The Heat of a Soul

Frigid Bones

"G-Grillby.." It was less than a whisper, less than a croak, barely even a breath of air shaped to for the monster's name. Sans had tears running down his cheeks, their tracks frozen in their path. Grillby could do nothing but stare in horror at the skeleton's chest, his arms had fallen away to expose the turmoil.

Ice. Cold, unforgiving, relentless. It spread across the smaller monsters rib cage and jacket like a frozen chest plate, the creeping fingers reaching for all parts of his body, set on consuming him whole. 

Grillby's wide eyes tracked the tendrils from Sans' shoulders and past his arms to the root of it, his body shaking in fear as he saw the small blue heart that was Sans' soul. It was cracked. Beaten. Glowing faintly. Barely beating. Covered in ice. 

"S-Sans! Wh-What's wrong?! H-How did th-this happen?!" Grillby frantically grabbed the shorter skeleton and dragged him to his chest, holding the frozen jacket of bones in his arms as best he could. 

Sans limply shook his head, one hand lifting slightly to point his limp fingers towards his soul, the ice making his way to his finger tips and covering them as well. His eyes were half closed and his breathing rasped, sounding like it was about to cut off completely by the choking bitter crystals of winter.

"Wh-what do I- I do?!" Sans gave the same response, a weak shake of his skull, before he fell unconscious, his arm hanging at his side as his soul was completely engulfed in the frozen terror. Grillby sucked in short breaths and tried to fight away the tears pricking at his eyes, his glasses sliding off his nose as they always did. 

"N-no.. Sans.. Buddy.. Please.." He couldn't hold back as the realization and sorrow engulfed him, his soul crashing through his chest till it hit the bottom of his stomach, rock bottom. His knees buckled and he fell to the floor, holding close the icy body of his friend, his customer, his love.

Tears streamed freely and he didn't acknowledge Alphys as she hurried in, hearing the commotion as the bartender pushed the operating table away with his weight, its wheels squeaking as it rattled across the floor. 

The lizard stopped in her tracks and covered her mouth with her claws, her eyes wide behind her thick framed glasses, her own tears brimming as well. She was about to take a step forward to comfort Grillby when her mind adviced against it, instead hurrying away from the room with her tail swishing behind her. 

"You.. You n-never paid.. Your tab." Grillby laughed pitifully, his voice cracking with emotion as he gently pet Sans' cheek, the back of his fingers skimming against the cold of his skull. The skeleton's eyes had closed as he let out his final breath, his body giving one last tremor before it lost its life, the faint flicker of magic in his soul disappearing for good.

Grillby didn't even get to say goodbye. He didn't get to tell him how much he loved Sans, how much he cared about Sans, how long he had been holding back. He never got to show Sans his true motives.. To ask for his hand in the long journey of a life together. 

With one fell swoop, it was all gone. 

"NO!" Grillby's body shook with the effort as he screamed for his dead love, his throat ripping as he screamed and shrieked, his face soaked in tears, his hands gripping Sans' jacket, shaking him and begging him to wake up.

Begging him to come back. 

Begging him to stay with Grillby.

Begging him to live.

He couldn't take it. It wasn't real. It was a bad dream. A messed up joke. A lie. He pulled Sans closer and pressed his frozen features to his chest, Grillby's body bent over his, laying limp in his lap.

"Co- come back.." The words were no longer a demand. They weren't even a question. They were finalizing. They ended the life of the monster he care about so much. 

Then something happened in Grillby. 

Something hot, scorching and filled with anger. No, not anger. It was determination. He wouldn't let him go just like that. He would have to have his own soul ripped from his chest to let this happen. And even then, he wouldn't let it. 

The flames that made up the elemental's body flared brightly, building up in strength and ferocity that they reflected off the metal equipment of the room, creating the illusion that everything was on fire. 

It continued to dance into life as the bartender pressed himself to the cold lifeless body, his tears falling onto the bones that made up Sans.

"I won't let you die." Then it was all gone in a bright flash, the flames flickering from exsistance as if they had been blown out by a strong wind, casting the room in shadows as the only light was the dim flicker of Grillby's soul next to Sans' dark one, the illumination of orange casting onto the fallen heart.

There was no ice to be seen. It had all been engulfed and melted into the flames, even the water evaporated in the heat, leaving the room hot and stuffy. Grillby looked at the two souls with an empty expression, his glasses flashing in the soft light of his soul.

It didn't work. His last, final attempt didn't work.

He bowed his head in defeat, his arms still wrapped around Sans' and holding him close, his chest letting out a final breath of his own as he gave up. 

The bartender didn't notice as a faint blue flame flickered in the dark heart, looking like a candle hidden away in a cloudy container, casting shadows onto the walls of its small home.

It danced for a moment before brightening, filling the small vessel with light that outdid Grillby's flames with it's blue beauty, strengthening till a small gasp startled him.

"S-Sans?" He pulled away quickly to peer through the darkness at the softly illuminated face of the skeleton, their souls the only light to see by. 

"Sans, it's Grillby.. Please tell me your okay.." He was about to call the noise he had heard his imagination when the monster opened his eyes, the small white pupils dancing as in his eye sockets as he looked at Grillby. 

"O.. Oh.. Hey.. G-Grillbz.." Grillby was overwhelmed with relief as the skeleton spoke, his voice a ragged whisper in the silence of lamenting.

"I thought I lost you.." 

"Psh.. You c-can't lose me... I have d-death p-puns to.. make.." Grillby couldn't help but laugh, his shoulders trembling as he hugged Sans again, a smile spreading on his lips. 

"You scared me to death."

"That was.. the point.." Sans already had his goofy grin when Grillby looked at him again, his eyes crinkling from the wide smile. Grillby sighed and kissed his forehead, trying to ignore the lingering chill of death in Sans' bones. 

"Don't do it again.."

"Okay, Mom." Grillby gave Sans such sharp glare that even the comedian lost his smile, lowering his eyes.

"I'm.. I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"That doesn't matter." Sans looked back up, his face scrunched in confusion.

"But-"

"No butts. Your a skeleton." Sans cracked a smile at the bartender's grin and felt his rigid bones relax, the elemental's body heat keeping him warm. 

"How did you do it then? Save me, I mean." Grillby was silent for a moment, lost in thought before he trained his eyes on the souls floating between them, deep fiery orange, and dark, beautiful blue.

"With my love for you.. The one that keeps me going and fill me with warmth.. The heat of our souls."