Oh! What do we have here? Another birthday chapter! Only this time, it's towards two of our younger female characters! And in the most unexpected of ways. Well, at least towards one of them. It's still very sweet, in a way. shows a great deal of devotion, ya know?
There are other developments here and there that begin, and will be explored down the road. But for now, these two take the spotlight this chapter. Hope ya don't mind.~
Chapter Start!~
Toriel and Muffet were sitting outside in chairs on a relatively sunny day, both of them taking an extended sip of their tea, before setting it back on their respective coasters, and sighing pleasantly. Muffet smiles gingerly towards Toriel, who smiles back towards her with a respectful nod.
"I must say, Toriel. Your husband really knows how to make some quality tea. As embarrassed as I am to admit it, my tea can't even attempt to compete with his." Muffet complimented while her middle hands gently applauded. "Truly top-notch tea, five stars!~"
"Oh come now, Muffet. You underestimate yourself." Toriel said while waving her off slightly. "Your tea is just fine, Muffet. There's a reason why many come to your parlor to have some. Don't devalue you skill so much."
"Such amazing praise from a mighty Queen!~"
"We'd best not play the flattery game..." Toriel smiled as she pawed her cheek, lightly blushing. Muffet giggled at this as she sipped more of her tea, then takes a bite from her crumpet. One that's filled with spiders. At the same time, Toriel also took a slice of Snail Pie from her plate and takes a bite from that, enjoying a bit of the slime, slightly. What they both take a bit of amusement from, is that Chara still finds their taste buds bizarre-even by monster standards-because of this. Snails and Spiders. It just makes him shiver sometimes. At least Muffet has a valid reason; spiders tend to eat each other anyway. While Toriel...Toriel just really likes snails. Either way, it leaves him baffled..and slightly sick.
Speaking of Chara...
"So...Muffet." Toriel eventually began as she sets her teacup down. "I've honestly put off talking about this because I didn't want to appear to appear as a meddler. It's been some time...since you and my son Chara have begun dating, I mean."
"Mhm! And as usual, Chara-Dearie is adorable! Simply adorable!~" Muffet beamed while gently palming her cheeks, moving her head side to side. "I simply can't help but boop his pink cutie cheeks. They're begging to be booped!~"
Toriel briefly chuckled at her enthusiasm, though she did try to stay focused. "I agree. Chara's cheeks are rather boopable. Though I wonder. You really do like to dote on him, don't you?"
Muffet shrugged. "I suppose that I do...but not nearly as much as you and Asgore doting on your sons altogether."
"A-Ah...!" Toriel blinked, then turned her head with a slight blush. She can't really deny that she takes many opportunities to dote on her beloved sons when the time is appropriate. And when she does, she really makes it known just how much she cares about them. Both she and her husband do this relentlessly whenever they can. Though from the looks of it, Muffet also indulges the boys whenever she can. She's rather polite, even though her way of living life can be a bit strange to the human eye. "...Okay, I can admit to spoiling them sometimes..."
"It certainly is alright to admit that. It's fine, truly."
"I suppose." Toriel relented while scratching her cheek a bit. "...Also, you admit to being...um...quite teasing."
"Hm?"
"You tend to tease him a lot."
"Oh yes, I admit to being terribly flirty with him." Muffet says as she sips more of her tea. "I have a bit of guilty pleasure seeing him all flustered, and seeing his cheeks go even pinker from embarrassment. He's such a cute sweetheart!~"
Toriel did giggle a bit from this. The more protective side of her mind didn't feel completely comfortable with Muffet's constant flirting with her son, since she gets rather...suggestive. Then again, she wasn't really in a position to reprimand her for it. She herself has been increasingly flirty with Asgore when they're alone together. So she won't tell off Muffet for it. She was simply worried that she would take it too far at some point, and both of them would wind up hurt from it. But she was able to reassure herself. As much of a relentless tease as Muffet freely admits herself to being, Toriel knew that she would never do anything to intentionally, truly hurt Chara. They've spent far too much time together for that to be a conclusion.
After another period of silence between them, Toriel asked another question. "Muffet...another important question, if you mind."
"Fire away." Muffet quipped with a wink.
Toriel chuckled. Depending on the situation, puns were her weakness. Though she calmed herself and asked: "When it comes to you loving my son...what might your thoughts be on it?"
"Ever since we met, I've grown to love the chocolate loving Dreemurr. But I suppose you're asking about me falling in love with him. Is that right?" Muffet deduced, in which Toriel nodded. "As much as I enjoy getting a rise out of Chara...I enjoy making him happy even more. He's worth the effort. So I spoil him with gifts, chocolate, and much cuddles. I have the arms for the cuddles." Muffet snickered. "...But I am serious. I care about your son, and I do try my best to put his happiness first...though that doesn't mean I can't indulge myself as well, does it?~"
"I suppose not..." Toriel scratched her head a bit. "Anyway...what was the defining factor that made you fully fall in love with him?" Muffet smiled as she leaned in, lifted Toriel's ear, and whispered into it for a few minutes. Her eyes widened and her paws covered her muzzle, as Muffet pulled back, gently smiling. "Oh my goodness...Muffet..."
"Mhm.~"
"I didn't expect that from you...I apologize for my underestimation of you...that's-"
"Don't worry about it. As much as one tries, one's protective maternal side doesn't fully go away." Muffet reasoned as she poured some more tea for the both of them. "Also, will you be attending the special event I have planned for the evening?"
Toriel smiled as she takes her cup of tea. "Why of course, Muffet. I must agree that it's very thoughtful of you to do this. And you're putting quite a bit of money into it."
"Money can be easily regained, Dearie. What I'm more hard at work for, is building up my many relationships to be the best that they can be. As much as I love doing things for money, simply doing things because you love others is much more fulfilling." She says while lifting her own teacup and cutely tilting her head. "Wouldn't you agree?"
"We're full of agreements today." Toriel chuckled as she lifts her own teacup and they lightly tapped them together, before taking a gentle sip from said cups. Toriel was reassured now, and she could rest easy knowing Chara was in good hands...all six of them.
As for Muffet, she couldn't wait for evening to come. It is surely going to be a great one.
"Are you kidding me!? PLEASE tell me that you're joking!"
"No, I'm not joking! Are YOU joking?!"
Asgore, Undyne, and Gerson were sheepishly watching the ever-growing argument between the two females trying to verbally dominate the other. They were arguing about a certain subject, a subject they feel very much passionate about, and refuses to accept defeat on the matter.
Mew Mew Kissie Cutie.
"You're seriously confused in the head if you think that Mew Mew Kissy Cutie 2 is better than the first!" Alphys shouted in outrage as she slammed her paws on the table, her glasses shining akin to a mad scientist on a temper tantrum. "It's ful of unacceptable flaws that make a complete mockery of the original! They shouldn't have tried to drastically change something that was already doing well! It's complete garbage! Zero stars!"
"And YOU'RE ridiculously unfair about this if you find Mew Mew Kissy Cutie two doesn't match up to the original, or even surpass it!" Red growled, her lips pulling back into an irritated snarl. "Many new concepts have been introduced that can appeal to both an older audience AND newer audiences with acceptable shifts in genre that can help further and improve it's story and characters! New doesn't always equal bad, and this is one of those cases!"
"Why don't you you accept that the newer one completely perverted what the overall series is and should be?!"
"Why don't YOU accept that your stupid nostalgia glasses is keeping you from enjoying something great!?"
"SUMBIT!"
"NEVER!"
Asgore slowly sips some tea from his cup, gently placed it back on his coaster, and sighed pleasantly. "Such a beautiful day outside, isn't it Gerson?"
"Indeed...unfortunately it's drowned out by these youngn's strong passion over their favorite anime." Gerson sighed, shaking his head.
"They'll break out of it soon. So long as things don't get physical, I'm sure it'll be fine." Asgore seemed pretty positive about this, despite the shouting match going on behind him. Gerson sighed as he gently shook his head. Honestly, he wished he could understand most things going on within his long-time friend's head. Then he realized that Asgore might not exactly be wrong to try and stay away from a passionate conflict between two women. It rarely ends well.
Undyne, however, was enjoying herself quite a bit, staring dreamily towards Alphys as she fully allows her nerdiness to shine against her canine. Passionate Alphys was hotter Alphys for her, no matter the subject. She lightly stares at the ring on her finger and fondly remembers that she'll be married to that nerd in due time. It's coming quite soon, actually. And she truly could not wait for the day to come aleady.
"Undyne. Dear child. Have you decided how your wedding is going to go?" Asgore asked, wanting to steer a conversation to somewhere more positive. Undyne blinked her uncovered eye as she eagerly turned towards Asgore and Gerson.
"Hell yeah! We've already got a bunch of stuff laid out! It's gonna be great!" Undyne beamed while blowing up a bit of her hair. "Get this, guys...we're having our wedding...at the beach."
"Golly!"
"I know, right? I know how much Toriel has wanted everyone to go to the beach. This is gonna be the excuse she'll need to go through with it." Undyne said while pushing some of her hair away. "Besides, I always wanted to go to the beach, too. Water might be nice, and I heard that Mettaton even lead a mass cleanup of the place just so that we can visit it en-masse. We also got a permit to use the place for wedding grounds, which was one of the first things we took care of. And we also got the beach suite there rented out so we can also do some inside stuff. I dunno. Alphys and Mettaton did most of the planning."
"Did you also decide on your attires?" Gerson asked politely.
"Ah, yeah. A bit of formal yet informal mixed in. So nothing too fancy, yet also nothing too casual, and matches the beach theme. Of course, Mettaton took care of that as well. Decided that me and Alphys are both gonna rock a dress."
"You're both going to wear a dress?"
"Yeah. I figured, why the hell not?" Undyne shrugged. "Alphys is gonna look super cute in the dress. We're BOTH gonna look super cute in dresses! Fuhuhu!~" Undyne cackled a bit. Though she also calmed down as she gazed at Asgore and Gerson a bit more seriously. "Though aside from all of that...I'd like to ask you both something."
"Hm?" Both of them hummed simultaneously at the statement.
Undyne didn't know how to come out about this. Though the first thing she did to introduce it is to reach her hands out and gently takes hold of their paw/hand. She took a deep breath, sighed deeply, and looked them both in the face. "Would you both come to this wedding...as my fathers? It would mean a lot to me."
The request made both of their souls warm significantly with delight at her question, and found it positively adorable how she began blushing when she started asking it. Both of them squeezed her hand and smiled widely. Knowing her personally and helping her along for many years, their answer was quite obvious.
"Absolutely."
Undyne grinned happily at this, and reached out to hug the both of them. She was so glad to have their support, and their love. From her mentor/father and idol/father. It was truly a feeling she'll always cherish.
She lightly looked over to Alphys and Red who, like Asgore predicted, burned themselves out from all the arguing. She knowingly grinned again.
Alphys and I will have our day. But for today, it's someone else's special day...
"Muffet! What in the dog biscuit are you doing...?" Red asked impatiently. Muffet was constantly pushing her along as her upper hands covered her back and middle hands pressed against her back, initiating said push. "You've been pushing me with my eyes covered for several minutes now. What's going on, and what are you up to this time?" It was obvious this was another one of Muffet's schemes, one she refused to tell her about until they get to their destination.
"Ahuhuhu! You worry too much, Red Dearie. Just let your dear friend Muffet guide you on the path to happiness and cheer!~"
"That doesn't explain anything..."
"Patience, my lovely wolf. Patience. We're almost there. Just keep those pretty silver eyes closed until I tell you to open them." Muffet cooed as she had Red walk for a little bit longer, and Red could definitely smell that their destination was close. And the air suddenly smelled delicious, which was a sign of a lot food being around her. After much walking, Muffet eventually stopped, and therefore stopped Red in her tracks. And with a cheeky smile, Muffet eventually uncovers Red's eyes. "Okay! Open them!~" Grumbling, Red followed her request.
"Muffet, seriously, what is going on-"
"SURPRISE!~"
"...here...?" Red trailed off as her mout dropped slightly from the sight before her. Many of her friends have been gathered in the plaza of the MTT Resort. Asriel, Frisk, Chara, Dogressa, Dogamy, Ice Wolf, and many more were gathered around, all of them wearing bright and happy faces, while Red blinked owlishly. "W...What's is all this...? What's everyone doing here...?" She asked in complete bafflement, something that amused most people around them.
"Silly pup. It's your birthday!~" Dogressa said with a rather wide smile, delighted to see her daughter's eyes bright up with surprise, and it was more positive than neagtive. She was simply confused. Nevertheless, the confusion was admittedly amusing to observe.
"My...my birthday...? But...I don't even know when my birthday is..." Red mumbled. Throughout the memories she's regained, not a single one of them has given even the slightest cue as to when her birthday was. And in all honesty, she was completely unsure if she even had one. She was more than happy to celebrate anyone else's birthday, but she was genuinely unaware that she had a birthday capable of being celebrated. She wished for an explanation, and Muffet was happy to answer.
"Well it's really quite simple, Dearie. You see...I decided to share my birthday with you!~"
...
...
...
Red blinked once. Then twice. And then a third time. And after fully processing that Muffet was indeed serious about this, her muzzle opened halfway, yet words refused to come out right away. Muffet smiled happily towards her. It was no joke, Muffet had actually shared her birthday with Red. She blinked once more as she fully processed this. Muffet was amused by how long it was taking her to accept that this was really happening. After the moment of silence, her eyes brightened up even more.
"...You...you're really willing to share your birthday...with me...?" Red asked quietly.
"Why of course! It goes to show that you wouldn't really know your birthday since you never celebrated it, so I decided to share mine with you! I've received the Pack's go-ahead in advance in order to do so." Muffet beamed as she skipped up to Red and held her by the paws, hopping excitedly. "We're both sixteen now! Hurray!~"
Sixteen...the both of them were sixteen. In terms of monster years anyway-which is a confusing concept in of it's own-but it still struck pretty strongly with her as she slowly accepted that she was sixteen. Some humans found their sixteenth birthday to be a pretty important deal, especially to females. Red honestly didn't think too much about it, but Muffet clearly has. She wants Red to enjoy this just as much as she will. Once again, despite how Muffet usually acts, it was another display of just how much she really, truly cares about Red. She seems pretty intent on keeping her canine best friend happy whenever and however she can.
"Muffet...you..." She couldn't even finish her thought, she was far too touched. Soon enough, their hand holding turned into a cuddly hug and nuzzle. "You tease me one moment, then affectionately spoil in the next. You're very random, you know that?"
"Random can be fun. Smoosh.~" Muffet beamed while squishing Red's cheeks and lightly shaking her head. "Ya wanna know something funny? We're now both surely older than our boyfriends, at least a bit.~" Muffet said with a giggle, as Asriel was currently fourteen, and Chara was fifteen.
"H-Huh? Oh, yeah. I guess that's true."
Muffet releases Red's cheeks and clapped. "Alright then! Let's get started! Plenty of wonderful things to enjoy!" Muffet was aware that their own birthday wouldn't be as grand as the Dreemurr Trio's, that was alright. She didn't wish for the day to be grand, but to be somewhat graceful. At least for herself. She made plenty of room for Red's wants as well.
Red grinned and nodded at Muffet as she turned towards her fellow Pack. She looked to the side as she sees Asriel waving to her, wishing her happy birthday with a wave and bright smile. Red moved towards him and grabbed his paw. "Right! What do we do first?~"
"I may have something in mind.~" Toriel smiled kindly as she held her phone and texted something to Red's own cell phone.
Red blinked as she pulled out her adorable phone and checked said text. She reads over it for a few moments, only for her eyes to widen and look up to Toriel. "A scavenger hunt...for the different kinds of Cinnamon Bunnies you baked for me?!"
She looked amused by her eyes lighting up, and gestures a gentle side wave with her paw. "Do try to find them all, dear child. And do enjoy yourself while doing so.~" Toriel had properly memorized at this point of Red's great love for Cinnamon Bunnies. So different varieties of Cinnamon Bunnies would really gain her interest. And it certainly did, seeing how the wolf pup's silver eyes were shining with anticipation, while Muffet giggled. Toriel giggles a bit when she noticed Asgore raise an eyebrow at her, and she shook her head. "Oh, fine. I'll hand you one to start you off." Toriel again dials on her phone, this time accessing Dimensional Boxes, and a Cinnamon Bunny appears above her paw. She used a bit of fire magic to gently warm it, before handing it to Red with a soft smile.
Red certainly wasted no time. She takes the Cinnamon Bunny, giving it a brief look-over., and couldn't help but drool a bit. "W-What kind is it...?"
"Cinnamon Bunny Whoopie Pie, dear child. A pie that can quite gently fit into your paws.~"
"this woman and her pies." Sans shook his head, earning a light and playful slap in the arm from Toriel.
Red nodded, as she took a relatively small bite from the treat. She gasped a second later, and quickly eats the rest of it, licking her paws. "It's so delicious...and there's more variations of them?!"
"You'd be surprised how many I've managed to make. Have fun.~" Toriel smiled cheekily. Red immediately grabs Asriel's paw and moves out immediately. Muffet smiled pleasantly and pulled Chara by his single am to follow them, and Frisk and MK were quick to join them. When they got to a certain distance, she turned to Sans and Asgore for a moment. "Sans..." She began while leaning down and kissing the top of his skull. "Asgore..." She turned to her husband and gently kissed his cheek. "Do be sweethearts and keep an eye on them? I know we've let them wander on their own quite often, but a birthday party of this size might get a bit...rowdy."
"Yes ma'am/gotcha ma'am." They both simultaneously with bright blushes, before they proceeded to follow the children. Toriel smiled and waved to them as she turned and moved on to prepare lunch for them when they returned to meet up again.
The gang's first stop would be around the clothing section of the resort, in which Muffet took a bit of delight in. "Ahuhuhu. Clothing section, what luck! I'm pretty sure I placed a few orders here in advance! Both for me and for my dear Red. Now give me a moment as I sign off on them." Muffet offered as she gone to the counter, letting go of Chara in the process. "Don't wander too far, Dearie's. Muffet will be right back.~"
"What did you order...?" Chara asked.
"Just a few things. I believe Red will like them. I certainly like the selections that belong to me.~"
Red didn't really acknowledge it, as she sniffed the air in search of the hidden Cinnamon Bunny. They were all carefully wrapped and protected in small orbs of magic so they wouldn't get damaged while they were hiding. She followed the trail past a couple of coats, before she stopped around one of the larger ones and reached into the pocket. Her eyes lighten with delight as she pulls it out with an eager smile. She checks her phone.
"...Bacon Maple Cinnamon Bunny?!" Red beamed as she eagerly bites into it, her eyes shining and her tail wagging as she did so. "Monch Monch...IT'S SO TASTY!~"
"Aw man...I want one..." Doggo pouted, his head hanging while doing so.
"Yeah. That sounds like something Mom would be happy to bake." Asriel chuckled. Though he did look away a bit and blush. The way she says 'Monch Monch' is undeniably cute.
"Yooo..." MK looked on with increased interest, his tail wagging about as he too drooled a bit. "Man, it looks so good! I wish I could have some of the Cinnamon Bunnies Queen Toriel made. Though it looks like most of them belong to Red right now, since she's the birthday girl and all...and Muffet's a birthday girl too."
Frisk smiled and lightly petted his head. "Don't worry, MK. Mom's putting the finishing touches on other food and snacks for everyone, so you'll have your own share soon enough. Red simply gets the very first batches. She has that kind of birthday right and stuff." He said 'MK' rather affectionately. Even though it was slightly inaccurate, he couldn't help it. He's known MK by that name, and it wouldn't really be so easy to get out of the habit. Besides, the reptile didn't seem to be uncomfortable with it. Seems rather casual about it, actually. And it made Frisk quite happy.
"Alright, I'm done here!~" Muffet beamed as she had multiple clothes bags hanging off her arms, only for her to set them down on a few large spiders, before they crawled away with them. "Saving them for later. but for now, let us continue onward, Dearies!~"
Red didn't need to be told twice. She was already on her way to the next special Cinnamon Bunny. In the meantime, Chara slowed down a bit as he waited for Muffet, until they were eventually walking at the same pace. "You placed orders in multiple places to get the whole buying thing out of the way early?" Muffet nodded in confirmation, in which Chara sighed and scratched the back of his neck. "Geeze. How much did you pay for?"
"Enough to make both me and Red quite happy.~" Muffet answered simply, which only caused Chara to sigh again.
The gang moves onward with their small mini-quest, with Asgore and Sans remaining quite a distance behind as other monsters and humans were having a good time with each other, which may have been what Muffet was hoping for, and it was succeeding with somewhat flying colors. A lot of effort seemed to have been put in planning this as efficiently as she could, and her dedication for it truly shows.
The next location would be rather casual and somewhat silly. Asgore knew it would be so once he saw a hot dog stand...and Sans disappeared from his side. He found himself waving up to a passing Grillby and Fuku.
"hiya grillby. gotta apologize for not comin' by as often. things ten to get busy, ya know?" Sans lightly explained, in which Grillby simply nods in understanding. As Grillby passed by, he stopped in front of Red, reached into a bag over his shoulder, takes it out and hands it to her. Red's eyes widened as she could see another kind of Cinnamon Bunny presented, warmly heated, emphasizing Grillby's control.
"Golly! Look at that! Another one to check off the list, Red!" Asgore said with a bright smile. "And by the looks of it, this one is Buttermilk Soft and Fluffy Cinnamon Bunny!"
"Oooh! Monch Monch~" Red eagerly eats the next Cinnamon Bunny sweet, licking her muzzle while shaking her head. "It's so soft and fluffy...and very much delicious!~"
"Very good, Red! That's another one down! Quite easily, too!" Muffet clapped as Chara nonchalantly rolled his eyes, while Asriel was smiling fondly for Red. "Isn't this wonderful, Chara-Dearie?~"
"You do realize that we're basically cheering for her eating small snacks in the shape of Cinnamon Bunnies, right?" Chara rolled his eyes. In which Muffet sighed as she reached into her purse and gently pulled something out of it and held it out before him. "I mean seriously, why would anyone make such a...big...deal...over..." Chara slowly looked over to her hands, sighed, and looked away from her while pinching the bridge of his nose. "...Is that a Chocolate Cinnamon Bunny...?"
"Yes. Yes it is.~" Muffet cooed, waving it in front of him. "What's goin' on, Chara-Dearie? Ya waaaaaannnnt it?~"
Chara looked like he was having a tremendously difficult time accepting her offer, if only because he didn't want to prove her right. Even though she's already proven herself right plenty of times...but Chara doesn't care about that. Here and now was what's important, which is why he simply turned around and began moving with closed eyes. "You know what? No. I'm not letting you bait me with chocolate. There's no way I'm going to continue letting that be a weakness you exploit!"
"...Oh well.~" Muffet shrugged as she casually turned around...only to smirk mischievously as Chara began running back, followed by a comical smoke trail and panicked eyes.
"WAIT! I WANT IT! I WANT IT!" Silently, he curses his weakness with every fiber of his being.
He's so adorably easy. Muffet giggled as she held the Chocolate Cinnamon Bunny before Chara, who was so relieved by making it in time that he closed his eyes in a similar manner like Frisk. "Alright, Dearie. Be a sweetheart and say 'Ahhh~'"
"Haaaaah...nom." Chara opened his mouth-which briefly became a squiggly line, without shame-and eagerly eats the treat presented before him. Muffet snickered as his cheeks were currently stuffed, which was an opportunity for her to reach out and gently palm them. Of course.
"Chara Cutie Cheeks. Boop" Muffet cooed while affectionately booping his cheeks as he swallows his treat, sighing softly and allowing her her fun. The others were briefly laughing at this, as Red lead the way once again, her nose wishing to seek out the next Cinnamon Bunny variety. Muffet releases Chara's cheeks, then lightly pecks him on both, before rustling his hair and following Red. "Let's keep moving onward, Dearies!~"
"Geez..." Chara sighed as he scratched his head, admittedly blushing while he began following the others as well.
Asgore and Sans followed the others from a decent distance. "They do seem to be enjoying themselves, Sans. this little venture, while it might not be grand, will certainly be something to remember for a long time."
"i think so too, chief." Sans agreed while placing his hands in his pockets. "also, there's something awfully funny about seeing chara so nervous under the thrall of muffet's genuine affection over him...it never fails to be there, in some shape or form. and she seems to relish it for all it's worth."
"Muffet is certainly...forward with her affections. I wonder if she's been taking pointers from Toriel...or vice versa. Or perhaps both ways." Asgore mumbled.
"hey, it helps in a way. she doesn't beat around the bush." Sans shrugged while scratching his head. "but yeah...tori's a bit flustered by the exact degree of muffet's forwardness...while she doesn't have to worry about that with asriel and red."
"Oh golly goodness, I agree. Bless their innocence on the subject." Asgore sighed, wiping imaginary sweat from his brow.
They proceeded onward, Red leading the way with her trusty nose and flickering ears. Passing by more happy monsters wishing both she and Muffet happy birthday, they eventually stopped around yet another stand, to see a few vendors ahead. It seemed fairly simple, and rightly so. Two more Cinnamon Bunnies were inside the vendor machines. Red looked to Muffet for a bit of money, which she gladly provided for her. Red runs up to the vendors and inserted the required amount, before both Cinnamon Bunnies would drop down. She pulled the both out, and with a better waft of the smell, she beamed with delight.
"Overnight Cinnamon Bunny and Pink Ribbon Cinnamon Bunny...amazing! Monch Monch!~" Red beamed as she proceeds to excitedly eat the both of them, with Asriel rubbing his neck and smiling.
Muffet marveled at how adorable Red was. And out the corner of one of her five eyes, she would see Burgerpants and Ice Cream Guy on one side of the room, while Bratty and Catty were on the other. She tapped her lip a few times, before she nodded in finality and patted Chara's cheek. "Chara-Dearie, I'll be right back. I'll also have to borrow Frisk for a bit." She said as she begins moving towards the the two duos, with herself moving towards Bratty and Catty, while Frisk moved towards Burgerpants and Nice Cream Guy.
What are they up to...? Chara and Asriel both thought. Asgore and Sans were curious as well.
Frisk approached Burgerpants and Nice Cream Guy quite happily, sitting on a chair next to them. "Hi Burgerpants! Hi Nice Cream Guy!~"
"Ah...Little Buddy." Burgerpants lightly smiled at him. Frisk was quite likely one of the very few people he is always somewhat happy to see. And the only person he has no issues with being referred to by his rather infamous nickname. "I see you're spending quite a bit of time with those birthday girls. The girlfriends of your older brothers. Seems just a tiny bit troublesome for you, don't you think?"
"I don't mind at all. They seem pretty happy." Frisk said with a bright smile. "If they're happy, I'm happy.~"
"Well of course, you're just that kind of kid." The feline chuckled while rustling his hair. "Still, isn't there a bit of a feeling in the back of your head that thinks about how they might spend more time with them than you?"
"Well of course. Sometimes they'll want to be alone. That isn't a bad thing. Couples are allowed to do that kind of thing."
"...As ever, you're quite positive. And quite naive."
"Try to be positive, and work through the negative! Also, you also see me as incredibly naive. Geez!" Frisk pouted, the single hair on his head defying gravity and bouncing a bit. He then turned towards another subject. "Say...do you still think of Bratty and Catty?"
The names seemed to resonate negatively with the feline, though he gave the question a chance as he shook his head a bit. "Ah...those two. What about them?"
"It's been six years now, getting close to seven. Don't you think it's time to truly patch things up with them? The attempts you all did make at reconciliation kind of got sabotaged when monsters actually went free. You were close to a breakthrough, yet things didn't follow through."
"Yeah. The double-date...which wasn't really a date...which was canceled...crud."
"Well...how about you try again? You've all had time to collect yourselves. Why don't you find time for one another and give each other one more genuine try?"
"...You're serious." Burgerpants lifted his head up, still slightly baffled by the smiling Frisk's suggestion.
On the other side, Muffet was speaking with Bratty and Catty. They both seemed happy to see her.
"MUFFET! Happy Birthday, little miss spider-girl!~"
"Yeah! Like, Happy Birthday!~"
"Ahuhu! You ladies are such sweethearts!~" Muffet giggled as she leaned forward, holding her head up with her upper hands. "Now then, I'm not one to skirt an issue...sometimes. I'll get to the point. Do you still think of Burgerpants?"
Bratty and Catty briefly looked at one another, then towards Muffet once again with less excited faces. Bratty went first. "Well, of course we still talk to him from time to time. But actually hanging out with him outside of work..."
"Yeah, we've kind of grown distant, even though we still work kind of closely on certain days. Too bad."
Muffet softly lowered her eyes. "Ever think of hanging out with him again? Actually hanging out with him again?"
Both of them gasped at the suggestion. "Isn't that, like..."
"...rather sudden?"
"Maybe it is. But the truth is, you've been dodging each other long enough. I know that Burgerpants is pretty eccentric. But so are you two. Who isn't, really?" Muffet shrugged. "But in all honesty, you're both being rather unfair to one another. He's hesitant to give you a chance, while you're not really giving him enough to go off of to make that a true possibility. You all have to give each other something to make it work. Neither of you can simply take from one another without offering anything in return. It's not a stable practice for any kind of relationship." Muffet sighed, catching her breath. After giving them a moment to process it all, she continued. "So will you be able to give him a chance? An actual chance? Apologize to one another, accept that both of you didn't really do enough, and try again with a much fresher view on one another."
Catty seemed a bit hesitant, though she was definitely thinking about it, her eyes lowered and a paw to her muzzle. "I...I don't know..."
"No need to do so right now. Simply think it over. Properly ponder it. And when you're ready, you can truly try again. For the longest time, Nice Cream Guy has been the only one who constantly spent time with him. He deserves better than that, I reckon."
Bratty lightly patted Catty's shoulder, and the both of them looked at the smiling Muffet. "Wow, Muffet. How are you being like, so mature about this?"
"So surprisingly mature!"
"I'm a businesswoman, ladies. I make knowing how to talk to people one of my most important skills. Anyway, that's my advice towards you. Hope you will heed it and make use of it. Ta-Ta!~" Muffet beamed, blowing a kiss and waving goodbye to the both of them.
Frisk could see the others leaving, and turned towards Burgerpants. "I have to continue on now. Remember what I said, okay?~" Frisk leapt up and kissed his cheek, before going over and buying a Nice Cream cone from Nice Cream Guy. He takes off the wrapper and hands it to Burgerpants, before moving on while enjoying his cold treat. The feline blinked as he looked at the wrapper.
*I think you're neat! I believe in you, so believe in yourself!~*
"...That kid gets weirder and weirder every day..." Burgerpants sighed while shaking his head...but he couldn't help smiling. "Though that doesn't change his goodness one bit...hell, I think it continues to grow."
The gang continues onward, with Asgore smiling proudly towards Frisk and nodding softly.
The scavenger hunt was near it's end. Only a few more left. The next one would be very close to where Mettaton organizes plays. They would see Undyne, Alphys, Napstablook, Shyren, and Geno Alphys up ahead. Asriel smiled as he waved towards them. "Hi guys! And girls!"
"There ya are, punks!" Undyne grinned, pulling Red and Muffet in for crushing hugs. "Here are the birthday girls! Sixteen makes the mark!~"
"Good to see that you're happy about our latest step forward, Undyne." Muffet grinned, not too unfazed by the hug at all. Red, on the other hand, was having a bit of difficulty breathing from how tightly she was being hugged.
"Ugh...Undyne. I'm sure you're happy for us, but please...let me breathe..." Red coughed a bit, lightly tapping Undyne's arm. The fish woman huffed, before letting the both of them go. Muffet no worse for where, while Red was rubbing her throat slightly. She didn't have time to complain much, she wanted to search for the next Cinnamon Bunny, and got right to doing that, sniffing around.
"Using a scavenger hunt for read to search for her favorite treat in different varieties is quite a method to appeal to Red's playful side." Alphys admitted while adjusting her glasses. "It's so simple yet she's having a lot of fun with it. That definitely counts as a success."
"I agree, me." Geno Alphys chuckled as she lightly bites into some cotton candy. "How contrasting that Red is easily pleased by simple things while Muffet-oh god this cotton candy is so good-has her more complex schemes and already knows what's going to please her. Have to admit, she takes us geniuses off-guard sometimes."
"I do? How so?"
"You act mature one moment, act childish in another, mix them up at some points, and then neither at all at others." Chara groaned while facepalming. "And I know you're doing all of it on purpose to toy with me."
"What gives you that idea, Chara-Dearie?~"
"See!? You're doing it again! It's in your tone!"
"Muffet not know what pink-cheeked cutie mean! Durrr~"
"Now you're literally playing dumb..."
Undyne shrugged. "Better acting skills than Mettaton."
"*GASP!* How DARE you! My acting skills are superb!" Mettaton huffed, sauntering over to them with folded arms. "You can at least appreciate that I followed my client's instructions down to the letter, and it all ended up being fabulous in the end! Don't you agree?"
"Oh, I do agree. You did a wonderful job, thank you for your help setting this all up, Mettaton." Muffet admitted while clapping her middle hands. Her lower hands clasped and her upper hands pressed against one another. "Though I have one more teeny tiny request for you. Would you mind being a sweetheart and giving poor Burgerpants more days off? He's been working so hard and so diligently for your sake, despite how much it exhausts him. He's put up with it for a while, years even. So how about it? Provide him more days off? Paid days off?"
Mettaton blinked in surprise. "Burgerpants? Days off? Paid?"
"Of course, Dearie!" She smiled...then it slowly turned into a thin line and her eyes briefly glowed red. "Is that a problem?"
"...Nope! That's totally acceptable, darling! Totally A-okay! Consider it done!" Mettaton said in rapid succession, sweat-or very clear oil-running down his face.
Muffet's eyes turned back to normal, and she smiled pleasantly. "Good show, Mettaton! Jolly good show!~"
Chara blinked a bit during Muffet's rather intense stare towards Mettaton. It was so strange, yet it was also kind of amazing. He knew she used a similar predatory gaze to intimidate customers into buying her products. Now she did things a bit more fairly on the Surface, but it seemed she saved those glares for those she finds particularly distasteful, or if she needed something done without any room or toleration for arguments. A method of intimidation to make the rather flamboyant robot stand down from voicing his rejection, less he suffer painful consequences. She new how to be a fair business woman, she also knew how to be an authoritative one, if need be.
...Chara found himself amused..and intrigued. But he would keep those thoughts relatively silent, not wishing for her to drag those thoughts out of him.
In the meantime, Red had already munched on the next Cinnamon Bunny, which had some blueberries added to the mix. Blureberry Cinnamon Bunny. "Great! Monch! This is great! Monch Monch!~" After a moment, she graciously licked her lips and proceeded onward. "Onto the last ones!~"
"You heard her! Onwards!" Dogressa howled with glee as she and her fellow Pack members followed their young pup back to where they started. Asgore and Sans kept up with them, lightly chuckling away from all the building cheer. The others decided to follow her as well, if only to join in on the growing positivity.
Monster Kid and Frisk were most observant of the amount of people that joined the group for a rather gleeful celebration. "Yo! Frisk! Look how happy everyone is! They're really taking the time to enjoy themselves as much as Muffet and Red! I mean, is that really how birthdays work or something?"
"It's nice that the birthday girls are having fun. It's awesome when everyone is having fun. And look at how much fun everyone is having!~" Frisk agreed with a cheery nod, raising his hands abit for extra fair, his Golden Locket jangling a bit with the gesture. Asriel and Chara looked back a bit after hearing this, and lightly smiled at each other for it. It was definitely a plus that Frisk was also enjoying the day a great deal.
They eventually reached their meeting point once more, with Toriel and Alvina at the helm. Both of them were smiling rather widely at the approaching group.
"Scavenger Hunt complete! Well done, Red!~" Toriel beamed as she pulled two more Cinnamon Bunnies from behind her. Red beamed at the sight of the two treats. "Birthday Cake Cinnamon Bunny and Funfetti Cinnamon Bunny!~"
"Oooh! You got the recipes after all! Good call!~" Muffet said with a gentle applause.
"This. Is. AMAZING!" Red beamed as she taes the two treats into her paws. She then briefly looked towards Asriel for a few moments, seemed to mentally mae a decision, then tossed the two treats right into the air. She summoned her blade and swiftly slashes the two pieces clean in half. Asriel looked confused for a moment, before two of the four pieces landed near him, whch he catches in his paws before they hit the ground. Red smiled softly towards him. "I've been hogging the other Cinnamon Bunnies a tad too much. It's only fair that I share at least a little bit with my..." Red blushed a bit, lowering her head, still slightly embarrassed. "...boyfriend."
"Awwwh!~" The other monsters, and the occasional human, said with glee as they heard Red say this. "Happy Birthday, Red and Muffet!"
Many merry monster joined in on the celebration for the two girls, with Asriel happily eating the Cinnamon Bunnies that Red was so graciously willing to share with him, Muffet embarrassing Chara with her insistent flirting, Asgore and Toriel nuzzling each other's noses, Fris and Monster kid helping themselves to lunch-which consists of quite a surplus of pizza, hamburgers, and Legendary Heroes.-Undyne and Alphys cuddling in the corner, giggling about their upcoming wedding, and the occupants just overall enjoying what the day had left to offer them. Red wouldn't deny that she was greatly glad that Muffet did this...but she was curious about one thing. And she decided to properly tal to her about it, in private.
And so they did. Red ased Muffet to meet her at the top of MTT Resort, on the roof. Night has fallen, and only the stars were visible at this point in time. Not that either of them minded. So while their friends partied down below, she and Muffet were lying atop the roof, staring into the sies. While they were lying down together, onr of Muffet's middle hands reached out and held Red's paw. She was briefly confused by this, but didn't object. Instead, she simply squeezed her hand while gazing at the stars. They lied down in silence for a while, until Red eventually gined the courage to spea her mind once again.
"Hey...Muffet."
"Yes, Red-Dearie?"
"Why are you always...so nice to me?"
"Do you give any reason for me to not be nice to you?"
"W-Well...no..."
"What's the problem then?~"
"It's just that...it's so sudden. Aside from your more mischievous moments, you've been nothing but nice to me..."
"Yep! It's that simple!" Muffet beamed, as she turned her head to look at Red directly. "I know that some people know me to be a girl who likes to mess with people via my complex web of mischievousness to make money or for some other agenda, but this was one of the most straightforward, no strings attached decisions I've ever made. I befriended you because I really wanted to. And because I really care for you."
"R-Really...?"
"Of course." Muffet beamed and cheered: "From here on, we're also known as Team Wolf Spider!"
Red blinked at this, though she soon smiled and relented to the silliness and randomness of the statement. "Yeah. Wolf Spider."
Red smiled softly at Muffet, very touched by her words and her actions throughout today, as she further squeezed her hand, as they both raised up their hands in unison, right under the stars and moonlight, with the most affectionate smiles they gave each other so far.
Red cares little about her scrambled past at this point. So long as she had Muffet, the Pack, Asriel, and the others when it came to the upcoming future...she knows she'll be alright.
Muffet is unrelentingly sweet to Red, isn't she?
Team Wolf Spider. This marks quite a point for them, as they might be fighting together more often later, should the situation require it. And even before that, certain symbolisms of those respective animals can further assist their growth. They cherish each other that much.
However...one more event between them is soon to happen. Just one more. In order to fully and truly confirm once and for all that Muffet's connection and affection with/for Red is true, genuine, and fully mutual. This chapter has a pretty big representation of it, but the next one will surely seal the deal.
The next chapter isn't about that, however. But it's still going to be a big one, I reckon. In terms of length and character bonding. Also, it will be the last chapter before the next arc begins, which will be the final arc of Act 2.
So look forward to it, beloved readers!
Muffet: Hugs and Kisses! Mwah~
Red: See you soon.~