Chapter 22:

Wash Away the Worries

The warm cozy feeling of Grillby's Bar and Grill was always one of my most favorite things in Snowdin. The snow would just melt off you the instant you walked in, and you would just feel so nice and secure. Sans seemed to get this feeling too, for his eyes went back to normal and he rolled his shoulders.

We walked over to the bar and took up two of the stools while our dear fire friend, Grillby, made his way over to us. He didn't speak much, and I well respected that. You didn't always need to speak to get your point across, especially when you were made of flames. His body would wave back and forth slightly with each wisp of heat, and it was often hard to keep your eyes on him without then getting a bit watery.

Sans held up two fingers as he spoke. "Two fries, two house specials, and one bottle of ketchup. Put it on my tab."

The bartender nodded and went to fill the order, while Sans and I sat in silence for a moment. We watched as he started to get things out for whatever drink he was about to make, then disappear into the back.

"So...how about we light'en things up again?" He smiled softly. "I mean, this is a date, according to everyone we know."

I giggled and nudged his arm. "Well how do you suppose we lighten' things up?"

"How about you tell me more about the kid? How old is she? And why did you name her Arial?"

A bit of pink touched my cheeks and I swiveled a bit on the stool. "Well, she's thirty six weeks, or nine months. She really didn't take much from her dad's appearance at all, to my luck...and I chose the name Arial because...well...because it was a font name, kinda like you and Papyrus."

I know I saw some blue in his cheeks that time, and he shifted his glance away from me a bit to smile.

"Yeah? I didn't notice...That's nice." Grillby returned to finishing the drinks as he continued. "So how old before she gets talkin' and walkin'?"

"Well she's rolling a bit here and there and is starting to crawl a bit. She might be walking soon and she likes to babble. She hasn't said her first word though. Her first teeth haven't quite come in yet either."

"So bit of milestones are comin' up then." He grinned. "Hope Duncle Sans can help out with those."

Soon our food and drinks came and Grillby stopped to look at me a moment, waving when he made recognition with who I was. I smiled and greeted him back, waving as our form of hug so I wouldn't get burns. He went back to work and I took a sip from my cup.

The drink was definitely alcoholic, but in the Underground age wasn't what dictated if you could drink. What made you able to drink or not was if the bartender: a) knew you enough to trust you with alcohol, b) if your friends could vogue for you and take care of you, and c) if you trusted yourself with the strong drinks of the Underground. Grillby had always trusted me as did my friends, but until now I was never self-prepared for the adventure in the cup. The first sip passed through me and I coughed a bit from reflex. It wasn't bad or anything, I just wasn't expecting it to be so potent.

I watched Sans down half his glass and wink at me before taking a bite of fries. It almost felt like a bit of a challenge, so I downed the rest of my drink. Warmth buzzed in my veins and I knew that my worries were going to wash away if I had even one more sip of a drink. Thus, I ordered another.