"N-no, most hu-human intimacy isn't p-practiced by m-monsters." Undyne stuttered. You couldn't help but sigh a little as you stared into your tea. "Th-that doesn't m-mean you couldn't try! I'm s-sure if you asked, Sans w-would be willing to h-help you out."
You smiled at your friend. "Yeah, I probably could. That isn't really fair though. Sex is supposed to be fun for both people involved, not just one." You took a sip of your tea, grimacing a bit when it still scalded your tongue. "I can see why so many human-monster relationships have had trouble, if you don't practice human intimacy and can't really tell us about your own. I hope that'll change someday."
"It c-could, but th-this is at l-least a s-start. Th-though I'm sure s-some secrecy will be necessary for qu-quite a wh-while." Undyne downed her own tea easily, making you glare at your own for still being so hot. "Y-you and S-sans really have th-the advantage in th-this case, since y-you know about Souls."
A silly grin forced itself onto your face when you thought about all the events that led to that outcome. Fate? Maybe. What other explanation was there? Everything that had happened this past year was outlandish even by mage standards.
Perhaps Fate was tired of you ignoring it for so long while wallowing in your own misery.
"So." You started when Undyne began talking again, jerking a bit. You were happy your tea was on the table, where it couldn't spill as a result. "S-Soul intimacy is…w-wow. I've n-never explained this t-to a human before. I don't kn-know where t-to start."
"Where would you start if I were a monster?" You prompted, moderately surprised she didn't have the whole conversation ready to go, accentuated by a powerpoint or three.
Undyne turned that beautiful violet color again as you waited for an answer. "I-it's all instinctual for m-m-monsters. We d-don't really n-need an e-explanation. Encounters begin n-not long after a m-monster is b-born. Evolution f-from there is j-just the n-natural order of th-things."
"I suppose I'm out of that loop. I can't really start with encounters without it being dangerous, according to Chara." You tried your tea again. How was it still so hot? Did Undyne and Alphys have magicked teacups or something?
"Th-they're not wrong. But e-encounters don't o-outright expose a m-monster's Soul a-anyways. It's odd th-that a humans S-Soul is always brought o-out, since it's r-really the o-opposite for u-us." Undyne explained. "The encounter f-for monsters is a w-way to share m-magic in a c-communicative way. Soul e-exposure isn't r-really necessary for j-just that."
"So, kinda how Chara and I talk?" You asked, grasping for an easy connection.
Undyne pondered it for a moment before nodding. "In a-a way. You t-two never enter an e-encounter, though, so th-the way i-it works is similar, n-not the s-same. Past e-encounters, I s-suppose the n-next thing is sharing. One or b-both parties brings their S-Soul out and l-lets the other look at it. I p-promise it's m-more intimate th-than it sounds."
"I think I've done that." You muttered.
"Your u-usual flashes d-don't really count a-as sharing." Undyne informed you.
"Oh, no. Not that. I mean I've actually had it brought out and looked at it with Fuku. You're right. It's a really intimate thing, even if it wasn't in a romantic way." Undyne was gaping openly at you now.
There was a long, uncomfortable pause before she responded. "I…d-don't know why I-I'm so s-surprised. Sh-sharing Souls usually happens w-with family f-first." She said it so matter-of-factly, you almost missed the implication there.
"Family?" You squeaked. She was right. Fuku and Grillby were family, just as much as Chara, Eve, and Damien were. You just…weren't quite ready to outright call them that yet. You lifted your hands to cover your suddenly burning face. It was so elating, knowing that they viewed you the same way, but…
Did you really deserve it?
Did someone like you, who barely knew what a family was, deserve such a great one?
Undyne interrupted your introspection. "W-well, yes. Th-they pretty m-much are your f-family. I'm a b-bit surprised they h-haven't formally adopted y-you into theirs y-yet. Well, m-maybe it'll h-happen soon."
You were stuttering almost as badly as Undyne after that. In hopes of recovering, you lifted your tea to attempt to drink again. You ended up gulping much more of the hot liquid than you had initially intended in your haste and jerked the cup away from your face as the tea burned your lips. The heat spread at this point, as it sloshed out of the teacup and down your shirt.
Undyne jumped up to grab some napkins in hopes of saving your shirt. You accepted them thankfully as she whisked away the offending teacup, trying to scrub the rapidly cooling liquid from the fabric. It wasn't getting the stain out though. Quickly, you stood and headed to the kitchen.
Your body didn't cooperate fully though. You vision blacked over and you stumbled into the wall, thankfully catching yourself on it. You found yourself unable to move for a few terrifying seconds until your vision began to fade back in. It wasn't long enough to cause Undyne to question it thankfully.
It looked like you might have done permanent damage to yourself after all.
Regaining your ability to move, you yanked your shirt over your head and stuffed it under the faucet. It was going to be frustrating, leaning to live with this new problem.
Eve stared at the subject line of the email for a long time before she dared to open it. You didn't send emails to her. To the extent of her knowledge, you barely knew how it worked, much preferring simple social media that kept everything organized for you.
'I need to tell you something.' Geez. Why didn't you just come in her door bearing cinnamon rolls and a bittersweet smile?
Liam leaned on the back of her office chair with a confused expression. "Is there a reason you don't want to read that? You've been staring at it for nearly ten minutes. I wish I was exaggerating."
"Something bad happened. I'm not sure I want to read it." Eve said.
Liam spun the chair around so that Eve's eyes were ripped from the screen. "You know your sister. She isn't going to tell you something you don't want to hear unless she thinks it's important for you to know. Or if you'd find out anyway and get pissed at her for not telling you. I don't know her as well as you do, but I think you know that you do want to read that message."
Sighing, Eve conceded the point. "I do. I will. Just…not yet."
Liam sent her an encouraging smile as he took her hand and pulled her out of the chair. "How about some lunch. You'll feel better on a full stomach."