"I don't want to go, daddy." A small girl clings to her fathers leg, her face buried into the mans side. Her pleading tone doesn't go unnoticed by her father, who sighs softly, his large hand running through her short (h/c) hair, watching the strands slip through his fingers with a soft fondness.

"I know, sweetpea. I know." The little girl, no older than five, stares up at him with tears lining her eyes. She watches him with a sniffle as he kneels down to her height, a frown deeply etched on his lips. "I don't want you to go either, but it'll only be for a little while, I promise. When the doctors are done, we'll go home and have your favourite dinner cooked, how about that?"

The (e/c) eyed girl plays with her fingers, her heart thrumming painfully in her chest. She didn't like it when the people in white coats took her away, she didn't like how they poked her with needles and never told her anything. They weren't nice like her daddy, they didn't comfort her when she cried out whenever they poked at her too painfully.

Wiping away a stray tear that runs down her cheek, the girl nods softly, "Okay...I'll be strong, and brave. Like you." Her smile wavers through her brave facade, hands shaking in front of her. She would do this for him, and her mother and her brother.

"That's my girl. I'm so proud of you, (Y/n)." Her father smiles tightly down at her, gentle hands ruffling the girls hair up. Placing a quick peck to her forehead, he stands to his full height, eyes now shifting to glance behind his daughter.

(Y/n) goes to follow his gaze but is stopped short when a rough hand places itself on her shoulder, making the small girl tense under their hold. Her head slowly tilts up to see a mans familiar stony face, his hard blue eyes glaring daggers at her father.

With a harsh shove in the opposite direction of where her father stood, (Y/n) holds back her cries and begins to walk down the same corridor she had already memorised by now, the distant voices of her father and the man in the white coat fading as she walks.

"You know the rules, (L/n). Go, you'll get your daughter by the end of the day if the test fails again. I don't want to see your ass anywhere near the lab for the duration of that time."

"I know that! Anything happens to her, and I'll make sure this whole place gets shut down. Even if I go down with it."

♡♡♡

Throwing your arm over your eyes, you let out a tired groan. You were starting to get sick of that same dream reoccurring over and over again, it's been playing on your mind for too many years now. It only got on your nerves more when you didn't even remember why that memory existed, or even if it was a memory to begin with. It felt familiar, but it could just be because you've dreamt about it so many times.

Interrupting your silent moment was the harsh sunlight burning the side of your arm. Not wanting to deal with a sunburn, you shift on your bed to sit with your back against the headboard, eyes drifting over to glare at your window. "I don't remember leaving the blinds open." You mutter to yourself, legs now dangling off the side of the bed.

It takes a few moments for your sleep clouded brain to catch up with everything before your eyes widened, a gasp passing from your lips. Quickly, your hands begin to wonder your body, your own body. Flesh met flesh, warm skin and blood pumping through your veins. You were back in your own skin, quite literally.

Scanning your bedroom, you're a little disappointed to find nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing was moved and it didn't look like Sans had left a note like you did with him. Furrowing your eyebrows, you stand and go to close the blinds that were letting the damned sun in. Pulling the string, you let your mind drift off again.

What if everything that you thought had happened, didn't? Thinking about it now felt a somewhat silly. Having a SOULmate was one thing, but having them be a Monster was another. There was no way the universe could pull something like that off, right? A human paired with a Monster just seemed like some fantasy novel a thirteen year old published on some sketchy site. Plus, Monsters weren't actually real, they were a myth, you've been over this before.

Frisk didn't exist, Grillby didn't exist, Papyrus didn't exist, the Underground didn't exist and worst of all, Sans didn't exist. Your SOULmate still didn't exist and they never would.

Lowering your head, you stared at the carpet with conflicted emotions. It was the alcohol that messed with your head most likely. You drank too much and now it had your hopes up that you actually had a chance of meeting your destined other half. What utter bullshit.

"That'll teach me for drinking, I guess." A bitter chuckle escapes you as you turn away from the window. Rolling your shoulders, you give one final glance around your room before scoffing under your breath.

Deciding to push your ridiculous dream and hopes of a SOULmate to the back of your mind where they belong, you begin digging around in your closet for your work clothes, knowing that it was a Tuesday, and no matter how much you didn't want to work today, you still needed to bring in the money and pay the rent somehow. Calling your parents and asking them for some money wasn't an option either, you refused to take what they had earned.

Finding one of your spare work shirts hanging up on a hanger, you reach out and yank it off without a care, wincing when the hanger nearly flings off its hook to almost whack you in the face. Throwing the shirt over your shoulder, you move away from your closet and go to rummage through your drawers for some jeans when two knocks are sounded from your bedroom door. Muttering a short 'come in', you catch eyes with Alicia as the girl leans against the doorframe.

"Hey, how're you feeling, hun?" She questions softly, a small frown placed on her face.

You tilt your head, confused by her words. "Sorry?" Were you unknowingly sick after drinking last night? Oh, God. Did you throw up or something? Your cheeks tint an embarrassed shade of pink at the thought, stomach churning.

The emerald eyed girl only frowns deeper and walks towards you, one of her hands lifting to lightly touch your forehead with motherly care, "You don't remember?" When you shake your head at her in response, she continues, "For all I know, you were locked up inside your room all yesterday. You didn't even come out to eat dinner."

At the mention of her delicious cooking, your stomach decides to make itself known by grumbling loudly. Placing a hand over where the noise came from, you break eye contact with your best friend and spot your phone sitting on your bedside table, still on charge. Taking quick strides towards it, you pull the charger out and turn the phone on to check the date, ignoring the confused look from Alicia.

Yesterday was the 12th, or so you had thought. The date displayed on the front of your screen showed the 14th! Eyes wide in realisation, you pocket your phone before you could drop it and turn slowly to Alicia, heart beating erratically against your ribcage. Everything that you thought was some realistic dream that had formed because of your pent up frustration on not having a SOULmate and alcohol had in fact been real. Everyone in the Underground was real, Monsters were alive, Sans was your SOULmate.

"I have a SOULmate." Saying it out loud and in front of someone only confirmed everything that you had once doubted. Your whole body quivered in excitement, a wide grin spread across your cheeks. It seemed that everything was starting to sink in, hitting you all at once.

"(Y/n)? What's going on?" You snap out of your daze and let out a laugh, only confusing the girl in front of you more.

"I have so much to tell you!" You squeal, rushing over to wrap your arms around the taller girl in a hug you so desperately needed. You hear her chuckle softly, her own arms wrapping around your shoulders to return the embrace. Gasping suddenly, you pull back slightly to point a finger at her, face now serious. "What I'm about to tell you stays between us, okay? I trust you with my life and you're my best friend, that's why I'm going to tell you and hope that you don't think I went on a drug run the other night or something."

You watch Alicia snort in amusement, her grin quickly disappearing to be replaced by a serious expression that matched your own. "I swear on my SOUL that I won't tell anyone, pinky promise!" She holds out her right pinky and you don't hesitate to latch your own pinky around hers.

"Great, now tell me what's going on because I'm super confused." She pouts at you, removing her pinky from yours to instead lace your fingers together and pull you towards the living room where she gently sits you down, placing herself next to you with eager eyes. "Well?"

"Um, well I didn't really think this far through..." You mutter, shifting on the couch so that your legs were crossed underneath your rear. With your hands in your lap, you idly play with the end of your shirt, trying to figure out where to begin with the story.

"Hey, just take your time." Alicia smiles gently, an encouraging smile easing your frantic thoughts.

"Okay." You breathe in shakily, your heart spiking in speed once again as a giddiness takes over your form, "Well, I can confidently say I have a SOULmate now—" You didn't get to finish when the girl in front of you grabs you by the shoulders, frantically shaking you as question after question is thrown at you.

"Really?! Oh, my stars! Who is it? Do I know them? Is it a girl or guy? Are they cute? What colour are their eyes? What about their hair? Wait...What's your SOULmate bond then?"

"S-Slow down!" You manage to pry her hands off your shoulders, clutching them in your own hands in case she tried to pull the same moves again. "Let me speak first before you ask about him, okay?"

"Ooooh," She grins teasingly, eyebrows wiggling sensually as she nudges your stomach with some difficulty considering you held her hands hostage, "So it's a guy, huh?"

You groan, letting her go as she giggles behind her now free hands. You couldn't help but smile to yourself, a shy blush dusting over your nose and cheeks. Lightly nibbling on the inside of you cheek, you speak again after her giggles have died down, "Yeah, but the thing is....He's kind of a Monster that's trapped Underground beneath Mount Ebott?"

Silence engulfs the space between you both, panic beginning to creep up your spine as you glance to the flat screen TV hanging on the wall, your fuzzy reflection showing the fear you held on your face. Maybe you shouldn't have told her, what if she reacts terribly? Would she tell someone in a higher power, like the government? Would they take you to get tested on, trying to see what your SOUL held that made you have some sort of fated connection with a Monster?

What if she told the media? You didn't want to be scared to go out everyday, afraid that a cameraman would be around every corner, ready to attack you with personal questions. What would you even tell them? You knew basically nothing about Monsters, let alone why your SOULmate was one! You had no say in who you were meant to be with whatsoever!

"(Y/n), this is amazing!"

You turn away from the TV so fast that your neck cracked painfully. Muttering a curse, your hands massaged the tender area while you squinted at the girl in front of you, "Huh?" You asked dumbly.

She only grins wider at you, basically vibrating in her seat. "You have a SOULmate! Who cares that he's a Monster, as long as he's a decent guy that's going to be by your side and treat you well, then I'm happy for you."

You pause your massaging and drop your hands, blinking owlishly at her for a few seconds. "You really don't mind that he's, like, a different species basically?"

Alicia blows a raspberry, waving a dismissive hand in your direction, "Are you kidding? Of course I don't care! All I care is about is your happiness! But I have a question," Her eyes quickly give you a once over as if she was looking for something, "How do you know he's a Monster? Have you met him somehow?"

Oh, she was looking for a physical SOULmate bond, one that you never and still won't ever have. Grinning almost proudly, you straighten your posture, "Well, I swapped bodies with him!"

"You what?!" She shrieks, body jerking off the couch at how fast she reacted. She hits the carpeted floor with a small 'oomf' but quickly sits up despite the pain she was probably feeling. "You mean he was here?! In your body?! Yesterday!?"

"Yeah?" You raise an eyebrow at her frantic shouts, "So what? I have a doubt he did anything, you said 'I' was in my room all day. Besides, the people who I talked to when I was in his body said he was kind of the lazy type." You wrinkle your nose at her, "He didn't say anything to you?"

Alicia pouts her bottom lip out, her arms crossing over her chest, "No, but I let him have the whole house to himself while I was at work! He's a stranger...but I guess I'll trust he didn't do anything since he's your SOULmate and all." Huffing, she falls limp onto the floor, staring up at the ceiling. "Can't believe you met your SOULmate, considering we all thought you didn't have one." She turns her head to lock eyes with you, a smile on her face, "Are you happy?"

You copy her smile and slide off the couch to sit by her legs, your head craning back to lay on the cushion you were just sitting on. "Yeah." The word came out quiet, but you knew she heard you. "Yeah, I am."

Both of you suddenly jump in surprise when your phone rings in your pocket, the vibrations sending tingles down your leg. Sighing, you manage to fish it out and get a glimpse on who was calling you. Humming, you answer the call and bring the device to your ear, "Hey, Zach. What's up?"

"What's up? Really? That's all you have to say?" Concern filled Zachariah's voice, the distant sound of puppies yapping coming from the distance on his side of the call, "I tried callin' you yesterday, I wanted to make sure you were feeling better. But someone decided to not answer."

You could easily hear the sarcasm in his tone, which makes you roll your eyes with a small laugh. "Sorry, I must've been really sick if I slept through all your calls." Catching Alicia's gaze next to you, you see her sit up to shuffle next to your side, trying to listen in on the call.

"Yeah, you better be sorry. How're ya feelin' though? You can have the day off if ya ain't up for working." The sound of shuffling papers and the click of a pen greets your ear, the sound of the puppies quiet now. He must've walked into his office.

"I'm feeling better, I'll come in but I might be a bit late. Is that alright?"

You weren't sure if you should tell Zach about Sans, not knowing if he would take it as well as Alicia did. He's never mentioned anything about Monsters or the war they had between humans, but you could never be too sure. He was a decent guy, but you were still hesitant.

"That's fine, there's no rush. Take care of ya self, okay? I'll see you a bit later."

Giving him a quick goodbye, you sigh and drop the phone on your lap. Briefly closing your eyes, you give yourself a minute of silence. You had a strong gut feeling that things were going to get hectic really soon, and it didn't sit right with you. Something bad was standing right over your shoulder, in a place where it knew you couldn't see it. You hoped all you were feeling was some kind of paranoia.

"Hey," Peeking an eye open, you glance up at Alicia who now stands next to you, her hands on her hip. "Want me to make you some breakfast while you tell me about Mister Monster?"

"Just marry me already, Alicia."

"I'll take that as a yes!"