(A/N: Nightmare Dream fluff so fluffy you may cry =) )
***
Killer came out of his portal into Nightmare's Castle with a sputtering Dream in his hold.
This, understandably, gained a few double takes from the other gang members. Especially the spies.
Red and Lust scrabbling over the back of the couch and out of sight, falling into a suggestive position with a muffled thump. Red covered Lust's mouth with a glare before he could utter a word about the situation. Lust's eye sockets still crinkling with suggestive mirth regardless. Sci meanwhile had taken cover under the food table, the table cloth hiding him well enough ... though he lost a slipper just outside his spot in his haste.
Surprisingly, Dream didn't see who they were. Though it was clear he noticed they were there, even with the rest crowding closer in amused disbelief and taking his attention off it. There were a lot of things said at once.
"... why do you have dream, mate." Horror deadpanned, British shining through. "... this is a pants idea."
"pffft- mweh hehehehe!" Cross was trying to stifle his swap-like laugh at the expression on Dreams face.
"oh dog, this is hilarious!" Dust cheerfully snapped a picture, assuming Killer kidnapped Dream. "nightmare's gonna be pissed!"
Nightmare exited his own dark portal with an expression that showed how done he was with the situation, despite it not even having started. He sighed as he was also subjected to a barrage of questions, before straightening.
"Alright everyone, listen up." Nightmare spoke, not needing to raise his voice to gain their attention.
Killer let down a pouty Dream that was examining the messy area of what seemed like it's intended purpose was a large Throne Room.
The room was clearly set up for some sort of party or gathering that had been interrupted. A table for drinks and food, another with board games and chairs. It was fairly messy, as if a scuffle had occurred, but with there being silly string residue littered about, Dream figured it was probably not a serious fight. He also noted how the throne had been shoved into a corner in favor of some sort of electrical set up on top of a pile of books ... karaoke?
It was nothing like he had expected. Not that he knew what he had expected. But this domestic mess was not it. Then again, how much did he really know about the gang without the interference of Fate? Not a lot if he were honest.
Nightmare's serious voice brought his attention back from his musings.
"Dream will be visiting until a Star Council truce meeting. I want all of us to attend the negotiations and be on our best behavior. The Meeting is in 1 MV hour." Nightmare begins for everyone to be on the same page. Especially those who weren't there.
Dust raised his hand and Nightmare sighed.
"Yes?"
"willingly?" Dust asked. "we didn't, like, kidnap him?"
"Yes, willingly."
"and the council will believe that?" Dust pointed out.
"... Blue has it handled."
"It was actually Nighty's idea." Dream said with a smile.
Nightmare looked at the familiar architecture of the room. Not at all to distract himself from the knowing looks the gang gave him when he didn't automatically shoot down the nickname, like he would if it were anyone else.
"While Dream and I talk, I want you four to clean up this room." There was the predictable bemoaning of the hated task 'cleaning.' "As for the three of you trying to hide." There was a bang under the table as Sci jumped. "Head to my office to start with ideas for negotiation. I will join you later to further explain the situation and review your work."
'And inevitably take it over,' was the collective thought.
Red was the first to teleport, followed by Lust. Sci stuck a hand out from under the table before he went after the two.
Dream was wondering about who they were. As far as he and the Council knew, Nightmare's only allies were Killer, Dust, Horror and Cross.
Nightmare seeing Dreams' expression, easily guessed what he wanted to ask. "Understand that until we officially have a truce, I can't tell you who our non-combatant allies are."
Dream nodded slowly. "You don't want me to know because it might put them in danger."
Nightmare merely gave a small quick nod. "That, and they still have Fate strings attached." He turned back to his boys. "Cross is in charge. Dismissed." Mentioned skeleton's smile turned smug, and Killer faked being hurt at not being chosen.
Nightmare looked to Dream, before nodding down a hall. "Come on."
The pace was slow enough for them both to gather their thoughts about what they may want to ask each other.
Even with the extended walk, as soon as they entered the room, neither could figure out where to start.
They ended up in an impressive double leveled library, as Nightmares office was in use. Dream was awestruck. That was a lot of books.
Nightmare led Dream to a fireplace with a couple of chairs and a table that had a book half finished. They both took a seat and the silence grew, both fidgeting and avoiding eye contact.
"I ... see you still like to read." Dream tried as an opener.
Even with the extended walk, neither could figure out where to start.
Nightmare gave the barest of smiles.
"I do. Yes."
The conversation dropped off again, though more comfortable than before.
Taking a breath, Nightmare steeled himself to just jump into what was going to be a very painful conversation.
"What do you remember of that day?"
After a moment, Dream told his side of the story.
"I ... I wasn't at the tree. Someone was sick." Dream looked into his lap. "They were dying and there was nothing that was helping. So, I brought one of the apples. At the very least, its aura would send them off peacefully." Dream frowned. "I ... don't remember their face anymore, but I stayed until they passed. On my way back to the tree ... I heard screaming."
Dream paused in his story as a haunted look passed over his skull. Nightmare wanted to reach out and hold his hand to help him though the memory. Had even started to reach out before their auras started to graze each other in a stinging sensation. He was left to withdraw his hand.
So instead, Nightmare settled for his words. "Take all the time you need."
The actions gave Dream the courage to continue.
"At first ... I didn't recognize you." Dream took a steadying breath. "By the time I reached the tree, two were already dead and ... and I tried to block you from killing the third. You ... stabbed me instead. The third was screaming about how you ate the apples."
Nightmares seemed to be holding his breath, even though he was technically there.
"The last gold apple saved me, but ... the overwhelming negativity still turned me to stone. The last thing I remember was you saying ..." Dream paused. "You said, hic ... 'This is all your fault.' before walking toward the village. When I finally broke free ... there were barely any bones or dust left."
Dream gripped his cape, a couple silent tears dripped onto the fabric.
"Why ... why did you do it?" The question was barely a whisper.
"I don't remember much of that day." Nightmare began, somberly. "But I didn't eat the apples willingly. That much is very clear."
"So then why-?" Dream changed his question with horrified realization. "Was it Fate?"
"Yes, in part. Though at the time, I didn't know." Nightmare traced the book shelves with his eye light as it was his turn. "At the time, did you know how the villagers treated me when you couldn't see? When you were too far away to even hear?"
"I ... suspected they bullied you." Dream admitted. "There was no way you were that clumsy. But you would never confirm it. I could only heal and hope you would eventually tell me with all the bugging I did about it."
"I was too stubborn to get you involved. I didn't want to worry you, or worse, pick their side." Nightmare admitted, clearly wishing something had been different.
"I worried anyway." Dream pouted, puffing out his cheek bones.
"You did." Nightmare gave a small, almost pained smile before it dropped. "But I was a fool to dismiss it. Dismiss you. But I had started to believe the villagers. That you were too good for the likes of me. One who brought only sadness and despair."
"You weren't like that. You aren't like that." Dream affirmed, leaning closer over the chair arm to better hold eye contact.
In the small time he has seen Nightmare without Fate's influence, Dream has become more and more certain. The one sitting in front of him is Nightmare. His brother Nightmare. Not the king that everyone has learned to fear. But the one he would spend his days with in his youth. Tired, older, but still his brother.
"... I was." Nightmare admitted, and Dream furrowed his brow bones. "For a time after the apples, I became everything they thought of me and worse. And for a long time, I couldn't stop myself. Didn't even try."
Dream was about to interrupt again but Nightmare interrupted the interruption.
"Back to that day, I was alone guarding the tree." Dream dropped it if only to get the rest of Nightmares' side. "A few teens went after a gold apple, and I was defeated. They plucked an apple and while their leader was drowning in euphoria ... he had the idea to see what happens if he forced pure positivity into me. And ... they were stronger than me. I tried to fight back but ... it meant nothing." Nightmare refused to let himself become misty eyed over remembering. He fell silent.
Dream's hand flew to his mouth. "Y-You didn't even ..."
"No. I didn't." Nightmare said bitterly. "But the result was the same. And the power and negativity ... overcame me. Shortly after, I blacked out only to wake up on a pile of the tree's splinters with a statue for a brother. As for the villagers ... they were already dead. And you know what I did?"
Dream shook his head, words escaping him.
"I laughed."
Now that Nightmare after all this time freely spoke about it, it was like he couldn't stop himself. He wanted Dream to know. All of it. He didn't want to shift the blame, no matter how easy it would be.
"I could feel the lingering misery in the air. And I wanted more. I became the monster they told me I was and enjoyed it. It didn't take me long to figure out how to leave the AU when I noticed the flow of feelings in the multiverse." Despite the tragedy of the story, he couldn't help a small smile as he remembered what happened next. "The first place I managed to portal myself happened to be Killertale. It was an interesting first meeting, to be sure. After that, it was just the two of us then." The smile fell. "Spreading senseless violence in whatever AU we felt like. Then we became more organized, targeting specific AU's, specific events to cause the most damage."
"It was Fate, alright?" Dream said, seeing Nightmare look down. "She's the one who made you feel that way. It wasn't your fault."
"... No, Dream." Nightmare said, shoulders deflating. "Emotions are out of Fate's control. It was the black apples bringing out my darkest desires. Killing the villagers, for one. After all they had done to me, I wanted to stop trying so hard to prove I could be good. They wanted me to be the villain. And a part of me ... a part of me wondered what it would be like if I gave into what they thought of me. I even declared Killer my evil henchman."
Nightmare was still a child at the time. An mature, insane, corrupted, sadistic child, but a child nonetheless. And in his mind, becoming a villain meant having a henchmen to do henchmen things.
"That ... that still doesn't sound entirely your fault if it was the apples. You weren't ..."
"Sane?" Nightmare supplied.
Dream winced. "Y-Yeah ... but you seem to be doing better now?"
Nightmare hummed in acknowledgment. "I got ... bored actually. That's what started it. There are only so many ways and times you can torture the same monsters. At that point, I no longer knew why I was still spreading negativity. So to alleviate my boredom, I expanded the gang to liven things up. I found Dust. Helped Killer regain his emotions. Brought on Horror in exchange for feeding his AU. They helped me remember what it was like to really be happy. Not just enjoying others' suffering, but their company." He couldn't help but smile at the fond memories.
When he saw the stars in Dreams eye lights, Nightmare awkwardly cleared his voice and continued, the smile disappearing.
"It wasn't until one encounter with Error that I learned of Fate. At first, I didn't believe him. We had fought before, but never really exchanged words."
"What changed your mind?"
"You did."
Nightmare could easily see this surprised Dream.
"When I felt you escaped from your prison of stone, there were mixed feelings. I was relieved you were alive, yes. But I was worried about what you would think of all the things I had done. And even then, I resented you for not trying harder, even though it was me who shut you out."
"I still could have tried harder-"
"No, Dream, sigh ... brother." Nightmare said to show how serious he was. "We were children given an impossibly large responsibility out of desperation. No one person is to blame."
Nightmare only continued when Dream broke eye contact first.
"It took hours for me to decide to go see you. Even though I had resented you ... I had missed you more. I wanted to talk. Come clean about everything. Whether it was your fault or not, we were still brothers. However ... that wasn't my Fate."
"... the first time we met after I was free, you said we weren't brothers anymore." Dream said, taking up a part of the story. "That a King of negativity has no need for a worthless prince of positivity. You went so far as to tell Ink he could have me. As if I was something so easily thrown away." Dream recounts the painful memory. "It was after Ink had told me about the dangers of the multiverse and how I would be a great help due to being a spirit of positivity. Your name was mentioned."
"... my words were twisted by Fate to ensure we would never reconcile. Seeing Ink there, my old fear of you one day hating me was being realized. What I had meant to say was along the lines of, 'I may have changed, but you are still my brother. Come with me and don't listen to Ink without hearing my side.'" He looked at his hands. His stained, stained hands.
"It was the first time I had felt so ... controlled by Fate. And it kept happening. Everytime we met, I could do nothing but hurt you further. And all the while you would plead for the old Nightmare to come back."
Dream wiped away tears as Nightmare concluded his story.
"Y-you, hic, you were always in there. I-I can't imagine."
"And you had to watch as I did and said such cruel things, holding on to a shaky hope that one day will be better. That I would do better."
Nightmare hesitated before he rose from his seat. Each step brought him closer to his brother. He moved to kneel down in front of him, as close as their auras would allow without becoming painful. With all the care he could portray, he looked up to meet yellow and spoke to Dream.
"Brother ... today is that day."
Throwing away his reservations, Dream dived into his brother's arms and sobbed. It hurt. But even still, Nightmare slowly hugged back through his own starting tears.
For the two brothers, this truly was a dream come true.
"I missed you."
"I missed you too."