Words: 1011
Okay so this is one of my headcanons, I just posted about it in the 'conversations' bit of my profile and now I'm writing the story because let's be real, this would happen
Yes I know Mettaton hired Muffet in the game's canon to kill Frisk but he's definitely an arachnophobe and nothing will change my mind
(Hopefully this will also give context for that one little bit of 'Kitten' earlier-)
Warnings: spider description and focus (arachnophobia)
"M-Mettaton!" Alphys' panicked voice echoes through the hallway, into the living room, and the black-haired boy in question sighs to himself as he sits up from his stretched out position lounging on the sofa, switching his phone off.
"C-c-can you c-c-come here r-r-r-real quick?" He sighs again as he stands, running his fingers through his bangs as he makes his way upstairs.
"What is it, darling?" He finds the blonde in her room, quivering behind the door, and he raises an eyebrow at her. She just silently points to the opposite wall, and Mettaton's brows crease as he steps into the room, eyes scanning the chipped, dirty white paint until he finds a dark brown shape around eye-height.
The spider sits completely still on the wall, eight thin long legs stuck out awkwardly in every which way. Its multiple eyes glisten in the light passing through the window to the boy's left, revealing themselves, and his breath catches in his throat. The thing's body alone is easily at least as big as his thumbnail, the legs making it seem even larger, closer to the size of the palm of his hand, and he backs away quickly, nearly tripping over a few of the near hundred bits and pieces that swarm Alphys' floor.
"Nope, nope, nope. Call Papyrus." His mumbles the last bit to himself, already unlocking his mobile and quickly opening the app, pressing the phone to his ear as soon as the call starts. After a few seconds, two rings at most, Papyrus picks up.
"Hey Metta, what's up?"
"Can you come over? There's a huge spider on Alphys' wall and neither of us can deal with it." A small sound, which seems like a hybrid of a laugh and a sigh, makes it through the line, and Papyrus agrees before Mettaton thanks him and hangs up, making sure to keep his eyes on the insect opposite.
About ten minutes later, there's a knock at the front door and Alphys nods to Mettaton, letting him leave the room to answer the call of the taller boy. The two make their way in not long after, and Papyrus' small smile drops a mile a minute when he makes eye contact with the bug.
"Call Undyne."
Alphys groans to herself as she nervously steps towards her bed, where by some miracle she had left her phone, instead of instinctively clutching it tight in her pale fingers at the sight of the arachnid.
Sure enough, the redhead soon pulls up outside the house, letting herself in with the spare key that Alphys had given her shortly after they started dating, or at least she claimed it was a spare, while Mettaton is still convinced to this day she had it made specifically for the taller girl, most likely so she could deal with spiders and other bugs when Alphys and Mettaton couldn't.
Regardless of reasons, Mettaton has to admit he's glad Undyne is here now.
Finally, some peace will return to the house, and Papyrus is here, so of course everything will be good.
Or so he thinks, until Undyne stops dead in her tracks in the middle of the room, eyes wide, body completely still.
"Are you fucking serious?" Fear seeps into his voice as Undyne takes a single step back, before she tries to steel herself and advance once more, though she backs off again when the thing takes a few steps up the wall, running quickly away. She flinches in response, and Mettaton's brows shoot up.
If even Undyne can't deal with this one damned spider, the rest of them are fucked.
"Alright. Plan B."
"You were Plan B!"
"N-n-not quite, y-you were technically..."
Undyne hushes the others with a finger over her lips, her phone against her ear.
"Heya Asgore. Yeah we're all good here, just wondering if you could come sort out a spider problem... because I can't."
There's a few seconds of silence, in which Undyne's bright green eyes fly wide, brows arching down in anger.
"Hey, don't laugh at me! I'm not scared, just... I think you can deal with it better than I can!" The others struggle to hold in their own chuckles, though the redhead's glare is enough to hush Alphys and Papyrus. Mettaton, on the contrary, keeps trying to hide his laughter behind his hand.
Undyne soon puts the phone down, retreating towards the door again and pulling Alphys close, holding her hand tight in an attempt to keep her calm, though she fails pretty miserably.
Asgore and Toriel join the party, with the former also stiffening at the insect, eyes wide, as Toriel sighs loudly, leaving the room, the group delving into despair. She returns within a minute, holding a blank piece of paper, which Mettaton guesses is from his own room, and a glass, striding towards the wall with confidence, expression set.
She traps the spider with ease, scooping it up with the glass and paper, holding it up to the light for a few seconds before making her way to the window across the room, which she throws open, letting the creature out through it, closing it once more. She then returns the glass and paper, coming back to the room and rolling her eyes, holding back a chuckle at the shocked looks on the faces of the other five.
Mettaton is the first to regain his voice.
More or less.
"Well then."
Toriel simply laughs to herself, rolling her eyes again and leaving for the staircase.
The six spend a few hours in the living room together, laughing and joking, Alphys eventually cracking out some board games, though most of the group deny Mettaton's recommendations to include 'Cards Against Humanity' in the roster. Papyrus pulls him against his shoulder, which Mettaton lets his head rest on, as the games progress, passing up Monopoly, and watching the others take their turns instead.
Finally, some peace and normality has returned to the house.
And hopefully, that spider won't.
