Strictly Professional

Chapter 11: It's time... Oh wow

"All done brother! You look great; I'm sure this wedding will go off according to plan!"

Nightmare rolled his eyes and slumped slightly. Dream immediately straightened his back, and Nightmare sighed, resigned to his fate. This had ended up being way more difficult than he had thought it would be. Luckily, it would all be over soon enough, and he would never have to do this again.

"You forget Dream, this isn't a love story. This is a marriage of mutual convenience, and it is strictly professional. I'm only all dressed up because you thought it would be a great idea. The bride might like it, but the only reason I'm doing this is so that I'll be on good terms with the family. We probably wouldn't get any backing from them if I just carted off their beloved golden child would we?"

Dream deflated slightly, before grinning with a mischievous glint in his eye. No, this is as he expected it would be. Dream was smarter than that though; he wanted his brother to have a chance at love. Dawn was perfect for that, and Dream had picked her because of her personality traits from their conversations. The fact that she came from a well known family just made it easier for Nightmare to comply.

"Right. Sorry brother, it's just all so exciting. Especially because we'll be getting new people moving into the tower! I hope she'll be friends with me! Oh, and her staff too! I'm sure they're all super sweet."

Nightmare smiled slightly and stayed silent. His brother always seemed to have something to be cheerful about. Plus, it seemed like he had easily let go of the idea that this could be some love story. That was good; having Dream pester him about it would have been awful. The ceremony was soon, and then everything would be in place.

Suddenly, everyone flooded into the room and took a seat. They had all been waiting inside, and now they were clamoring for seats with a good view and near their friends. Nightmare's side was mostly his brother's friends. He had a few business partners there as well, but he hadn't been trying to invite people.

It seemed the bride either had a similar idea or didn't have many people to come. There were some women sitting in the front, alongside a couple people who looked like staff. It was actually pretty sad, but it wasn't Nightmare's place to judge.

Dream perked up and dusted his brother's jacket off one more time before taking a step back and smiling at his twin. He teared up slightly before quickly wiping his face. With one last pat on the back, he headed to take a seat. Not before whispering one last thing however.

"Good luck brother. I think everything will turn out a lot better than you think it will."

With Nightmare left puzzled at that cryptic message, Dream went to go sit by his friends. He didn't have much time to think about what that could mean however, because the music started and he turned around. The Groomsmen and Bridesmaids would be coming in now. He knew they didn't do everything the same way an actual wedding would go, but nobody in his family knew much about weddings.

It appeared that nobody in Dawn's family knew either, so hopefully there wouldn't be any judgment. Ink came walking down the aisle, fake mustache on and stilts exaggerating his height. Nightmare nearly choked as Ink went and stood at the altar. Nightmare almost died from embarrassment. He glared and whispered to Ink.

"There is NO way that you're licensed to legally perform a wedding. Absolutely no chance."

Ink gasped and clutched at his chest.

"How dare you underestimate me? I am Henry, the priest at this wedding. If you continue to insult me I shall not officiate for you!"

Nightmare rolled his eyes and stayed quiet. He was going to get what he was going to get at this point. He just hoped that this wouldn't have any huge repercussions for his image in the eyes of the in-laws.

Next came the Groomsmen. Horror awkwardly took the lead, walking down and taking his place next to Nightmare. Then came Dust, who just walked like a normal person. Cross, who had perfect posture. Error, who was walking down like this was a catwalk and the world was his stage. Finally, they ended with the best man. Instead of doing something stupid like Nightmare expected, Killer just kept glancing at the entrance, blushing madly. He took his place in line.

Next came the bridesmaids. Oh boy, were they quite the interesting lot. First, walking down the aisle like she was trying to rip it apart, was Tsunami. She was followed quite closely by an absolutely giant slime person, who was sashaying with even more flair than Error had. Error looked both offended at this and impressed.

A short human girl followed behind. Looking like she wanted to burst out giggling at what the slime was doing. When she took her place next to the slime, the two whispered conspiratorially, giggling. Next, to Nightmare's surprise, came a man wearing a simple caramel colored suit. He looked like he belonged there, and even though he didn't match the bridesmaids he walked up to them confidently.

Finally, in came the maid of honor. Boy, was Nightmare in for a surprise; Killer's spaced off look made more sense now. The maid of honor was a male skeleton, wearing a stunning deep blue dress. Unlike the blue dresses of the bridesmaids, his was studded with crystals to make it look like a night sky.

He wore shiny silver rings and a moon necklace, with little stars painted under his eyes. He had a deep blue eyeshadow on with silver flecks, and looked pretty embarrassed about that. His dress trailed the floor behind him as he made his way into line, earning a few teases from the other bridesmaids.

Next came the ring bearer and flower girl, and Nightmare nearly actually laughed. The "flower girl" was a middle-aged woman who was throwing glow sticks at people; she looked like she was embarrassed, so it probably wasn't her idea. The ring bearer was- well, it appeared to be Fresh dressed in a bear suit. Why did Dream let this happen? Nightmare had NO idea, but it seemed like everyone was enjoying the show.

Finally, the music changed to the traditional wedding march. Glow Stick girl took her place in front of the girls, and Fresh in front of the boys. Error was giving him the worst death glare that anyone had ever seen, but his brother just flashed a grin in response.

The doors opened, and the Bride came down the aisle. All Nightmare could think was that for a split second, she almost felt familiar.