As she talked with Flowey, Frisk quickly realized that with the monsters now living a relatively peaceful life they needed something else to keep them occupied. Rumors, both true and false, spread like a wildfire through Mountain Home, meaning that nothing could remain a secret for very long. Somehow word of the night Grillby had walked her home as well as their kiss had managed to make its way to Castle Home from the darkness of her doorstep. News of Red's newly appointed position as well as his overbearing presents over Frisk had also spread through the monster town as well, meaning that suspicions about the skeleton's actions were high as the monsters wondered if his actions were due to the woman's possibly romantic relationship with his best friend.

Frisk gave a groan as she draped her arm over her face while Flowey explained the situation that she had been unaware of. The woman had been the subject of rumors when she had been in middle school and high school due to her family but she had thought she had escaped that phase of her life. "Well at least Asgore and Toriel aren't treating it any differently that I can tell anyways… although the king did seem a bit concerned with me living here." Frisk muttered to the flower from underneath her arm.

"Well… Asgore still scares any monster for the most part, so no one really talks with him around. Toriel probably just ignores the rumors, or is too busy listening to the voices in her head to really take notice. Either way neither of them have brought up the rumors while I've been sneaking around." Flowey responded as he watched the woman who appeared to be trying to get a grip on the idea that she was causing more waves than what she wanted to.

"Yeah… I don't really expect that they would really care about a rumor unless it was something life threatening. I wonder if Papy knows too. I haven't really seen him in this last week since he's been out until late thanks to his guard work." Frisk replied as she laid her arm on the bed next to her now staring up at the ceiling in thought.

"Erm… I'm pretty sure he's aware. Undyne decided to try to cause some trouble and bait him into a sparring match by taunting him about the situation." Flowey replied hesitantly, pausing as the woman looked over at him with a wide eyed stare. "Heh, who knew that stupid skeleton was so quick on his feet? Undyne wasn't exactly prepared for his reaction. Don't worry Papyrus is fine, he gave her a good fight for fanning the rumor flames." A smirk lifted the corner of Flowey's mouth as he spoke.

Frisk grew silent as she stared up at the ceiling in a pensive state. She was reflecting on the recent events that had occurred, both with the situation with Red and the knowledge she now had of the rumors that had been circulating. While she had been explaining everything that had happened to Flowey, the monster had asked a few interesting questions that Frisk honestly had no answers to, and they had mostly been about Red and his actions.

"So you're going out to see the walking match stick tonight right?" Flowey's voice suddenly cut through the silence interrupting the woman's thoughts. Frisk frowned as she glanced over at him before inhaling deeply.

"I mean, I AM considering it yes. Not that I want to fan the flames any more, but I think he at least deserves to know that I wasn't avoiding him this last week. I'm just not completely sure if it's a good idea at the moment." Frisk admitted as she sat up on her bed now and looked at the flower who frowned at the woman in confusion. "I can deal with rumors; it's just bullshit that someone starts to keep everyone entertained. It's more or less I'd rather not have Red freak out on me again. That caused me a lot of problems the last time it happened, not to mention we're at least getting a long a little bit at the moment." Frisk replied pausing as she felt the phone in her pocket vibrate as she heard the text message chime ring out. Deciding it could wait for the time being, the woman rested her arms on her knees as she stared ahead.

"You have no reason to be considerate of the smiley trash bag! He's been causing you so much trouble this week I say you should go out whether he likes it or not! Deal or not, it's not fair that he's trying to control everything you do!" Flowey snapped loudly in irritation as he glared at the woman with his beady gaze. Frisk glanced over at him before a small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

"Thanks Azzy. I appreciate your concern. However, I really need to eat something before I even consider doing anything else tonight. I've only had a small breakfast this morning and I'm going to pass out if I don't get something in my stomach soon." The woman replied as she stood to her feet and grabbed Flowey's bucket off of her night stand and made her way quietly downstairs, carrying the bucket in her hands as she went.

Walking quietly into the kitchen, the woman set her friend down on the table and walked over to the fridge opening the door as she looked through it to find something that would suffice for a quick dinner. As she dug through the fridge Flowey spoke again. "I'm not concerned about you really, I just think you need to quit giving a damn about the skeleton and do something for yourself for a change. Since you seemed to like the kiss you got, I think maybe you should—"

"I never said anything about liking the kiss, Azzy." Frisk quickly interrupted him as she felt her cheeks flush slightly at his assumption. She kept herself busy looking through the fridge so that the flower wouldn't see her blush of embarrassment.

"Well in that same regard, you never said you DIDN'T like it either. Not to mention from what you've told me, you didn't exactly make him stop when he did it." The flower replied with a slight smirk on his face as he stared at the woman's back waiting for a response.

Frisk gave a slight cough as she cleared her throat at the monster's words. "I also had been drinking as well. My mind wasn't at one hundred percent, and my reaction time was slowed down. I didn't have time to process what was happening and stop it before it was too late and he already did it." Frisk defended herself quickly as she grabbed a plastic container from the fridge that had some leftover spaghetti that Papyrus had made.

Flowey watched with a frown now as she put the food in the microwave and began heating it up before the woman sat down at the table, pulling out her cell phone as she distracted herself. "Really Frisk? Are you seriously going to blame the fact that you had a few drinks, and that's why you didn't do anything? What kind of moron do you think I am?" The flower snapped at her with a frown.

"Azzy, if you don't pipe down and drop it, I might just stick you in the freezer for a time out. We both know how much you like the cold. If the time we spent in Snowdin is any indication that is." Frisk threatened him in a calm tone as she glanced up from her reply to the text message she had gotten earlier. The flower monster snickered slightly at her defensive reply however opted to drop it for the time being since he knew she would probably do it if provoked enough. Frisk stared at her phone for a good ten seconds before releasing a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding as she replied to Grillby's inquiry of whether she would be coming tonight or not.

~o~o~o~

As the two spoke about various random things that had been happing in the last seven days, the sound of the front door suddenly slamming open startled both the flower monster and human. Frisk's fight or flight mode that had been instilled in her kicked in as she quickly grabbed Flowey's bucket from the table and pressed herself up against the wall that separated the kitchen from the living room, covering Flowey's mouth with her hand as she did.

The woman stood rigidly with her back against the wall, she didn't dare breath as she tried to figure out what had just happened without exposing the two of them to being seen. Normally it was Red's doing when the door slammed open like that, but the woman knew that the shorter skeleton was upstairs since she'd heard him close the door to his room earlier. He easily could have used a short cut to go outside, but Frisk was positive she'd heard the sound of him moving around in his room as she walked by on her way down to the kitchen.

The sound of someone grumbling irritably under their breath could be heard from the living room. Frisk breathed a faint sigh as she quickly realized the voice belonged to Papyrus. She wasn't happy that he seemed angry, but she was definitely relieved it was him who had thrown the door open. Just as she was about to move away from the wall and greet the skeleton, the sound of another voice caused her mouth to snap shut as she bit her lower lip and kept herself pressed against the wall.

"Papyrus! Darling, you seem soooo stressed tonight! Please, won't you let me help you relax a little bit? I'm realllly good at helping… hehehe." A robotic sounding voice cooed at the skeleton as a small giggle was given causing Frisk to resist the urge to give a slight groan at her luck.

"Please, please Papy just take him upstairs! I don't want to do this today…" Frisk found herself mentally praying that the taller skeleton would just give her a minute to get out of the kitchen and the house.

It was always a pain in the ass when Mettaton came over, especially because he was always suspicious with Frisk about her relationship with the taller skeleton. No matter how many times she tried to knock it into the robot's thick metal skull that she viewed Papyrus as basically an older brother, he never listened and their interactions always ended up being tension filled and passive aggressive. Even Papyrus couldn't talk Mettaton out of his fits of jealousy, as it usually ended up in a full blown argument between the two although Papyrus could care less about whether the robot was jealous or not.

"NEYH! YOU REALLY ARE PERSISTANT YOU KNOW THAT?!" she heard the skeleton grumble loudly in annoyance before she heard him sit down on the couch. The sound of Mettaton's boots tapping against the floor could be heard as he made his way around the back of the couch.

"Darling, I'm always persistent! I am your biggest fan after all… and as such I feel that you deserve only the best treatment from me." The last part of Mettaton's reply to Papyrus was barely audible from the kitchen. Frisk resisted the urge to groan as she ran her hand over her face now; she realized quickly that leaving the kitchen now would only start a fight between her and the robot for interrupting the two and Frisk honestly didn't have the energy to fight.

Glancing around the room, the woman's gaze fell to the window over the sink, she quietly walked over and opened it. "We're sneaking out through here. I'm not going back upstairs right now." Frisk whispered to Flowey who looked at her with a grateful stare before he wrapped his roots around the woman's arm as she held him out the window so that he could get to the ground.

Once he was out it was Frisk's turn as she got up onto the counter as quietly as she could before slowly starting to make her way out the window. Her suit was definitely not meant for sneaking out windows and now she wished she had changed out of it. Just as Frisk was turning her body in the window to drop out a faint pop came from the kitchen causing her eyes to widen as she stared at the shorter skeleton in front of her with wide eyes now.

"For fuck's sake…" Red grumbled slightly as he glanced over his shoulder when he heard the two in the living room now that he had teleported down to the kitchen to raid the fridge. Rolling his red gaze slightly he looked forward now and paused in step for a moment before he arched an eye socket curiously at the woman who stared back at him for a minute before dropping to the ground outside with a slight grunt.

Her head was just barely visible as she stood looking at Red through the window now. "I'm not sticking around while Mettaton's here. I know you can track me down so if you're that angry come find me." The woman said in a soft voice before running off after Flowey, who had called out to her.

Red frowned slightly but just watched the woman go deciding it wasn't worth the effort to chase after her at the moment. He had decided he needed to lay off her anyways and let her have a bit of freedom in order to get rid of some of her anxiety so that the king didn't jump on his case again about her exhaustion. Giving a faint, irritated sigh the skeleton began digging through the fridge looking for something to eat.

A short while after Frisk had escaped from the house, Red stood heating his food up in the microwave when a faint buzz and text message chime came from the kitchen table. Glancing over, the skeleton noticed Frisk's cell phone had been left sitting on the table in her rush to get out. Staring at it as he saw the screen light up, Red debated with himself for a second before shrugging his shoulders and making his way over to the phone, glancing down at the screen as his curiosity won and he decided to see who was texting the woman.

His red gaze stared at the screen, before narrowing slightly as his phalanges instinctively balled up into a fist resting on the table in front of him now. Giving a low growl, the skeleton turned and stomped back over to the microwave crossing his arms over his sternum as he glared at the machine in question waiting for the food to finish heating up. Unable to stand still, his arms uncrossed as his hand rested on the counter top while his phalanges drummed against it in agitation.

Frisk breathed a sigh of relief as she distanced herself from the house without Red following after her. Apparently either he had decided she wasn't worth the effort to teleport after or he had just decided to give her a break. Either way the woman was grateful for the moment of peace she was given as she walked quickly towards Grillby'z Bar before pausing in her steps as she stared at the ground in thought for a moment. She knew going to see the flamesman would only cause her trouble and keep the rumors going. Inhaling deeply at this thought she gathered her determination, knowing she needed to do this so there would be no reason for miscommunication between the two.

She was simply going there to make sure Grillby understood that she was not put off by what had happened between them, nor the rumors she had been made aware of. It was her opinion that he deserved that much. Maybe a drink and she would be on her way back to the house, hopefully by that time Mettaton and Papyrus would have moved to somewhere more private, and maybe Red would be asleep as well. Frisk could always hope for an ideal outcome for everything, although she knew in her gut it rarely worked out like that.

~o~o~o~

A short while later Frisk stood outside the bar, staring at the building as she debated with herself some more before inhaling deeply and making her way inside. As she entered the bar and walked towards the counter, a quick shift of her gaze revealed several pairs of eyes shifting to her direction for a second before turning back to what they were doing. She kept her head held high and tried to calm her nerves so that she didn't attract attention from the monsters who were probably hoping for something more to gossip about.

The one monster who didn't ignore her presents though was the flamesman himself. Frisk saw Grillby look up from what he had been doing and cast a slight grin her way. Frisk swore she felt a shift in his aura, as if it had grown warmer upon seeing she had entered, however the woman pushed the thought from her mind. "You need to focus Frisk. You can't get distracted by his charm, this is supposed to be quick and easy, don't over complicate things." She mentally reminded herself as she pulled up her normal seat at the bar.

"Good evening, Beautiful. I'm glad you decided to grace me with your presents." Grillby chuckled slightly as his grin shifted to more of a slight smirk now while his purple gaze never left her. He would never admit it to the woman of course, but in all honesty he had been worried his move on her had pushed her away from him, if not that then possibly the rumors that had been going around had done so. After not hearing from her, the flamesman had decided to take the initiative and contact her himself.

"It's been a… difficult week. I feel like maybe you were expecting me to contact you sooner. Sorry about that." Frisk replied feeling a sense of awkwardness pass between the two as she sought a way to make it less awkward.

"From what I've heard you've been working yourself to the… ahem… bone." Grillby hinted as he poured her drink for her. If nothing else this one would be on him since she hadn't asked for it. Frisk gave a not so ladylike snort of amusement at the comment.

"I wouldn't say that, it's just been hectic for me with positions being changed around. It's for the better of course, but it hasn't exactly been a fluid transition." The woman replied quickly not wanting Grillby to place the blame on Red. "I've been busy making sure the transition goes as smoothly as possible, unfortunately that doesn't leave me with much personal time. I assure you if I would have had the time and energy I would have been…"

"You don't need to explain yourself, Beautiful." Grillby quickly cut off the woman's words as he set the glass down in front of her, the smirk still on his face but his purple gaze seemed to be a bit softer as he spoke. "I understand your Ambassador duties keep you busy, not only that but I imagine you're probably tired after dealing with everything you have to handle day in and day out." The flamesman replied as he leaned on the counter closer to the woman who he had managed to trap with his gaze once again as she felt herself freeze in place. "I just wanted to know if what had happened or the rumors floating around had pissed you off enough that it ruined any po—" Grillby started to get to the point of why he had wanted to talk to her when he froze, his words stopping as the flamesman glanced over at the door. "Hold that thought, Beautiful." His voice was calm however his navy blue figure backed away as he put a respectable distance between himself and the woman.

"What?" Frisk asked giving him a quizzical look before she heard the front door slam open with a little bit more force than necessary. Quickly turning to face the door the woman felt her heart give a hard thud in her chest as her anxiety spiked. Walking through the doorway was none other than Red. The shorter skeleton had an eerily calm air to him which threw Frisk off as she blinked her eyes, watching as he walked towards the bar now.

With the appearance of the skeleton, it was obvious that the attention of the other customers was now directed at the three that the rumors had been going around about. Red walked forward, his gaze never wavering from Grillby or Frisk as it remained calm. It looked to him as though Frisk had just gotten there which meant that he had pretty damn good timing if he did say so himself

"H-hey Red. You decide to make a break for it too?" The woman asked in a hesitant sounding tone as she watched him approach the bar. The skeleton remained quiet for a moment as he decided how to respond to the question.

"Yeah, those two were gettin' a little annoyin' to listen to…" Red spoke in a neutral sounding tone as he walked past Frisk and took a seat on her right hand side near the wall of the building. "So I thought I'd come visit my buddy's bar, since it's been a while since we've caught up 'n all." He shifted his gaze to the flamesman who chuckled in spite of himself and smirked as he nodded his head in agreement.

"Indeed. You do have a tendency to make very infrequent visits here my friend. Although I assume it has something to do with all the debt you've managed to rack up while we were in the Underground." Grillby bit back in a neutral tone although the smirk on his features grew just a little more as he threw a side glance at the skeleton.

Red gave a slight snort of annoyance, unconcerned with the reply. If Grillby had really been upset by his lack of payment, he knew the flamesman would make it obvious. His phalanges fiddled with something in the pocket of his coat as the skeleton remained quiet debating his next words that threatened to spill from his mouth.

Resisting the urge to snap on both the woman, and the monster who was supposedly his best friend, the skeleton pulled Frisk's phone from his pocket and slid it across the counter to her. "Ya left that sittin' on the kitchen table when ya made yer break for it. Figured you wouldn't want it sittin' around fer jus' anyone ta find." The words were spoken in a forced calm as he stared at the woman while he rested his mandible in his hand.

Frisk turned looking at the phone that had slid over to her now. She gently bit her lip as the pieces seemed to fall into place in her mind. Sending a slight side glance at Grillby she realized that the most recent round of texts between the two were probably still pulled up, and the woman didn't normally care enough to keep her phone on constant lock down. Clearing her throat slightly as she pocketed the phone Frisk turned to face the flamesman now, her posture extremely straight and tense as she looked at him. "I'll buy for Red tonight too. Whatever you feel like drinking." She offered in a soft tone, not sure just what to expect at this point.

"Heh… ain't ya jus' feelin' generous tanight." Red commented with a slight growl to his words before he could force it back down. "Whatever ya feel like mixin' fer me then Grillbz." The skeleton directed his attention to the flamesman as he shifted his position so he was sitting towards the bar now. Grillby stared at Red with a calm gaze for a moment as if sizing him up, before deciding on what would probably take a little bit of the edge off of the skeleton's forced calm aura.

The rest of the visit was pretty much an uncomfortable mess for Frisk as she and Grillby made a little bit of small talk, both silently deciding that their previous conversation before Red had shown up would not be brought up for the time being. Grillby and Red took a few "good natured" shots at one another as they usually did, but even the flamesman could tell the skeleton wasn't in a "normal" mood.

Setting some money on the counter top as payment, Frisk stood to her feet and looked at Grillby with a slight smile. "Thanks for the drinks. I need to go, I've got a busy day tomorrow." Her gaze was apologetic since they hadn't really gotten a chance to talk about what the actual issue was. "I'll try to stop by sooner this time, promise." The woman turned on her heel and left quickly, finally sick of the awkward atmosphere that had fallen on the three of them.

Grillby's gaze trailed after her as he resisted the urge to follow the woman at the moment and finish the conversation they had started. Glancing over to the skeleton he felt his aura shift from feigned calm to irritation now. "Are you ready to talk now friend?" The flamesman turned to face the skeleton fully as he stood tall, his gaze smoldering with a faint hint of irritation now.

"Damn right. Jus' cuz I know Dollface woulda tried ta intervene otherwise." Red growled angrily as his eye sockets narrowed into an irritated glare at Grillby now. "So wha's yer deal wit her anyways?" Red snapped as he clenched his fists on the bar top.

"Heh, I wouldn't have thought her getting involved would have stopped you." Grillby replied, smirking slightly at his reply. "Anyways, yes I'm interested in Frisk. Is there a problem with that? As far as I was aware she was nothing more than a subordinate you acquired through some kind of deal you two made." He spoke in a smooth, calm tone as he stared at the skeleton searching for an unspoken answer as to why he had suddenly become so defensive and possessive of the human.

"It don't matter what I think about 'er. I still own 'er; she's mine because of that deal. So if ya know what's good for ya, you'll—" Red's skeletal fists clenched even tighter now as he straightened himself up as tall as he could on the bar stool. His magical energy started to increase with his anger as he began to go off on the flamesman.

"Are you two Bound?" Grillby interrupted the skeleton's tantrum in a quiet tone peering over the top of his glasses at him, trying to keep their conversation as unnoticeable as possible. Red's mouth quickly snapped shut as an audible click of his pointed teeth could be heard and he grew silent at the question. "Well Sans? Are you two Bound by your souls or not? I feel the need to point out if you don't want the woman pursued by other monsters you have to stake your claim to her. Otherwise, if she's looking to find a partner, she's available to be pursued as far as any other monster would be concerned, not just myself." The flamesman's tone was matter of fact as he spoke staring with a serious gaze at Red. Friend or not, Grillby wasn't about to back down on his interest in the woman if she and the skeleton were not Bound unless he had a damn good reason instead.

Red couldn't exactly answer the question truthfully. TECHNICALLY he and Frisk were Bound, he had done it when making their deal in order to make sure she would hold up her end of it. The woman wasn't aware that their souls were Bound however, and Red didn't have any plans on telling her this. Being Bound was a big deal in the monster world, each partner took a piece of each other's soul and bound it to their own soul. Not wanting Grillby to mention this to Frisk however, the skeleton did the only thing he could think of. "No… we aren't." he finally forced the words from his mouth as he glared slightly at the flamesman's question.

Grillby waited as his gaze turned calm now that the skeleton's temper had been snuffed out. He let the reply hang in the air for a few moments, almost expecting more of an answer from his friend. However nothing else was said as Red took a gulp of his drink that had been made earlier. Grillby stood straight now as he crossed his arms over his chest giving Red a slight smirk at his personal victory. "Well then, feel free to explain to me what the issue is friend. As far as I'm concerned Frisk is not tied down to anyone, at least not that she's indicated."

"There ain't an issue. I jus' thought you were interested in Muffet, an' if that was the case, I ain't letting ya get close ta the human. I gotta put up with her sorry, depressed ass if yer just playin' with her. It's pretty common for you to be a fuckin' playboy." Red snapped quickly, thinking up a fairly good excuse on the spot. His gaze drifted to Grillby, who gave a slight chuckle leaning against the counter next to Red now.

"I suppose I can at least see your point there Sans. If that's what you're worried about though, there's no need. Muffet is very finicky, and seems to like me then hate me on a weekly basis. I'm not particularly interested in dealing with her dual personality." The flamesman replied in a calm tone. "If I pursue Frisk and it turns out to be nothing, I'll make sure we leave on good terms. Just so you don't have to deal with any backlash." He glanced over to the skeleton waiting for his reply.

Grillby was aware this was the only way things would even remotely work out if Frisk was interested. If Red would lay off both him and the woman, the rumors would more than likely come to an end and Frisk's anxiety should lessen considerably if she wasn't worried about the skeleton over reacting to her actions.

Red kept his silence as he stared at the drink in front of him. He absentmindedly drummed his phalanges against the bar top as he felt his irritation with the whole situation building; jealousy, although he wasn't aware this was the emotion he was feeling, seemed the thrum through his bones and into his soul now. "There's no reason fer me ta be so bothered by this shit. It don't make sense for me ta be." The skeleton mentally scolded himself as a frown tugged at the corners of his mouth while he tried to sort through the emotions he was experiencing from this whole situation. "Maybe… maybe it's cuz I…" His thought trailed off as his eye sockets widened slightly at a thought that entered his skull before he gave his head a shake. "Nah that can't be it."

"Whateva. Jus' keep in mind I don't wanna deal with 'er if ya decide that she's not whatchya want." Red suddenly snapped at the flamesman as he glared daggers at him before getting down off his seat and shoving his hands in his pockets as he made his way for the door, deciding to leave the conversation at that.

Grillby's calm gaze followed after the skeleton as he left. The flamesman hadn't been unaware of the shift in Red's aura that seemed to be something more than just irritation. He had also seen his left eye socket glow green briefly as he had sat in silence. While Grillby didn't exactly know what this meant since both Sans' and Papyrus's magic seemed to act a bit differently than most monsters, the flamesman had to admit he wondered if it was because of jealousy that his magic had shifted to that color.

Leaning on the counter, Grillby drummed his fingers on the bar top in thought as he stared off for a minute while he debated with himself over the situation. Standing straight now as the flamesman came to his decision, he pulled his phone from his pocket and quickly sent out a text message before returing to his customers that had been impatiently waiting for SOMETHING to happen. When nothing of interest occurred between the three, much to the monster's dismay, they started becoming a bit impatient about not being served quick enough while the whole situation had been going on.

~o~o~o~

Frisk paced back and forth in her room as evening descended on the monster village now. Dressed in a burgundy top that came down just past her hips with off the shoulder sleeves that stopped just above her elbows and a pair of black fabric dress pants, the woman glanced down at her phone checking the time before returning to her pacing. She felt nervous as she was still processing the course of events that had occurred since her visit to Grillby'z Bar four days ago.

After arriving home and quietly making her way upstairs to her room to try to figure out just how she was going to break away from Red long enough to actually talk with the flamesman, Frisk heard her text message chime go off. Looking at the phone she saw the short text from Grillby simply stating "Don't worry about Sans popping in tomorrow. We'll actually be able to talk this time. If you could grace me with your presences once more." The woman didn't understand what he had meant at the time, but decided to worry more about it when she went to talk with him the next day.

Frisk wasn't oblivious to the fact that Red's aura still felt off, that something was still bothering the skeleton but he didn't really say much to her either so the woman decided not to pry too much. Much to the woman's surprise when she mentioned that she was planning to go out for a little bit the skeleton had just given her a slight grunt of acknowledgement before disappearing up to his room through a shortcut.

That wasn't the end of the surprises for her either. Frisk's plan for talking with Grillby hadn't changed; she just wanted to be sure there were no misunderstandings between herself and the flamesman. The shocked silence she had fallen into when he had asked her if she would be the slightest bit interested in going on a date had lasted longer than what she had realized.

Just as Grillby was going to take her silence as a no and apologize for putting her on the spot the woman managed to force out the word "one" from her mouth. As the flamesman looked at her, the woman cleared her throat before speaking again. "One date. I'm not exactly a fan of dating. I usually have a good idea after one whether or not I'm interested." Although she spoke with a serious look on her face, the butterflies in her stomach told her she was nervous about just the idea of going on a date since it had been so long.

That was how she found herself in her current position as she glanced at her phone, checking the time once again. She gave a slight sigh, trying to calm her nerves as she opened her door to head downstairs. Pausing just outside her door the woman winced inwardly as she heard the TV blaring from the living room, indicating that at least one of the skelebro's was down there. She found herself hoping that it was just Papyrus as she still hadn't really mentioned to Red that she was going out tonight.

~o~o~o~

Red sat with a slightly bored expression staring at the TV in front of him as he leaned on the armrest of the couch. In order to pacify his brother and keep the skeleton from bitching at him for locking himself in his room constantly, Red had decided to spend a little bit of time downstairs with his brother watching some TV. Not that what Papyrus watched interested the older skeleton at all but at least he was making an effort.

Hearing movement on the landing, the skeleton's red pinprick gaze shifted towards the source of the noise. Seeing Frisk make her way down, his eye sockets widened slightly at her appearance before he shifted a little in his seat, turning his attention quickly back to the TV, frowning now as he glared slightly at the screen in front of him. Papyrus also shifted his attention to the woman now acknowledging her with a slight nod of his skull. "GOOD EVENING HUMAN! ARE YOU GOING OUT TONIGHT?" Papyrus asked staring at the woman as she made her way down to the bottom of the stairs.

"Yes, Papy, I am going out." Frisk replied giving the taller skeleton a slight smile before her gaze briefly flickered over to Red, almost anticipating a bad reaction from him. The shorter skeleton didn't seem to react at all however as his attention seemed focused on whatever was on the TV. Papyrus waited for her to elaborate, when she didn't he decided to prod just a little bit more as his curiosity had gotten the better of him.

"INTERESTING, I WASN'T AWARE YOU WERE SEEING SOMEONE, HUMAN! YOU'VE MENTIONED BEFORE YOUR LACK OF PERSONAL TIME THANKS TO WORK!" Papyrus prodded slightly as a curious look entered his gaze.

Frisk felt her cheeks grow slightly warm in embarrassment as she coughed slightly into her hand. "Um… well I wouldn't see that I'm seeing someone exactly Papy. I'm just… going out with a friend is all…" the woman answered in a quiet tone trying to make herself seem as small as possible.

The taller skeleton arched an eye socket at the woman's answer as his gaze clearly said he didn't believe her."I SEE. IS THIS FRIEND SOMEONE WE KNOW OR ARE THEY OF THE HUMAN VARIETY?" Papyrus inquired curiously.

"Ah…hmm… with all due respect, I don't think that's necessary information to share Papy. They're just a friend I'm going out with tonight. That's all." Frisk decided against answering the inquiry and instead making the answer vague. She preferred to be a private person and that particular information was on a need to know basis, in her opinion Papyrus didn't really NEED to know the answer to his question. Not to mention she was fairly sure Red had an idea of who it was that she was seeing tonight, she would be more surprised if he didn't, and she didn't want to antagonize him about it if she could help it.

A faintly annoyed look crossed the younger skeleton's features as the human avoided elaborating further. Giving a huff as he crossed his arms now looking at the TV the skeleton spoke again. "IN EITHER CASE, TRY NOT TO DRAW TOO MUCH ATTENTION TO YOURSELF! I'VE HAD TO DEAL WITH ENOUGH BACKLASH FROM UNDYNE WITH THIS MOST RECENT SITUATION!" Papyrus snapped in an irritated voice. Frisk found herself smiling in spite of herself, his pouting was almost cute to her as she walked up behind the couch and gave him a small hug of assurance.

"Don't worry, I'll stay out of trouble Papy. I'm sorry about Undyne, I'll bring it up to the king if you want." The woman offered in an apologetic tone as she stood behind him now. She heard the skeleton give a faint huff, however his glare softened slightly as he glanced up at her.

"DON'T BOTHER YOURSELF WITH IT HUMAN! I CAN HANDLE UNDYNE JUST FINE! YOU'RE SURE YOU'LL BE ALRIGHT BY YOURSELF? WHILE I KNOW YOU DON'T NEED SOMEONE WATCHING YOU AT ALL TIMES I'M CONCERNED YOU MIGHT BE MORE OF A TARGET AT THE MOMENT, SINCE ALL THESE IDIOTS SEEM TO LIKE DRAMA SO MUCH!" Papyrus replied in a calm tone as he turned his red gaze back to the TV in front of him.

"I'll be alright, I promise. If nothing else Red is just a phone call away. I'm in good hands though so there shouldn't be a problem." The woman replied with a slight smile, turning her head as the sound of a vehicle pulling up in front of their house could be heard. Looking back at the two she stepped away from the couch and gave a small wave. "I'll be back later." With that the woman disappeared quickly out the front door.

Silence filled the living room now as the sound of the TV seemed to be amplified. Red had spent the entirety of the conversation trying not to let his irritation show to the two as he tried not to interfere with the woman's personal life. Grillby had made a good point when he said Frisk didn't TECHNICALLY belong to him since they weren't properly Bound, however the sudden urge to snap on the woman for going on a date with him had nearly overwhelmed Red as he felt jealousy stab at his soul. He wasn't aware of it, but his left eye light had begun to glow a very faint green, just enough so that his brother had noticed it.

"I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY YOU ARE SO UPSET SANS!" Papyrus suddenly snapped at his brother. While the two didn't appear very close, Papyrus knew the older skeleton better than anyone. He could read his brother without even needing to feel his energy change, and right now he could almost feel the restricted anger and jealousy radiating from Red.

"I dunno what yer talkin' about Boss. I ain't upset 'bout nothin'." Red replied in what he hoped sounded like a calm tone as he stared blankly at the TV while his mind wandered now. He wondered what he had to be jealous about "It's gotta be b'cuz she's spent almost every day either here or at the castle. I'm so used to havin' her around that with her possibly datin' him I'm worried she ain't gonna keep up with my chores. Damn… I don't wanna hafta go back ta doin' stuff to keep Papyrus quiet." The skeleton's silent thoughts rattled in his skull as he tried to make sense of his reaction.

"YOU'VE HAD A YEAR AND A HALF TO SORT THROUGH WHATEVER IT IS YOU FEEL FOR THE WOMAN! ALTHOUGH I FEEL NOTHING LIKE THAT FOR HER, AS A NEUTRAL PARTY IN THIS I'LL ADMIT SHE'S ATTRACTIVE FOR A HUMAN SO THERE SHOULDN'T BE MUCH OF A SURPRISE SOMEONE ELSE ASIDE FROM YOURSELF WOULD BE INTERESTED IN HER." Papyrus spoke in a matter of fact tone as he looked over to the shorter skeleton who shot him a side glance before facing him with a glare.

"Look I'm not interested in Frisk a'right?! She don't mean nothin' ta me, I'm jus' makin' sure she holds up her end of the deal we made!" Red snapped in an angry tone at his brother, irritated that the younger skeleton seemed to know him too well.

Papyrus gave Red a hard stare as they looked at one another before sighing and running his gloved hand down his face. "SANS! DO YOU REALLY TAKE ME FOR THAT MUCH OF A FOOL, OR ARE YOU JUST REALLY THAT STUPID?!" he snapped at his brother before taking in the confusion that flickered across his brother's face. A loud groan was emitted from the taller skeleton "YOU CAN'T TELL ME YOU DON'T KNOW THAT YOU HAVE A THING FOR THE WOMAN! YOU BOUND YOUR SOUL TO HER'S FOR FUCKS SAKE! DEAL OR NOT YOU KNOW THAT'S A SERIOUS COMMITMENT!" Papyrus looked at Red with stare of disbelief.

"How the hell did you find out about that?!" Red snapped in a panicked tone as he stood to his feet now. He needed to do something aside from sit there as agitation was clearly visible on his face. There was no way Papyrus could have known about it. He had positioned himself and Frisk that day with the knowledge that he would bind their souls. When offering the woman the handshake that day, he had done it when he was sure no one was paying them any attention.

Papyrus gave a slight chuckle at the panicked tone as he arched an eye socket at Red. "SINCE YOU WOULDN'T TELL ME THE DETAILS OF YOUR LITTLE DEAL I GOT THEM OUT OF THE HUMAN'S LITTLE FLOWER FRIEND! WHAT HE DESCRIBED TO ME SOUNDED A HELL OF A LOT LIKE SOUL BINDING TO ME!" The taller skeleton accused with a frown now as he looked at the shorter skeleton.

"Fuckin' Petals! I'm gonna kill 'im next time I see 'im." Red's temper finally hit its peak as his left eye socket glowed angrily now. "Fine. Yeah we are Bound, but Dollface dunno about it. I only did it so that she couldn't git outta the deal we made." Red snapped at his brother, he was really regretting spending time down here now.

"NEYH HEH HEH, IF THAT'S TRUE THEN WHY ARE YOU SO UPSET ABOUT HER GOING OUT TONIGHT?!" Papyrus asked in a smug tone as he smirked at his brother. He saw the skeleton open his mouth to argue again. "BEFORE YOU SAY OTHERWISE, YOU SHOULD SEE YOUR MAGIC RIGHT NOW! IT'S BECOME A VIBRANT SHADE OF GREEN! YOU KNOW IF LEFT UNCHECKED OUR MAGIC IS LIKE A WINDOW TO OUR SOUL! IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME GO SEE FOR YOURSELF!" the taller skeleton chuckled, slightly amused now. While his brother might not realize his feelings for the woman, his magic was certainly a tell tale sign.

"Fine! There's no way I'm jealous Boss, an' I'll prove it to ya!" Red snapped as he gave a slight glare of irritation at Papyrus's words. Red quickly disappeared into a shortcut, reappearing just outside the bathroom door as he stalked in to glance at the mirror. His eye sockets widened as he saw his left eye blazing with a green magic instead of his normal red. "Fuck." It was the only word the skeleton could form coherently as his magic gave away emotions he hadn't even been sure he was feeling.

"IF YOU'RE UNABLE TO SORT OUT WHATEVER IS GOING THROUGH THAT THICK SKULL OF YOURS AND TAKE ACTION, I WILL TAKE ACTION FOR YOU AND YOU WILL NOT LIKE IT SANS!" the taller skeleton called up the stairs and air of seriousness to his tone. "DEAL OR NOT I CANNOT HAVE THIS MUCH TENSION DISTRACTING FRISK FROM HER DUTIES AS THE AMBASSADOR! THE KING WILL NOT BE HAPPY IF FRISK KEEPS SHOWING UP TO WORK AS STRESSED AS WHAT SHE IS!" Papyrus's voice grated against Red's skull as he felt a headache coming on.

"I'll figure it out Pap." Red called down to his brother in a tired sounding tone. He couldn't really think of a solution to this, even admitting now that he was jealous wasn't going to solve anything. Frisk would probably resent him more if he tried to push his feelings on her. Even if she didn't, how did he expect her to respond to "Hey, I know I've been an ass ta ya since I met ya, but I just wanted ta let ya know that I think I kinda like ya."

Giving a low groan of frustration the skeleton quickly disappeared into his room, slamming the door behind him now. He ran his hand over his face as he gave another groan, which seemed to be the only noise he had enough energy to make. There were things he could do, but most of them were not things he wanted to do, or they would probably end up creating an even bigger gap between himself and the woman. Thankfully his irritation and jealousy had subsided for the time being so he could think clearly at the moment at the very least. Contemplating the options he had, the skeleton laid down on his bed staring blankly at the ceiling above him as if it could fix this situation for him.

~o~o~o~

Frisk soon found herself walked to the door of the skelebro's house by Grillby. Their date had gone… well. Frisk actually didn't regret giving the monster a chance, but she was still uncertain about it. It felt as if her soul wasn't one hundred percent behind her on Grillby. Turning to face him with a small, relaxed smile on her face she tilted her head slightly. "Thank you for tonight Grillby. I... had a good time." She spoke in a quiet voice looking at the flamesman.

"I'm glad Beautiful. That smile on your face says you had a good time as well. It makes you look even more stunning." Grillby smirked slightly as his purple gaze glowed brightly at her. "Did it go well enough that I could convince you to go on another one?" the monster asked in a low tone as he closed the distance between himself and Frisk. The woman bit her lip gently at the question as she suddenly found herself very close to the flamesman.

"Ah… I-I think that would be alright. I would… like that." The woman exhaled slightly, resisting the urge to take a step back away from Grillby. Last time she did that he had taken advantage of her nervousness. His lips parted slightly as a pleased smirk lifted the corner of his mouth. He lifted his hand to brush the back of it gently against the woman's cheek. Frisk inhaled sharply at the motion as she stared with wide eyes at him.

"I'll look forward to hearing from you then, Frisk." His voice was almost a purr as he leaned in just a little closer to unnerve the woman before his hand grasped hers and he brushed a warm kiss gently over her knuckles. Without another word Grillby stood straight and put his hands in the pockets of his coat as he turned and made his way back to the car. His smoldering gaze never left her until he turned around to walk away.

Frisk found herself staring after Grillby with her mouth slightly agape. He was working his damn natural charm on her right now, and although she didn't want to admit it… it was working. The woman felt the butterflies flittering about in her stomach as well as her cheeks growing warm as she stared after the flamesman wanting to say something more but feeling her words caught in her throat she remained silent.

Turning quickly she put her hand on the door knob as she leaned against the door collecting her scattered thoughts. "Water…" she realized as her throat felt sand paper dry and swallowing had suddenly become a sort of sport for the woman as she quietly opened up the door and made her way inside.

Quick and quiet strides led her into the kitchen as she grabbed one of the few glasses in the cabinet and filled it with water taking a slow sip of it as she stood in a contemplative state, staring with a far away gaze at the floor. Frisk realized that this moment was the first time in a long time she felt… okay? Happy? Like she mattered as a person and not just an Ambassador or, in Red's case, a subordinate? The woman wasn't sure how to describe the feeling.

As she stared off, lost in her thoughts the faint 'pop' that occurred was lost to deafened ears. Red froze in the doorway now as he stared at her with a mask of calmness on his face. While her expression didn't give away how the… date had gone, Red could feel the piece of her soul he carried give off a calm, happy sensation in his chest. That thought caused jealousy to start creeping into the back of his mind as he tried to quickly squash the feeling before it could spread and reveal itself to the woman in front of him.

"Too late…" He realized quickly as he saw the woman shift uncomfortably before blinking her eyes sensing his presents, and jealousy, in the room. Frisk's gaze shifted from the tile floor over to him now. While her facial features didn't change he could see her shoulders tense and her back straighten even from across the room. He also could feel a bit of her tension in him as well as the calm, happy aura that had surrounded her just moments ago was replaced with a tense aura that made the air around them thick with tension.

The skeleton wanted to say that he was surprised at the reaction she gave just from his presents however he had almost grown to expect it at this point. He knew he had gone out of his way to make her life difficult as hell, but that didn't stop the ripple of pain that went through him at the realization that she would probably never feel like she could relax around him.

"Hi Red." The soft sound that cut through the air was definitely out of place for the moment as she looked at him with a calm mask reminiscent of his own. Red didn't exactly want to open his mouth; he was slowly becoming aware that every time he did that around the woman things usually ended up worse. "I… I'm sorry if I bothered you. I tried to be as quiet as possible on my way in." Frisk's tone was a little tenser now as silence had settled on them like a thick blanket.

"Nah. Yer fine." His reply was curt and terse, straight to the point with her as always. "Ya should say somethin'… anything." Red's voice echoed in his head as he fought to say something that wouldn't make him sound like an ass as per usual. His jaw felt as though it were clamped shut however as he just stared at the woman.

"Oh… okay. G-good then, I'm glad I wasn't a bother for you." Frisk replied in a soft voice that held an awkward tone to it. She couldn't place her finger on what it was but it seemed as though Red wanted to say something. Giving him a minute longer as she looked at him with a curious stare, she found herself thinking that she was probably wrong in the assumption as he said nothing else.

"Uh… your injury it… it looks a lot better. I'm glad it's healing alright for you." Frisk tried again, wanting to give him a chance to say what he wanted to say. He didn't seem angry, but there was another emotion lingering somewhere in the depths of his eye lights that she just couldn't place for the life of her.

"Mhm." It was the only answer the skeleton could force from his jaw. "Fuckin' moron! Would ya just say somethin' already! She's givin' ya a damn chance ta git this off yer chest, and all ya can say is 'mhm'?!" Red's voice mentally screamed at him as he felt the headache from earlier begin to return again.

She stared at him a moment longer, waiting, but nothing more was said. Finishing what was left of her water, Frisk set the glass down in the sink for the time being and turned around walking towards the doorway where he stood. "I'm going to bed now. I'll see you in the morning… ah…" the woman paused as if not sure what she should say since the whole situation felt a bit awkward at the moment. "Have a good night Red." She murmured casting the skeleton a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes before walking past him

As she disappeared upstairs, Red gave a slight sigh as his eye sockets narrowed in frustration. He sat down with a heavy thud at the table leaning on it as his skull rested on his arms now. "Fuck." It, again, was the only thing he could say that accurately described his frustration at the moment as he closed his eye sockets, pretty sure that he wouldn't be sleeping again tonight as his mind refused to shut down now that he had messed up. "I never shoulda gott'n involved with 'er." He muttered in a tired sounding tone as he buried his face further into his arms feeling the warm blanket of sleep lingering on the edges of his mind but not quite draping over him.

Hello lovely readers! Welcome to Chapter 5 of Deal with the Devil!

Poor Frisk and her difficult drama, she will get no break from this crap apparently. I'm still trying to keep this at a slow burn for Frisk and Red's developing relationship, and for some reason I'm kind of struggling with that. I think it has to do with the fact that this story is not moving at a day by day pace but more of a week by week pace. Hopefully though, for all of you the pace of the story is enjoyable and not awkward.

This time we get to see a little bit of character development for Papyrus and Mettaton as well. I feel like in the AU of Underfell this is their relationship, Mettaton is Papyrus's biggest fan due to a situation in the past where Papyrus helped out the poor ghost/robot monster. I don't have a plan to really go into that, however because of what happened Mettaton is literally in love with Papyrus, and also incredibly jealous of the human woman that lives/sleeps/ exists in the same house as Papyrus. He will go out of his way to either try to piss Frisk off or try to make her feel like crap, so Frisk tries to avoid him all together especially if Mettaton is over to see Papyrus.

I'd like to thank a guest on who asked for Red to find Frisk's text messages with Grillby. I actually hadn't considered doing that until I saw the review, and I realized just how much that appealed to my internal demons who enjoy watching the characters in my stories suffer.

Whoo, I tried to keep the flamesman as much of a smooth talking charmer as I could. I feel like I succeeded but I also feel like I've shown that really he is just as quietly intelligent as his Undertale counterpart seems. In a world where brute strength usually rules, I wanted him to be able to silence others with words rather than fists. Unfortunately I'm not the most articulate person so it's hard to write a character that relies heavily on words and charms. That's probably why I enjoy writing his character so much, and also why I think he'll make a return in a future story at some time in point.

Alright readers thanks for taking the time to read the story! Thanks as well for any faves and or follows! You guys are awesome and I appreciate every bit of support you all give me, whether it's the silent readers, the ones who leave kind words or the ones that provide with constructive feedback to help me out! There will probably be a short break before the next chapter so that I can get back to working on my other Undertale story Ivytale. So I apologize in advance for the upcoming wait but I hope you guys will stick with me and this story! :3