Distrust

Chapter 12

Cross couldn't believe how open Dust had been. After so long of acting coy, he finally let Cross in. Dust had fallen asleep again, this time in his arms. Cross was still trying to process everything Dust had told him. He had no idea that Dust's father was abusive or that sometimes he couldn't control his actions. Cross lightly pressed the back of his hand to Dust's forehead. Dust still had a fever, but it was going down. Cross carefully reached passed Dust and grabbed the locket. He had looked inside before, he knew it was wrong to snoop, but he was really curious. Inside was a photo of two monsters. A smaller skeleton monster, which Cross assumed must've been Dust before he lost half his face, and the over was a fire elemental. Cross assumed the fire elemental was just a friend, but after seeing Dust's reaction, they probably were more than just friends. Cross carefully put the locket over Dust's head. Dust stirred slightly, but stayed asleep.

Dust woke up in Cross's arms. He panicked for a moment, but then the feeling of safety washed over him. Cross had fallen asleep. Dust slowly moved out of Cross's arms and went over to the cookies. He let himself eat more than his share. He hoped Cross wouldn't mind. The food warmed Dust up. He was used the the subtle coldness of Nightmare's castle and the emptiness of going without food. Here it was warm and there was food. It was safe. He liked being safe. His hands brushed against something cold around his neck, and he flinched. Dust realized that it was his locket. Dust could feel tears sting his eye. He wouldn't cry. He wouldn't show weakness. He wouldn't show anymore than he ready had.

Dust brought his axe down on the couch. It seemed that Cross had gotten a replacement in the same ugly color. Once the couch was perfectly destroyed, he sat down. Cross was still asleep, so Dust took advantage of the alone time. Dust heard a knock on the door and his eye narrowed. Cautiously he got up and walked to the door. Dust opened the door slightly and imminently slammed it shut when he saw who was on the other side. "Rude." He heard Blue grumble. Dust sighed and opened the door. "The fuck do you want?" Dust hissed. Blue had an unreadable expression. "Coming to finally finish me off?" Dust asked. Blue flinched and made a pained expression. "I'm sorry." Blue said. "Okay." Dust said. Blue looked Dust in the eye. "Can you forgive me?" Blue asked. "Ha. No." Dust said. "Why not?" Blue asked. Dust rolled his eyes. Were all Star Sanses this fucking stupid. "Saying sorry doesn't fix anything. You tried to kill me. I'm not going to forgive you for that, and I probably never will. You should know that actions speak louder than words. If you truly are sorry, you'll tell Dream and Cross what you did, and then you'll still have work on gaining my trust." Dust scolded. Blue shrunk back, his face still unreadable. Dust shut the door a d went back to the couch. He doubted that Blue was going to tell anyone what he did, and Dust didn't give enough fucks to expose him. Dust knew that people didn't ever try to be better. They just want forgiveness without putting in the work to actually earn it. Dust doesn't expect to ever be forgiven for his actions, and he doesn't really care. It seems that people don't even know what forgiveness really is. They think apologizing is just saying sorry, and forgiving is saying I forgive you, but deep down, they really don't. The world is filled with empty apologize and false forgiveness. They go from conflict to resolution without giving themselves the time to process. Dust sighed and rolled onto his back. He wasn't going to bother himself with thinking too hard about shit. "Are you serious right now?" Cross asked, obviously annoyed. "Oh. Your awake." Dust said. Cross sighed. "Why do you hate me?" Cross grumbled. "I don't hate you. I tolerate you." Dust corrected. "Glad the feeling is mutual." Cross gritted his teeth. "Now get off my couch." Cross said. "Fine." Dust prolonged a stretch and slowly got off the couch. Dust walked past Cross and back to his room. Dust jumped onto his bed and made himself comfortable. Dust stretched autisticly on his bed. Dust rolled onto his back and gazed at the ceiling. He was bored, and a bit hungry. He hated that he was feeling hunger already. He had let himself become greedy. He shouldn't be eating this much. He'll turn soft. He was still technically Nightmare's successor, unless Nightmare already found a replacement. Dust grabbed his pillow and cuddled it. Soon he was overcome with sleepiness.