Me: Ugh...this might not sit well for some of my readers...
Alphys: D-Dont think like that, Ben! It's not that bad!
Undyne: Yeah! You can't possibly go seriously downhill for something like this!
Frisk: It's not like they'll stop reading altogether for something as minor as this.
Asriel: You'll be fine, Ben. Even if there is backlash, it can't be bad enough for them to stop reading your stories altogether.
Me:...*sigh* I hope you're right.
*hesitates* Drabble...Start...?
Frisk's curiosity has finally reached his peak. He wasn't going to hold it off any longer. He Was currently dragging Asriel by the paw over to Alphys' Lab, while the fluffy Dreemurr was absolutely confused by his brother's insistence. He was pretty DETERMINED to do something.
"Frisk...why are we going over to Alphys's place?"
"Because I'm sure she still has her hidden cameras in place, and there's something I need to know. I just can't take the mystery anymore! And I'm pretty sure that you're curious too!"
Asriel scratched his floppy ears a little bit, not arguing about that. It turns out he is pretty curious about what was going on. And said mystery was centered around his older brother Chara. For the past couple weeks, he's been leaving on his own plenty of times, and no one was really concerned about where he disappears off to because he always comes back before Asgore and (mostly) Toriel could get very concerned. Asriel and Frisk were pretty laid back, so they didn't worry too much about it either. However, the latter was simply too curious to leave the matter anymore, so now he was going to find out exactly where Chara disappears to every couple of days.
He had a sneaking suspicion on what might be going on, but he needed to be sure. And what better way than to use Alphys camera to spy on his older brother?
As Sans mentioned in one of his Pacifisr Judgements, Frisk has never claimed to be completely innocent or naive. Asriel really should have known better. In a way, he actually did, but there wasn't too many situations that actually brought this into the light for him to see. This would be one of those situations.
With a sigh, Asriel simply followed his younger brothers wishes and followed him into hotlands. He really wanted to get out of the heat and move into the air conditioned lab that Alphys inhabited. It must be one of the reasons why Undyne was able to stand living in Hotlands now...aside from moving in with her girlfriend. Soon enough, they approsched the sliding doors and entered the lab.
They caught sight of Undyne and Alphys sitting in a chair. Well...more like Undyne sitting in the chair while Alphys sits on her lap. They seem rather comfortable in that position, for obvious reasons. Undyne had her arms wrapped around Alphys from behind, her crimson hair lightly tickling Alphys, who was giddily kicking her feet out while her tail wagged happily from the attention.
"So...we both agree that Mew Mew Kissy Cutie 2 is a huge letdown?"
"TOTALLY! I'm j-just gonna pretend that it never existed. They completely ruined her character arc! Though I guess that's what happens when you get a change in writers. Once they changed so does the content. And it's j-just completely suckish compared to the original."
"Ugh! Why is it that there are times that the original is the best there is and the sequels suck, and there are other times that the sequels are sometimes better?! That's gets really annoying how things sometimes flip-flop like that!"
"I-I suppose it depends on how much of a fan you are to a certain franchise."
"Aaaand sometimes sequels under different writers is not a good idea." Geno Alphys said while coming down the escalator. "The original Mew Mew Kissy Cutie actually reached out and touched our hearts. I can at least appreciate that the sequel gave it a shot, but all in all they should have just stuck to keeping the character development in line. That's a major problem. They. Forgot. To. Keep. The. Character. Development. In. Check!" She ranted a bit, slapping the back of her palm on her other paw each time she said a word.
"I KNOW! What a letdown!" Alphys sighed a little as Undyne rolled in their rolling chair, though they stopped mid-spin when they spotted Asriel and Frisk. "Oh, hi boys! What can we do you for?"
"We want to know where Chara keeps running off to. Frisk can't keep his curiosity in check any longer." Asriel said a bit tiredly while rubbing the back of his neck. "So...can we get a peek around with your cameras?"
Geno Alphys tapped her chin. "Hmm...I dunno. Spying on your brother with our hidden cameras? Thst sounds like s bit of a breech in privacy, don't you think?" Asriel was about to agree, though he stopped himself when he saw her smirk. "Though now I'm curious to see where the little punk's up to. Lemme just start up the computer." She ssid as she took another chair and rolled towards the computer.
Asriel sighed as the screen lights up. "I really don't know what we're going to find, but I want to know how we might deal with the discovery once it's revealed."
"We simply keep a secret if he wants no one else to know about it. No one else has to know but us." Frisk replied looking towards the screen. Undyne and Alphys looked on as well as Geno Alphys kept clicking through multiple areas in the Underground.
"Let's see where the Rosy-Cheeked Boy is...Ruins?" Click. "No. Snowdin?" Click. "Nope. Waterfall?" Click. "Nada. Hotlands?" Click. "N-Wait, hold on! I got a beat on him!" Asriel and Frisk immediately looked closer to see that their brother was indeed on the screen, traversing through Hotlands. They wondered where he was heading, then they see him take an elevator and hope across a couple vents. "Where's the little guy goin'? By the looks of it, he's off to see-" Geno Alphys' eyes widened, and her mouth slowly becomes agape. Alphys almost dropped her glasses. Asriel and Frisk were frozen in surprise, unable to respond as they saw exactly who their brother went to see.
Frisk had his suspicions, but this confirms them without a doubt.
(Hotlands)
Chara had taken special care to make sure he wasn't being followed by anyone or anything. He would have simply teleported to the location of his desire, but he was not a master of it like Sans was. Sans had full mastery of his teleportation, and Asriel had much more stamina for it. Not Chara. So he had to make his way there by foot.
He had coming here for a while now. He wasn't about to pretend that it won't eventually be discovered by somebody, knowing that he couldn't keep this a secret forever. But for the time being, he would keep doing it like this. Chara was simply...too embarrassed to involve anyone else in this, yet. His brothers were included. His father might be pretty laid back about it, but he'd never hear the end of it if Toriel finds out about this before he was ready!
No, he wanted this to stay as private as possible for the time being.
Eventually, he made it there. Into the part of Hotlands that had the sweet aroma of well-made tea, the rather slightly intimidated looks of the other monsters in the vicinity...the pitter-pattering of numerous spiders scurrying around in a very busy manner, each of them giving small squeaks of acknowledgement towards one another...and he remembered not to get himself caught in the webbing while he was stepping around. Eventually he stopped by and he looked up.
Muffet was slowly descending from the ceiling, stepping down on multiple strings of web in an elegant, balanced, and casual manner. One of her six arms reached up to her cute little fangs as she let's out her notable giggle.
"Ahuhuhuhu~look here, dearies. It looks like our guest has returned once again!~"
Chara rubbed his neck awkwardly. "Yeah...just like I said I would."
"Well? Don't be shy, dearie. Come take my hand. I have six~" Muffet offered as she held out the lowest hand on her right, while the middle one hangs onto the web line she's on. Without hesitation, Chara took her band and slightly gasped as they quickly zipped upwards a few feet. They landed on a platform composed completely of spider webs. And there was already a table set prepared, surprisingly well balanced on all of these seemingly fragile spider webs. Muffet already walked up and sat dowm in one of the chairs. Chara also sat in one.
"Sheesh. This is some quality webbing." No matter how many times he experiences it, it never ceases to amaze him.
"You can thank your adorable fluffy brother for that~" Muffet said with a wave of her top left hand. Asriel has also given her 'The Angel's Blessing', the same thing he did for the top six monsters. Now, Muffet's webbing was much stronger, and her spiders were stronger too, and they can cooperste much more effeciently. And her webs can also glow purple, in a way that it can cut ofr and drain the magic of someone hostile. She's also hinted to now be venemous...Chara would hate to be the person she tests that out on.
One of the monster spiders crawled up to him and handed him Spider Cider. Chara blanched a bit and held out a hand in denial. "N-No thanks."
"Ah ah ah, dearie. Our guest isn't a fan of our spider-themed products, remember? It makes him a little green." Muffet lightly scolded the spider. It whined a little and lowers itself in shame. Her middle arms take it in their hands and began petting it. "Oh, it's okay dearie. Everyone makes mistakes. Just be a tiny bit more mindful next time." She softly kisses it and allows it to fling away on a web. Another spiders crawls up on the table with a teapot. "Ahuhu, that's better!~" Muffet grabs the teapot and holds out a cup for Chara, pouring some in, before handing it out to him. "Not to worry, dearie. This tea is chocolate. It's nice of your brothers to tell me what you enjoy most. Id like to get as much customer satisfaction as possible, you see~"
Chara takes the choco tea and takes a small sip. Not too warm, not too cold. Just the right amount of both. "Yeah...I was always wondering about that. You're not that much older than I am. How can you already be owning your own business?" He minimal knowledge on spiders. He was at least aware that some young spiders need their mothers assistsnce a little while longer in order ro survive. Other young spiders can take care of themselves just fine without their parents, since some species die after their children are born. However, he was well-aware that monster spiders are radically different in some aspects.
Muffet smiles softly as all five of her eyes blinked at once. "Well dearie, there are some people who have to grow up much more quickly than others. I'm one of them. There was nothing tragic about about it, dearie. It is sad on some points, but it is natural for some spiders to leave the nest sooner tham others. And I've managed just fine on my own!"
"I see. You've really made a name for yourself." Chara smiled as he sips more of his tea, while Muffet cheerfully sips hers. He looked around. "Eh...your 'pet' wouldn't be anywhere around, would he? Last week he was licking me so much I thought he was gonna eat me...a couple days ago he did try to eat me!"
"Ah, yes. I do apologize about that. That is not how good customers should be treated. So I put him in my 'Time-Out Web'." She looked over the web platform and saw that the large spider/muffin hybrid was tangled in a mess of glowing purple webs, which restrained any and all possible movement. "I'm sorry, sweetie! But you can't go trying to eat customers that don't deserve it! You sit there and think about what you've done!" It softly and sadly howls in acceptance, lowering it's head in shame.
Chars thought about the irony. Considering his record, he really did kind of deserve it...but she didn't need to know that. Not now, at least. He chuckled slightly. "Don't be too hard on him. I can understand he gets a bit overexcited sometimes."
"I know." She said, her lower arms hands clasped on the table, her middle arms folded, and her top arms helping her sip tea. "But I'm just making it clear that that type of behavior won't get us too many customers when we're finally allowed to go to the surface. We don't want the humans to be more afraid of spiders than I heard that they are. We have to show them that our kind of spiders can be trusted!" She said, all five of her eyes flashing with DETERMINATION. Chara had to admit, she did have a clear goal in mind when it came to her business eventually coming to the surface, and she was dead-set on reaching it.
"Well...if anyone can prove that spiders aren't all bad, it's you, Muffet. You ARE the Spider Queen after all."
Muffet blushed a bit at the compliment and words of encouragement, her top left hand covering her mouth a little. "Ahuhuhuhu! How nice of you to say! Though I don't consider myself a full-fledged Queen of the Spiders. Not yet at least. I realize I still have a lot of work to do. So at the moment, I'm more of a Princess of Spiders. I've already gotten the heated limo so my spiders form the Ruins can travel through Snowdin and back if needed, and to get them through Winter when we go to the surface, so that's a big start."
Chara tilted his head. "Er...won't it be a bit difficult to get that heated limo form the Ruins and across the Underground? Most of it doesn't really support automobiles...at least I think they don't. I dunno, anything's possible."
"We'll do anything we spiders can." Muffet smiled. "Speaking of which, I once visited Alphys as she was watching this human movie. And it seems that the humans are really into this...red and blue costumed man who has the abilities of a spider greatly multiplied, and he shows a lot of heroic spirit. It seems that that particular character is the iconic face of an entertainment company. On the surface, he's the most popular spider of all! Ahuhuhuhu~" She giggled again. "I may come a long way, but I don't think I'll ever be able to compete with popularity of that magnitude. So I'll humbly admit defeat before the contest can begin."
Chara smiled. "Well, that's very big of you."
"It is, isn't it?" Muffet smiled. Another spider lowered and handed another treat in her top left hand, and she offered it to Chara. "Chocolate donut?"
"Heck yeah!" Chara fist pumped as he gratefully takes the donut and immediately bites into it. "Mmmm...wow, Muffet. You and my Mom should totally bake together sometime. I bet you'll make something great!"
"Oh please, you just want us to bake as many chocolate-related treats for you as possible at twice the output." Muffet teased. "Don't you think you've eaten too much chocolate sometimes?"
"Hey! There is no such thing as TOO MUCH chocolate! That concept doesn't exist, ya hear?!" He said while pointing his half-eaten donut at her for a couple seconds, then returns to eating it grumpily.
"Ahuhuhuhuhu!~ Chara, you're so adorable when you get all pouty over your chocolate!"
"Don't call me adorable." Muffet smiled as she got up from her chair. Chara raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?" She said nothing as she simply leaned over the table, her middle hands holding her up while the upper hands reached out to him. Chara glared threateningly. "Muffet, don't even thi-"
"Boop~" She delightfully booped his rosy cheeks as they were still puffed with chocolate donut. His response was completely deadpan, ignoring the fact that his rosy cheeks for a bit pinker.
"You're not funny."
"Awww, pouty Chara is so adorable~" She giggled as she then gave the cheeks a pinch, and he jolted in his seat as a response. "Not to mention your rosy cheeks are cute and pinchable!"
"Don't call me cute, either!" Chara said with defiance, even as she pinched his cheeks again. It didn't help his growing blush in the slightest. "And quit pinching my cheeks! I get enough of that from Mom!
"Pinchy pinchy pinchy pinch~" Muffet hummed, cheerfully ignoring him as she kept pinching his cheeks softly. He only resisted verbally, as he made no move to physically force her to stop. Eventually she did get tired of it and spared him for the moment, much to his relief.
"Thank you for stopping your pinch assault. Now if you can-"
"Mmmmmmwah!~"
Chara was cut off by the spider girl reaching over and planting a friendly kiss on his cheek, all five of her eyes closed. He was struck silent by her act, his eyes wide and he was unable to act for a moment. Though he shook his head and managed to regain his bearings. "W...Wha...?"
"Cutie Cheeks? Check. Pinchable Cheeks? Check. Kissable Cheeks? Definite Check. Your rosy cheeks have earned all three adoration points! Aaaaaaahuhuhuhu!~"
"YOU'RE! NOT! FUNNY!" Chara shouted, slamming his hands on the table while trying to fight off the blush on his cheeks as the Spider Girl in front of him continues to giggle at his embarrassment.
(Alphys' Lab)
The group was staring slack-jawed as they watched the interaction between Chara and Muffet. They watched Chara rant at an amused Muffet for a little while longer until he eventually calmed down and went back to having tea with her. She mercifully ceased the teasing and settled on enjoying tea with her new favorite company.
Undyne blinked owlishly. "No...freaking...way..."
"Chara sneaks away to hang out with Muffet? Well...he did say that she knitted my scarf and your hoodie, Frisk. Maybe they enjoyed that time together and decided to be friends." Asriel said while scratching his ear.
"Alright...remember everyone. This doesn't leave the room. He's too embarassed at the moment, so he'll tell us when he's good and ready." Everyone slowly nodded in agreement.
Geno Alphys blinked. "I gotta admit, I didn't expect this at all. Well...I supposed it makes sense. They're both cute, they're both pretty young for now...and they're creepy as hell when they really try to be. And they both love their sweets. I guess this friendship can pay off nicely, I suppose." The shipping is strong with these two. She turned towards her counterpart, who's eyes remained glued to the screen, and her paws on her cheeks. "Alphys? You alright, girl?"
"I'm fine." Alphys said slowly. She was calm on the outside. Her mind, on the other hand...
Shipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipship...
Me: *falls dramatically to the floor* What have I created...
Muffet: A little faith would do you nicely, dearie. It is YOUR story, after all~
Me: Yeah...I guess that's true.
Chara: So this is where things are headed, huh? *shrugs* Meh. Could be a lot worse.
Frisk: Besides, you're basing it off then fact that Muffet's creator described her as a "lil' baby spider monster you can have tea with!" So you made her around me, Asriel, and Chara's biological age to fit that description. Maybe slightly older.
Alphys: T-That's fair, right?
Undyne: Should be. We've seen plenty of non-canon ships that are actually pretty decent. So readers...don't be jerks, okay? Our author can take fair criticism, but...well, just look at him!
Me: *rocking in nervous fetal position* I'm shipping male Chara with Muffet...there's no going back from this...
Asriel: Remember that they're both children at the moment. The sequel might be a different matter entirely after the six years are up, but for now, it's simple cuteness.
Muffet: Until the next drabble, dearies! Ahuhuhuhuhu~