It always took a while to convince Toriel to let Frisk have a sleep over with Sans and Papyrus. It wasn't that she didn't trust the skeleton brothers, but being away from her child for extended periods made her anxious. That anxiety had briefly intensified after Toriel learned about her child's close brush with Undyne, and for a while she would not hear of Frisk leaving the Ruins again. Even now, Frisk had to spend a few days alternating between sweet talking and cajoling in order to make it happen.
Which is why Frisk really wished Toriel and Sans would wrap up their pun session so they could head out already.
The human was clinging to the white fluff of Sans's hood. They had to hold on tight otherwise they would fall down to the bottom, and Frisk wanted to be able to see so they could give Toriel a proper good-bye. That didn't seem like it would be happening any time soon though, as Toriel was still bent over laughing at Sans's last pun.
Normally Frisk would be happy to witness this, but after being cooped up at home they were eager to be out and about. Toriel managed to stop laughing, only to come back with a pun of her own. Resigning themself to their fate, Frisk let go and let themself slip down into the depths of the hood. As always, the spot was warm and comfortable. Despite their irritation at the delay, they started to relax. Soon they were drifting off.
"My child?"
Sans stood still as Toriel moved his hood, trying to get a look at the tiny human inside. He heard the taller monster chuckle.
"Perhaps our jokes were not as enlightened as we thought, Frisk has already fallen asleep."
"hey, everybody's got their own sense of humor. ain't our fault the kid couldn't stand it."
Toriel laughed, but didn't retaliate. It was evening now, and Toriel feared another pun battle would force the pair to travel at night. She blew a kiss to her sleeping child, and escorted Sans to the door.
"we'll be baaaaaaa-ck before you know it tori. don't sweat it alright?"
"I shall do my best, and be certain that you do. You wouldn't want me to become bonely tomorrow, would you?"
The two shared one more laugh before Sans left the Ruins. Once he reached his guard station he looked around, to make sure he was alone, and then checked if the kid was still asleep. Only then did he take his shortcut.
He hoped that the small fry would sleep through it. That way any nausea would pass before Frisk woke up, and they wouldn't have to deal with it back at the house. It worked, and the kid continued to sleep soundly as he arrived on the outskirts of Snowdin. Sans strolled through the town, admiring how the light from houses glowed brighter when the cave crystals dimmed. Their own simulated version of the surface's nighttime.
One particular set of windows drew his attention, Grillby's. He'd been at Toriel's longer than anticipated, and hadn't had any kind of supper yet. He knew Pap would probably want to cook for their little guest, but that didn't mean he couldn't stop in for a quick bite, right? Kid was asleep, so they wouldn't notice the detour, and Grillby worked fast so he'd still be home with the kid soon. Just like that the decision was made and Sans was walking through the bar's front door.
There were just a couple of other patrons, since they were past the dinner rush and most monsters had some kind of work the next day. Sans greeted the few that were there as he walked to the bar, and greeted Grillby as he sat on his usual stool.
"hey pal, burning the midnight oil huh? Mind grabbing me an order of burg before you close up?" Sans considered a moment. "Maybe add on an order of fries too." He'd save some for when Frisk woke up. Fries for the small fry, Sans thought to himself with a chuckle.
Grillby, who believed the chuckle was because of the 'burning' pun, rolled his eyes but got to work. Sans had a multitude of fire based puns he reserved for the elemental, but he used that one almost every time he came into the restaurant late. Grillby had the food out in a matter of minutes and went back to his chores after he delivered it to the skeleton.
Sans dug into the burger, though he slathered both it and the fries in ketchup first. You could never have too much ketchup in Sans's opinion.
However, Sans didn't count on how drowsy food would make him. His sleep had been interrupted by nightmares, and he didn't slip in as many naps as he usually did during the day. Now that he wasn't craving sustenance, his body demanded the sleep he'd been deprived of earlier. He felt himself begin to droop, but didn't get up to leave. It would be rude to leave before finishing at least one entree, he reasoned. Even if it wasn't rude the other monsters would consider it weird for him to do so, he was known to pass out in different places. He'd finish the burger, then call his bro and pretend to get yelled at to get home (he might not even need to pretend).
Yeah...that was a good plan...good plan...good...
Frisk woke up to almost complete darkness. They jolted awake, reaching out with their hands to get a feel for where they were. They felt a little silly for doing so when they recognized the fluff of Sans's hood.
Still, what were they still doing in Sans's hood? They weren't still in the Ruins were they? No, they would be able to hear puns being exchanged if that were still the case. Right now things were quiet...really quiet. If they had made it to the house they should be hearing things like the TV or Papyrus chattering, but it was silent. They weren't at the Ruins, they weren't at the skeleton brother's house, and Sans wasn't moving so they weren't in transit.
What was going on?
Needing to know, Frisk rolled onto their hands and knees and started to crawl. That was another weird thing; if Sans were standing up this should have been a climb, not a crawl.
They crawled towards the bit of light that marked the top of Sans's hood, listening carefully for any new sounds. There were none. When they reached the edge of the hood they poked their head out, and took a look around.
They definitely didn't recognize this place. The light was low, so it didn't hurt their eyes, but it was still enough for Frisk to get a good look at the place. Based on the long line of glasses they could see across from them, Frisk guessed they were in some kind of bar or restaurant. They looked down; Sans's skull was right in front of them of course, and it seemed to be resting on a long wooden surface alongside a plate of fries. Probably a bar then. Now that the hood wasn't there to block any sound they could hear that Sans was snoring softly.
Had he really been that tired? Frisk felt a little guilty for insisting on the sleep over now. Still, this left them in a little bit of a dilemma. Cautiously, Frisk leaned further out of the hood so they could look around the whole room. Thankfully no one else seemed to be around, that would make this easier.
"Sans!" Frisk called out, not quite daring to yell. "Sans wake up!" The skeleton monster didn't stir.
They called his name again, and rapped on the back of his skull. Still nothing. They smacked his skull with both hands, no response. Frustrated, Frisk exited the hood and slid down Sans's coat so that could land on the bar top. Then they marched over to Sans's face, pushed and poked at it, and demanded he get up once again.
Nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nada.
Frisk sat down with a huff, trying to think of some way to wake the lazy bones. They were interrupted when their stomach let out a gurgle of dismay, which reminded Frisk that they hadn't had any supper yet. They glanced over at the fries they noticed earlier, and quickly looked away. They needed to think of a way to get Sans up and out of here, food could wait till later.
Their stomach grumbled again, much louder this time.
On the other hand, it would be easier to think if they weren't distracted by hunger. Plus it would be hard to hide if their stomach kept making noises against their will. This place was empty, for now at least, so they could take the opportunity to grab a few bites.
Frisk scurried over to the plate and dug in. The food was covered in ketchup, like most food Sans came into contact with, but they didn't mind. They grabbed a fry with both hands and started taking bites off the end. The fries were lukewarm, which wasn't ideal, but they would take what they could get.
After a minute of munching, Frisk started to feel weird. Not like the food disagreed with them, but like someone was watching them. The turned to look back at Sans, but he was still sleeping, and no one had entered the seating area. They turned back to their food, and paused when they noticed an orange glow that hadn't been there before. They looked up, and their mouth dropped open.
Frisk was beginning to think they would never learn everything about Monsterkind, because before now they had no idea that monsters could be made entirely of flame. The fiery humanoid was wearing a server's uniform, somehow, and leaning back against the shelf of glasses. Their arms were crossed, and their head was tilted as they looked at the human.
The strangest thing was that Frisk didn't feel the need to hide. Almost every time they'd been introduced to a new monster they had been scared on some level, hesitant to approach or wanting to flee. But this monster didn't elicit either of those reactions.
They could sense no malevolence from the fire monster. He didn't look ready to spring forward and grab Frisk, he was relaxed, and the head tilt made the monster look curious. It had been a while, but Frisk could still remember how their introductions with the monsters in the Ruins had gone. Most of those had ended well, so they decided to try for something similar here.
"Hello. My name is Frisk. Sans was supposed to take me home, but I guess he needed a break." Frisk sent a quick glance to the skeleton, and when they looked back the fire monster's white eyes had scrunched up slightly. "Um...is it okay if I stay here until he wakes up?"
Frisk looked up at the monster with pleading eyes. The fire monster considered the child for several moments, then reached forward and picked up the plate of fries.
At first Frisk thought that was a refusal, that he was cleaning up and wanted them both out. But instead of kicking them out, the fire monster placed one hand underneath the plate and one hand above it. Then his red flames shifted, became orange, and white and blue flames flared to life in the center of his hands. Frisk watched the changed in wide eyed fascination. After a minute the white and blue flames disappeared, and the fire monster regained his previous colors.
He gently returned the plate to it's place on the bar, then pulled something out of his breast pocket. He placed it next to Frisk, and they saw that it was a cloth napkin. Frisk looked down at themself, realizing that they'd managed to get the ketchup from the fries all over their hands and onto their shirt. They smiled sheepishly at him, and nodded in gratitude before grabbing a corner of the napkin. The monster's eyes scrunched up again, which Frisk interpreted as amusement.
There was no more conversation after that. Frisk cleaned themself off as best they could, then went back to eating. The fries were much better now that they had been heated up. Occasionally they would watch the fire monster to see what he was up to. It sometimes took a minute to find the monster, because he made so little noise when moving around. Frisk wondered if that had something to do with him being made of fire. From what they could remember of science class, flames didn't have their own mass.
Of course, Monsters were made mostly of magic. Some of Frisk's science classes may not apply.
In any case, as Frisk ate the fire monster went around wiping down tables and putting things away. It must be closing time; which was a good thing for Frisk. They had done alright with the bartender, but they didn't like the idea of waking up to a crowd of unfamiliar monsters around them.
The empty bar was also fortunate for the fire monster, because Frisk doubted that other patrons would have been pleased by Papyrus's sudden entrance. The tall skeleton suddenly burst into the bar, nearly throwing door off its hinges.
"SAAAAAANS!" Papyrus yelled. "HOW DARE YOU PASS OUT HERE WHEN YOU PROMISED ME A SURPISE ALONG WITH MY BEDTIME STORY!" Papyrus marched up to his brother's sleeping form, not noticing Frisk until he was standing at the bar. When Papyrus spotted the child his eye socket's widened.
"HU- I mean, Frisk! What are you doing here?"
"Didn't Sans tell you?" Frisk looked up at him in confusion. "I finally got permission for a sleepover from Mom."
"Oh!" Frisk could almost see the light bulb appear above Pap's head. "So that is the surprise Sans was hinting at yesterday. And then he manages to fall asleep before he can deliver you safely to the house?! Honestly! I don't know what I'm going to do with this lazy bones."
The skeleton suddenly deflated a bit, and turned to the fire monster who was now polishing a glass near the end of the bar.
"Ah Grillby, I am most sorry that you had to watch over my brother yet again. I've talked to him about this numerous times, but his stubbornness knows no end."
Grillby waved a hand dismissively, and that brightened Papyrus's expression.
"Thank you for your understanding, and thank you for keeping an eye on our little friend. It is most appreciated. But...perhaps you could do us the favor of not mentioning them to anyone else?"
Grillby's eyes scrunched again, and he nodded firmly.
"Excellent! I will bring you some of my best spaghetti to show my gratitude. Now, come along Frisk."
Papyrus scooped the human up and placed his hand on his shoulder. Frisk quickly crawled over to his red scarf and secured themself there; it was a well practiced move by now. They held on as Papyrus bent down and hefted the still sleeping Sans up and under his arm. Then the tall skeleton strolled toward the door, like this was a completely normal occurrence.
Frisk twisted around so they could get one last look at Grillby. When they found the fire monster watching, they waved at him. Grillby returned it just as the door closed behind Papyrus.
A.N.
I figure Frisk deserved at least one calm introduction, especially after the fright Undyne gave them in the last chapter.
Please read and review! Remember that requests are welcome. :)
I'm also going to take this time to perform some shameless self-promotion. If you are reading this story I can assume you enjoy G/t or borrower type stories, so I wanted to let you know that I have a Fullmetal Alchemist Borrower AU in the works. The premise is that Ed, Al, Winry, and Pinako are all borrowers living in the walls of the East City base, specifically the walls around Colonel Mustangs office. I've got a few chapter written already, and wanted to get at least one more done before I start posting them, but I'm hoping to get the story out soon.