Averse

Chapter 3 - Dream

It was another morning in the large kitchen of Nightmare's illustrious manor. As per usual, Killer and Horror were bickering near the stove as Horror cooked breakfast for everyone. Dust was ignoring them as was par for the course. His mind was elsewhere as he absentmindedly scrolled through the camera roll of his phone. He figured that everyone always assumed he was browsing the undernet, or reading something, when really he was looking back on old photos. Sometimes it was pictures of him and his brother or his other old friends, but this time he was looking through memories with his gang of fellow unstable Sanses. Though, it was a bit ironic to be ignoring two of them while staring down a photo of the group all together. Dust had taken it without any of the others knowing. None of them had been paying him much mind as he lifted his phone and snapped the chaotic picture. He was in the foreground, holding up a sarcastic peace sign to contrast the... eventful background. Killer had accidentally set fire to a curtain in the living room– how he even managed to do that was still a mystery. The aforementioned menace stood in the corner of the room, just barely in frame, staring at the carpeted floor as Nightmare attempted to snuff out the flames. Horror was beside him, waving his arms frantically and practically barking in a blind panic. Both of them were extremely blurry due to their constant state of motion. It was one of Dust's favorite pictures. He looked at it frequently, but he had still never told any of them he had taken it. None of them knew he had any pictures of them, though in truth he had an entire album dedicated to them.

He quickly turned off his phone screen as he heard the shuffling footsteps of Nightmare approach the kitchen. Horror and Killer seemed not to notice over their petty arguing, though. Dust tilted his head to look at the entryway beside him, watching as Nightmare stepped into view and looked directly at him. They stared at each other in silence for a few moments before Nightmare cast a glance over at the now sissy-fighting skeletons at the stove. With a soft smile he silently beckoned Dust to follow him out into the hall, much to the other's confusion. Regardless, he got up from his place at the kitchen island and followed his boss into the elegant hallway of the mansion. Without any warning, he felt Nightmare's arms wrap around him, tentacles following suit to swaddle him in a tight embrace. He let out a choked noise of surprise, freezing up at the sudden unwarranted affection.

"Wh-What the Hell–?!" The words puffed out of him as the wind was practically knocked out from his ribcage. He felt Nightmare's deep voice grumble in his throat, reverberating against his own chest due to their close proximity. "Something told me you needed this," he mumbled against the fabric of Dust's hood, his dripping face buried against the cotton. "The Hell does that mean?" Dust was completely at a loss. I mean– yeah, after his nightmare the previous night this was a welcome confirmation of Eclipse's words, but how could his boss have known that? Nightmare let out a scoff as he pulled away a bit. "It means whatever you want it to mean. I don't care how you take it," he spoke in his usual calculated tone once more. Dust blinked up at him, unsure of what to say, what to do... what to think. He resolved to keep staring into Nightmare's glowing pupil. The taller skeleton eyed him back with an unreadable expression. And there they stood, staring at each other until a call from the kitchen pulled them away from their awkwardness.

"Dusty, where'd ya go?" The hooded skeleton rolled his eyelights at Killer's pointless nickname for him. Why use a nickname that's longer than his actual one?! It made no sense to him and he hated it. Well– he said he hated it. It was still rather endearing. "Comin', asshole," he yelled back, turning away from Nightmare and stepping back towards the kitchen. He hesitated for a moment, casting a glance back to the goop-covered skeleton once more and muttering a quick, "Thanks, or whatever," before disappearing again. Nightmare smiled softly as he watched Dust go. Luckily it didn't seem that he had caught on to Nightmare's secret identity. He hoped that someday he would be able to tell the disturbed skeletons he housed about everything. Maybe one day he could rehabilitate them into a more stable state, though that day was very far away if even possible. Dust and Killer were already quite far-gone and Horror had been living in such a cruel world for so long that he would certainly need many accommodations no matter how comfortable of a life he made for himself. Nightmare sighed as he thought of the hopelessness of his goal. Maybe at the very least there would come a day that he could have them stop going on "missions". Then perhaps the Multiverse wouldn't fear him any more...