Ghosts-n-Bones

Monsters weren’t uncommon around this area nowadays. It’s been almost a year since they came to the surface. There was a uproar when news first spread about the existence of monsters. Some were fascinated and accepting of our new neighbors, but of course, with humans being the way they are, others believed that they shouldn’t be able to live among us. It made your blood boil. They’ve been nothing but cooperative, but people judge them based on their appearance. From what you understood, life in the Underground wasn’t exactly paradise, so it was only natural they would be a little rough around the edges, but people couldn’t see past that. Mt. Ebbot was only a 45 minute drive from here, so it was natural for the monsters to try and settle down in this city after the barrier broke. However, you had never seen a skeleton monster before. He wore a leather jacket with a red turtleneck underneath and black basketball shorts. He sported a pair of red sneakers to match. A thin chain of gold hung around his neck and his smile was adorned with a gold canine that glinted in the sun coming in from the front windows. He had a wide grin as he watched the kid he had been with run off to go see the toys around the store. Needless to say, he was a little intimidating, but incredibly interesting. You were pulled out of your thoughts by the sound of someone clearing their throat. You looked at the skeleton’s face and see that he was staring right at you.

“Do I have somethin’ on my face, doll?,” the skeleton asked with a deep, baritone voice.

Oh god. You had been staring at him for too long. And did he just call you doll?!?! You feel your face heat up and your eyes widen.

“Oh g-geez, sorry. I didn’t mean to stare,” you stutter, rubbing your arm.

“What, never seen a monster before?,” he asks, his grin falling into a frown.

Uh oh. He probably thought that you were one of the Anti-Monster supporters. Well, this couldn’t have gone any worse.

“Oh, gosh no. It’s not that, trust me. I was just thinking about how your aesthetic doesn’t quite match the store. Then again, it does kind of look like a rainbow threw up in here,” you say, gesturing around.

The skeleton blinks once, then twice. He then lets out a deep laugh at your joke. Your eyes widen slightly at the unexpected reaction, but you awkwardly joined in the laughter.

“Well, I wasn’t gonna say anythin’, but now that you mention it, this place is a bit of an eyesore, ain’t it?,” he says as his laughter dies down.

“Our primary customers are children, so they wanted to make it appealing to them, I guess. But it does feel like I need to wear sunglasses in here sometimes,” you say with a slight shrug and a smirk.

This causes the gold-toothed skeleton to chuckle again. He tugs at the flap of his leather jacket and looks at you.

“So, ya said my “aesthetic” didn’t match. Ya mean ta tell me that unicorns don’t wear leather?,” he says with a playful grin.

You can’t help but laugh at his joke.

“Not that I know of, but I now I wish they did. That would be fantastic. I guess it’s up to you to rock the edgy mobster look until we can find a unicorn to test it out on,” you say with a chuckle.

He snickers and glances back at the child he was with to make sure he could see them. You smiled to yourself at how much he seemed to care for them. You walk out from behind the counter and walked over to him. He notices you approaching and smiles a bit.

“So, are you and your kid looking for anything in particular?,” you ask curiously.

He looks at you and gives a slight chuckle, shaking his head.

“Oh, they aren’t my kid. I’m more of a family friend… or wacky uncle, if ya will,” he says with a chuckle.

You nod your head, chuckling at his statement.

“But, nah, we didn’t have a specific reason for comin’ in here. We were on our way ta meet up with some family an’ friends for some dinner. We’re goin’ to that fancy new restaurant down the street. Little high brow from my taste, but ehh, it’ll be nice to meet up with everyone. Anyway, the storefront caught the kid’s eye when we were walking by and they practically dragged me in,” he explains with grin.

You snicker, putting up a hand to stifle your laugh.

“Yeah, I saw that. They were very excited. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a smile that big before,” you said with a smile.

“I’ll tell ya, that kid has got quite the grip. I’m kinda surprised they didn’t take my arm right outta its socket,” he says, rolling his shoulder.

You smile at his joke and glance outside towards the street.

“So, you said that you were going to that new restaurant down the street, right? I’ve heard that place is super expensive and the wait list to get in is up to a year now. How in the world did you manage get in?,” you ask curiously.

“Heh, it pays to know a celebrity,” he says, before noticing the confusion written on your face.

“I’m assumin’ you’ve heard of Mettaton?,” he asks.

“Oh, sure! He’s a huge hit right now. Everyone knows who he is, humans and monsters alike,” you say.

“Well, he’s one of the friends the kid an’ I are planning on meetin’ at the restaurant. His fame got us a pretty decent table, so I’ve heard,” he said with a shrug.

You whip your head in his direction with an incredulous look.

“You’re kidding? Really? You are meeting with one of the biggest celebrities in the world right now for dinner and you are acting like it’s no big deal!,” you say in shock.

He chuckles at your reaction and shrugs.

“To me, he’s just another monster,” he says with a small shrug.

“I have no words,” you say.

He shakes his head with a small snicker, his gold tooth sparkling in the light.

Before you could say anything, a blur of of red and brown runs up to the skeleton and whacks him over the head with a foam sword. You jump at the sudden attack and you see the skeleton flinch, his eyes wide. You both glance over and see that the attacker was none other than the child he had come in with. The look of shock on the skeleton’s face is quickly replaced with a mischievous grin.

“Wow, hittin’ a guy when he’s unarmed? That’s a low blow,” he says. He grabs the kids and wraps an arm around them, trapping them as he noogies their head. The kid giggled and tries to push his arm away. You can’t help but let out a giggle as you watch the two roughhouse each other. Once the kid frees themselves from the skeleton’s grip, they turn their attention to you.

“Hi, what’s your name?,” they ask with a big grin.

“This is… uhhh… well damn, I’ve been speakin’ to ya all this time and never asked your name,” the skeleton says with an awkward grin.

You chuckle and wave your hand dismissively.

“Don’t worry about it! My name is Y/N! It’s nice to meet you,” you say.

“The name’s Sans. Sans the skeleton. And this here is Frisk,” says the skeleton.

Frisk offers you their hand for you to shake and you accept it with a giggle. Recognition suddenly hits you and you snap your fingers.

“Wait, you’re the Monster Ambassador, right?,” you ask Frisk curiously.

The child’s smile falters slightly at your remark but they quickly put on a forced smile and nod their head.

“Yep, that’s me!,” they say with fake enthusiasm.

You glance curiously at Sans and see that he has a look of pity on his face as he watches Frisk. You furrow your eyebrows slightly, trying to figure out what was going on. Then it hit you, they probably get people asking them that question all of the time. You mentally facepalm and quickly face towards Frisk.

“Oh geez, I’m sorry. You probably are annoyed by how often people ask you that, huh?,” you ask.

Frisk’s eyes widen slightly before and shy smile spreads over their face.

“Yeah, it can be a little overwhelming, but I know you didn’t mean anything by it,” they say, rubbing the back of their neck.

You give them a soft smile and nod your head.

“I can imagine that would be a lot of pressure for one kid to handle all on their own,” you say.

“I-it can be, but I have mom, Sans, and the others to help me,” Frisk says.

With a small hum, you go down on your knee to get to their height and place a hand on their shoulder. They give you a curious look.

“I’ll tell you what, you can always come back here and speak with me if you ever need need a friendly face. This place can be somewhere for you to go if you ever just need to feel like a kid,” you say with a smile.

“Here,” you say, slipping a beaded bracelet off your arm and offering it to Frisk, “take this as a promise. This is a friendship bracelet that means a lot to me and I’d like you to have it.”

Frisk’s face immediately lights up at your gesture and engulfs you in a tight hug. It startled you at first but you quickly relax, chuckling softly as you return the hug.

“Thank you, thank you!,” Frisk says.

Sans feels a smile spread across his face at your kindness. He knew how much pressure being the Monster Ambassador had put on Frisk’s shoulders. You were so understanding and he could tell that you meant every word you said too. You had just met them and you treated them with a kindness that humans rarely gave them. Sans couldn’t help but think that the world would be a lot better if more humans had your attitude. Not to mention your sense of humor.

Sans was brought out of thoughts as he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. With a grumble, he reaches into his pocket and grabs it out, looking at the notification.

“Uh oh, sorry to cut this short, but Tori is wonderin’ where we are. You and I both know how your mom gets when we’re late,” Sans says with a chuckle.

Frisk breaks away from your hug and nods their head. You stand up and smile at the two of them.

“Well, thanks for putting up with me for a bit. You saved me from my boredom for a little while, so I’m grateful,” you say, chuckling.

Sans smiles and puts a hand on Frisk’s shoulder.

“Yeah, no problem. I enjoyed our chat,” Sans says.

“Me too,” you say with a grin.

Sans winks, and without warning, him and the Frisk disappeared. You stood there with your mouth hanging open. They just disappeared into thin air! With a shake of your head, a smile spreads over your face as you walk back behind the counter. With a sigh, you sit back down. However, a small slip of white paper on the counter’s surface catches your eye. You pick it up and unfold it, a smirk spreading across your face as you read what is written:

Be a doll, and keep in touch? - Sans