You hated being cold. The chill that settled in all the way to your bones was numbing in a way you weren't comfortable with anymore, even disregarding the actual sensations cold brought along with it, like shivering and goosebumps.
That wasn't to say that you disliked winter. Even if you didn't like the temperature as much as you used to, there were several things about the season that made it one of the most beautiful times of year.
Which went at least part of the way to explaining why you were presently sitting outside in the snow instead of in your house where it was nice and warm. The rest of that reason was easily filled in as you viewed the many snowmen littering your yard.
Why was it a competition?
Nonetheless, you weren't complaining. Everyone was having fun with it, after all. "_! THE SNOW IS RUNNING OUT AGAIN!" Sans called from his position across the yard from you.
You peeked out from sculpting the bottom ball of your snowman to survey the yard. It made sense, since eight people were all using the same snow, but you'd already replenished it twice!
With a sigh, you stood. Heading over to the water hose, you turned it on at the same time you activated the sequence on the end of it. Fluffy white snow sprayed out from it as you angled it to cover the yard. It had taken several tries to get it right, and some internet research as to how snow worked. The first time you'd tried, you'd shot icicles at the ground instead of snow.
Temmie had laughed harder than you thought he was able.
"Hey guys." You kinked the line to stop the flow of water, startled, as Fuku's voice reached your ears. Snow was still water, after all, and you weren't really willing to be spraying it around with either fire elemental in the area. "Do you guys want marshmallows in your hot cocoa, or are you fine without? _ used the last of them on the candied yams the other night, so we'd have to go get some."
There was a collective groan as a blush crossed your already pink cheeks.
Chara shot a quick sign to Fuku, one you managed to translate as meaning they would ask Asgore to bring some, since he was running late anyways.
Satisfied, Fuku headed back inside. You unkinked the hose in your hand to continue the spread of snow as Undyne walked over to you.
Which was a bit of a mistake on her part, as the pressure in the hose caused an explosion of the wet substance in front of you, covering her in it. You couldn't hold back the bark of laughter at the sight. Alphys retaliated on her fiancé's behalf, quickly scooping up some snow and lobbing it at your face.
Did they realize how silly it was to start a snow fight with the person with a literal unlimited supply? Apparently not, as it seemed to dawn on the guard captain as you kinked the line again as you turned to her. A quick adjustment to your sequence later and she was engulfed in a spray of snow.
Everyone had to get involved then. You shut the hose off, for the sake of fairness, and rejoined the fray by making actual snowballs like everyone else.
Twenty minutes later, Muffet was declared the undisputed winner, which you grudgingly pointed out might have something to do with the extra limbs giving her an unfair advantage. A few seconds after that, Toriel poked her head out of the door, shouting "Time!"
That's right. You had set a time limit to the snowman competition. Oh well. You had all lost the same amount of time. "Kay guys. Stand by your snowman and wait for the royal ruling!" You ordered with a chuckle. Everyone scrambled from their defensive positions back to their respective sculptures.
Alphys was first up for inspection. Her snowman was about what you would expect from her. She'd tried packing the snow into icy armor for her masterpiece, even having it hold an ice-axe. It probably would have looked much cooler if she'd bothered to give the snowman a face.
Sans was up next, boasting a rather muscular snowman. You weren't sure how he'd made it without either turning it into an ice-man or breaking the laws of physics. Maybe he had. He hadn't even used rocks or anything, giving his snowman features with the precision of a professional artist.
Toriel walked right past Papyrus, who was laying on a lump of snow he'd apparently given up on making into a snowman, to inspect your artwork. It was pretty normal, as snowmen went, with a scarf and carrot nose and stick arms.
With a small smile, she moved on to Temmie. Somehow, despite the lack of arms, he had made a wolf out of the snow, snarling at…your dormant rose bush. It looked amazingly realistic, even boasting all sorts of tiny lines to give the impression of fur. "You might be disqualified, Temmie." She noted.
"wHaT? wHy?" He demanded. To be honest, you were curious as well.
"The objective of the competition was to create a snowman. Not a snow animal. It would certainly be a good entry if this were a snow sculpture competition." Temmie stuttered, upset, before muttering something to himself and turning away from the queen.
"I think it's a great sculpture Temmie." You offered, trying to cheer him up. He just sent you a glare and trotted inside. A nagging feeling tugged at your conscience, but you tried to ignore it. Chara stared after him worriedly, even as Toriel moved to judge their snowman. Chara had made a snow-child. If you didn't know better, you'd almost think they'd made it of themself.
Toriel covered her mouth with a paw as she stared at it. It took her a moment to recover herself and move on to the next one as Chara gazed at her almost guiltily. Now what?
Undyne's was also about what you would expect, considering. She had quite the artistic talent, as her masterpiece was a fully sized anime catgirl. Again, you had to wonder how at least the tail was holding up without either being packed into ice or breaking the laws of physics. Was it a monster thing?
Still giving no indication of any feelings toward the work, Toriel moved on to the final contestant: Muffet. You had a feeling she hadn't made her entry for the competition, per se, as it was the spitting image of Fuku. You remembered when she'd worn that dress; you'd done her hair for it, after all.
It was bugging you. Knowing that you weren't going to win anyway, you abandoned the yard competition to head inside. Fuku turned to view you, but gave up on saying anything when she saw your expression.
You went straight to the linen closet and opened it. Ignoring the glaring monster inside, you squatted down so you would fit under the bottom shelf with him and closed the door behind you.
"WhY aRe YoU hErE? i DoN't NeEd YoUr PiTy." He complained.
"I don't pity you. You're a much better artist than me; how could I pity you?" You replied. "Just because Toriel deemed it unfit for the competition didn't mean she didn't think it was good."
"YoU dOn'T nEeD tO tRy To MaKe Me FeEl BeTtEr. I dOn'T hAvE fEeLiNgS tO hUrT aNyWaYs." He grumbled.
You couldn't hold back a chuckle. "You sound just like I did in high school." You informed him. "That defensiveness is pretty transparent you know."
He paused for a moment. "I tHoUgHt YoU wEnT tO tHe AcAdEmY?" He finally pointed out.
"Changing the subject won't save you. And yes, I did go to the academy. The academy is basically a boarding, k through twelve school. We still have all the regular classes, just an additional three or four devoted to magic studies."
"ThErE's NoThInG tO sAvE mE fRoM. i ReAlLy DoN't HaVe AnY fEeLiNgS." He argued again. "i DoN't HaVe A sOuL aFtEr AlL."
You paused for a moment at this admission. What?
What?
"You really believe that?" You inquired finally. Temmie's eyes were glowing as he turned them to you at last. "That makes literally no sense; you realize that right?"
"I rEaLlY dOn'T fEeL lIkE sHaRiNg If YoU dOn'T bElIeVe Me." He grumped.
"I believe that you believe it." You corrected him immediately. "I just don't believe it." You hesitated as you put your thoughts into words. "I mean, I'm new to the whole 'understanding Souls' thing, but I've got a few of the basics by this point."
"WhErE aRe YoU gOiNg WiTh ThIs?" Temmie demanded. You held up a finger for his patience.
"Argument one: living things all have Souls." You told him. "If you didn't have one, you would just be a puppet, to my understanding, and I for one have never seen anyone controlling you."
"YoU dOn'T kNoW tHaT." He said quietly.
"I suppose I don't, which is why I'm still arguing with you." You told him with a smile. "Argument two: memories are housed in the Soul." You pointed out. "You clearly have the ability to remember things, even from quite a while ago, so…"
"YoU hUmAnS hAvE a PhYsIcAl WaY tO kEeP yOuR mEmOrIeS. hOw Do YoU kNoW i DoN't" He debated.
You paused to stare at him. Was he really questioning this? "Because you're a monster. You aren't physical, and you certainly don't have nerves that send electrical signals all over your body." You waited for his argument to this, but none came. "Argument three: Feelings come from the Soul."
"I dOn'T hAvE fEeLiNgS." He said half-heartedly.
"You do. You get upset at things. You get frustrated. There are things that you enjoy. You love Chara. You get amused by things. Even how bored you tend to get. All of those are emotions, my small friend."
He shook his head, as if fending off your words mentally. "I'm JuSt A dOlL tHaT uSeD tO bElOnG tO…" He trailed off. "It DoEsN't MaTtEr. I gOt InJeCtEd WiTh YoU hUmAnS' dEtErMiNaTiOn. ThAt'S wHy I eXiSt. I nEvEr HaD a SoUl To BeGiN wItH."
"Are you sure you didn't grow your own then?" You inquired. His head whipped around to stare at you again. You opened your mouth to add more, but a knock came at the door and it inched open to reveal Chara.
'Hot cocoa is ready. Are you guys coming?' They asked, signing for the monster. Temmie dashed out of the closet past the teen, leaving you to try to get out without banging your head on the low shelf fifty times. Chara helped you out with a chuckle, gripping your arms and tugging you clear of the obstacle.
You had a lot of nerve, making Temmie question the only thing he'd been sure about his existence from the very beginning. A Soulless object can't just gain one unless it steals it from something else. That had to be true.
Otherwise he was an even more despicable being than he'd initially thought.
But you weren't wrong. While he was, in essence, a special case, it was true that the things you mentioned were fully dependent on the existence of a Soul. So, was he the exception, or was he a part of that rule?
Did he dare try to confirm it either way?
He could tell from the way you shot glances at him over hot cocoa that you still wanted to talk about it, but you seemed to respect the fact the conversation was over. Watching you be all sappy with Chara and Sans really got on his nerves.
Which made him pause.
For the love of hell. You were right. He did have emotions.
But there was no way he was ever admitting it to you.