Chapter 12

Piper awoke to a tiny hand smacking her in the face. She immediately bolted upright and looked around for any attackers.

“Piper…?”

She looked down and her jaw dropped. There, in front of her, was the one thing made her life feel like it was worth living.

“Frisk…?” She hesitantly cupped their cheek. “Yer here…”

They nodded and smiled, a few tears threatening to fall. “I thought you were never coming for me…!”

“Of course I was! I had to get everythin’ ready for ya first…” She pulled the child into a tight hug. “I thought about ya every day… I missed ya so much…”

“I missed you too…” Frisk looked up at her. “What are you doing here? How'd you even get here?”

“Yer foster parents told me that ya ran away to Mt. Ebbot. I got scared and went up- then down- after ya.”

“Did you meet Toriel?”

“Yeah. The old lady’s nice, though a tad bit overprotective, ya know?”

Frisk nodded in agreement.

“Ahem…” They turned to look at Grillby, who had decided to join them upstairs. “As much as I'd love to let you continue catching up, you both need rest…”

Piper nodded, pulling Frisk onto the couch. It felt good to be so close to them again. Once they got comfy, they started to doze off together.

Grillby made to leave, but Piper called him back. “Yes, Piper…?”

“Can you stay?”

“Of course.” He sat down next to the couch and stroked her hair. “Sleep… you need it…”

“I will.” She nuzzled his hand before getting ready to sleep.

“… Piper?”

“Yeah?”

“What do you plan to do after you beat the king…?”

She frowned and looked at him. “Whadya mean?”

“Well… what's going to happen after you and Frisk defeat him…? Will you take the barrier down…?”

“I guess so… it wouldn't be fair if we left without any of ya. You guys deserve to be up there…” She sat up a bit to look at him better. “What brought all this on?”

“I…” He looked down at his lap. “I guess I don't want you to forget about me…”

“How could I? You've helped me more than anyone else.” She smiled at him, reaching over and holding his hand.

He smiled back. “Perhaps, when the barrier is down… would you…”

“Yeah?”

“Would you… like to go on a… a date, sometime…?”

Piper blushed brightly. “Really?”

“I-It can be however you want… just as friends or…”

“As something more?”

Grillby blushed and nodded. “I-I suppose… it'd be just to get to know each other more…”

She chuckled softly, bringing him out of his babbling. “I'd love to…”

“Really…?”

“Yup. I'd be happy to get to know ya better.” She kissed the palm of his hand. The way he flared up with a blush made her laugh softly. “Good night, Grillby.”

“G-Good night…”

She lay back down and fell asleep, unaware of the nine year old listening to them. Frisk pondered Over the two quietly before falling asleep too.