Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

An alarm of yours blares on your bedside table, phone a buzzed, ripping you awake from your cosy slumber though you don’t recalled what you were dreaming as your eyes ached from the dull sunlight breaking into your bedroom. You reached out and slammed your hand against the table a few times before finally hitting the snooze button then hiding back into bed, hoping to get a few moments of sleep.

Well sadly you couldn’t as your Papa loudly banged on your door, jolting you back to the awake reality.

“Come on kiddo! Rise and shine!” Your Papa called out, “Otherwise Error’s gonna eat all the hash browns before you!”

A grumble escapes your throat, rubbing your eyes as you pull yourself out of bed, in your skull-themed pyjamas, “I’m coming… I’m coming…”

slipping into your slippers, you let out a yawn as you shuffled to your door, opening it up to be greeted by Killer, one of your many dads, he seemed pretty chipper this morning, the black goop that comes out of his eyelids isn’t as heavy.

“There ya are Sunshine!” Killer profoundly greets, “I’m not joking about the hash browns, Horror is really going all in today”

“Yeah..Yeah… lemme just get changed and cleaned up” you yawned, swatting away Killer’s hand as he fussed with your hair, “Can you save some for me?”

“of course, just be out before Boss gets up, you know he’s gonna hound ya” Killer playfully reamarks before heading off.

“Ugh I know..” You grumbled, heading into your private bathroom and washing your face, brushing your teeth (mango smoothie flavoured, screw mint) and brushing your hair in a way that you liked it, you always wanted to get it dyed but your ‘main father’ has always disproved of it, Killer was supportive of it (especially if it was bright red) maybe hair extensions might be the way in the meantime.

Once that was done, you got changed into your school uniform, you hated the jackets with how cheaply made they seem to be even though you’re going to a high end private school, still, you slap some pins on the collar, grab your laptop and other school supplies and headed off to the kitchen, walking down the long purple hallways that always seem endless for you, hating the fact you were human and couldn’t teleport like your fathers could.

It takes a bit of time for you to enter the kitchen, warm and cosy, opposite of the rest of the castle though it did show off it’s wealth like as the real marble counter tops and real gold handles of cupboards. Three of your dads and your uncle were here and they all look to you.

“There ya are Doll” Error greeted you first as he was at the table, watching you pass by to grab some orange juice from the fridge before settling down next to him.

“Hey Error…” You rub your eyes, “Why are you all up so early..?”

“Didn’t want to miss our kid’s first day of highschool” Dust remarked, coffee in hand while he was at the counter, “Also someone has to keep an eye out on Horror, make sure he doesn’t make too much food”

“Pfft with Error here, there’s never enough food” You chuckled.

Error smirks slightly, “Can’t deny that”

“Of course a fatass like you can’t” Killer snarks, getting a glare from the glitch.

Horror’s head snaps over as soon as he hears your voice, carrying out a plate to you, red eye dilated with delight, “Little one! Here is your breakfast….make sure to eat it all up”

He then handed you an overfilled plate while very delirious looking...was a lot. Toast, scrambled eggs with ham and mushrooms in it, pork and chicken sausages, bacon, mini chocolate chip pancakes drizzled with maple syrup and a bowl of fruit salad. Just staring at this meal made you feel stuffed.

“If your not gonna eat it all, can I have those pancakes?” Error whispered to you and you lightly nodded.

“Thanks Pi--- Horror..but it’s...alot” You said.

“You need all the energy for highschool…” Horror remarked before turning away back to the counter to put your lunchbox into your bag, no doubt filled with more tasty food. Since school work is mostly on the computer your bag will probably be filled mostly with snacks from Horror.

“It’s just highschool...i don’t see what the big deal is” You shrugged, taking a bite out of your toast and eggs, his cooking was always comfort to you for as long as you could remember, being a child, sitting at the counter while he cooked some kind of meal, letting you be the ‘head chef’ and offering little tastes of it, he’s a big monster but you never felt scared of his large stature.

“It’s like… suppose to be the best thing in a human’s life” Error remarked, “I don’t know, I’ve never been to highschool”

“It’s a good step in the right direction kid” Dust chimed in, being the smart dad of the group, “You’ll meet all kinds of people there and get a good foot into Uni, who knows, maybe you’ll become a scientist like me”

“Yeah! Enviro science would suit you more, not that snooty stuff Dust use to do” Killer remarked.

“I’m sorry ‘use to do’?”

“When’s the last time you got your licence renewed?” Killer snark at him as Dust quietly sipped from his cup, “Yeah that’s what I thought”

“I think they’ll make a great chef” Horror remarked, making sure everything you need is in your bag before zipping it up.

“Uh…” You really didn’t want to have that type of discussion right now, you barely started highschool!

“Let them get through the first day atleast” Another voice chimes in, quietening all the other voice, The taller, goopy form of your main father arrived, single purple eye scanning the room, “Good morning everyone”

“Moring Boss!” a chime back was heard.

“Morning dad” You replied to him as he sat down beside you.

“Excited for your first day?” Nightmare asked as Horror handed him his plate, smaller meal than yours.

“I guess..?” you say to him, sliding some of your pancakes to Error who eats them within seconds.

Nightmare attempts to give you a reassuring smile, “You’ll do well”

“Yeah no stressin’ kid!” Killer chimes in, “Just focus on ya studies and ya’ll do well!”

You just nod along, finishing up your meal and cleaning up after yourself, as soon as you placed your dish into the sink, Horror fussed over your hair, picking at every strain.

“Ugh Horror! Seriously what’s with all of you and my hair?!” You exclaimed, getting his hands away from you.

“We’re all bald kid” Killer remarked.

“Buy a damn wig!”

After that, there was a bit of a rush to get you to school with Dust taking you since your schooling is in a whole different AU, You doubled checked everything in your bag as you grabbed it and put it on, each one of your fathers fussed and fretted over each part of you, adjusting the cuffs of your pants, fixing your hair.

“Back straight” Nightmare scolded you as you headed with Dust.

“I get it! Okay! Bye!” You huffed, heading off with dust.

Horror happily waved you goodbye while Error teleport out of there, most likely going to destroy some places, Killer headed off to do some chores around the castle, leaving Horror and Nightmare in the kitchen. Horror’s posture slumped slightly once you were out of view, still gazing out the door.

“They grow up so fast…” Horror commented to his boss.

Nightmare hummed softly, glancing at his half eaten meal, “Indeed they do”

He is not a good man but he doesn’t care how much he suffers as long as your okay.

~~

Dust sets you out a bit further away from the school, tall, sleek, modern building with some of it’s walls being mainly made of glass so you could see the sea of students climbing up or down it, nervousness settles into your stomach and you feel queasy with all the food you just had.

It seems that your Dad could sense it, redish eyes glance over to your fidgety form, he pats you on the back.

“You’re gonna do good kid” Dust reassures you, he was always a bit more reasonable than your other dads so hearing that from him did calm you a bit, “Your best friend is at this school too right?”

“Right...ugh, she better not have already gone in without me..” You mumbled.

“It’s the first day, someone will help you out” He replies.

You slowly nodded, taking a breath, easing your soul, “Right, Right...well, I’ll head off then, see ya Dust”

Just as you were about to head off, your whole body froze, blue magic instilled in you, you couldn’t move your head but you could see with your eyeballs that it was Dust doing that.

“What are you doing?” you managed to say.

“You forgot to say ‘I love you dad’” he said with a teasing smile.

“Seriously?!”

“I wanna hear it kid”

“No! It’s embarrassing---”

“----just say it”

“No! There are other students here! They’ll hear it”

“I’m not letting you go until I hear those words”

Then silence fell between the two of you, frowning, you mumbled something under your breath.

“Sorry?” He asked, “I didn’t quite catch that”

“I LOVE YOU DAD. BYE!”

Dust seem to approve of it and let you go, watching you huff and storm off into the sea of students, honestly your parents are so embarrassing! It’s a good thing most people don’t really know that you have four dads and two uncles. Passing by the school’s large gates as the crowds of students grew bigger, leaving a tense feeling in your soul, it’s not big deal, no one cares that your a human raised by monsters, no one is paying attention to you, no need to be freaked out.

“Hey! Over here!” A familiar voice called your name, a girl of your similar age, dyed blonde hair that was very much fading away and lightly tanned skin, dark freckles litter her face, the sight of her brought you comfort.

You made your way to her, waving back, “Amanda! Here I was thinking you dumped me for the popular groups”

“Ha! As if!” She playfully elbows you, giggling as the two of you headed inside, “Do you remember what classes you put it?”

“Art, Enviro sci, Japanese, computer science” You listed out.

“Weeb” She teases you for your want to learn Japanese.

“Shut up” You elbow her back but she was right, you just picked it in hopes you could learn to read manga and watch anime without needing subtitles.

Heading in, there was abit of the queue as everyone was getting their info to get into their school portal to see the classes. You sneakily check your phone and see man supporting messages from your dads and Uncles.

‘Rooting for ya kid’ - Dust

‘Have fun! If anyone messes with ya, kick them hard in the balls!’ – Killer’s

“Good luck little one, eat well” – Horror

“Ignore Killer, don’t get into trouble” – Error

‘Hi sweetie <3<3<3 Did you sleep well? <3<3<3 Being in highschool must be so exciting!! ^w^ but you’ll do well I have faith in you! Don’t stress and have a lovely time at school <3<3<3 Love from your Uncle Dream’ – Do you really need to say it?

Rolling your eyes you clear the notifications from your phone and pay attention to your best friend who was yapping away, excited do to all the highschool things she’s seen in her shows, going on how she’ll probably find a hunky jock boyfriend. Amanda is your best friend and childhood friend, you both were in the same primary school together and just ended up bonding really well, she’s well aware of your dads and never thought of anything strange about it, if anyone got on your nerves about how many dads you have (Who all don’t have romantic feelings for each other, that seem to stump a lot of people) she had your back.

But you were the one to tend to physically escalate things, in that case, she was there to stop you from causing too much of a scene. Bless Killer for teaching you self defence though it never really worked out in the education system, despite the bully starting the fight and doing far worse than what you did, the blame was always put on you for standing up for yourself or others, it frustrated you to no end that doing the right thing these days gets you punished.

Your dads tended to be understanding but insist that you don’t do those things anymore.

“It’s better for you to lay low to get a better future than end up like us” Nightmare would warn you and it upsets you everytime you think about, what’s the point of being good person if the world is unfair to those who do good?

Shaking those thoughts aside, you think back to your best friend, you felt a little bad not letting her come to your house despite knowing her for so long but she seem to understand that you come from a rather wealthy home though your not fully sure if she believes that you really do live in a Gothic castle.

Once your got your schedule, you and Amanda compared each others schedules.

“It seems like we have the same maths, history and cooking class” She pointed out.

“If we ever do group projects, I’m picking you”

“Oh I know” 

You felt a little sad that the two of you parted ways to try and find your classes but you both would try and find each other for recess and lunch. Heading off, you scanned through the halls and places, feeling a sense of dread as you walk these pristine halls...though if you squint hard enough you’ll find some year old shoe marks that some poor bastard tried to scrub off, walking pass many lockers, many rooms, getting quick glances at what the rooms will be like, a dreaded feeling of impostor syndrome creeps in.

Wondering what you did to get into such a school, your grades in primary were alright at least in your eyes, maybe the school’s standards were low? No, your father would never let you step foot in such a school, he had high standards for quality when it came to you, quite overbearing but he’s gotten you this far.

Glancing around your current area, you came into the conclusion that you were fucking lost in this school.

Great, just great.

“Shit” you say to yourself, Uncle Dream would have a word with you for using such words.

But you were growing a little freaked out, last thing you want is to get scolded by your teacher and give them a bad impression. Pacing through the place, trying to find the room with the same lettering and numbers the one of your schedule said. Accidentally, you bump into someone, causing them to drop all their things.

Instinctively you braced yourself for a fight, “S-Sorry!”

You try and help the other student, a monster dog who seem pretty calm about it, “No worries, its the first day after all”

helping them gather their things back up, you got a better look at them, a dog monster who seem to be a mix breed between the golden retriever and greyhound, they seem to be pretty relax all things considered.

“Trying to find your class?” They asked with a doggy smile.

“Yeah...it’s my fault for not fully paying attention when I was touring this place with my dad” You mumbled bashfully.

“All good, my brother goes to this school so I know this place well, I can help you out, which room are you in?”

You just show them your phone, they glance then nod.

“Well...you’re way past it”

“What!? Really?!”

“Yeah but I don’t blame you, the hallway to it is really hidden away” They gesture you to follow to which you do, “It’s kinda built like a prison...a fancy prison”

“You can say that again” You remarked as you followed, “Say uh, I didn’t get your name”

“Oh it’s Charlie! Pleasure to meet you!” They greeted you, “And you?”

You say your name, “---So your brother goes here?”

“Yeah, you might seem him passing by, he’s in year 11” Charlie explains, “He’s pretty cool, into sports and stuff”

“Cool, I’m a single child sadly” You said, “Though my family isn’t small by any means”

“Hm? How so?”

“Well….i have four dads” You say, “And two uncles but they don’t live with us”

“Are they all married to each other?”

“No, completely platonic...still a bit of sausage fest” You tried to explain, Charlie chuckles at your joke.

“To think having one or two dads was a lot” They chuckled, “Do they make a lot of dad jokes?”

“Yes” You say bluntly.

Finally after some walking and spotting the hidden away hallway, you were finally lead to your classroom, relief washed over you as you saw your classroom.

“Guess first day isn’t a disaster after all--- thanks for that!” You told them.

“No worries, if you ever get lost, come find me, I’m usually around the library upstairs” They replied and with that they headed off to their class.

Gathering your nerves, you take a deep breath and enter the room.

Right, time to start learning.

~~

Nightmare walked down the hall to his office, another cup of coffee in his hand, the castle was always quite when work hour hit, it was often just him and maybe Error around and given how large the place was, the two would rarely see each other so he was largely left to himself, passing by large weapons hanging off the walls, though they are firmly locked in to avoid you ever getting near these things, babyproofing this whole place took a lot of time, even with his men and brother helping, there were probably a few spots he missed but you were older now, he had some trust you weren’t going to swing a weapon around.

Even if you did cause trouble, in came with good intent, which made it harder for him to scold you. You were standing up to bullies, fighting for what is right but violence was not the way to go in every situation, sometimes he worries that his work had somehow influenced you, Dream and him often have talks about whether is was right for him to keep his life of crime while trying to raise you.

But his points still stand; He and his men have done awful things that were not worth forgiving and forgetting, the cannot have a normal life but you could, he was going to do everything he could to give you a normal life.

As he walks, Nightmare notices a frame had fallen off the wall, a small grumble escapes his throat as he goes over to pick it up, his small bit of annoyance washes away when he sees it’s a photo of you and him, this photo was at your 9^th birthday, he could tell because you had a missing tooth hole, he could fondly recall how upset and shocked you were when your tooth came out and they all had to reassure you that it was normal-- if a little delayed due to your...past.

You were smiling brightly in the photo, the glow from the candle lights bringing warmth to your skin and he was beside you, his smile was small and unnoticeable but it was there. His finger traces over the imagine of you, wondering how you were handling school.

Then the sound of Dust clearing his throat startled him out of his thoughts.

“Are you...busy sir?” Dust awkwardly asked.

Nightmare quickly adjusted himself, putting the frame back in place with his tentacles.

“I-I was just heading to my office” Nightmare clears his throat, averting his eyes for a second, “I wasn’t expecting you to still be here”

“I was just putting these stolen goods away, no point lugging them around all day” Dust lifts a heavy duffle bag, “Are you okay Sir?”

“I am more than fine” Nightmare reassures him.

“Right….” Dust side eyes the photo of you and Nightmare, “Don’t worry too much about it Sir, they’ll be okay”

Nightmare doesn’t say anything, Dust gives a slight shrug and passes by him, leaving him once again alone with his thoughts, he relaxes his shoulders with a sigh, trying to quell the nervous jitters in his soul. He’s Nightmare, king of darkness, he can’t let his emotions get the better of him, you were going to be okay, you’ve been okay so far, he was going to make sure you never end up like him or his men--- or die trying.

~~

Lunch time rolled around quicker than you thought and you naturally headed to the cafeteria as that was quickly becoming the spot to find your friends, taking the corner table at the far end of the cafeteria, Amanda waved you down and Charlie greeted you as you sat with them.

“How was class?” Charlie asked you.

“Okay I guess” You set aside your bag and rummaged to find your lunchbox, “Most of my classes have been mostly ‘get to know each other’ sessions”

“Yeah they started doing that to avoid giving students panic attacks about work” Charlie explained.

“I rather be doing homework than introduce myself to a bunch of strangers” Amanda remarked as she ate her ham and cheese sandwich

Charlie ate what seem to be fish and chips from the cafeteria, “I suppose that’s fair”

The two of them looked over to you as you pulled out your lunchbox and salad box, opening it up to show Horror’s homemade cooking. Slice fried chicken with seasoned rice, egg rolls, small sauages with egg and mayo mix on the side while your salad box had a fruit cup and cherry tomato, cucumber salad.

“That looks so good” Charlie remarks.

You shrug a little, flustered, “Eh I guess, my dad just loves to cook...he makes so much though”

“I’m happy to have some” Amanda remarked, knowing you would always give some your couldn’t finished to her, she then remarks to Charlie, “Seriously their dad’s food is amazing, beats the sandwiches my mum gives”

“Or the cafeteria food for that matter...i mean it’s not bad but you should always avoid the ‘ethic’ food unless you wanna skip a class you really hate” Charlie comments.

A little foreboding but with what meals you get, you don’t plan that anytime soon so the rest of your time at lunch was just spent enjoying time with your best friend and new friend, so far, so good, you just needed to survive a few more hours and then you’ll be home pretty soon. Wondering how your dads are doing, you can totally imagine them all group huddling each other and ugly crying about when their beloved child will return, a very over-dramatic family but as cringe and frustrating at they are, you love them...even if they run you up the wall…

Once lunch wrapped up (and you gave your leftovers to your bestie) you headed on over to your next class. While walking there, you notice a group of teens passing by you in the opposite direction, laughing and chatting away, maybe a group of older teens? It’s a bit hard to tell, it does leave a strange feeling of jealousy in your soul that people are already making groups that they’ll probably spend the rest of their school years with, never hanging with anyone else that would be part of the ‘out group’.

You try not to think too hard how that’s been your life really, Amanda was your only friend that’s stuck by you, a lot of kids didn’t want to hang with the weird kid with the shit ton of dads, all of which were monsters.

Passing by them, you awkwardly made eye contact with one of the teens, a girl with wavy black hair and fair skin, a couple of moles dotted her face. A rush of embarrassment hits your face as you quickly rushed pass them, hoping you didn’t look like a creep trying to peep into their conversations, well, it wasn’t really the first day of school without something embarrassing happening right?

You just needed to survive a little longer.

~~

Every one was waiting in the foyer for your return, all of them perking up upon hearing Killer yapping to your through the large doors.

Killer pushes the two large heavy doors with a smile, “Crisis averted! Kiddo is back!”

“You’re all so dramatic..” You rolled your eyes, greeting all your dads.

“Hey kid” Dust casually greets you.

“Little one!” Horror was very happy to have you back, giving you a hug, thankfully being gentle, “How was school?”

“Uh school I guess?” You shrugged, pulling away, “We really didn’t do much today”

Nightmare hovered over you as you walked to the kitchen to put away all your lunchboxes, in fact...all of them were just following you.

“Have they assigned you homework yet?” Nightmare inquired.

“Not yet, they said they’ll do it tomorrow” You replied back, setting your containers to the side on the counter.

“I see...you didn’t get into any trouble now did you?” Nightmare questions which sours your mood alittle.

“No I didn’t” You grumbled, “I made a friend actually”

“I presume they aren’t a slacking type?” It was starting to feel like an interrogation at this point, it was starting to get on your nerves, especially after such an anxiety-inducing day.

“Cut them some slack Nighty” Error seemingly popped in from nowhere, probably to steal some of Killer’s snacks, “It’s the first day, they have enough on there plate”

“Thank you” You say to your Uncle.

“Besides the kid’s gonna be doing this for the next four years!”

“…..Thanks”

Nightmare doesn’t have a look of approval but he ultimately backs off, leaving you to cool off while your other dads huddled around you to ask about your day, they all did seem interested in your day but you were just tired so you just gave some half-assed responses.

“You are taking that cooking class right?” Horror asks.

“Yeah I am, with Amanda” You replied back, his red eye dilates with joy.

“Erm...isn’t highschool where they teach sex education right?” Killer suddenly points out, seemingly realising this, “talk about awkward”

“I mean--- yeah” You awkwardly mumbled with a shrug, “But I know how most of that works from you leaving your adult magazines around”

Everyone’s heads look over to Killer, Nightmare’s head snaps to him in a blink of a eye, shooting a dark stare. Not wanting to see that unfold, you managed to slip out of the kitchen and head on over to your bedroom, tossing your school bag aside and flopping onto your bed, exhaustion bled into your soul, it was just the first day, you thought to yourself, once your got into a rhythm things will be easier and go by in a blink of an eye, at least you hope so, you hope this is a new start, a new chance to have some independence in your life.

Tomorrow is another day, hopefully a day that’ll be a bit easier to handle.

Chapter Text

Now back into the educational system, it means having to adjust to your new sleep and time schedule, you were rudely disturbed by ruthless knocking at your door, ripping you out of your sleep and leaving your in a rather groggy state, annoyance hitting you right in your soul.

“Come on kid!” Killer calls out to you, “You’re gonna be late!”

Your head felt heavy as you lifted it up from your fine pillow, hair sticking out every which way.

“Hrmmm?” You wipe some drool off your mouth and glance over at the time, eyes bugging out as it hits you that you have overslept, “Oh shit---!”

“Language!” Killer called out from the door.

You jump out of bed and scramble to get ready, grabbing what you could and basically smacking Killer in the face with your bedroom door as you hurried out, adjusting your socks.

“Sorry!” You called to him before hurrying to the kitchen.

Killer rubs his forehead, mumbling to himself, “You’re lucky that my HP been improving..”

Mentally cussing yourself out for oversleeping then remembering that you repeatedly pressed snoozed on your phone for ‘five more minutes’, how foolish of you for having any faith in your sleepy self. Even as you entered the kitchen, heat rises to your cheeks as you see all your dads there, mostly or currently eating their meals.

“Rise and shine sleepy head” Error comments with a slight smirk.

You just shoot a glare at him as you pass, he adds, “Geez, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today”

Scooping up the plate Horror offers you, you quickly chomp down on it.

“Slow down..” Horror warns you.

“At least eat at the table like a member of society” Nightmare remarks, a newspaper in his hands, cup of coffee in one of his tentacles.

“Since when were you a member of society?” You sassed him back.

Nightmare gives a quiet unamused look, Dust let’s out a quite snort next to him, “Kid’s got you there”

“Yeah” You felt a little smug as you sat down, “Like I know you don’t pay land tax”

“Where would I give the money to? No one owns this AU” Nightmare replies.

You pause in thought, now fully beaten at your own game.

“M-my point still stands” You clear your throat, finishing your meal.

Quickly you grabbed your bag and headed off with Dust. Leaving the rest of the gang to finish up, Horror was washing up the dishes when he suddenly make a guttural wheeze.

It alerted Nightmare, nearly ready to jump out of his chair, “What’s wrong?”

Horror doesn’t say anything, he just points to the counter where your lunchbox lied, filled with food and snacks that Horror lovingly made. Nightmare sighs and just sits back down in his seat.

“That child I swear…” He remarks.

“What do we do?” Horror’s red eye dilates with uneasy, “They’re going to be starving all day..”

“Don’t worry about it buddy” Killer reassured the big monster, “They’ve got loads of snacks in their bag already, they’re gonna be fine”

“But that’s not enough..” He fidgets with the rough fur of his coat, “They’ll be hungry”

Food is a very serious and touchy subject for Horror, He wants to make sure you know that there will always be food for you on the table, food you like and will make you grow up strong, Food is how he connects with you, he loved it when you helped him in the kitchen and he wanted that to be a reminder of his love.

The other three monsters could sense his unease, Nightmare tried to reason with himself that you’ll be fine, you’ll have snacks and you have money so you could by from the cafeteria, you’ll be okay, Horror was just making a big deal.

He then proceeds to sigh and fold up the newspaper he was reading neatly, “Fine, I’ll take it too them”

That eases Horror up as Nightmare gets up from his seat and picks up your lunchbox.

“Annnnd how are you going to do that?” Error retorts, “You stand out like a sore thumb”

“I have my ways” Nightmare simply said as he takes his leave.

Error huffs with a roll of his eyes, “It’s too early for your dramatic shit”

~~

You Huffed as you ran towards Amanda and Charlie who both greeted you, as soon as you reach them you slump forward, grabbing your knees and huffing, trying to gather as much air as possible.

“S-sorry I was late..” You wheezed.

“By like a minute?” Amanda pointed out, reminding you that AUs have their odd timezones, “Geez, I know you don’t want to get on your father’s bad side but it’s not the end of the world”

“If that’s how you are, I don’t think you’re prepared for running up and down stairs all day” Charlie lightly jokes.

“I am way more fit than you think” You huffed as you stood back up, “My Dad trained me growing up”

Dust and Killer helped you exercise, it was part of your self defence training too but it was important for you to stay fit and healthy, Nightmare simply watched, he never seemed particular interested in it but the second you scrapped your knee or tripped over something, he was all over you in a blink of an eye, fretting over your well-being, once he was certain you were okay, he would go back to his cold and uncaring self. It was those kinds of moments where you could see his affectionate side hiding under all that...goop.

“Why is Daddy like that?” You asked Error one day, after dinner, you were playing with your plushies, Error sitting like a cramped shrimp at your little table but it doesn’t bother him too much.

“He a leader, it’s kinda his job” Error replies, trying to find words to explain it to a young child, “That doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about ya”

“I feel...bad, am I a bad child?” You asked, so innocently, Error’s eyes soften.

“Oh Doll, of course not” He leans over and runs his long claws through your hair, “Are you a brat? Sure sometimes, but that doesn’t mean your bad”

You still don’t appear to be very comforted so he decides to tell you a little secret, Nightmare would give him an earful about it later but he did it for your sake.

“Lemme tell ya something Doll” He lowers his voice, getting your attention, “When you go to bed, he’ll come to me and cry his eyes out”

You blinked confused, “Why?”

“Cause he wants to be strong for you” He tells you, “He’s a total sooky la-la”

You can’t help but giggle at that funny name but in a sense it comforted you, he just wanted to do what’s best for you.

Wish you could say the same now, it seemed over the years he’s gotten more annoying to you, always on you back about anything and everything.

Charlie’s voice snaps you out of your thoughts, “Which Dad?”

“Even I don’t know-- more the fact I’ve lost track, I just imagine them combining into one giant dad” She explains, making the gesturing of combining with her hands, “Like power rangers”

“I still think you’re in denial for having the hots for one of my dads” You remarked as you headed up to the entrance.

Her face warms up as she chases after you, “N-No! I would never betray the bestie code!”

Then quietly whispered, “Your uncle on the other hand..”

“Which one?”

She just shoves you playfully while Charlie looks a little confused but shrugs it off, it was just some silly childhood best friend stuff, just stupid stuff to tease about. First thing in the morning was English class, Charlie gave you the direction to your classroom and you headed off, climbing up a narrow set of stairs into a long and winding hallway filled with many classrooms and students, keeping your bag close to you, moving quickly to enter your room, taking the middle-back seats as you didn’t want to bring attention to yourself.

Setting your laptop on the table, you sigh, time for the real work to start.

~~

Killer was carrying some containers, side stepping all the way down to the basement, man, Nightmare should really invest in some elevators or something, it would make carrying heavy shit much easier and quicker, it took him about 20 minutes to finally get to the bottom, his breathing growing tense with the heavy container in his hands, he sighs, happy to be on some flat stone flooring, he continues his walk, passing by wine holders on the wall, many brands being Nightmare’s favourite til he finds a spot to shove these items away, looking around the cellar, he spots a crate still filled with wine bottle.

A low growl erupts from his throat, “Who the fuck forgot to put the wine away”

Then he remembers, oh yeah, it was him, damn his past self for being so lazy. Grumbling, he works away, putting the wine in their proper storage, when the crate began to grow light, he accidentally kicks it causing something behind it to spill and clatter onto the ground.

“Oh for fuck sake’s” He mutters, picking up the small container, seeing that it was filled with Gyftmas decorations.

Things move around here often that it was easy to lose things like this, it should be in the attic, not the cellar. As Killer puts the decoration back into the storage container, a piece of paper slips from his arms, curious, he picks it up only for his hollow eyes to grow wide as he sees a crude drawing of you and him, giving big smiles, his soul grows fuzzy as a smile forms on his face, careful not to rip the paper.

You grew up too fast, you won’t even call him those silly names anymore, it’s just ‘dad’ now, it’s so hard to accept you growing up, he wants you to stay small, stay safe in his arms. Why were humans like this? You didn’t inflict any harm to him yet you still hurt him all the same.

A black droplet hits the paper and he panics, pulling away, black thick tears dribbling down his cheeks, fond memories, memories he took for granted and now that’s all they were--- just memories.

How he wishes he could pick you up like old time, pretend you had flying superpowers as he carried you around in the air, funny, he never thought he’d be the kind to be close to a human child yet here he was, his past self would fucking hate him so much. Wiping away his tears with his sleeves, he folds up the drawing neatly and slips it into the pocket of his jacket before cleaning everything up, picking up the gyftmas box and trudging it back upstairs.

As he slowly makes his way back up, he wonders where Nightmare went after that whole lunchbox situation, he hasn’t seen him all day.

~~~

Recess rolled around and your little trio decided to hang around the oval out the back of the school, it was cloudy so it was a bit chilly but it was nice to get out of the depressing school, Charlie was sharing some potato gems from the cafeteria with you and Amanda who had a thermostat of soup with her, tomato soup with bit of veggies and meat.

“Damn that smells good” You tell her as you unzip your bag.

“It’s just instant soup, it is nice though” She replies, looking over to your bag, “I’m sure you have something waaay better”

“Ugh fine I’ll let you have some” You say as you open your bag and dig around, only to notice that you can’t find your lunchbox.

Charlie senses something’s up as you dig through your bag, “Something wrong?”

“...I think I left my lunchbox at home” You say upfront.

“How could you!?!?” She cries out dramatically.

“I wasn’t thinking okay?!” You snap at her, not actually angry with her, just matching her energy.

“Now I’m gonna starve!” She brushes her hair back, falling over into the grass.

“But it’s them who’s starving…?” They pointed out.

“Guess I’ll die then” You dryly remarked, “Or eat something at the cafeteria I guess”

“You got money?” Amanda asked.

“Yeah I do just in case---” You fish out your wallet, it’s got a bunch of stickers of your interests on it.

Then you noticed how dark your shadow was...way to dark for a cloudy day, it looked pretty pitch black compared to your friend’s shadows...and it was bigger too, the shape of it was oddly familiar, then it hit you really hate at what was going on..or rather who.

You quickly scoop up your bag, “I’ll go get it now!”

Hurrying off, you tried to find the quietest part of the oval, at least where no one would notice you, hiding behind a shed that was used to store certain outdoor equipment, you doubt check that there wouldn’t be any kids making out here or whatever before huffing and turning to your large shadow that had now grown tentacles

“What are you thinking coming here Dad!?!” You spoke harshly to him, trying to keep your voice low as you looked at your shadow.

Your shadow morphs and pulls out from the ground, revealing your father in all his terrifying glory, he would one hundred percent scare the living shit out of any student who would have stumbled into this.

“You left your lunchbox at home, Horror worried you wouldn’t have anything to eat” He simply explains.

You huffed, snatching it out of his hands, “I have cooking class today, I could have just eaten the food I made”

Nightmare seems to remember now, his tentacles lower upon realising , “Oh”

“Well...thanks anyway, next time just go through the office like a normal sane person” You quietly spoke, “...Tell Horror thanks for making it, I guess”

Nightmare nods, “Duly noted”

You were kinda hoping he would say something else, maybe ‘have a good day’ or ‘stay safe’ anything but he just slips away back into your shadow, your shadow finally returning to normal, no longer looking weird and deformed, it looked human.

Human.

Shrugging it off, you decided to head back to your friends, hopefully they buy your lie that you just happen to miss your lunchbox in your bag, sure, Amanda would probably give you grief but no one would think too much about it, your totally not upset at Nightmare, hoping that he did this because he worries about you and not because Horror annoyed him to.

Sometimes you really don’t know what goes through your father’s head…

~~

Evening settles in a you pack up your backpack, making sure you have everything before heading off, homework, laptop, books, etc. You haven’t seen Amanda at all since she was taking the bus home today, you managed to get in a quick goodbye to Charlie as you headed to your locker, it a pretty busy at your locker space but once you started to head out, it was a lot more quieter but you needed to meet up with Killer soon so you hurried out, wearing stiff school shoes all day was really aching your feet and made it hard to hurry in.

so you weren’t exactly well balanced and  when you turned a corner you ended up accidentally shoving someone into a wall, causing them to yelp in pain.

“Oh shit!” You snap around, panicking, “I’m sorry—”

Then you saw her, you remember her, that girl with the black wavy hair and moles, you feel the words die in your throat. You don’t know why, you just feel nervous, panicked, she probably thinks you’re an asshole now.

“S-sorry…” You stammer out, “Are you okay? I wasn’t really looking”

“I’m fine, man you had quite the power behind that” She adjusts herself, rubbing her shoulder before looking over to you, pausing, “Have I seen you before..?”

“I mean-- maybe? I’m new here” You then say your name.

She perks up, “OH! Charlie’s new friend! I’m friends with their brother, I’m Tina”

“Huh, small world” You mumbled before your phone beeps a few times, Killer annoying you to hurry up, “Sorry-- have to go, see you around!”

Without much thinking, you hurried off, heading outside to see Killer, putting his phone away, trying to act like he wasn’t spamming ya, you don’t question why his black goop markings look a little more smudged than usual.

“Get lost in the hallways again?” He teases, still that annoying chipper tone he seems to carry with him.

“Ugh, no, I’m getting better at it” You remarked as you walked along side him, “Nightmare gave me my lunchbox”

“At least ya didn’t starve!”

“I had Cooking class” You repeat what you told Nightmare.

“Ah… well ya know Horror, he’s just making sure ya got enough nutrients for all that big thinking you do” He smiles at you, tapping his skull.

“Yeah..i wish he would cut down on the food though...i’m going to go into a food coma at this rate..” You sighed.

“Anything else happen?” He asks.

“Not much, Got more homework, hung out with my friends---” Then added, “ran into a girl…”

Killer notices your tone shift and looks at your with a quirked brow.

You look back at him, “What?”

“Why you looking funny”

“Funny?”

“Yeah, what? Cause you saw a girl…” It seems like his brain cells had crossed paths in that moment, “Wait! You have a crush on her!”

Your face grows incredibly hot, “W-what no! I just met her!”

“You totally do~!” He teases.

“Oh my god shut up!” You shoved him before huffing and crossing your arms, “Can we just go home now?!”

God why are your dads so annoying!?!?

You had a feeling to what was going to happen as soon as you get home, Horror fretted over you like a starving kitten. Cuddling you close and well you do kinda want a hug after today so your not really complaining, his fluffy fur on his jacket was welcoming.

“Poor you… starving” Horror fretted, Dust rolling his eyes under his hood.

“You act like we don’t feed them” He comments.

Horror just shoots a glare to hush him but you do speak up, “Again, I had cooking class”

That seem to work on him, his red eye beaming, “Oh! What did you make?”

“Stir fry, we got to pick if we wanted meat or not” You say.

He beams, his sharp, crooked teeth never scared you, he’s just a well-loved teddy bear to you, “I’m so proud”

“Maybe you’ll be making dinner one day” Killer remarks before adding, “Oh by the way, the kid’s got a crush”

“Killer! You snitch!” You called out while still in Horror’s arms.

“Kid’s got a what” Error pops out of nowhere.

“Oh so you weren’t here for the food but your here for the gossip!?” You yell at him.

“What? Can’t a guy get a little nosy?” He shrugs with a knowing smile.

Dust spoke up, “Give the kid a break, it’s their second day of school”

“Thank you!” You replied back.

“...Is it a boy or a girl?”

“…”

Okay, enough time with your dads, you squirm out of Horror’s arms and stomp to your room, trying to hide the burning in your cheeks. Happening to pass by Nightmare, it seem like he was about to say something but kept his mouth shut when he felt your negative aura as you stormed into your room, closing the door behind you. Were you still mad at him for showing up to your school?

He knew what risk he was taking raising a human child but he just didn’t expect it to be so...such a foreign experience for him, Teenhood is certainly giving him a run for his gold.

Chapter Text

Nightmare was in his office today, scrying through leaked documents, plans, lists. Pondering the orb that is his mind, you were already off to school with Dust, it’s been a pretty good system, Horror makes you breakfast and your lunch for school, Dust drops you off and Killer picks you up, it’s a pretty good system that gets you to school while giving him time to work. This morning he got the memo to why you were so huffy yesterday, turns out Killer told everyone that you had a crush on someone in school which got you all riled up.

Killer did apologise, that he was only teasing you but you still seem to not have forgiven him. Nightmare had grown accustom to Killer’s attics that he’s just rather over it and pays no mind, he atleast agrees with you that it’s a silly thing to tease about.

Though he can’t help but wonder if you would develop a relationship in school.

That thought alone makes him stop writing from his quill for second, his own mind was making him feel paranoid about your safety, he’s surely raised you well to protect yourself hasn’t he? But what if someone takes advantage of you? What if someone hurts you? What if they take you away from him and he never sees you again?

What if---

“Getting all up in your head aren’t you?”

Nightmare snaps out of his thoughts and looks over to Error, leaning on the doorframe of his office, he doesn’t really look annoyed or concern, rather just watching him. Error was never really good at dealing with other people’s emotions, letting him babysit you for a few hours while he went off to get something was proof of that, Still, as blunt and ‘over it’ Error was, Nightmare still leaned on him for things he didn’t want the others knowing, it was a strange relationship indeed.

“I’m just thinking…” He replies, sitting back in his seat.

Error rolls his eyes and moves into the room, “Yeah, no, that’s not your ‘i’m thinking of a plan’ look, that’s your ‘i’m worried about my child’ look”

“There’s a difference?”

“Yep, It’s not hard to notice that look, the others are just plain ol’ stupid” Error brags his detective skills, checking his claws before turning to look at Nightmare, “So, what’s on your mind?”

Nightmare grumbles under his breath, scrunching up his face a bit then he sits forward, his elbows on the table.

“Do you think….i’m doing enough for them?” Nightmare quietly confines in him.

Error raises a brow, thinking for a moment, a long pause fills the air.

“I mean… they aren’t dead” Error remarks before sincerely replying, “You’re doing the best you can, they’re safe, well fed, clean and loved, what more can you ask?”

“Perhaps it’s because I’m not familiar with children...human children that is” He remarks.

“You read books about how to raise them” Error points out.

“Reading is different than doing, Error” He huffs, glancing away to a framed photo on his desk, of younger you in his arms while he was sitting down on a couch, you were completely tuckered out in his arms after playing all day, snoozing away while he looked down at you with utter fondness, pride of having you as his child.

He wasn’t aware in that moment that his brother had taken that photo...but he’s glad Dream did.

“Yeah I know,They’re growing and changing, them being a little moody isn’t the end of the world” Error tells him.

Nightmare let’s out a breath of a sigh, “I suppose you’re right..”

“I’m always right”

“Except when you’re not”

“Hey!”

“But..thank you for listening” Nightmare sincerely replies back, “you’re strangely good at grounding my worries”

“At this point, you need to start paying me as your therapist” Error jokes, crossing his arms.

“Ha. No, you already get free meals you freeloader” He snarks back.

Error shrugs, clearly not insulted in any way and just heads on out, most likely to destroy a AU or two (If he was in a really good mood, maybe three) Nightmare only slumps in his seat once the other monster was out of sigh, he does seem to have a habit of overthinking, his own fear creeping in and taunting him but he couldn’t let it show, not towards his men and not towards you, you depended on him, a child that needed a parent more than anything.

~~~

Class was rather boring today, which made it harder to focus, a yawn escapes your mouth as you walked down the halls, meeting up with Charlie at your locker, they greet you warmly which eased your mood a bit.

“Have you seen Amanda lately?” They ask, fixing some of the fur around their cheeks.

“Hm? What?” You let out a quick yawn, “Sorry, my mind is so numb from class, no I haven’t  but I have History class with her”

You swap out what you need for next class from your locker, “It wouldn’t surprise me if she’s scouting out all the guys in school”

“A relationship is the late thing I want to think about right now” Charlie remarks.

“Yeah same, Homework is such a pain, who has time for a partner?” You said back, closing your locker.

Just as you close your locker, Tina seemingly pops up from it, scaring the utter shit out of you, jumping but not making any sound as to not look like a fool infront of her.

“Hey” She spoke.

“T-Tina! Right?” You stumble out your words, soul racing in your chest, “Uh, what are you uh, doing here?”

“Real smooth” Charlie quietly and bluntly comments.

“Shut up…” You quietly said back to them before turning  back to her.

“When you ran into me yesterday I think you dropped this” She pulls something out from her pocket and then hands it over to you, “Is this yours?”

Your eyes widen as you saw one of your pins in her hands, it must’ve fallen off when you bumped into her, it’s hard to remember which of your pins go missing unless they were your favourite ones.

“Ah yes! That one is mine” You replied as you take it, feeling your face grow a little warm, “T-thank you”

“it’s nothing” She smiles before glancing over to Charlie, “I’ll be hanging at your place with your brother, just a heads up”

“Yeah. Cool” They replied back rather bluntly but you don’t notice it a first as your in a bit of a daze as she walks away, it’s only when she’s out of sight that you snap out of it.

Turning to them with slight confusion, “What was that all about?”

“She’s friends with my brother, I don’t like her but I don’t hate her either, we just don’t have anything in common” Charlie explains with a twitch in their ear, “She’s one of the popular girls here”

“She seems pretty nice” You say upright.

“and you seem like you have your head in the clouds” They tease which gets you all riled up.

“Ugh! Shut it, my dad’s are already on my case about it” Still, it wasn’t a crush, she was just nice is all, she just gave you back your pin, that’s all, you don’t even know if you have anything in common with her.

Still, she doesn’t leave you mind for the rest of the day.

~~~

there are three woven bags sitting on the ledge of a bridge, two of them are still while the third one was struggled as the bag was tied shut.

“P-please! We gave you want you wanted! Let us go! We won’t snitch!” The moving bag muffled out in a deep male voice, the bag is swiftly kicked by Killer which seems to knock the man still.

Horror is placing the cases of cash into the getaway car which Nightmare is leaning against, mentally counting the cases that were stolen from the bank thanks to the idiotic humans who decided to take the bait. He remains quiet, staring down the bags. Then he makes a gesture with his hand, Killer picks up one of the body bags with glee, tossing it over the bridge as it fell into the rushing, freezing cold river below, Dust follows as well, once disposing the bodies was done, everyone headed back into the getaway car, it was at this point that Killer’s phone buzzed.

Horror was driving as Nightmare took the passenger seat, he shoots a glare at Killer in the backseat, “How many times do I have to tell you to put that blasted thing on mute?”

“Sorry!” He pulls out his phone and reads the name, perking up, “Ah it’s just our brat”

He presses the green button as Horror begins to drive off, “Yellow? What’s up kid?”

“Hey dad” Your voice crackles through the phone, multiverse cellar data can be hit or miss sometimes, “Is it cool if I go to Amanda’s place? We have a group history project”

Killer glances over to Nightmare, he nods, “Yeah sure thing kiddo! You know which bus to take to her place”

“Ah...about that..turns out the bus route is closed til next month..” You explained, “We’re at the stop now and it’s just covered in plastic signs saying it’s closed..”

“I mean, I can try and call my mum to pick us up” Amanda spoke up, her voice a bit more faint, “But that might be a good half hour til she shows up”

“There’s no other bus stops to her place?” He asks, rubbing his cheek in thought.

“well...i would have to walk halfway across town” You remarked in annoyance, “Do you think you can pick us both up?”

Killer glances around the car, trying to spot any noticable blood stains, dust or bullet holes, “Ah um, my hands are full at the moment…”

He then looks over and see Nightmare gesturing for the phone, “Hold on, your father wants to talk to you”

He could hear a faint ‘Ugh of course he does’ from you as he hands over the phone to Nightmare.

“I’ll call Dream to get you both, he’s more likely close by” Nightmare explains.

“Sure thing, I’ll text him too” You replied before adding, a bit more quietly, “try to stay in one piece will you all?”

“I’ll call you later” Nightmare huffed, knowing that phrase was a little jab at his work, he hates that you know about this but he can’t do much about it other than keeping you away from a life of crime. He hands the phone back to Killer.

“Get all that kiddo?”

“Yeah I’ll see ya around Killer” You said back.

Then Amanda spoke to you, Killer hearing a bit of it, “Oh that one’s Killer...weird name, is he a part-time serial killer or something?”

He’s not sure what face your making over the phone but given how quiet you’ve gotten, it’s got him all tense.

“Ah, N-no, he’s just autistic..”

“Ah”

Dust managed to overhear it and chokes out a laugh, Killer shoots glares at him.

“Geez, love ya too kiddo” Killer remarks before hanging up, head snapping to Dust, “Shut the fuck up bastard”

“The two of you be quiet” Nightmare ordered, “Killer, you need to be more careful answering phone calls from them when on the job, who knows what enemies are secretly listening in”

“Right..my bad” He sinks a little in his seat.

The rest of the car ride was quiet as Nightmare kept his focus on the task as hand, plan was to dispose the getaway car and teleport the rest of the treasure back home. It was not safe to let his guard down, not for a second, if word got out that the Bad Sanses had a weakness involving a child, no doubt you would be a target for bargaining, it would no longer be safe for you to stay in one AU anymore, you would have to spend the rest of your life moving, removing any presence of you.

It was not the life he wants to give you.

As soon as they all get home, Nightmare heads right to his office while the boys unpack the goods, he grabs the old fashion phone and dials the rotary, watching each turn before a low hum rings, he waits a few moments until he hears it click.

“Hello, this is Dream from the Star Sanses, how may I help you---” Dream spoke in a manager-like tone until he seem to realise what he’s done, “---Sorry, I saw your name and I still went into work mode, how are you doing brother? How’s my wonderful nibling doing?”

“I’m fine, they’re fine however they need to be picked up and dropped off at Amanda’s place for some schoolwork” He explains, sort of slowly pacing around his office.

“Doesn’t Killer usually do it? Is he sick?” His brother asks.

Nightmare braces himself, knowing how his brother is going to react, “We have our hands full right now with the business..”

There’s a long pause, Nightmare knows what going to happen, his brother speaks up, “Right… ‘the business’ is more important that your child?”

“Dream I am asking you one simple thing, do not start” Nightmare sternly warns him.

“I still think you’re going about this the wrong way, you can’t be a crook and raise a child without something getting caught in the crossfire is what I’m saying” Dream goes on, some of what he says goes in one side of Nightmare’s skull and out the other way, “I just want you to consider that”

Nightmare lets out a gruff hum, which is the equivalent of him not giving a shit what his brother has to say.

“I’ll pick them both up, I’ll let them know I’m on my way” Dream decided to end his little tangent there, to the relief of the other brother.

“Thank you”

“Of course, see you soon I suppose” A another pause, “I love you”

“Goodbye” He ends the call, all that pent up energy inside him vanishes in a instance, rubbing his forehead with a heavy sigh.

His brother just doesn’t understand that giving up this isn’t as easy as just stopping, his name was feared in the multiverse, if people found out that he was working at some gas station it would spread like wildfire, attacks from those who are considered good and those considered evil would never end, his men would stuck in the crossfire.

You would get in the crossfire.

He manages to shake off those terrifying thoughts for long enough, sitting down in his office chair, running his fingers over his goopy forehead. Nightmare can’t deny that Dream adores you and that he’s only trying to do what’s best but his black and white thinking is a pain in the ass to deal with, at least he knows his brother can keep his word and pick you up.

All he can hope is that he, himself can keep his word to protect you.

~~

“Thank you for picking them up-- I would have myself but you know..work” Amanda’s mum spoke as she pour two mugs with tea from the kettle.

“It’s all right Sabrina, I’m happy to do anything for my nibling” Dream cheerfully spoke, taking his mug as he sat at the kitchen island, “Work’s been tight hm?”

you and Amanda had gone to her room to do the school work, leaving the adults to talk about ‘boring adult stuff’, Dream actually really enjoyed talking about it and hearing people’s problems about such normal things, it made him feel less like a mulit-dimentional monster. To you, he’s a member of the Star Sanses, protector of the multiverse but to these people, he’s just your upbeat monster uncle.

“Finally managed to get the advertisers to agree for the stadium’s show..” She rattles on, “My emails look like such a train wreck, trying to get everyone on board and figuring out what plans are at what stages”

“I understand, sometimes my work feels like that, I’m not much of a drinker but some days you just need a glass or two” Dream replies, keeping his work vague.

“I imagine! You must be swamped with all that emergency work you do” She said back, “Is it just me or I’ve been seeing a lot of fire trucks careening down highways lately?”

It wasn’t a lie, Dream’s job was more or less a emergency service just with extra steps, still he can’t help but have a bit of a tense face everytime it’s brought up.

“It feels that way doesn’t it?” He tries to divert attention away from his work, “I suppose with it getting colder people are more rash to making fire accidents to keep warm...that or they’re gassing themselves out of their homes”

Sabrina hummed in acknowledgement, Sipping some of her tea. Then you and Amanda came out from the side hallway, Dream naturally perks up when he sees you.

“How is your project going you two?” He asks.

You seem bit slumped, “My head hurts doing all that research”

“Trying to find what’s real information and what is just generative hallucination slop is a lot harder than it looks” Amanda chimes in as she gets some water from the fridge.

“That means you’ll develop better critical reading skill and media literacy quicker than your peers” Dream tells you, “And you won’t developed dementia until way later...probably I’m not a doctor”

“Honestly that makes sense to me” Sabrina remarks, “Mum spend most of her life yelling at the news, got Parkinson in her early 60’s”

“Play crosswords until I die, got it” Her daughter said as she scoured some snacks, you were joining in as well.

“Amanda” She sternly spoke.

“Yeah that wasn’t funny, sorry” She apologised with a cringed expression towards herself.

Her mom just sighs and shakes her head, meanwhile your trying to slip back into her room after getting some snacks.

“How long do you two plan on chipping away on that? Not to rush you or something” Dream asked you as you jumped like you were caught with your hand in the cookie jar (technically yes...you had a Tim Tam in your mouth).

You chew the chocolate biscuit quickly, “I dunno...maybe another 20 minutes? Then we’ll head home”

“Gotcha, I’ll text Killer when your ready to leave” he tells you and you gives him a thumbs up before you and Amanda head back to her room to work once more.

“Why not text your brother?” Sabrina lightly questions.

Dream tries not to give a grim look, “Ah...i’m certain his hands are full at the moment”

“Ah, right, he’s a pretty serious about it hm?” She spoke and she gets a sad little nod from him, “Been busy still?”

“I suppose he has..i’ve never exactly...agree with the way he handles it” Dream keeps in vague as usual but it feels nice to vent about it even if he has to hide a few things, “I mainly worry for my nibling’s sake, he tends to overwork himself at times and I just...worry a deal might go sour and they’ll get hurt somehow”

She gave a sympathetic nod, even if she didn’t say any words, he already felt the weight lifted off his shoulders.

“Thank you for listening, you’ve been a wonderful friend to our odd little family” He spoke up, a bit of a more fonder tone in his voice.

“Of course, your family has been wonderful to us, I might not understand a lot of your monster culture but you are all welcome in my home” She rests her hands on his, giving him a reassuring smile before humorously adding, “Might be up to join the book reading club sometime soon?”

“Only if your there” He chuckles back.

As it turns out, you and Amanda didn’t go back to her room, the two of you were eavesdropping on the two adults, Amanda grimaced before turning and heading to her room, you following her.

“I can’t believe your uncle is flirting with my mum” She said with mild disgust, “no offence, but I’m not interested in being your cousin”

“I mean, your dad hasn’t come back with the milk” You remarked before getting elbowed in the ribs, “At least you remember his name”

“I mean I knew one of your dad’s names started with K but I couldn’t remember, I was thinking like ‘Kane’ or ‘Kevin’” She lists out, “Not ‘Killer’”

“My dad is not a fucking Kevin” You jabbed back, “Like I said, he’s autistic or something”

“Names like that seem to be a monster thing” She spoke with thought on her face, “Error...Killer...Nightmare…”

“You forgot Dust and Horror”

“Sounds like a bunch of edgelords now that I think about it” She chuckles.

“You have no idea”

“What would be your monster name?” She then asks.

For some reason that question threw you off, “But I’m a human?”

“Yeah but you’re raised by monster so I think you should have one” Amanda said, “I think I would be...Trailblazer! Or Papercrane”

“Papercrane is already taken” You pointed out, “he follows me on Undernet”

“Damn, still you haven’t told me what it would be” She prys from you.

You don’t know why it makes you feel weird, you’ve always been acutely aware that your different from your parents, that you were a human they all struggle to understand but acknowledging it left a queasy feeling, sometimes you could handle it, other times you couldn’t. She’s your best friend, you trusted her with things like this, she makes you feel normal.

“I dunno, I’ve never really thought of it?” You shrugged, “Star..? Starlight..?”

“I mean, it fits the theme of your main dad” She replies.

“Either that or Chainsaws”

“Metal”

“That’s a dumb name” You pointed out with a smirk.

Amanda rolls her eyes and just shoves your more to her room, still, that thought lingered in your mind, being born a monster than a human, maybe things would have been different. As dumb and Naive you were at times, you can hear the whispers of lingering terrible memories between your dads about how terrible humans are, despite loving you, not a single one of them had any good to say about humans, on bad days you can’t help but wonder why they kept you around, sometimes you wonder why they stayed around humans like Amanda and her mum.

Some days you wish you weren’t human at all.

Chapter Text

You never been so happy for the weekend to arrive, sleeping in a little later, not having to rush to get dressed or do things, still in your Pjs you head off to have breakfast but of course, Horror just so happened to be there, with some bowls and ingredients around, it’s like he was waiting for you to come in. he’s also still in his Pjs which are a old pasta-sauce stained tank top and some trackie pants.

He looks over to you just as your getting some juice out of the fridge, “Little one, I was just about to make some pancakes...would you like to help?”

Just by the tone you knew he planned this but he looked so happy to have you around again, you sigh and smile, “Sure, is it just for us?”

“Yes us...unless Error comes by then we make some for him” Horror admits.

Horror more or less let’s you do it, just helping you remembering the steps, beaming at the quiet father-child bonding time you two were having, he fondly recalled how you needed a stool to reach the counter just to mix something in the bowl, now you could do it with ease. Never would he have ever found himself so attached to a human but here he was, keeping clean from red meat and haven’t had any intrusive thoughts about eating humans in quite a while.

He’s not gonna let that part of him destroy his relationship with you.

“Horror you’re doing that weird grumble again” You point out to him.

“Okay.” He simply replies, his rough and deep rumble of content goes on, you roll your eyes to hide a slight smile as you poured the batter into the pan.

Of course, as soon as the smell of pancakes wafts through the air, Error shows up, resting his feet on on the counter.

“Error, sit properly” Horror scolds him.

He rolls his eyes, “Sure mom”

When your attention is turned to making sure you don’t burn the pancakes, Horror shoots a quick remark, “You’re being a bad influence on them”

“They’re not naive to the shit we do, I think that’s a worst influence” He jabs back, waiting for the larger monster to snap back at him but he doesn’t, Horror simply turns his attention back to you, ignoring the smirk Error had of winning this conversation.

Horror treats you to have some chocolate ice cream on your pancakes, then begrudgingly puts some on Error’s but he was fine with that as long as he got to see your beaming smile, no matter how much of a grump you are, you still have that youthful happiness in you as you sat with your dad and uncle.

Error has already finished three stacks, “Not bad Doll”

“You could atleast savour it geez” You replied back to him, stuffing your own face with fluffy pancakes.

“I do, besides, you’ll just make more another time” Error said, licking his mouth from the ice cream.

You and Horror just so happen to roll your eyes at the same time, Error could only give a deadpan look in response.

“God, you looked like Horror just then” He flatly spoke.

You try to hide a small snort, Overall was a nice morning with your family.

~~

Next, you spent the next hour or so in the theatre room playing video games, this particular one you’ve been wanting to play for a bit but kept putting off until you finally entered school, sticking your tongue out in annoyance as you died to the boss and due to it being daytime in game, the boss de-spawns. Sighing, you head back to your base, so caught up in your game that you don’t notice footsteps apporuching behind you.

“There you are my little brat!” Killer gleefully greets as he pops up from behind the couch, ruffling your hair.

You whine and try to shake him off, “How many times have I told you about the hair!?”

Killer playfully shrugs then backflips rolls onto the couch, hanging upside down on it, getting all up in your space, “Watcha up to?”

“Playing” You bluntly say, turning your attention back to the screen.

“Playing what?”

“A game”

“What kind of game?”

You side eyed him, “What does it look like?”

Without eyelights, it can be hard to tell if he’s even looking but you’ve spent enough time with him to know, he’s glancing at the screen as you play.

“I think I’ve seen you play this before with Error” Killer spoke, dangling his feet in the air.

“I’m stuck on a boss…” You mumbled.

He clicks his tongue, “mind if I play?”

“You’ll be dead weight” You retorted back to your father-figure.

He actually turns around to sit upright, “I’m a quick learner!”

shoulders slump as you let out a sigh, “Fine, grab a controller, don’t use Error’s account”

Your dad perks up, his eyelight flickers for a second as he goes to grab it and set himself up, in a very chipper mood, you can tell cause his goopy tears aren’t as goopy. Once Killer was set up with some decent gear that you’ve hoarded over the years of playing this game, the two of you set off to defeat the boss once more.

“Sooo..” Killer clicked his tongue, sitting cross-legged, “You and Amanda got anything planned?”

“Dunno, maybe going to the mall” You shrugged.

“Nice”

“---You literally just died to a zombie, how are you this dumb?” You suddenly remarked.

“I wasn’t paying attention, I was talking to you!” he defends himself.

“You’re like the youngest aside from me, can’t you multi-task?” You take a jab at your dad.

Killer huffs, “There’s like a 50 year gap between me and Dust, also secondly there’s a 90 year gape between the two of us, I’m not exactly ‘young’ dummy”

“You still haven’t explained why you can’t multi-task” A smirk curls on your lips, Eyes not leaving the screen.

“I’m old, that’s my excuse”

“And not your autism?” You jab back at him.

He may be eyeless but you could tell he was side eyeing you before returning to the game, the two of you fall back into a comfortable quiet, the sounds of the controllers clicking about.

“Dammit” Killer had died again.

“And that’s what we call these days: Skill issue” You spoke up, watching his frown.

“Theses attacks are crazy..” He sighs, “How the hell ya dodging them?”

“Practice” You replied, “This should be easy for you, you do this stuff for a living”

Killer makes a quiet hum, trying to change the subject, “video games aren’t my thing kid, I hope you pay this much attention in class as much as you do here”

“I do, geez, I hope your not this much of a talker when your on the job” you snided back at him.

“Come on kiddo, you know I’m not suppose to bring this stuff up around you” Killer’s eyes grew shifty, tense even, “Your father’s gonna have my head if he hears that coming out of your mouth”

“Of course, cause all he thinks of me is some dumb baby” You grumbled, turning your attention away from him to the game.

“You know he doesn’t think of ya this way, your not a baby, well, your OUR baby but-- ya not a baby-baby” Killer tried to explained, “Your our stretched out baby”

You had to pause the game when you heard that, slowly looking to him with a double blink.

“When was the last time you’ve been around a baby?” You finally say.

“I-it’s beside the point!” Killer spoke up, clearing his throat, “He loves ya, just wants to make sure you get a good future...so ya don’t turn out like us”

nothing really comes to your mind as you glance away, sensing how uneasy Killer’s gotten, he sighs and picks up his controller again.

“The sins we’ve committed are ours to carry, not yours” He simply says, waiting for you to press play.

You don’t say anything to it other than to press play.

~~

Your poor brain was going numb as you blankly stared at the powerpoint on your computer. You were also on a discord call with Amanda as she chimed up.

“You good there?” Her mic crackled a bit due to the connections between realities.

Leaning back, you rubbed your eyes, “Yeah, I’m good, once we’re done with this slide I think we’ll call it quits then”

“Mmh hmm, yeah, I don’t blame you” She remarks, tiredness strains her voice.

“Wanna go to the mall tomorrow?” You asked her.

“Eh, sure”

As you worked you didn’t notice that Horror had slipped in and left you a bowl of sliced fruits, quietly appreciating it before nibbling on it for the rest of your homework time.

Some time passes as Dust gently knocks on your door, “Kid..? you still there?”

He opens the door abit just to get his head through and scans the room, notcing you fast asleep at the desk, laptop closed too, you’ve must’ve taken a nap as soon as you were done with school work.

Dust’s quiet with his walking as he entered your room, sighing at the mess of clothes on your bed and desk, seeing as your asleep, he decides it’s the best time to clean up a bit, picking up various clothes from the bed and floor and properly putting them away in your closet, putting your shoes back on the shoe rack, nearly tripping over them in the process. Once your room’s a little cleaner he turns over to you.

Gently, he prods your shoulder, “Hey—”

You suddenly jolt up, hair sticking every which way, “huh—what?”

“You good kid?” He asks.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine…” You let out a yawn, “What time is it?”

“Almost six” He replies, leaning over your to fix up your hair, you swat his hand away.

“Sweet Asgore did I really waste the day playing video games and sleeping??”

“Yep” He said as you give him a deadpan look.

“Whatever, I’ll go help Horror make dinner then” You get up from your desk, Dust giving you space to head out before pausing at the doorway, “Uh..thanks for cleaning my room”

Dust was never really one to express himself too much, an opposite of Killer but he did perk up ever so slightly before relaxing back to his default position, “I’m not cleaning up for you next time”

You playfully stick your tongue out, “Yeah right”

“Serious, you’re old enough to clean up after yourself” he says as he follows behind you.

You know he’s serious but you also know that he’s going to do it regardless of what you say.

~~

Dinner went one by without much of a hitch, say for Error occasionally trying to sneak in a taste, getting lightly scolded by you as you helped Horror out. Nightmare didn’t really approve you telling him you wanted to go to the mall on such short notice, he did relent on the condition that you don’t stuff yourself with food court food. You like to think the dinner you made won him over a bit.

Then it was time for movie night, weekends had to do something with the family so movie night was decided. You tended to sit between Nightmare and Horror as Killer tended to bounce around too much on the spot and Error made quips too often about the movie.

Dust tended to fall asleep within the first hour.

“Do not make a mess with that” Nightmare warned you and Killer as he handed you popcorn bowls.

“I don’t think I’ll even get the chance before Error eats it all” You say as you hold onto the bowl tightly like Error was going to snatch it away from you at any second. Error then flicked a gummy bear into your cheek from the other side of the couch, landing in your popcorn.

The movie plays on and like clockwork, Dust falls asleep, thankfully sitting in a way that his snores weren’t all that distracting, the night was rather quiet, Error made a few quips about something happening in the movie but overall you could sense how tired everyone was from the weekday, yourself included, a small yawn escapes your mouth, bowl nearly emptied.

Nightmare tenses when he feels you slump against him, exhausted, your breathing slow and quiet, he sits still for a moment, thinking, before carefully scooping you up in his arms, reminding him that while you were no longer tiny, you were still smaller, made of flesh, prone to illness, hurt, pain.

“I’m taking them to bed” He stands up and holds you firmly, hoping none of them noticed his voice ever so slightly cracking, turning away form them all.

“Ya ain’t gonna finish the movie with the rest of us Boss?” Killer asked.

“I have some work to finish up, you are free from your duties for the night” He simply says as he walks away, turning into the many halls.

It’s a bit of a walk as he holds you close, you twitch and shiver in his grasp and so he uses his tentacles to shield you better before he finally makes his way to your bedroom. Slipping in, he lays you down onto the bed, covering you up with the sheets, you don’t stir too much as he does this. Pulling away, he watches you for a moment, seeing your sofft, not-grumpy features, eased his weary soul a bit.

Carefully he leans down and kisses your forehead before leaving, closing the door behind him.

Chapter Text

You met up with Amanda with Dream, Killer and Horror the next day, She greeted you with a good comforting hug.

“Hey Anny!” Killer greets, “How’s the fam?”

She pulls away from your hug, “Yeah great, good, nice to see you both-- and Dream”

“It’s lovely to see you too, you two good to be by yourselves for a bit? Us three are just going to do a bit of shopping” Dream explained, gesturing to the other two monsters with him. He was dressed prim and proper, like he was going into the office, while Killer was wearing dark denim jacket and jeans that widen at the bottom while Horror had a deep brown vest on and some tiny glasses perched on his face, he looks abit like a librarian.

“Yeah we’ll be fine!” You reassured him, “I’ll text when we’re done”

He nodded and let you two go on your way.

“Be good you two!” Killer calls out.

“We will!” You both called out before going back to your conversations.

Killer watched you two go off before turning around to Dream, “Right so! Where we heading?”

“I suppose we should get grocery shopping out of the way..” Dream hummed out loud.

“Right, and ya wanted to go to the book store big guy?” Killer refers to Horror who’s a little anxious being around people.

“Yes..”

Killer doesn’t take offence to his tone, “Then onwards!”

Dream ends up following the two, indeed, he did have groceries to take care of, he also just wanted to keep check on what the Bad Sanses are up to these days, it did feel wrong to pry into their private lives but with a child in their team(family?) now, he felt a need to check up, make sure you weren’t being pressured or influenced by them. He can’t help it, even if it pisses off his brother, he’s always been rather protective of you, given your past as well.

Still, he recalls the moment he returned you to Nightmare, he saw his brother tear up as he held you close, scared to lose you.

Nevertheless, it doesn’t hurt to check, make sure they’re all being on the straight and narrow when your around.

He notices Killer pulling out his phone and what he’s managed to sneak a look of, it’s just a normal grocery list, though he does take note that at the end was ‘knives’, there was a kitchen item supply shop here in the mall so it does make sense but he can’t help but think about it.

Dream doesn’t let his curiosity show on his face, putting on a smile, “Might I say Killer, your tear stains have really cleared up”

“O-oh what? Thanks?” he seemed a bit thrown off by that comment, “Guess I haven’t been all that stressed lately”

“I suppose my nibling is doing quite well in school?” He asks, “That would help”

“Yeah yeah, kid’s been alright” Killer got distracts by something he saw in one of the shop’s windows, “made some friends, doing homework, all that jazz right Horror?”

“Yeah..they bring food home form their cooking classes” Speaking about you seemed to ground him for a moment, fondness returning to his red eye.

“How lovely, you must be so proud of them” He spoke to the taller monster.

“..Very”

Going to the nearest supermarket, Dream kept close to the other two as he picked up his items, trying to listen in on what they were saying to each other.

“What do ya mean this isn’t the right soy sauce?” Killer remarked to Horror, “Ya telling me there’s more?!”

“Light soy sauce is what I’m looking for…” Horror reiterates.

“As oppose to what? Grey soy sauce?”

Dream let’s out a quiet sigh, sounds more like two married couples bickering. He’s glancing at a can of corn, complicated feelings swelling in his chest. Is he happy that his brother is trying to be a good father to you? Yes, in all his life he’s never seen his brother so caring towards another life, he adored you even if at times he struggled to show it or express it well and yet...Dream couldn’t stop himself from getting upset that his brother changed for a child and not for him, his years of pleading and begging his brother to stop.

He knew those feelings were selfish, you didn’t deserved that, Nightmare didn’t either.

Dream stops those thoughts in his tracks as he grabs some of his supplies, he overhears Killer and Horror talking but nothing they’re saying really alarms him, it sounded like typical grocery run talks.

“Why are we getting peas? No one in the mansion likes them..” Killer side remarks to Horror.

“They’re good for you” Horror simply says, pulling a bag in the trolley while Killer grumbles a bit with distaste.

Dream can’t help but pry a bit into their conversations, that his brother might be in his office with a cup of black coffee after burning himself on the coffee machine, Dust’s doing some laundry and Error’s off to do ‘his work’. The trio headed to the cashier counter, Dream paying for his own things, he happened to overheard Horror let out a fustrated grunt that catches Killer’s own attention.

“I..told you we needed...long grain rice” Horror slowly spoke out with a sense of repressed annyoance.

Given Horror’s well, looks, it’s clear he didn’t want to bring too much attention to himself, he’s taller, bigger than both Killer and Dream, even with the more ‘normal’ clothes he still can look like a threat when he wants to.

Killer gives him a bit of an annoyed look, huffing, “Well, they should’ve made the words on the bag bigger! Do we need it?”

“..Yes, otherwise the texture of the food is ruined” He replies back, shrinking in on himself, not wanted to scare the retail worker scanning their items.

Killer rolls his eyes, “Alright, alright, you’re the chef, I’ll get it”

Killer scoots by Dream, leaving him with Horror who’s gone all quiet, hunching over on himself, his red eye softened and keeping to the ground, it was a little awkward between the two as Dream has never really talked to his brother’s henchmen one-on-one with maybe the exception of Error but only in passing. He fiddles with his basket a bit, he knows Horror isn’t going to snap and try and eat him or something but that thought still lingers at the back of his skull because he knows what Horror’s fully capable of, he knows what terror all of them can inflict.

“Must be tough work being the only chef hm?” Dream hesitantly chimed up to Horror, watching as his attention shifted to him.

Horror shakes his head, “I’m not..the only one, Little one helps too..”

“Little one? Oh, right, them” Dream recalls to himself, “In all honesty I didn’t know you could cook until...until well, you got them”

“I suppose...we all are..figuring things out..” Horror kept his words vague but Dream knew what he meant, this relationship between him and his brother is complicated, messy, it’s hard to think about what other people are doing when a child’s life is at stake, the arrangement can get a little messy at times.

It’s not long before Killer gets back, slapping the bag in with the other things, “There, got your long rice, Happy?”

“Very” Horror smiles.

Killer gets a bit flustered and huffs that even Dream can’t help but quietly chuckle at, With grocery shopping done, its time to get on with other necessary shopping though, as Killer struggles a bit carrying the bags, he wonders for a moment how you and Amanda are doing.

~~

“I thought your dad said that you couldn’t have mall food?” Amanda asked as she sat at the food court table with her sushi, seeing you with two boba teas

“They’re drinks, not food” You corrected her, taking a sip out of yours while you offered her drink to her.

You knew her order like the back of your hand, slightly scarred and burned from cooking with Horror all these years, remembering how whenever you got hurt during cooking, Horror would panic a bit and swiftly tended to your wounds then avoid looking at where you got hurt for a few days (Which you always found a little strange how much of a kicked puppy he becomes when you get hurt since he does kill people) then he’d ban you from fire or knives for a bit before slowly introducing that trust back to you, you have been getting better at handling yourself in the kitchen so he’s been less stressed about that.

You’ve both done a bit of shopping, manga, school supplies, Amanda had a few trinket trays in her bags while you had a few anime figurines, you both planned to get some clothes and maybe check out the arcade after this quick break.

You do sneak some of her pickled ginger as she eats, “I’m surprised after all these years, you’re as rigid with money as ever”

“Just because I’m rich doesn’t mean I should blow money all willy nilly” You rolled your eyes at her.

“Yeah..but you could some nice stuff yanno?”

“Flaunting wealth is how you get murdered” You snarked back at her.

“God fucking forbid I want my best friend to wear nice shit then that Typo junk” She snapped back before stuffing her face with the salmon roll.

“Typo shirts are comfy you cunt!”

Both of you had a bit of a glare off before devolving into chuckles.

“But seriosuly, you have the money, treat yourself a bit” She replies, taking a sip from her drink.

“Eh, I’ll think about it” You said, finishing your drink, “Ready now?”

She then proceeds to shove the leftover sushi into her mouth, “Yefp!”

Checking out the more alternative clothes store, you scanned through their sales section first while Amanda looked at some of the shoes they were selling. Your mind not really fully there as nothing seemed to be jumping out at you.

“Hey Am” You spoke up, turning your head but not looking at her fully.

“Yo”

“I was thinking...about the monster names stuff..” You spoke, a bit more softly, “I dunno, Starlight does have a nice ring to it don’t it?”

“Hell yeah it does, don’t know why your so hung up about it, you’re raised by monsters” She replies back, picking up a shoe to study it.

“But I’m still human, being raised by monsters doesn’t magically make me a monster” You pointed out to her, “Like, a white kid being raised by black parents isn’t suddenly allowed to drop the n-bomb”

Amanda blinks in confusion, turning to you, “That’s..not...okay, I get what your saying but comparing names to slurs is like apples and oranges”

“Well! You got what I was saying” You sort of sputtered out, “it just..feels weird that I know so much about monsters yet they know so little about humans..”

There was always going to be that disconnect, You and your dads are very different and yeah, they try but sometimes they either don’t understand anything you do or they hover over you like your guts are gonna spill if someone breaths on you, it frustrating and sometimes words fail you with what you want, all these emotions your feeling sometimes don’t feel like your own (well, they are, hormones are just a bitch)

“Have you tried getting them into..y’know human activities?” She asks.

“They’re a bunch of anti-social, you know how they’re like, you’ve seen them at Christmas parties at your house”

“To be fair those are pretty big..like my mum did offer her book club” She points out.

“Nightmare is the only one who reads books and he’s too private for that” You explained, now thinking of other things.

“The big one-- Horror, he likes cooking right?” She spoke up.

“Yeah...you think there are vegetarian cooking classes around here?” You pondered out loud.

“Probably if you looked hard enough” She shrugs, the topic shifts not forcefully, it simply dies out, “Hey do you think these shoes would look good on me?”

“With the red dress you have, yeah” You replied, eyeing a jacket that had bat wings on them

“Nice, I’m getting them”

Maybe you should treat yourself to something nice a bit more often, taking the jacket the two of you headed to the counter to pay for your things (of course, you saw some pins at the counter and had to get them as well) before heading out with your bags, checking the time, there was still enough time to kill until your two dads or Dream texted you to see where you were at.

There was a arcade that you both happened to pass by earlier, it was crowded then but now it seems to have died off now, only a few folks hanging around. While Amanda was eyeing the race car games, your eyes wandered over the claw machines, thinking it was just going to be bootleg stuff before they spotted something interesting, catching your attention was a plushie, it didn’t look like the others, didn’t look cheap or seem to be a bootleg of anything you knew.

In the pile was a round fat black octopus plushie, about the size of a basketball with little fat tentacles around it. It instantly reminded you of Dad, a smaller, cuter, less strict version of him. You couldn’t leave the poor thing behind.

You can hear Amanda calling you out in disapproval, “You know those things are a scam”

“But there’s a chance!” You replied.

“A chance of failure”

You took those chances.

And of course lost.

But it means next time might be a chance!

Amanda rolls her eyes as she watches your spiral into obsession for the octo plush.

“Your not getting it” She bluntly tells you.

“I can quit whenever I want!” You both jokingly and seriously spat at her, before returning your gaze back at the machine.

She sighs and grimaces at your failed attempts, “Right...and which dad of yours do I tell that you might have a gambling addiction?”

You don’t even reply to her, too focused on the task at hand, she does hang around you to indulge in your suffering, of course, she was enjoying your pain of almost getting it but she was also rooting for you, especially when it was close enough to the hold to basically be pushed over.

“Oh come on! It’s right there!” She exclaims.

“You think I should tilt the machine?” You asked her.

“Hell no, I’m not interested in getting arrested by a mall cop”

it’s only a few more tries that the claw machine seems to have snagged onto it’s little fat tentacles and finally drags the damn plushie into the hole, you sigh with relief as Amanda exclaims with joy, you knelt down to grab your prize, the plush being a lot nicer than you imagined, it didn’t have that cheap or icky feeling some claw machine plushies tend to have. He was perfect.

The two of you finally headed out, Amanda with a slight smirk on her face as she saw that you had a little smile.

“Was it worth it?” She asked.

You hummed with a little nod, “Yeah, he was”

Now you just have to explain it to your family why you spent so much money on a claw machine plushie.

~~

Dream hadn’t noticed that the two had gotten knives, while he’s certain they won’t be used in this public setting but who’s to say those knives won’t be used on their jobs, still, he keeps that information to himself as the group heads to the bookstore, it was quiter in there which seemed to ease Horror a bit as his shoulders relaxed then he beelined to the cooking section. Killer, having very little interest in books, headed to the manga and comic section, leaving Dream to wonder if he should keep an eye on one of them.

Though he recalls that Sabrina recommend a series that she’s been reading, doesn’t hurt to try and look for it. His eyelights skim though the sections of the book store for a bit not finding it until he looks up and sees it up on the highest shelf. Slightly annoyed by his own short height, he considered asking someone to grab it for him.

“Watcha lookin’ for?” Killer suddenly intrudes on his thoughts.

He jumps, internally scolding himself that his first instinct was to deck Killer in the face, considering he wasn’t even doing anything, just looking at him with those hollow eyes.

“J-Just a book” He clears his throat to hide a bit of his unease, glancing up, “It’s just on the highest shelf..”

“I’ll get it” Killer spoke with a chipper tone.

“No that’s fine—” Dream tried to reassure him before he had to do a double take as Killer  basically climbs up the shelf.

Killer, seemily not noticing how socially unacceptable his action is, grabs the book, “This one?”

“—i well, yes! but get down!” He scolded the other in a harsh but quiet tone, hoping no one was seeing this, “I could’ve just asked a staff member to get it for me you know!”

“Oh right” He spoke as he jumped off and landed on his two feet perfectly, handing over the book, “But my way is quicker”

Dream held back a strain sigh, taking the book, he didn’t want to start an argument especially when it’s two against one and in a public setting but he can’t help but worry if little things like this are influencing you. Horror meets up with them both, seemed to have not noticed Killer’s antics (or just didn’t care)

It’s then when Killer’s phone buzzes and he checks it just as Dream finishes checking out, “Oi, the kiddo’s are done hanging out, where we meeting them?”

“The fountain..it’ll be easier..” Horror chimes in quietly.

“Right-o”

Dream nodded along to whatever the two were saying, reminding himself that he’s doing it for you.

~~~

Killer’s smile widen once he saw you two, “Oh my god, whatcha got there?!”

You sheepishly shrugged with the octopus plushie in your arms, trying to balance the bags on your arms.

“They spent half their funding on this thing” Amanda chimes in.

“Worth it” You chimed back.

Dream chuckles lightly as a small smile curls on your lips, you know exactly who he’s thinking of.

“Well if it makes ya happy” Killer sighs and rubs the back of his skull, “Ready ta head off kid?”

You nodded and Killer turns to Amanda, “Ya need a lift?”

“Nah I’m good, my aunt’s picking me up” She replies.

You and Amanda said your goodbyes as you left with your Dads and uncle, clutching your prize close to your chest. Dream could relax a bit seeing you content, as long as you were happy, he was happy as well.

~~~

“What on earth is that?” Nightmare spoke as your prize as Error was too busy laughing himself into a tizzy as he had watched your struggle to carry everything inside.

“An octopus, that is black” You simply said.

Dust observes the situation on the higher floor, looking down at everyone, “It’s like looking into a mirror”

Nightmare huffs, “it does not look like me, I’m not that fat”

Error manages to calm himself down a bit to speak up, “Ehhh maybe when the brat was little but you’ve got a dad bod now”

“Yeah I have to agree with Error on this one” You replied, playing with the plushies tentacles.

Nightmare looks more offended by the comment, turning to Error, “I am not-- I do not have a what the kids these days call ‘a dad bod’ I am perfectly fit!”

“Whatever you say” Error snickers before teleporting off, waiting for dinner to roll around.

 “Come on dad, think of it as a younger you!” You held the plushie close to him, not noticing his stiffness in his movement upon your comment.

“I prefer not to” He bluntly puts it.

“Then...a plushy, octo you..?” You replied, holding it above your head now.

Nightmare gives a flat frown, taking in a deep breath before speaking, “I suppose that is….more acceptable”

“Yes!” That seem to satisfied you for the time being as you headed off, most likely to you room, giving him the chance to dismiss the rest of his men for the time being.

Nightmare didn’t think much about the plushie, aside from patting his stomach when no one was around...maybe he should use the mansion’s gym a bit more often. Dinnertime rolled around and he was less than please when he saw the plushie had taken it’s seating on his chair, his head slowly turns to face you as you were taking your seat, a smug smirk on your face.

“You’ve seem to misplaced your procession” He firmly tells you.

“I didn’t, he’s right where he needs to be, that’s where kings sit right?” You say with a smirk.

“And where am I suppose to sit?” He snarks back bluntly.

“I suppose you’re gonna have to sit with us commoners Boss” Killer chimes in.

The dark king frowns, not wanting to play into everyone’s shenanigans, he picks up the plush to move it off his seat but for a split second, he glances to see your slightly sadden gaze, it left him confused as to why your so insist with this plushie out of all your plushies, not even your childhood bunny plushie gets this much treatment, is it because you worked so hard to get this one?

Or is it because it reminds you of him?

….

thinking, he sits down at his seat then rests the octo plushie on his lap, his (Not fat!) tentacles keeping it in place.

He doesn’t dare to look the rest of his crew in the eyes, keeping his gaze firmly to his plate.

But he knows for a face that your smiling.

Chapter Text

Horror was a little surprised the next day when you came to him and showed him a cooking class pamphlet on your phone, his red eye dilates as he reads it.

“What ya think Dad?” You asked him with abit of an anxious shrug.

He’s in the middle of preparing breakfast, finishing up the scrambled eggs before looking back at you, “I..don’t know little one…”

“I mean it’s an idea! Just something to do outside of work and me” You suggested, “Wouldn’t it be nice to.. y’know meet new people?”

He seemed rather tense, “I am happy where I am..i am not much of a people-person..”

Horror’s soul saddens when he sees you deflate a little, he’s proud of you for taking time out of your day to look up vegetarian cooking classes for him but the idea of being around other people that he didn’t know, alone, made him nervous, he can control himself, keep himself in checked and ground but there was always a nagging tiny voice in the back of his skull telling him that he’s still a risk and could lash out.

Then there would be a risk that you could be taken away, given that you’re still underage.

“Yeah..” You said deflated, “I just thought..it would be nice..”

He waited for you to finish your sentence but with a long pause, you shake your head, “No, nevermind.”

Horror wanted to question you further but didn’t want to push you too much so he kept his mouth shut, giving you an extra sausage on your plate as you quietly made you way to the table to eat breakfast, Error was already at the table talking to Dust about his recent escapade in the multiverse.

You didn’t get to hear much of the conversation but you heard Dust flatly replying, “Error, you killed a dog”

“It was, for once! Self defence!” Error argued back, “it wasn’t on a leash and it jumped on me, I don’t care if they said he’s friendly I sure don’t think he is!”

He calms down a bit, “Anyway, more reason that I destroyed that AU”

The conversation shifts as soon as you sit down, your a little annoyed how they try to avoid talking about what they do around you, you’re not a little kid anymore, you can handle the horrible shit.

Beside, you’ve been through hell, even if your memories of those times were blurry, you remember the emotions, the feelings of helplessness and sickness, trapped in a dark place, so much screaming and yelling--

Then it all went quiet.

You were certain neither one of them had left the house and the sudden silence was out of place, yet there’s no relief in your mind as you hid under your bed, clutching the only source of comfort you had, your bunny plush.

Your keen ears pick up the sounds of footsteps coming up the stairs but not the ones you’ve grown familiar with, someone new is here, where they coming to take you away? Put you back with the others kids in that big house?

Keeping yourself curled up under the bed, you wait with baited breath as the door to your room creaks open and you can see from your limited vision two dark feet walking into your room scanning, whoever it was must’ve noticed you as they moved towards your bed, hearing a watery deep voice coax you out as they reached their dark goopy hand under the bed.

And out of fear of your parents and curiosity, you take it.

And it changed your life for the better.

“Doll?” Error spoke up, a little concern in his distorted voice, noticing the far-off look you had, he’s very familiar with those kinds of looks.

You snap out of it, blinking a few times, “Hm? What? I’m fine, just mentally preparing for school I guess”

Error raises a slight brow but shrugs it off, already finished his meal and getting up, ready to teleport back to the anti-void.

“Hey Error” You suddenly spoke up.

“What’s up Doll?” he turns back to you.

He did see you cringe slightly at his wording but you shake it off, “After school, can we go to Outertale?”

“Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh” Error thought out loud, “As long as Nightmare’s not gonna get on my ass”

You rolled your eyes, huffing, “Why do you need his permission? You’re all my dads”

“He’s the Boss dad” Dust replies, “Plus we don’t need you floating off into space”

“It was one time! I looked away for a second!” Error calls out, throwing his arms up dramatically.

Dust couldn’t help but snicker before looking back at you, calming back down, “Boss just worries about you kid”

Slouching in your seat, you shovel some breakfast salad into your mouth. You were more equipped to handle Multiverse than living a normal human life, exploring timelines, going to different AUs, it felt more freeing than anything but it felt like everyone kept shoving you away from it.

Because you’re human.

Not THE human, just...a human.

“I think he’s more worried about my grades than anything else” You mumbled as you finished your plate.

“Your grades are important” Nightmare voice spoke up as he entered, You quickly shut up and finish you meal, “You will not get far without them so do not slack off”

You grumbled, “they’re only good for Uni, what if I don’t wanna go to Uni?”

“You will change your mind, don’t make future you regret your current mistakes” He forewarns as he sits down. Horror quietly gives him his plate.

“I bet you were no different than you are now” You lightly jabbed at your father.

Error’s eyes dart to Nightmare who tensed up but you didn’t seem to pick up on it, the dark king takes a deep breath and glances down at his plate.

“I’ve made...many mistakes, I was young and foolish” his sober tone wipes the smirk off your face for a moment, “I do not wish for you to make the same mistakes as I did”

“Like what? Get a tattoo of your ex’s name?” You said dryly, annoyed by his one of many speeches of ‘doing good’ and ‘not making the same mistakes he did’ how can you? You’re just a human, he’s a weird skeleton goop monster. What does this even have to do with grades!?!

The air around Nightmare tenses, this time, everyone notices it.

“Come off it kid, we gotta head off now” Dust chimed in as he gets up from his seat, gesturing to you.

“Right, Right, “ You get up and put your plate in the sink and grab your bag, Horror gives you extra homemade snacks as a quite apology for your cooking class idea before ruffling your hair a bit.

You don’t notice that Nightmare’s fork is bent as you leave.

It’s still tense even with you and Dust gone, Error side eyes Nightmare before clearing his throat.

“So...you gonna eat that?”

~~

Classes went as expected, though you did look forward to cooking class with Amanda though today was baking and you were making something that caught your attention, chocolate swirl bread.

Oh you know Error is going to love it.

(Totally not planning on using it to bribe him whaaaat no way.)

“Geez I’ve never seen you work this hard in any class” Amanda watches you knead the bread very quickly and thoroughly.

“I’m gonna play my uncle like a goddamn fiddle” You replied back, locked in your task.

“Error?” She asked.

“I want him to take me somewhere, this is the only way” You said with determination.

“Where?” She presses on.

You tensely pause, quickly thinking of something that won’t tick her off to the existence of multiverses and such, “The outback..?”

Her face falls flat, “really?”

“W-well you rarely see stars here!” You tried to justify to her, only for her to eye roll but she doesn’t press any further.

You have to make this right!

It’s a bit of a long process and it’s hard to keep your focus, especially with other kids around you messing about, you don’t need the teacher’s help really. While the dough rest, you work on the chocolate part of it (Amanda is cleaning all the utensils), swiftly grabbed the knife and cutting up the chocolate into easier to bake bits. However you overheard some chatter behind you as you worked with the knife.

“See that kid’s knife skills?” One of the students whispered.

“I bet they murder their neighbour’s pets..”

“Probably cuts themselves for attention..”

Amanda overheard as well, glaring before turning to you, “Hey, just ignore them”

You quietly nodded, “Yeah I can, I’m use to it”

As much as you wanted to snap back at their gossiping, you knew that it was only going to get you in trouble. If they were shit-talking your friend than you would one hundred percent fight them back, no questions asked, sure, Nightmare would still scold you but it would’ve been worth it.

Taking a breath, you focused on your task today, mixing everything together and tossing it in the oven. It left you time to help clean up with Amanda, there wasn’t much to clean, aside from scrubbing the burnt sides from the tray. Her bread came out a bit burnt while your chocolate swirls were a bit gooey (not like Error would complain about it)

It was considered a success in your eyes.

“You’ve got flour in your hair” Amanda points out.

“How the fuck did I manage that?” You replied back, trying to brush it out.

“You’re a mystery, that’s what” She playfully retorts.

Yeah, you couldn’t deny that, you were all kinds of weird and your life went in a weird way that you can’t say many people have been through, it’s hard to think about what a ‘normal’ life would have been for you. Then again, you wouldn’t be alive or happy probably if you had one.

Not wanting to dwell on that any longer, you take our faintly warm bread and protect it with your life for the rest of the day.

~~~

Horror nervously glances down at his phone, eyeing the same post you showed him, he’s been pacing around a few halls in the mansion lately, unable to really focus on any task at him. Seeing you try to encourage his interests made his soul soar, yet he had to break that little hope you had in him.

He’s just not sure if he could do it, being around other people, he doesn’t want to lash out and get everyone into trouble and risk you being taken away.

Sweet Asgore, he want to do this for you so badly.

He could only let out a hopeless sigh before jumping as the gym doors opened and out walked Nightmare, The dark king himself also jumped as he was not in his usual formal wear, just a tank top,sweatpants and a towel around his neck. The two monsters stared at each other for a moment.

“What is it?” Nightmare finally decided to bite the bullet and ask.

Horror hesitated for a moment, his red eye flickered to the ground for a second, “I.. want to get your perspective on something Sir..”

He shows him his phone, Nightmare awkwardly squints at his phone, reading the text.

“Little one showed it to me..” He explains, “I want to try for them but...i worry how I will handle it..”

“You handle yourself well Horror” Nightmare firmly reassures him.

“But what if I don’t..?”

Nightmare breaths a sigh, “Despite your past and nature, I trust that you are able to keep yourself in check, you are much more capable than you think”

Horror did seem a bit at ease at his words, so he kept talking, “Perhaps you could bring someone with you? I am..far to busy with work”

While it wasn’t a lie, he was busy planning and scheming (as well as dealing with money management, keeping this place at tip top shape wasn’t cheap) he just wasn’t good at being around people either, he trusted very few people and fewer humans (Sabrina’s family,  that is)

Horror hesitated for a bit, as if trying to reason with himself, before nodding, “Right..thank you Sir”

“Can’t have a well oiled machine if one of them is spiralling into an anxiety attack” He simply said, “Is that all you wanted from me?”

“Yes..”

“Then you are dismissed” He waved him off, watching the large monster leave his presence.

Nightmare would never admit out loud but deep in his damaged and cracked soul, he felt a prang of...jealousy? He wasn’t sure if that was even the right word but he wishes he was a bit more involved and maybe you would suggest something like that to him, even if he knew he would never go to them. Still, knowing you were thinking of him still would mean a lot to him.

He rubs the towel over his face, his goop lightly staining it, no time to think about that, he had work to…

Do..

…

So much fucking paperwork.

~~~

“God Mr Barkwell fucking succckkkksss” You whined as your dragged your feet across the ground, school shoes not helping with how tacky and chunky they felt, like cement blocks on your feet.

“Thank god he only teaches year 7s” Amanda agreed with you, “We just need to deal with this year”

“Who’s to say we’ll get someone worst?” you replied back to her, making your way to your locker.

“Touch wood we don’t” Is all she says, leaning against the wall.

The two of you managed to survived the end of school rush of students, even if you got separated from Amanda for a bit, god, the smell of anxious teens made you wish you could bring a gas mask to school...and now you’ve become self conscious that you smell just as bad as everyone else...great, cool.

Sighing,you just grabbed your things and stuffed them into the bag.

“Get that last powerpoint done by tonight” You tell her.

“Yeah, yeah when have I ever let you down?” She rolls her eyes as you with a sly smile.

You roll your eyes back at her, slamming your locker door locked and swinging you bag over your shoulder, you were quick to turn heel and walk off but in that moment of distraction, you had bumped shoulders with someone taller than you and they grabbed your shoulder.

“Hey watch it---”

You didn’t listen, you couldn’t cause in that moment you chest tightens and your hearing deafens as your soul races in your chest. Dust and Killer trained you well in self defence but in that moment, you weren’t thinking of de-esclating the situation. All you were thinking was protecting yourself and Amanda.

Grabbing the fuzzy arm, you swiftly twisted your body,freeing yourself and using all your weight, planting yourself firmly on the ground, you throw the student over your should and slam them into the tacky carpet. It’s only when you let go of them did you realize what you done.

“Ow…” The older dog monster groans, he actually looks a lot like Charlie.

You panic, backing away slightly, Amanda is off the side of you and cringing.

“Oh-- Shit!” You cussed out, arms raised in defence, “I’m so sorry--!”

He blinks a few times, sitting up, “Ugh...wait...do I know you..?”

You hesitated for a moment, “Uh…”

He gets up and sniffs at you and you backed away slightly, nervous, he perks up, “Wait.. you’re Charlie’s friend!”

“Oh uh, yeah? And you are..?” You nervously spoke.

“Oh right, sorry my noggin is all scrambled, it’s Riley! Charlie’s older brother” He perks up, grinning his canine teeth.

“Uh, nice to meet you, sorry about uh, throwing you” You admitted, rubbing the back of your head.

“All good, my fault really, man, you really can throw” Riley seemed in awe at your sudden strength, “You ain’t in the footy group are you?”

“No! No, I don’t have the stamina for that” You reassured him, shifting your bag, “Uh anyway! Nice knowing you, I need to go!”

And just like that you scrambled off a little embarrassed and Riley scratched his fur on his cheek, a little surprised and confused.

“Strange kid..” He comments just as Amanda walks up to him.

“Dude, you have no idea” she simply comments.

~~~

You watch with cringe as Error stuffed half of the damn loaf into his mouth, pretty sure he isn’t even chewing, at least you know he likes it.

“So..” You get his attention as he finishes, licking his yellow-tipped claws, “We have a deal right?”

Error takes his sweet time to speak, licking his teeth clean, “Fine, only because that was really nice, proud of ya kid”

Then he adds, “I won’t snitch unless you snitch, got it?”

“Like what? Sneaking off with Dad’s expensive and rare wines?” You playfully teased your uncle as he twitches in response, knowing he isn’t suppose to be touching that stuff, “Relax, I won’t tell”

Error does shoot you a glance of ‘you better not’ before summoning a portal, he checks to make sure the coast is clear then offers you the portal. With a smile on your lips you head through, barely phased by the sudden shift in air temperature as it becomes slightly cooler, landing on your feet, opening your eyes, you look up to the starry night skies of Outertale, a smile curling on your lips.

You can hear Error land behind you but you pay little mind to it as you being to walk only to suddenly be halted back as you soul was pulled out, blue strings tied to it.

“I’m not making that same mistake again” Error said as he walks up to you.

“I was like. Five” You replied.

“Six, actually” He corrects before pausing, “Yeah I think Six...it took us a while to figure out how old you actually were”

“It really took five monsters to figure that out?” You replied flatly.

Error huffs, crossing his arms, which yanks your soul a little, “Humans and monsters age differently, we were still figuring things out”

You simply roll your eyes and walk with Error following behind, keeping his eyes out for others folks and of course the Star Sanses, Given that he has your soul, it would not look good for either one of you and he was certain Dream would not step in to help. Even if Dream gives his brother some flak for doing evil crimes, he was no better at wanting to keep his image of being a hero.

He shakes those thoughts out, not wanting to be distracted, he follows you, his slippers dragging against the rocky ground. You pick up a small rock and toss it into the air, watching it softly float off into space, your eyes filled with the stars reflecting in them. Glancing back at Error, you notice how tense he is, acting like a guard for you, shifting his eyes, flexing his claws, whenever he flexs his claws like that you know he’s tense, he tends to do it a lot when he gets into petty fights with Killer.

“I’m not fragile you know” You said to him, snapping him out of his daze.

“Just being cautious” he simply says, “Nightmare will have my head if god forbid something happens to you”

You don’t reply to him, continuing you walk, it’s not long before the two of you stop at Error’s spot, considered the best spot in Error’s eyes, plus it’s away from everyone else so no one can come and bother you two. Quietly, you sit down, slightly away from the edge, the strings around your soul weaken as Error sits by you, carefully removing a few strings, still not trusting you to not float away.

No words are spoken between the two for you for a while, it’s kinda why you like your uncle, he’s a bit more chill, relaxed, you trust him with your problems that you couldn’t go to Nightmare or the others about, even if he was weirder than the others.

Pressing your knees up to your chest, your hand rested on your cheek as you stared up into the vast space, letting out a deep exhale.

Of course, Error notices it as he leans back, “What’s on your mind Doll”

And of course, your shoulders slump, “I don’t know..”

His legs are crossed as he watches you, letting you take your time to form you words. In truth, you did know, it was just...hard to form the right words to say.

“It’s just...there’s this whole other world out here..yet I’m stuck to just one, pretending to be ‘normal’” You grumbled making quotes with your fingers before dropping them onto the ground.

“Must be hard to pretend” he comments.

“very” You grunted, shoulders slacking a bit, “I just want to explore all these cool places”

“Listen Doll, even if Nightmare emotionally constipated, he’s right, out here is dangerous especially for you” Error spoke as gentle as his static rough voice would let him, even under all that buzz and squeaking there is a gentleness to it.

You can only frown in repsonse, tucking your chin into your knees, Error sighs to himself, side glanicing you.

“Ugh..i really don’t want to recall it but..you remember what happen when you were little right? With the Star Sanses?” He careful as he spoke, his breath hitches slightly.

You look up to him slowly, “When..when I got kidnnapped by Dream?”

“Yeah, that.” It was a bit of a painful memory to recall, even if he doesn’t remember too much of what happened, his mind purposefully trying to block it but the ghost pant lingers in his chest, “Dream destroyed half of my ribcage, I managed to survive but if that was you? Dead meat”

You do recall that moment, it’s a bit fuzzy but you remember seeing Error on the ground, withering in pain, a giant whole through his chest where the arrow pieced him, the rest is blurry as Error screamed for you to run which only ended up getting you caught by Ink. You’re not exactly sure how his ribcage managed to fix itself but there is a noticeable pinkish scarring in the shape of a circle on chest now, at least the few times you’ve seen him without his sweater and jacket.

“Hmm..i guess I am just a dumb avocado..” You mumbled, leaving Error a little confused for a moment.

Looking back on that memory, it’s crazy how Dream could wipe Error out like that, your two uncles fighting.

Error watches your sadden figure, finding himself flexing his claws, “We’re just looking out for you Doll, maybe when you’re older we’ll take you to the omega timelines”

“Would I have to make you a chocolate sweet?” You said to him.

“Noooo…” He replies before slyly adding, “Butttt….i’ll take ya somewhere a bit more fun”

“Alright, deal” You smirked.

Error chuckles before he forces himself up by his knees, “Right, time to head back Doll, before Nighty finds out you’re not doing your homework”

“Five more minutes..?” You asked him, a soft intention in your voice.

His shoulders slack a bit as he tucks his claws into his pockets, a relaxed grin on his face, “alright, just five more”

Of course, the five more lasted a bit longer than that but neither of you cared in the moment, Error was just happy to see you okay.

Chapter Text

Error didn’t know how he managed to get into this mess.

He side eyes Horror as he’s putting on an apron, “You couldn’t have brought anyone else to this?”

Horror doesn’t look him in the eyes, “Dust and Killer were busy...i didn’t want to go alone”

And that’s how Error got dragged into going to one of these cooking classes with Horror and frankly, he realllllly didn’t want to be here, he was already glitching out more than normal, his claws flexed as he watched everyone in the room. The two of them weren’t the only monsters here but there was still that air of tenseness. A fear of being outed at ‘otherly’ Error loves you dearly but he’s never been good at being around normal people, at least Nightmare could put on a convincing act.

Grumbling to himself, he puts on the apron as well, his red sweater matches it well, there was no point trying to run away from this, he just needed to keep his head low and try to keep away from the other people here.

There was a older Vietnamese woman at the front, her station well prepped and clean, she had been talking to a few of the other folks who were here as well to learn, she had greeted them both earlier to which Horror awkwardly acknowledged her before going to the closest station he could find (Error was not going to exchange pleasantries with a stranger and just hid before the larger monster till now)

She lightly clasps her hands and yet both monsters still flinched, “Right! Welcome everyone! Hope you’re ready to learn some healthy and tasy meals for the next few weeks!”

“Please tell me you’re not planning on dragging me to the others” Error whispers to Horror.

“No.”

“Thank fuck”

The teacher introduces the first recipes which is vegetarian dumplings and already Error feels way out of his element, cutting up the vegetables seems like a good start. Horror is like a well oiled machine when it comes to this, already chopping away with ease.

Meanwhile Error slowly and hapzardly cuts up his portion of veggies, he really doesnt want to break a claw.

“I see why Nightmare keeps you around.” Error laments.

Horror humours him with a deep chuckle, “Why does he keep you around..?”

“Emotional support” Error firmly remarks.

“Error, in all the years I’ve known you...you have the emotional status of a wet cabbage”

“I can get emotional when I want to” He tries to keep his voice down, dicing up carrots, “I’m not gonna start being everyone’s therapist, it’s already a handful with Doll and Nightmare”

Horror’s red eye flickers to worry for a moment, of course mentioning you would get him worried, “Do you think they’re okay..?”

“Yeah they’re fine” He didn’t want to betray your trust by telling him the things you’ve spoke to him before, “Just usual worries about not fitting it and all that”

Horror let out a rough grumble of acknowledgement as he worked, Once the veggies are done, they all get mixed in with some firm tofu.

Then it was time to stuff the filling into the wrappers, around this time the teacher is checking in on everyone, helping out those who were struggling a bit. Horror seemed to have no real issues aside from having pretty big hands trying to fold fragile ends, the tips looked a little bent but overall the perfect dumpling shape, Horror took a lot of pride in that. Error however struggled during this due to his long sharp claws that would unintentionally sliced into the soft uncooked dough causing the stuffing to spill out.

Horror took a lot of joy watching his struggle, cussing under his distorted, glitchy breath, Error was very much not built for this type of work, making dolls is one thing entirely.

The teacher comes around to the two and her eyes beam as she saw Horror’s work, “My, look at you! You’ve got a knack for this my dear”

Horror kept his ego in check but he couldn’t help but straighten up a bit more, “Thank you…”

And she looks over at Error work, “you’re doing well too!”

“Compare to this guy?” He gestures to the tall, large monster next to him, keeping eye contact to his hands, “please, it ain’t anything”

“The fact you’re here and trying” She smiles softly at him which makes him akwardly tense up and focus more on his dumplings before she then turns to Horror, “But I have to ask what is someone as skilled as you doing here?”

“My uh-- My little one---My child...suggested this, to be more...out there” He puts it, his soulrate increasing as he realises that he’s going to be the one mostly talking here.

“And this brick of bones dragged me into it” Error flatly remarks.

“Yes, I dragged their uncle into this too” Horror also flatly jabs back at the glitch.

She clasps her hands together, “Aw, how lucky of you both to have such a child like that”

“He is” Error replied, a bit of a sassy tone but the smile of yellow teeth are genuine.

“They’ve been helping me in the kitchen...since they could walk..” Horror can’t help but fawn over you, recalling such times together.

“How sweet!-- how old are they now?” She asks.

“Fourteen”

“Ah, a turbulent time for them” She lightly humours them.

“God, don’t get me started” Error replied.

“but an important time for them as well, it’s where they’ll need you most”

Horror dwells on her words, “You have one yourself..?”

“Three, all grown up” She explains, “They grow up so fast”

“Indeed..” He really didn’t want to think about how he might outlive you.

After a bit more chatting, she left to help others, leaving time for Horror to finish up his dumping before helping Error as he had given up at this point, once that was done, they were put in the steamer to cook well. Horror can’t help but feel a little proud of himself, even if he hadn’t interacted with the other people here, he did something he normally would never, ever do but he did.

He can’t wait to have you try them.

~~~

“The boys in math class are so god damn noisy..” You complained to Killer as the two of you made your way up the stairs of your home.

He hums along, actually listening for once, “They get in trouble with the teach?”

“Yeah of course but they never seem to learn” You sigh in annoyance, rubbing your forehead, clearly tired, which is probably why Killer hasn’t been as erratic as usual, “Ugh this is not the time...the test is tomorrow”

“Try not ta give those brat any more attention, focus on the test, ya do great” He reassures you, patting your back a little too hard, sitting on little plastic chairs does a lot to your back.

“I’ll try...anything happen while I was gone?” You asked him.

“Cleaning, mostly” He shrugs, it’s a big ass mansion, it often takes weeks to fully clean the place, Killer quickly perks up, his soul glowing a bit more, “Oh! Horror did something~”

You quirk a brow at him, “Like what?”

“He’s in the kitchen, you’ll see~” Killer simply replies back with a knowing smile.

Knowing Horror is was probably something to do with cooking. Entering the kitchen, you didn’t really question seeing Horror and Error there, who were in the middle of talking.

“Glad you had fun, I ain’t going again” Error was replying to something Horror said that you didn’t catch.

Horror seem to be checking something on the counter, which you can’t see cause he’s large and towering, “I think I can handle myself now..”

Error notices you enter, “Hey Doll, how’s school?”

“Rough” You simply said, not wanting to deal with the emotions all over again, “What’s happening here? Killer said something that Horror did?”

Horror perks up and whips around, holding a container in his large hands, you’re getting a faint smell of it, “I went to that class you showed me!”

“Wait really?” You looked surprised as he hunches over to your level, showing you the dumplings.

“Wow, that’s cool!...wait, what happened to those?” You noticed the odd shaped dumplings.

“I made those” Error said.

“Wait you joined?” You sounded surprised. He’s rarely out with others and you could never imagine him ever really being around strangers.

“I ain’t doing it again that’s for sure” he was firm in the decision, not wanting to bring up the fact that he almost crashed as soon as he left the building, it would ruin his ‘cool uncle’ image that he’s built all these years.

“Well...i mean it’s good you tried, can I have them?” You ask Horror and he beams.

“That’d like his favourite phrase ta here from you” Killer chuckles.

“Pretty sure it’s ‘i’m hungry’” Error jabs back before the two of them get hushed by Horror as he hands you a plate of dumpling with some sauces on the side.

Everyone there ate, enjoying the dumplings well and you already enjoyed Horror’s cooking but knowing he went to the class was nice, the dumplings he made were really good but you knew that already, Error’s also tasted pretty good even if they looked a little funny. Having something nice did pick up your mood a little bit, it was what you needed after a long day.

After that, you decided to head to the living room to watch some TV,  needing a break before you go to your room to do some home work. Sprawling out on the couch, resting your head on the arm of one side, you mindlessly flick through between normal TV and streaming services before settling on the show you’ve been trying to finish but kept getting too distracted to ever sit down and watch.

Despite feeling tired, you also felt restless, a heavy feeling settling in your chest and you’re not sure why you feel this way other than just feeling nervous about the test tomorrow, maybe it’s because you saw Tina and she smiled at you and you foolishly dropped your laptop in the process and cracked the corner of the screen and felt like a idiot for the rest of the day.

Frowning as your face grew a little warm, god, if Dad ever found out you’d be in trouble, Nightmare could easily buy you a new, much better laptop but it was more the thought of not recklessly breaking things. You have heard some kids at school who would just carelessly toss there phones or laptops around, break them then just buy new ones each week, the amount of e-waste that’s producing.

Eyebrows furrowed as you stare at the TV, once again unable to really focus on it. At some point Dust decided to watch TV with you, quietly acknowledging each other before going back to the TV.

“Did you try Horror’s dumplings?” You make small take with him, hoping it would get rid of your dwelling thoughts.

“Gone by the time I got there” He replies, sitting back, his red scarf getting tucked under his chin, “I imagine they were pretty good?”

“Pretty much” You say, “That’s just Horror’s thing”

“Mmh hm”

“We would be so screwed if something happened to him” You lightly joked.

“Boss can cook” Dust remarks before adding, “….sometimes”

“He can bake” You said, recalling some faint memories of him pulling out a red velvet cake from the oven and you excitedly waiting for it to cool down so you both can enjoy it, using one of his tentacles to keep you away from it so you don’t burn yourself.

“You can’t live off cake and bread all your life”

“Error can”

Dust rolls his eyes from under the hood, “He isn’t exactly a role model kid”

You sit up a little, giving him a look, “And just who am I suppose to uh-- ‘role model’ to?”

“Me.”

Of course he would say that, he’s the only one with a degree (validity of said degree is still up in the air) you’re not sure if that’s something you’ll ever do but you hope him and everyone else would still support you if you choose something else...if you ever have that ‘thing’.

What exactly do they want you to be..?

what do you want to be?

Dust then gets up from the couch, “Washing’s done”

“How do you know, the laundry is upstairs?” You ask him.

As he leaves he wiggles his fingers at you, “~Magic senses~”

You pout, “You can’t keep using that as a reason!”

He gone just as quickly as he appeared, leaving you once again, despite having a lot of dad, the mansion is much bigger so you’re not expecting to see them until dinner at least. You turn off the TV as it hasn’t done anything for you. Maybe you should try to do something physical to get all this excess energy out of you.

~~

Nightmare dragged his feet as he left his office, rubbing the back of his neck as it was aching from being hunched up at his desk all day, he managed to get through a few paper piles that had been stacking up quickly lately, many back and forths between deals and other criminals. It’s a lot to take in but he has to do it, it’s the way he’s been able to afford caring for everyone.

And caring for you, god, he never knew how much just goes into one child...and many humans often have more!?!

He shuffles a few folders in his arms, picking up the one where he keeps all your dental records, you’ll have to have your check up soon, health checks up are the worst for him mentally, just seeing you wither in discomfort or pain triggered his fight reflexes, his urge to protect you but he could not let that get the better of him because he knew what would happen if he didn’t monitor your health.

Nightmare would never wish to feel so---

Helpless.

His leg is shaking as he’s sitting on your bed, the ringing of his phone echoing in his skull as his mind swarmed with terrible thoughts, keeping an ear out for your coarse breathing.

‘pick up pick up please for once pick up’ his mind is rattling, his hand growing clammy.

“Daddy…” He heard you weakly call out, face flushed and sweaty.

Nightmare stokes your warm skull, brushing your hair, “It’s okay Starlight, I’m here darling”

“Hghm…” You murmured out.

“Save your strength darling, Daddy’s here, I’m not going anywhere” He reassures your, his voice cracking, losing that dark tone it usually carries.

The way your face grimaces in pain aches his soul, it was his fault that you got sick, he didn’t realise how serious the flu outbreak at happened at your kindergarden, he should have noticed how sluggish you got the last few days and now are completely bedridden. He hates this, he hates this heavy feeling he’s got in his ribcage, how helpless he is to your sickness, that he can’t rip the disease right out of your chest.

Finally his phone picks up and on the other end is his brother’s voice, “Hello, This is Dream from the Star Sanses how may I help---”

“They’re sick and I don’t know what to do” He tells him upfront.

It takes Dream a moment to break his normal script, surprised to hear from his brother once more, “N-Nightmare? How sick? Are they breathing?”

“Yes, they’re breathing” he confirms, brushing some of your hair away from your sweaty face, as you leaned into his touch he finds his ribs aching once more, “But I do not known how severe this is, please, I need your help Dream”

It’s dead silent on Dream’s end and Nightmare feared that his brother won’t help him then he hears some faint shuffle and a door closing.

“Sorry just didn’t want the others to hear about this...i suppose that’s good, do you have any human children’s medicine on you?”

“I have over twenty cargo boxes of Benzodiazepine, that’s human medicine right?” He replies.

“What..? no, human children’s medicine---” Dream pauses and sighs, remembering that his brother doesn’t interact with humans often, “I’ll bring it, just make sure they have water with them and something cool like a wet rag”

He agrees to it, though hesitate to leave you for even a second, he looks you with worry, thinking, then he moves ever so slightly to get up. Instantly you grab him and he tenses up with a rush of panic coursing through his bones.

“No..” You whined, getting all teary eyed.

He’s never felt so torn, he sits back down and stroke your soft skin, his only eye soften.

“I know Starlight, I’ll be back I promise” He reassures you.

Nightmare didn’t want to leave you, he hated the idea of leaving you but he had to put his trust into Dream, his brother knows more about humans than him, he interacts with them more than he does, he more...friendlier with them.

“I’ll be quick” And he kept his word, teleporting through the darkness, grabbing fresh water and a damp towel as quick as he could move.

Even though it only took seconds, being away from you felt like forever, when he teleported back you were still in bed, mumbling something. He’s quick to rush over to you, checking over you to make sure you didn’t get worst.

“Daddy..” you whimpered, weakly reaching out to him.

“I’m here Starlight, just like I promised” he says as soft as he could go, his corruption left his voice rather damaged and strained, even if it never seem to scare or bother you.

Nightmare gets a phone call from Dream, he gave his brother the keys to the mansion under the condition that he doesn’t tell Ink or Blue about it nor try and use it to his advantage (or try and kidnapped you again).

He takes the call, “Where are the others?”

“Error’s god knows where and Dust and Killer are trying to keep Horror in check, he’s not handling this situation well” Nightmare explains to him.

“Uh.. should I be worried?” Dream nervously asks.

“Just come upstairs quickly” He simply said.

It took Dream a while to find where you both were but once he made it to your room, he found himself stopping to look over to his corrupted brother, surprised to see him so...still.

Nightmare eyes his brother, watching him, he didn’t fully trust him even if they were on slightly better terms but he needed his help.

“I have the medicine” Dream firmly told him, showing the small bag he was carrying, “May I get close to them?”

Nightmare pauses in thought, squinting at him before sighing, “Go, don’t do anything funny brother”

Dream quietly nods and moves over to you, his soul aches as he sees how sickly you’ve become, he hates seeing anyone like this much less a child. Nightmare watches his brother like a hawk as he examines you, touching your clammy skin and warm face, you let out a groan which causes Nightmare to flare up his tentacles, insticts kicking in.

“I’m not going to hurt them” Dream tells his brother off, not moving his eyelights away from you.

He knows that, he just hates feeling like this, he hates that all he can do is sit here and watch, he hates that he feels like a failure of a father.

Your eyes weakly open and look over to Dream in a slightly confused state, “Who..?”

“It’s Uncle Dream remember?” Dream spoked softly like an angel, Nightmare did scoff at his brother’s ‘uncle’ status, “Your father is worried about you so he asked for my help”

“Sorry…” you mumbled.

“Don’t apologise Starlight, you’ve done nothing wrong” Nightmare calmly spoke to you, ignoring the look of surprise his brother was giving him, “Just rest up”

Dream shifted some things around in his bag and pulls out a bottle covered in childish imagery, medicine for kids and a spoon.

“This should help” He offers it to Nightmare, “I would do it myself but I’m certain they trust you more than me”

Nightmare accepts the medicine, glancing at it, “How much?”

“Just a spoonful every 8 hours” Dream explains, “If there’s no improvements we take them to the doctors”

Just hearing that alone made Nightmare’s soul flare up intensely that even Dream took notice of his anxious demaner.

“Are you okay brother..?” He asked, worried.

Nightmare huffed, brushing off his concerns, “I am fine, My child is my priority”

He doesn’t look at Dream’s expression, he doesn’t want to know what his brother is thinking as he breaks the child-lock on the bottle and pours the amount as told, once he does that he looks over to you, one hand resting on your chest, checking if you were still breathing.

Still breathing. Good.

“Sweetheart..?” He quietly spoke, getting a bit of your attention, “Can you sit up for me?”

A grumble escapes your mouth as you tried with no success, Nightmare helps you up with his tentacles, holding your back for support.

“I...feel heavy..” You tried to explain, rubbing your watery eyes.

“I know Starlight, the medicine will make you feel better” He reassures you as he offers you the spoon.

You grimace, “It smells funny..”

“Sorry, the store only had grape flavour” Dream offhandly comments, “B-but! It’ll make you feel better”

You still frown, looking at Nightmare for comfort, he holds you close as you take the medicine, grimacing and struggling under the awful taste it has, once you take the whole spoon you gag and cough loudly and roughly, Nightmare is quick to offer you some water that you gulp down very quickly.

“Sorry” Dream apologises, fidgeting under his brother’s harsh gaze.

Nightmare shifts his gaze to a softer one as he looks at you, “It’s over now, just get some rest my dear”

you nod tiredly to his words, laying back down and basically out of it, still, he can’t help but endlessly worry even if Dream was staring at him now, shooting his brother a glare, he lets out a quiet growl.

“What?” He snarked darkly.

Dream tenses, pausing, as if unsure what to say, he is in his house after all, he didn’t really want to start a fight with his brother.

“It’s..nothing, really” He pauses, Nightmare’s gaze doesn’t lessen as he looks back over to the sickly slumbering you, “I just...you really do love them, don’t you?”

Nightmare pauses, his glare less intense, he doesn’t know how to feel about this softer side of him being seen by his brother, even if Dream had seen him crying and begging for his child back, it didn’t feel any less foreign or strange. It made him feel small, exposed.

The way Dream is smiling at him didn’t help.

“None of this gets to the others do I make myself clear?” he said to his brother sternly.

“Of course” Dream remarks before adding, “Thank you...for trusting me”

Nightmare doesn’t replied to that, giving a quiet acknowledged hum, “If you wish to leave safely the go through the garden downstairs, the others won’t notice you then”

“Very well, I’ll be taking my leave, just give them the medicine every 8 hours until better and plenty of soup and water” He tells him as he gets up and adjusts his uniform, “Let me know when my nibling gets better”

“Your nibling?”

“They’re your child, therefore I’m their uncle!” He smiles as he heads out the door, “It’s nice to have a youthful addition to the family”

Nightmare could only scoff at such a remark as he watches his brother leave, once out, his shoulders go slack as he looks over to you, it hits him how much help he’s going to need on this, his crew can only do so much and that if they’re in a stable mental state to do it, as much as he hates this, he has to rely on his brother now if he wants to make sure you have a good future.

And he certainly doesn’t want to feel this way again.

Nightmare shakes off that memory, a little lost as to where he was, right, he was making note that he would need to get you a health checkup soon. He happens to pass by the gym room, not paying too much mind to the sound of a punching bag being hit.

That is until he hears you cussing out, “Fuck!”

If he didn’t have such a death file on his folders, he would have dropped them the second’s notice as he darts right into the room, seeing you shaking your gloved wrapped hand, You jumped when he suddenly appeared behind you and his large shadow overtowered you.

“Are you hurt?” He says a bit too fast for his own liking.

You huffed, “I’m fine Dad, god, I just punched the wrong way”

Still he grabs your hand and checks over it, you on the other hand, get rather annoyed by his helicoptering and snatch your hand  back with a snarl.

“I said I’m fine! I’m not fragile glass” You snapped at him.

“I am simply making sure you are alright” he firmly spoke.

You huffed, annoyed and he can very well sense your tense aura, “Well, you did it, I’m fine..whatever, I need to do my homework anyway”

With that you storm off, leaving him alone in the gym, a tense sensation curls in his soul uncomfortably, like maggots infesting his ribcage. Sometimes he wishes he could enter your mind without causing permanent psychological scarring to your mind, even if he could, he valued your space and privacy, even if it left him constantly wondering and worrying about you and your thoughts. Teenagers confused him very much, it’s moments like these he wishes he had someone to properly vent to about.

Chapter Text

Another morning, another chance to get dressed and get ready to go to school, still feeling a little moody after yesterday, your hand still ached a little bit but over all is fine, why Nightmare got so worked up about it still confuses you until you recall your talk with Error as you walked your way into the kitchen. A frown forms on your face, if anything it just reminded you that your human-ism is just pathetic, just a little meat puppet with no powers.

Having the ability to teleport would be cool and convenient, walking through the mansion just to get to a particular room is a pain in the ass.

But eventually you make it to the kitchen, seeing everyone there,Horror at the stove with Killer bugging him about something, Error and Dust doomscrolling and Nightmare reading a newspaper, you greet them all.

“Morning Doll” Error greets you, a cup of choclate milk in his hand.

“Morning..” Your voice sounded a little rough which Nightmare notices.

“You’re not sick are you?” He asks and you don’t pick up the worried tone he’s carrying in his deep voice.

“No, I’m fine, my throat is just a little dry..” You said as you head to the fridge to grab some juice.

Horror plates your meal and offers it too you, a smile on those sharp teeth, “Eat up little one...gonna need it for that math test!”

You did notice that breakfast was very..brain heavy foods, eggs, smoked samlon, oats and fruit.

“Thanks..Horror, totally not anxious for it at all” You dryly remarked.

“Relax kiddo! You’ll do great!” Killer reassures you.

“I guess” you hummed as you sat down next to Nightmare, his eye glances over to you for a moment.

“You’ll be fine, just don’t let the other fools in your class get to you” Nightmare spoke up as he flicked through the pages.

You huffed, “Easier said than done”

He frowns ever so slightly, pondering if that might not have been the right thing to say to you or that you were still upset with him from yesterday, fiddling with the edge of his newspaper, he lets the morning conversation roll on.

“Anything after-school activities catch your eye?” Dust asks you.

“I dunno..” You hummed as you ate, “I guess the DND group looks interesting but I’m not sure...it’s such a social actICKity---”

You quickly shut up, everyone’s heads turn towards you, Nightmare in particular looked shocked as his one eye bugged out from his skull. Your own hands wrap around your throat as your face burns with emabarssed warmth.

Nightmare was the first to dare to speak up, “Are...you alright?”

Error proceeds to burst out laughing, his distorted laugh ringing through the kitchen.

“Shut the fuck up Error!” You spat at him, shooting up from your seat.

“Language!” Nightmare exclaimed, “I raised you better than this”

“B-but Error’s bullying me!” You pointed out, pointing a finger in his direction.

“Oh great..puberty hitting at full force..” Dust sighs, fingers pressed into his own skull.

He’s still laughing at you, “j-just hearing that come f-from you!”

“Shut up!” You snapped at him.

“ACKivTiy” He mocks your voice.

You glared at him, though your childish glare at him was proving to be ineffective, “How would you feel if I started to make fun of your stuttering huh!?!”

“Both of you, quiet, it is far too early for this” The king of darkness shushes you both.

You still don’t stop glaring at him once your finished breakfast and leave with Dust, giving him the stink eye of  ‘this isn’t over’ as you left. Once you were gone, Nightmare side eyes Error who’s still looking all smugly.

“Must you push their buttons?” Nightmare sternly says.

“It was kinda funny…” Killer chuckled, getting an unapproved glare from Horror.

“It got them to forget about stressing about the test right?” Error pointed out, “Plus sooner or later that’s gonna be their new voice”

“They won’t...they won’t sound like that anymore..?” It seem to dawn on Horror.

“I mean, I guess so big guy, they’re growing up” Killer answers him.

Horror looks a little sadden by this new information but kept it internally to himself. No one really wanted to acknowledge something like that, everyone here is struggling to come to terms with it in their own way.

Error shrugs it off, “Better get use to it”

Killer wantes to bite back at the other’s remark but kept to himself considering Nightmare was still here, folding up his newspaper and getting up, readying himself for another day’s of work and the last thing that needed to happen was to put everyone in a pissy mood before a long mission.

~~

“You may begin now”

Your hands slightly tremble as you flipped the paper, the shuffles sounds of ruffled paper echoing around you from other students as you stare directly at your paper, you mind forcing itself to draw a blank.

Feeling your throat tighten, your face flushes warmly as you recall this morning, you know you’re going through changes, you just didn’t expect that so suddenly and to well...sound like that, you will sound like that when you grow up? Will you like it? What if you hate the changes? What if your Dads hate your changes too?

But you need to breath, calm down just like Killer said, try not to get all doom and gloom, just calm down and focus on yourself. All you can hope for is that whatever score you get, they’ll all still be proud of you.

You pick up the pencil and begin to write.

~~

Rolling your shoulders as you entered the cafeteria area, scanning the area lazily, hoping to find Amanda and Charlie but it’s a little tricky with so many students around.

Then you hear someone call your name but not in a voice you recall, well, you do know the voice, you just didn’t expect that voice.

Tina is looking at you, your certain she’s looking at you, waving at you, “Over here!”

You look around yourself dumbly, maybe she was looking at someone else? Someone who had the same name as you? Maybe, who knows, but your REALLY certain that she’s looking at you and waving at you, should...should you wave back?

Hoping you don’t look like a fool, you awkwardly wave back to her and she beams.

“Come over here silly!” She calls out.

For a second, you felt your heart skip a beat, glancing around yourself once more, you make your way over to her table managing to squeeze through her large friend group she seems to have.

God, you were so screwed if it turns out you completely misunderstood all of this.

“There you are back breaker!” Riley chimes up before gesturing to the rest of the group, older than you but about the same ages are Tina and Riley, “See? This is the kid I was talking about!”

You thickly swallow the lump in your throat, praying your voice doesn’t give up like it did this morning, “O-oh, you’ve mentioned me?”

“Yeah! No one believed me when I said ya flipped me like a pancake!” He exclaims.

You wince, “Yeah...s-sorry about that”

“I just thought Riley was just exaggerating like usual” Tina giggles with makes your soul race.

“I j-just got a lil spooked is all...my dads trained me in a lot of self defence growing up” You tried to explain but as you said it out loud, you realised how weird it kinda sounded to normal people, some of the looks the kids were giving you were any indicator.

“That’s acutally kinda useful, especially at your age” One of the kids chimed in.

“You have two dads?” Tina asks.

“Well..no, I, uh, I have four dads” You don’t need to bring up your two uncles.

She perks her brow slightly, “That’s…”

Someone else chimes in, “So many Dads! How do ya stay sane from all the dad puns!?”

You dryly chuckle, “Ha...i don’t”

It’s hard not to freak out a little bit, here you were, sitting with the cool kids, the older, far more mature kids, you were nothing compare to these guys, why does Tina want to hang with you? Just to prove something Riley said?

“So what do your dads, like, do?” Someone asked.

“Uh..” You fiddled your thumbs together, “They run their own business together”

“Cool! Like what?”

“Uh...trading” You’re pretty sure you’re not lying.

You wonder where Amanda and Charlie are in all of this, maybe Amanda was flrting with some of the boys around, if she were here she totally try and have a go at the boys here, watching you with expressions you can’t really be sure are good or bad. Do they think you’re weird? Cool? Lame??

“That’s pretty interesting” Tina rests her elbows on the table, her eyes glimmer your way.

“R-really?” You hope the warmth rising in your cheeks wasn’t noticeable, “I’ve never thought about it that way...just thought it was boring adult stuff y’know?”

That was a bit of a lie, you thought the crimes your dads do is cool and badass, never having to follow rules of the world and causing chaos, it’s so cool to you but they don’t want you becoming like them, it’s annoying, they don’t have to worry about laws or taxes or anything and they all have more wealth than you could ever imagine. Sometimes you would try to eavesdrop on some of their conversations of whatever awesome adventure they had.

But you had to be reminded by Error, you’re a human, weak and soft, fragile. No amount of training could ever stop a magic imbued arrow straight to the chest.

“Sounds pretty cool, but! Ya gotta talk about ya training, I have to put that in my training schedule” Riley chimes up.

You awkwardly smile and try your best to explain some of the things Dust and Killer have taught you, it was...interesting to try and talk about your parents in a way that didn’t feel like you were hiding a lot of things.

For a moment, you felt a little...normal.

~~

Nightmare is awkwardly hunched at the table, nervously eyeing the decorated cafe he was in but he tried to not let it show, he stuck out like a sore thumb, “Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to come with me to...this”

“Not at all!” Sabrina chimes up, happily sitting across from him, “I just so happen to have some free time, besides, it’s not every day that I chat with just you, you usually have Error or Dust with you”

“Ah yes but they are..busy handling my business while I am away” He simply explains, “Besides I wish to talk to you one on one”

“I’m surprised you picked a high tea place to talk” She glances around, enjoying the decorations and pastel colours of the room, “But I suppose it fits you”

“Ah..yes, I wished to try something a little different…” He mumbles a little bit.

Error helped him find the place that would be suitable though he kept Error in the dark as to why he needed to do such a thing but the glitch had his ways, he most likely knew what it was about but didn’t press him about it.

“Ain’t it nice to break a day with?” She spoke and he acknowldges her words with a low hum, trying to keep the grit away from his tone, “So what do you want to talk about, certainly not about work”

“Certainly not about that, that is the last thing on my mind right now” Nightmare reassures her, glancing down at the set menu that was on his side, “I wish to discuss other matters”

“Oh~” She adjusts her seating, resting her elbow on the table, “such as?”

Nightmare’s hands were intertwined together and resting on the table, “I want...your perspective on raising a child”

it didn’t sit well for him to admit that, glancing away, keeping his focus on the menu as Sabrina’s expression shifted to a soft one.

“Oh, like what?” She inquires.

“How does one...raise such a confusing, fragile child? I’ve read countless books on child raising yet it feels like...i’m making more mistakes as of late..” He confides to her, his shoulders slack with a sense of shame.

Sabrina chuckles a little, “Nightmare, there are no such things as experts on children”

“There isn’t?” Well he certainly feels like a idiot for wasting him money on them all.

“Not really, sure there are certain do’s and dont’s but having a kid is really a guessing game” She explains, sitting back, “Each kid is going to be different and teens are a whole different playing field”

“I see...still, I want to do right by them, I want to help but...they keep pushing me away..i do not understand” He ponders out loud.

“Teens want to be their own independent person you know? Going out with friends, hanging out at the mall” She explains, “If they ever need you, they’ll tell you, trust me”

Nightmare thinks for a moment then slowly nods, “Thank you for your input”

“No prob Bob!”

“I’m not...right play on words” He remarks.

“Gosh you’re so old Nighty” She teases.

“I am a couple eons older than you” He simply points out.

She scoffs with a smile, flipping the menu around, “Right gramps, what set are we getting?”

He rolls his eye and looks at the menu, “Their traditional set looks nice”

“Ooo what about the deluxe set?” She spoke up.

“That is a lot of food even if they are small portions” He replies.

“Come ooooonnn” She playfully whines, “Treat a hardworking single mom?”

“No” He said firmly, before he gave a small smile, “I’m treating a friend”

That got a smile out of her and the order was placed. Nightmare did still feel out of place even if Sabrina is the one that’s not dressed for the occasion, her style was leaning towards more casual, loose old band shirt with denim jacket and jeans very different from her usual office outfit but a welcomed one.

“How had your daughter been?” Nightmare decides to speak up, adjusting his collar a little bit, wondering if he’s dressed a little too formal for such a casual meet-up.

“Pretty good! She’s been getting into making friendship bracelets, I think she’s secretly making one for them but don’t tell them I said that”

“Noted” He hummed in thought before adding with slight thought written on his face, “Bracelet making huh...takes me back”

“You use to make them?” She asks.

“Ah, not friendship bracelets per say…” he’s a little quieter as he says it, not wanting to bring back old memories, “but me and my brother would braid many things together, baskets, bracelets, charms…”

He’s been so busy with work he’s never gone back to many of his old hobbies (aside from reading) some bring back unwanted memories but braiding shouldn’t be too hard, hopefully he retained some of his braiding skills.

“Oooh like lucky charms?” Sabrina asked just as both their tea and food came in, being set on the table.

Nightmare quietly acknowledged the waiter that served the tall tray, filled with foods and sweets alike, “Dream did the lucky charms, luck in marriages, luck in crops..all that”

His own..’lucky’ charms were curses, he didn’t particularity like making them but he didn’t have much of a choice at such a young and impressionable age but he tried his best to have a more..postitive spin on them such as “If you cheat on me all your nails will be violently ripped off”

In hindsight, he should have used less evocative imagery.

“Wouldn’t that be fun, getting back into old hobbies” She remarks as she takes a little sandwhich from the plate, “Maybe once this job wraps up I’ll get back to playing my violin”

“You played the violin?” He lifts his cup to take a sip of his tea.

“Eh, on and off, was really into it back at Uni” She shrugs.

Nightmare hums deeply, “That would be lovely to hear”

“Pfft sure, if you don’t mind hearing cats in heat” She chuckles as she stuffs her face, “Man, this food is good! Man, you pick some of the nice places”

“I have high standards” He simply said which makes her chuckle.

While Nightmare had learned a bit about children, he did enjoy Sabrina’s company, funny how much has changed about him, old him would never dare to think of being near humans let alone raise one, strange how life is such a way. Could he ever get use to this type of life? Shame that he could never had a truly ‘normal’ life as he is the king of darkness but as he looks over to Sabrina enjoying herself, he thinks to himself how nice it is, just for a moment, how nice it is to be just ‘Nightmare’

It was a nice thought as he takes a sip of his tea.

“Uh..Nightmare?”

He nearly chokes on his tea as he recognises his brother’s voice. His single eye darts over to Dream who’s looking oddly at the two of them. Embarrassment rushes through Nightmare’s soul as he looks away.

“Oh Dream! Funny seeing you here!” Sabrina greets.

“Same here, I came here just to grab a little treat for myself, didn’t think I run into you and my brother” Dream smiles, “Afternoon Nightmare”

He frowns, “Greetings Dream..”

“Nightmare was telling me how you aned him used to do braiding” Sabrina said innocently that only made Nightmare wish he died right there on the stop.

“Oh yeah! We used to braid ribbons and hang them on the tree during the holidays” Dream beamed before pausing, “Ah, I hope I’m not interrupting anything?”

“No, we were finishing up anyway” He simply said, maybe a bit too sternly.

“Geez Nighty, sick of me already?” She teased.

“I have...work to get back to” he simply replies back.

She seems to accept that answer as she leans back before getting up, “Alright, but seriously thanks for taking me out today, it was nice having one-on-ones with you”

“As the same with you” He replies, holding the door for her.

“My what a gentleman~” She remarks before heading out, “See ya around Dream!”

Nightmare prays that his brother doesn’t get the wrong idea about this as he follows out, watching her leave, his shoulder slack as he lets go of his breath, ready to leave.

“Nightmare wait—” Dream pops out from the store.

“Don’t get any ideas” Nightmare quietly snapped at him, “I wasn’t trying to court her nor blackmail her into my plans”

“Then..what were you two doing?”

“It doesn’t concern you” He grits his teeth together, “Am I not allow to “hang” with people?”

“No..but..i’m glad to see you try” Dream simply said with a gentle smile, “i’ll leave you be”

“Please do, enjoy the pastries” He snarkily replied.

“Which one do you recommend?”

“...The raspberry cheesecake” he simply said and left.

~~

“Yo! Where you been?” Amanda’s voice snaps you out of your cloudy thoughts at your locker.

“Uh..more like where were you guys,” You huffed as you grabbed your bag, “I looked for you guys at the cafeteria”

“it was really busy and we couldn’t grab our usual table so we grabbed one of the back ones” She explains.

“That probably explains it, the back tables are hidden by a huge pole right?”

She hums, a little bit of a sad look on her face, “Yeah, sorry about that, must’ve suck to eat alone”

You tensed a little, “Yeah but it’s no big deal, next time I’ll check the back tables”

“Alright, hey, you good though?” She asks.

“Got my math test results back, haven’t looked at them”

She grimaces, “Ohh…”

“I’ll look at them when I get home” You simply said, a sense of guilt gnawing at you for lying and changing the subject but you didn’t want to tell her that you hung out with Tina, should you tell her? She might get your hopes up or something.

“Well good luck” Amanda ressures you as she grabs her bag and waves you goodbye.

You do the same for her, relaxing a little once she was out of sight, was it wrong to not tell her about Tina? She’s your best friend…

well..she’s your only friend you’ve had.

It’s not wrong to have more friends right? She’s got a lot of friends, always the friend magnetic, it’s not wrong to have more than one friend and besides, you don’t tell her you’re from another reality, you’re not sure she would keep her mouth shut if she ever found out and that could lead to a lot of problems.

But for now, you are a normal student who is worried about their math test results, the paper is still in your hand, folded up, you don’t even want to look at it.

Walking out of the front of the school, past the gates, Killer greets ya, you notice he’s got a bandaid on his cheek but you try not to notice it, most likely from work.

“Hey kiddo! How’s school?” He greets you with that warm, dumb smile like he always does.

“Alright, tiring” You simply say, holding out the paper, “Got my results back”

“And..?”

“I haven’t looked at them” You admitted to him and handed it over to him, his black fingerless gloves taking it, “I don’t want to look at them”

Killer opens it and he gives a expression of relief, “Well...it ain’t a S+++ but it’s pretty good”

“Whether it’s up to Nightmare’s standards..” You mumbles, adjusting your backpack as the two of you walked far enough for Killer to make a portal home.

“He’ll be proud of ya kid” He messes with your hair before backing away as you shoot him a glare, “Ya do good”

“Thanks Killer” You said to him.

He winks before summoning a portal back home, “It’s what I do kiddo!”

Taking in a breath, it’s a bit of a walk back home, the front doors are incredibly heavy but they way they groan and creak brings an odd comfort to your soul, it always takes the two of you to open.

“Yo! We’re home!” Killer calls out, his voice echoing.

“They all might be in the kitchen like usual” You simply said.

“Doesn’t hurt ta let them know we’re alive” Killer shrugs with a playful smile.

Eventually your other dads trinkle out from into the main foyer, Dust was the first to greet you.

“How’d it go?” He asked you as he made his way down the stairs.

Killer gently nudged you and you sigh and hand over your paper to him, carefully watching his expression from under his hood, “Okay I guess...guess I ain’t making it as a scientist anytime soon”

He skims through the results and nearly lets out a snort, “Go easy on yourself kid, 85% isn’t something to brush aside”

You look up to him as he pats your shoulder, “And don’t worry about that junk, just focus on school alright?”

You nodded though the second you heard heels clack down the stairway, you got all nervous again as you watched Nightmare make his way down...only to look slightly confused when you see him carrying a small bag of colourful strings? He seem surprised to see you but kept his calm status.

“Hey Boss” Dust greets him, “Kid got an 85”

“An 85?” Nightmare hummed out, shifting the items in his hands, “That is...good, I’m proud of you”

A sigh of relief escapes you.

“But that doesn’t mean you slack off” He warns and you couldn’t help but roll you eyes, “Make sure to tell Horror the good news”

“Yeah he’s sure ta treat ya well” Killer elbows you.

You roll your shoulders, “I will...where is he?”

“Laundry room” Dust pointed out and you simply headed off, looking forward to a treat from him.

Once you were out of sight, Dust turns to Nightmare, “Didn’t want to say it in front of them, but I noticed that they answered right...but the teacher still marked them as wrong”

“Wait, for real?” Killer looked surprised.

“I think it’s because they didn’t answer the right way...even if they got the answer right” Dust points out, gesturing to the paper.

“What!? That’s not fair! If they got the right answer does it matter if it’s figured out differently!?” Killer jumped with a scowl.

“I agree with you on that, should be bring this up at the next parent-teacher meeting?” He turns to Nightmare.

“We gotta! They didn’t do anything wrong!” Killer exclaims, “We gotta expel that teach!”

“Ok karen” Dust jabs lightly.

Killer pouts before frowning, “But it’s not fair on them, they try so hard and—and they aren’t like us! They aren’t fucked up like us, it makes sense for us to get kicked to the curb but not them”

He didn’t realise that he started to get teary, wiping away the black goop leaking from his face, “S-sorry..”

“That is fine Killer, you simply care for them, we all do” Nightmare spoke, getting the two’s attention, “I will bring this up, we must be reasonable and convincing with them”

Killer nods quietly, wiping away a few more tears. Dust and Killer were dismissed as Nightmare headed to the living room upstairs with his bag of strings, sitting down on the couch, he sets aside the bag and begins to pick out the colour, he would contact Error, no doubt he would enjoy this but he wanted to do a warm up braid, see if he still has it but what would he do? A simple bracelet? A charm?

He thinks about you for a moment, then, he has a idea and starts to pick out some of your favourite colours and he begins to work.

Chapter Text

Amanda quickly noticed the on edge look you had on your face as you opened your locker, “Are you...okay?”

“I guess, just not looking forward to the presentation today” You explained with a sigh, closing your locker.

“I mean, we managed to get it done early and got tons of practice in” She spoke, leaning against the wall of lockers before turning her head towards you, “You...did practice right?”

“Of course I did!” you interjected, “But it’s hard to practice when your uncle is making fun of your voiCSK---”

You shut right up as Amanda jumps before grimacing with the realisation of what’s going on.

“Ohhh...that” She simply said, “That might be a problem”

“Oh you ThiHCUK!?!”

She tries not to snicker, mostly because she feels slightly bad given upset you seem to be over this, “Just try to relax and not raise your voice too much”

“Ugh but the other kids are gonna laugh” You groaned, rubbing your face.

“Jokes on them, it’s gonna happen sooner or later” She points out, patting your back.

While she was right, it still didn’t inspire much confidence in you even if you knew your script off by heart at this point, the fear of fumbling was still strong, the last thing you want right now is to bring any attention to yourself, you just want to get through school in peace.

~~~

Charlie side eyed the face planted you at the cafeteria table, “Uhh what’s up with them?”

“Our presentation happened” Amanda explained as she sat next to you and across from Charlie.

“Everyone laughed at my stupid voice crack…” You mumbled, barely moving from your spot.

“I wouldn’t say they all laughed at you…” She muttered, trying to think of a better way to word it, “More like...they all laughed at the absurdity of the situation”

“You’re really making me feel better” You sarcastically replied.

“Well.. look on the bright side, voices change pretty quickly” They said, poking at their cafeteria fish and chips, plopping a chip right into their maw.

“And the teach did give us a good score” Amanda chimes in, reassuring you, “Trust me, kids are gonna forget about it and find some other student to pick and mock”

“That’s...that’s not good” Charlie replied.

She shrugs, “That’s the viscous cycle of teenager drama”

“Just..ugh” You mumbled, lifting your head up slightly, “Just no more embarrassing stuff happening please”

“Oh there you are!” Tina suddenly appears behind you.

And you squeaked like a dog chew toy, face burning hotter than the sun. You wish you’d simply disappeared right there on the spot, god why did this have to happen right now?

“O-oh hey Tina..” You try to keep your voice quiet, “What’s up?”

“I was just wondering where you were since you didn’t show up at our table” She said with a smile that makes your stomach get all twisted up in knots, “If you ever want to join us you’re free to! I love to get to know you more”

“U-uh yeah s-sure” You stammer out, Amanda side-eyeing you the entire time, Charlie didn’t seem to react much, having no positive nor negative expression.

It was only when Tina left to be with her group that Amanda elbows you, “You didn’t tell me you talked to her”

“I don’t need to tell you everything, beside it sort of slipped my mind with the math test” You lightly shoved her off you and you were sort of not lying, the test did stress you out more than you would like to admit.

She pouts by lets you off the hook for now, you’re allow to have other friends right? Was she jealous of you hanging out with the older cooler kids? Now way could you really ‘fit’ in with them, you really aren’t anything special aside from having inter-dimensional dads.

What was even ‘good’ about you?

“Did she ask anything about you?” Charlie asks.

“Your brother did a lot of the talking really” You replied, watching their expression shift from cringe to defeat.

They sigh, slacking their shoulders, “Of course he would, he gets in over himself a lot”

“They did throw him into the ground, really impressed your brother” Amanda remarks.

Charlie’s eyes widen, “I’m sorry..you did WHAT?”

You tense and Amanda realises what she slipped out and give you a apologetic look but that does nothing compare to the possibly of having to explain why you made their brother eat shit.

“It was an accident…” You mumbled, “I just got freak out”

“He’s like twice your size????” They countered.

You just shrugged. What else was there to say?, the one time self defence training didn’t come in handy, well, in a way it did, other wise you’d probably wouldn’t have met him until later. No point dwelling on it, at least it distracted you enough to be a little bit hungry for your lunch and forget about your voice issue for the moment.

~~

“Can’t believe we’re spending the morning making digital files of these VHS tapes” Killer sighs as he set the box he was carrying into the small room Dust and him were stuck in for the time being, he slices the box open and pulls one out, dust flying everywhere, his nose hole twitches, “Are these even intact?”

“That’s what Boss wants us to find out” Dust hums as he sets up everything, plugging the VHS machine into the TV, “Hand one over”

Killer picks out one with horrible handwriting that says ‘Ducky’s bath time’ he looks at it with slight confusion but he hands it over to Dust who puts it in the VHS machine, rewinding it to the very beginning as Killer pulls up a chair, having the chair’s back face the Tv so he can sit and lean forward, resting his arms.

Once the tape plays he perks up upon the sounds of a younger you giggling.

It plays in the bathroom, the sounds of you splashing water around as the camera turns to you, all covered in warm water and soap with some floating bath toys around.

“Careful, ya gonna splash the camera Ducky!” Killer off camera, possibly being the one holding it, lightly warms.

Dust perks up as well, “Well, ain’t this an oldie”

“God, how old would they be here?” Killer said out loud, rubbing his skull.

It would have to be after you got kidnapped by Dream, maybe 5? he tries to squint through the static to see if your scars are still fresh, it’s hard to tell and now that your older a lot of those scars have faded and aren’t noticeable say for when it gets hot or if you got really close to them.

The two were suppose to just check the tapes but neither of them moved from their spot, watching what happens next.

“I’m making a pizza!” your high pitch squeaky voice thrilled out as you scooped up the bubbles.

“What kind?” He asks.

“Bubble pizza”

“Mmmm soapy”

Killer’s red soul flickers for a moment as he watches with hollow eyes, Dust’s got a bit of a lop-sided smile watching this, leaning back in his seat.

“Never thought you’d become a softy” Dust quietly chuckles.

“Oh shut up, hypocrite” Killer snaps a little too harshly before letting out a bit of a sigh, slumping a bit, “Fuck, raising a kid is fuckin’ somethin’”

“Yeah”

“Our old selves would fucking hard us” Killer remarks.

“Oh totally” Dust adds, “Raising a human, no less”

“Not just raising a human! Caring for one, loving one, worrying about one, being fucking terrified of their future and----” Killer struggles to form words before giving up and slumping once more, “You know what I’m talking about right?”

“Yeah, your mind and soul might be scrambled beyond recovery but you got the right intentions” He replies before his gaze returns back to the TV.

Killer wanted to reply back with something snarky but the words die on him, closing his mouth, he finds himself also staring back at the screen, seeing you all dry with your little ducky jacket, ah, now he remembers why he called you that, he misses that, no, it’s not that well yes, a part of it is, he just really misses spending time with you.

Killer turns to the other monster, “Wanna see if there's any embarrassing videos with Boss in them with the brat?”

“Sure”

~~~

You had notice that Killer was strangely...weird when he came to pick you up, you just sensed it the second you saw him. No pats on your back, no insane twisted grin that made any student passing you two become uncomfortable, no intense rough head rubs either, something must’ve happened at home and it’s putting you off a bit.

He gives you a small smile, too normal, it’s freaking you out, “So how’s school kiddo?”

All you could do is stare at him, squinting, judging him. He very much notices it and tilts his head slightly, “Somethin’ bother ya at school?”

“...You’re not my dad, who the piss are you?” Is all you bluntly say.

“Do you kiss Boss with that mouth of yours???” okay, false alarm, that’s the Killer you know, dramatic self and all.

Once you got home and everyone stopped surrounding you, you managed to catch up with Killer, getting his attention by grabbing his arm.

“Are..you alright?” You tried to ask him but it came out a lot more emotionally constipated that you intended.

“Hm? Yeah I’m good kiddo, work was draining...but hey! Now that ya here, how about you and I have some fun?” He returns back to his more chipper tone you know, elbowing you slightly.

“Depends...what kind of fun we talking about” You said, sussing him out.

“Board games” He smiles in a twisted manner like he was suggesting kidnapping children and drowning them.

“I’m not playing Monopoly, I’m pretty sure Nightmare’s still mad he had to throw away such a nice table” You stood firm.

“I would never suggest that again, mainly cause I don’t wanna gut fish with Horror again as punishment” Killer slightly cringes but returns his focus back to you, “I was thinking Connect four or maybe some guess who-- whatever ya want!”

“Uh, sure, lemme drop off my bag” You said and he gives ya a thumbs up as you turn to head to your room.

Tossing your bag over to your desk, you noticed that something was laying on your bed so you went to inspect it. Turns out it was your childhood duck jacket laying there, worn and grey. Picking it up, you can feel how rough the fluff has become from being used all the time, your pretty sure you wore it everyday until you out grew it.

And then proceeded to throw a tantrum about it, cue your dads scrambling to find something you would love better than this jacket, you only shut up once Error made you a similar sweater he knitted, your pretty sure you still have it somewhere in your closet.

But now comes the question why it’s here now? Flipping it over, there’s an odd black stain on it, did Killer find this? Is that why he’s acting all weird today?

You get a idea, putting the jacket on your rabbit before you headed out and meet up with Killer in one of the smaller rooms where you keep all the board games.

Some time later Nightmare spots Error, Dust and Horror peeking into a doorway, looking confused at such a sight, “What on earth are you three doing---”

He gets hushed by Error so by his own curiosity, he peeks in as well, seeing you and Killer play a game of Connect four and it seems you won this round.

“Oh come on!” Killer throws his hands up, slumping in his seat.

You giggle, giving a twisted smug smile, “Come on dad, you’re losing your game”

He huffs and sits up again, “Best of five!”

“Alright, If I win, you have to clean my toilet” You remark.

“And if I win, you have to help Horror gut out fish!” He points a finger at you.

You smile, “Deal”

It was a nice sight to see and was best to be left alone to enjoy their time together.