Care for Some Tea? (Muffet X Reader)

Chapter 8: Partner

You frantically struggled this way and that, but the ropes only seemed to get tighter. You looked around, but all you could see was darkness. You could see nothing to aid you in your escape.

Then, you heard a noise. A distant sound of a door creaking open. Then came very soft footsteps. They sounded like they were above where you sat.

There was a scream.

The scream was followed by thudding, quickly getting closer. The noise ended with one final thud, sounding no more than three feet away from you. You heard something groan with pain. The voice sounded familiar.

"H-Hey, mister." A small, timid voice called. "Sh-She wasn't there again today. Nobody was. I couldn't get you your..." The voice trailed off.

There was silence.

You heard something inching closer, but couldn't make out what it was. You braced yourself.

A figure stepped into the dim light that surrounded you.

It was...Vulkin?!

You cried out to him, trying to question him, ask him for help, and tell him to run all at once.

Your rival (whom you dubbed "cat man" due to lack of knowing his true name) stepped into the light beside Vulkin, who winced. He smirked. "Anyone can be good at acting if the price is right..."

You looked at him for a moment before staring at Vulkin with disbelief.

"You seem surprised, so allow me to explain..." He was trying to sound menacing, but couldn't change the naturally nervous and pathetic tone of his voice. "Vulkin here saw me when I wasn't in my normal frame of mind. He saw everything...So, the "not me" me threatened to turn him to dust if he didn't keep quiet. I had him act like he only saw the aftermath, and then I had him frame you..." He lowered himself, grabbing Vulkin's chubby face. "I mean...Who wouldn't trust a face like this?"

So that was it. He had forced Vulkin to lie to Muffet, to you, and to anyone else who had inquired about the crime. You gave the cat man a look to kill, calling him disgusting.

He only laughed. "I know...But I had no choice." He let Vulkin go, standing back up and looking down at the monster. "Thank you for your report. We will try again some other time..."

Vulkin looked up at him, then back at you. He had guilt and fear all over his face.

You shook your head, trying to reassure him that you did not blame him for any of this.

"Ahem." The cat man interrupted your silent conversation. "You may go now, Vulkin."

Vulkin nodded nervously. "Y-Yes sir!" He replied timidly before turning and quickly disappearing up the stairs.

You glared at him, asking him how he slept at night.

"I haven't had a wink of sleep with you running around with my beloved!" He spat.

That explained a lot...

He disappeared back into the darkness.

You growled, then sighed. You looked around again. This really seemed hopeless. What's worse, your heart ached for poor Vulkin. He didn't deserve to be wrapped up in all of this...

Eventually, despite your best efforts, you began to nod off. It wasn't like you had much else to do at this point. Before you knew it, you were asleep.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

You awoke with a start. You tried to rub your eyes, but could not move your arms. You panicked slightly. You looked around, taking a moment to recall where you were. You sighed when realization hit you.

You heard very loud snoring.

Cat man must have fallen asleep as well. You guessed his snoring is what woke you up. You grunted with displeasure. At least sleeping was sort of like an escape from your current situation...

Your eyes wandered around, still unable to see anything beyond the light that shone around you. You sighed again.

Another loud snore.

You grumbled, cursing cat man under your breath. Now you couldn't even sleep...

A familiar sound caught your ear. A distant door creak.

Someone was coming.

Step. Step. Step.

The steps stopped when whoever it was reached the bottom.

Your heart fluttered a bit. Someone had come to save you!

But...Who? No one knew where you were except...

Your heart plummeted. Vulkin!

Your fear was confirmed when the nervous little monster stepped into the dim light. He looked like he may pass out with fear, yet had a shimmer of determination in his eyes.

Keeping your voice as low as possible, you asked him why he had come.

"I-I'm here t-to help you!" He replied, his voice so timid you found it hard to put faith in his claim.

Cat man snorted in his sleep. You tensed, expecting him to wake up and catch Vulkin.

But his snoring returned to normal.

You relaxed, exhaling slowly. You told Vulkin to get out of here while he could, that it was too dangerous for him to help you.

But the little monster shook his body in meek defiance. "I can't l-let him do this to you! This is wrong!"

You sighed. He wasn't going to run away. You couldn't help but admire the brave little monster, even if he was being foolish. You gave him a nod.

He nodded back.

You were in this together.

There may be hope yet...stay determined.

Sorry this chapter is a bit short! Also sorry for the long period of silence! Real life is a pain! >.<

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this part! Thank you for reading!