New Neighbours
Crash! Clunk! Thud!
The startling sounds bring you to glance over to your side, and you gasp as you note the child that had darted past you a few seconds ago was toppled over on the floor. A large display of chocolate bars had also been taken down in their apparent tumble. The child’s gaze connects to yours, face slack in apparent shock and confusion. A chocolate bar was held in their tight grasp.
“Oh! Hey there, are you okay?” You hum to them pleasantly, setting down your grocery basket and helping them up. You stand the display back up, and pick up the scattered chocolate bars before setting them back down. You turn to the child, who was dusting themselves off from their fall. They suddenly look up at you, and they give a large beaming smile. Aw, isn’t this kid adorable!
A disturbing sense of familiarity breathes in the back of your mind, however, at the face of this child smiling at you. You blink rapidly as the child starts wildly gesturing to you with their hands, until it registers in your mind. Ah, sign language. You suddenly think to yourself.
“Sorry there, bucko,” You tell the child gazing up at you as you bend down and collect your grocery basket, “I don’t know sign language. But I’ll assume you’re thanking me, and you are welcome.” You smile, but suddenly realise what if the child was deaf too? Shit.
Yet as the child gives you another blinding grin, and nods their head you breathe a sigh of relief. They probably understood you, then. Still, you couldn’t get that weird sense of I’ve seen this kidbefore out of your head. Did you pass them by on the street? Were they a neighbourhood kid you forgot about?
However, you’re pulled from your thoughts as a look of concern flashes on the kids face. They’re suddenly peering around and behind you, biting their lip in an agitated manner. They gesture to you again, but seemly grow slightly frustrated at the fact that you didn’t understand.
“Did you get lost from your mom?” You ask hesitantly, wondering why the child had just suddenly grown upset. They nod, “Want me to help find her?” They nod again, relieved, and gladly take your offered palm. You are a little concerned at the innocently trusting nature of the child, and how easily you had offered your own assistance- but that was neither here or there right now.
Almost asking the child what their mother’s name was, you catch yourself in the nick of time. It wouldn’t do you any good anyway, you didn’t know sign language. So you lightly grip the child’s delicate hand, and traverse through the store quickly; looking for any type of mother figure that was probably looking for their own child.
Suddenly, entering the third isle down, the child lets go of your hand and sprints off down the aisle. You watch with a small smile as they slam into a large figure, a deep purple dress adorning them.
“Oh! Frisk, my child, there you are. I was beginning to worry!” The voice that addresses the child- Frisk you now knew- is warm, smooth and motherly. You hesitate at the beginning of the aisle, wondering if you should go up to them or just leave. After all, your job was done- you got the child back to their mother, there really was nothing left here for you to do. However, at the beckoning of Frisk- who must have noticed your hesitation- you slowly walk up to the pair. You pull a smile onto your face, as the figure turns around and it’s a-
Goat Monster?
You blink a few times, the surprise at the face of a new monster fading quickly as you approach the happy pair. After all, it wasn’t like seeing monsters in this city wasn’t normal- at least recently. It had been nearly a year and half from now since the newest race of species had flooded out from below the mountain just a few miles north of the city. Perhaps what was more shocking was the fact that another group of monsters had moved to this section of the city. As far as you had known, most of the monsters resided in the suburbs that faced the mountain- the area the city had given them when they first cascaded from their depths; even though it was decreed recently the monsters could live elsewhere, not many of them had moved out of the reaches of their little sub-section.
Yet, that was no doubt to be expected. After all, the past year had been extremely hectic for them- no doubt. All government, and other representative world leaders, had flooded to Ebott; ready and waiting to debate upon this new, sentient species and possible rights for them as a whole. Truth be told, it was only officially declared 6 months ago that the monsters had won basic civic rights to many human commodities- the right to legally own housing and cars, the right to an education, the right to be given a job etcetera etcetera. A lot of the reason for persuasion must have been from the incredible vast amount of natural resources the caverns of the mountain had to offer, and the cheap labour they could rake in from the monsters.
Economic downslide this country had been going through could suddenly take a turn for the better; especially if it cost the government only a little slip of paper to state that monsters were to be treated equally. It wasn’t as if they truly had to put effort to reinforce that right either.
And then that’s where the niggling sense of I’ve seen these two before really hits you. You recognize this REGAL goat woman and the small MUTE child at her side.
“Oh my gosh!” You proclaim, desperately trying to bow or something in your flustered state, “You’re the- the kid is- sorry sorry!” You bow again, utterly embarrassed. How could you not realize the kid was the ambassador of the monster race? How did you not see that this was the Queen of Monsters standing before you? “I didn’t recognize you straight away, I’m so sorry your majesty!” Although the government had long dethroned the monarchy of monsters, the media had eaten it up. So many headlines had labelled the two figureheads as they were, and you assumed that this was probably the proper way to address them. After all, many countries still had a monarchy in place- despite a fully functional underlying government and senate.
“Oh, gracious, dear one! Please, I am Toriel. I no longer carry the title of queen.” You flinch at that, feeling slightly guilty at how the government had stripped her of her title- but the goat woman did not seem at all fazed or sour of it. So you laugh awkwardly instead, rubbing the back of your neck with a free hand. The child- the ambassador Frisk- is gesturing to Toriel rapidly.
Toriel gives a little chuckle, taking the candy bar out of their hands and placing it in the cart behind her. She turns to you, and gives a soft, welcoming smile, “Thank you for helping my child, dear one. My I ask of your name?”
“Ah- Oh! It’s (F/n) (L/n).” You watch as Frisk taps on Toriel’s leg, and gestures to her. Toriel gives a little laugh, before looking up at you, her face slightly tinged with embarrassment.
“My child would like to say that they think you, and your name, is very pretty.” Toriel responds at your slight tilt of head. You glance down at Frisk, who gives a noticeable flirty wink.
For a few seconds all you can do is stare at Frisk, before suddenly burst out laughing. Oh man! Is the ambassador of monsters- a child!?- flirting with me? Frisk pouts at your reaction, and you kneel down, still snickering.
“You’re pretty cute yourself Frisk,” You manage to say in between your snorts, winking back and calming down to blow a little kiss at them. Their eyes widen, and you are met with deep, rich red hue. They blush and smile, before clutching at Toriel’s dress and giggling into their free hand.
“Oh my!” Toriel laughs good-naturedly, “Please, refrain from flirting too much with my child.” She chides, but there is a smile in her voice. You laugh as well and stand up.
“Sorry, Queen-, ah Toriel. Just can’t help it when I see such a sweetie.” Frisk flushes again, looking more than pleased at the praise. Toriel gives her own small chuckle, her eyes alighting with a deep, motherly warmth.
“Yes, Frisk certainly is a sweet, innocent child.”
You stand there in a type of silence, before you suddenly clear your throat. Toriel’s gaze goes to you, and you give a crooked smile, “Not to be, uh, nosy- but did you guys just move here or…?” You were pretty positive that you would have noted if the Queen and Ambassador of monsters had been roaming around the little neighbourhood on the outskirts of Ebott. At least, you wanted to think you were astute enough to notice that. You get a brief flash of remembrance to the fact someone had said another monster family was planning on moving in- but you assumed, at the time, it would only be more of the Bunny family that had moved here 4 months ago. No one had mentioned anything about the Ambassador or Queen moving in to this quiet neighbourhood.
“Oh, yes! We moved in just yesterday, by the elementary school. It is already… very peaceful here, quiet and relaxing. The move was a rather… hushed one.” Toriel confesses
Ah. You think to yourself. She probably moved here to get away from all the up-town city drama. After all, this small sub-town of the city was small, quiet and well-mannered. Well out of the way of all the haters and media.
“Yeah, everyone here is pretty nice.” You say, hiking the basket of food higher up your arm. You extend a hand, “Dunno if anyone’s greeted you yet, so welcome to Foxdale! I’m sure, ah, no one will give you too much trouble. We got a bunny family living here and I heard everyone’s been pretty decent to ‘em so…” You trail off awkwardly as Toriel merely beams at you, and takes your hand.
Her soft, fluffy hand dwarfs yours as she gives a polite shake, “Yes,” She says softly, “I feel like this town is very nice, especially if someone as kind as you lives here.”
You laugh, blushing at her compliment, “Nah, I’m not that nice. Glad you think so though, good first impressions and all that.” You suddenly note Frisk staring intensely at your grocery basket. They then gesture pointedly to a box in it, before looking up at you. You look at what they are pointing to, and see the box of popsicles you had impulsively thrown in. You snort, “You wanna popsicle cutie?”
They look up at you, red eyes wide before nodding frantically.
“Oh, no, (y/n). Please, do not feel the need-” You were already digging in your basket, and open the box before producing a wrapped popsicle and handing it over. Frisk grabs at it greedily, ripping the packaging open and stuffing it in their mouth. They smile at you around the treat.
“It’s fine, Toriel. Like I said, can’t resist such a cutie like Frisk.” Frisk beams again.
Toriel’s face crinkles, “Oh, well, let me at least pay you for it-”
Again, you wave a hand, “Welcoming gift! It’s good, we’re good. You two have a nice day, alright? I gotta go before all the other popsicles melt and I have none left for me.” Giving a big wink to Frisk, who returns with one of their own, and a pleasant smile to Toriel, you turn on your heel and go to pay.
After exiting the grocers, you smile to yourself. You hadn’t followed monster news very well, only the first couple of months since their return to the surface- but you knew a lot about the city and its mean people. It's what made you move to the gentler, out-of-the-way part of the large, complex city of Ebott. Even though it took you forever to get to the University by bus, you felt it had been one of the better choices you had made.
And hey, it turned out to be true. You got to meet the Queen of Monsters and the Monster Ambassador! You felt even happier, and self-satisfied, you had been kind and courteous to them. The media loved portraying the rivalries, and you heard a lot of the hate crimes against them from your social-rights activist friends. And the bunny family had been nice, and sweet and any monster you chanced whenever you had business deeper in the city was always polite to you. Besides, you haven’t heard of a single monster killing anyone, so you liked to give the benefit of the doubt. It felt good to be nice, when the rest of the world was rather shitty.
“(Y/n)!” You spin on your heel, surprised to hear your name being called. You find Toriel rushing after you, Frisk in the lead. Frisk slams into you, almost making you stumble backwards onto your butt. You laugh as you note the tinged lips of the child. They must have devoured the popsicle you gave them.
“What, you looking for another popsicle there sweetie?” Frisk laughs at that, but shakes their head. You wait for Toriel to catch up, before quirking a brow.
“Is there something else you guys need?” You ask.
“Oh, no.” Toriel huffs, “I was hoping to invite you over to our new house, it would be wonderful to get to know you.”
You blink at that, “Oh!” You respond, before chuckling, “Well, I must have really made a good impression on you then for wanting my company so fast. Ha, sure, I’d love to see your house when you’re all settled in and such. Should we exchange numbers or…?” Almost immediately Frisk whisks out a phone, unlocks it, and hands it up to you. You laugh, and enter your number into their phone, before handing it back. Frisk steps back, letting Toriel rummage in her purse and hand you her phone. After entering your contact information into Toriel’s phone, you can feel yours buzzing in your pocket.
You glance over to the smug look of Frisk, and shake your head. They smile cheekily at you, winking again. Oh man, this kid was too much.
Toriel flushes, “I am sorry, dear one. It seems my child is much taken with you.” Toriel awkwardly takes her phone from your hands, looking apologetic.
“Don’t sweat it. I gotta little sister, I know how children are.”
“Oh?” Toriel perks up at that, “Do you live with your family?”
You shake your head, “Nah. I’m… well, I’m quite a few miles away from them. Dunno why, but I moved up here for post-secondary school. Maybe it was the mountain that intrigued me, or all those wicked monster stories-” You freeze, glancing over at Toriel, “Ah, well, I guess they aren’t really stories.” You give a small anxious chuckle, “Sorry.”
“Oh, child, do not fret. I am rather pleased you made the decision to live here. Otherwise, we would not have met you.”
“Yeah, same here. It was pleasant talking to you, Toriel. Frisk. Text me when you’re all settled in and I’ll see when we can meet up. Oh, and I guess if you wanna tour too, I can offer my time. Not much to see though, this neighbourhood is pretty small.”
“Oh, I am deeply sorry child, but I have already made arrangements with the Bunny family to be shown around.” Toriel informs you, “Though it is very kind of you to offer.”
You wave a hand dismissively, before announcing you should probably leave for home. Toriel asks if she could walk with you, but after learning her house was in the opposite direction of yours you wave her off with an, “It’s fine! Don’t want to make you two walk all the way to my house and then back to yours!” You announce, before striding off. Toriel bides you a fond goodbye, and Frisk waves. You wave back.
It takes you a few minutes to walk down the street, and then up the other one to reach the apartment building you lived in. You smile widely- and try to wave- at the elderly couple, who lived in the bottom part of the complex- sitting out on their small porch. They greet you kindly, this time letting you go by without any questions, as they normally were wont to do, and you enter the lobby area of the apartment complex gratefully. You purposefully walk up to the small elevator, stabbing the button to call it down. You glance at the stairs, feeling slightly guilty, but with the shopping bags in your hands- you had more reason to take the elevator up three flights. You’d exercise tomorrow surely. And then eat a whole box of popsicles.
You nod to your flat neighbour, just exiting out of his apartment, “Going to play cards with Viola and Janet?” You ask pleasantly, giving him a coy smile and an eyebrow wiggle. The middle aged man- John- pretends to swat you, tsking.
“That I am.” He retorts sourly, “Don’t you be getting any of your silly ideas, girl. Nothing’s happening.”
“That doesn’t mean you don’t want anything to happen!” You tease him, as he enters the elevator once you depart. He rolls his eyes at you before the elevator comes to a close, but you see the smile on his face. You laugh before turning to your apartment door.
Fumbling awkwardly with your keys, you manage to open the door to your apartment. Your apartment was a pleasant 2 bedroom type suite, with an open-set type of plan, the kitchen, dining room and living room all melded into one large room. A master bedroom and the guest bedroom were off to the right, along with the bathroom. There was also a balcony, which you accessed from the living room. It was a good set-up for a student like you.
The apartment complex mainly housed middle aged to elderly people- and in fact, you (besides the complex owner’s daughter, who lived on the top floor) were the youngest person here. Not that you minded, though, everyone was nice and very welcoming. Your parents were more than glad you had moved to this part of town- even before monsters had entered the scene, the true part of the city had been very grungy and dangerous. You, too, felt very safe here in this small town. It was much better than living in the city, which you had been until a month and a half after the monsters all cascaded out of the mountain. The amount of hate and violence that went up after that had been astronomical and very life-threatening. You were glad you had listened to your mother’s warnings and pleas to at least move somewhere safer in the city.
Walking through the living room, and into the kitchen area, you drop your groceries onto the island that also functioned as your dining table, and pull out your phone. You blink curiously at it, finding at least a good 10 messages on it from an unknown number. You sigh, shaking your head and opening it. As expected, they are all from Frisk.
[Unknown Number] 4: 10 PM
Hello! This is Frisk! That popsicle was very tasty and sweet, thank you
[Unknown Number] 4: 11 PM
But your lips look even sweeter haha ;P kidding!
You laugh out loud, oh man. This kid was a natural. Ha, was I this flirty when I was that young…? How old is Frisk anyway?
[Frisk the Flirt] 4: 20 PM
……?
[Frisk the Flirt] 4:22 PM
Why aren’t you answering?
[Frisk the Flirt] 4:26 PM
Momma says it’s probably because you haven’t gotten home yet. Are you home now?
[Frisk the Flirt] 4:26 PM
Text me when you get home!
[Frisk the Flirt] 4:28 PM
I can’t wait for you to come over to my new house, you seem like a very fun person
[Frisk the Flirt] 4:29 PM
And I want you to meet my friends! I think some might be moving down here too! Isn’t that cool?
[Frisk the Flirt] 4:31 PM
Momma wants to know if you can come over tomorrow? Oh, and do you like butterscotch or cinnamon?
Laughing to yourself, you type out a quick reply
[XXX] 4:35 PM
Hey, yeah! Sorry, just got home, you little flirt ;P And if you guys really want, I’m pretty sure I can come over tomorrow! I work in the morning though, so it’ll have to be after 4. And either’s fine, I’m not picky.
You place your phone down on the counter, and set to putting the groceries away. Almost immediately your phone buzzes and you smirk.
[Frisk the Flirt] 4:36 PM
Yes! Momma says that’s perfectly fine! I’m so excited!
[XXX] 4:37 PM
Me too! See ya tomorrow cutiepie!
You place the phone down again, and go about putting all your other groceries away. You then decide to sit on the couch, but simply look outside the large bay windows instead of turning the TV on. You can’t help but think about meeting Frisk and Toriel again tomorrow.
Huh. Who would think I’d want to go see a little kid and their mother so quickly. You laugh to yourself, Maybe I miss my family a bit too much. Frisk reminds me of my little sis… And Toriel definitely is a mom.
You sigh to yourself, before getting up. Your stomach was growling at you, and you suddenly had the impulsive idea to make brownies for Toriel and Frisk tomorrow. Another welcoming gift, you guess. They were making you lunch, after all.
After making yourself chicken breast and rice, as well as rich chocolate brownies, you settle back into the couch to watch some mindless TV before bed. You find yourself flipping idly through the channels, before resting on a ‘MTT-TV’ channel- it was a delegated ‘Monster TV’ channel, and it was growing in popularity; apparently a monster had worked hard for some sort of station for the monsters. You couldn’t really remember the name of him though-
Mettaton andYOU! The Late Night Talk Show!
Ah. That was the name. Mettaton. You watch idly at the weird show- it wasn’t really much of a “you” show, the- robotic?- man talking more about himself than anyone that appeared, but it was rather charming. You suppose. At least the monsters had their own TV channel- not like that was much of a right. Media was probably snatching up all sorts of different “monster-esque” type shows and such.
Finishing your plate, you plop it in the sink and put the brownies in a plastic container to keep them fresh. You yawn, head over to your room and prepare yourself for bed. Brushing your teeth. Changing your cloths. Setting an alarm on your digital clock, as well as on your phone, you flop down in your PJS and curl up in the twin bed.
!~!~~!~!~!~!~!~!~
BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP
You snap awake, groaning as you scramble to turn off the alarm on your clock and phone. Rubbing your eyes and sighing, you slowly get up and shuffle to the bathroom. After a nice shower, you waltz back into your room and prepare a bag with your work clothes and other things. You bite your lip, wondering if you should bring anything else to Toriel’s. Thinking on a no and really not knowing anything else to bring, you place your bag on the counter and slip the brownies into it. After popping a bagel into the toaster and then getting some cream cheese to spread, you check your social media idly on the phone. Much of the news is about monsters, as per usual the past year.
ARE MONSTERS REALLY A THREAT? MANY CITIZENS UNSURE.
DOUBTS ABOUT THE LEGAL RIGHTS OF MONSTERS STILL PLAGUE MANY
MONSTER OWNED STORE BROKEN INTO YESTERDAY MORNING. WILL JUSTICE BE GRANTED?
POLICE DECLARE DOWNTOWN UNSAFE FOR MONSTER PASSAGE AS ANTI-MONSTER ACTIVIST GROUPS GROW IN NUMBER
IS AN INTERSPECIES RELATIONSHIP FIT FOR YOU? MONSTERS AND HUMANS, THE “NEW” KINK.
The toaster pops and you prepare your bagel. Chomping down on it gleefully, you grab your bag and head out. Tossing your jacket, and slipping your keys into your pocket you head out the door, effortlessly locking it.
You rush down the stairs, nearly hopping down the last three and sped out the door. You manage to catch the bus leaving to the downtown station, and you swipe your bus pass before settling into an empty seat.
It takes nearly an hour before you reach the terminal and then another good 15 minutes before you get to work- but that was days as usual, living so far out of the city. Not that you particularly minded.
You got to work on time, as usual. Your work place was a fast food joint- it wasn’t a super bad place to work, but it wasn’t entirely the best either. The upside- or downside, depending on who you were- was that it was near the suburbs of the monsters (you could people-watch, or ahem, monster-watch through the large glass windows out the front on breaks). Your boss wasn’t entirely against monsters, but nor did they particularly like them. More of a happy medium, a customer was a customer to your boss, especially if that meant they could overcharge them due to finicky laws. However, not all of your coworkers shared the same type of indifference as your boss, or the kind acceptance you were willing to give. This lead to you having a large amount of hours shoved onto you, as well as the other coworkers that stuck around, which wasn’t a particular bad thing- you needed money, the whole “starving student” situation was definitely a fear- but also rather shitty, because you liked having free time as much as the next person.
Work went by a little slower than usual. You were anticipating the nice dinner/lunch with Toriel and Frisk, so it made the hours seem longer. However, once the clock was nearing 3, you basically bolted out the door. None of your coworkers, gladly, commented on the fact you left 5 minutes early. Not like they cared, though.
You waited at the bus station for you bus impatiently. Your eye, however, caught on a… strange… monster walking down the street, a large brown bag in his arms. The monster was, first of all, amazingly tall. And he was also a… skeleton (???!). You hadn't seen a skeleton monster before, most of the ones the media portrayed- and you saw- were some type of anthropomorphic animal. He was looking about, a large grin plastered on his skeletal face. He seemed pretty animated, and comical, for a walking, talking corpse. But hey, that was magic for you, you supposed. The little bit you knew about monsters was that they were completely made of the stuff. Magic was like… their blood or something. At least that's what you learned from that pop-y magazine you breezed through a few days ago, waiting for your bus to reach the terminal.
You waved pleasantly to him when he noticed you, and he seemed to grin wider at you, waving drastically with his free hand. It almost looked as if his eyes started sparkling- which was rather weird, given his eyes were simply black eye sockets. Did he even have actual eyes?
However too busy watching the goofy skeleton wave at you, you fail to notice the rather hunched, cloaked figure behind him. You only noticed him as he slammed his shoulder into the skeleton, causing him to tumble.
“Hey, watch what you’re doing monster freak!” The man snarls, before shuffling off, ‘accidentally’ kicking the bag, causing the contents to tumble out.
“That’s super rude-” You start to say, but he simply brushes into your shoulder, causing you to nearly fall over as well. He scurries off, even as you shout at him. You flip off his back however as he ducks around the corner, “Asshole!”
Quickly though, you run over to the toppled skeleton, and help him up.
“OH, THANK YOU KIND HUMAN!” He shouts at, what seems to be, the top of his lungs (???). You smile at him, bending over to pick up the bag and its contents- just boxes upon boxes of spaghetti, “I AM AFRAID I WASN’T ABLE TO APOLOGIZE TO THAT HUMAN MAN. I MUST BE MORE CAREFUL OF OTHER PEOPLE WHEN I AM WALKING THE STREETS.”
“You shouldn’t have to apologize to that jerk.” You state, giving him the brown bag, “He basically pushed you over! That was so rude!”
“WELL, I AM SURE HE DID NOT MEAN IT!”
You roll your eyes at that, muttering, “I’m pretty sure he did.”
Suddenly, the skeleton gasps, which startles you, “I HAVE MADE A TERRIBLE ERROR IN THE RULES OF MEETING NEW PEOPLE! I HAVE NOT YET INTRODUCED MYSELF TO YOU! FORGIVE ME FOR MY CARELESSNESS!”
You quirk your eyebrow at him. The skeleton clears his throat pointedly.
“I, HUMAN, AM THE GREAT AND MIGHTY PAPYRUS!” He strikes a heroic pose, looking all the more childish than his silly waving had made him out to be, “IT IS PLEASING TO MAKE YOUR ACQUAINTANCE!”
You laugh, and offer your hand, which the skeleton shakes excitedly, “I’m (F/n) (L/n). It’s nice to meet you too, Oh Great and Mighty Papyrus.” He beams at you, basically dancing on his tip toes in excitement. It only continues to denote his childish nature. He was like your sister hyped on too much candy; especially the loud part.
“IT IS VERY ASTUTE OF YOU TO ALSO NOTICE MY GREATNESS, HUMAN. BUT YOU, AS WELL, ARE INCREDIBLY KIND AND HONOURABLE! I MUST SIMPLY THANK YOU AGAIN FOR HELPING ME PICK UP ALL OF MY PASTA.”
“It really is no trouble-” You cut off as you notice the bus rounding the corner, chugging its way towards your stop. Your heart pounds, and you slip out of the skeleton’s grip, “Sorry Mighty Papyrus! I gotta go! My bus is here! Have a good day!” You wave at the skeleton, as you rush to stand at the stop as the bus driver slows down to pick you up. The doors close as you swipe your bus pass and settle into your seat. You turn around to wave again at the skeleton as the bus picks up to drive away.
“WAIT! HUMAN!” You hear the cry of the startled skeleton, but the bus doesn’t slow down. You feel a tad guilty for suddenly leaving the poor guy, but you had a bus to catch. Maybe you’d meet him on your afternoon shift tomorrow- or perhaps on your way to early morning classes. Who knew.
You pull out your phone and send a quick text to Frisk as the bus chugs its way to the downtown station. It was a good thing you left work at 3, you’d be there in time for your bus to leave to your town; instead of waiting almost an hour for the next one.
[XXX] 3:09 PM
Heya Frisk! Just tell your mom I’ll be back in town at around 4:30. Where’s your house btw?
Almost immediately Frisk replies, a huge smiley emote and the address to their house. You text them back with another smiling face, before asking about their day.
[Frisk the Flirt] 3:13 PM
My day today was just putting all my stuff away. Momma got me registered at the school here, and got herself a teaching job there!
[XXX] 3:14 PM
Toriel wants to be a teacher? How neat! Hopefully it goes well.
[Frisk the Flirt] 3:15 PM
Me too!
You laugh slightly, getting off the one bus and scampering over to the other bus to take you back home.
[Frisk the Flirt] 3:35 PM
Are you going to be here yet?
[XXX] 3:37 PM
Haha, calm down cutiepie! I’ll be there in 40 minutes
The forty minutes pass by as you and Frisk continue texting each other. You hop off the bus near the stop by their house (you had looked it up on your handy-dandy bus app) and continue the trek to find their house. You head down to road sign, and look for their street name. You turn down that street, whipping out your phone to send another quick text to Frisk.
[XXX] 4:21 PM
Well, I’m off the bus and walking to your house there cutiepie. Keep an eye out for me, will ya?
Walking for a few brief minutes, peering around the houses across the street from you, you try to determine which numbered house you were at- a sudden squeal makes you jump. You whip your head towards to the sound, to see Frisk barrelling towards you, their arms outstretched.
You laugh and pluck them off their feet, twirling them in a circle. Frisk really did act like your little sister. Settling them on your hip, you walk into the house Frisk points to. It’s a rather quaint, one-story home, with a small white-washed porch leading up to a large beige door. As you step up the steps, and open the door, Frisk tries signing to you, but you can only shrug and go, “Sorry, kiddo, I still don’t know sign language.” They merely smile before wrapping your neck in a hug. How you managed to win this kids affection so fast, you’d never know (not that you were complaining, they were adorable).
The door leads you to a small entry way, with the kitchen straight in front of you, where Toriel is busily bustling around in and humming. You greet Toriel pleasantly, setting Frisk down and they duck through the archway to your left and into the next room, before running deeper into the house. You take off your shoes, and go to stand in the archway between the next room- it’s the living/dining area- and the area between the entry way and the kitchen. The house is all light pastels and warm colours. It’s a rather nice house, and you inform Toriel of that.
“Oh, thank you dear one! Frisk and I tried very hard to organize and clean today for your arrival.”
You flush at that, pulling your bag to the front of you and reaching in to grab the brownies you made, “Aw, you guys didn’t have to do that for me. I told you we could meet whenever you settled in. Didn’t have to be right away.”
“Well, I confess both Frisk and I were… eager to talk to you again. You are a very sweet young lady, and we both wish to get to know you better.”
You laugh again, walking over to the kitchen, and slipping the brownies onto a counter before ducking out of Toriel’s way, “Well, I tried to seem interesting. I guess I succeeded.” You joke lightly, stepping back into your spot by the open archway to the living area.
“What is this?” Toriel asks, as she gestures to the container you set down.
“Another welcoming gift. Brownies. I, uh, hope you two like brownies...”
Toriel smiles warmly at you, “Thank you.”
Frisk comes back in, tugging at your pant sleeve. They point towards the dining table in the top half of the living area vigorously.
“I believe Frisk wants you to play. Please, go and enjoy yourself. The meal will not be ready for a couple of minutes anyway.” Toriel waves her paws, ushering you at your slight hesitation.
Frisk tugs harder, and you allow them to pull you along, smiling. They pull you towards the dining table, and push you gently into one of the chairs, before running around and sitting into the chair opposite of you. A very familiar game board is set up on the table- Sorry! and it makes you crack a large smile.
“Oh man, I haven’t played this game in years!” You proclaim, laughing. You eye the notepad and pencil next to Frisk’s arm, “Don’t think we need a notepad though…” You trail off.
Frisk shakes their head, before grabbing the pencil and scribbling furiously.
It’s not for the game! It’s so we can talk!
“Ah, makes sense. Know how to play, cutiepie?”
Yeah!
“Cool, I’m gunna kick your butt.”
Not if I beat you first!
You start the game, and continue laughing and talk-writing (mainly Frisk childishly flirting with you) for a while. True to Frisk’s word, they win and leave you sighing in defeat.
“Oh no!” You dramatically sigh, “How terrible! I have lost!” You lean back in the set, placing a withered hand to your forehead and pouting.
Frisk laughs at your childish actions, I told you I would win.
You crack open an eye, before sitting up properly and chuckling, “That you did, cutiepie. But I think I was too distracted by your sweet little face to play properly.” You wink, and Frisk giggles.
You are just as bad as me! YOU’RE the flirt!
“Are you getting flustered, cutie? I thought you were the flirt master!”
Well, I want to be the master of your heart ;P
You snort loudly, “Oh my goodness! How do you even know to say all these things?” You can’t help but continue giggling. This cute little kid really was too much at times.
At that moment Toriel comes in, bringing with her the gorgeous meal. The meal contained gorgeously cooked salmon and scallop potatoes, along with mixed, steamed vegetables. You eye the food with a salivating tongue, nearly crying in delight at how delicious the food was. Your student diet of mainly noodles, rice and the odd chicken dinner when you felt it was a special day was nothing compared to this delicacy.
Toriel watches you eat with an amused expression, and nods as you (greedily) ask for seconds. As you slow down shovelling the food into your awaiting mouth, Toriel clears her throat. You swallow and look up at her, curious.
“So you are a University student, (y/n). What is it that you study?”
You shrug your shoulders, “Ah, well, I’m in neuroscience right now.”
“Oh?”
“Yup. It’s my second year. Planning on a Masters afterwards though, so lots more school ahead of me.” You laugh slightly, “Hey, I heard from Frisk today you got a job at the elementary school here. That’s pretty cool.”
“Oh yes! I did, and it was quite the relief that the school was willing to hire me.” You listen pleasantly as Toriel continues to rattle off about how much she had wanted to work at a school- right now she was only a teacher’s assistant, but since the law passed that monsters were able to get an above-ground education (unfortunately any schooling down there wasn’t considered adequate to any degrees above ground) Toriel was going to try and gain a diploma through online resources. Apparently the principle had been kind enough to offer some insight for Toriel to progress in her dream career path.
“That’s wonderful, Toriel! I’m glad you’ll be able to do what you love!” You respond happily, finally finishing off the seconds on your plate. Toriel beams at you, before excusing herself to grab something else from the kitchen. She returns a few minutes later.
“Dear, I hope you like both cinnamon and butterscotch pie. Frisk told me that you didn’t mind either so…” Toriel presents a large, flaky pie in her hands, setting it in the center of the dining table. She brings with her a sharp knife and small plates, and then deftly slices pieces for everyone.
Your eyes round, and you sigh dreamily at the delicious smell that wafts to your nose, “God, Toriel, you’re spoiling me here! I haven’t eaten this well since I left home!” You happily accept the crumbling piece of pie Toriel hands to you, mouth positively watering.
You dig in and let out a loud groan. Food this delicious should be outlawed.
“Is that so? Well, my dear, please feel free to stop any time for dinner! I must say, it really is very pleasant talking to you, and Frisk seems more than happy in your company.” Frisk gives a vehement nod, offering a large smile, as they too shove bites of the pie into their mouth.
“Oh gosh, you really would spoil me rotten, Toriel. I won’t be able to ever make myself anything ever again- in fact I already shiver at the thought of my own terrible cooking I’ll have to muscle through tomorrow night.” You shove another bite of the pie into your mouth, eyelashes fluttering. God it was criminal how good this tasted. You were sure even your mother would be jealous.
Toriel laughs at that, and you all continue talking pleasantly, moving on to varied and wide-spread topics. You amiably move on to family discussions, mentioning your parents and little sister. Frisk mentions an “Asgore” (which you slightly recall as King of the Monsters) but at Toriel’s pained look, nothing else is said on that subject. Frisk goes on to describe their previous house in the depths of the monster suburbs, and Toriel moves on to explain that she felt the need to move, get a nicer neighbourhood and more kid-friendly space to raise Frisk in. Frisk also talks about their friends from in the city, an Alphys, Undyne, Sans and Papyrus.
“Papyrus?” You say, amused, “Is that perhaps a large, lanky skeleton guy?”
Yes! Yes he is! Do you know him?
“Kind of? I saw him today, helped him pick up his groceries after a rude man knocked him down.”
“Oh my! How dreadful! Papyrus wasn’t hurt, now was he?” Toriel asks
You wave a hand, leaning back in the seat to rest your extended, aching tummy, “No no. He wasn’t hurt a bit. Was actually wanting to apologize to the man for being in his way.” You huff at that, shaking your head, “Papyrus seemed like a really nice dude, too bad there are always rude people in this city.”
“Well, at least not everyone was rude.” Toriel says, giving you a light smile. You quirk one back, before giving a loud, satisfied sigh.
“That dinner was really great, Toriel. Thanks for inviting me over.”
“Thank you for coming over and talking so pleasantly with us. And for helping Papyrus today too, it is always nice to meet such kind, helpful people.” Toriel collects the dishes, and leftover food, and hums her way into the sink.
You inch your way up, following her into the kitchen, “Speaking of being helpful, let me do the dishes, Toriel. It’s the least I can do.” You offer, after Toriel puts away the leftover food into separate containers.
“Oh, dear, it is perfectly alright-”
You gently take her hand away from the sink, “I insist, Toriel. To show my thanks!" With a few more seconds of argument, Toriel finally relents and walks back into the living room. You hear the rumble of her talking to Frisk, and the silence that must constitute Frisk responding. You finish up the dishes, and absently checking your phone after you dry your hands. You gap at the time- you've spent at least a good 3 hours here! Wow!
You head back into the dining room, collecting your bag from the chair you sat at. Frisk and Toriel turn to look at you, curious, "It really was a wonderful evening, Toriel. But I should get going. Gotta finish my homework before heading off to bed."
Toriel's eyes widen, and she stands up, "Oh, my dear, I am sorry that we kept you for so long!"
You laugh at her worried expression, "It's fine, it's fine! I still have lots of time to do it, no worries. Just want to say bye to you all, and thanks again for having me."
"Of course, my dear. Like I said, any time you wish to come over for dinner, we will be happy to have you." Toriel walks you to the door, and starts to put on her coat. Frisk ambles behind, pulling on their shoes.
"Whoa whoa whoa! What do you two think you're doing?" You laugh, tucking your feet into your shoes, and quirking a brow at them.
"I insist that we walk you home. It is evening, and getting late. It would be unwise to do it alone."
"Ha! Toriel, I've walked home later than this! And this neighbourhood is super nice! No one is going to do anything! I'm perfectly safe!"
"While that may be true, I still feel as if we should escort you home. After all, you know where we live, I think it nice to know where you live."
You roll your eyes, shuffling the bag further on your shoulder, "Well, if you two absolutely want to. It's a good thing I live straight down this street."
"Oh?" Toriel questions, as the three of you exit the house and she locks the door. Frisk immediately grabs your hand, and takes Toriel in her other one.
"Yeah. I mean, you live on the complete opposite end of the neighbourhood from me, but we're pretty much at the same... er, height? I guess? Well at least on the same cross-secting street. My apartment is on the main road of the town, but this street cuts perpendicular to it. We'll be at my place in like, 20 minutes. Not even. I told you this neighbourhood is small."
"You did mention that yes. Well, it makes visiting a lot easier."
"Yup! Don't even have to try to puzzle your way through the different streets here! I literally live at the end of your road!" You swing Frisk's hand in excitement, and they giggle loudly.
"There's also a pretty cool park near my apartment." You mention idly, after a few minutes of silent walking.
"Is there?"
"Yeah. A lot of my apartment neighbours like walking the nature path there. They're pretty healthy people."
"Nature path?"
"Oh! Did you not have nature paths down in the underground? It's... well it's basically just a path people walk on to see nature. This one isn't that long, considering how small the park is, but people seem to enjoy it nonetheless."
"That sounds like a wonderful idea!"
"Yeah." Suddenly Frisk pulls their hand out of yours, and gestures rapidly to Toriel.
"Oh! Frisk is asking if perhaps we could all go on a nature walk together."
"Right now?"
"No no! Tomorrow, perhaps?"
You wince slightly, "Ah, I'll be busy tomorrow. I have school in the morning and work after that. I can do Tuesday afternoon though, I usually have Tuesdays off."
Frisk makes a gleeful sound, before grabbing your hand once again. Toriel chuckles, "Tuesday it is."