Work Text:
Undyne is a celebrity. It took some time to accept the fact, since her fame grew really fast. Following Grillby’s advice, she thought they’d end up loosing interest soon enough.
They didn’t.
Her agents advised opening a resort in that old warehouse right before the CORE. So she did. It sucks that she’s farther away from home, but at least she makes enough money to help support Grillby’s shop.
The UTD Resort.
It’s new, but her agents at expecting good results.
Undyne had told her agents to select a few people for Undyne to interview and hire.
That’s how she met Temmie.
———
She settles in her seat, denying the cat monster that tried to apply. He looks at her like she hung the stars, despite never seeing them. Undyne was looking for someone to work a job, not to fangirl over her.
Another cat— dog??— pads in, walking up and plopping down on the chair, after a little climbing.
The first thing Undyne notices is their striped shirt.
She looks down at their file, noticing that they put “adult” under the age.
Looking up, at the fake mustache falling off their face, Undyne momentarily forgets all the pre-prepared interview questions and blurts—
“You’re an adult?”
Undyne immediately regrets the bluntness around the question, knowing she should’ve at least tried to stay somewhat professional.
Still, the monster— Temmie, by their file— just grins and chirps, “Yesh!”
Undyne blinks, the stripes telling to the fact that Temmie is, in fact, a child. The Children Stripes Law was decreed by King Gaster himself, though it wasn’t upheld strictly.
Figures.
Pointing that fact out, Undyne says, “You’re still in stripes, kid.”
Temmie only smiles placatingly, “Wits a fashwon statemont.”
Undyne mulls over her options.
It’s not actually a well-known rule that adults literally can’t wear stripes. Grillby said most designers enchanted the shirts on the surface so that they’d lose their stripes when a monster aged out, but as time went on no one really knew how to do it anymore.
As even longer went on, a common monster wouldn’t even know it’s actually illegal, the fact since been stopped being taught in schools a long time ago. Most Monsters only do it because it’s the nice thing to do. In fact, Undyne only knew its an actual law because Grillby told her.
All of this gives Undyne plausible deniability if any Royals challenged it. Undyne probably would only get a slap on her wrist, even less if the Royal is a fan of hers.
She can butter up to a Royal for a while if it means she gets out of trouble.
Plus, it meant she’d piss off a Royal if they found out.
With that, she grins, slapping the ACCEPTED stamp on the Résumé.
“…Eh, what’s the worse that can happen?! You’re hired!”
———
The worse is dumping glitter on all the food to make it “cute.”
Undyne stares down Temmie from where they nervously stand, arms crossed.
“I DO NOT GIVE TWO RAINBOW FLUFFIES IF IT MADE IT CUTER , TEMMIE!”
Her agents told her that if she’s going to have a child around, she’d have to clean up her… rather colorful language.
Undyne was having fun coming up with alternatives.
“NO!!! Not da fluffs!!!”
It became even better when Temmie took the replacements seriously.
Still, Undyne continued to reprimand Temmie for their mistake, since a monster could’ve actually choked on it if Undyne didn’t catch it early.
It took two weeks of a close eye for Temmie to stop putting glitter in food.
———
The worse is Temmie clones completely taking over Undyne’s resort.
The worse is her agents saying there’s nothing they can do because they’re paying customers.
Undyne actually had to put “Tem flakes” on her menu, goddamnit!
…They made rather compelling advertisements.
Every time she’d walk into the resort for her daily checkup, she’d see the little weirdo kids and have to deal with a migraine for the rest of the day.
Fucking kids bro.
———
The worse is Temmie and her kind making up some freaky ass language, which Undyne begrudgingly ended up learning.
“nhnay, errybay ardhay…”
“yaYA, orkway OUGHTAY!”
“emtay ancay understanway, emtay inksthay obsjay eryvay ardhay :(“
Undyne tries to rub away the migraine that permanently began to be present ever since she met Temmie.
Annoyed, Undyne simply says, “If you think work is so tough, then leave. I don’t even pay you guys.”
She then gets back to her paperwork, silently hoping they’d take her advice.
She didn’t even realize they were speaking their freaky language.
“Woa….! b0sman understan tem??”
Undyne blinks, staring up again at Temmie, who continues conversing with the other Temmie,
“dat… SO COUL!!”
Undyne thinks about what in the fresh hell— heck, they could be talking about.
An then she realizes.
Undyne wisely decides to slam her head on the table, ignoring the world until an agent placed coffee on their desk.
Undyne takes the coffee, wondering if it’ll ever be enough to deal with the little gremlins that run amuck in her Resort.
…Probably not.
———
The worse is the day Undyne had to pay the Temmies for their advertisement.
Undyne rubs her head trying to starve off the incoming headache as she lays out the contract for the rounded up Temmies.
“So, basically for each hour you get 3G. We actually can’t pay you guys too much since your still children…”
“WE GET DA MUNS??”
A faceless Temmie yells, leaving the rest of the Temmies chittering in excitement.
“Uhm- if by ‘muns’ you mean money, then… yes?”
The Temmies start cheering in excitement, starting chants for Undyne.
Undyne gets all signatures the next day, having her agents stow them somewhere safe since they can’t send the paperwork of this mayhem to the King.
———
The worse is when Temmie pitched her the idea for Temmie keychains.
“Absolutely not.”
It’s literally Undyne’s Resort!! She can’t have Temmie merch!
All of this Undyne had explained to them, multiple times, but they’re still having this conversation.
So Undyne decides to just shut it down.
Temmie sniffs, “but…!”
“No way.”
Temmie equips their puppy-dog eyes, pitifully staring up at Undyne, “b… but…” another sniff, “p!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Undyne rubs her eyes, starting to actually feel a bit bad for the kid, but she remains strong.
“No.”
Suddenly, Temmie changes tactics, their face morphing into a less silly and more grave one.
“You will regrets this.”
Undyne shivers, completely unnerved by the dialect change.
But Temmie continues, “Is this a joke? Are you having a chuckle? Ha, ha, very funny.” Undyne makes direct eye contact with them, and she wished she hadn’t, “I’m the one who works here.”
Undyne got so freaked out she ended up manufacturing the keychain, only for it to fall through a week later.
———
The worse is a Temmie falling ill.
“A-ACHEW!”
Undyne glares, “Temmie. Go home. You’re sick.”
Temmie shakes their head defiantly, rubbing away some snot on their sleeve as they do so.
“Ew, at least use a tissue!”
Undyne throws a pack of tissues at them, which they take with a, “tankS.”
After that day, one by one, each of the Temmies fell ill. That Undyne wouldn’t have minded in itself, even if Undyne had to extend her “check-ins” to take care of them.
No, what Undyne minds is that, for the first time in eleven years, Undyne fell ill.
All because of the fu— fluffing Temmie.
———
The worse is firing a Temmie.
Well— not actually firing, but they… resigned??
Summer break is over, so most of the Temmies have to head back to school, except for the cursed original Temmie, who states they’re homeschooled.
Now every time she walks into the Resort, they half expect a Temmie to be weaving through her feet.
It’s… kind of odd there’s no one there.
Undyne’s glad though, because she’s tired of the freaking bruises she ended up getting from face planting.
Undyne gets to Temmie’s station, without trouble, and strikes up a conversation with Temmie.
———
The worse is actually growing to like Temmie.
Undyne loathes to admit it, but she kind of likes to have the little gremlin around. The kid starts to become sort of endearing, after a while.
Undyne calmly walks into her Resort, expecting a relatively normal check-up.
She’s greeted with smoke, and Temmie yelling out, “AHHHH!! HELP!!! TEM SHOP BURNS! NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”
As Undyne runs in to see Temmie somehow burnt glitter, Undyne takes her words back.
This kid is the fluffing worst.