Behind Closed Doors: Chapter 12 - Fireside Conversation
"UGH, ABSOLUTELY NOT. SANS YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I DETEST THAT PLACE. IT'S DARK, GREASY AND PROBABLY CLOSED BY NOW, ANYWAY." You look between the two and seem a little confused, but piece together that it's probably an eat-in spot of some kind. "aw, come on, paps. manny hasn't really eaten anything today, and i could go for something myself. at least come for the company?" Sans smiles and leans in towards his brother, but Papyrus closes his eyes and folds his arms. "ABSOLUTELY NOT, I REFUSE TO SET FOOT IN FAST-FOOD PURGATORY." His mood oddly switches on a dime as well, smiling and turning his head to you for a moment. "I'LL CERTAINLY COOK BREAKFAST FOR ALL OF US TOMOROW MORNING, THOUGH! YOU TWO... TRY TO ENJOY THAT PLACE, AND DON'T STAY OUT TOO LATE!" Sans shrugs with his usual lazy smile and turns to you. "i think you'll like the place. you like burgers?" At this point, you don't even have to say anything. The mention of the word causes your pupils to widen slightly and Sans' smile widens. "well, that says everything. come on, buddy, it's not that far of a walk anyway." As you spot Papyrus putting a plate of spaghetti in the microwave his head turns and he seems a little surprised. "WOW, NO SHORTCUTS OR ANYTHING?" Sans head perks and he grins even wider. The kind of grin you make when you're purposefully trying to irritate a sibling. "oh hey, great idea, paps. i didn't even think of that. come on, follow me." Sans gently grabs your hand without warning and says, "don't let go, the first time's always rough."
"The first times wha-" You didn't understand the last bit, but in a literal flash of brief light you're dizzied and blinded for about two seconds. You instinctively cover your eyes and hunch very lightly, but by the time your vision clears you're in a completely different place. It's a restaurant? No.. it's a bar of some kind, but it seems relatively empty except some familiar faces in the corner. The dog-sentries from before are sitting at a table together playing poker, ironically enough. The blind one is wiggling his cards in front of his face, and by the time they all look up they smile and wave at both Sans and you before going back to their conversations. As you fixate on the prospect of dogs playing cards You bite your lower lip so as not to laugh.
"...Picking up something for dinner again, Sans?" An oddly.. 'crackly' voice says from the counter. As you turn your head over to the counter you squint briefly from the light adjustment, but notice a bright figure in a black-and-white suit. More importantly, as your eyes adjust you notice one little detail; HE'S ON FIRE?! The glasses on the head of this monster are pointed downwards at a cup they seem to be cleaning, but the moment they look up there's a long pause for the moment as they stare straight at you. Sans breaks the uneasy silence by saying, "yep. paps actually forgot to cook because we had a guest. figured i'd show him the best spot to eat around here."
*You take a step forward and try to introduce yourself.
"Uh, hi. My name's-" You're interrupted again, but by a jet of flame shooting 'right' past your head. It dissipates as quickly as it was created, and thankfully you're not hurt. You instinctively stumble back and blurt out, "..ffFFUCK!" before raising your hands to each side of your head. A hand is on the bar causing a scorch mark, and the other pointed towards you directly, but before anything else can happen Sans stands in front of you. "woah, woah, let's not get too heated, fellas. my friend here's a good guy, he won't cause any trouble." The figure pauses for a long moment and then slowly lowers his hand, moving the other and grabbing a rag to wipe up the burn-mark on the wood.
"see? everything's fine." Sans reassured, casually walking up to the counter before hopping up on a barstool. He turns his head and beckons you with a hand. "come on, buddy. things will simmer down once you two start talking, i'm sure." Your eyes dart between the two before you slowly start walking towards the counter. Eventually you take a seat before you hear Dogamy speak up. "Come on, Grillby! I recognize the smell of a good boy anywhere, and that right there is the smell of a good boy!" Greater dog pitter-pats their paws on the table and lowers it's head towards Grillby in a cute little whimper.
Grillby stares at the dogs, the back at you for a moment before speaking. "...Sorry about that. Word gets around, and so do rumors." You look to the side for a moment before nodding. "..I totally get it. It's happened almost non-stop for today." He abruptly shakes his head no and continues after his long pause. "... It's not alright. The least I could do is get you something to eat, on me." Sans chimes in as he rests his head on one of his hands. "aw, come on, grillbs. you never help me out like that." Grillby folds his arms and glares at the short skeleton before you but in. "Nope, not a chance. I'm ordering, but you better believe that I'm paying, no exceptions." The flames from Grillby's body seem to have calmed down ever since that attack, and you swear you can see a bit of fire raise like an eyebrow before he nods, pulling out a pen and notepad. "I guess I'll get.. a cheeseburger? If you can, can it be slightly less than medium-rare..?" Grillby seems to automatically nod to that and quickly scribbles it down, looking at you and motioning with his hands a cup and pouring. "..OH. Uh, do you have, uh.. whiskey?" Both Grillby 'and' Sans look at you with a raised eyebrow. "Not like an entire bottle! Just a very small glass with ice, that's it..!"
Grillby silently nods and turns to Sans, who automatically just states "the usual. fries and some ketchup." As he turns and walks into the back, Sans lightly yells "you're the best, grillbs." Soon after, he turns to you with both hands resting on the bar. "let's talk, pal. nothing serious, just chit chat, y'know?" You rest a hand on one leg, and the other atop the counter, turning yourself in your stool slightly to face Sans a little better. "Alright then, shoot. What do you want to know?" Sans thought for a second as the sizzling and cooking noises began from behind the wooden door. "got one.", Sans says and snaps at the same time. "what's your favorite.. food. ever." Your eyebrows raise for a minute and you lightly smirk. "Oh man, that's a toughie." It's silent for about four seconds as you sport an amusingly serious face in regard to that question before responding, "...Chili. Nothing pre-made, but when I made it from scratch."
Sans smiles a little more and chuckled once. "nice answer. your turn to ask 'me' something."
The passive and unusual questions go by for another five or so minutes.. things like 'Do skeletons need air?' 'why do human nails and hair slowly grow non-stop?' and little things like that. Grillby comes out and places a surprisingly good-looking burger in front of you, along with a bottle of ketchup and a plate of fries for Sans. Once the steam wafts up to your nose your eyes dilate practically twice their size, and a loud gurgle comes from your stomach in anticipation. Your face flushes red as you smirk and cover yourself with your arms. "Oh god, sorry! I just haven't eaten today." Grillby's flames brighten for a moment when as he watches and listens with a tilt of his head, and before you ask why Sans buts in to the silence. "the brighter his flames are, the happier he is, and when folks enjoy his food."
You look to Sans and the Gentleman-Flame himself with a lightly surprised face. "Really? I'm the same way! I used to cook for my friends whenever I'd have them over, and I always enjoyed hearing them and watching them scarf down whatever I made." Grillby nods silently and stands up straight for a moment to look off, then rushes to the back counter briefly. You spot him grab a glass and pour it. OH! The whiskey, right. He places about two-inches worth of whiskey in a short glass filled with ice. "Thank you very much, sir!" Grillby raises a single hand and his flames brighten in the silence. "...Please. Call me Grillby."
The first bite out of the burger is pure. Heaven. Despite the fact that you haven't eaten in almost a full-day with continuous exercise the savory taste cause you to sigh shakily when you start quickly devouring the burger before Sans places a hand on your shoulder. "hey, why not enjoy it?" You turn over after swallowing the third mouthful and blush with a bit of embarrassment, setting the burger down to take a sip of the whiskey. You sigh with your eyes closed and smirk again. "Yeah, sorry. Just hungry, and something this fantastic doesn't come often." Sans actively laughs for a second and nods. "so what you're saying is, even with the surface, this is one of the best burger joints you've been to?" As you turn your head to Sans you jokingly glare at him and say "Oh my god, yes? This place would practically explode with customers up there if.. i-...if.." You pause and think for a moment.. about how the entirety of monsterkind are trapped in a place purposefully by humans. "...right. There's got to be some kind of way though, right?! A type of machine or-"
During your attempt to think of a solution, you hadn't noticed the dogs getting ready to leave, or Grillby's silence, but you're actually interrupted by him. "...Don't worry. The Royal Scientist is working on a surefire way to get out of here, and she's definitely making progress. I just hope that if you're headed that way, you can make it to New Home and talk to Asgore peacefully. He wishes to wage war on humans when we're free...-" You freeze in a bit of realization and stare at the counter as Grillby talks, and your face locks with a bit of fear and doubt. You're not aware but about four minutes go by before Sans taps your face with a bony finger. "hey manny, you uh, you alright?"
"I don't think I can do this, Sans. I know I'm probably the first... well, human, down here in a while but I don't know if I can make it that far. I'm just a guy, not some fighter or smooth-talker!" As you doubt yourself, Grillby waves lightly to get your attention, and you patiently stare before he responds to you. "...From what I've seen and heard, you're a funny and friendly person, Manny. If monsters this far have lightened up to you, there's no telling how many more friends you can make." For reassurance you look back to Sans who is currently- "A-are you drinking the ketchup?!" It keeps going down and down until the empty bottle clinks lightly against the bar, and your face pales. As he wipes his hand with his sleeve he nods. "yes i was, and yeah buddy, grillby's right. stop doubting yourself so much okay?"
A sigh escapes your lips and you nod to that statement. Haven't heard that before. After everything is said and done, you look to see you still have about half of an admittedly enormous burger left. "Is it okay if I pay and take this to go? There's no way I'm wasting this." You glance at your unfinished drink and exhale, before sharply inhaling and sucking down the cold, watered-down whiskey. The glass hits the bar and you inhale again, briskly shaking your head as Sans laughs. "..your face is hilarious." You jokingly push at Sans shoulder as mock-wipes a tear away with his finger. "Oh har har, Sans!" The bill comes to about 70G, and you happily leave 85 for a tip. (That was admittedly almost all of your money, but regardless you think he deserves more.)
You exit the bar and head back to Sans' which you now realize was an UNECESSARILY SHORT WALK to have used a shortcut. Eventually, once you're back inside Sans helps set up the couch with a blanket and pillow, and starts for the stairs. "if ya need something, just knock on papyrus' door, alright? sleep tight, kiddo." After you turn off the TV the house is quiet, and almost fully dark. The faint dark-blue light combined with the snow adds a sort of glow to the windows, and as you lay down you spot something outside. You shake your head in disbelief and speed-walk towards the window and peer outside.
*It looks like a flower...?
A bright-yellow flower in the snow? No way. In disbelief you rub your eyes a little forcefully and look back to see nothing where it was. You sigh and relax, telling yourself you just need some rest. You're safe, and with new friends.. it's going to be okay. As you tell yourself this as you stare at the ceiling from the sofa you smile. A very warm feeling fills your chest and you could swear you had heard a low-pitched humming before you're out like a light.
The more I write, the more the story begins to unravel, and I don't want to reveal too much to soon..
Don't worry, it'll get a LOT more interesting than what it currently is. Just be patient. :)
-RampantMemory