It was another late night, and you were thankful that Grillby's was open until 3am. You go to bed at 9pm sharp, but the nightmares woke you up early tonight, so you decided to grab a drink.
Ever since the new bar opened up downtown, you've been visiting. You're one of the only human customers in Little Ebott, but monsters brought you comfort. They didn't remind you of humans. Humans looked the same, there were only so many faces you could have. Humans who died haunt you in the faces of the living.
With the variety of shapes a monster could have, you didn't have to worry about triggers. They were a lively bunch, like from a kid's movie. They made you smile just watching their antics. But, they were also people, they had their moments where you are reminded that humans are not special when it comes to sentience. They were a complex bunch.
You felt protective of them. They were a good batch, no fights ever broke out and no harsh words were ever exchanged in this bar. And you planned to keep it that way. They all greeted you by name here, it was special. You would never
Which is why, around 1am when the door of Grillby's burst open, you got a terrible feeling. Everyone turned to greet the newcomers, only to note that they were strangers. Strangers who looked like they had previously been drinking. Oh boy, bar crawl. You eyed them warily.
"Oh hey, they got a monster fucker in here!" They snickered at you when they saw you. You narrowed your eyes and took a sip of your drink. They were definitely trouble. They were the kind to assume every person had to be into fucking monsters if they wanted to talk to them. Maybe that's why they were here. The atmosphere was sunk, the dogs quiet and uneased.
"Hey sparky, can I get a beer, whatever you got on tap," one of the men said, waving his hand in Grillby's direction. You tasted the need to punch these guys.
"I'll have a whiskey sour," the other ordered.
The two men drank and laughed too loud for about half an hour before they started harassing the poker players.
"Hey puppy, you got a bad hand," the burly one laughed, swinging his arms around Doggo. Doggo grimaced and looked away. Then the other went over to Lesser Dog, playing cards by himself and said:
"What are you even playing? You seem bad at it. You're a bad dog," he laughed. Lesser Dog's ear's sank.
"HEY," you yell, getting their attention. "You guys have drunk too much, go home before you make yourselves look even worse."
"Don't tell us what to do you dumb cunt," the burly one said, and he appeared to be a bit more sober. You stood up, letting the chair drag as you sauntered over menacingly.
"I don't like when people come in and mess up what I got going on, you know? So that makes me not like you. I think I dislike you so much, I never want to see you or your friend again, understand?" You hissed. He tried to backhand you but you grabbed his wrist and brought it up his back, pressing his head on the smooth wooden surface of the table.
"Let me go you stupid bitch!"
"You want to say that but more polite?" You ask, twisting his arm further. He cried, slapping his other hand on the table.
"Okay! OKAY! Don't break my arm! I'm sorry!"
"Hey, don't touch my buddy like that!" The other man swung drunkenly. He telegraphed his movements terribly, taking a step back to swing, so it was comically easy to dodge. You grabbed his fist with your other free hand.
"Alright, outside, both of you," You dragged them out, giving them no choice. You threw them in the snowbank with a graceful toss. The drunkest one stayed down without a fight, but the more burly one rose up to take another sloppy swing at you. You sidestepped him, which made him angry. He pulled back for another punch for you to take his arm and flip him like an overcooked hotdog. The well worn icy path cut his back where he landed.
"Get your friend and leave," you said, spitting on the snow in front of him. He scrambled upright, looking successfully cowed. You dust your hands and turn to go back inside to sit down.
Everyone was staring at you. You froze. Would this change how everyone treated you? Did they think all humans were violent now?
They raised their mugs and cheered your name and you smiled. You gave a gentle wave and a bow of your head. You sat back down in the corner where your back was against the wall and you could watch the entrance, which is where you sat down your things. No one touched your drink and food while you were out. You nursed your drink and people watched like you normally did. You never partook, and no one bothered you, but now it seems like the ice was broken.
Grillby stood in front of your table, glass in hand. He set it down in front of you and you looked at him questioningly.
"Thanks…" he said. You smiled at him and nodded. He was a man of few words, and you liked that. You downed the rest of your drink and took Grillby's gift in hand like it was a small puppy. Tasting it carefully, you delightfully discover a mulled cider in your glass. It reminded you of Christmas and happier times.
Now another pair of legs are in front of your table. A blue hoodied skeleton grabs the seat across from you.
"hey pal, thanks for kicking out the brady punch. where'd you learn to fight like that?" Sans asked, and you could tell he was asking out of more than just curiosity. He wanted to sus out how much of a threat you were.
"War." you took a slow drink. Sans observed you for a moment, then he pulled out a chair and sat down.
"do ya like us that much though?" He asked bluntly. No beating around the bush for him.
"This is the best place in town, bar none," you smiled. That earned a chuckle.
"yer ok kid," he decided. "you mind if I treat ya to a burger?" You nodded. He motioned for you to follow him up to the bar. You cast a nervous glance to the door but followed nonetheless.
"Two burgs grillbz" the skeleton held up two fingers. Grillby nodded and went to the back. "you know, humans don't typically stand up for monsters," he said casually.
"Humans are cruel," you say simply. "Two sides to every coin," you shrug. Sans understands your meaning and nods.
"well you certainly cent them flying," he chuckles. You suppress a grin at the perceived complement. You always could fight a man bigger than you. You just had to fight dirty sometimes.
Grillby set down your burger in front of you and you looked up to thank him. You've never really been this close to Grillby before, and his warmth made you feel a wave of comfort. You've always felt fire was beautiful, spending hours as a child gazing into the campfire you helped keep alive. You could spend hours gazing into this man's face. It reminded you of a lava lamp or plasma. You wanted to run your hands through it.
Sans coughed, and whatever spell was between you was shattered.
"Thank you," you gave a genuine smile. Grillby nodded, and went on his way curtly.
"what was that," San's gaffawed. You frowned.
"What was what?" you asked, genuinely confused.
"buddy, if you don't know there's no helping you," he laughed again. You pouted, and decided to shove your burger in your face in lieu of a response.
You chatted for a bit, exchanged jokes and puns, and had a good discussion about military science. At least, what you could share. You weren't too high in the ranks, so what you knew was declassified, but you still didn't know much.
Eventually he decided he'd make his way home. Sans, you learned, told Grillby to put it on his tab and made his way out the door. He was a good guy. You stayed at the bar, ordering another drink. You can't help but admire the flickering flames of the thought of a steady candle. He was diligent and sturdy, good at his job and dependable. He was the kind of man you'd trust in the heat of things. And sure, maybe you did want to see him in the heat of things…but that wasn't the point. You love this bar and you'd hate to see anything happen to it, like a bunch of dumb punks ruining the ambiance.
You were too keyed up after that to try to sleep, so you decided to have a few more drinks to take the edge off and stay until closing. Ok, and maybe you did start to notice how attractive Grillby was after all that went down today. Why couldn't you admire someone aesthetically? He was a hot chunk of man. You tried not to stare, sneaking peeks at him from under your lashes and giving him the side eye. Besides, he really couldn't blame you, not much else to watch at the bar besides the bartender.
Closing came, and you paid your tab. You stayed a little late, until everyone else had left. You write your number on a card you had in your wallet, sliding it on the bar for Grillby to find.
VOLUNTEER HUMAN HANDLER/BOUNCER
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In case you have some more dirty work
And then you left.