Chapter Text
The encounter with Blue had practically energized your whole week. You texted each other almost all day everyday this week.
It was...nice to have someone to talk to—especially Blue. He always sent selfies of him working out, running, cooking, baking; practically everything.
Sometimes when you texted him you would feel a familiar pit in your stomach. You tried to brush that feeling away, but it was a constant reminder. It's not that you didn't enjoy talking to him, but because you did.
That would just mean it would hurt more when he left. It always ended up that way.
Some days were harder than others, but you found his energy to be quite infectious. It was enough to dispel your unpleasant thoughts. At least, for a while.
Blue's confidence seemed to rub off on you, because you actually sent a picture of your work outfit. You'd be lying if you said your heart wasn't pounding from your nerves when you sent it.
But, as you expected, he was nothing but supportive. Blue showered you with endless praise, adding a "WOWZERS" at the end of each compliment.
A loud buzz from your phone made you pause your typing at your desk. Your tired eyes glanced to see a picture of Blue preparing, what seemed to be, a protein smoothie followed by the text: "TIME TO WORKOUT THESE LEGS! I'LL HAVE BUNS OF STEEL IN NO TIME!"
It was hard, but you prevented yourself from bursting out in laughter. You wiped the tears from your eyes as you quickly texted him back.
Noticing the time, you quickly picked up your work issued tablet and made your way towards the meeting room. It was already packed with Human and Monster employees alike.
The company executives sat at a large, oval table with a big "MTT" logo in the middle. You took your seat behind them in a row with other assistants and secretaries.
Your main boss stood at the front, chatting with one of the executives idly. The projector displayed the owner of your company: Mettaton. He laid in a suggestive pose, shampoo bottle in hand, and with a sly wink to the camera.
Thinking about it, you don't think you've ever seen the robot Monster in person. His representative, a nice Monster named Kathy, was his spokesperson for these kinds of meetings.
The meeting kicked off on a high note with a joke your boss made. You got to work and quickly scribbled your notes in your booklet. Though, you found yourself dozing off after a while. Your pen started to slip from between your fingers and your head began to droop.
"Miss (Last Name), are you still with us?" a deep voice asked. You jolted in your seat, aware of your surroundings.
Your boss, the one you assumed woke you, stared at you concerned. The stares from the executives and assistants made your face heat up in embarrassment.
Clearing your throat, you fixed your posture and nodded at your boss for them to continue. They quickly recovered from the interruption and continued as if nothing ever happened.
Your mortification at what just happened helped you stay awake and power through. You furiously took notes and kept your head down to avoid the whispers creeping around.
The meeting ended quickly and as people made their way out, you stayed put. You stuffed your face into your hands and groaned.
Large, heavy footsteps quickly made their way towards you. "Hey, don't beat yourself up over that. Are you okay?" Your boss asked.
You shrugged. "I'm good, Director Liang. I just...didn't get enough sleep last night,"
you reassured them.
You'd rather jump off a cliff than admit you were up late playing video games (and lost every. single. round.). They didn't look very convinced.
"Look, bud, just take the rest of the day off," they said. You gave them a concerned stare to which they hurriedly explained. "I-I mean, you're a super hard worker. This isn't really like you, and I know Peter can cover the rest of your work, okay?"
Your eyes sparkled and you quickly thanked Director Liang. You had to leave fast or else you'll get sidetracked into fixing papers or charts.
The walk back home was brighter, probably because you were used to leaving so late from the office. Another chime from your phone, from Blue, showed his grocery haul for 'Friendship Tacos'. You had nearly forgotten that Blue had invited to his home tomorrow.
He had reassured you his cousins were all really nice (though he did seem rather wary about a few of them...). Still, your stomach twisted in knots.
This was the first time in a couple of years that someone had invited you over to their house. And meeting their family, no less? Yeah, you were bound to be a wreck by tomorrow. You took a deep breath to help ground yourself in the here and now.
You paid closer attention to the stores you passed by to keep you distracted. Then, a particular display caught your eye. A gorgeous tea set, complete with six tea cups, including a specialty tea, made you stop. The dark blue with gold accents was really beautiful and made you think of Blue.
Wait, what?! No, just that, the colors reminded you of him! Well, that didn't sound much better...
You shook your head to regain your composure. Right. A gift for the host is usually what people did, right?
The door opened and two skeleton Monsters exited from the tea shop in a rather loud fashion. At first, you immediately thought of your dear friend. You quickly dispelled those thoughts when you observed their attitude and attire.
The two were...sharp. And loud. The shorter of the two wore a large, puffy jacket with a somewhat matted fur lining. His coat did little to hide his plumpness. He also wore black shorts, a red turtleneck, a gold collar (?), and red sneakers.
His sharp teeth, seemingly always remaining in a smile, reminded you of sharks. A bright gleam from his gold canine fascinated you.
If he wasn't spiky enough, the tall Monster put him to shame. He wore spiky...armor(?), red gloves that accentuated his sharp claws, a torn red cape, a gold belt, and sharp black boots. He was also incredibly tall—you would need to practically break your neck to maintain eye contact with him.
His leer directed at the short one was enough to make you shiver from your spot. His spiky teeth and scars across his eye made you feel a bit wary. You felt these two Monsters were different from others somehow.
"THE QUALITY OF THEIR TEA IS SUBPAR, AT BEST." The taller one loudly declared, admittedly in a similar fashion to Blue. Except, this particular Monster's words held a certain bite of hostility to them. The shorter of the two carried two bags of seemingly, tea.
"then why did we bother getting any?" the short one mumbled. Immediately, the taller one pulled him up by the scruff of his jacket and sneered.
"YOU THINK YOU'RE SO SMART, YOU LITTLE-," he started, before noticing the stares from those passing by. The tall one released the short one swiftly. They both seemed to deflate the tiniest bit at the scared looks of onlookers.
You felt bad. Sure, their style was quite alternative, but that doesn't mean you should judge them by their outward appearance!
You gathered your courage, and hand gripping your workbag on your shoulder, you spoke. "Um, excuse me? Is there a tea you would recommend from here?"
The two snapped their heads towards you, making you jump. But you held your ground, glancing at both of them and flashing a friendly smile.
"WHAT DO I LOOK LIKE? YOUR OWN PERSONAL SERVANT?" The tall one crossed his arms and glared down haughtily at you.
The short and rather pudgy one just stood behind him, smirking at you with a lecherous grin. When you made eye contact with him, he gave you a suggestive sink. You did your best to shake off their looks.
"Not at all! I just, um, you seem very knowledgeable, sir! I wanted to pick out an acceptable tea for a friend," you explained. The taller Monster's face still remained in a sneer, and you began to worry you made a mistake in bothering them.
Suddenly, the taller one leaned down to look at your face up close. You couldn't help but lean back a bit, nervous at his proximity. Despite how you felt, you dared yourself to stare right back.
But then, the more you looked at him, the less nervous you became.
You noticed every little nick and scratch across his porcelain face. Scars, you presumed. How did he get these kinds of scars, and why were there so many?
Then, you began to wonder how exactly skeleton Monsters worked. How were bones malleable enough to form such intense expressions? Would his bones be soft, like skin?
His red eyesights darted across your face in scrutiny, but your curiosity overrode your nerves. In fact, he looked beautiful from your perspective. You leaned a bit closer to further investigate him.
His cheekbones became dusted with a slight dark red hue and huffed, standing up to full height. "I SUPPOSE I CAN SPARE MY EXPERTISE TO A LITTLE WEAKLING LIKE YOU, PATHETIC HUMAN."
The short one stepped forward and wrapped his arm free of shopping bags over your shoulder. He was about the same height as you, making eye contact much easier than his companion.
"no need to worry, princess. we'll help ya," he reassured you. His voice, extremely deep with a Boston accent, shocked you more than the pet name.
You sputtered out a quick "thank you" before they dragged you inside the store. It looked rather fancy inside and smelled pleasantly of tea. A kind, old, turtle Monster smiled and greeted you three.
You barely had any time to give a short acknowledgment as they whisked you further into the shop. "TELL ME, HUMAN PEST. WHAT SORT OF TEA DO YOU DESIRE?"
Thinking back on the texts you and Blue exchanged, you recalled he didn't care for anything too sweet. He also didn't like anything bland. "Um, something not too sweet. Maybe something strong and bold?"
The tall Monster made a grunting noise and started to look around the tea boxes with a bit of reluctance. Your eyes darted everywhere to see if you could find that gorgeous tea set.
Then, you began feeling too warm. A subtle sheen of sweat coated your face and wondered why you felt so hot all of the sudden.
A deep chuckle from beside you reminded you of the shorter Monster. His arm remained wrapped around your shoulder. The intense heat from him and your own natural warmth was making you too hot.
Feeling his full figure pressed up against you felt much too intimate and you started slightly freaking out. As inconspicuous as you could, you slipped from under his grip to do your own searching. A loose leaf "Sea Tea" caught your eye. Would it be salty?...
"soooo, wha's a doll like you doin' all alone?" The short Monster asked, appearing right behind you. You startled a little and turned to face him.
"I got off work early...I wanted to get a gift for my friend," you explained quietly.
"hm, wha' a nice frien' you are," he mumbled. His expression was unreadable. You couldn't figure out what he meant by that.
"couldn't help but notice yer eyeballs. pulling too many late nights at the office, eh?" He asked. You gave him a questioning hum and he pointed down at your work attire and workbag.
Guess it was a bit obvious that you were an office worker. Still, you couldn't just tell a complete stranger that you were busy gaming all night! So, you opted for a half-truth. "Uh, yeah, something like that. Big work project, stuff about shampoo, ya know?"
Now it was the Monster's turn to scrutinize you. A bead of sweat rolled down your neck s his narrowed gaze pierced your soul. You gulped.
"shampoo, huh? where did i hear that before?..." he trailed off. "you seem familiar somehow."
Now you were completely lost. You would definitely remember seeing a handsome skeleton like him.
Then, you mentally kicked yourself. Where were your manners? You didn't even know their names, and they took time out of their day to help you!
You quickly introduced yourself, seemingly puzzling the poor Monster even more. "Um, so what're your names?" You asked.
He grinned at you perversely. "you can call me 'yours', sweetheart."
A dissatisfied grunt sounded from behind the shelf you were looking in previously. A skeleton head appeared over it to glare at the two of you.
"RED, YOU IMBECILE. IF YOU MUST KNOW, I AM THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE EDGE, CAPTAIN OF TE ROYAL GUARD!" Edge said proudly, posing dramatically and with his ripped cape blowing in the wind(?).
You smiled and bowed your head to him. If he's Captain of the Royal Guard for the the Royal Family, he must be very important.
"an' i'm red," he lazily offered his hand to you, and you'd be lying if you weren't a bit eager to feel his bony hand.
...
Um, moving on.
...
You took his hand, but when you made contact, electricity shot up through your whole arm. You yanked your hand back and shook it to get some feeling back.
"What was that?" You breathed heavily, still clutching your slightly numb arm. Red chortled loudly and Edge groaned.
"get's 'em every time!" Red laughed, showing you the shock device in his hand. You shook your head, giving him slight frown.
"RED, MOVE YOUR LAZY ASS AND HELP ME!" Edge, finally fed up, bellowed down at the two of you. Red, with thick red sweat droplets running down his skull, straightened up like a soldier. "y-yes, Boss!"
Overall, you thought their names suited them quite well.
Edge's head disappeared behind the shelf and Red let out a sigh of relief. Sensing a chance to slip away from more slightly awkward advances, you made yourself busy by trying to find the blue tea set.
You soon found it at the top of the shelf and stood there, wondering how you could reach it without knocking everything over. A red hue enveloped the item and levitated. It slowly twirled downward and into your waiting hands.
Your mouth hung open in amazement as the red fizzled out from the box. A bony finger slid under your chin to close your mouth.
"if ya think that's amazing, wait until i show you wha' else i can do," Red grinned at you suggestively. A tongue, red, long, and glowing, slipped from behind his sharp teeth to lick them.
You gulped, unsure of his advances. Perhaps, he was just messing with you to make fun of you later. It definitely wouldn't be the first time that happened. "Thanks, but I—," a smaller box was shoved into your hands.
Edge handed you a box of Lapsang Soughing. How nostalgic...
"THIS, I IMAGINE, WOULD BE BEST SUITED TO YOUR 'FRIEND'S' PREFERENCES. AND IF NOT, THEN, I WOULD QUESTION THEIR SANITY AND TASTE," Edge huffed.
"Wow, I—thanks, Captain," you beamed up at the tall, handsome skeleton. Edge became flustered and waved his long, lanky arms around erratically.
"COME, BROTHER. THIS WEAK HUMAN HAS TAKEN UP ENOUGH OF OUR TIME," Edge pulled his brother up by the back of his jacket and headed to the front of the store.
Ohhh, so they're brothers? That makes a lot of sense now that you thought about it. But, Edge brought up an important point. You took up quite a bit of their time, as the sun had already began to set. You wished to repay their kindness somehow.
An idea popped into your head just as they made it to the front. You sped-walked after them (darn Edge and his super long legs!) and called after them.
Edge turned, while Red lifted his head in curiosity.
"I have these Mettaton concert tickets if you want them?" You offered, setting your items down and digging through your work bag.
Your office usually gives you free tickets to Mettaton concerts whenever he comes back home to Ebott City. You just, never usually go to them. Too loud. Too many people. And never anyone to go with.
The two stared at you in disbelief. "TYPICAL HUMANS, ALWAYS THINKING THEY'RE MORE CUNNIGN THAN I," Edge mocked, tone turning vicious.
"Huh?" You asked. "YOU THINK YOU CAN PULL A FAST ONE ON ME?" Edged leered, stomping back towards you with a limp Red.
"heh, wha' do ya really want from us, doll?" Red questioned, his eyesight's dimmed to nothing and his permanent grin strained.
You tried reassuring them. "Nothing, honest! I just really wanted to thank you two for helping me out. You really didn't have to help me, but you guys did anyway," you said, losing a bit of confidence near the end.
The two still didn't look convinced, so you explained further. "The company I work for gives them out sometimes, and concerts aren't really my thing! Besides, if you two don't want to go, you can give them away too."
Red, eyesights ever piercing, glared at you for what seemed to be eternity. You felt almost naked under his gaze. Then, he visibly relaxed.
"alright, dolly, i believe ya," he yawned. You hesitantly handed the tickets over to him, cautious of any potential shock devices.
"HUMAN, I AM NOT SO EASILY WON BY FLASHY FAVORS. IT'LL TAKE MORE THAN THAT TO EARN MY TRUST," said Edge, a lot more calm than earlier.
"Okay?..." you trailed off, looking for guidance from his brother.
"don't worry yer pretty little head, princess. he likes ya," Red snickered.
Edge was flabbergasted. "I-I-HOW PREPOSTEROUS! COME, RED, WE MUST DEVISE AN ESPECIALLY EVIL TRAP FOR A PARTICULARLY EASY-ON-THE-EYES, BROWN NOSING, BOOT LICKING HUMAN."
Wait, was he talking about you?!
As Edge dragged Red out, he shot you another licentious smile followed by a cheeky wink. The shop remained quiet as you stood there, kind of amazed and kind of exhausted.
Someone clearing their throat woke you from your stupor. "Would you like to check those out, Miss?" The nice turtle Monster asked.
"Oh, yes please," you answered, picking up the boxes from the floor to pay for them.
Then, your quiet journey home commenced once again. As always, you exchanged pleasantries with Reggie and Lizzie before heading up to your apartment.
The interaction at the tea store left you feeling quite lonesome. Blue was busy with his workout and it left you alone with your thoughts.
Blue was an amazing friend, but you couldn't expect him to drop everything to talk to you just because you were feeling lonely.
You sighed as you unpacked your tea shop haul. Wincing at the numbers on the receipt, you knew you would have to cut back on your budget somewhere. You spent a bit more than you would have liked. Still, you think the look on Blue's face when you him your gift will make up for it.
The Shopkeeper slipped you a free sample of the Sea Tea you were eyeing earlier, nice! Just as you were about to brew a cup, a slip of paper fell out from the packet.
'DEAR WEAK HUMAN,
I WILL NOT BE AS EASILY WON OVER AS MY BROTHER MAY HAVE BEEN. HOWEVER! THAT IS NOT TO SAY YOUR LOYALTY WILL NOT BE USEFUL IN THE FUTURE. PROVE TO ME THAT YOU ARE WORTHY.
XXX-XXX-XXXX
(DO NOT TEXT ME AFTER 10PM, I NEED PROPER REST TO CONCOCT MY BRILLANTLY EVIL PLANS.)
THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE EDGE'
You gaped at the neatly written note. When did he even have time to slip this in? Turning the note over, you squinted at the nearly illegible chicken scratch.
'hiya doll
couldn't let the head honcho have all the fun could i?
text me whenever sweet cheeks ;)
xxx-xxx-xxxx
red'
It was so ridiculous all you could do was laugh. The universe seemed to take pity on you (for once) and gave you two new...friends?
You felt your heart drop again. Perhaps it was too soon to assume. People always leave, no one is permanent.
Fine, then. Two new acquaintances you should say.
Still, you couldn't wipe the grin off your face as you shot them both a text with your name and asking if you had the right number.
As soon as you set your phone down to try the new tea, your phone buzzed wildly. Maybe it was okay, for now, to allow even a sliver of hope for friendship.
Damn, you seriously needed to work on your social skills.