Chapter 1

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"Another round over here, darlin'!" Frisk smiled and nodded at the customer before making her way over towards the bar. Noticing that the bartender was busy, she made up the drinks herself. Three whiskey sours and a very dirty martini. The bartender and boss, Grillby, nodded his head in approval at her. She smiled back at him and hurried over to the table. She dropped the drinks off in front of the four customers. One fox monster and three humans. The fox monster took the martini and thanked her with a wink.

"Anything else while I'm here?" She asks in her best waitress voice. One of the humans, a younger, skinny man shot her a smile.

"How about a drink with you after your shift?" He asked. Frisk smiled at him.

"Afraid I'm busy, sorry." She replied smoothly. The man theatrically grabbed at his chest.

"You wound me, doll, you do!" He cried out with a smile.

"I guess you'll just have to drink away your misery, ya goof." The fox monster said with a chuckle. The flirty man sighed morosely.

"I suppose you're right, my friend. Cheers to broken hearts and young love!" The man said, raising his drink. His companions laughed and raised theirs as well. Frisk took that as her cue to leave. She checked on her other two tables before returning to the bar. It was a slow night, but that was to be expected on a Monday. Grillby, done with his few customers walked over to Frisk.

"Doing well?" He asked quietly. Frisk nodded at him. He was, by far, the best boss she had had over the past two years. True, she had only been under his employ for a little over a week, but that was enough. He had hired her with very few questions and that was just fine with her. He was kind and was never demanding. He looked after her and made sure that the patrons gave her respect. On her second day he had quite literally thrown a patron out for harassing her. She had been shocked. The quiet fire monster did not seem particularly strong, but she should have not judged a book by it's cover. The patron flew quite a distance.

Grillby seemed like a great monster. Even if he did have connections to one of the gangs in town. Grillby's was well known for being the favored hangout of the Groundskeepers. Frisk never asked Grillby about it, as it really wasn't her business, but she heard the rumors. Apparently Grillby and the Don of the Groundskeepers had been friends in the Underground before the monsters were free. Having shared that history, the Don didn't charge a protection fee to Grillby. In exchange, Grillby allowed the gang to frequent his bar. Frisk had been apprehensive about working in a gang-infested bar, but she had been pleasantly surprised. The bar had a happy atmosphere and was accepting of outsiders, so long as they behaved. If it weren't for the rumors, Frisk would have never guessed that a good portion of the patrons were gang members.

The bar itself was pretty nice. Not too fancy, but it was classy. On Fridays and Saturdays Grillby had live jazz bands come in and couples went to town on the dancefloor. On the other nights, Grillby just let the stereo play. Some patrons danced to the stereo after a few drinks. Frisk always felt warm and happy watching the happy couples dance with drunken abandon. She could tell that Grillby enjoyed it as well. It always gave the place some life. The bar was never really gloomy, but everyone seemed happier when there were people dancing, no matter what they were dancing to.

"Ruby! Can we get another round?" A table called out. Frisk smiled at them and looked at Grillby. He nodded and started on the drinks. She always felt a little pang of guilt when people called her "Ruby". She hated lying to them, but she had no choice. Even though she felt she could trust Grillby, she didn't want to take any chances. The smallest mistake could have nightmarish consequences.

Frisk scurried over to the table with the drinks once Grillby was done. They were for a couple that came it quite regularly. Frisk had already had them as a table four times since she started. The man was a human named Matt and the woman was an owl monster named Hooley. They were extremely kind and always made sure to ask Frisk about her day. Frisk could tell that they were hopelessly in love and often wondered if they would get married soon. They told her that they had been dating for little over a year now after having met at this very restaurant.

Once Frisk was finished with them, she did another round, checking on all of her tables. She meandered back to the bar and began polishing the silverware that had just come out of the washer. While it was a boring chore, she didn't mind it because she was able to keep an eye on the restaurant while she did it. Had she been doing something else, she wouldn't have noticed the skeleton walk through the doors.

She had to keep herself from staring. She knew that monsters came in all shapes and sizes, however, he evoked nightmarish memories from her. She flicked her eyes back to the restaurant, hoping that he hadn't noticed her staring. She couldn't help but notice the shift in atmosphere in the restaurant. It was subtle, but something was definitely different. She noticed that patrons kept glancing over at the skeleton and while the talking didn't stop, it quieted down a bit. Frisk wondered just who the skeleton was to elicit such a response. He didn't seem like much to her. Sure he was a skeleton, but the monsters wouldn't react over that. He didn't seem intimidating. Most monsters were extremely tall, but he couldn't have been more than a couple inches taller than her own 5'11". He was dressed in a suite, but the shirt was wrinkled and he carried the jacket over his shoulder. His tie was loose as well. All in all, he looked like he just awoke from a nap and didn't bother fixing his appearance.

"heya, grillbz." Frisk heard him call. She looked out of the corner of her eye to see him sitting at the bar. His voice was deep and coarse, like he had been smoking. Frisk saw Grillby approach the skeleton monster, but couldn't hear what the fire monster said.

"Ruby! Can we cash out?" The flirt from the first table called out. Frisk nodded her head then held up on finger on one hand and four on the other, silently asking if they wanted their tabs together or separate.

"All together, doll, if you can." The fox monster answered. Frisk flashed a smile and gave them a thumbs up before writing down their check. She walked over and handed it to the Fox monster. Before she could walk away to give them space to figure out their check, the flirt beckoned her closer.

"I'm guessin' you haven't met sans yet?" He asked her in a low voice. Frisk shook her head "no". The flirt smirked.

"I thought not, you looked pretty startled when that old bag 'o' bones walked through the door. Don't you worry, dollface, so long as you stay on his good side, he don't bite." The flirt assured her. Frisk felt a shiver go down her spine. She would definitely make sure she stayed on this "sans"s good side. She already had a bad feeling about him.

"Who is he, exactly?" Frisk asked quietly.

"He's a high ranking member of the Groundskeepers, Rubs, he's got quite the reputation." The man to Flirt's left explained, just as quietly, "Rumor on the street is he deals with the shadier missions. I've heard that his nickname among the gangs is 'The Reaper'. Bit dramatic, if you ask me, but it's what I've heard." Frisk gave a soft hum and made note to steer well clear of sans. The fox monster handed her the check.

"No change, Ruby, it's all yours, doll. You deserve it after having to put up with this joker." The fox monster explained, pointing at Flirt. Flirt mockingly glared at Fox and declared that their friendship was over…. At least for the next couple of minutes, anyway. Frisk giggled at their antics and wished them a great night. Flirt told her that she would always have a special place in his heart and he would never forget her. Fox smacked Flirt upside the head and wished Frisk a good night, as well.

Frisk returned to the bar and went over to the cash register. She put the amount owed into it, making sure the notes were in the right slots and all bank-faced. She stuck her tip, which was a generous amount, into her apron. She turned around to find the skeleton staring right at her. She gave him a weak smile and started to walk away.

"heya, darlin', don't you know how to greet a new friend?" she heard the skeleton call out to her, "turn around, and shake my hand." Frisk swallowed a nervous gulp and plastered a smile on her face. She turned and walked over to sans. She put her hand in his extended one and gave him a firm handshake.

"pleased to meet ya, darlin'. name's sans, sans the skeleton." Frisk was shocked to find that, even though he was speaking perfectly clearly, his mouth never opened. He just smiled at her.

"Ruby." Frisk said by way of introduction. sans' grin spread wider.

"ruby, huh? nice name, kiddo. grillbz was tellin' me that you just started 'bout a week ago?" Frisk nodded her head in affirmation. "no wonder i didn't recognize ya. i'm usually pretty good with faces. so, ruby, you're a pretty young thing, why are ya working here? nothin' against the place, of course, it's my favorite joint, but it can be a bit rough for a sweet girl like you." Sans explained.

"Grillby was hiring and I needed a job. I just moved here." Frisk answered. Sans stared at her, waiting for her to provide more information, but Frisk stayed quiet. His grin shrank a little bit.

"alright, well where did you move here from?" He asked.

"North side of the city." Frisk replied.

"city's a big place, darlin', mind being a bit more specific?" All humor was gone from sans' voice. Frisk really didn't want to get on his bad side, but she wasn't about to tell this stranger her life story. Not even Grillby had asked such personal questions.

"Yes." She replied. Sans stared at her expectantly. After a few moments of awkward silence he sighed.

"'yes' you'll give me more details?" He asked slowly, as if Frisk were slow of mind.

"'Yes' as in 'I do mind.'" Frisk explained. She sucked in a breath when the lights in sans' eyes went completely out, leaving his eye sockets pitch black. She took a step back. A different face flashed in her mind's eye but was gone within an instant.

"that's not a smart answer, kiddo." sans said, his voice cold. Frisk took a breath and tried to stand up straight and show no fear.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I don't know you and I don't want to give out personal information to a stranger." She explained.

"Sans!" Grillby barked out. Frisk gave a sigh of relief as the bartender marched over. She noticed that the lights had re-ignited in sans' eyes.

"what's up, grillbz?" Sans asked, leaning back and acting as nothing had happened.

"Do not harass my waitress, sans, or I won't serve you." The fire monster threatened. sans' eyes widened. Frisk was shocked that Grillby could get away with talking to a major mob member that way.

"alright, alright, grillbz. i was just asking her her story, no harm done." sans put his hands in front of him in surrender. Grillby gave him a stern look.

"Ruby, why don't you go check on your tables. I'll make sure sans doesn't waste anymore of your time." Grillby said. Frisk shot him a grateful smile before hustling off.

Four hours later, Frisk waved off her last table. She began putting all the chairs up in the restaurant while Grillby tended the register. Frisk noted with some discomfort that the skeleton monster was still at the bar with, of all things, a bottle of ketchup in his hand. She winced as he took a long swig of the condiment. Gross, she thought silently to herself.

"I'll be in my office for a moment." Grillby called out to her when she was halfway done mopping the floors. She shot him two thumbs up before he walked to the back with the till in his hands. She turned around to continue mopping and almost screamed. Right behind her was sans. She whipped her head around to look at the bar, where she could have sworn he was just sitting not even two seconds ago. She looked back at the grinning skeleton. And back at the bar. And back at him. sans let out a chuckle.

"sorry, darlin', didn't mean to startle ya, there." His words were a bit slurred and Frisk noticed that he swayed a bit where he stood. Did that ketchup have alcohol in it?

"It's okay, sir. If you don't mind, I need to get back to my job." She said as politely as she could, turning away to continue mopping. She gave a little gasp when she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. She quickly smacked the hand off and stepped away from the skeleton. sans looked confused for a moment but then shrugged it off.

"i just gotta say one thing, darlin', then i'll let you be. scouts honor." sans held up on hand and put the other over his heart, chuckling.

"Okay." Frisk said when he remained quiet.

"you see, darlin', grillbz is a real good friend of mine. that's why i was askin' ya all those questions. i'm just tryin' ta watch his back, ya know?" he asked with a shrug. Frisk slowly nodded that she understood. "glad you can smell what i'm steppin' in, darlin. anyways, i just wanted ta offer ya one piece of advice, then i'll get out of your hair." Frisk took a step back, eyes wide, when the little lights in sans' eyes went out once again. sans took a step to match hers and one more to put himself right infront of her. The color in Frisks face drained away in fear.

"if you hurt grillby in anyway or cause him harm in any way…..Y o u ' d." He said slowly and in a deep, cold voice. The lights in his eyes reignited and he took a step back, "understand?"

Frisk nodded quickly. Her knuckles were white as she gripped the mop handle.

"you feelin' okay there, kiddo? you're looking a little washed out." sans quipped. He chuckled at his own pun before meandering back to his spot at the bar. Frisk kept an eye on him and didn't move until he was sitting down. She then proceeded to close up the restaurant faster than she ever had before.

Once done, she carefully slipped behind the bar and into the back, keeping an eye on the skeleton the entire time. Once she was through the kitchen doors, she thought she heard sans chuckle. Frisk quickened her pace.

Frisk stopped outside of Grillby's office and gave a soft knock. She gently opened the door when Grillby told her to come in and stuck her head in the office.

"Good night," Was all she said. Grillby looked up at her and nodded, nonverbally wishing her the same.

"Be safe." Was all he said. Frisk nodded before retreating and closing the door behind her. She quickly made her way out the back door. Once in the alley behind Grillby's, Frisk let out a deep sigh. Her life was already stressful enough, she didn't need a pun-loving, skeleton gangster threatening her in addition. Frisk double checked to make sure she had all of her belonging before setting out to "home". She stuck to the dark alleys and side streets. She knew that, at this time of night, they were dangerous, but she had her reasons to use them. Even so, she remained vigilant on her walk.

About ten minutes later, Frisk was unlocking the door to her apartment. She quickly stepped inside and let out a heavy sigh of relief. She closed and locked the door behind her before walking over and falling onto her bed.

The apartment was much, a small studio in a shady part of town, but the rent was cheap. Frisk could do without the constant fighting of the couple next door, but aside from that, she really couldn't complain. She didn't need much. Hell, she didn't even have much. Her bed was a twin sized mattress on the floor. All of her clothes were stored in her suitcase as she didn't have a dresser. She had the most basic of kitchen supplies, she wasn't that great of a cook anyways. She had a chair and a coffee table, both of which she had found on the side of the road for free. She had a small radio that she loved and listened to whenever she could. It really helped to drown out the neighbors. The apartment came with a fridge, but she rarely stocked it.

It really wasn't much, but Frisk was happy with it. It was hers. At least for as long as she decided to stay. Frisk yawned and kicked her shoes off. She looked over at her single window to make sure that the blanket she used as a curtain was drawn. Satisfied and exhausted, Frisk pulled the covers over herself without taking her work clothes off. Even with the terrifying events of the night, sleep claimed her quickly.

AN: Not much to say. I actually have this one planned out and hopefully will have time to actually update it. It's going to be a slow-burn Frans Mobtale story. Or at least an attempt at one. Let me know what you think and please give me some constructive criticism, it's been years since I've written any stories.

***EDIT

Actually: Some prologue, I guess? In my AU, the monsters were freed from the underground about fifty years ago. Thanks to the monsters emergence, technology has advanced in leaps and bounds! This story still takes place in the '20's era, but prohibition is not in effect and there are TVs, movies, radios, phones, cars, even mobile phones, however they are very basic (cell phones are just for calling and maybe some old school texting (T9)). However, even with the super advanced technology, the style and music/entertainment of the 20's is still prevalent. I know that, realistically, if we had such technology back then, it would have been completely different, but please bear with me on this. I swear I have somewhat of an idea for this! Thank you and I hope you enjoy! Also, if you are reading my other story, Time and Time Again, I promise I haven't given up on it (even though it's been years), I just hit a bit of a block, but I will eventually get back to it (probably when I hit a block here, hahaha). Thank you again and I hope you enjoy your day!