Glowing Flames

A Friend

"Are you sure you want to come with me? The weather in Snowdin isn't necessarily ideal for cold-blooded monsters like you Alphys."
He was in Alphys' house, like ever so often. He came to visit her because he still had some things he had to discuss with her. He didn't know when exactly that happened, but they ended up talking about which one of their habitats was better. Of course he insisted that Snowdin was the best place in the whole underground, but Alphys didn't agree with that. He didn't even mean it that serious when he said she should come over and see for herself then. Alphys wasn't in Snowdin that often, and even when she was, it was never for long. The cold is making it hard for her to stay there for long. So it surprised him even more that she was now so set on coming with him to Snowdin. It wasn't like he didn't want her to. Of course he did, Snowdin is such an amazing place, and he would have loved to show her around in the place he spent so much time living in. But he was a little bit worried that she might get herself at least a terrible cold from that.

"Yes o-of course! After all, how could I ever know if Snowdin is really that great i-if I've never been there? Well- uh- I actually HAVE been there- more than once even. I-it's just that I never got to properly see it! U-uh though it is a bit cold there. D-do you know any warm places someone like me could uh- exist in without having to wear 4 layers o-of clothing?"
It was a fair question. He did indeed know a place like that. He was sure she would enjoy it. So he nodded at her, and she went into her room to choose some clothes that might be more fitting. Gaster rarely needed to do that when he went to Snowdin. Since he was a skeleton, he wasn't as sensitive to temperature as other monsters were. Of course he could still be bothered by the heat, but Gaster was always better at handling the cold. It may have been because of his choice of clothes, that almost always seemed to contain long trousers, a sweater, and of course his lab coat. He always loved how comfortable it felt to have that warm and soft fabric loosely hanging over his bones. When Alphys came back out of her room, Gaster had to actually try really hard not to smile at her outfit. She was wearing a ridiculous amount of sweaters, probably 4 pairs of socks, including some on her tail, gloves that were probably meant to resemble the paws of a cat, earcuffs despite her not even having any ears, and a thick hat. If that wouldn't keep her warm, nothing would.

"I am certain that this will keep you warm, however I'm a bit worried you might not be able to move in that."
She looked a bit like a plushie.

"O-of course! Now let's not waste any time, I uh, want to see what you l-like about this place so much."
She tried to play it cool, literally, since she was beginning to feel a little bit too hot, because they were still in Hotland. And with that she waddled to the door. Gaster just smiled and went after her.

As they walked through Snowdin, Gaster always kept a close eye on Alphys. He was very happy that he finally got to properly show her around in his hometown, but he didn't want her to freeze. Alphys had been here a few times, for Gyftmas, but she never really stayed for long. It was just too cold for her. Even now, with an absurd amount of clothing, she was still shaking next to him.

"S-so uh- you said t-there was a warm place, right? U-uh it's not like I'm not enjoying this or a-anything, uh- but can y-you maybe show me that place?"
Her stuttering seemed to have gotten worse from the shaking. It was normal for her to stutter, Gaster got used to it after a while.
"Of course. It's right this way. Believe me, you will like it there."
He pointed to a place right next to the Gyftmas tree, that said "Grillby's" in big orange letters.

They stepped inside, and were immediately covered in warmth. Alphys began to wag her tail at that, because she didn't think she could have take that cold any longer. As the two entered the place, Grillby looked up from the glass he was polishing. Someone with a good eye would have seen Grillby's firey head flare up a little stronger as he noticed that it was actually Gaster who visited him. Alphys looked around the place with a nervous expression. Those were more people than she was used to handling. She stayed very close to Gaster as they walked towards the counter, hoping everyone would mind their own business and not look at her for too long. And they did. Everyone was busy talking and eating there, as you do in a restaurant, that they didn't even notice the new customers. Gaster sat down on one of the stools right infront of the counter, and Alphys climbed on the one to his right. He didn't like people being on his right side, it made him feel vulnerable. But it was okay with Alphys, because he knew he could trust her. Now that Gaster was a bit closer to Grillby, he noticed how his hands sizzled a little when he cleaned the glass with a wet cloth. He put the glass and the wash cloth down, and signed to Gaster.