The scorching sun beat down on Mad Dummy as he trudged home. He couldn't help but laugh a little in gratitude, knowing if dummies could sweat, he'd be a soaking mess. Still, the humidity was gradually decreasing his stamina.
"Lousy sun..." He complained, trying to ignore the heat. It was one of the main reasons he had lived in Waterfall, after all. He loved the cool temperature, and the best part was that it never changed...unlike here. Here, there were actually different types of weather and seasons to look forward to. Joy.
Every now and then, Mad Dummy stopped under the shade of a few buildings, but all he wanted to do at the moment was return home and take a well-deserved nap. He soon approached the curb, stopping to wait for cars to pass by. He shut his eyes and let out a deep sigh in an attempt to clear his mind, but his headache wasn't helping. "This humidity's killing me..."
It was then that the dummy felt a gentle tap on his back. With a loud groan, he rolled his eyes, not in the mood to deal with anyone. "In the words of my cousin—NOT REALLY FEELIN' UP TO IT RIGHT NOW!" He snapped.
"Quite all right, dearie...I suppose I'll speak with you later, then, if that's alright?"
Mad Dummy nearly stopped breathing, recognizing the voice. (Oh gosh.) His body trembled, and he didn't dare turn around for fear that she was upset at him. (Oh gosh. Oh gosh. OH GOSH. I didn't mean to yell at her. Oh gosh, she probably thinks I'm still mad at her. OH GOSH WHAT IF SHE DOESN'T FORGIVE ME ANYMORE OH GOSH I'M A TERRIBLE PERSON—)
Muffet gave his back another tap. "The light is red...you can go ahead and cross now," she softly told him.
Mad Dummy gave a muffled squeak, still not moving. His eyes stared straight ahead, not even blinking.
"Are you alright?" Muffet sounded concerned, wondering why he wasn't responding. She carefully turned him around, eyes widening at his pale complexion. "Dearie?"
Mad Dummy found himself staring into her eyes, and he couldn't stop shaking. (Wow...I never noticed how cute those pigtails looked on her until now...) He shook his head, wishing he had hands to slap himself with. "I...I...um..." He wanted to run away so bad, but he felt paralyzed. Before he could compose himself, however, a wave of fatigue passed over him as he realized just how feverish he felt from the heat.
Muffet covered her mouth, noticing steam beginning to rise from him. "Oh my—you're burning up!"
"Eh?" Mad Dummy flushed dark red, suddenly feeling lightheaded. "Hey...was the sun always this...hot...?" he dumbly stammered, and the last thing he remembered was the back of his head hitting the concrete before he passed out.
Mad Dummy was in the most peaceful state he had ever been. As he snoozed, he dreamt about the usual: his precious knives, stabbing those who dared to get in his way, and occasionally, spending time with his dear cousins. The last one in particular was personally his favorite, whether he wanted to admit it or not.
While dreaming about enjoying some nice cream with his family, however, a very loud and abrupt crash awakened him.
"Hey HEY HEY! PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP HERE—" he started, only to cut himself short when eyeing his surroundings. "What the...?"
This wasn't his home. In fact, he didn't even have a bed; all he did was sleep in Undyne's yard. Not that he minded, anyway; Alphys would often get after Undyne for not giving him a decent place to sleep, but seeing how he never complained, Undyne didn't bother with it. Besides, he was one of those weird people who often slept standing up. For once, he felt rather comfortable laying down, though...
Back to the subject of the matter. Mad Dummy hopped off the bed he had been sleeping on, wavering around a bit in dizziness. Thinking it was best to sit back down, he did so as his eyes searched the room for any sort of familiarity, but none was found. The walls were a dark shade of lavender, also decorated with cobwebs in fancy designs. A desk was beside the bed with a glass of water, and there was a shelf on the other side of the small room, filled with various cook books on pastries.
Wait. Cobwebs...pastries...
"Oh gosh." Mad Dummy would've passed out all over again, but he figured he had already been unconscious enough today.
Mad Dummy heard footsteps hurry up the stairs and wasn't surprised to see Muffet stick her head in. "I am so sorry! I didn't mean to wake you up; I was just having a bit of...trouble with something..." She stated anxiously.
Having a strange feeling of deja vu and thinking of Napstablook, Mad Dummy groggily shook his head. "It's fine," he muttered, still trying to shake off the after-effects of being out in the heat for too long. Now that he thought back on it, maybe that soda from Grillby's didn't necessarily help hydrate him...
"Are you feeling better? I...set out a glass of water since I assumed you may have been a bit dehydrated," Muffet told him, somehow reading his mind.
Mad Dummy had almost forgotten about the water, and he took a small sip. "Thanks," he said quietly, still feeling a bit uncomfortable maintaining eye contact with her.
"Well, I suppose...now that you're already here..." Muffet cleared her throat, "...perhaps, I could speak with you? That is, unless you should be getting home. I understand if that is the case." She politely folded her hands and waited for his response.
Mad Dummy felt warm again, but this time it wasn't from the heat outside. His eyes fell to the ground as he sipped his water. "Uh...I...guess it's okay..." He was curious what she wanted to talk to him about.
Muffet sat at a chair. "I just wanted to tell you how thankful I was for your honesty. Of course, not that I necessarily enjoyed your attitude in that situation—" Mad Dummy shot her an offended glare. "But! Due to acknowledging your complaint and lowering my prices, I have several more customers, which I am grateful for. After all...I've never had someone actually call me out like that before." She laughed a little, knowing everyone had always been too intimidated to do so. "I also really appreciate that you returned to apologize...even after what I did to you." She blushed in embarrassment, purposely glancing away. "Just...thank you, dearie. Without your help, I would've never had the nerve to act on bettering my shop for everyone."
Mad Dummy gradually looked up at her, speechless from her words. This was the first time anyone was actually okay with him getting mad, let alone grateful for it! He couldn't stop shaking his head, feeling as though this was all wrong.
"Is something the matter, dearie?" Muffet frowned.
Mad Dummy gritted his teeth. "I just...I don't get it! I'm the one who acted like the jerk first! Why are you thanking me!? I'm the MAD Dummy! Everyone's always scolding me for my temper, judging me for it...but you! You just keep being so...nice about it! Doesn't it bother you at all?"
Muffet looked quite startled at first, but then she covered her mouth and started snickering at him. "Honestly? I think it's quite adorable."
Mad Dummy's scowl shifted to a look of complete and utter perplexity. "...I—what?" He was...adorable? Normally, being known as the Mad Dummy, he'd find that insulting. But something like that coming from her, it actually made him feel...flattered. An uncharacteristic noise suddenly escaped him, and he immediately swung his head into the pillow on the bed.
Muffet literally laughed out loud. "Did you just...giggle?"
"SHUT UP!" Mad Dummy's muffled voice responded, but it was evident he was laughing as well. He had never giggled like that before in his life, and he never knew he could. Desperately trying to regain his dignity, he raised his head and hopped off the bed. "I should—" He cleared his throat, noticing his voice was higher than normal. "I should probably get home, now." He started forward, but couldn't get far without feeling a bit woozy again.
"Oh!" Muffet helped him balance. "I think you still haven't fully recovered yet." She paused, debating whether to ask him something. "Do you...mind if I help walk you home?"
Mad Dummy shifted a bit, and he wanted so badly to bury his head in the pillow again. "...Sure..." He started hopping down the stairs as she followed close behind, and he soon realized that they had been in the bakery the entire time. It seemed to be closed, however, as the lights were off and not a single person was seen. "Oh, I didn't know you lived here."
"Why do you think the building is so tall, silly?" Muffet laughed. "Besides, I wanted to live close to my shop, of course, so why not in it?" She headed out the door and held it open for him, then shut it and locked it. "So. Where's your house?"
"Oh...um..." Mad Dummy's mind went completely blank for a moment. He turned his head to the right, eyes lighting up in recognition. "Oh! Right. I live in Undyne's yard. Y'know where her house is?"
"Hm...not really. I knew where she lived back in the underground. You think you could lead the way?"
"Uh...okay." Mad Dummy awkwardly hopped up front as they headed down the sidewalk.
"So, you don't have a house of your own? Why don't you live with your cousins?" Muffet asked him curiously.
"Well...first off, I've had experience with that." Mad Dummy snorted. "I love those guys to death, but I enjoy my space. Second, I guess you could say my 'job' is being a punching bag. I met Undyne back...wow...about 15 years ago...? Anyway, she needed something to train with that wouldn't get completely destroyed, and I volunteered. Ever since, I've just been living in her yard, and I still do. I'm perfectly content with it." He shrugged.
Muffet nodded, interested in learning more about the dummy. "So, what's your dream?" He raised a brow and gestured for her to elaborate. "Like, what have you always wanted to accomplish on the surface?"
It took Mad Dummy a long time to think about that. However, he was relieved that she didn't know about the whole 'sit in the window of a fancy store' rumor that spread around ever since he fought Frisk. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "I've never really had a dream."
"Really?" Muffet raised a brow. "Well, my dream had always been to open a successful bakery and earn enough cash to help the spiders that can't get enough for themselves. It's mostly come true ever since our return to the surface, but...not a lot of customers would show up. At least, not until now." She smiled, giving him a look of thanks once again.
Mad Dummy kept his eyes on the ground, trying not to lose his cool. He felt a bit ashamed that he couldn't think of a dream to share. What kind of dreams would a guy like him have, anyway? All he did for fun was admire his knife and threaten to stab whoever looked at him funny.
"Hm..." Muffet tapped her chin as she examined him, and he suddenly felt very self-conscious. "Surely you have some kind of dream! Are you just too shy to tell me?" She smirked.
"N-No! I just...um..." Mad Dummy frowned, digging around his thoughts and memories. Slowly, his eyes began to widen as he thought of something he had wanted for years, and a smile crossed his face without even realizing it. "Well, actually..." he began, and Muffet's grin widened, "...reuniting with my cousins was always my dream. And I accomplished it, too."
"Aww!" Muffet clasped her hands together and beamed. "That is so sweet~ I think that's a wonderful dream, dearie!"
"Th...thanks..." Mad Dummy felt weird receiving praise for once in his life, and he stared at the ground to avoid her gaze again. He tried to hide his smile, but Muffet noticed it.
"I do believe this is the first time I've seen you smile, dearie~" she teased. "It sure does look a lot better than that constant scowl of yours."
Mad Dummy attempted to conceal his smile again, but slammed into a lamp post due to staring at the sidewalk instead of what was in front of him.
"You alright?" Muffet stifled a laugh, and he quickly nodded.
"I'm fine," he muttered, shaking away his dizziness.
"You're not about to pass out again, are you?"
Mad Dummy shook his head. The temperature had certainly dropped since his earlier mishap, so he didn't feel nearly as hot as before. Still, throwing himself into the nearest lake didn't seem like a bad idea at the moment, whether he was hot or not...
"So, does that happen...often?" Muffet asked him.
"What?" He blinked, then realized she was talking about him fainting earlier. "Oh, no—that's the first time it ever happened. Usually the weather hasn't bothered me that much since I came up here; I'm just used to cooler temperatures than this since I come from Waterfall."
"Ah, I see. We spiders like the heat, which is why I've lived in Hotland all my life," Muffet told him. "Summer days like this are just my cup of tea."
Mad Dummy nodded as he turned around the corner, soon realizing he was now approaching Undyne's yard. He frowned instantly as he came to a halt, wondering why everything had seemed to go by so fast.
"Oh." Muffet frowned a little, too, but quickly forced a smile. "Well! I suppose this is...goodbye?"
"Yeah. I...guess so," Mad Dummy mumbled, looking at the grass. For once, he actually didn't want to leave, though.
"I had a really nice time talking with you," Muffet told him. "Perhaps, we could...do it again sometime?"
Mad Dummy almost immediately nodded. "Of course!" Muffet looked startled, and he shrank back, feeling like a total idiot. "Uh—I m-mean...I...wouldn't m-mind...of course...if that's o-okay with you?" He grinned anxiously, teeth chattering.
Muffet giggled with a blush. "Of course it's okay with me, dearie~" She gave him a peck on the cheek and turned around. "I'll see you again soon! Ahuhuhu~"
Mad Dummy ogled her as she sauntered off, frozen stiff. He couldn't move, and he felt himself grow hotter throughout his entire body. It was as if all his anger had magically melted away, he found that he couldn't stop smiling.
"Oh gee~" With that, he passed out for the third time that day.