Averse

Chapter 12 - Help

Nightmare slumped against his door as he locked it, retiring to his room for the night. There was absolutely no way he was in love with Error. There couldn't be! Could there...? No, he was probably just lonely. After all, Error was the only person he really trusted. He was the only one Nightmare could be truly open with, it only made sense that he would project his loneliness onto his friend like this. Though... he wasn't all that certain it was projecting. Something he had never quite been able to place about the glitchy skeleton had finally clicked in his mind. The way he smiled at Nightmare, the way he laughed, the fact that he was surprisingly enthusiastic about physical contact between the two... it had always made Nightmare feel so warm. Before, he had chalked it up to just happiness from them being close, but now...

As he had held Error in his arms earlier that day he had begun to wonder what it might be like if they were together. There was no way they could, what with his double life and Error's estranged husband. And that was all considering Error might even want that in the first place! From everything Nightmare knew about him, the skeleton seemed rather timid about the subject of romance. He noticed Error shrink away during especially love-centric episodes of Undernovela, though he never said anything. He wasn't sure if Error even cared for relationships. That certainly didn't seem to be the case with Reaper apparently pursuing him.

Nightmare sighed as he sat against the floor, knees pulled to his chest as he held them tightly with his arms. Why did things have to be so difficult?

A quiet buzz from his hoodie pocket jolted him from his spiral. Slowly he stood and made his way to his en suite bathroom, rinsing the ooze from his boney hands and taking his phone from his pocket. His breath hitched as he read the text from Error, a light blush dusting his cheekbones from beneath the goo.

Thanks for having me over today, it really means a lot.

Nightmare felt his heart beat ever so slightly faster as he began to write out a response. How could he deny his feelings any longer? He was clearly in love with Error, at least to some degree. His hands began to shake as he admitted it to himself, trembling as he sent off his reply.

Of course, any time, Error. Feeling any better?

He put his phone down on the sink, bracing himself against it and staring up into the mirror. What stared back nearly made him break. He knew what he was, he knew what he looked like, and yet that dissonance remained strong as he stared into the cyan eyelight of someone unlovable. Someone whose own brother fought for his downfall. Someone who didn't even know how to experience his feelings, let alone express them. He felt goopy black tears well up in his eye and slide quietly down his face. Another buzz resonated from his phone and he looked back down, picking it up again.

Yeah, actually! I'm just settling down to watch some Undernovela before I try to get some sleep. Here's to hoping I'll actually be able to tonight. /(TwT)\

Nightmare felt his face crack into a soft smile despite the tears rolling down it. At the very least, Error was improving. That was all he cared about at the moment. Another thought crossed his mind and his smile instantly fell once more. Error could never know. There was no way in a thousand years that Nightmare could ever tell him how he felt. It would be too stressful. For both of them. It would be better if he just kept quiet and carried on as normal. It wasn't like anything had changed in the first place! Nightmare had only realized how he felt, there was no reason for that to change the way he acted. With the sleeve of his tar-coated hoodie he– rather ineffectively –wiped the tears from his eyes and sent another response.

That's good, I hope you can as well. That nap certainly won't have been enough for you to catch up on sleep. :)

With a sigh he stepped back out into his bedroom and tossed his phone onto the sheets. He tugged off his ooze-stained clothing and threw it into a careless pile on the floor, grabbing his elegant bathrobe from the bedpost and returning to the bathroom. Steam filled the air as hot water rushed into the tub. Nightmare lowered himself to the water's surface, breathing deeply as the warmth washed away his suffocating, tar-like prison. The gentle sway of the water lapped at his bones as it lulled him out of his spiraling thoughts and into a certain reserved peace. As the water slowly clouded with grime and goop, he let himself pretend that there may come a day where he wouldn't need to hide under it all anymore. Perhaps there may even be a day where he and Error could roam freely throughout the manor together. He let his hopes extend even further, though he quickly willed them back into the realm of possibility, sighing once more as he sank himself deeper into the water.