-fact it attacked it's fellow monsters by mistake.

You approach the slime carefully but it didn't seem to mind. You encouraged Moldessa to try a new look. Its face shifted...

But then it shifted apart.

"Krr..."

Small white bullets are launched at you. You are immediately hit as you backed away, clutching your arm in pain. But as you take a moment to rest, the bullets explode into smaller pellets and again you dodged them.

"Okay... Time to look for another approach..."

You took small steps until you were as close as you could be. You reached out to Moldessa and placed your hand on its face. Feeling a vibration along with the sound of a confused gurgle, you adjusted Moldessa's face.

Once you were done, it seemed to be happy with its new look. With a "Hsh..." it jumped away, leaving Migospel.

"Laughter hides the pain..."

You faced Migospel to see the once happy grin was now a frown. The wings behind its back fluttered slowly.

"They cannot worry for me."

You started to feel bad. Migospel did a little dance but it was obvious he wasn't enjoying it.

"Everyone is gone."

. . .

"I'm here."

The monster looked at you and saw your arms stretched out, like waiting for a hug. You heard to sob as it immediately hugged you and surprisingly didn't hurt.

Migospel sighed sadly, let go and faced you with a sad smile. Before you could say anything, it vanished into the darkness of the Ruins.

A little jingle echoed through the corridor as you looked down and saw 11 pieces of gold. You picked them up and placed it in your pouch of gold. The ceiling of the Ruins loomed over you as you feel... determined? You weren't sure.

But from there you continued on.

What you didn't know was at the shadowed area of the corridor, the three monsters were sad to see someone who actually was nice to them leave.

They appreciated your company, didn't they?

Chapter Text

"Yo! (Y/N)! Come on!" Monster Kid beamed at you, pushing you along. Their happy demeanor was contagious, seeing some other passerby smile.

"Okay, okay, just calm down," you laughed.

Today was Valentines Day, or Friendship Day; whatever you want to call it. Like the other special occasions humans celebrate, the monsters decided to celebrate it too.

"Where are we heading?" you asked. The monster simply continued pushing you along and you huffed at their 'reply'. With a cheeky smile, they stuck their tongue out.

"You have to find your way!"

"What?"

They stopped pushing you after a certain point. You felt their presence disappear, and your guess was proven right when you turned back to see no one.

Where were you anyway?

Looking around, you found yourself at the entrance of some forest. The birds chirped and the sound of wild animals came from the abyss of trees. You couldn't help but feel small at the environment.

Crack!

You jumped at the sudden noise. From the corner of your eye you see a broken twig.

With a small light blue envelope beside it.

"Sans?" You called.

But nobody came.

Shrugging, you walked to the area and picked up the envelope. Examining it, it was just a letter. You checked the back to see some writing, which was done rather lazily.

* to (Y/N) from sans

Yep.

You decided to open it. Inside was a letter written in dark blue ink on white paper. The reason to why the skeleton decided to use a specific color in writing is unknown.

'hey kid
if you're reading this, monster kid must've brought you to the right place.
if it's someone else reading it, put the letter down.
anyway,  we  decided to do something cool for ya. it's like a treasure hunt, but just find letters.

oh and, happy valentines day. y'know, you're pretty cool. so, enjoy your day.'

You smiled and placed the letter back in the envelope. You didn't bring any bags with you and you didn't want to ruin the letter by stuffing it in your pockets. So in the end, you just held it.

It was nearly midday so looking around the forest for the next letter wasn't that hard. After scanning the area, you peered through the maze of trees to see a red letter on a bush.

Making your way through the trees and nearly tripping due to the roots, you reached the bush and picked up the letter.

* TO THE HUMAN (Y/N) FROM THE GREAT PAPYRUS!

Smiling, you opened the letter. Inside was a letter in dark red ink.

'HUMAN!
IT IS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WRITING THIS LETTER TO YOU! YOU MUST FEEL VERY FLATTERED THAT I HAVE WRITTEN THIS JUST FOR YOU!
I MUST SAY THAT YOU ARE VERY INTERESTING AND YOUR LIKING TO SPAGHETTI IS JUST AS GREAT AS MINE!

WELL HUMAN, AS YOUR CULTURE WOULD SAY TODAY, HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY.'

At the end, you couldn't help but laugh. Well, you did like spaghetti and that statement alone will reach all Papyrus's standards.

From there on, you picked up more letters. Each was a different shade to represent the monster that had written it for you.

* From Toriel and Frisk

'Dear Y/N,
The child and I wanted to greet you a happy Valentines day and when I heard that we could make letters to our loved ones, one of the first letters we wrote were for you.
I would like to say that you have been very nice and thank you for the help you have been offering whenever you come by.
Frisk wanted to also say thank you for the times you both would play or sometimes just talk.
Again, Happy Valentines Day. ❤️'

* From Undyne (You better read this punk!)

''Hey! I wasn't supposed to write this to you but Alphys told me I should. So I'm doing this because she told me to!
Anyway, you're pretty okay. You're doing better in our fighting lessons and you can actually throw a rock! Sooner or later, you can probably suplex a boulder like me. HA! I'd look forward to that day, punk.

So, Happy Valentines day- and don't even  THINK  of trying to ruin me and Alphys's date tonight!'

* From Alphys

'Undyne mentioned the date in her letter didn't she? Don't mind that... ^^;
Just wanted to say you've been a really good friend and I really like all the times you watched Mew Mew: Kissy Cutie with me. :)

So... Happy Valentines Day. ^.^'

* From Napstabalook...

'Hi... I don't really know what to say... And I hope I'm not being a bother by writing this to you... I'm pretty sure the previous and next letters are better...

So... Happy Valentines day. I hope you have a nice day...'

* From Mettaton

'Just to let you know darling, this letter was written with the best and finest MMT stationary and MMT ink~
Happy Valentines day! There is so much romance in the air the audience are loving it!
To put it quickly, thank you for bringing my ratings up and helping me create more products~'

* From Asgore

'Hello (Y/N), I hope you are having a great day so far with the other letters you have received.
I'd like to say Happy Valentines day and best wishes to you and your loved ones. I enjoy the time we had a cup of tea together and getting to know our interests.
You are an interesting human and it's good to see diversity and a change in society with humans and monsters together.

Again, good day to you.'

You found around 10 more letters from other monsters, but it was getting late so you decided to read it when you got back home.

Gazing around, you noticed you actually strayed away from where you started and were now in the forest. The sun was setting and the light seeped out of the area, the forest becoming dimmer each minute.

Panic began to rise as you quickly looked for an exit. Turning to the light at the end of a pathway of trees, you sprinted your way.

You surprisingly reached the exit quicker than you expected. Stopping once you reached the clearing, you were in awe at the scene that unfolded.

The sun setting behind the vast canopy of trees, the sky filled with bright colors that subsided to its cold shaded counterparts. On the right was some sort of building – it appeared to be a castle – but that wasn't the main focus.

Breathing in fresh air, letting the warmth of the sun engulf you and feeling the nice breeze pass by, everything was perfect.

You didn't really spend it with anyone, but that didn't matter. You knew you had good friends and that they were having a good time as well.

Chapter Text

spe·cial
/ˈspeSHəl/
adjective
1. better, greater, or otherwise different from what is usual.

__________

"I don't want to go..." you mumbled, hiding under your bed covers. Your friend, Rina, groaned and yanked the cloth away from you. You sat up and you then weakly try to get the blanket from her.

She sighed, "You're not even trying, (Y/N)..."

You puffed your cheeks and crossed your arms. Before you could protest, the look in her eyes stopped you.

"You should go out. You could meet other people and possibly interact with the monsters."

"Mind you, I have a life..."

"Which is basically staying in your room, watching (media), making fan(art/fiction) and being awkward whenever I try to bring you outside."

You let out a whine and turned away from her. Rina was displeased with your behavior, yet she knew you really acted like this; Reluctant whenever she tried to bring you outside.

"Did you even know monsters have surfaced?"

. . .

"Y-yeah..."

Silence.

"You didn't," she sighed once again, hand on her side. You turned to her with a defeated expression.

"As much as you'd like me to go out and do whatever you have planned, I won't. Rina, like you said, I am very awkward and I won't speak to anyone I don't know," you explained, emphasizing with random hand gestures. This didn't seem to faze her.

"Then isn't it about time you've changed?"

Looking down, your friend frowned at you.

"How about this..."

Confused, you looked up again to see her looking through her wallet. Your eyes widened at all the money she had.

"I'm going to buy you that piece of merchandise of (favorite media) that you keep saying you can't afford and–"

You cut her off with a tackle. The both of you nearly fell to the ground but kept balance.

"Rina- Oh my gosh- I can't believe it- Are you serious!? In the mall, there's only one true piece of it! One! Not that many people in the fandom have it and it's really expensive because it's exclusive and has the signature of the creator and there's only a few in the world-- Really, are you joking? Because I'm pretty sure you wouldn't–"

She shut you up by covering your mouth.

"You're such a nerd."

After telling you that you ramble too much, Rina urged you to go and change into something decent.

Full of determination, you let go of her and ran to the bathroom to freshen up.

"I'm just going out to get the merchandise," You told yourself, closing the bathroom door.

"That's it."

__________

"Rina, I-I regret this so much..." you whispered as you clung on to her like your life depended on it. She laughed at you and the both of you continued to head to the shop.

On a Friday afternoon, it usually was very crowded in this area. But luckily, it was less crowded than usual. Nonetheless, you still walked stiffly as you held on to your friend.

It was a beautiful day outside. Birds were singing, flowers were blooming. On days like this, kids like you...

Should really be going outside.

As you and Rina walked through the streets, you noticed all the monsters going about. You never really bothered to pay attention to anyone when you were out, but you couldn't help but awe at how diverse each creature was. Each was a different shape, color, size and seemed to have their own personality.

Your eyes searched through the crowd of monsters and the back of a blue jacket stood out. You weren't really sure why it did (since, there were monsters with brighter colors) but you were intrigued.

As if the wearer felt a gaze on them, they turned back. You held in a gasp, looking back at the white pupils in the empty sockets.

"A skeleton?" you said to yourself. Again, no reason was given to why you were so interested. You saw some walking dogs around the crowd, so why should a skeleton be anymore surprising?

Both of your eyes (if you would call his white pupils "eyes") stared at each other. Before the skeleton could do anything, he was pulled away by someone way taller than him. You look over to see another skeleton, who you guessed was his brother, pull him away.

The last thing you saw was his wide grin as he glanced at you, before Rina dragged you through the crowd.

__________

"Rina, I love you so much! Oh my gosh," you squealed, hugging the bag which contained the merchandise. As you repeatedly beamed about how happy you were, Rina smiled but then checked her wallet.

"When you said expensive, you really meant it," she sighed, closing her wallet and placing it in her pocket.

It was not easy to find what you wanted. Whenever she or the shop employees pointed to it, you declined and started a whole rant on why it wasn't genuine. Every time, Rina had to drag you out and find the next shop.

You found it by window shopping and bought it. It took around five hours of looking.

Now it was around six in the evening but humans and monsters were still going about. You looked at the sky above to see an endless abyss of darkness.

"Hey Rina-"

You bumped into someone, or they bumped into you.

It wasn't much of an impact but the both of you staggered back. You immediately felt embarrassed.

"I'm so sorry, I wasn't... paying attention to where I was going..." you explained, staring down at your feet in shame.

"I-if I was I wouldn't of bumped into you-"

"hey kid, it's fine," a nonchalant voice replied. You were taken aback by calmness in his voice.

You then realized you didn't even bother to look at him. This was getting more awkward.

So you turned to him.

And he lent his hand out.

"c'mon, kid. no harm in shaking a pal's hand."

It was the skeleton. The one you saw in the crowd.

You shakily reached out and took hold of his hand. His hand was cold since he was just a skeleton. Before the both of you could do anything more, you heard a farting sound. Your eyes widened in surprise as a small blush crept on your face.

"the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick," he laughed, "gets them everytime."

You couldn't help but smile yourself.

"the name's sans. sans the skeleton," he introduced, placing his hands in his pockets.

"yours?"

Your smile faltered a little as you turned your gaze away. He just acted like you two were best friends... who did he think he was?

Rina – who, truthfully, you almost forgot was with you – nudged your shoulder. You looked at her reluctantly as she mouthed the words, "Tell him."

"(Y/N)..." You murmured, fiddling with the hem of your shirt. Sans's expression didn't seem to change but it seemed he was pleased to know.

"welp, i gotta go. i got some people waiting for me," he explained.

"maybe you want to meet again?"

Again, you kept silent. The skeleton noticed your shyness and placed a hand on your shoulder. You jumped at his touch but his actions seemed to say...

"don't worry about it, kid. i'm not gonna hurt ya," Sans laughed, patting your shoulder. You smiled faintly as he pulled away from you.

With a wave and a blink of an eye, he was gone.

Confused, you turned to Rina. But she too didn't know where he went.

"(Y/N)?"

"What..?"

"You made a friend!" she giggled, clasping her hands together. You shook your head playfully.

"Yeah... friend..."

__________

The next few weeks went by like a breeze. You started to go out more often and meet Sans, who you then learned had multiple jobs but somehow was always on break.

Since you hung out with him, you also got to know his brother and friends.

Papyrus was fond of your presence and always gave you spaghetti, Frisk was a friendly child who was apparently the Ambassador and the one who freed the monsters, Undyne had taught you how to use spears and asked about human history and Grillbys made your orders on-the-house due to all the frequent visits you have with Sans.

There were a lot more, but it all seemed to blur as you learned how to become more social. It's a good thing.

"(Y/N), you there?" the skeleton called out. You snapped out of your daze and looked at him, seeing worry in his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine," you replied. He sighed and continued walking through the woods as you followed behind.

"Where are you taking me?" Your voice asked in a whisper, looking back at civilization which now seemed like little lights. It's not like anyone would be eavesdropping on the both of you, but the serene silence made everything feel... nice.

"Somewhere special." He replied. A quiet laugh escaped your lips, "That sounded really cheesy."

Sans took a hold of your hand. You felt a little tingle as you looked down then him.

Only to see the same everlasting grin. The grin you seemed to never get bored of.

A moment later, you both now were only a few steps away from the top of the mountain. How did you both get here so fast? And why weren't you out of breath? From where you started, it was a long trip.

There were times were it seems like you've been teleported, and they were only with the skeleton. With a shrug, you decided to ask him later.

Your hands were still intertwined with his as he looked around.

"hey kid."

"Hm?"

"close your eyes."

"Oh, this is really getting cheesy."

"c'mon, just do it."

"..."

"come on."

You closed your eyes as Sans guided you along, then stopping you only after a few steps.

"ok."

You opened your eyes to see the sun over the horizon, just about to set. The sky was filled nice hues, from blue to a yellow color. A smile formed on your face as the star slowly goes down.

Sans let go of your hand and placed them in his pockets.

"i remember when i first saw this," he gestured to the sun.

"How was it?"

"well, it was later in the day but this seems like a nicer time."

You turned back to see a large looming hole. How did you avoid that?

"oh, that thing? that's the entrance to the underground, where us monsters used to live."

"So this is..."

"yep, mt. ebott."

Silence passed over the both of you. It wasn't an awkward silence, but a silence to, once again, appreciate what was around you.

"tibia honest..."

You faced him and saw him looking at you as well. You see one of his eyes flash for a second, but it could've been just a trick.

"this is probably the nicest time i've seen you in."

You felt heat on your cheeks.

"What do you mean?"

"well," he chuckled, "from what I see, you're just standing there with the whole world behind you as the sun is setting..."

Sans glanced at you. Your eyes showed curiosity, waiting for him to continue his statement. On your face was a faint smile and your hair gently flew in the breeze. Behind you, the sky was changing from a pastel yellow to a light pink.

"and, i don't know, you look great."

Now, you were probably a tomato. You hardly- or rather never get compliments so you didn't know how to handle them.

But hearing one filled you with determination.

"T-thanks..."

"don't sweat it kid."

. . .

"Sans..."

"yeah?"

"Why did you bring me here?"

You realized that what you said sounded a little sad, as if you didn't want to be there.

"I-it's not like it's a bad thing! I'm just curious..." you trailed off, staring down at your feet and kicked some rocks around due to the awkwardness.

Why did he bring you here specifically? Sans could've brought you to some fancy restaurant. But he didn't want that. He knew you wouldn't want that.

You were simple.

Or special.

Or rather, simple in a special way.

"Am I?"

His thoughts broke only to then realize he actually spoke. A little tint of blue appeared on his face as you stared at him. Did he really speak out?

"Well, I'm glad you think that way."

You inched closer to him and gave the skeleton a little peck on his skull. The blue blush appeared on his cheeks once again as you giggled and turned your heels.

"Let's go, lazy bones."

Chapter Text

"Sans..."

"hm?"

"I miss Papyrus..."

The short skeleton sighed and patted your head. Besides the sounds of infomercials from the television, it was particularly quiet. A sad atmosphere slowly floated around the house and the cold chilly air added to the tranquility; it wasn't a peaceful tranquility.

It was disappointing.

"i miss him too, (y/n). but he'll be back in a few days."

This didn't really bother you before but it all started with the message.

• • •

You were on the computer, checking through Undernet. Why? You could've gone through other sites like Youtube or Twitter but you were intrigued.

Or bored.

Either way, you went through different pages and profiles of the site. Monsters such as Alphys were very active with their status updates and posts. Others like Napstablook regularly post their content like music. And there are those who just comment, like Sans.

Oh and one more thing, you were in Papyrus's room. Using his computer.

It's not like you barged in or anything. (Because Sans would give you a bad time) Papyrus had specifically chose you to, quote-by-quote, guard his room.

"BECAUSE SANS IS ALWAYS OUT, NO ONE CAN GUARD MY ROOM AS I AM OUT TO THE HUMAN WORLD TO OPEN MY NEW 3 STAR RESTAURANT." He told you before he set out to leave with Undyne, who would be teaching humans and monsters lancing lessons, and Mettaton, who regularly goes out for his debuts.

It's been the fourth day and as you lazily clicked through the pages, you started to wonder about the skeleton. You reread the messages he constantly sent you about his travels, which mostly consisted of spaghetti and human ways were odd.

A little beep cut your thoughts off.

1 Message from COOLSKELETON95

COOLSKELETON95 : (Y/N), WHY AREN'T YOU ANSWERING MY MESSAGES OR CALLS??

You checked your phone to see one missed call. It was on silent mode.

COOLSKELETON95 : ARE YOU THAT BUSY THAT YOU CANNOT EVEN SEND A MESSAGE TO THE GREAT PAPYRUS?

You immediately dialed Papyrus. Tapping your foot impatiently, the line went silent for a moment.

"This contact is currently busy and cannot be reached. Please call in a few minutes."

With a huff, you dialed again. But he didn't pick up the phone.

This time, you sent him a text.

You : Papyrus, my phone was on silent. I'm sorry.

BEEP!

1 Message from COOLSKELETON95

COOLSKELETON95 : YOU ARE JUST SO BUSY WITH EVERYTHING ELSE THAT YOU CANNOT EVEN REMEMBER ME HERE. HUMAN, I HOPE YOU AT LEAST EAT THE SPAGHETTI I LEFT YOU. I HOPE YOU REALIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR FRIENDSHIP.

After a minute, Papyrus sent you a text.

Papyrus : DON'T SEND MESSAGES THROUGH TEXT BECAUSE IT IS MORE EXPENSIVE TO SEND MESSAGES FROM THE HUMAN WORLD TO THE UNDERGROUND. I WOULD LIKE YOU TO CONTACT ME THROUGH THE UNDERNET, HUMAN.

So you did.

[ Username ]: Papyrus, I'm trying to call you.

[ U/N ]: And I'm so sorry for not messaging you these past few days, I have been busy with helping the people in Snowdin and Hotland.

[ U/N ]: I've been trying my best to do what is needed, especially since Frisk had asked me to help with being the ambassador recently.

[ U/N ]: I am very sorry, Papyrus. If anything, I am still eating your spaghetti.

Your eyes stung as little tears started to form. You didn't know why you were crying, but you just suspected that you really cared for the skeleton and knowing that he feels like you've been neglecting him broke your heart.

The door creaked open and Sans poked his head in.

"hey kid, pap is calling you."

Immediately sprinting to Sans as he casually handed the phone, you listened for a voice.

"HUMAN!"

Ok.

"HUMAN, HOW ARE YOU?"

"I'm fine," you sniffled, wiping some tears and smiling.

"(Y/N), ARE YOU CRYING?"

Laughing awkwardly, you hum a reply. You heard a gasp from the other side.

"WHY ARE YOU CRYING? DON'T CRY," Papyrus assured you.

"I-I'm fine," you sighed, "I just feel really bad that I didn't message you as you're there."

"WELL HUMAN, DO NOT WORRY! I SHALL BE BACK ONCE MY JOURNEY IS OVER-OH AND TELL SANS TO FIX HIS ROOM."

"nah bro." Sans laughed.

From the phone came a very frustrated grumble. You and Sans laughed again.

"ANYWAY HUMAN, I HOPE YOU'RE DOING WELL AND I WANT YOU TO KNOW YOUR CONSTANTLY ON MY MIND."

You smiled. Papyrus was your best friend after all – which does sound a little sad since he friend-zoned you but it's better than anything else.

"NYEH HEH! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHOULD BE HEADING OUT NOW."

"Bye Papyrus."

"NYEH! HEH!"

. . .

"HEH!"

And he hung up.

• • •

You laughed to yourself, remembering that day. It was only around 3 days ago and you can't help but smile, thinking that you were constantly what he thought of as he was in the human world.

"Yeah, he'll be back soon."

Chapter Text

Clutching your jacket and adjusting your scarf, the cold still nipped at you and the winds brought your hood down. There was pretty strong snow storm and you were reaching the middle of it. But why were you out?

You had lost something and were now determined to try to get it back.

Seeing your breath because of the cold, you felt your lips getting colder and the thought of possible hyperthermia constantly poked at the back of your head. Snowdin was still a long way and there is a good change of getting lost due to your bad sense of direction and the storm.

Teeth chattering, you now decided to try and take shelter. There was really no way of determining the time of day, so it wouldn't really matter if it seemed like you were gone for an hour or maybe a couple of days.

Now that you thought about it, it would be sad if no one realized you were gone.

Quickly finding an area with enough cover from the storm, you crawled under the leaves of the pine trees and breathed out in relief. After collecting some wood and fortunately making a fire, you curl into a ball to contain some body heat and wait.

A moment passed it turned out others also thought the storm was too much.

Snowdrake cautiously walked into your little abode and sat across you. You smiled faintly and waved at it, the monster then smiling back at you but then turned to the fire.

"Want to hear some jokes?"

"Alright."

The two of you casually shared jokes and bonded. It turns out Snowdrake wanted to be a comedian, its father didn't believe it could reach it dreams and that its mother hasn't returned in the past few years. You reassured the monster and Snowdrake promised to make a joke in dedication for you.

"Well, that was nice (Y/N)," Snowdrake laughed, stretching and shaking off some snow. It explained that it needed to take its leave and continued sharing its jokes with the world. You gave it a thumbs up as it disappeared into the storm.

Alone once again, you proceeded to draw and create things using the snow as you waited for the blizzard to calm down.

*You encountered a time skip.

"Hey you!"

You looked up tiredly to see Icecap impatiently tapping its foot on the snow. You looked at it oddly as it looked at you and then fixing it cap, implying that it and it's hat needed some attention.

"Uh, your hat's nice?"

Icecap dramatically brought its head back and placed a hand on its forehead, boasting, "OF COURSE! It's MY hat!"

Sighing, you brought your body closer to yourself and stared at the snow below you. The snow seemed to get stronger as time passed and spending time with a narcissistic monster isn't your cup of tea.

"HELLO? My hat is up here!"

"Come on, look here!"

"My hat is beautiful isn't it? Look at it!"

"..."

"FINE!"

Icecap angrily approached you and realized you fell asleep. Enraged even more, they started to have a fit worth 4 paragraphs on why you should've paid attention to its hat. What it didn't know was that you have been freezing for the past few hours and are really exhausted.

Not wanting to deal with it, you cut Icecap off and shoved the cap off Icecap. The hat safely landed on the snow as the monster stood there in shock.

"YOU PUSHED OFF MY HAT!"

"So?"

"'SO'? WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!"

"(Y/N) (L/N), (age), (gender), (height), and on the verge of hyperthermia to which I must place my attention to rather than your hat. Sorry, Icecap."

The fire was slowly dying and you were too tired to try and get wood. Icecap's expression softened and it watched as you looked down on the ground once again.

Realizing all it has been doing was boasting and not even bothering to help your poor soul, it placed its hat on your head and went to look for some wood.

You felt a weight on your head and looked up to see the hat. You thought it would freeze your brain but surprisingly it supplied some heat and the hat was comfortable. Watching the monster collect sticks for the fire filled you with determination.

*You encountered a time skip.

After the monster had helped with the fire, they took their leave and left after fishing some compliments from you - mostly about how helpful or strong it was and being considerate to help a human.

You then remembered about why you were out: to find something. With a sigh, you decided that there was probably no way for you to find it and that you had no time to dig through mounds of snow.

You looked out of your 'cave' and saw the snow was lightening up. Before you could get up and leave, a figure blocked the way and you couldn't help but feel a sense of dread after being kept in such a small space for a long time.

Your eyes adjusted and you saw Jerry. Shifting your weight uncomfortably, the monster sat beside you and... just sat there. You tried to start up a conversation but every time Jerry replied with just short answers or didn't answer which made everything very awkward.

Watching him messily eat some white powder, you slowly scooted away. You looked outside to see that the storm had fortunately ended and that you were free to leave.

The both of you stayed there for a couple of minutes until, when Jerry wasn't looking, you quietly crawled out and jogged away  to the direction of Snowdin.

• • •

"Where have you been, (Y/N)?" Grillby asked and you plopped on a seat. The fire monster handed you a burger and a glass of water.

"Long story."

Chapter Text

"Ah, business isn't doing so well," the vendor sighed as he leaned on his cart. He looked around for any signs of life. Alas, there was none.

Sulking to himself, he stared at nothing in particular. When was the last time he got a customer-

"Excuse me, are you selling something?"

He lazily opened one eye and immediately jumped, grinning. A customer! Who was also a human.

"Why yes! I am selling Nice cream, the frozen treat that warms your heart. 15g for one!" the monster beamed happily. You looked through your wallet and as you did, you didn't notice the smiling face of the seller as he waited for you; Nice cream Guy wasn't in a rush.

Taking out 15 gold and handing it to him, the rabbit politely took it and gave you a Nice cream. You took a hold of the treat and smiled, the monster smiling back at you. Even if there wasn't much conversation, the both of you enjoyed each others company.

"I'll be back tomorrow," you said. Nice cream guy's ears perked.

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah. I mean, if I'm allowed to," you said sheepishly, eating the Nice cream. He eagerly nodded and said that it was okay for you to come back. Waving goodbye, you walked away as the male happily waited for your return.

What he didn't see was you looking down at the wrapper and smiling at the little note:

'Is this as sweet as you?'

* You find a free time skip.

You were checking your wallet, making sure you had more than 15g to buy some Nice cream. Honestly, you didn't have that much of a sweet tooth but something was different about Nice cream. It was probably how it makes you feel, ironically, warm inside and somewhat made you feel happier.

Traversing through the snow with ease, you saw the rabbit just up ahead handing cones to two sentry dogs. You didn't know dogs were allowed to eat sweets, but they have the freedom to do whatever they wanted. You weren't anyone's boss.

"Hello!" you beamed, making Nice cream Guy jump in surprise but relax once he saw you. You apologized saying that you didn't mean to scare him. He placed a hand on his chest as he breathed out.

"It's fine, you just gave a little scare."

"Aren't the monsters supposed to scare the humans?" you joked. He laughed a little with you as he took a cone and handed it to you. You exchanged it with the gold as the both of you sat down on the snow.

Removing the wrapper, you read the little compliment within it:

'You look nice today!'

"I didn't get your name from yesterday."

"Oh, really?" You laughed and he found it cute, "I'm (Y/N). Your name?"

"Well," he stated, looking up at the sky and brushing off some snow on his blouse. "You can just call me Nicecream Guy, or maybe NG if it gets tedious."

"NG," you repeated as you looked at him to see if he was serious.

Apparently he was.

For the next few hours the both of you chatted as he tended to the very few customers he was getting. You took notice of this or, rather, the reason of him not getting any customers was obvious:

People wouldn't buy cold treats in a snow-filled place.

Unless, well, they wanted to.

"Hey NG, why don't you set up shop so somewhere else?" you offered, watching as he handed a Nicecream to Icecap.

"But where?"

"I think there's another area up ahead."

"You mean Waterfall?"

"If that's what it's called then yeah-"

"You're right! A lot of monsters go to wish and if I bring my business there, they can enjoy their time with my Nicecream!"

You hummed and stood up.

"Well I have to get back. Maybe I can meet you at your new area?" You said, placing your hands in your pockets.

"Yeah! It's just East of here. The townsfolk can give you directions," said Nice cream guy. With a nod, you left.

* You find a free time skip.

Nice cream Guy had set up shop at one of the caves in Waterfall. Business was relatively doing well for the past few days but something felt off. Something was missing.

Once a week passed in Waterfall, the small number of customers (which was a little more than in Snowdin) decreased. This didn't bother him as much as the other feeling.

As he cleaned up the writings of the Nice cream Flavors on the wall, the realization hit him like Nice cream knocked off the cone.

(Y/N) didn't visit at all.

He proceeded to find you.

• • •

"Excuse me," Nice cream Guy tapped the Head Royal Guard's shoulder. The fish-lady turned to him with an annoyed expression, only for it to soften seeing the worried eyes of the rabbit-monster.

"Do you know (Y/N)?" he asked.

"(Y/N)?" Undyne repeated, arms crossing, "They're sick. Sore throat... probably because of too much sweets. And I think she also got a cold."

"Sore throat? Cold? Since when?"

"A week ago. They say they're getting better even when it's obvious they aren't."

"May I know where they're staying?"

"The skeletons' house. This one." She said simply, pointing to the house beside them. With a quick thank you, the monster walked.

• • •

"(Y/N)?"

Nice cream Guy approached the couch, which was where you were seated wrapped in blankets, headphones on with your phone at your left, a box of tissue on the right and a bowl of soup in hand. From a distance, you looked like a mountain of cloth.

"NG?" you croaked, voice hoarse as you sniffled and put down your (headphones/earbuds). Before you could say another word, you sneezed and picked out a tissue. Seeing you in this state, NG felt bad.

"What are you doing here? You'll get sick..." you mumbled, shivering and coughing. The monster shook his head, walked over to you and sat on the couch where he was able to.

"Monsters in the underground don't usually get sick," said NG, "at least, I don't."

You managed a smile.

The both of you sat in silence until he spoke up.

"Sorry about getting you sick..." he apologized. You looked at him, confused.

"But it's not your fault... It's mine. I guess I'm not used to a lot of sweets," you laughed, then coughed. The monster patted your back and told you to lay down. After placing some items on the table, you laid down.

"Get some rest. You don't want to get more sick. We need to see that smile on your face!" he beamed. You giggled and nodded, then drifting into your dreams.

Nice cream Guy got up, fixed the table a little and head out. Recently, some townsfolk had suggested that he moved to Hotland and assured that his business will be better there. So that's where he decided to finally settle there.

Closing the lights and leaving the house, the room was lit only by the window.

But of course, he didn't go without leaving you something.

On the table beside your bowl of soup sat a little wrapper.

'Love yourself! I love you!"

Chapter Text

"Is someone moving?" the dog barked in anger, his head looking around frantically.

You held in laughter as you waited for the canine to go back into his little hut. Once you knew it was safe, you slowly got up and watched as the monster smoked... dog treats? Cigarettes? Dog treat cigarettes? Whatever it was, Doggo just casually lit it.

"Hi Doggo," you spoke.

Again, Doggo immediately sprung up. This time, his face was only inches from yours as the dog treat was tilted to another side. You held your breath as Doggo examined you.

"Human? (Y/N)?" he questioned, but he was very unsure.

You replied with a "Yes" and the dog leaned closer to you.

"Did something move? Was it my imagination?" Doggo said.

You felt bad for the monster, only able to see through moving objects. You weren't sure as to how his eyes work or why its like that, but this canine caught your eye the moment he first peeked from his shack.

From that day, you had visited his sentry station and hung out – which was just stay around his station and have a short conversation now and then. There were times where in you'd pester him to play a game with you, or he'd ask you to buy more dog treats for him.

For his sake, you paced around the front of the sentry station, tapped your hands on his little desk, clapped your hands or even did a little dance. You didn't mind it moving around a lot since you were an active child, always bouncing around.

But there was always one action you did that made Doggo know it was you.

During one of the visits, you brought a yoyo. When the monster had asked what it was for, you started to show some tricks. Doggo, amazed of how a little toy can move so much, suggested that the yoyo will be your "signature" item.

"(Y/N)," Doggo called, lazily placing his head on the table. You looked over, and asked what was wrong.

"Is it bad that I can only see what moves?" The monster asked, a sad tone in his voice.

"Well," you crossed your arms and let out a hum.

"It's not bad–"

"It's really bad?" he whimpered. You told him that it wasn't bad or really bad but just different.

"Different?" he repeated, head tilting. It was cute.

"Yeah."

Doggo mumbled some things under his breath and threw the dog treat into the snow. The treat slowly buried itself into the snow as the hissing of the flame died down.

Proceeding to lean on a tree, you played with the yoyo. The monster watched very carefully, as seen by his eyes.

Up.

Down.

Up.

Down.

You let out a little laugh. Doggo perked up and looked at you with an annoyed expression.

"Why are you laughing?" he growled.

"Nothing," you shrugged, spinning the yoyo. Again, the monster was hypnotized and watched the yoyo.

"Doggo?"

He let out a growl, but just to say that he was listening. You stopped playing with your yoyo and looked at him, feeling a little sad.

"Why are you unable to see stationary objects?"

The canine ears drooped down as he frowned.

"I don't know. All the other members of the Royal Guard can see fine. I'm sometimes late for meetings and get lost because no one helps me around,"

You were about to talk until he continues.

"Sometimes the others like to prank me. They sit still so I can't see them. They play jokes on me. I just wait until one of them admits it..."

. . .

"I'll help you."

He perked up.

"You will?"

Spinning the yoyo once again, you nodded.

"Haven't been I helping you already?"

A short moment of silence occurred as the realization dawned.

Doggo never thought about it, but you were helping him. There were times were in you would stay with him as people passed by and he his eyes, and other times you'd get him dog treats.

And not to mention, you never failed to visit him. The dog happily barked at you.

"Thank you, (Y/N)!"

You smiled walked to the station, and then pet him.

Doggo has been pet.

"I'VE BEEN PET!! POT! PAT! PET!"

Chapter Text

"Okay, (Y/N)," Dogamy started, one hand on his long battleaxe and another on his partner's paw. You watched as the two Dogi shared a smile and turn their attention to you.

"This is your first day being part of the Royal Guard! You will be sent to the next guard after 2 days until you are finished with training."

"(Yes, and until you are ready to be on your own you will be trained under our supervision,)" Dogaressa emphasized.

Holding on to your (weapon), you nodded, a confident smile on your face. You have waited a very long time for this day and couldn't wait to get started.

You were a very active person, always bouncing all around the place. Taking in your surroundings, you try your best to not miss a thing. You also liked to wrestle and fight (but not to a point where you'd kill) which also meant you were a friend of Undyne and the both of you hung out a lot.

Recently, the Royal Guard leader had asked you if you wanted to join since she was looking for recruits. You, always wanting to join but never asked, immediately accepted the offer and here you were with the first guards.

"What do I need to do first?" you asked excitedly, as seen by your restlessness. Dogaressa laughed at how optimistic about the first day and motioned her husband to start.

"First, you must know the different smells."

You put your arms down.

"What?"

* You find a time skip.

"Alright...?"

"Next, attacks!"

This time, you were filled with determination.

Everything stopped and shifted to black and white, the area becoming an empty void while animate objects were lined with white.

"(Y/N)!" Doggo barked and you turned to him.

"It's either ACT," the male instructed as you took out a stick, keeping your weapon away for now. From the corner of your eye you see the two become excited, probably hoping that you'd throw it to them.

"(Or FIGHT!)" Dogaressa finished, and the two lunged at you with their axes. You dodged their synchronized swings and rolled over to another area, snow coating your clothes.

The two waited for your turn as yourself off. You then noticed that they slowly approached your, noses twitching. The lesson about smells Dogamy had explained came back to you as you allowed them to sniff you.

"What! It smells like... !" Dogamy said.

"(Are you actually a little puppy!?)" cooed Dogaressa, petting you. You also remembered they didn't have the best eyesight – most of the Royal Guard dogs didn't have good eyesight.

Quietly giggling, you lent out your hand and casually pat Dogamy.

"Wow!! Pet by another pup!!" he howled. His partner glanced at him then at you with confusion, and exclaimed that you shouldn't be leaving her out.

You then pet Dogaressa.

"(A dog that pets other dogs... Amazing!)" she gawked, eyes wide in shock and amazement. This time, Dogamy whined.

You shook your head and laughed, knowing that sooner or later they'll figure it out.

You had a long way to go until you were an official Royal Guard.

Chapter Text

The hard winds lashed at you which resulted in loosing your footing a few times. Snow built up on the ground that it reached your knees, making it harder to trudge on. Your teeth chattered and fingers became numb because the cold.

This was another harsh snow storm, the one thing you hated about Snowdin. No one was out, mostly due to this weather and the inhabitants of the village stayed in during this time of the day.

Why were you out?

. . .

Well, you forgot the reason because of how cold you were.

As the winds howled, you held unto your (color) jacket, knowing that it, or possibly you, might be taken away by the storm. That's how strong it was.

You only saw a few meters in front of you but it was only a matter of time until you hit something.

Your legs hit a mound of snow, which was oddly perfectly shaped like a hill.

It was a snow poff.

Wondering as to how it was still intact during this weather phenomenon, you assumed something was within it. After digging into it, you found some gold.

"What will I do with this..." you asked yourself, stuffing it in one of your jacket pockets and continuing. You passed more snow poffs, yet they all contained nothing.

After checking the 7th snow poff, you turned and collided with wood. Stumbling back, you realized it was a hut. Then it hit you could take refuge within, until the storm had died.

It looked small but once you got in, there was a staircase made out of snow leading to a lower area. A basement? A snow basement? Wouldn't the snow collapse and just suffocate anyone below it?

But determination filled you and you made your way down.

There were torches perched on the snow walls which glowed with warm orange light. Some of the things in the Underground was just explained by magic so you assumed that the fire was magical and wouldn't make the snow melt anytime soon.

Hopefully.

Once you reached the bottom floor, you looked across to see two dogs clad in armor. Both were (what seemed like) the same species and worked in the same job but one was much bugger than the other. The two were playing a game of poker and the smaller seemed to be winning.

"Hello?"

Both of their heads turned to you. A sense of panic crept up as they put down their cards, gaze still fixed on you. Nearby, you notice the weapons – a sword and spear – and you couldn't help but feel that you could get impaled by either if they were aggressive.

Beside the weapons were their shields, which had the names "Greater Dog" and "Lesser Dog." You figured out who was who.

"I-i'm sorry to intrude," you spoke.

"The storm outside was too strong and I happened to find this... place. I hope it's okay--"

You were cut short when the smaller dog came bolting towards you. With no time to react, you let the situation slowly sink in that the it had tackled you down. Lesser Dog didn't do anything after.

Very confused, you and the dog stared at each other for a while. It was awkward and funny at the same time, just seeing the excited face of the animal.

From what seemed like an eternity, you decided to act.

You tried to pet it.

You barely lifted your hand but Lesser Dog barked, got off and sat a few feet in front of you. When you sat up, you were sure his neck got a little longer as you smiled at its excited expression.

You lightly touched the dog. It's already overexcited.

Slightly creeped out and guessing that this would go on forever, you turned to the bigger dog.

Greater Dog apparently was seeking attention, as seen by the constant eyeing of you and the smaller dog, and waited for your command. You called it. It immediately bounded to you, flecking slobber to your face.

You didn't mind it too much, you had pets at home.

The dog sat obediently at your side as you pet it. Greater Dog curled up in your lap as it was pet by you. It gets so comfortable it falls asleep... Then it wakes up! It's so excited!

You made a snowball and throw it for the it to fetch. It splat on the ground, and not that far away. Greater Dog picked up all the snow in the area and brought it to you. How the snow did not cave in was confusing but now the dog was very tired as it rested its head on you.

As you pet the dog, it sunk its entire weight into you and you were unable to move. With a hum, you pet Greater Dog decisively. The dog flopped over with its legs hanging in the air; it was contended.

Pet capacity reached 100 percent.

The company of the two dogs was calming, since it reminded you of your time with your pets. You examined the two dogs that rested near you, both now sleeping peacefully. The storm continued to howl outside, not ending anytime soon.

There was no harm in staying, so you did.

Chapter Text

"I know you're a kid because you're wearing a striped shirt!"

You looked down and did see your shirt had some (color) stripes. With a laugh, you told them that you were a little older than just a kid. To this statement, Monster Kid gasped.

"That's not true!! Yo, believe me when I say you're a kid! If not a kid physically, then a kid at heart!"

Well, as much as that may be true, you considered yourself pretty grown up. This you told Monster Kid but the they just rolled their eyes. You noticed that there weren't many children for them to play with, so you guessed that why they followed you through Waterfall.

"How old are you anyway?"

"(Age)."

"You're still a kid!!"

You dismissed them as you passed Sans's sentry station, which was - as expected - empty. The skeleton was usually on break by this time.

Passing the waterfall that had rocks dropping down, the pitter patter of water from the ceiling and your footsteps were the only sounds that echoed through the cave system.

Well, besides the constant chattering of the monster beside you.

Monster Kid went on and on about many topics, which all linked to each other and passed one after the other. One moment they were talking about the Echo Flowers, then Undyne, then school then about fighting then back to Undyne. You made a mental note that the fish lady was their idol.

Soon, you got tired to their noise. 

"Monster Kid," you started, and they looked at with a joyous gleam in their eyes.

"Could you keep quiet for a little bit? We can enjoy the serenity of waterfall in peace."

The monster pouted but obliged.

The two of you passed through Waterfall in silence, just as you had requested. With a faint smile, you peered over to Monster Kid who was humming to themself.

The memory slowly came back to you--the memory of when you met this quirky kid.

< < <

"Yo!"

You looked back to see a yellow dinosaur-like monster run up to you. Before you could greet back, they tripped on something and fell on their face. You ran up to them in worry.

"Hey, be careful!" You sighed, helping them get up. The monster shrugged off the snow from their face and gave a wide grin.

"You're the new human, right?"

"Yeah, I just came a few days ago."

"Awesome!! The people around Snowdin were talking about a new human. It's nice to meet you!"

You smiled, feeling good about their contagious happiness. You also didn't expect anyone looking for you.

"Hey!" They beamed, "Underground is pretty cool! You gotta check around- Oh! I can show you around!"

Thinking over the things you could do, going around and knowing the place was better than getting lost. You obliged as they jumped in glee, pushing you from the back.

"Let's start with the shops! There's a really nice lady that gives me free sweets!"

> > >

It wasn't an eventful first meeting but the rest of the day included you both getting some Cinnabuns, eating Nicecream, adventuring and talking about your experiences as a human and their story as a monster in the Underground.

"Yo, (Y/N),"

You looked over to them and felt something drop on you. Looking up, it started raining – if that was even the correct term in a cave underground.

"I got an umbrella for you since you looked like you were thinking of something," said Monster Kid as you realized their held the handle with their mouth. With a giggle, you took the umbrella and used it.

The little adventure continued with small chatter and conversations. Soon, the both of you reach a statue illuminated by a light, hunched over and arms hugging its legs. It looked really sad with the water just dropping on it. You placed your umbrella on the statue, hooking the handle on one of its arms. From there, a little tune started playing.

"That's a neat tune!!" Monster Kid commented, bobbing their head to quaint music box tones. You tapped your feet in tune as well.

"Won't you get sick or something, yo?" the yellow monster asked in worry.

You held in your shirt and shook your head.

"It's cold but I don't usually get sick," tou reassured them. Monster Kid smiled back and the two of you continued.

"Yo..."

"Hm?"

"You're really cool, you know? Giving your umbrella to the statue. You always help others!" Monster Kid said. You looked at them and even if they didn't look at you, you saw the smile they held.

"Like when I helped you the first time we met?" you asked.

"Oh, yeah!" they laughed, "I'm pretty clumsy and I fall when I run..."

"But it's alright," you said, your companion stopping to look at you in confusion.

"I'll be there when you fall," you finished, a wide smile on both of your faces.

Chapter Text

"hey grillby, you look a little dim," Sans noted. The fire monster looked at the skeleton questioningly.

"Dim?"

"and i'm not saying that just for the jokes, but i think your light's less bright than usual. pretty worried for ya, pal."

The bartender gave a quiet sigh and continued to clean the glass he held. Sans hummed in discontent. He knew the monster was quiet and collected, but the mood of the bar just wasn't the same if the owner himself felt down.

"we can talk about it," Sans offered, taking a swig at the ketchup bottle Grillby had given him a moment before, "i'm all ears."

Grillby gave him another look.

"yeah, okay, i know i don't have ears but you get what i mean."

The monster placed the glass down and excused himself for a moment, walking to the fire exit. Sans waited patiently as he listened to the chatter of those who enjoyed their time in the diner. The Royal Guard were on one side, the weird fish-like creatures were on the other, some more monsters were relaxing – same old, same old, really.

"Hey, buddy!"

The skeleton snapped out of his daze as he looked around. He felt a presence in front of him so he looked down to see a little, aquamarine cat monster that had white markings and golden yellow eyes. The cat peered up at him with gleaming eyes. The creature wore a tattered, dark purple cloak lined with scriptures over with the hood their head. On his back was a white backpack.

"haven't seen you around before."

"I'm Kazeru! Kazeru the Wandering Feline, at your service!" he chimed, tail swishing around.

"what's up?"

"Nothing much, just doing my job delivering messages all over the Underground and Human World! I'm here to deliver a letter to Grillby! Do you know where the fella is?"

"he went there," Sans pointed to the door. The cat jumped on the counter and whistled, tapping his foot. He sighed, slung over his backpack and started rummaging through it.

"I see! Well, I'm in a hurry so could you just give this to him when he comes back? Thanks!" Kazeru handed the skeleton a red letter with black writing that he couldn't read properly. Before he could ask what it was about, the little monster scurries off and out of the diner. At that moment, Grillby came back.

Something in Sans's nonexistent gut told him that the letter was a bad time, so be slipped it into his jacket's pockets and lazily grinned at the fire monster.

"you ready?"

Grillby nodded and pulled a stool from under his of the bar. Sitting down and resting his chin on his palm, he stared at nothing in particular as he began.

"It's about someone,"

Sans gave him a side smirk and Grillby couldn't help but chuckle, shaking his head. His happy demeanor then turned into a serious one.

"They're a human."

...

"It was a few years since Frisk had broken the barrier and allowed monsters to roam free in the human world, and likewise humans came to the Underground to do the same. Business was going really well and humans enjoyed the diner's food but..."

"They got bored of magic food easily – I still don't get how their digestive system works," He shook his head in dismay.

"Anyway, I decided it was about time I hired someone who knew how to cook human food. It took a while and a lot of those who I tried to reach out for declined most of time, but all I needed was a flyer."

"A few days after I set out a poster, this one human came. They didn't look like much, with their (hair length) (hair color) hair, (color) eyes and simple winter clothing that wouldn't be the best for Snowdin... But there they were, determined to start working-"

Sans stopped him for a moment.

"instead of making me wonder who the heck is that human, you could've just told me it was (Your Name)," the skeleton sighed, and Grillby sheepishly laughed.

"Anyway, it took a couple of weeks for them to get settled in with the Underground's MTT-brand electronics, but once (Y/N) understood how most things worked they just... cooked. Their food was really good and more customers came in. With a new employee, I knew work wouldn't be the same."

"On days off or weekends, (Y/N) and I usually hung out around Snowdin and Waterfall, with the occasional trips to Hotland. It was nice. I didn't expect a human to be so casual around me – a being that represents fire."

"Soon, we treated each other as if we've known each other for years, even though the human had just been working for well over two months. They were different; they had an interesting talent for predictions. Time did fly by, and in a good way..."

"I can't really explain it."

Grillby stopped, and Sans knew the story was going to take a turn.

"Three weeks ago, when we were going back to the diner to return supplies, (Y/N) said something."

"'Hey Grillby, what would you do if something vanished in thin air? Like, poof! It's gone.'"

"I said that I most would try to find it, but I would not accept that its gone. Then (Y/N) asked if it wasn't important. I answered that all things were important, even if they seemed insignificant."

"what did (Y/N) say after?"

"I asked if it meant something, but they didn't reply afterwards. We kept a silence and continued until we reached the diner."

The temperature dropped and the room got quieter. Monsters still conversed with one another but they might have been listening to Grillby, and the tension was building up as the fire monster fixed his glasses.

"A week after, (Y/N) stopped coming to work. I assumed they were sick since they were looking pale for the past week; I didn't pay any heed to it."

"A day passed and they didn't come. I read on the Library that humans usually recover from a cold in a few days, so I still waited."

"how about the day after?"

"(Y/N) still hadn't come back. I tried to contact them, but all I received were pre-recorded messages. I left some for them, but still no reply. They've been gone for two weeks."

"why didn't you ask for help?" Sans spoke, voice low and disappointed. (Y/N) was a good friend of many monsters such as Papyrus due to their shared love for cooking, and Sans's brother would be worried for their wellbeing. Although, setting everyone else aside, Grillby was clearly stressed.

"I tried but... Do you know Kazeru?"

Sans kept silent, slipping his hand in his pocket to feel the letter.

"the cat messenger? yeah."

"I let him send a letter to (Y/N), since they don't live in the Underground. I was told that a letter would be sent back today."

Sans looked around, avoiding eye contact. Grillby clearly noticed this and stared the skeleton down.

"You got the letter, didn't you?"

Hesitantly, he handed the red envelope. Grillby took the stationary and opened it with care, clearly worried over how this letter was red – things that were red usually meant something bad.

Sans watched as Grillby read through the letter. If the fire monster had eyes, Sans would've watched him read back and forth but, instead of that, the flames on his head moved back and forth, sometimes dying down or suddenly flaring up. The skeleton was glad that his flames were magic, or the whole establishment would be in, well, flames.

Grillby suddenly slammed the letter on the counter, making every single monster in the diner jump. All eyes were on him as he hunched down, hands over head. Sans reached and placed a hand on his shoulder, hearing Grillby choke out a sob.

"i don't want to ask but..."

Grillby looked up at him with flames the lowest they've ever gotten.

"How they predicted this, I will never know. They really had a knack for it," he weakly laughed.

"But they're gone. (Y/N)'s gone."