One-shots [Reqs: 5]

Treehouse - Princess

He startled as he felt something press against the bottom of his feet, glancing down in surprise. Nightmare had coiled a tentacle beneath Cross, giving him something to stand on, already anxious with how dangerous it looked. Cross grinned, letting go of the tree. "Thanks, Mare!" With both hands free, he was able to tie the sign up easily. He dusted his hands when he was done, hands on his hips as he admired his work. Nightmare lowered him back to the ground, setting him down with a sigh of relief. He looked up at the sign, snorting at the written message. "I see you took my advice." Cross beamed, "Yeah! You said that, um, assholes? woul-" Nightmare covered Cross's mouth, scowling. "Don't say that."

"Donsaywha."

"Assholes."

"Buhyousayit."

"It's a bad word."

"Oh."

----------

Nightmare, rather angrily, told Killer that boys can be whatever they want and so can girls and everyone else. he also told him that boys can like whoever they want, and so can girls and everyone else. Killer has been educated now. Killer later apologizes to Cross for calling him a sissy and tells him his crown is super cool. -> "You have a super cool crown, so I think you'd be a super cool princess, Crossy."

Cross instantly forgives him and basically forgets the whole thing.

now, i'm gonna skip to when Cross finally gets home. Fair bit of warning, Gaster is a dick about the crown.

----------

"Father! I'm back!" Cross pulled the door shut behind him, stumbling a little over some cords. He skipped into the kitchen, going to open the fridge. He paused, though, and backed away, turning to the sink instead to wash his hands. It was messy, the sink too high for him, leading to water dribbling up his arm and into his shirt. [Gaster is a tall bastard, he built the house without considering how Cross would reach things.]

Cross shuddered, shivering in his clothes. He quickly grabbed the white towel, putting it back just as fast. Father was mad the last time he stained the white stuff. Cross instead took the black one, patting his arms dry.

Hands clean, Cross finally turned to the fridge, opening the door to peek inside. His mouth watered at the sight of his chocolate milk, his eyelights growing wide. He leaned back out of the fridge to call over his shoulder, "Can I have some chocolate milk!" A bell rang in response. Cross whined, but closed the fridge, turning away sadly to answer his father's call.

The study was lit dimly, his father outlined in white light from his computer as he tapped away. Cross ambled over, fiddling with his hands anxiously. It took a long minute for his father to turn around, mouth open to say something. Only, his mouth shut and his eyes went angry. What had Cross done wrong now? He'd been quiet, he'd washed his hands, he'd- "What in God's name are you wearing, young man?" Cross flinched at the sharp tone, already tearing up.

"I-It's my crown. Cuz I'm.. I'm a princess...?" His father started to shake, and Cross shuddered. What was wrong? Nightmare said he could be a princess! And Killer said he'd be a super cool princess! So why was father so mad? "Cross. Take that piece of shit off this instant and hand it to me." Cross gasped, clutching his crown, "B-but, I-" Father hit the table, "Now, Cross." He whimpered, taking his crown and holding it out.

He winced as it was snapped in half and thrown aside, tears welling up in his eyes. "I don't want to hear another word about this, understood? You are a boy, a man, and you will act like one. Not some stupid girl."

Cross nodded frantically, desperate to leave. "No, a simple nod won't do. You still need to learn what happens when you behave like a moron." Father stood up, and Cross took a step back, trembling from head to toe. "I'm sure one night outside will do, yes?" Cross cried out as he was roughly grabbed, bursting into tears. "Papa-!" He clawed at the walls, sobbing as he begged to be freed. Instead, he was thrown out the front door. Rocks and grass dug into his bones, his skull hitting the ground painfully, the jagged ground clawing at his cheek. Cross sobbed, pushing himself up. "Don't you dare come back unless it's to apologize." The door slammed, locking shut, and Cross slumped over in the dirt.

---

"Night, give it back!"

"No, it's mine!"

"Fight, fight, figh-"

"Shut up, Killer!"

Killer cackled, hurling a pillow at Nightmare's feet and sending the other stumbling into a wall. Dream gasped, and dove for his stuffed chinchilla, darting into the hallway to seek refuge before Nightmare recovered. Killer gave a lazy grin, unfazed as Nightmare turned on him. "I'm going to beat your ass!" Killer shrieked as he was dragged off the couch, yelping as he hit the floor. "OW-!"

"BOYS! STOP ROUGHHOUSING!" Nightmare flipped off the wall, mocking Nim under his breath. Killer's grin widened, "MOOM, HE'S MAKING FUN OF YOU!!" Nightmare swore, lightly punching Killer in the chest. "You fucking snitch!" Nim's voice came through the walls again, "NIGHTMARE, YOU BETTER NOT BE!!"

Killer kicked Nightmare off, cutting off the older boy's answer. He scrambled up, climbing over the back of the couch and ducking past Nightmare's tentacles. He stuck his tongue out, throwing up middle fingers as he ducked again. Their fighting was cut short, a single hard knock on the door catching their attention. Nightmare sobered near instantly, sighing. "Who the hell visits so late at night??" Killer snickered, following him to the door. "Is it your girlfriend?" Nightmare smacked him, "Go to your room, idiot."

Killer rubbed his face, stepping back as Nightmare opened the door. "Who is i- Cross??" Killer perked up, shoving under Nightmare's arms to see his friend on their doorstep. Cross was trembling, his cheek bruised and a little cut up. Fat tears streamed down his face, Cross looking like he was barely holding it together. Killer's grin vanished, "Cross?" Nightmare pushed Killer back into the house, opening the door wider, urging Cross inside. "Come in." Cross stumbled in, sniffling.

Killer lightly took ahold of Cross, cupping the younger's face. "Hey.. what happened?" Cross's expression crumpled. He jerked his face out of Killer's hands, coming back for a hug as he sobbed, wailing into Killer's tee shirt. Nightmare closed the door, frowning heavily. He knelt, tapping Cross's shoulder, quietly asking him to turn around. "Can you tell me what happened?" Cross pulled away from Killer, breathing harshly through his tears. "F-father said being a p-princess is wrong.. You.. you and Killer lied to me!"

Nightmare's frown deepened. He'd known Cross's father had been fishy from the start. "I didn't lie to you Cross, and neither did Killer. It's your dad who lied." Cross shoved his face back into Killer's shirt, his voice muffled just slightly as he told Nightmare what happened. Killer rubbed his back the whole time, looking unsettled and confused. Nightmare scowled. "That asshole. Killer, take Cross to our room. I'm going to talk to Nim." Killer nodded, "Ok."

As Nightmare disappeared from the room, Killer turned to look down at Cross, gently nudging him a bit. "Hey, c'mon. Wanna see my cat?" Cross whimpered out a meager response, "Y-yeah.." Killer smiled, squeezing him a little tighter before letting go and taking his hand. "Let's go then. You're gonna love him, his name is MishMish."

Dream was in bed, doing something on his phone, when Killer came in, Cross in tow. Dream looked up, blinking in surprise. He offered Cross a smile, deciding not to question why there was a crying child in his room. "Hey there. What's wrong?" Cross shrugged numbly, looking around the room for the cat Killer had told him about. Killer pointed him to the kennel against the wall, "He's in there."

To Dream, he said, "His dad threw him out because he wanted to be a princess." Dream frowned, glancing at Cross sympathetically. "Poor thing.." Cross ignored them for the most part, crouched at the kennel and murmuring to the kitten inside. Killer eventually joined him, telling him about MishMish, hoping to cheer him up even a little.

Cross had shut down entirely, zoning out for the rest of the night, not even protesting when Nightmare led him to a bed.

----

hkjdsfkalshdf i literally torture cross so much, why do i do this kf;dajsldkfahsldj anyways WHOOP WHOOP TWO STORIES BACK TO BACK, ENJOY!!