A/N having a friend reading the book with no idea of any of the ships is so funny she's tryna find out who's shipped (she asked about Horror and Killer lmbo) also the cow is Killer's pookie now
Nightmare blinked as his face was unfairly attacked by the sunrise. He groaned and turned over, pulling his sheets over his head. Nightmare never had been and never would be a morning person. Especially after the Bachelor party last night drained his social battery, he wasn't super excited that the wedding had to be today.
Unfortunately for him, Dream was up. To be honest, Dream wasn't actually that much of a morning person either; except when there was something exciting going on. Indeed, something very exciting was about to happen. The arranged marriage that he had meticulously planned was going to happen today! There was so much to do, and his brother needed to get up and going, so he could make it to the venue and prepare.
"Good morning brother! It's time to get up and going! We need to meet up with your groomsmen and get ready! Ink and Blue won't show up until later, but Lust is going to help you guys out with suits and such. He agreed to design some for you guys, isn't that great!"
Nightmare wished he had locked his door. Alas, he hadn't actually had the foresight to do so. He grumbled in protest as Dream dragged him out of his bed, into the cold air of the room. Nightmare's malicious glare held absolutely no power over Dream, who just happily brushed it off.
"Let me go. The others won't be awake yet, much less ready to all drive there. It's not like you'd be crazy enough to..."
As he drifted off mid sentence, he narrowed his eyes at Dream. He would be crazy enough wouldn't he? He groaned as his constant glare finally cracked Dream and he grinned sheepishly. Seriously, it was bad enough that Dream came to wake him up before he was ready to face the world.
"You already woke everyone up then? Seriously? Fine, but I'm going in my pajamas. If we're just going to change there, I don't see any point in dressing up."
Nightmare crossed his arms. His night attire was very different from his day outfits; a simple T-shirt, Hoodie, and sweats. Dream just shrugged and dragged his brother to the elevator, very aggressively hitting the button as many times as he could before the doors opened up. He pressed it again just for good measure.
Nightmare brushed his brother off and got into the elevator next to Dream. He pressed his special little introvert button, and Dream pressed the garage button. Nightmare glanced at his brother. They didn't want to draw attention, so Dream better have chosen a car that would fly under the radar of the public eye. As they reached the garage, he felt like facepalming. Well, it was under the radar, but this was going to be a long ride.
In front of them was a white SUV. Three rows of seats, enough to fit all of the arguing groomsmen inside. Still, this was going to be an absolute nightmare, and that was coming from someone who was named Nightmare. Standing in front of the SUV were his boys, all sharing the same idea as him and standing there in PJs.
Nightmare snatched up the keys and nodded his head, signaling silently to everyone that it was time to load up the car. He unlocked in and silently slid into the driver's seat. Outside of the car, the world turned to chaos, as the skeletons all scrambled to get the seating of their choice.
"Dibs on shotgun!"
Killer of course, called out first. However, Error shoved him out of the way, glaring. With his haphephobia, having to share a seat with someone who might touch him? Worst case scenario. Besides, as the right hand man of the company, he had a right to sit at the front. Plus, he would rather jump off a bridge than give Killer proximity to the AUX cord.
Killer grumbled in protest, turning around to realize that everyone else had already sat down. In the back row, Horror and Dust sat next to each other, with a spot in the middle. In the middle row, Dream sat behind Nightmare with a very nervous Cross sitting next to him. He may be Dream's bodyguard, but Dream was also generally the passenger princess. Plus, Nightmare was glaring daggers at him through the rearview mirror.
It would be much better to tease Cross while sitting behind him. However, he would have to sit in the middle of Dust and Horror, in the tiny center seat. As he climbed in, he opened his mouth to try and bargain for a window seat. He was cut off before he could even begin.
"If Horror sits in the middle we'll both be squished. Plus, we got here first; and you're the smallest one of all three of us. The middle seat was practically built for you, so deal with it. You snooze, you lose."
Killer sat in between the two and crossed his arms, pouting in some sort of tantrum at being forced to sit in the middle seat. Seriously, literally nobody liked the middle seat; it was super cramped. Horror just ignored the situation, munching on a bag of reheated waffles he must have gotten on his way down.
Nightmare straightened the mirror so he could see his passengers in the backseat. He rolled his eyes and turned around, giving off the same energy as an exasperated mom about to start on a long road trip.
"Killer, they got there first. Fair is fair, now buckle up. If we're going to get on the road we're doing it now. No ifs, ands, or buts."
Killer stuck his tongue out, but after a long glare from Nightmare, he quickly buckled up and turned away. He would be getting his revenge on Dust, just you wait and see. He would learn not to trifle with Killer when it came to seating arrangement.
Error rolled his eyes at the ridiculousness of it all. Seriously, these were full grown men arguing about sitting in the middle seat. On the way to a wedding no less! If Nightmare had any other friends, they probably would have made much better groomsmen. Nightmare was doomed now that Killer was the best man as well. Knowing him, he'd bring a whole toaster to the wedding.
As the car ride went on, it felt like a family road trip. The wedding venue was by a lake in the mountains, and it sure was beautiful. There were nightshade flowers growing all around, alongside some other wilder varieties of flora. Plus, it was so expensive that it was super private, which is what they needed.
Cross glanced at Dream, who was humming and staring out the window. His hand was right there. If Cross just reached out he could- no. Nope, no, nuh-uh. That was his charge; Cross was his bodyguard. It was not in his job description to hold people's hands. Even if that person was a very cute boy.
Not only was he kinda his boss, he was the brother of the person who had originally hired him, Nightmare. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Nightmare didn't approve of whatever moves Cross was making on Dream, because he scowled every single time Cross even looked at him in a way that suggested anything other than professionalism.
Cross sighed, scooting his hand over to his side. He leaned on his arm and wistfully stared out the window, hoping that there was some world out there where he and Dream could be together. He liked to imagine that at least one version of himself out there was happy; it really helped cheer him up.
Killer was frustrated by this. Since Cross and Dream were being boring, he had nobody to tease. Dust had dozed off in his seat, and waking him up would probably result in death by magic. Horror was just munching away, seemingly enjoying watching the world go by out the window. Error was being all smart or whatever and reading a book.
That meant the only person left to bother was Nightmare. This was an incredibly risky move, especially since Nightmare was his employer. However, he knew that even if Nightmare would deny it, he enjoyed having Killer around. He had basic immunity, and as always he planned to absolutely abuse that blessing. He grinned maliciously.
"So boss. Worried about your wedding? What if the lucky lady doesn't like you? I mean, you're practically marrying an urban legend, most people wouldn't even recognize her on the streets. A lot of people like to dress the way she did."
Nightmare eyed Killer in the rearview mirror. He could just ignore him, but he could tell the other was extremely bored. He sighed in defeat and kept himself from rolling his eye as he watched the road, stopping for any of the local wildlife that got in the way, or slowing as they passed it for Horror's amusement.
"Not particularly. Even if she doesn't like me, she agreed to this knowing my reputation. I don't know much about her, and it doesn't really matter. Since she doesn't go out much, I highly doubt either of us have a secret love. Even if she did, it's not my business. Our marriage only goes as far as legal grounds as far as I'm concerned."
Killer whistled.
"Pretty cold there hey boss? You've got a point though. I personally hope whatever bridesmaid I get to walk with is pretty cute. Gotta keep an eye out for other guests and see if there's anyone I wanna ask to dance huh?"
Nightmare smiled slightly. Killer would never change, and in a way having that as a constant was comforting. Even if the other was an extreme pain, he helped keep some excitement into Nightmare's otherwise dull life. This wedding was just another business exchange, so he didn't have any nerves. He would've probably just not gone if he did, but not much could make him nervous.
Suddenly Killer gasped loudly. He was shaking Horror's arm, who was looking at him with warning, as if trying to tell him not to do whatever he was about to do. Although, from his resigned look, it was pretty obvious he knew that Killer had his mind set on whatever he was going to do, and he just went back to stuffing his face.
"Boss! Boss! Quick, stop the car! In that little parking lot over there!"
Killer pointed to a parking lot in front of an old, abandoned farmshed. Nightmare was confused, but he decided it couldn't hurt that much if he gave in to Killer. I mean, it would be good for everyone to stretch their legs, they'd been driving for quite a while. They were about halfway there, so it seemed like a good place. Nightmare pulled in and parked, getting out.
Everyone else, most of whom were asleep, got out and stretched. Horror had been nice enough to wake everyone up. Dream pulled a cooler out of the trunk, and made sure everyone had a water bottle. He still held two extras; the ones for Cross and Killer. He looked around confused.
"Has anyone seen where Cross and Killer have gotten off to? I saw Killer dragging Cross off somewhere earlier, and they haven't come back."
Dream's question was a self-fulfilling prophecy however, as a high pitched scream was heard from behind the shed. Everyone exchanged glances and ran to the back, a quite comical and strange scene meeting their eyes once they got back there.
Cross was trying to run away, but Killer was dragging him towards something. What was it that he was so afraid of? As they got closer, the puzzle was solved. Still, the answer made no sense, especially for the super tough bodyguard.
Cross was standing there, almost in tears; trying to escape from a Cow. Horror, who knew what was happening, just turned around and walked away, unamused. Everyone else watched as Dream rushed over to scold Killer and try and comfort a very scared Cross.
Dust snickered. Nightmare just rolled his eye and started the trek back towards the van, and Error rubbed his temples in confusion and minor frustration.
"For someone so afraid of cows, you think it would occur to him that his color scheme kind of looks like one."