One-shots [Reqs: 5]

Guard Dog

Cross huffed, but let him go, stepped back to lean against the wall, growling slightly. "Stay." Nightmare tipped his head back, squinting at Cross. "Stay? What?" Cross waved his hands around, "Stay. I wanna.." His teeth clicked, his cheeks going faintly purple. Nightmare saved him from his flustered silence, suggesting a possible ending to Cross's unfinished sentence. "You want to watch?"

Cross's silence was confirmation enough. Nightmare sighed, "That's alright, I suppose. But no hugging this time, okay?" Cross deflated a bit, but he nodded. He'd gotten his hug from Nightmare for the day.

---

Cross flipped his knife over, angling it to catch the light and then wiggling it back and forth. It started flashing rapidly, a grin twitching on his face as he continued to play with the light. Nightmare's pen was near-silent, only occasionally making a noise like rattling plastic whenever Nightmare turned his papers over.

The light on his blade was tinted green, thanks to the dark green lamp shade. Cross glanced up at Nightmare, catching sight of his boss's cyan tongue. Nightmare had the tip of his tongue poking out in his concentration, something Cross was now mentally fawning over. Nightmare must've felt his eyes on him, the king meeting his gaze. He grinned at Cross, "Something catch your eye?"

Cross only turned away and pretended he hadn't been staring. Nightmare snorted, stretching out a tentacle to pat Cross's head. Cross purred, the pencil cup on the desk rattling a bit with it. It was all so domestic. Nightmare glanced at the clock, his mind going through the math quickly. "Killer'll be up any soon."

Cross absolutely did not perk up, nor did he look to the door excitedly. Nightmare only smiled at Cross's eagerness, "Well, aren't you excited." Cross faltered a bit, his face warming. He gave Nightmare a glare, silent in his denial. Nightmare shrugged, "I dunno, you looked pretty eager there."

Cross pouted, turning away to glower at the carpeted floor. The feeling passed quickly, his glinting knife stealing his attention once more. He tapped it with a claw, tilting it to get the effects from earlier. A long silence fell over the two, Nightmare refocusing on his work and Cross playing with his knife.

---

Cross was laying on the ground in the living room when Killer showed up. His eyes had started to slide shut, his magic slowing as he dozed off, when the air shifted. His eyes opened the instant he felt it, eyelights focusing much faster than they did when he first woke up. His mouth twitched. Killer was crouching beside him, his usual sneer on his face. "What's up, himbo?"

Cross blinked, and Killer laughed, standing up. A smell hit his nose, the familiar tang of blood. Cross's face scrunched. He gave a low hiss, ambling to his feet. Killer craned his neck, smirking up at him. "Arentcha gonna say hi?" Cross's eyes narrowed.

He shook his head, his shoulders stiffening as the smell of blood hit him again, this time mixed with a bit of chocolate. He sniffed the air, turning in a full 360, his brow furrowed. He didn't recognize that smell. It wasn't Nightmare, or any of the others. Nightmare had a spicy-citrus smell with a bit of lavender, which Cross would never admit to actively looking for. Killer always had a sharp metallic scent, and Dust smelled like, well, dust and death. Horror smelt of blood and smoke.

They weren't pleasant smells, if Cross was honest. But, after these long years, he's found them to be comforting. This new smell wasn't any of the others, and he didn't like it. Killer trailed after him, his voice fading into the background as Cross traced the sent. His path led him to the front door of the castle. Killer had stopped talking, Cross noted absently as he pulled the door open. The door hinges squealed, the sound grating on Cross's nerves.