Strictly Professional

Chapter 1: I'd rather do paperwork than date someone

He wasn't stupid, he could tell that those two had a thing for each other. Both of them were so down bad that they were painfully oblivious. Still, Cross better not touch his brother. Dream was too innocent and pure to be tainted by the world.The paparazzi were obsessed with the two; they were constantly capturing pictures of the two doing gross lovey things like holding hands or hugging. Disgusting. He was snapped out of his bitter state by a loud announcement from his brother.

"Brother! I've found a solution to your problem! The romance one! Plus, it can benefit the company, so you really can't say no to this one!"

Nightmare groaned. Dream had been coming up with these so-called 'solutions' for the past few months. One time, he had even suggested Nightmare marry his paperwork! Seriously, was he trying to make Nightmare lose all credibility? He hated attention, and that would bring even more than just dating someone! Plus, he wasn't that bad of a workaholic. He just did paperwork for about 10 hours a day. Honestly, the exaggeration of some people.

"What is it this time? It better be good, because you've interrupted all of my work. Be quick about it and spit it out."

Dream grinned ear-to-ear. For Nightmare, this was a sign that he was at least somewhat curious! He excitedly slammed some papers he was holding down on the desk, sending Nightmare's work scattering. He just stared dejectedly as his organized papers fluttered down and mixed on the floor. Cross looked mortified, but Nightmare could hear Killer trying not to bust out laughing behind him.

"An arranged marriage! It's what people did all the time to secure business relations.Plus,having your status changed to married will deter most of your courters. The others will just be easy to deter because people will freak if someone tries to ruin a cute match."

Nightmare sighed and stared at Dream. He rubbed his temples and leaned forward, staring his brother dead in the eyes. He had so much hope; but it was misplaced.

"Okay, and how would you make it a good match? Something that would interest the public enough for them to not all be jealous? As far as I'm aware, most business figures who are anything these days are men, because the system is rigged. The women are all usually serious too, so it would just be boring to the public eye."

Dream grinned smugly and crossed his arms proudly.

"That, my dear brother, is where you are absolutely wrong. I've done research, and I think I've found a good choice. Miss Dawn, from the elemental family. She used to be super bubbly, and from what I hear even her name used to be different. After the incident, the one from the news, remember? She lost almost all of her siblings. Now, she's always under heavy watch from guards."

Nightmare tilted his head in confusion. He waved a hand at Dream to go on.

"Not only is she pretty, she has to deal with the same thing as you. She's mysterious and shy, and that attracts a lot of attention. If we get you two married, people will probably start talking about how the strange shy girl clouded with a dark past managed to warm the stone heart of the mysterious CEO. They'll see it just like a romance movie plot, and bite the hook."

Nightmare hummed to himself as he thought. It was true; people loved that kind of story, and most people these days would believe anything. Sure, it would get him a lot of attention, but it would die down since he wouldn't go outside. From the sound of it, she was used to solitude and staying indoors anyway. He had the top few floors converted into penthouses for him and Dream so he could stay close to work. It would be good for Dream to have someone besides his awful influences of friends to hang out with as well.

"It's an acceptable solution. The Elemental family carries a lot of influence, and she's already used to this life. I know we also have a lot of influence, but Dawn is like some sort of treasure to them. How will we get them to accept it?"

Dream scoffed. He dramatically collapsed like he was fainting, only to be caught by a panicked Cross. Cross was the only reason Dream could do stunts like that, and their proximity annoyed Nightmare. He cleared his throat and Dream stood up, Cross backing away.

"You really think so little of me brother? I've been corresponding with them for weeks. They were very reluctant, but apparently Dawn was persistent. According to one of the messages she sent me, she'd rather be anywhere but there. The consequences of being too protective huh?"

Nightmare nodded. He rested his hand on his chin and leaned back. He had a feeling that Dream had already planned out this wedding, and Nightmare would've ended up in this situation. He folded his hands.

"So, when do I have to attend this wedding where I get.. Married?"

"In about two days."

Nightmare silently stared at his brother. Dream was dead serious too. He should've known not to trust his brother. He rubbed his temples again. Still, it was all probably planned out to the max. Dream loved this kind of thing. Well, he supposed he'd be meeting his Bride on the wedding day.

"Fine. Killer, you better not screw up your toast."

Killer grinned at him mischievously. Nightmare had a feeling that he would not be obeying those instructions, and for a second he almost considered banning his own bodyguard from the wedding. But no, what's the point in that?

He looked over the papers Dream had given him. Among the mess was a guest list. He quickly scanned it. To his relief, it was a small event. That made sense, especially given it seemed both him and Dawn were rather private people. It was simply his friends and her family. Possibly some of her friends, but he didn't really care that much.

He couldn't help but roll his eye upon noticing that Dream had put his friends on the guest list. Then again, they were loyal allies of the company, so it was only fair. Plus, the interviewers could get all the talk they wanted out of Ink. That guy really had absolutely no idea how to keep his mouth shut. That is, if he didn't forget who got married in the first place.

Seriously, what was it with Dream's taste in friends? Blue would probably pester them with questions the whole time. Lust would, well, he'd probably be over with the Bride telling her she was making a mistake while giving her fashion advice. At least he could count on his friends to be less of a headache. Except Killer, but he was always a headache.

Of course, Killer had been put as his best man. He figured; although he was hoping it would be Error. Then again, Error would not want to do that at all. Putting him as one of the groomsmen was a stretch, and Nightmare respected that. He would also prefer not to be a part of this wedding, but it would solve some of his problems so it had to be done.

Of course, he had no idea who any of the bridesmaids were. It actually looked like a few of them were guys. Then again, Dawn seemed to have a very small pool of people to choose from. Her family had isolated her and themselves, so she probably didn't have much contact with the outside world.

Nightmare looked up, to see Dream still standing there. He nodded in approval, and Dream bounded out of the door, followed by an extremely worried Cross who was struggling to keep up. Of course, Cross politely closed the door behind them. Slow enough to barely make a sound; something a confused Nightmare really appreciated.

He had a lot of thinking to do.