Archive of Our Own ^beta

It was yet another day in Nightmare's castle, normal, it was suspiciously quiet, when he realized that there weren't any screams or loud noises he knew that either they were sleeping or weren't inside at all, at least until he heard the door of his room was being knocked, with a look of confuse, he stood up from his chair and opened the door, Fell was there waiting with papers on his hand.

-Heya boss, dunno how but we received these papers —He gave a stack of papers to Nightmare— I think it's some kind of request or whatever

-When did these even get in here? —Nightmare sounded a little bit pissed

-Well, Killer might know, he had them in his room

Nightmare left out a deep breath and told Fell to grab Killer by the neck and bring him, he started to read the papers, and, it was indeed a request, it didn't say who made it, but it was a weird thing to ask someone to do, especially considering the group this individual was trying to contact, it was someone who clearly knew about the existence of the multiverse, a couple of seconds after he finished reading everything Fell opened the door kicking it and throwing Killer to the couch, making him hit the floor, Dust and Horror were just behind him taking videos and laughing, Killer stood up and started to shiver a little when he realized what Nightmare had in his hands.

-May explain, you dumb little void hole eyed crying idiot, why... YOU HAVE THIS!? —He slammed the table with the papers

-I SWEAR I CAN EXPLAIN BOSS! —Killer was trying to hide behind the couch— I GOT THAT YESTERDAY! I WAS GONNA GIVE IT TO YOU BUT-

-But what —Nightmare surrounded Killer's body with one of his tentacles, glaring at him

-But... I forgot...? —Killer smiled nervously, on the back Horror and Fell left out a little giggle and Dust face palmed

-What could you have been doing to FUCKING FORGET TO GIVE ME SOMETHING LIKE THIS!? —He squeezed Killer with his tentacle and lifted him up while swinging— AND WHO THE FUCK GAVE THIS TO YOU!?

-I DON'T KNOW IT JUST APPEARED ON THE TABLE OUT OF NOWHERE! —Killer was trying to get out of Nightmare's grip

The little discussion went on for at least five minutes until Dust intervened to try and prevent Killer being slammed on the walls and thrown through the window, he got to calm Nightmare down and rescued his friend safely.

-ThankyouThankyouThankyouThankyou —Killer was repeating non-stop— Dust you are one of my greatest friends and I love you so much —He kept on talking while hugging him

-Yeah, whatever you say —He started to pat his head while hugging him, and turned around to see Nightmare— So, what's the request about? Are we gonna do it?

-It's not a good idea, whoever is asking us to do this is obviously setting up a trap for us, even tho it is easy to do it's too suspicious —Nightmare started to walk in circles surrounding the table, while the rest followed him with their eyes

-We should give it a try —Dust said, catching Nightmare's attention— I mean, if you say it's easy enough to be suspicious

-That's the point, it's TO EASY —Nightmare shoved the stack of papers on the trash can and went outside, calling them to have a meeting— Alright pile of shits, to the living room this instant —His voice echoed through the whole castle

Less than a minute passed and everyone was already there, including Error, who teleported there and was climbing on his strings on top of everyone, Nightmare stood up and told everyone to shut up, and started to explain the whole thing in regardless of this mission, everyone agreed on doing it even tho it seemed like a trap after some discussion was made.

They prepared the stuff they would need in the next two weeks, this time was spent training their physical and magical abilities, after the two weeks had passed Nightmare was making sure everything was fine and that there were no mistakes, reading the plan once again, and opened a portal which everyone crossed, finding themselves in Snowdin.
When they reached the other side of the portal the first thing they noticed was that it was suspiciously quiet, there wasn't even the sound of birds singing, rather than the leaves getting into each other and making little sounds, there was complete silence, this made Nightmare really uncomfortable and made him get his guard up, he started to look around closely and slowly to make sure nothing happened, they started doing the request and killed some monsters first, once they were done with that part of killing monsters from the request they went on with the abnormal one.

They started to create igloo looking structures with the snow, and gathered the monster's dust inside them, also kidnapping some of the other monsters and also gathering all of them inside said structure, Dust and Fell went to Hotland like the request said, two of them must go there, when they reached the entrance of Hotland a giant jail fell down and almost trapped both of them, but they managed to dodge it, then a lot of magical weapons started attacking them out of the blue, both not knowing who was summoning these magical weapons neither knowing where they would come from, they got stabbed multiple times on their arms and legs, Fell managed to create a shield for both before screaming at the top of his lungs, so the rest knew what was happening, but before he could make the shield, one of the magic swords stabbed Dust near his soul and scratched most of his bones, when Nightmare arrived the magical summoning stopped, he grabbed Fell and Dust and went back to Snowdin, he left them with the rest and went back to Hotland.
He started to look around trying to find anything that could have activated the trap but found nothing, pissed and angry that he couldn't get anything out of this "investigation" he went back to Snowdin, when he arrived Horror and Killer had just done treating both Dust and Fell, altho everyone, even Error, were concerned and worried for Dust's condition, Nightmare grabbed everyone but Error and opened a portal.

-Error, I want you to glitch the whole universe and trap every single soul, human and monster —He said while crossing the portal
When they arrived back at the castle, Nightmare left Horror, Killer and Cross on the living room's couch, went upstairs and left Fell on his bed, and told him to scream if he needs anything, and then, went to his bedroom, not his office, and left Dust on his bed, he told the rest that the missions are cancelled until Fell and Dust are in a better condition, and that he would be the one who would take care of Dust. The only one who was worried was Fell, so he called the three that were still in the living room to ask them a couple of questions, the three of them went upstairs and sat surrounding Fell's bed.

-Alright, are any of you even slightly worried about Dust?

-Why would we? —Killer said playing with his knife

-Actually I am a bit concerned, why aren't you two? —Cross sounded worried, and genuinely confused

-Well, Killer was the second member who joined this team, I was the third, who do you think was the first? —Horror was holding a bag of chips, sharing them with Fell

-Dust was the first? —Cross was surprised

-Yeah, we don't know how he joined, but... I joined the group almost a year after he did —Killer snatched a couple of chips from Horror

-Then... They are the closest? —Fell tried to get more chips from Horror but received the whole bag

-Exactly, they've known each other the longest —Horror said while trying to get back the chips from Killer's mouth

-Alright, enough, let's go, Fell needs to rest —Cross stood up and grabbed both Killer and Horror's hoodies taking them out of the room— Try to sleep Fell —He closed the door

-Well, I guess that explains a couple of things —Fell said while getting himself comfy to sleep

Meanwhile, with Nightmare and Dust... He was worried, Dust seemed really injured this time, magical weapons are much more dangerous for monsters than actual ones, and it hit him right next to his soul, his bones didn't heal, not even with magical healing, Nightmare didn't know what else to do, the only thing he could do was take care of Dust as if he was a human, so he undressed him and put a lot of bandages around the cracks and scratches, also surrounding his chest, after he finished he went downstairs to the kitchen, grabbed a bowl, and filled it with water and a couple of ice cubes, also taking a towel from the bathroom, once he was done, he went upstairs back to his room. He sat next to Dust and left the bowl next to him, dipping the towel on the water and leaving it on his forehead, since he had a slight fever, after a couple of hours, while Nightmare was reading a book sitting on his chair, he heard noises coming from the side of the room where his bed was, so he went quickly, Dust was waking up, he had passed out before Fell made the shield after all, Nightmare went close to him and tried to make him lay down again.

-Wow, hey, calm down, don't get up —He said, making Dust lay back on the bed

-What? Where... Where am I? Boss?

-You're in my room, cuz you passed out, and got really injured dumbass —He started to point all the bandages

-Hehehe, sorry, well... What am I doing in your room?

-You got attacked near your soul, and don't heal at all with magic, so you will be staying here, since I'm the only responsible one in this castle

-Is that an excuse to spend time with your favorite member? —Dust smiled while saying that and winked an eye

-Shut up if you don't want me to completely break your arm

-Ooohhh, tempting —Dust tried to laugh but it hurt his chest— Alright, I won't laugh

Altho it seemed as if Dust wasn't that much injured, since he kept joking and didn't really seem that concerned, Nightmare knew he wasn't fine, it was obvious just looking at Dust's expressions and discomfort when trying to sit on the bed, after a couple of hours passed and it was time for dinner, Nightmare went downstairs to see what the rest had cooked, he saw a big pot filled with soup, it had vegetables and chicken, Nightmare took two plates and served the soup, going upstairs afterwards, while Cross, and especially Fell, looked at each other in disbelief and clearly surprised, turning their heads back to the rest of the members who seemed were already used to it. Back with Dust, he had noticed something now that it was dinner time, if he was gonna stay in Nightmare's room, and was using his bed, where was he gonna sleep? He was lost in his thoughts about it, about Nightmare, and then he opened the door and went close to him, sitting on a chair that was close to the bed, and giving Dust his plate while eating his own, so Dust took the opportunity to ask.

-Boss, if I'm staying in your bed, where are you gonna sleep? —He took a few sips of the soup

-Why do you care? I'm just gonna use the sofa or bring your bed here so you can use it instead, it's not that hard —Nightmare ate his dinner quite fast

-Alright... If you say so —Dust started to eat a little bit faster

-Just, rest... Ok? —Nightmare said, finishing his soup

-I will —He replied, leaving a little bit of soup, and all the carrots at the end of the plate

-What's with all the carrots? —The octopus-like skeleton said, looking at him a little bit pissed

-I just don't like carrots, they taste weird and leave a horrible sensation in my teeth —Dust left the plate of soup on the night stand and covered himself with the blankets, making a little tantrum— I'm gonna sleep now

-Oh no, you won't —He sent the blankets flying— EAT. THE. CARROTS.

-I said that I won't!

-IT'S AN ORDER

-SINCE WHEN DO I FOLLOW YOUR ORDERS? —Dust started coughing— Maybe I shouldn't scream —He said before laying again

-Just, eat them, they will make you recover faster —He took some of the remaining carrots and tried to feed Dust— Open your mouth you big baby

-Don't wanna —He said covering his mouth

Nightmare, pissed at the situation and seeing that being "nice and patient" didn't work out, he grabbed both Dust's arms with two of his tentacles and opened his mouth, putting the spoon full of carrots right inside it and making Dust swallow them. He started choking but ended up swallowing them, and made a disgust expression which he covered with the blankets, he gave Nightmare a little glare and went to sleep, the other skeleton in the room grabbed both the plates and went to leave them to be washed, going to his room again and tuning off the lights, after he made sure Dust was indeed asleep, he went to his office and started doing paperwork with the help of coffee so he wouldn't fall asleep.
The hours kept passing and Nightmare only noticed the time it was when he saw the sun slowly going up through the window, he stood up and put all the papers and notebooks in a little drawer he had next to a big bookshelf, he then went back to his room to check on Dust, he seemed to be slightly better comparing to yesterday's night, Nightmare checked that he didn't have any fever and woke him up so he could have breakfast.

He then went downstairs and started to make breakfast while also waking up the rest, after he was done he told Killer to bring Fell his breakfast, he didn't even let Killer reply to him and went upstairs to his room to give Dust his breakfast.

-Well, well, well, would you look. At. That! —Killer said while grabbing the plate, catching Cross's attention, since he was there

-What is it? —Cross asked, sitting at the table

-Did you see that? —Killer had a huge smile— Boss sure has been really attentive with Dust!

-Why do you think so? —Cross had a smug expression, he didn't believe Killer at all

-He has stayed in his room all day, and all night, just to take care of him, and did you see how fast we went upstairs? —Killer looked proud while listing the little things that Nightmare had been doing, Cross just looked at him with disappointment— Oi, what's with that look?

-I mean... Isn't Dust like... The second strongest? Of course he would make sure he's fine —Cross was eating his cereal unbothered

-No! That's not the reason! I'm sure of it!

-Why are you so sure?

-Listen, you joined not so long ago, I joined this years ago, and I know how boss thinks, and how Dust does, this isn't normal for EITHER of them! —He started raising his voice little by little

-Wow, dude, calm down

-Point is, this isn't like them at all, especially boss, he's acting really weird —Killer then started going to Fell's room to give him his breakfast

-In what way is that "acting weird"? —Cross was left confused

Meanwhile, Nightmare was going to his room, he left the plate next to Dust and told him to eat it, closing the door and starting to do paperwork next to him, he made sure nothing was left on the plate, when Dust was done eating, Nightmare told him he should sleep, or at least try, which Dust did, at least the "try" part, he just couldn't sleep, so he stared at Nightmare for a couple of seconds, it turned into minutes, watching him read, mumble a little, his face changing expressions depending on what he was reading, writing, moving the papers one by one, minutes turned into hours, when Nightmare finally realized he was being watched Dust was about to fall asleep, but he refused to.

-What are you doing? —Nightmare woke up Dust with his voice, he was no longer falling asleep

-Nothing in particular, why do you ask?

-You've been staring at me, you think I wouldn't notice?

-Oh, that... I don't know, I was bored -Dust was trying to avoid eye contact with Nightmare

-You not only stared at me, you did for five and a half hours, that can't be just because you're "bored"

-Uuuhh, well... —Dust started to turn a slightly purple color, he was a little embarrassed— I don't know, I guess my mind just went blank —He made an excuse quickly, and covered himself with the blanket

-Try not to move so much, you might hurt yourself more

-I know, I know —He was smiling, and nervous, didn't know why, it never happened before— I'm gonna try to sleep now, if I feel anything I'll tell you

Then, he closed his eyes, Nightmare noticed his slightly purple colored cheeks, but he didn't understand what that meant, after all, that never happened to him, or anyone he knew before he transformed, it was something completely new, after making sure Dust was indeed asleep he went back to his paperwork, doing the same thing again, a couple of minutes later he sensed someone at his door and told him to come in, Horror opened the door and asked if he wanted anything to eat or drink, Nightmare asked for tea and cookies, for both, since he knew Dust would wake up the moment he smelled the cookies, Horror went downstairs and prepared everything, baking the cookies in an instant.
Nightmare had stopped doing his paperwork since he wanted to have a break, Horror opened the door and left the tea and cookies near his boss, that was the moment Dust woke up, they talked a little and then Horror left the room, leaving both alone, Nightmare gave Dust his tea so he could drink, the only thing that could be heard was them sipping on the tea and the cookies cracks, but the silence wasn't uncomfortable for them, it was actually nice, just drinking tea together, when they were both finished Dust broke the ice.

-Boss, how long do you think I'll be like this? —He sounded sad, and a little worried about his condition

-Well, I don't know, your soul got quite some damage, and also your bones aren't healing at all —He looked at Dust's eyes, those big, red and blue, hypnotizing eyes, and felt a little shiver down his spine

-Well, I hope I recover soon, I want to go on missions again

-Yeah, yeah, now go to sleep

Nightmare started to feel weird, that shiver down his spine wasn't normal, he started to feel weak, but he couldn't feel any positivity coming from anyone in the castle, he went outside, walking to his office, he started looking for a certain book he had, it was a book that talked about emotions, different reactions, and a little bit of psychology. When he found it he started reading it, two times, three times, five times, but he just couldn't understand what he was going through, nothing in the book explained anything about what he was feeling, altho he didn't feel weak anymore, it was strange for him, why would it happen if there wasn't any positivity around?

A couple of minutes later he heard Killer and Horror having a little fight in the kitchen, he went downstairs to scold them since they were making too much noise.

-You do realize we have TWO injured skeletons that can't be cured with magic, and that are trying to RECOVER? —He sounded angry, and was trying to hold himself back from screaming

-Yeah... About that... —Killer started playing with his fingers

-Fell... How do we say this —Horror looked back at his friend

-I don't know, you were the one who lost, you tell him

-C'mon man! I can't! He's scary, besides, I don't know how to explain it

-It's as simple as saying that since he's used to the pain he doesn't feel anything at all! So he tripped while going downstairs and broke more bones! —Killer then gasped, and covered his mouth with his hands

-Well, you were the one who told him, technically —Horror took three steps behind

-WHAT!? HE'S EVEN WORSE THAN BEFORE!?

-Boss! There are sick people trying to rest —Horror said while grabbing Killer by his arm, and getting as far away from the kitchen as they could

-CROSS! —Nightmare screamed so loudly that it echoed through the whole castle— BRING YOUR ASS HERE RIGHT NOW! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!?

-I'm here boss! —Cross was running, coming from outside— What is it!? —He was exalted

-Go check Fell, and give Killer a punishment, you know what to do, make sure that red idiot doesn't go out of his room alone from now on, understood? —Nightmare was a little bit more calm than before

-Yessir... —Cross went upstairs quickly

Nightmare also went upstairs, he went to his room again, since he hadn't slept for more than twenty four hours he was starting to feel sleepy, and couldn't hold himself standing, he opened his room's door and went inside, he sat down at a little couch he had there and stared at Dust, who was sleeping already, he seemed much more calm than usual, since he couldn't fool around with Killer and Horror, that made Nightmare realize that Dust was the one who changed the most since he joined.

He had been the first Nightmare recruited, the first one to join the "bad guys", he was cold, didn't talk, didn't want to at least try and get to know his co-workers, or his boss, but now? He was always talking, always making jokes, always making sure the rest are fine, and also, trying to know more about Nightmare, after a while of thinking about all this stuff, he started to feel more sleepy, and teleported to Dust's room, he noticed something in the corner of his desk, it was a book, out of curiosity he opened it and read the first page, he got surprised and left it without reading any further, it was his diary, he then walked to Dust's bed and left himself fall over it and completely lose himself in sleep, that night, after many, many years, he had a dream, he was in his office doing paperwork, the door opened, it was Dust, he seemed older, in his dream, Nightmare stood up and went closer to Dust, he noticed his hands were... Normal... And then looked at a mirror, he was his old self, he wasn't corrupted, he didn't have tentacles, he was... Happy...

Then, he turned around to see Dust, he said something but Nightmare couldn't hear anything, he tried to figure out what he said but couldn't, then, he woke up, he was still corrupted, that calmed him down a little, but then he started questioning, why? Why would he dream of something like that? Especially if the last time he had a dream had been hundreds of years ago?

He checked the clock, it was already morning, he stood up and went to the kitchen so he could prepare breakfast, he made eggs with bacon, leaving a lot of plates so the rest would eat, except for Horror, since he didn't eat anything at all, he went upstairs right to his room, when he opened the door he found Dust already awake, and reading a book, he got closer to him and left his breakfast near him, Dust left the book and started eating, Nightmare grabbed the book and read which one it was, and to his surprise it was the same one he had ended a couple of days ago, Dust was done eating and left the plate next to him, waiting for Nightmare to give him the book so he could end reading it, there was a comfortable silence after he received the book in return.

Nightmare took this as a chance, he went downstairs and told everyone that they could do whatever they wanted, but outside the castle, except for Fell, since he was still injured, he went back and grabbed another book, sat next to Dust, and started reading, as time kept passing they both read up to three or four books, they could hear screaming outside the whole time, there was a moment Nightmare opened the windows and screamed that he would go down there to strangle them if they didn't shut up, which they did, Dust was laughing quietly, since it hurt his chest to do so.

They were talking peacefully about all the books they had read when Cross screamed from downstairs, saying that dinner was ready, Killer opened the door a couple of minutes later with plates for both of them, Nightmare took the plates with his tentacles and gave one to Dust, still talking, he wasn't smiling, but he was visibly comfortable and calm while talking with Dust, Killer noticed that and when he closed the door he ran downstairs, everyone was eating at the dinning table, even Error, so he took this opportunity and started gossiping about his boss and his "co-worker".

-Guys! You won't believe this! —He said, sitting right next to Horror and Cross

-What now? —Cross was already sick of Killer's theories

-Guess what I saw when I gave boss and Dust their dinner

-What —Error didn't care, but was curious

-What did you see? —Fell was curious, and was interested in Killer's theories

-They were talking, but, not like usual, you know? —Killer took a deep breath— Boss was about to be actually smiling!

-What? —Horror was confused, and surprised— Smiling? Are you high or something?

-It's the truth! —Killer said proudly

-No, you gotta be joking —Fell was still eating, but he got closer to Killer

-That's got to be a joke —Cross was still unbothered

-It isn't —Error said out of nowhere, making everyone look at him— Look that way

He pointed at the kitchen, and opened a tiny portal, showing Nightmare's room, they got closer and were trying not to talk, both of them were still talking about the books while eating, Dust was smiling, and Nightmare was about to, it was like his face wanted to smile, but he was forcing himself not to, everyone gasped in shock and Error closed the portal as fast as he could, since Nightmare could have heard, fortunately for them, neither of them heard anything, Killer started making fun of Cross since he didn't believe him from the start, and everyone started making theories about these two, except for Error, he just wanted to enjoy the chaos.

Meanwhile, as they reached the end of the book, they started sharing opinions about the finale it had, they had the same thoughts about it, and were discussing them, they realized the time it was cuz it was starting to get dark outside, Nightmare went downstairs and was surprised to see not only that they were still in the kitchen with their plates in front of them, but that Error was there too, he told Horror to cook dinner and went outside for a while, walking around the castle, the training camp, and also around the house Horror asked him to construct, which wasn't even half finished, fifteen minutes later, he went back inside, everyone was still in the kitchen, and he wanted to know why, but he knew they wouldn't tell him, so what did he do? Spy on his own gang of course.

-No but really, I never thought that something like this could happen —Cross was still in denial

-I told you! I have known boss and Dust for years, it was kinda obvious

-I noticed the changes too —Horror said, still cooking

-But why though? —Fell spoke, he was better and could walk now, he was sitting "next" to Error

-Emotions are a mysterious thing, they are like water flowing, you never know what form it could take —Error said, while stealing chips from Killer

-But this emotion in specific... —Cross stayed silent for a while— I mean, it's Dust we're talking about, and the literal embodiment of negativity...

-Wait, guys... —Horror said, whispering, everyone had noticed thanks to him, they knew Nightmare was near— Let's mess with him for a while —He said again, whispering

-But yeah, it is weird in boss —Fell said, making Nightmare try to spy on them much more

-I mean, Dust? Yeah, I could imagine it —Everyone was trying to hold their laughter, including Error— But boss? No, it is really unexpected

-I get your point, but why Dust? —Cross asked, making everyone think

-Well, he IS the first member... He's the closest —Horror said, still cooking

-But didn't Killer join like a month later? —Fell asked

-Yeah, but the first one he asked to join was him —Cross said, eating a bag of chips with Error

-But does Dust really feel that way? I don't know if he's really, you know, honest with himself and all that —Killer said, sitting on the table, right next to Cross

-I think he does, I've seen people act like him —Fell was also eating from the bag of chips Cross had

-Really? —Horror said, looking away from the oven

-Yeah, it's kinda normal, how he acts I mean, actually... —Fell gasped— Boss acts like that too!

-Oh, my god... —Killer took a deep breath— He does!? Really!?

-Yeah! He's just a little bit shy, if you know what I mean —Fell continued explaining

-Actually, I think I've seen people act like them too —Cross said, while looking at them all one by one

Error, knowing damn well everyone had forgotten Nightmare was still listening, decided to add some chaos to the whole situation, he took a deep breath and cleared his throat, making everyone look at him.

-Well, love sure is mysterious —He then heard what he wanted, Nightmare gasped, and quickly covered his mouth— Anyway, I got what I wanted —He said, holding an important piece of paper— See ya —He then opened a portal and disappeared, Nightmare wasn't spying on them by now

-Wait, I think I know why he said that —Fell got everyone's attention— We forgot boss was listening —Everyone then laughed with him

Meanwhile, Nightmare was slowly walking upstairs, thinking non-stop in what Error had said, and connecting that to the rest of the stuff that his gang had been saying, he was in denial, he couldn't believe that him of all people would feel that kind of emotion, especially now that he was corrupted.

Lost in his thoughts and completely submerged in this topic, he didn't realize he was already at the door, he took a deep breath and opened it, Dust was laying in his bed with another book, he closed the door and sat next to him, reading the title of it, as Dust read they both shared their thoughts about the story, when they reached a little bit past the middle of the book Nightmare sensed someone at the door, Horror then opened it and gave them two plates saying that it was already dinner time, Dust looked outside from Nightmare's window, it was already pretty dark, and neither of them had noticed. Nightmare took both plates and Horror talked with Dust for a while while they were eating, when they finished, he grabbed both plates and said good night, leaving the two of them alone, that was when Nightmare started thinking again about the conversation they were having, he then went to Dust's bed and took it to his room, he told Dust that he would sleep there because he didn't want to do paperwork, a couple of minutes later they were getting ready to sleep, Dust covered himself with the blankets and said good night to Nightmare.

He was still lost in his thoughts, he replied also saying good night and went on to try and sleep, thanks to Error and the rest he was now aware about his feelings towards Dust, so he had a dream in which they were together, living in the castle alone, without any of the rest, he was sitting on the couch reading a book, in his dream, he was no longer corrupted, he looked like his past self, he wasn't able to control himself, in his dream he was just an spectator, then, Dust approached to him and surprised him by kissing him, Nightmare jumped a little and the other skeleton started giggling, he grabbed Dust's face and gave him a kiss, then, out of nowhere, he woke up. He was flustered, blushing, and surprised, he tried to calm down by taking deep breaths, after calming down, he looked at the clock, six o'clock in the morning, he changed and went outside, he needed some fresh air, while walking around his castle, he found Fell, Killer and Horror in the training camp, he went closer to them and started a conversation.

-What are you two doing? Shouldn't he be resting? —He said, with a cold tone

-Oh, hi boss! He feels much better now! —Killer had one of his knives on his hand

-Yeah, I can move much better, 'sides, this ain't nothing —Fell was sitting next to them, apparently watching them train

-Speaking of ill people, how is our fav emo? —Horror had Killer pinned down to the ground with his giant butcher knife— He should be at least a little better

-He is better, but still in a critical condition —Nightmare took a seat next to them, grabbing both Killer and Horror with his tentacles and glaring at them— Speaking of which... —He made them sit on the floor, in front of him— What was that conversation you had yesterday night? —He seemed mad, he was also very nervous, slightly glaring at Fell too, giving him a very obvious side eye

-What? —Killer tried playing dumb, it didn't work— We didn't talk that much yesterday

-Kills' right, they were all goofing around while I was cooking —Horror also tried playing dumb, Fell noticed their boss's anger rise

-Alright, we were just gossiping a little, and Error was the one who brought it up! —Fell was scared that Nightmare could crush Horror and Killer with his tentacles, both looked at him in disbelief and disappointed— So, could you kindly please put them... Down? —Nightmare took deep breaths and let them go— Sorry, I didn't want ya'll to die

While Horror and Killer scolded Fell for telling Nightmare their secret, he was... Practically having a mental breakdown, he was angry, frustrated, but also... Confused.

He couldn't accept he had feelings for Dust, he didn't believe it, he denied every single positive feeling he could be having, his chest started hurting a little, so he left in silence, Killer noticed him going away and stopped scolding Fell, reason to why Horror also did, they both stared at their boss, he had a strange expression, like when you hit your fingers, and was gently holding his chest with his left hand, both stared at each other and looked back at Fell, he jumped due to the fact they turned their heads so quickly, both of them grabbed him and went to the training camp, leaving him there and telling him to stay until they were back, and since Fell didn't really have anything to do —Not like he could do anything anyway— he stayed there waiting, Horror brought Cross with him and Killer somehow convinced Error in being there, they started making a plan.

-Alright guys, boss has feelings for our little emo boi, and Horror and I know he feels the same —Killer took a deep breath, while closing his eyes— Let's matchmake them, aye?
-Dude, that's nuts —Fell said while smiling— I'm in

-Well, I would love to see Nightmare smash you into the ground again and again if this fails so... —Cross sat next to Fell— Alright, yeah, I'm in

-That's kinda rude man —Killer hit Cross with his fist, altho it was more like he was gently caressing his arm— What do you say Error? You like chaos don't you?

-Somehow, you know me pretty well, I will help a little —He then started going a little up with his strings, joining lots of them in one place and letting himself fall backwards, looking at the rest turned around leaning his back on the strings— What do you have in mind

-Alright listen...

Then, they started whispering to each other, screaming if certain things would work out or fail, and discussing different ways of joining them together, ways of making them closer to each other, how to make them get to know one another. They talked about this for hours, it was almost dinner time when they finally came up with a plan and an order of how things would start unfolding, fortunately for everyone, Nightmare just screamed from his window to all of them to stop training and start making dinner already, Horror ran to the kitchen with the rest entering the castle slowly, Cross helping Fell walk, and Killer annoying Error.

While waiting for the food to be ready, Nightmare had given Dust a couple of his books from his personal library, while he was busy doing paperwork next to him, he would hear him laugh, and gasp, starting to realize just how much they were alike, since he had the same reactions while reading, trying to concentrate, he was able to end everything, he had been sleeping poorly these days trying to end this work in particular, now that it was over, he got up and left himself fall backwards right on his bed, where Dust was, scaring the other one since he hadn't noticed Nightmare moved from his desk, and the bed cracked a little.

-What happened? Are you done already? —Dust asked, his voice was soft when saying the second sentence, leaving the book by his side without closing it and looking at Nightmare with a gentle stare

-I am, it's been like a week since I had been trying to figure this stupid thing out, I'm finally done —He let out a deep breath and closed his eyes— I'm so tired, I've been sleeping two to three hours

-Wow, hey, that's not healthy at all, why don't you sleep? I'll wake you up when dinner's ready —Dust then put a little piece of paper in the book and left it next to him, getting a little closer to Nightmare, even tho it kinda hurt to move— Just sleep, you seem like you really need it —He insisted, gently touching Nightmares forehead

-I will, I will —Half asleep, since he really needed to rest, he crawled up next to Dust, grabbing the blankets and covering himself with them— Wake me up then —He said, already asleep

-Uuuhh... B-boss? —No response, just a little snoring sound coming from him— Nightmare? —He called, yet again, just snores— Oh shit... He really fell asleep next to me

Dust started looking around, it started to hurt his chest, sitting on the bed wasn't a good idea, he realized he couldn't do anything, he didn't know what could happen if he moved, would his bones crack more? Would his soul hurt? Would his HP go to zero? He gave up and just let himself fall, Nightmare sleeping was calm, quiet, somehow for Dust... Even kinda cute and adorable, he started to think that he shouldn't feel that way towards his boss, lost in his thoughts he didn't realize that Nightmare was holding onto his hands, his face was completely purple now, he didn't know what to do, started panicking, and just shut his eyes trying to fall asleep, trying to avoid reality, he looked at the clock, it had been three minutes at most, he knew Horror's cooking would take almost an hour so he took a deep breath and did his best to fall asleep, which he managed to do so.

Nightmare had yet another dream, this time he could control his body like in the first one, he was sitting in his desk again, he quickly looked at every paper there was, and started reading, they weren't his usual paperwork, they looked like dashworks, with his handwriting, he started reading, after almost an hour he was almost done reading all the papers, when his door opened, a little shadow went flying, he didn't realize the shape of it, then Dust slammed the door and tried catching the little shadow, it seemed like he was screaming, yet again Nightmare couldn't hear anything, but he was able to read Dust's lip movements this time, out of all the things he said he was able to decipher the words "nightdust" and "little demon". The little shadow then stopped moving, it was a little skeleton kid, he looked like Nightmare's corrupted self, but had purple highlights instead of cyan ones, he was screaming, Dust then looked at Nightmare and for a split second he was able to hear, the kid screamed "papa" while looking and reaching at Nightmare, his eyes were now wide open, Dust got close to him and gave the kid to Nightmare, he was able to hear everything now.

-Sorry Night, I couldn't stop him, he really wanted to see you

-Uuuhh... —Nightmare was confused, then, he was still moving his body, but the words that came out of his mouth weren't his— It's okay, he's back after a week outside anyways

-Yeah, he is, which I don't understand why he doesn't act like this towards me —Dust sat next to Nightmare

-I like papa more than you! —The little kid sticked his tongue out at Dust— You don't let me stay awake at night to see TV!

-That's because I take care of you when you have school and he does on the weekends

-Dust, he's just a kid, leave him be

-But Night... —Dust looked down to the floor in defeat

-By the way, did you read it already?

-Your book? Yeah, I did, it's going pretty great —Dust quickly gave Nightmare a kiss, which the little kid made a disgusted expression

-Dad! Don't kiss in front of me!

-Oh shut up little demon

Nightmare then gained full control again, shocked, he looked at the little kid, "Nightdust" he thought to himself, "Must be his name", and then, he had the urge to hug him, so he did, a soft and warm feeling went through his body, the warm positive energy didn't weaken him at all, he felt happy, for the first time in hundreds of years, Dust also hug both of them, he looked at him and kissed his cheek, and started giggling, looking at the little kid, he kissed his forehead, and in the middle of laughter from the three of them he woke up, he was blushing yet again, his chest hurt even more, he couldn't move, as he slowly started waking up little by little, he noticed his hands were wrapped around something, he opened his eyes, he was holding Dust's hands, he was next to him, they were sleeping in the same bed, under the same blanket, he tried to let go from Dust's hand as fast as he could, trying to not wake him up, for the first time in years he felt completely consumed by his emotions, those who were not negative emotions, he even started sweating, it was new for him, he ran to his office looking for lots of books, still stressed about not only his dream, but what had happened when he fell asleep and when he woke up, while searching for all the books he was trying to find, he remembered something, and stopped, stayed still with books in both hands. He took deep breaths and teleported to a certain AU, one that he could have never, ever in his life, thought of going back, his own AU, he walked around through the debris that were left of his fight with the villagers and Dream, he stopped at the front of a giant door, made of marble, almost intact from the fight, he opened the door and went inside, it was a library, the only thing he liked about his AU, he walked through it until he reached the zone where just him and Dream were allowed to enter, he broke the little barrier and went inside, grabbed a bunch of books and put them in a giant box he had found laying there, when he was about to leave he sensed someone, he couldn't believe there could be people alive after five hundred of years, he went to the entrance again, and checked every book, trying to get to know who he was sensing around.

When he was done checking all the books, he went outside and left the box on the floor, a little shadow crawled near him, he looked down and saw a little monster girl, she was staring at him with her mouth wide open, and started giggling, he was a little pissed at the positive emotions but just ignored her, he walked to a place he never thought he would go back with a book in his hand, the little girl had taken a kids book from the library and was following him, he went to the centre of the village, where the dead, dried and giant tree that once held the apples was, he sat on his favorite spot, which once covered him with the giant leaves, now gone, and the little girl sat near him, also reading the book, Nightmare was still pissed at the positive emotions, but couldn't help himself to let her be near him, after all she wasn't afraid of him, they both spent a couple of hours reading under the tree, the little girl was starting to fall asleep as she reached the end of the book, Nightmare grabbed her head gently with his tentacles before she hit the tree, he closed the book and stood up with her crawled like a kitten in his tentacle, then, he head back to the giant library, he heard a man screaming in the distance, inside the building, he opened the door and went inside, the books were still outside but he wanted to make sure the girl was alright, it wasn't normal for him, he would've already killed her by now, but those dreams, his undiscovered and mysterious feelings towards Dust, it had changed something in him, he found the man near the kids zone, the little girl started to wake up and recognized the voice, it was her father, she screamed for him and waved still wrapped around Nightmare's tentacle, the man quickly approached him and gently got her daughter down, thanking him for keeping her safe, then, curiosity won over Nightmare and he asked to the man.

-How many people live here? Why are you still around? And why don't you fear me? —The last question, spoken furious and with a cold tone, he truly didn't understand why they didn't seem to fear him, and was annoyed by it— Answer me

-Of course, not much monsters live here, indeed, my daughter and I are one of the five families of monsters, the rest are humans, as for why we are still around, we don't really have anywhere to go... Ever since the balance was broken the outside of this giant dome has been nothing but chaos, this place keeps us safe, and for your last question, we do know who you are, and what you did... But we do not fear you or despise you anymore, we learnt our mistakes by the worst possible way, we now understand that our ancestors should have never done what they did to you, indeed, we are happy you are back, your brother visits us often giving us food and water, clothes, and a little bit of education for the little ones, knowing both brothers are still around brings happiness to us all —The man took a deep breath, wrapped his arms around his daughter and made her as tall as him— Both are needed, we realized too late, we want you around us Lord Nightmare, please, come back to us, we won't make the same mistakes again

The man then looked at Nightmare in the eyes, he was too stunned to even make a sound at all, his chest started aching again, he couldn't bear it anymore, it was too much, the man and the little girl started worrying, since he had fallen to his knees still holding his chest, something that haven't happened for more than five hundred years made Nightmare realize he truly had changed, he was crying, actually crying, real tears coming out of his orbits, both of them, the black goop was less and less every second that passed, he started panicking and got up quickly, still crying and making a frowning expression, mad at the fact he was changing, he didn't want to, why would he? He was fine with fighting his brother to death, wasn't he? He was fine with being hated by everyone, wasn't he? He didn't care... Did he?

A moment later, the girl was trying to comfort him, but Nightmare was having a little bit of a panic attack, he was breathing heavily, his heart was racing, he couldn't hear his surroundings properly, he was... Scared. For the first time in so many years, his past self, the one thing he hated the most about him in the entire world, was back, and he wasn't having it, with tears still coming out of his eyes he tried to calm down, breathing, and breathing, the man got to his size since he was still on his knees, and touching his shoulder spoke yet again.

-Please, breath in and out, you can do it —His soft voice, something about it was familiar, Nightmare did as he said, and after about ten minutes he was fine again, the goop had stopped coming out, the tears were buried to it, and his orbits looked swollen from so much crying, he was holding his own legs, his head buried in the middle of both of them, the little girl was sitting next to him, still caressing his back to try and comfort him, it was somehow working, Nightmare didn't care about the positive energy anymore, after a couple of minutes he stood up and spoke

-Look, I don't know if anything will be better from now on, I still got to deal some stuff with Dream, and I can't just go back and uncorrupt myself, I don't even understand how it works, thanks for helping me tho... Good bye old man... —Nightmare bowed to the man and looked at the little girl's eyes— Thanks kid, good bye —He messed up the girls hair and started walking

-I hope you visit us again! —She said, with a couple of tears in her eyes, even tho she was young she knew Nightmare probably wouldn't come back— You still have to return the books!

Nightmare didn't say anything, he grabbed the box full of books with his tentacles and looked at both yet again, he now knew why they were so familiar, the little girl resembled Chara, and the man resembled Asgore, he assumed that there would be a Frisk roaming around somewhere, he looked at the little girl's eyes and smiled, giving her a good bye wave before teleporting back to the castle, he was in the library again, he organized all the books and put the ones from the box in a special shelf, he was about to open the door when he heard yelling outside.

-I'm gonna check one last time in his office! —It was Cross's voice

-Cross, you've checked his office ten times already! He isn't there! Let's go look around the castle! —Killer was screaming, apparently from the kitchen

-Shut up! I have to make sure! —Then he opened the door and saw Nightmare standing right in front of him, he inhaled like there was no tomorrow and screamed at the top of his lungs, almost deafening Nightmare— HE'S HERE! HE'S AT HIS OFFICE! I TOLD YOU ALL!

-GOD DAMMIT CROSS SHUT UP! —He screamed at his pawn

-Sorry boss —He backed at least ten steps

-You found him!? —Horror ran upstairs, almost hitting Killer out of the stairs

-Horror! I'm right here idiot! —He cursed at his friend and went near Nightmare— WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN BOSS!?

-Boss! We've been looking everywhere like crazy! Why didn't you tell us where you were going!? —Fell came out of nowhere wrapped around Error's strings

-Nightmare, I swear to fuck, I couldn't even track you, WHERE WERE YOU!? —Error was also mad at him, since he wasn't really under his orders but deeply inside he truly did care for each idiot that lived there

-Why should I say anything? Get out of my way, I just went to look for some stuff, remember there are no missions until the two idiots are fine! Go train or do stupid shit! —He said, rushing himself to his room, leaving everyone confused and intrigued

He opened the door of his room and closed it as fast as he could, letting out a big sigh, he went to his desk and saw that Dust's cup was there, looking at his bed, he then remembered he was staying in his room, Dust was also looking at him with a worried expression, but it was also like he was mad, with a little frown, Nightmare took a deep breath and went close to him, sat down next to Dust and let out a sigh, he looked at him and couldn't, just couldn't resist his glare, he was the closest to him, he had been next to him since the start, then, Nightmare starting talking.

-Alright, listen, I know I've been out for hours, and I should've at least told one of you, but it was sudden, I know it is morning already, I know I disappeared in the middle of the night, but I just couldn't... —He touched his face, covering it with both his hands, Dust remained silent, carefully listening to what Nightmare had to say— Look, I have been acting really different lately, I wanted to know why, I... I've changed, and I don't want to, I don't want to be the same scaredy coward, dipshit and weak idiot I was before I corrupted, I don't want it... I think I don't... I don't even know it anymore —He broke in front of Dust, the thing he didn't want to do, he did it, tears falling down through his chin, covering his eyes and sobbing, heavily breathing, his chest started hurting again— Dust... Please don't tell anybody you know about this weak, stupid and pathetic side of me... —He said through loud sobs and tears forming on his eyes again

-I won't, I have known this side, the one you hate, for so, so long, I've seen how you act when you are calm, when there's no one around, when you forget about us while working, this side isn't pathetic or weak, it lets you know that you are alive —Dust told him with his hand movement to lay down next to him on the bed, which Nightmare did, he was already crying in front of him anyways— Listen, I don't care how you behave, it doesn't matter, you are strong Nightmare, not invincible

Nightmare somehow felt safe around Dust, he was still crying, he just couldn't stop, the only thing that bothered him was his chest, still aching and hurting, to make sure no one would see him, he had locked the door, both fell asleep close to each other, almost hugging, Nightmare was resting his head on top of Dust's lower chest, avoiding touching his soul to make sure he was alright, sleeping soundly, like he did when his brother was around. The rest of the gang were discussing everything on their new "hideout" as Killer called it, the not finished construction of the house Horror had asked for, laying on the ground, even Error was discussing with them.

-Where? He disappeared yesterday night, where could he have been? —Horror said, since he was the one who got told by Dust he was gone

-His office was a complete wreck, all his books were around the floor, every single one —Killer said, while holding a piece of chess— Let's say this is boss, and this one is Dust —He put the two pieces of chess together— They are in boss's room, and then —He then grabbed the piece that represented Nightmare— pow, boss disappears

-I don't think he "disappeared" —Error said, hanging from above with his strings— He went somewhere on his own, teleporting, not making a portal, the only place I now he could teleport to without a portal is... —He went silent, his eyes wide open with a surprised expression, he got down to the floor with the rest and snatched the chess piece from Killer's hands— He went to his original AU —He finally said, putting him far away from where it was supposed to be his room— But why? Why go back there? It's been so many years since he corrupted, more than hundreds of years

-Well, now we know where he was, let's investigate —Fell said, sitting in a chair next to Cross, who was standing and resting on top of the chair— I say one of us goes undercover with Error's help and we try to find someone there, if they are still alive, that saw him

-I like that plan, I say the one who should go is Cross

-What? Why!? —Killer was annoyed, Horror confused, Fell just agreed with Error

-He's the best option, the most sane at the moment who isn't hurt, Fell can't walk properly yet, I don't want to go, and you two are one pair of troublemakers that would forget why you were there in the first place —Error explained, grabbing Cross with his strings and then opening two portals, one tiny, the other one to DreamTale— Let's make sure Nightmare is doing something and won't notice —He said whispering

To their surprise, he was asleep, asleep on top of Dust, with swollen eyes and even slightly hugging each other, then, Error closed the tiny portal and sent Cross to Dreamtale, explaining what he would do and giving him a pen and a little notebook, closing the portal, he would open it the moment Nightmare started waking up since he would sense Cross in his own AU. Killer and Horror were still discussing theories after Cross was gone, Fell listening to them and giving his opinion now and then, Error on the other hand, went to the castle, he was surprised, Nightmare had been weird lately, he knew something was happening, but getting to the point of him going back to DreamTale and being so close, so open, and so comforting around Dust, he started wondering if it had anything to do with the so called love they felt for each other, he opened a little portal, making sure he was still asleep, he started analyzing both of them, Dust was still hurt, his bones were slightly healed, but still a little broken, his soul was fine, and Nightmare had swollen eyes, like he would've been crying, he was crawled like a cat on top of Dust, with a calm expression, after a couple of hours they started waking up, it was already five in the afternoon, he quickly opened a portal to DreamTale and got Cross out, he was reading a book waiting for the portal to open, Error closed both portals and Cross gave him the notebook, both went to where the rest were, and Error told Horror to make cookies and tea for everyone, so Nightmare would stay in his room with Dust and they could talk about everything without problems. Horror went inside and made not only cookies, but also a couple of sweets, and left a plate full of them on Nightmares desk, alongsides their tea, he grabbed the rest of the snacks and went with the rest, they started discussing while eating.

Nightmare and Dust were still laying on the bed, Nightmare was now on Dust's bed, they were still talking about it, about Nightmare's change, Dust saw that his bones were in a better condition, some of them even healed completely, so he asked Nightmare if he could try and use his magic, he told Dust not to overdo himself, he was able to bring the plate full of cookies to the nightstand and started eating them, Nightmare noticed the bandages were a little bit worn out, so he grabbed new ones from a drawer and told Dust to try and stay still. He then started changing the bandages one by one, blushing a little since he was touching Dust's bones, the cracks weren't as much as before, it seems like healing normally was working, he bandaged the bones again and told him to lay on the bed, Dust was just staring at him the whole time, admiring his gentle yet frowning expression, so lost in his thoughts that he didn't realize when Nightmare told him to lay again, which he did after he went near the trash bin and threw the bandages in it.

Nightmare stood still when he closed the drawer that he had left open after taking the bandages, he was scared and confused with his new feelings, he looked at Dust and went closer to him, sitting on the side of his bed, Nightmare told him that he would go to his office for the rest of the day, and that if he needed something he could just scream a little, he then opened the door and went to his office, he grabbed a bunch of the books he had taken from his AU and started reading them. One by one.

While this was happening, the rest were going to do the first step of Killer's plan to get Nightmare and Dust together, making them closer, getting to know each other more, so they went to Nightmare's room and opened it, big was their surprise when the only one there was Dust, since they would have to do it the next day they went next to him and started talking, Error however, went to the corner of Nightmare's room and opened a little portal, seeing him read books non-stop, he read the tittle of a couple of them.

-Huh... "How love can change people"... "The mysterious feeling: An analysis"... "Love and its mysterious forms"... —He kept reading more and more books, Nightmare sure didn't understand this feeling at all— Oh, that one is interesting, "The premonition dreams the brothers have"... Dream and him?

After a couple of hours, it was dinner time already, Horror left Dust with the rest to go cook, Cross also left, helping Fell go to his room so he could rest, leaving Killer alone with Dust, so, he did not lose time, and started asking and asking.

-Alrighty, buddy, dude, bro–

-Cut it out Kills —Dust slowly slapped his hand— What do you want?

-Ok, listen, I know you like boss —He was interrupted and got hit with a cracked bone, due to Dust's magic still weakened— Oooww! Dust, calm down

-DON'T SAY THAT THEN —He whispered

-Boss also likes you —He was about to get another hit,when the bone suddenly stopped— Dust?

-WHAT!? —He screamed and made his bone disappear, he covered his mouth with both hands and realized what he had done— Make something up, boss it's about to come right through that door

-Wait what? —Then, he started hearing stomps outside the door and quickly tried to think of something, Nightmare opened the door and screamed "WHAT HAPPENED!?"— Oh, hey boss! I was just gossiping with Dust

-What? —Nightmare calmed down a little— What could've possibly made him scream?

-Uuuh, he told me Error likes feather boas and surprised him in the bathroom the other day —Dust said, making Killer turn his head almost instantly and Nightmare sighed

-Alright, no more gossiping. Is. That. Clear? —He said pointing at Killer

-Yeah, sure boss —Nightmare closed the door and Killer gave exorcist vibes when turning his head— EXCUSE ME? FEATHER BOAS? —He said, whispering, and holding his laughter

-Yeah, about that, don't tell anyone or he will most likely kill both of us, understood? —Dust received an approval nod from Killer— Ok, now, what the fuck are you saying now!? —He screamed quietly

-I'm serious! We've discussed it, every one of us, even Error! And he agrees! —He said, each sentence louder than the last one— We've seen the way boss treats you compared to us, how he looks at you, even the way his voice softens when talking to you, and I know that you feel the same

-I... I don't know what to say... —Dust was a little bit purple, still trying to process what Killer told him— And why are you telling me this then? Surely there's a reason

-You got me, ok —He took a deep breath— We have a plan to grow you closer, but if none of you knows about the plan we can't do it, I didn't tell the rest about this, so I would be able to tell you this way, I know you will accept and let us help, cuz boss wouldn't do it

-Then? What are you gonna make me do?

-You just have to go on with everything I tell you, ok?

-Alright...

Killer then explained the first thing they were gonna try to do, Dust was speechless, not only it could go completely wrong, it could also kill them all, but since he seemed really proud and persistent with his plan, Dust accepted and said he would do it, a couple of hours later Killer left and went downstairs to wait till Horror cooked dinner, Dust stayed reading more books while humming a little lullaby, he suddenly felt sad and depressed, he used to sing it for Papyrus to sleep when they were younger, Nightmare came in silently, almost scaring Dust, since he felt negative emotions he stayed near him for a while, they kept talking about books for a couple of minutes, until Cross opened he door and left them their dinner.

Dust knew why Cross was the one who gave them their plates, and started praying for his friends' lives. When he left both started eating, they were the usual homemade sweets Horror always baked, but Fell had gone to his AU to get a strange liquid he and Alphys had created and tested, it made the person who drank it say the truth for five minutes, Dust knew about the chemical, Killer had told him, and stared at his boss while he ate the cookies unaware of the stunt his gang was pulling on him, he was working at his desk, curious if the potion had effect, he asked something he knew Nightmare wouldn't answer, he had already asked and was quickly told not to bring up that stuff again, risking the little to no HP he had, he spoke.

-Boss? —He called, Nightmare looked behind him— Can I ask you something?

-I guess? As long as it doesn't interfere with me doing this paperwork —Nightmare's response wasn't cold, but straightforward

-Can you... Talk to me about your past? With... Your brother, and... Your Au? —Dust hesitated, he really didn't want to let this weird friendship he had formed with Nightmare be destroyed just to prove if the chemical had been effective

-What do you want to know? —He seemed calm, which surprised Dust, Nightmare turned around— So? Ask then

-Uuum... Uhhh... —Dust thought to himself "Shit, didn't think I'd get this far", lost in his thoughts he just asked without thinking, if he was telling the truth, might as well take advantage to know him better— How did you corrupt, and why did you go back to your AU?

That question was quite personal, and Dust knew he should not be asking him something like that when he isn't in all his senses, he just wanted to know if the chemical did work, so as soon as Nightmare didn't smack him with his tentacles and was about to talk he stopped him, and changed his question.

-No! Not... Not that, uuummm... Just... Just tell me what happened when you went to your AU, why were you crying?

-Oh, well, that's easier to explain... —Nightmare looked down, with a small frown— I wanted to bring books, the ones at the library of my AU are really old, I wouldn't have found them in any other universe, not even telling Error to get them, and the reason to why I was crying... Technically I already told you, I met two monsters there, somehow they still live there, they told me lots of things, that they learnt from their mistakes and were happy that not only Dream, but me, that we were both around... —He took a deep breath, Dust was left speechless while Nightmare kept talking— I had a panic attack because I didn't really notice until then that I had changed, and I don't really want to change, because I don't think I can... —Nightmare looked at Dust, directly to his eyes, he noticed his boss' eyes were shinning, that was unusual— Anyway, that's basically what happened

-Oh, wait, a panic attack? Are you okay now? —Dust was worried now, that was serious— You shouldn't be doing paperwork if you had a panic attack recently, just rest
-No, I need to do this, and I am fine, so don't worry —Nightmare calmly turned around and kept doing paperwork

Dust had eaten the rest of the cookies, with just a couple of seconds left for the truth telling chemical to disappear, he tried catching Nightmares attention, when he did, he hesitated, and ended up asking something different.

-Hey, uuuhhh... Do you... Do you care for all of us...? —He said, hesitating not only cuz of the first question he had in mind, but also hoping the effects could last until he answered— I mean, would you hurt yourself for us?

-Huh? —Nightmare turned back, Dust thought for a moment the effects of the chemical had disappeared already— Of course I would, it may seem like I don't care, but I really do, you've been working for almost five years under my orders by now. I am taking care of you, I've scolded Horror and Killer because Fell got out of his room and injured himself more, you are important, not only because you're useful, you all are truly close to me now —Nightmare closed his eyes and let out a big sigh, taking a few breaths and speaking again, Dust was still amazed— Look, you are all important for me, I really mean it

Right when Nightmare was done answering, the effects of the chemical started slowly fading, he remembered what he had told Dust but not why or how, and blamed himself for acting "emotional" and sharing that kind of information, he looked away a little flustered and continued doing his paperwork, Dust lied on his bed and kept trying to process everything, outside of the door, Killer was hearing their conversation, and with slight tears in his eyes, he went downstairs and started calling the rest, including Error, obviously he told everyone that Nightmare did care for them after all. A couple of hours later, dinner time already, Dust was still thinking about what Nightmare had told him, and kept wondering, what could've happened if he didn't change his first question? Would Nightmare have killed him after the effects were off? He didn't want to find out anyway, Nightmare had gone to his office after finishing all his paperwork, he wanted to read more books, trying to understand a little how this emotion, love, worked.

Horror went upstairs with both their food, he left Dust's plate near the nightstand and went to Nightmare's office to leave his plate too, once he did, he just waved saying good night and went downstairs, Nightmare ate everything and tried reading as much books as he could, he was able to read up to four books in a couple of hours, he went to his room again after leaving his plate in the sink, to his surprise, Dust was still awake and also reading a book, his plate was empty and next to him, Nightmare took it to the kitchen and went back to his room, Dust had stopped reading the book, he was smiling at Nightmare, fondly, and blushing a little, Nightmare didn't notice the blush tho, he was really sleepy since he hadn't really sleep that well last night, with everything that happened, he was half-asleep yet again, and after turning off the lights, he crawled to the bed and fell asleep, yet again with Dust, but he didn't even notice Nightmare was next to him, lost in his thoughts, still processing what Nightmare told him a couple of hours ago. Then, he started to feel the weight of something, or someone else next to him, now realizing Nightmare was asleep next to him, surprised, but not that much, he turned around facing him, and stared at Nightmare like he would not see him the next day, admiring him, his soft breaths, his little snores that escaped his mouth sometimes, his sleepy eyes that had eye bags, after a while, he went closer to Nightmare and slowly tried to hug him, knowing he would regret the next day when he would most likely be killed, to his surprise, Nightmare returned the hug and crawled his face near Dust's soul, his chest, now breathing near his ribs, causing him to giggle a little since it was ticklish. Meanwhile, Nightmare was having yet another dream, this time he was sitting on a pink couch, covered with pillows and sheets, yellow and purple, he noticed he had a cup of tea in his hands, he couldn't hear his surroundings very well, but recognized a voice in the distance, when he lifted his head up he saw Dream, also with a cup of tea, talking to him and smiling, he was about to say something, he wanted to ask him why he was there, but then something restrained him from speaking, suddenly he could hear properly.

-But you know? I don't complain, I just get frustrated sometimes —Dream took a sip of tea— Who would know it would be this difficult to have kids, being energies and all that

-Hehehe —Laughs came from Nightmare's mouth, tho inside his mind he was freaking out "KIDS!? IN PLURAL!? DREAM AND I SPENDING TIME TOGETHER!? WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING"— I guess it was difficult, not even our books properly explained, but it sure was an interesting experience don't you think? —He let out a little laugh and touched his arm slightly with his elbow, making Dream laugh too— Hey, can you pass me another cookie? —Nightmare was still trying to process everything on the inside

-Oh, sure, you know? Palette made them with Nightdust, they're growing so fast —Dream took the plate and gave a cookie to Nightmare, he recognized the name and started paying more attention— Tho, I would like Dust to teach him properly, they almost burned the whole kitchen

-What do you expect? He's not like us, his body is real but has emotional energy like us, I don't really understand how his existence works in the first place, much less his powers

-This has nothing to do with the fact he's a ball of emotions, he doesn't know how to cook without burning something —Dream started pointing Nightmare's nose— Tell Dust to discipline him, I know he's the one who teaches him this kind of stuff

-It's not my fault, I'm trying to understand how his magic works, besides, if a bad cook teaches someone to cook, something will burn —He started laughing, while inside his mind he started connecting all the dots, and tried to figure out everything— By the way, where's Cross? —At that moment he froze

-Oh, he's with Lux, they're playing outside, trying to understand her powers too

-Shouldn't it be you? You know, she represents a happy emotion —Nightmare's head was about to explode

-No, I told him he should be the one to train her, if anything happens and she lost control when I'm not around... Who knows if he could control her, I know how to do it without training her but he doesn't, this will help—Dream took a deep breath and took a sip of tea— By the way, which emotion did Nightdust inherit?

-Empathy and apathy, since the corruption kind of uncorrupted he has both emotions, that's the reason I'm trying to understand his powers, his energy is way too strong, he's too young —Nightmare was still in shock but still listening, out of the blue someone opened the door

-Dream! I'm visiting whether you like it or not! —Killer went through the door yeeting something to the backyard behind him— Oh, Nightmare! Hello! How's the kiddo? —He sat down next to them after closing the door

-Hello Killer, yes, you can come in, yes, you can join our conversation —Dream took his hand to his cheek, he seemed a little annoyed

-Hi Killer, he's fine, playing outside with Lux and, apparently, Meteo now

-Oh, yeah, he bit me before I opened the door, I was kind of mad —He took his hand to the back of his head

-Not a reason to fucking yeet your child man —Dream served more tea for both and for Killer too, Nightmare was surprised he had swore— And now he's probably biting Cross too

-Yeah, sorry about that

Suddenly the surroundings weren't audible anymore, Nightmare was left just looking through his orbits staying still, not moving, and still processing everything, then, he started waking up, little by little he opened his eyes, and to his surprise he was wrapped around Dust's arms, and he was returning the hug, his heart started racing again, and he looked like a damson plum just by how hard he was blushing, he closed his eyes and tried to ignore the situation, trying to go back to sleep since it was three AM. While this was happening, little by little Dust was waking up, he needed to go to the bathroom, Nightmare felt the bed was moving and opened one of his eyes, Dust was sitting on the bed letting big sighs come out of his mouth, he made his best effort to get up, that's when it hit to Nightmare, he had never seen him get up and walk, comparing him three days ago, he was much better now, at least he could stand up on his own, fifteen minutes after he left the room, Nightmare started hearing footsteps, and Dust walked through the door again, going back to bed and tucking himself, he was still half-asleep so he unconsciously hugged Nightmare again, this time tightening the hug and deepening his head towards his chest, Nightmare was even more flustered than before, he was feeling even more weaker now, and couldn't think straight, he just closed his eyes again and hugged Dust back, still blushing hard.

The next morning, the one who woke up first was Dust, he looked down his chin since he felt something heavy resting on his chest, in the middle of their sleep, they had moved, Dust was laying on his back while Nightmare was resting on his chest, both still hugging each other, Dust started panicking, and his face looked like star apples, most of his face was a purple-ish color, he took a deep breath and started moving, when he did, Nightmare tightened the hug and didn't let Dust get away, they stayed like that a couple of minutes, he spent those minutes trying to understand their weird yet comfortable and honest relationship, were they even friends? They never really called each other that, besides, it was his boss, they were only working under Nightmares orders to fulfill his mission of killing his brother, they all just wanted to escape their own problems on their respective timelines and universes, then, Nightmare started waking up, and jumped out of bed as soon as he realized where he was resting his head, Dust faked being still asleep and patiently waited until Nightmare got out of the room, he stared screaming at his pillow.

Nightmare locked himself in his office and started reading the last book he had that explained the emotion of "love", it sure has lots of meanings and interpretations, he read it in less that an hour and started analyzing his reactions and treatment towards Dust, comparing them to his reactions and treating towards the rest of his gang, after a couple of hours he finally came to the conclusion that, not only he was truly changing, he also had developed feelings for Dust, he couldn't understand it himself, after a couple of minutes inhaling and exhaling to calm himself down he went to wake up the rest of his gang, the last one he woke up was Fell, since he wanted to check how his injuries were by now, fortunately, they were almost gone, and the healing magic was working now, he woke Fell up and told him that by the next day he would be completely recovered. Killer had snuck on Nightmare's room and was talking with Dust, they were discussing how to do the next plan that Killer and the rest had come up with, after a couple of minutes he left Dust alone and went downstairs. Dust started playing with his fingers since he was pretty nervous, Killer told him he should start flirting and complimenting Nightmare, little by little, and eventually he would hopefully flirt back, he was pretty purple yet again, but calmed himself down just in time, since Nightmare opened the door and went next to Dust. He then spoke.

-I need to change those bandages again, could you stand up for a little? —He was a little blue while saying this

-Oh, sure, could you tell me how much more I'm going to need them? —He was hesitant on the "flirting"

-Well, it depends on how your bones are right now, maybe this will be the last time I need to change them —He stood up, helping Dust also do it— Let me get the other ones

-Oh, sure... —He was still thinking if he should do what Killer said or not, and then got caught up in Nightmare's gaze, since when was he so... Kind? And calm? He was curious about it now, Nightmare started taking the bandages off and Dust saw it as an opportunity and risked it all— So... How come you're the one who changes my bandages?

-What do you mean? —Nightmare was concentrated in trying not to hurt Dust, trying not to break his bones, they seemed better already, Dust remained quiet for a while, Nightmare started putting on the new bandages

-You know, Killer or Horror would definitely do this too, they had been changing Fell's bandages, right? —Nightmare remained silent as Dust's anxiety started rising by not getting any response from him— I mean... It almost looks as if... You want to see me half naked... —He bit his tongue when he finished that sentence, not only cuz of embarrassment, but also because Nightmare tightened the bandages way too much since he was caught off guard

-Wh... What? —He asked confused, and Dust didn't say anything, he was also blushing very hard at his comment, Nightmare was done putting the bandages and tried looking away from Dust— Ummm... The healing magic might work from now on, so you can try to go outside starting today... —He blushed as Dust opened the door, and what he said left Dust speechless and looking like a star apple— I guess I do like it... —He closed the door the moment he finished that sentence, it was almost a whisper, he was looking like a living damn damson plum

Outside of Nightmare's door, Dust was smiling nervously, did he really just say that? Did he really just admit he liked seeing him half naked? He was caught off guard with that comment, trying his best effort, since he still couldn't really walk properly, he went downstairs and greeted the rest, Horror and Killer screamed and went to hug him the moment they saw him, Fell and Cross were smiling at him, and went closer to him, also giving Dust a hug, Error however, he was genuinely happy that he was in a better condition, so when everyone left him alone, he gave him a really quick hug, it was so fast Dust was still processing when Error sat down at the couch again, a little yellow since he was embarrassed, then, when it clicked to everyone, they started screaming and chanting "Error loves us!" again and again, while he tried his best not to lift them with his strings and leave them hanging for a couple of hours.

Killer had taken Dust to their "hideout" to talk about the plan, the rest were also there, since he had told them Dust already knew about everything, they were waiting for him to explain what question he had asked when they gave them the cookies last night, and if he had already tried flirting, Dust was purple, covering his face with both his hands, then, he told them what Nightmare answered him, not everything, he avoided saying more than half the stuff Nightmare told him, and then explained what happened before he went downstairs, everyone was screaming and celebrating, however, Error was still a little confused, but he didn't ask anything, it was obvious Dust wouldn't tell him what Nightmare really told him. After a couple of hours of everyone except Error giving some kind of advice for Dust, they went back to the castle, it was almost dinner time, so Horror started cooking while they all chatted in the kitchen, Dust was happy to be able to speak outside of Nightmare's room with the rest, altho his bones still hurt a little, he was able to talk with them like always. After a while, when Horror was done cooking, Cross went upstairs to ask if Nightmare would eat with them or in his office, to everyone's surprise, he went downstairs and ate with them, it was a little bit chaotic, now that both Dust and Fell were better, it was back to the normal yelling and fighting at the table, after everyone was done eating, they started going to bed, Dust remembered Nightmare had taken his bed from his room and went to ask him if he could put it back, but to his surprise, Nightmare had something else in mind.

-What? No, you're not going to your room yet —Nightmare was pretty serious

-Why not? You said I was better, and healing magic would start being effective tomorrow

-I said it might work, never said it would, so you will stay here where I can make sure your HP won't go to zero while you sleep, like I've done these past three days —Dust was surprised, and a little relieved to be honest, one part of him hoped he could still stay in Nightmare's room

-Oh, alright... —He was a little nervous— I'll change then, can I use your closet for a while?

-Yeah, sure —Nightmare was finishing doing the bed— I'll go get a few books from my office, be right back —He walked outside of the room quickly

Dust grabbed his pajamas and went to the closet to change, after a while he was already tucked in his bed, looking at the ceiling and lost in his thoughts, Nightmare came through the door with a pile of books and left them on top of his desk, Dust knew what he was gonna do, and let out a big sigh, catching Nightmare's attention.

-What is it? —He looked a little bit annoyed

-You ain't gonna be up all night, are you? —Dust crossed his arms

-So what if I am? I'm your boss here —He was about to sit on his chair when something grabbed his arm

-Nightmare, you always do this, can't you worry about your own health at least once? You've been making sure I'm fine, but you yourself aren't, so please... Sleep —Dust had a serious expression, but also worried, he held on tight to Nightmare's arm and didn't plan on letting him go— Please...

-Dust... —He went silent for a while, but finally gave up, letting a big sigh come out of his mouth— Alright, I won't do this now, I'll wait till next morning

-Thank you —He gave Nightmare a bright smile

After leaving everything organized for tomorrow, Nightmare turned off the lights and went to his bed, this time, they were on their respective beds, but both of them felt weird, Dust was trying to sleep, closing his eyes, counting sheep, humming lullabies, but he couldn't, Nightmare was doing the same, since he couldn't sleep, he went to the kitchen and drank water, going upstairs again, Dust looked at him directly to his eyes and moved his blanket a little, he closed the door and tucked himself next to him, not even a minute later they were both asleep, facing back to back.

Yet again, Nightmare had a weird dream, this time it wasn't that much far in the future, since he was still covered in negativity, he couldn't talk nor move his body, he was just a spectator again, he was walking around the castle, he realized some of the rooms were empty, or had different things inside, he went inside an old room that wasn't being used, to his surprise, not only it had furniture, there was a double size bed, decorated a little, two little couches, and a really big desk full of books and paper, he then realized he was sitting on the bed, and saw someone next to him, he gained control over the body but couldn't talk yet, he looked next to him and saw Dust, he was smiling, genuinely smiling, he got frozen, couldn't move at all, Dust stood up, he followed him with his gaze, then, he was able to talk, but not to move, Dust played some music on the old phonograph Nightmare had on his room, they started dancing, he was lost in his thoughts, while looking at Dust, suddenly, he spoke.

-Night? Are you ok? You seem a little weird —He stopped dancing

-Oh, no, it's just that... —Nightmare started trying to make up a lie— I, I just feel a little tired... —He finally said, smiling nervously

-Hummm, alright... —Dust seemed not convinced, and turned off the phonograph, picking Nightmare up and surprising him, going downstairs and letting him on the couch— Then stay here for a while, I'll make something

-Oh, al... Alright... —Nightmare was still processing what had just happened

-By the way, it seems Horror and Lust had been alright, I was talking with him yesterday —Dust said, taking a piece of meat out of the fridge

-Horror and Lust? —Nightmare was pretty confused

-Yeah, Kills and I thought about having a little hangout like the old times, but Outer and Lust really want to spend time with Killer and Horror, so it wouldn't be a friend's hangout —He stopped talking, putting the piece of meat on a frying pan, and looked around— So I thought on a triple date, you know? The four of them and us

-Wha... —Nightmare was completely blue, and suddenly he spoke, inside of his mind he was trying to process and listening carefully to what he himself would say— Well, sounds like a good idea, when exactly?

-We were thinking maybe next month —He was cutting some tomatoes now— What do you say?

-Sounds good, I kinda miss those two idiots —Speechless, Nightmare couldn't believe it, then, he heard one last thing

-Babe do you want eggs with this tomato salad? —Dust turned around with a bowl in his hands that had tomatoes inside

-Sure, sounds delicious honey —He said smiling, Nightmare was about to pass out, and suddenly...

He woke up, sweating a little, and blushing hard, he saw that Dust was hugging him from his back, and tried letting go, successfully doing it after a couple of tries, he ran to his office, and looked for a certain book, when he found it, he fell to his knees and blushed even more.

"The premonition dreams the brothers have"

He opened the book, it wasn't that big nor long, there were not more than ten pages, he started reading the first paragraph.

"The brothers Nightmare and Dream aren't actually monsters, nor humans, nor a living creature, they both are energies, the embodiment of emotions, Dream it's the holder of positivity, and Nightmare it's the holder of negativity, both created so there would be balance in the world, as they are energies, they have certain and incredible abilities and powers, one that they share, it's the power of premonitions."

Nightmare started shaking, not cuz of fear, nor cold, but cuz of the amount of embarrassment he was feeling, he continued reading.
"This power needs a certain condition to work, they must be asleep, the only way the power can activate it's through dreams and sleeping, we have asked both the brothers how they know if the dream they are having is a premonition or not. The way it is easy to know, it's because they sometimes can't understand their surroundings properly, they can't talk nor move their bodies on their own, and if they can control their bodies, they do not know how to react or speak. Here are some detailed explanations of dreams they have had and became true:"

At that moment Nightmare closed the book, and sat down on his chair still blushing really hard, he took his hands to his head and started scratching his skull.

-Why? Why, why, why, why, why? Why!? —He kept asking himself, then, stood up and tried calming down, breathing— Only good thing, it's a fifty fifty chance... But I've dreamt about it every single night since the accident... Shit! —He yelled at the book, and tried calming down yet again

Nightmare then left the book on his bookshelf, the same exact spot it was before, and went outside of his office, walking slowly towards his room, until he realized Dust was there, so he instead went outside, at the back of the castle, there was a secret place, somewhere only he knows, the only one who has been there was Dust, it's a secret garden full of all sort of flowers, giant trees, and various vegetables which they harvest themselves to eat, Nightmare kept walking until he reached a bench that that was next to a group of flowers, tulips, blue and purple tulips, the colours annoyed him a little since they resembled his and Dust colors, he stayed sitting there for a while, admiring the view. When it was starting to get late, he went inside the castle again, going directly to his room,before he opened the door, he heard voices inside, so he decided to listen. Killer, Horror and Fell were talking with Dust, they were sitting around each other, Killer was facing Horror, and Dust was facing Fell. Nightmare stayed outside of the door, listening to what they were saying.

-I also made some tarts, did boss like them? —Horror asked, curious

-Yes, he did —Dust replied, smiling and leaning on top of Killer

-Ok, now that we're alone, I gotta ask ya something Dust —Fell spoke suddenly, catching their attention

-What is it Fellsy? —Killer said, poking Fell's cheek

-Cut it out dude, it ain't funny —Fell smacked Killer's hand and kept talking— Ok, have you ever, EVER, seen boss smile? —He looked at Dust, eye to eye

-Huh? Well... Hummm —Dust hold his chin with his left hand, while holding his left arm with his right hand, thinking— I haven't really seen him smiling, but I did hear him laugh, a little giggle —He said, proud of his response, the rest gasped loudly

-Laugh!? —Killer grabbed Dust's jacket

-Are you for real!? —Fell jumped from where he was sitting

-Are you serious? —Horror also grabbed Dust's jacket, almost knocking both him and Killer with his strength

-Hey, hey, hey! Calm down you two! —Dust shouted— I'm still recovering and you know it! My bones are still damaged

-Oh, yeah, sorry Dusty —Killer stopped grabbing his jacket

-I'm sorry dude —Horror did the same, and sat next to him— Boss laughing, huh?

-What about it? —Dust asked, catching both Killer's and Fell's attention, while Horror kept imagining how Nightmare's laugh would sound like— Why are you both looking at me like that?

-You know why, what do you mean, "What about it"? —Killer poked Dust's hood

-We will never in our lives hear something like that! You're lucky you know? —Fell touched Dust's shoulder— He would kill us if we ever hear him laughing or giggling, but he hasn't done anything to you!

-He has a solid point Dust —Killer said while leaning on top of Dust's legs, side eyeing him

-Don't you look at me like that, and Horror —Dust said to Killer with a cold stare, and shook Horror sligthy— Snap out of it man, stop letting your mind go blank

-Sorry dude, anyways, when did it happen? Was it before or after the accident? -Horror asked to his friend

-Uuuhhh, before it —Dust was leaning on top of Fell now

-Are you serious? How "long" before? —Killer also asked

-Before Cross joined —Dust had half an annoyed and unbothered expression

-What!? That's like... Two years ago! —Horror screamed

-How do you do that? —Killer asked

-I know how he is able to —Fell said, grabbing a pillow, preparing for any punch or tackle— It's just been that long since boss unknowingly likes Dust —He then received a slight tackle coming from the skeleton who was leaning on top of him, his blush a bright light purple

-Why do you react like that? Wouldn't you be happy? —Horror asked, genuinely confused

-He's just shy~ —Killer teased his friend a little

-Shut the hell up! Both of you! —He had his whole face shinning, his blush was intense

-I gotta go guys, Lust's calling me —Horror said, he then stood up and got closer to the door

-Ugh, everyone has someone, but not me —Killer said, dramatically

-What about Outer- —Fell received a pillow punch before ending his question

-Shut up —Killer was bright grey now

-If someone who cares about that should ask, it would be Fell —Dust said out of nowhere, annoying him a little

-Fuck off bitch —Fell flipped him off

-Guys, let's go, we should let him rest, sides, boss could come back any minute —Said Horror, holding his phone that was ringing

-You're right, let's go Killer —Fell stood up and waved at Dust

-Bye guys —Dust said, also standing up and going to his bed

-Bye bye Dusty! —Killer said happily

-See ya tomorrow —Fell replied

-Good night Dust —Horror said, opening the door and seeing Nightmare

-Boss! —The three of them said at the same time, alerting Dust

-Since when are you here? —Nightmare tried playing dumb, tho the only one who could see he was lying was Dust

-We were already leaving boss! Good night! —Fell said, sprinting out of the room

-Have a good night boss —Horror said, walking calmly towards his room

-Take care of Dusty for us! —Killer said, winking at him and also sprinting out of there, before he were killed

Both Dust and Nightmare looked at each other for solid three minutes, then, after closing the door behind him, Nightmare went to his side of the room and tried avoiding contact with Dust, but he didn't like being ignored, so he went with Nightmare and started talking.

-Be honest boss, how much did you hear? —Dust sat on top of Nightmare's bed

-Since Horror asked if I liked the tarts —He was blushing a little

-Then you heard what Fell said, right? —Dust was also blushing a little now

-Yeah, I did —Nightmare said, looking away from Dust's gaze

After a couple of minutes of awkward silence, Dust stood up from Nightmare's bed and got closer to him making him nervous, he was blushing much more than before. Nightmare didn't know what to do, or even what Dust was doing, then, out of the blue, he was holding his hands, gently, Nightmare started feeling that his chest hurt yet again, altho, it wasn't that much pain like the other times, and then, Dust spoke.

-Nightmare, why do you treat me different? Why only I am allowed to call you by your name?

-Why? Because you were the first one I recruited —Nightmare replied

-Killer joined just a couple of months after I did, what's the difference between him and me?

-Well... It's just that... —He was lost for words

-Could it be they are right? After all? Even Error agrees, and I know you know what I'm talking about —Dust was serious

-I... I don't know... I was never good at expressing myself, there's a lot of things I don't understand about emotions... —Nightmare's voice cracked a little, as if he was about to cry yet again

-Look at me —Dust grabbed Nightmare's cheek, expecting to be smacked for touching him, but nothing happened— I know you don't like your past self, and I know you don't know what you really want anymore, so just open up, tell me everything you want to, and I'll listen to you

-I... —Nightmare was starting to cry— I don't want to go back to my past self, I don't want to face the consequences of my actions... —He started sobbing

-It's fine, tell me everything —He was still holding Nightmare's hands, then, he let go from his hands and with tears in his eyes started yelling

-No! I shouldn't be able to feel like this! I'm supposed to be evil, I'm corrupted! —He was trying to wipe away his tears

-Why!? What's wrong with feeling like shit and like you're lost!?

-I had been fighting Dream alone for years after he freed himself from the stone! It all started to feel different and wrong after I recruited you! ALL OF YOU!

-Are you saying it's our fault!? You were the one who told us to join you! —Dust was feeling the tears coming out of his eyelids

-SO WHAT IF I DID!? EVER SINCE YOU ALL HAVE BEEN HERE, RUNNING AROUND IN THE CASTLE, COOKING, TRAINING, EATING, LIVING HERE! EVER SINCE THEN I FELT CALM AND HAPPY, BUT I CAN'T FEEL THOSE EMOTIONS! ITS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE THAT!

-And why is that huh!? Why can't you!? Cuz you're the embodiment of negativity!? Why does it matter!?

-YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TALK ABOUT THAT! YOU ARE THE ONE WHO HAS SEEN ME BEING MY PATHETIC PAST SELF! YOU ARE THE ONE WHO MADE ME FEEL LIKE THIS! EVERYTIME I'M NEAR YOU MY CHEST HURTS LIKE HELL!

-So now it's my fault!? Just because you feel positive emotions YOURSELF!?

-WHY!? WHY DO YOU MAKE ME FEEL LIKE THIS!? I SHOULDN'T FEEL THESE EMOTIONS IN THE FIRST PLACE!

-Then why the hell your brother can feel sad and depressed but you can't feel fucking happy!?

Those words shook him to the core... Nightmare had never questioned himself that, but Dust was right, why is it that when Dream feels negative emotions it is fine, and everyone goes near him to make him feel better, but when he feels happiness or any other positive emotion it is wrong? He got silent, tears still coming out of his eyes, Dust whipped away his own tears and went closer to Nightmare, and hugged him, he unconsciously hugged him back, and they stayed like that for a while, until they separated and went to sleep, Nightmare was feeling really lonely, and couldn't sleep at all, just like yesterday's night, and looking at Dust's bed, he got up and went near him, he couldn't sleep either, so he opened the blankets and let Nightmare rest his head on top of his arm, while both being awake, hugged each other before falling asleep.

In the next morning, Nightmare woke up without having any dream, wondering why, since he had fallen asleep expecting to see more of his so called "future". He got up and changed before Dust woke up, and went outside of his room, going downstairs and to the kitchen, knowing Horror had left his cup of coffee for him to drink, when he was going outside to get some fresh air he encountered Cross, but instead of saying good morning like he usually would, he opened his eyes, stayed still for a while, and ran upstairs, Nightmare felt negativity, he was scared, he didn't know why.

Back with Dust, he woke up right after Nightmare went out of the room, and changed while remembering what had happened last night, right when he was about to get a book so he could read, every single member of the gang opened the door, even Error was behind everyone else, Dust was confused, everyone seemed scared or worried, when he was gonna ask what was happening, Killer launched himself to hug him, hurting Dust's bones a little, right after that, Error lifted Killer with his strings scolding him.

-Watch out stupid! His bones are still healing! —He made Killer hit the floor and then let him go

-Dude, are you ok? —Fell sprinted next to Dust and gently touched his back

-Are there any new scars? Bone cracks? —Horror sat on the other side of Dust's bed

-TELL ME YOU WON'T DIE! —Killer was crying like a fucking waterfall

-Are you going to live past today? —Error said, still far away from the rest

-Will you go back to your universe? —Cross also asked, worried

-What the fuck has gotten into you guys —Dust was confused, annoyed and kind of angry at them for asking these stupid questions

-Dude, we heard you and boss fighting yesterday, we could hear both your screams even outside of the castle —Horror said to Dust, caressing his back

-Oh, shit... Right... We were screaming —Dust was now embarrassed and nervous— Did you hear what we were fighting for?

-We couldn't, we didn't understand shit —Fell said, nodding his head

-Alright, it doesn't matter, everything's fine now —Dust assured them all, leaving them confused

-What do you mean it's fine now? —Killer was still crying

-Yeah, don't worry, boss and I just had a little misunderstanding

-Little!? —Cross yelled— What do you think it's little!?

-Cross's right! What the fuck Dust —Fell slightly tackled him on his ribs, visibly annoyed

-Alright, get out of here before boss comes back, or there will be deaths —Dust told the rest, and they vanished, except for Error— What is it?

-He finally realized he loves you? —Error asked, serious

-Maybe, I don't know... —Dust was blushing a little

-You know, he really doesn't know how to express his feelings properly, he's always been a weird skeleton —Error said while going out of the room, and also smiling

-Did you hear what we said? —Dust was worried

-I have known him since before the apple incident, before he got corrupted, so don't worry, I won't talk —He said while closing the door

-You better not Error... —Dust whispered

Nightmare didn't know what to do now, they were supposed to train and attack another universe soon, but with Dust and Fell's accident it had been called off and he changed the date they were going to do it, Dust was recovering slowly, and it seemed that Fell was already completely fine, so he told Killer and Horror to use healing magic on his bones while he was away doing something else, then, after a few days since his sudden panic attack, he went back to his AU, this time Error did know where he was, and followed him out of boredom and curiosity. Nightmare arrived at his AU and felt lots of positive emotions, he went to the library and sat there reading for a while, almost a whole hour, until the little girl came out of nowhere with a child's book, and sat down next to Nightmare. She smiled at him and got herself comfortable on top of his arm, reading the book she had chosen, after thirty minutes he finally made up his mind, he held the little girl with one of his tentacles and asked her a few questions.

-Hey, what was your name? —He said, sounding a little intimidating, but the little girl laughed instead of getting scared

-My name's Chrissy Lord Nightmare —She giggled after answering

-Alright little Chrissy, where is your father, did you escape from him again? —He said with a teasing tone and a scary smirk, which the little girl laughed and shook her head in denial— Could you tell him to come over here then? Alone —Nightmare had a weird smile, the girl happily said yes and he let her on the floor

They both went to the entrance of the giant marble library, and the little girl ran towards a house that was not that much far away from it, Nightmare recognized the house in an instant, one of the monsters who used to bully him the most before transforming used to live there, he felt a little shiver down his spine and quickly came back to his senses, the little girl then came out of the house with her father following her confused, but then he stared running faster when he saw Nightmare. He told both the man and his daughter to go inside the library so no one could interrupt them, they both followed him directly to the prohibited side of the giant building, the girl jumped the extra security that was left, a giant chain that had a sign that said "Only the brothers may go past here". The man hesitated at first, but since her daughter was already there curled on Nightmare's tentacle and one of the brothers himself was telling him to walk there, he did, and they sat down a giant table surrounded by at least a thousand of books stored in a circling big shelf, Nightmare sat down in front of the man while the little girl played with some stuff he had found around and gave to her, so she wouldn't interrupt the conversation he was about to have. He then stared menacingly directly to the man's eyes, and started talking.

-Your daughter told me your name, Mr.Deenard, and that you have a little project related to me and... Dream —He said his brother's name with much more difficult he had thought he would have

-Oh, yes, I am the one who gave the idea of it, and the leader of the whole project —He answered proud, and smiling, which pissed off Nightmare a little, so much positive emotions

-Then explain to me, what is it exactly that you have in mind? It's been five hundreds of years since the apple incident, have you all found a way of uncorrupting myself? —He asked, cold and intimidating, with a pierceful look in his eyes

-We have been studying everything we could for the past two hundred years, there's not that much information in the library, so we weren't able to find a way of reverting it yet —He explained, Nightmare sensed complete honesty coming from him, so he stood up and took various books from the shelf with his tentacles and gave a total of nineteen books to the man— Wha... What is this? —He asked confused

-These are holy books that have crucial information about the apples and the tree, about emotional beings like Dream and I, and also about the barrier and the balance of the world, if you need information it's all in here, I've read it hundreds of times in the past, maybe you will be able to find something I didn't notice —He handed the man the books stuffed on a box— But you, and only you will be allowed to read them, understood?

-Of course Lord Nightmare, we will do our best to find a way of uncorrupting you —He gave him a fond looking smile

-You can read here if you want, don't let anyone follow you

-Yes, I will make sure of it —The man took out one of the books and started reading it— It's best if I start reading now, these are pretty big after all, oh, could you take care of little Chrissy for a while? Her mother should come back from outside of the dome with stuff for everyone in two hours at best

-Lord Nightmare, can you lend me a book from the shelf you picked yours a while ago to read? —The little girl asked excited

-Those books have strange words, very complicated for a little brat your age —He teased, picking her up on his shoulder

-You can help me understand the weird words! —She said smiling, and hugging his tentacles so she wouldn't fall

-Alright, alright, I will —He started to vanish from the room, leaving the man reading by himself in that giant circling shelves

-The texts Lord Dream wrote were right about Lord Nightmare, he IS extremely kind to kids, the rest are all real then —He whispered to himself, remembering that notebook, almost intact, he had found years ago

Meanwhile, Nightmare was reading little Chrissy a novel, comedy, bad written that had been left to rot on the shelf after not even Dream liked it, the girl seemed to love it tho, he remembered the book word by word, they both stayed there for at least an hour and a half reading, then, the little girl went outside with him, wanting to play near the tree with him, he showed her a secret passage that was on the side of the library that went near the tree, much more easier and faster than walking normally alright, Nightmare listened to the little girl talking and explaining to him what was happening on her game, she was a brave knight who had gone to save a princess who had been trapped on a cave by a witch, a bunch of kids stories merged into a rather good story, that's what Nightmare thought at least, he could admit the little girl was creative, he even helped her doing the special effects some times, summoning fake enemies that she vanished at the touch of her "sword", a giant stick that was laying around the tree a while ago, the clock of the village started to ring and the dome seemed to open for a few seconds, the girl said her mom was back and grabbed Nightmare by his hand running towards the entrance of the village, the only ones who had seen him were little Chrissy and Mr.Deenard, apparently the whole village was waiting at the entrance for the rest to come in, they closed the dome and everyone was left on shock when Chrissy, the chief's daughter, came holding Lord Nightmare's hand and running with him, she let go from him and jumped at her mother, who was still frozen. Nightmare stood there not knowing what to do, the girl got her mother's hand and made her go near Nightmare, she had a black stare, surprised, and also excited.

-Mom! Lord Nightmare read me a book about a prince who got lost on a forest because he was clumsy, it was really funny! Then we played near the holy tree until you arrived! —She said smiling, the rest of the village listening every word she said and expecting Nightmare to say something

-Uuuhhh, yeah, I was with Mr.Deenard a while ago, discussing something —He was able to say, after a whole minute of people staring at him, some were crying, while others smiled, some were whispering while smiling, he was sensing way too much positivity and decided to leave— Come with me Mrs.Deenard, Chrissy, let's go with your father —He said with a cold tone

The rest of the village wanted to follow them, but stopped themselves, he wanted Mrs.Deenard and Chrissy, not anyone else, Nightmare walked past the holy tree and directly to the library, Mrs.Deenard was still surprised, once they were inside the building, he told her that only her family was allowed to go to his and Dream's private library, Chrissy jumped the chain yet again and Nightmare helped the woman go past it, they went further until they reached the room Mr.Deenard was in, he was reading past half of the first book still, she was in shock.

-Mr.Deenard, you still on the first book? And only past half of it? —Nightmare joked, holding Chrissy up with his tentacles while she played happy

-Oh, Lord Nightmare, I'm no fast reader like you or my daughter, sides, I am quite old —He joked back, hearing a giggle from behind, recognizing his wife— Dear, you're back already

-Hello, Arold, quite the secret you kept from your village and wife, not even Chrissy said anything —She said, sitting in front of him, Nightmare still playing with the little girl

-We did promise Lord Nightmare not to tell anyone, but now I suppose we can? —He said, asking Nightmare

-Oh don't worry about that dear, Chrissy drove him to the entrance to meet me, everyone saw him —She said, smiling fondly

-Chrissy did what? —He sounded worried

-It's fine I guess, she's just a little brat —She was curled on his hood now, playing still

-I am terribly sorry Lord Nightmare, we would've loved to present you properly to the village —Mr.Deenard said, while still reading

-Don't worry, now, your wife might help with the reading

-Oh, dear, could you please read these books with me? I'll explain everything once we're home tonight

-Alright, this seems important, Chrissy will have to stay with lady Loolms for a while then —She grabbed another book from the box and started reading, Nightmare gave them a notebook and pens to write important stuff and realized it was pretty late

-I have to go, I'll come back in a few days, if Dream comes, don't tell him I was here, understood —He said menacingly, tho the couple only smiled and nodded, he left the girl with them and teleported away

-Say, what IS all of this? —Mrs.Deenard asked her husband

-Hope dear, it's hope —He answered, still reading, their daughter laughed

-He did come back! And he said he would again! —The girl said happy, and excited about their next encounter

Error was watching Nightmare from the void as if it were Undernovela, with snacks and all, he knew what he was doing, and didn't bother at all, tho his boredom will come back once everything settles down between the brothers, back with Nightmare, he teleported right in his secret garden, it was already dark, he had been out all day, to his surprise the house Horror had asked was already finished, and they were trying to figure out how to get furniture, Nightmare approached both Killer and Fell, the ones who were outside, and asked them where Horror was. They both startled at his sudden call, but with everything cleared now that they had spoken with Dust, they were acting like always, Fell told him Horror was with him cooking, and that his bones would be as new tomorrow, the magic was working now, so Nightmare went to the kitchen without losing time.
When he arrived, Dust was moving like he did before the accident, his bones really were almost healed completely, Horror was cooking stew while Dust helped him with the ingredients, the seasoning, and also getting the things out of the way, Nightmare cleared his throat and Cross, who was sitting on the table, stood up and told Dust he would help Horror instead, he went upstairs with Nightmare and sat at his office.

-So, you feel better now? —Nightmare asked, holding his head with his hand

-Yeah, the cracks aren't even visible, and it doesn't hurt to move anymore —He answered, happy and smiling, lazy, but genuine

-Tonight will be the last night you sleep on my room, I'll get your bed back to your room tomorrow morning —He said, part of himself didn't really want that, and he knew why, he was starting to accept his feelings, unconsciously, but he was

-Oh, right, then I'll read the books I didn't finish yet —Dust replied, clearly sad, and upset at the idea of not sharing a room with Nightmare, or rather at the fact they won't sleep together anymore, he even considered breaking more bones to stay there— You can get my bed now, I won't use it anyway —He blushed at his comment, was he seriously doing what Killer told him? Was it really flirting?

-Alright —Nightmare answered automatically, later realizing what Dust said, and blushing too, he dismissed Dust and practically kicked him outside, after making sure he wasn't outside, he whispered to himself— Idiot, I'm such an idiot, what will he think now? —He really had changed, he thought to himself

Dust was still blushing when walking through the hallway, Killer and Cross were going towards Nightmare office and saw Dust, smiling with his lazy expression, a dumb smile and lazy eyes, Killer immediately recognized that smile and caught his attention by whistling at him, Dust turned back and saw both of them, he hadn't noticed their presence at all, they both guided him towards Cross's room, since it was the nearest, sat him on the bed and started questioning him.

-Why were you smiling like an idiot? —Killer asked, already knowing the answer, or at least he thought

-How come you didn't notice us until he called you? —Cross also asked, with his arms crossed

-Do I really need to say it? —Dust asked, half embarrassed and half annoyed at his friends attitude

-Of course, it has to do with boss, and we're helping you with him

-Alright... —Dust sighed— He called me to tell me tonight would be the last time I sleep in his room, and that he would move my bed back to my room tomorrow —Until that part of the story, both Killer and Cross were listening, they were about to talk when Dust interrupted them both— And I was dumb enough to say he could move it now, and he... He agreed... —He covered his face with his hands as both his friends started cheering and squeaking like teenage girls— Stop it —He said, annoyed

-Oh, my, GOD! HE AGREED!? —Killer screamed

-Dust, you should really try flirting more often, it seems to work really well, and then, we could move to the next step —Cross added, smiling widely

-I am not asking him on a date —Dust said confidently, tho blushing quite a lot

-C'mon man! He's obviously high over heels for you! —Killer teased him by leaning on his shoulder

-Don't worry Kills, I'll have my revenge, I know who YOU like —Dust teased back, making Killer blush a bright grey shinning colour

-Wow, Killer likes someone? —Cross asked, curious

-Yeah, he met him when he got lost at- —He was cut off by Killer with a pillow directly to his mouth

-SHUT UP! —He screamed blushing

After that, they went outside and parted ways, Dust went to Nightmare's room while the other two went to his office, when he opened the door he saw that his bed wasn't there, and blushed at the thought of Nightmare actually doing it, he thought for a second that maybe he too wanted to sleep together, but quickly got rid of those thoughts and grabbed the books he hadn't finished, reading them until it was dinner time, and after it, until Nightmare opened the door and the atmosphere turned intense, awkward, but at the same time it was warm, a kind scent in the air, and a fond smile that Dust made quickly brought Nightmare back to his senses. He sat on the other side of the bed, Dust was still reading, it was the last book he had to finish, he patiently waited until he was done and turned off the lights, hesitant to lay down completely on the bed, he was nervous, embarrassed, maybe even. Afraid.

Afraid of his own feelings, of his own thoughts, of his own, mindset.

But all those feelings disappeared when Dust held him closer, hugging him, his right arm under Nightmare's head, his left arm around his waist, firmly, as if he did not want to let go, he was still awake and looked at him eye to eye. Nightmare blushed so hard he was shinning through the blankets, he breathed slowly and closed his eyes, deepening his head on top of Dust's chest and hugging him in return, he fell asleep after just a few seconds. Dust felt Nightmare snore a little, made sure he was completely asleep, and stared at him, admiring his calm self, that side that he, and him alone could see, and after a couple of minutes, he too fell asleep.

The next morning was bittersweet for both of them, woke up at the same time, didn't want to get out of bed at all, both knowing it would be the last night they had the privilege of sleeping together, but after some time, Dust stood up and went to the closet to grab his clothes, looking back at Nightmare with a smile on his face, it seemed so fake, he was sad, broken inside, as much as Nightmare was, how was he able to accept it and just... Smile?

He showed his bones one last time to Nightmare to make sure he was completely healed, and he was, so he went outside of his boss's room going directly to train with the rest, they had a mission to complete after all. Nightmare stayed in his room all day, not even going to eat lunch, or dinner, Horror had left him food to eat, but he wasn't eating, and Dust felt the same, only difference being he actually ate, two or three bites and then left the plate almost intact, the rest of the gang were worried about their boss and collegue's health, so they decided they would knock some sence on Dust that very night, on a secret meeting they would have at Horror's new house, which was empty. At four in the morning, Fell knocked on his door, he couldn't sleep, so he opened right away, his friend guided him to the house where even Errors was waiting for him, they circled around him and started talking.

-Dude, what's wrong? You've barely eaten today —Killer asked, worried about his friend

-Does it have to do with boss? He didn't even touch his food —Fell added, making Dust flinch a little

-I... —He couldn't say it, not to them— I don't know...

-Liar —Error spoke suddenly, scaring them all— I know why you both are so upset —Dust glared at him, also started blushing, fast

-Then? Why is it? —Cross asked, holding the candle they were using as light source

-They had started to sleep on the same bed, because Nightmare wanted to make sure he was safe, since he would sense much faster if he was dying that way —Error explained calmly, everyone turning their eyes every now and then to Dust, and him? He was a living star apple by now, his whole face a light purple colour— But then, it became impossible for both of them to sleep without the company of the other, I'm sure Nightmare can't sleep either —They all gasped at the same time and looked at Dust, he was covering himself with both his arms, his head deep on his legs, not letting anyone see how purple he was right now, Fell started teasing him a little, Cross joining in after the third one, Killer moving him around like a doll while whispering screams, Horror doing the same as Killer, and Error enjoying the chaos— I'm sure he won't mind if you asked to, you know... Sleep together from now on?

-WHAT!? —He got his head out of his legs, now showing his purple face, from the tip of his head to the bottom of his neck— WHAT THE HECK ERROR!? ARE YOU CRAZY!? —It was the first time in years, that Dust had snapped like that, he was usually serene and calm

-Don't yell idiot, and I'm serious, I heard Nightmare thinking the same at three AM —Error replied, nonchalantly

-Let's go! C'mon Dusty, let's go back, you go to his room, alright? —Killer teased him a little more

-He's right, let's go —Fell stood up and grabbed Dust by his arm, taking him out like a rag doll

-Error, is that true? —Cross, and Horror too, were still walking out of the building, asking Error

-Of course it's true, those two idiots would never get together if it weren't for Killer —Error said, both the skeletons were surprised he congratulated someone

Fell had left Dust in front of Nightmare's room, and fleed along sides Killer to their respective rooms, he gulped, nervously, and knocked on the door, surprisingly for him, Nightmare opened the door, tho a little mad, but his attitude and frown changed when he saw it was Dust, they both stared at each other for a while until he had enough courage to ask what Error had told him to.

-Hey, Nightmare... I can't sleep without... You, being next to me now... I guess I got used to it, so... —He side eyed Nightmare, and found a slight, but well hidden smile, and then continued talking— Can we keep on sleeping together from now on? —He finally said, blushing a lot at his comment yet again

-Yeah, sure, I... Can't really sleep either —Nightmare tried sounding unbothered, and ended up sounding happy about it instead— Come on inside, don't let the rest see you

-Of course —Dust laughed nervously, will he be able to tell him this was their idea? Probably not

Nightmare sat on the bed, next to him Dust also sat down, they both hugged each other before sleeping, finally, after hours of not being able to, both snoring loudly. Outside of Nightmare's room, Error was there listening to them, he opened a portal to show their position to the rest of the gang, Fell silently celebrated, Cross was happy they were starting to accept their feelings, Killer started jumping around his room for a while, Horror was on a call with Lust and had told him about Dust for a while, updating him on everything that happened, both were squeaking, Horror had described the position they were in while sleeping, since Lust didn't know about AU's yet, Dust was called "Hist" from Lust's perspective, and finally, Error was smiling, he knew Nightmare since before he corrupted, his story truly was tragic, and sometimes he wished it had been written differently, so now that he is going back to that "pathetic" self, as he called himself, he was a little relieved.

The days went by, they seemed to have a better face, sleeping well, eating, but also being weirdly happy all the time, even Nightmare, the rest had seen him slightly smile lots of times since then, then, it had been weeks, months, and it was time for the attack they had postponed all those months ago, by now, Lust was already living with Horror and knew about the AU's.

The mission went terribly wrong, this time it had cost them Horror's arm and leg, and a couple of Nightmare's ribs. They arrived at the AU, Error glitched the whole universe and the rest killed a few humans and monsters, until Ink, Dream, and Blue showed up, as always, they divided to fight them all, Dream fought both Nightmare and Cross, Ink fought Error, while Blue faced the four left alone, he had trained hard with Dream and Ink to be able to do so.

Blue was fighting like no other day, and the rest noticed that, he seemed much more focused than other times, stronger, and more skilled than the last time they had fought, Fell was sent flying towards the concrete wall after trying to lay a hit on Blue's back while Killer tried attacking him from the front. He dodged both attacks and kicked Fell on his ribs, while hitting Killer with his bones which he used to fight, Dust summoned a large amount of gaster blasters and aimed them all at Blue, not leaving a single path for him to escape, but even so he was able to do so, he attacked one of the nearest gaster blaster that was behind him and jumped on top of it, making it shoot at the rest and at Dust himself, Fell came out of nowhere and was able to hit him in the face, making him fall, he was able to recover quickly and land on his feet, Killer was also back at the game and aimed at Blue's chest, but he quickly dodged and kicked him out of the way, Dust was still on the floor, Fell ran to him to help him, and Killer landed on a bunch of trash bags inside a trash can. Horror got his axe out of his hood and attacked Blue, he aimed for his arms, and tried cutting him at least once, but his opponent dodged every attack as if he read minds. Horror got sick of it and dropped his axe, surprising Blue, and then took out his butcher knife, smaller than his previous weapon but just as dangerous, he stricked a few hits on his arms, and two or three on his legs, making him fall, he tried making a final blow on top of his head, but Blue used his magic and lifted the trash can in which Killer was still stuck, and stricked it from the side hitting Horror directly on his arm, leg, and ribs, he was sent flying along sides Killer to a metal wall, from a factory that was nearby the place they were fighting in. Dust got up after that, Fell was still fighting Blue, now hand to hand, also using his bones, he heard the hard hit on the wall and ran near them, Blue got distracted, as well as Fell, when Killer screamed and Dust lifted the trash can, Horror was bleeding, his leg was broken, his arm wasn't responding, and he was almost unconscious, Dust screamed to Nightmare and informed the situation, while Fell ran near his friends to try and treat Horror, Killer and Dust got up and made a little barricade of bones and gaster blasters aiming at Blue, he was ready to keep fighting when all of a sudden Cross and Nightmare crushed the ground and Dream followed them, on top of their heads, Error dropped himself and held Horror with his strings running to the inside of a building, Ink also arrived and the three of them went inside, but they were gone. They stayed talking for a while, Blue was still in shock, but not because the gang was so worried about Horror, Dream and Ink were wondering that, he was shocked because of what happened to him, to Horror, he did it.

-I already told you Ink, I know Nightmare has changed, he just fleed from a fight because a subordinate of his got hurt, and he was winning against me! —Dream was half happy and half worried about the situation, and also scared of what Ink's response would be

-I know, I think I understand now, did you bring up the truce idea again while fighting? —Ink was wondering

-Yes, I did, he made a different expression than last time, I know he is considering to accept it —While they kept talking, Blue was staying still, Dream noticed that and approached him

-Hey Blue, you seem down, but you aren't releasing negative emotions, are you alright? —He asked, with a soft and calm voice

-I... —He went silent for a while, Ink also approached him— I hurt Horror a lot, he wasn't even moving... I over did it, why did I hit him with a trash can!? —He hold his scarf, tightly

-Hey, calm down, it was just the heat of the moment, it's not the first time it happened, but it is the first time you did it —Ink explained, trying to calm his friend down

-What do you mean? —Blue asked, worried

-Well, there's something I didn't tell any of you —Ink said, scratching his head and nervous— But, I think that was the reason they're so close now, so I kind of helped

-Ink, what did you do!? —Dream said, almost angry

-I might've set a trap for them, and when I was about to intervene it got out of my hands and I severely hurt Fell and Dust, but hey, they're fine now right? —He laughed nervously while Dream looked at him angry, and Blue was just staring at him with a judging look

-What. Did. You. DO!? —Dream screamed at Ink, scaring him, Dream's terrifying when he's mad

-I'll explain! Stop yelling at me! —He asked, scared of his friend

Ink explained what the trap was supposed to do, trap Nightmare and any other that was near him when they got to hotland, he had to sacrifice an AU someone had abandoned completely, but the trap not only didn't work, it got the ones he didn't want to, instead of traping them, the magic made weapons and hurt both Fell and Dust, he was mostly worried about Dust since the weapons had landed near his soul, way to near of it. Dream was furious, and scolded Ink for at least an hour, while Blue started analyzing, it's true they were much more sincronyzed than any other time they fought, and they seemed to care about each other more than before, after Dream stopped yelling at Ink, he explained that it did make sense, and that maybe it had helped Nightmare to realize completely that it was time to stop, Dream didn't want to accept it, but it was truly thanks to Ink.

-Listen here you paint addict, you will never in your life do something like that AGAIN, understood!? —Dream grabbed Ink by his scarf

-SIR YES SIR! —Ink cried out

-You should tell them, that you caused that, Ink —Blue seemed cold, it was weird for him to act that way

-I will, don't worry —Ink apologized one last time and they called the mission off

Back at the castle, Lust had finally seen Horror's job, and while he was resting inside his house, Dust was with Nightmare on his office, he was holding his head with both his hands, thinking what to do, he had grown to actually care about his crew, his family, and now he realized just how dangerous all of this is. After thinking for a while, he came to a conclusion, he had stopped wanting to steal his brother's soul a long time ago, what were they even fighting for now? Certainly not fun. He stood up and went closer to Dust, who was reading a book, he felt Nightmare resting his head on his back, and turned around, hugging him.

-What are we gonna do now? —He asked, calm, and serene like always

-Stop all of this, I lost my purpose to fight long ago, I don't even care about it anymore —Nightmare replied, he looked to the side, returning the hug, and blushing a lot

-Then, should I consider this as... Firing? —Dust asked, still hugging Nightmare

-Yeah, you're all fired —He continued the joke, half smiling, still hiding it

-In that case, can I ask you something? —Dust said, nervously, and also blushing, Nightmare just humed in return, being a lazy yes, and Dust cleared his throat— Nightmare, I have known you for a longer time than any other in the gang, except for Error, and I got to see something no one else did, you, being yourself, being honest, and being vulnerable around me, and that made me realize something, I have known for so long but didn't accept, didn't want to lose this weird friendship we had been able to have, but now that everything it's practically over, I can say it without being afraid, I... —He shut himself for a while, and then cleared his throat again, Nightmare was listening, attentive, paying attention to every single word Dust spoke, he was blushing a lot too— I have... I have fallen in love, I think, it's the first time I experience this, so I didn't know at first, but the rest really helped me with understanding my own feelings, I love you Nightmare, and I want to stay with you, I want to spend the rest of my life besides you, will I be able to? Will you let me? Can I... Will you be my boyfriend?

Silence was never so loud between them, after a couple of seconds, almost a minute, that felt like hours for both of them, Nightmare looked at Dust in the eyes blushing, his whole face covered by it, he had tears coming out of his eyes, tinted a purple colour instead of his usual cyan ones, he was sobbing, and hugged Dust tightly.

-Or course I want to! You changed my life, ever since I got to know you, I have been feeling so weird, it was strange, you got me to feel like myself after hundreds of years, you were the one who accepted my pathetic self, my past, my mistakes, and made me feel complete, and genuinely grateful that I had meet you, thanks to you, I got to experience happiness, for the first time in years, so many years, I... I feel like myself again... —Nightmare tightened the hug, hiding his head on top of Dust's chest, he only smiled at him and leaned closer to him, making him face him again, and kissed his forehead, Nightmare blushed so much, Dust found it really adorable

The next week was spent the following way, Nightmare was thinking how on earth would he accept the truce, what he would say, and how he should act, Dust would be there listening to his ideas, and helping him practice what to say, after lots of thrown away ideas that wouldn't work, and perfectioning the plan, Nightmare finally had the perfect plan to accept Dream's truce, and he brought Dust with him to the meeting, it was going to be at their AU, in the library, Nightmare had told Mr and Mrs.Deenard to not go that day to the library, they only had two books left to read and they could start to comprehend how all of this worked, that day, everyone cheered when Nightmare arrived, after Dream of course, the kids ran next to him and started sharing the things they had done since his last visit, which had been a day before Horror came back without a leg and an arm, Dream heard "last visit" and looked at the chief, Mr.Deenard, for answers.

-Yes, Lord Dream, Lord Nightmare has been coming here weekly, to let the kids have fun and to lend his knowledge so we can figure out how the corruption works and bring him back, he is kind just as your notebook described —Mr.Deenard smiled while holding that object, and Dream recognized it right away, before the fight, before he got turned to stone, before Nightmare ate the apple, he had written a notebook full of things his brother was good at, all his flaws and virtues, that made him just as deserving of being a guardian as him, all the good things Nightmare believed no one ever saw in him, Dream did— This made the whole village truly accept him and I was able to get my project the permission I needed from the people to start it, he's helped us know about it too

After a couple of minutes, Dream went inside the library along sides Nightmare, they both walked towards the side that was covered with a barrier and a giant chain, they went inside and sat in front of each other, they were there for hours, Dust, who was also there since Nightmare brought him, was playing outside with the kids until they came out, fortunately, it were two to three hours, Dream came out crying, while his brother slightly patted his shoulders with his tentacles. Nightmare also took the opportunity to tell Dream that Dust and him were officially dating, and that he have had premonition dreams about his future and that him and he were close like all those years ago, making Dream cry even more, but he also added something that slipped from his mouth, that he had kids with Cross, Nightmare didn't realize Dream had heard him, he was bright yellow, he could be called the sun from how much he was shinning.

The both of them went back to the castle, the rest of the gang were packing things, leaving other stuff to pack other day, Nightmare had made Ink create artificial AU's and timelines for all of them as a punishment after he told him what he did to Fell and Dust. The weeks kept on going until Fell, who was the last one that was still there, finally left to his designated AU and timeline, Nightmare was writing on his office while throwing papers and files to the trash bin, stuff he wouldn't need now that they weren't fighting anymore, all of a sudden, the door opened, and Dust came through with two cups on his hands, he gave Nightmares a coffee he had made and stayed there, talking about what to do now that the castle was all his.

-So, what are you gonna do with the castle? Since it's all yours now that the rest is gone —Dust asked, sipping on his cup of tea, while Nightmare wrote some words on a paper and looked at him again

-Ours, dumbass, it's our castle, unless you don't want to stay here with me yet —He teased Dust, while sipping on his coffee

-What? Of course I'm staying —He replied, quickly— I was just asking

-We're gonna need lots of new things, and to organize a lot of things, but the castle isn't that big anyway —Nightmare stood up and walked past Dust, slightly caressing his cheek with his tentacle— First we got to fix things on my universe, c'mon —He added, walking downstairs

Dust was left in shock, was that really Nightmare? He sure was completely different from before, was this the way he used to act before corrupting? Not that Dust complained, he followed him downstairs and they both went to his AU, the Deenard family had already read every book he gave them, and were trying to figure out how to uncorrupt him, they had a little idea, and with both the guardians' help, they were finally going to try it, it had been months since they started studying how to do it. Dream and Nightmare would release their emotional aura near the tree, while the whole village would be chanting an old text that was used to worship the tree, Dream and Nightmare also had to say this text, they already knew it, and it had brought many memories for both of them. After a whole hour of chanting the text and their aura surrounding what was left from the tree, it started to grow again, suddenly a giant trunk got out of the ground, giant roots almost made the villagers fall, and started coming out of the dirt, and leaves started to appear around the tree, creating one by one the apples yet again, Nightmare was on the side of the golden apples, while Dream was on the other apples' side, they both switched and each touched those apples again, it had been hundreds of years after all, Dream took one of the golden apples and made Nightmare eat it, it didn't turn corrupted this time, but the plan didn't really work, sure Nightmare ate a golden apple without corrupting it, but it just gave him positive emotions, it didn't uncorrupt him, the village went back to studying, but at least now that the tree was back, and also the guardians, the balance was brought back, the village had become green, full of life like years ago, flowers everywhere, Nightmare felt nostalgic, Dust gave him a book and told him to sit down the tree, and so he did, Dream also sat down and started to make flower crowns, it felt like they were in the past. Hours later Mr.Deenard came to the brothers and started talking.

-We've come to a conclusion, if the apple didn't work, then it has to be made by yourself, Lord Nightmare —He had a sad look— I'm sorry we couldn't help, but we did our best

-Hey, you brought the tree, and the balance back, the dome it's completely fine, the barrier is gone, and everything went back to normal —Dream cheered him up— Even if Nightmare is still corrupted, you were able to bring peace again, right?

-He's right, besides, I kind of already knew I would have to do it myself, so don't worry —Nightmare stood up and waved goodbye to him, going to the library
He went inside and found Dust reading some books, he sat down next to him and leaned on top of his shoulder, catching Dust's attention right away

-What is it Night? —Nightmare blushed a lot, he remembered Dust called him that in two of his premonitions— Did they find a way of uncorrupting you yet?

-No, they said I will have to do it myself, but I already knew that —He leaned closer to Dust, resting himself on top of his chest— I have a slight idea of how to do it, but I'm still not sure

-Well, I can help you with that, if your universe doesn't have the answers —Dust wrapped his left arm around Nightmare's waist, while closing the book he was reading— I also have an idea of what could help

A couple of minutes went by, both of them hugging each other tightly, until Nightmare teleported him and Dust back to the castle, being now on the sofa that was downstairs and in the living room, Nightmare leaned even more on top of Dust and closed his eyes, he was tired after all, releasing emotional aura for a whole hour consumed a lot of energy, he fell asleep not so long after laying on top of Dust, he left him to sleep, and turned on the TV, watching while having Nightmare on top of him, he grabbed a blanket that always rested on top of the sofa and covered him with it, they stayed like that for about two hours. Nightmare started waking up and realized where he was, blushing a little he got up and told Dust he would go to his office, Dust decided that it was already time to make dinner and also got up, going to the kitchen, since Horror was gone he and Fell were the ones who would cook, and even so, Fell would most of the time, since he almost burned down the kitchen once, so he stayed away from the oven and tried making a salad.

As the weeks went by, the castle started to look more like a home rather than a hideout, both Nightmare and Dust had started making changes to the rooms, the wallpapers, even the furniture, soon enough and much more before than they thought, the castle looked better and much more comfy, one of Nightmare's premonitions had become true now, they were just a few days apart of their triple date with Killer and Outer, and Lust and Horror. Dust wanted to give them a gift, so the both of them went to Dreamtale and grabbed some stuff they would need, and read a lot of books about cooking, especially Dust. The day had arrived sooner than they had expected, but the gift had been made already, both went to the place they would be having the date so they would wait for the other two couples, they sat down at a large table and ordered sodas, Outer and Killer were the first ones who arrived, they looked around to see if either was already there, and went quickly to sit at the table when they saw Nightmare and Dust already drinking some soda. A few minutes later Horror and Lust arrived, and sat down as well, the rest of the day was spent practically gossiping, they ate lunch and stayed until it was starting to get dark, so they decided to also eat dinner since they were already there, half an hour before the restaurant closed, they went outside and went to a nearby park that had a river that had it cross the middle of it. They all separated and went to their own houses at the same hour, it was almost midnight after all, Dust and Nightmare decided to walk and not use a portal since they were lazy enough to not do it. They arrived at the castle at midnight, and left themselves fall to the couch.

While Dust was talking with both Horror and Outer, Nightmare had been sharing with Killer and Lust, they both said that if he wanted to uncorrupt himself, maybe he had to accept happiness inside of him again, and that would make him come back to his past form, the theory was interesting enough for Nightmare to investigate, he came to the conclusion that there was a slight chance that it would work, a three percent, but it was something, the question he had was simple, how would he feel happiness on his own? He thought that he already did, but was it supposed to be much more? More intense? After a couple of minutes thinking and thinking, he decided to give it a try and went downstairs to the living room.

-Dust? Are you here? —He asked, looking around the living room from the stairs

-I'm here, what is it? —Dust was repairing the TV, one of the inner wires had overheated and cut itself

-Just a little question —Nightmare squatted next to Dust, looking at what he was doing

-Alright, ask away —He had his head inside the TV— I think it's time we buy another TV

-How long has it been since we know each other? —He gave Dust a screwdriver

-Five years in the bad guys' gang, and eight months since we started dating —He still had his head inside the TV

-It's a long time... —Nightmare started blushing, and looked at Dust

-Yeah, I think it is —Dust was cursing while saying this, the wires were giving him problems

-Have you... Thought about doing something? —He heard a loud hit coming from the TV— I mean... Couples stuff...

-What? —He got his head out of the TV, blushing

-You know... More than holding hands or cuddling... —His blush was more intense with every word

-You mean... Like, kissing? —Nightmare blushed and nodded, refusing to look at Dust in the eyes— Well... —He stood up and went near the kitchen sink, washing his hands and face

-What are you doing? —Nightmare's blush was starting to fade little by little

-Hold on a moment, I'll come back in a minute —Dust teleported away after saying that

-Did I say something? —He was left confused

A couple of minutes later, Nightmare was starting to fall asleep on the couch, watching the TV now opened and seeing some sparks here and there coming from the overheated wires, then, all of a sudden, Dust came back, it made Nightmare jump from the sofa and fall to the ground.

Dust grabbed Nightmare's hands and made him walk outside of the castle, going to the secret garden, he hadn't touched it since they had made the truce, to his surprise, a giant tree rested its big leaves on top of the whole garden, as if it were a greenhouse, the flowers were a lot more than before, and the vegetables and fruits were far more than before, Dust took Nightmare to the bench that was in the middle of the garden, where the tree had been planted.

-I planted this seed a while ago, I was able to make it grow this much with magic, I'm surprised you didn't notice before —Dust sat down still holding Nightmare's hands

-I can't believe I genuinely didn't notice it, the leaves literally block the view —He was really surprised, when he turned around Dust was smiling at him— What's that smile for? —He giggled a little while saying that

-Nothing... —Dust was lost inside Nightmare's gaze

Just when Nightmare was about to start speaking again, something didn't let him, as suddenly as he had asked that question a couple of minutes ago, Dust was now kissing him, he started blushing, more and more, and more, until all his cranium was just that cyan colour of his, Dust was also blushing a lot, a light purple that covered all of his cheeks, closed eyes, and holding Nightmare's hands gently.

Wrapping their fingers tightly, Nightmare started to close his eyes and let himself be carried away by the moment, the kiss was short, sweet, and gentle, Dust slowly backed from it while also opening his eyes, Nightmare had closed his, and was far too embarrassed to open them again, he chuckled a little and leaned in for another kiss, it surprised Nightmare as he didn't expect another one, this one was a little more hungry and desperate that their previous one had been, Dust touched Nightmare's waist caressing him, slowly getting his hand to go up and touching his chest, while wrapping his arm around his waist, Nightmare was holding his hands close to him, not really knowing what to do with them, when unconsciously, he hugged Dust by his neck and sank deeper in the kiss, the movements he was making in Nightmare's chest made him moan a little and open his mouth, Dust took the opportunity and transformed the sweet kiss into a deeper, and lustful one.

After a while they had to separate to breath, they were both out of air, Nightmare was blushing an intense cyan color, while Dust had a slight blush around both his cheeks, and up to his nose. He giggled a little and then stared laughing, it made Nightmare also laugh a little, they stayed close to each other for a while, minutes later they went back to the castle, to their surprise the TV caught on fire while they were gone, they both panicked and grabbed it with their magic, leaving it outside and throwing water to it, the moment the water touched the cables that had cut themselves, exposed to both water and the electricity sparks, hey lit up and caused a little explosion, both looked at each other and started laughing maniacally.

-We really need another TV now —Nightmare joked

-Yeah, I was thinking on a flat TV rather than these ancient things —Dust joked back and said while going inside, grabbing the broom and a trash bag

-Hey, those ain't that old —Nightmare went to help Dust

-Night, it's been twenty five years since the last one was sold —He said while cleaning the mess they had caused

-What!? It's been that long? —Nightmare seemed genuinely surprised, helping Dust clean

After they were done cleaning, they went inside the castle again, it had been a long day after all, and Nightmare was still trying to figure out how to uncorrupt himself, if nothing happens after this, after he had kissed with the one he loves, he might not be able to come back after all. They had dinner on the couch watching Undernovela, kind of stalking Error since the portal was in the void, seeing it through Error's portal. After they were done, they washed the dishes and went to sleep, the new double bed placed in the middle of the room was rather comfortable, they slept hugging each other, that was when Nightmare had another dream. He woke up in the same bed, he checked the calendar but couldn't read the numbers right, he looked to the mirror and there he was, normal, uncorrupted, back again. He woke up and and looked around the room, Dust wasn't near, he might've woken up before him and was making breakfast, he stood up and noticed his feet were slightly white, and that the black goop was slowly disappearing, he stood up as fast as he could, almost falling to his knees but recovering himself, and ran to the bathroom, looking at the mirror, his face was almost completely normal, his left side was still corrupted and leaking the black goop, while the right side was normal, he could see his eye, the purple eye he used to see every morning, Nightmare started crying of happiness, did it really work?

Dust came through the door, holding two plates with pancakes, he left them on their nightstand and knocked on the door, Nightmare opened the door slowly, showing his left side first, then, he got out of the bathroom completely and Dust saw his right side, a shocked expression, mouth open, and his pupils were really tiny, out of the blue, he wrapped his arms around Nightmare's waist and started lifting him up and going around in circles with him, congratulating him over and over again. Nightmare started laughing and hugged his neck for support, he put him down shortly after that, and they decided to go to Dreamtale after they were done with the pancakes.

Nightmare prepared a backpack full of blank papers and some pens, Dust also had one, full of little toys and kids books, since he would stay with the children the whole visit. Nightmare was nervous to go, he opened the portal and both went through it, Dream was seen far away from where they were, leading people to reconstruct the houses, and also taking care of the older people while waiting. Nightmare called him, making sure that he could only see his left side, to surprise his brother a little, Dust wouldn't in a million years let go the opportunity to hear Dream scream out of surprise, so he followed Nightmare, covering his right side with his own body the best he could. When they were close enough, Nightmare started talking with Dream, slowly revealing his right, uncorrupted side, he was still trying to talk without laughing, his brother's mouth practically hit the ground, the silence was loud. Suddenly, Dream hugged Nightmare and started lifting him up, he had forgotten how strong he was after all those years apart, Dust was also surprised, Dream was crying and laughing, he put his brother down and hugged him, Nightmare returned the hug smiling.

The villagers saw Nightmare one by one, surprised and happy that he was coming back, he noticed that the positive emotions didn't bother him at all now. They spent the rest of the day in Dreamtale, both brothers helping with the houses, and other organization stuff, while Dust entertained the kids with the toys and books he had brought with him.
They had to leave since it was getting late, and went back to the castle, when they arrived they noticed someone on the door, waiting for them playing in the dirt with a stick, when they got closer they realized it was Blue, he stood up and shook hands with Nightmare, also congratulating him, and then spotted at Dust, he seemed really anxious and pretty nervous, he then looked up to his eyes and started talking.

-I wanted to apologize for something I did to you Dust... —He was able to say, Nightmare knew immediately what he meant, Dust however, stayed silent, with a serious expression— I know a simple sorry won't be enough, but I really am sorry, I also already apologized to Horror...

-Hey, it's fine —Dust replied nonchalantly, Nightmare turned to look at him in disbelief while Blue's face practically started shinning out of surprise— What? It happened a long time ago, I don't really care anymore, besides, you said it, that wasn't supposed to stay with me anyway, it's fine Blue, I forgive you, really

-Are you serious? Oh god, thank you —He left himself fall to the ground while dramatically touching his head— I know I can't replace the scarf, but I can give you this —Blue took a purple scarf made out of wool— I made it myself, if you don't want to use it it's fine

-Oh, thanks —Dust replied, grabbing the scarf and smiling at him, Nightmare closed his eyes and started talking

-Is that all? Or do you want to stay for a while? —Nightmsre was sensing someone else around the castle, and curiosity won

-Oh, can I? Then... Wait a sec —Blue moved around the front side of the castle, and snatched someone who was hiding in the bushes out of his hideout— C'mon! They say we can stay for a while! —Blue said while smiling and carrying the skeleton around

-Blue, you should've let me there, I could've avoided the teasing

-Oh shut up, let's go —He said while shoving the skeleton inside the castle and then going in himself

-Was that... Fell? —Nightmare said confused, going inside with Dust

-Oh, I'm gonna have fun aren't I? —Dust replied, laughing a little, it made Nightmare giggle

Once they were inside, Nightmare prepared lots of cookies and other sweets, while making tea for everyone, Fell sat down at the couch, the same place that used to be his personal spot.

-Really? You come back after months and you still unconsciously go to THAT exact spot? —Dust teased him, sitting next to him, Blue was sitting in front of both of them

-Shut the hell up Dust, don't tell me you forgot you walk around the castle like you're patrolling it, always the same path —He teased back, Nightmare was half happy and half irritated

-Hey, at least I ain't going around the castle with my pants down my ass like you do —Blue snorted at that comment, which made Fell a little embarrassed

-Did you really had to say that? —Dust smiled at him as an answer, to which Fell smiled back— Well then, at least I don't cling like a fucking tick to Nightmare, do you have to touch him all the time? Hugging him every minute, it's annoying

-At least I don't have a dick for a boss!

-Well at least I don't imagine I'm cutting onions when I cry!

-At least I don't cry over idiotic things!

-At least I don't drink out of the fucking milk box!

-AT LEAST I HAVE A BOYFRIEND!

-AT LEAST I DIDN'T GET MY HAND CRASHED BY A TREE FOR BEING AN IDIOT!

-STOP IT BOTH OF YOU! —Nightmare screamed from the kitchen, Blue was starting to get anxious and was glad he intervened

-Sir yessir —They both stayed still almost immediately

-It seems you two automatically calm down whenever he screams —Blue pointed out, smiling

-Well, if we didn't he would grab us and smack us to the ground —Fell said without any expression, while Dust laughed

-Remember he threw you out of the window once? Why was it? —Dust started laughing while speaking

-Oh shut up, that was Killer's fault, and I got blamed on! —Fell replied, Blue seemed surprised

-Out of... The window? —He asked, both looked at him

-Second floor, directly to the strategically prepared pillows we had put outside of his office —Fell told Blue while laughing, Nightmare came in with the cookies and cups of tea

-Alright, stop talking about the past, let's just catch up okay? —He said while talking to Dust and Fell, and then turned around facing Blue— We can also stop traumatizing Blue

-Oh, right, sorry —Dust said, grabbing a cookie

-I'm really sorry Blue, we won't speak about things like that anymore —Fell told him, grabbing the cup of tea

-It's... It's fine... —He said, grabbing some cookies

They spent the rest of the afternoon catching up, specially Dust and Fell, they had always been close friends, when it was starting to get late, Blue and Fell left, it was kinda weird that they did at the same time, Dust was suspecting that maybe they were something more. They went to the mall as quickly as they could, since they had forgotten to buy a TV and Blue's visit distracted them, they entered the store and started seeing which would be perfect and which one would fit on the living room's wall, Nightmare picked one that not only was the perfect prize, also the perfect size.

They tried installing it when they arrived at the castle, and after reading the instructions at least fourth times while doing so, after a whole hour, they were able to turn it on. They prepared dinner and stayed watching some movies, when they went to sleep it was already two in the morning, the moment they touched the bed, they were already asleep. The next morning, Nightmare woke up before Dust, he had his eyes half opened, he got out of bed and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth, still half asleep, he put some toothpaste on his cyan coloured brush, carefully brushing his teeth. While he was at the bathroom, Dust woke up and went downstairs to make something for breakfast, Nightmare got out of the bathroom and went to the bed again, laying down for a while, still half asleep.

Dust opened the door a couple of minutes later, and saw that Nightmare was still trying to sleep, so he got closer, after leaving the plates on the nightstand, and started poking his back and slightly shaking him, when he noticed something and opened his eyes, really, really wide open.

-Night! Night wake up! Look in the mirror! —He grabbed him and shoved him to the bathroom, waking him up again

-What is it? —He said, slowly opening his eyes

-Look at yourself! —Dust replied while smiling

-What do you want me to- —He stayed silent and opened his eyes completely, looking at himself— It's... It's all gone...

-You did it! You're back to your normal self! —He said while shaking him and hugged him

-I did it! I came back! —He hugged Dust and he hugged him back

They were jumping around their bedroom while still hugging each other, when all of a sudden they heard yelling outside, Dust looked from the window and saw Dream screaming Nightmare's name again and again, while looking pretty yellow all over his face, apparently still in his pijamas. Dust made him come inside and told him to wait, Nightmare wanted to give him a little surprise, after he calmed down a little, he sat next to him acting like nothing had happened, Dream stared at him with his mouth open and his eyes wide opened aswell, he looked at him with a smile, knowing damn well why he was looking at him like that, trying to hold in his laughter, he spoke.

-What's the matter Dream? Are you alright? —He asked his brother, eating a cookie

-WHAT THE FUCK!? —His sudden curse surprised both— Since when!? Weren't you half uncorrupted just yesterday!? —He screamed at him while moving his shoulders in every direction posible

-Dream! Calm the heck down! You're going to dislocate my shoulder! DREAM! —Nightmare yelled

-Oh, sorry... —He took his hands off of Nightmare and then went back to his surprised attitude— HOW!? WHEN!? WHAT DID YOU DO!?

-I'm not answering how, but it was yesterday, Dust and I spent some time together

-Ok, I think I'm calming down... Now, for what I had come here in the first place —He grabbed Nightmare's shirt while both had a smile, Dream an ominous one, and his brother a nervous one— It's all your fault, you made me remember about the premonition dreams, I HAD ONE YESTERDAY NIGHT! AND I BLAME YOU FOR IT! —He said while blushing, it was an intense blush

-Wow, what did you dream about, you have yellow all over your cheeks —Nightmara joked, Dust slowly went upstairs, leaving the brothers alone— Where do you think you're going
-Far away from trouble, see you in three hours darling! —Dust rushed to their bedroom and shut the door

-TRAITOR! —Nightmare yelled, Dream hold his grip stronger and made Nightmare rethink his life choises

-Listen, you will hear what I dreamt about, and you won't talk until I'm done, UNDERSTOOD!?

-Ok, yeah, sure —He sure had forgotten how terrifying his brother could be when he's mad

Two hours of conversation later, Dream had calmed down completely, and Nightmare had to contain himself to scream the whole time he was explaining his dream, thanks to what he had said, which he thought his brother didn't hear say, Dream had a premonition in which he and Cross did something. That's all you have to know, Nightmare was really mad. An hour later, when Dust was coming out of their bedroom, he heard laughter, going downstairs he noticed Nightmare and Dream were now giggling and gossiping, he just let out a sigh and went upstairs again. Leaving the brothers to catch up after so, so many years of being apart and fighting. After all, Nightmare changed, and finally accepted himself.