Chapter 1
It wasn't that Grillby didn't appreciate having a soul mark. Not everyone got one after all. The very first words your soulmate would say to you, tattooed somewhere on your body. They appeared when your soulmate was born. The older of the pair would have to wait for their partner to be born before they got it, but the younger had it from birth. Some people, both monster and human alike, didn't have soul marks. Their destined mate had either passed away before they were born or, in the most saddening cases, died before the couple got to meet. In very rare cases marks changed, but that was only in extreme circumstances.
Grillby had waited all his life for his mark to show up, but had given up centuries ago. He had assumed he was one of the few who never got to meet their other half, and had grown to accept it. As a fire elemental he had a long life expectancy, longer than that of most monsters. He'd accepted that he was going to live his near-immortal life alone, until 23 years ago.
He didn't actually know the exact date he'd gained his soul mark. The days had passed with their usual routine; being woken up by nightmares of the War, making lunch and getting dressed, then going down to open his bar. Grillby was proud of the little pub he ran, one of the only ones in the Underground, certainly the only one in Snowdin. It wasn't until Sans, one of his closest friends and regular customers, pointed it out that he'd even known he had a mark.
“holding out for someone important huh?” Sans voice has the tone that usually meant he'd said a joke of some sort, but Grillby didn't catch it. He tilted his head in silent question, and for was rewarded with Sans gesturing to his hand.
The glass he had been polishing shattered on the ground as the fire monster looked at his hand. Etched on the back of his left hand, looking like it was under the flames and yet part of them at the same time, he had a soul mark. The writing was black, as they always were, it's style dainty and yet energetic somehow. Looking at it gave him energy, made him want to laugh and smile. He did both quietly, and felt the flames that made up his hair settle from his surprise and change to and excited flickering.
Hold This
Sans had, in his usual lazy fashion, used his magic to clean up the glass shards from the ground while he watched his friend have his moment. He had known, it was his privilege as best friend after all, how sad Grillby was at the thought of having no partner. He had seen Grillby slowly but surely hide in on himself, growing more and more despondent and withdrawn as other monsters met their soulmate. He'd had his own issues with his mark. The simple lines in a regal font, ‘Who's there’, had plagued him. As a comedian, Sans told his fair share of knock-knock jokes. He told them more often once his mark appeared, watching for a reaction. So far he'd had no luck, but he still had a bit of hope.
Grillby now shared that hope, and soon after his mark appeared when out of his way to meet new monsters. As small as the Underground was, it still had a rather large population. When Frisk had set monster kind free half a decade ago, the pre-war veteran had felt a bit of apprehension, still no closer to finding his mate. The world was so large and open, he worried that his mate would be even harder to find once monsterkind spread out.
He had always been a believer in fate, even when he'd thought his was to be alone, and fate would bring him and his match together. Instead of stressing himself about it, he had opened up his bar in the town at the base of Mount Ebbot. It was his hope that his soulmate, be they monster or more recently, human, would be drawn to the bar, and everything would work out.
This all lead him to the situation he was in now. He was standing under the awning of a local grocers, his bags hanging from his arms as he looked out to the empty street. Anyone with sense was inside right now. The weather forecast this morning had called for sun, with a bit of clouds. It was very wrong, and the sky had opened up while he was grocery shopping and was now pouring. Being entirely made of fire, the non-stop water coming from above gave him a bit of worry.
Dressed in a simple button down tee and some nice jeans, Grillby was not prepared for this weather. He had his bar to open in a few hours, and yet this precipitation left him stranded. There was the option of running through it, but he really didn't want to. The bar was over 7 blocks away, and the rain would hurt him. Water to a fire elemental was like acid to any other. It would burn him, and in the right doses could kill him. This deluge appeared to be that right dose. If only he hadn't forgotten his phone at home, he would have been able to call for a ride.
He was broken from his musings as a young woman ran toward him from across the street. She was dressed oddly, a long black cloak that seemed to repel water over a light peach sundress. White open toed sandals showed her coral painted toenails. She had her own bags, held in one hand while the other had an umbrella. Grillby watched warily as she approached, but that left when she flashed him a smile.
It was if the sun shone through her eyes, the way they lit up with her smile. Breathing seemed like an impossible task, and he never wanted to blink for fear that she would disappear. She was beautiful, and Grillby found himself staring stupidly. Thankfully she didn't appear to notice, and instead thrust her umbrella into his hand.
“Hold this.” Her voice was cheery and bright, he could hear the smile in it as he rushed to obey. Instantly he knew that he would do whatever her voice told him, would do anything to hear it again. It was only as she placed her bags on the ground that the meaning of her words caught up to him.
In a quick move the human woman undid her cloak, swirling it off her shoulders and onto his. The inner lining seemed to be made of silk, a red so dark it was nearly black itself, and the outer lining had water droplets dripping off without penetrating. She clasped the cloak at his throat, giving it a slight tug to ensure it was on before removing her hands.
She gave him a sheepish smile, as if realizing that yes, personal space was a real thing, and stepped back. Before Grillby could react she grabbed her bags from the ground and took off into the rain. What was deadly to the fire man soon coated the one he recognized as his soul mate, her dress quickly becoming soaked and sticking to her form. She didn't seem to mind, in fact she did a little swirl in the downpour, apparently enjoying how the water felt dripping from her hair. Then she gave him a quick wave and disappeared into the mist.
It was only once she turned the corner that Grillby came to his senses, and he rushed into the rain after her. A few drops still hit him, but he was protected by her gifts. He ran in the direction she went, but there was no sign. The heavy downpour obscured visibility, and there were no footprints for him to follow. Even sound was drowned out by the constant rain. He called out still, his seldom used voice getting lost in the air, his cries unanswered.