Work Text:
“Nini!” shrieked Dream happily as he collided into you.
‘Nini’ was a nickname the child had given you after he took a liking to you once you moved into Nightmare’s castle. He opened up to you rather quickly, considering he’s a babybones.
The rest of the gang weren’t too keen on you because you were a human. Thankfully, Cross and Horror warmed up to you, so you usually did your best to avoid Dust and Killer, especially the eyeless skeleton. Dust was mostly indifferent towards you. You didn’t know what Nightmare thought about you, he always kept a cool and nonchalant facade.
You picked him up easily, his legs wrapping around your torso as his arms snaked around your neck. He nuzzled into your shirt, humming with content.
“Good morning, Dream,” you uttered.
“How did you sleep?” you inquired.
He chuckled nervously in response. “I-I had a nightmare and Nighty comforted me…” he explained sadly. You patted the top of his skull warmly before you set him down on the ground. You bent down to eye-level with him.
“If you’re ever feeling upset, you can come to my room, okay?” you offered.
Dream’s eye-lights lit up like a Gyftmas tree. He let out a loud gasp. “Really?!”
You nodded in reply. He embraced your leg. “Thanks, Nini! You’re the best!” he cheered before he hurried off into the kitchen to greet the other skeletons.
You sipped your drink, making your way back to your bedroom. You already finished breakfast, which you did rather quickly because you preferred to not be around Dust and Killer. They didn’t treat you kindly, so the less you were with them, the better.
Nightmare emerged from the hallway where you strolled down, a yawn leaving his teeth.
“Hey, Nightmare,” you said.
He grunted tiredly in acknowledgement.
“You’re more than welcome to join us for breakfast, you know,” he replied sternly.
You sent him a sad smile before you waved your hand dismissively. “Nah, it’s alright. I already ate,” you assured him. He rolled his singular eye-light, narrowing his eye-socket at you. He didn’t press you any further, moving forward silently.
You let out a long sigh as you continued down the hallway.
A knock on the door filled your ears. Your head perked up from where it hung to read a book on your lap. You shut the book with a soft thud , setting it on the nightstand.
“Come in,” you announced.
The yellow-clad skeleton peered his head out of the door as he pushed it open. He shuffled towards you, a slightly crumpled piece of paper in his gloved hand. He offered the paper to you, crawling on your bed.
“I made you a drawing!” sang Dream.
You quirked a brow, taking the paper from him. Your lips curled into a gentle smile as you gazed at the artwork. Dream drew poorly drawn stick figures, all of them being the members of Nightmare’s gang, you and Dream himself.
“This is lovely, Dream. Did you show the others?” you complimented.
“Uh-huh! I want you to keep it! The guys already have gifts from me, so it only makes sense you get one, too!” beamed Dream.
You embraced him warmly as he leaned into your comforting touch.
“You’re a sweetheart, Dream. Thank you,” you murmured.
He sent you a toothy grin once you let go of him. He shimmied off your bed. “I have to go, now! Rory and I are baking cupcakes!” he hummed, bidding you farewell. You waved him off.
You pulled out your desk drawer, clutching a tape dispenser before you ripped a piece off, sticking the tape onto the paper Dream gave you. You hung the drawing on the wall beside your bed. Feeling satisfied with your work, you grabbed the book from your nightstand, opening it to the page you were last on.
Moments passed in a comfortable silence as you read your book. Before you knew it, your eyes scanned the last page. You stretched your limbs and hopped off your bed, making your way to the library to return the book.
You found Nightmare fast asleep in his chair. You couldn’t help but softly smile his way, placing the book back in its original position before you grabbed a blanket that laid half-hazardly on another chair. You draped it on Nightmare’s figure, tucking him in.
You spun on your heel, realizing Killer was in the doorway, leaning on the frame. You held in a surprise squeak. You swallowed thickly and as you were about to take your exit, Killer stopped you with a gesture of his hand.
You pressed your hands to your chest nervously.
“I-I don’t mean any harm, Killer…” you muttered.
He scoffed at your words. If he had eye-lights, you were sure he would’ve rolled them.
“You’re lucky, Dream’s fond of you. If he wasn’t around, you’d be dust right now, human…” he warned darkly.
“... I’ve done nothing to you. You have no reason to dislike me,” you retorted.
“I know your kind, you’re all the same. You humans are terrible, vile creatures,” hissed Killer.
He hoisted you in the air by the hem of your shirt, your legs lifting off the ground. You began to panic, sweat rolling down your temple. You had an urge to kick him, but decided against it.
You wanted to prove to him not all humans were bad.
“If… If you gave me a chance, you’d see I’m not that bad, likable, even,” you stammered.
He laughed humorlessly before he roughly dropped you to the ground. He turned around, vanishing out of sight as you stood to your feet, shakily brushing dust off your pants.
… You booked it to your bedroom once you were sure the eyeless skeleton wasn’t nearby.
You sunk to the floor as quiet sobs left the back of your throat.
You pondered if you could, somehow, get back to the Omega Timeline, where you were originally after your world was destroyed by a heartless outcode. You were visiting different AUs and something must’ve glitched, because you landed in Nightmare’s hideout instead of the AU you were previously going to visit.
You missed your friends and family… your heart ached with longing.
Killer made it clear you weren’t welcome here, so what was the point of staying? Dream was the only one who actually enjoyed your presence.
Eager footsteps trailed towards your bedroom.
You scrambled to your feet, aggressively wiping away your tears. The door swung open, revealing the tiny skeleton with a cupcake in his right gloved-hand. His sockets were closed as he trotted into the bedroom.
You sniffled, wiping your nose with the back of your hand.
His face morphed into concern as he quickly approached you, sitting beside you on the carpeted floor. He slowly placed the cupcake on the floor next to him.
“W-What’s wrong?!” spluttered Dream.
You laughed nervously, trying to hide your pain with a strained smile. Dream wasn’t phased as he climbed into your lap.
“... Was someone being mean to you? I know Kiki and Dusty haven’t been very kind…” explained Dream.
“It… doesn’t really matter, I-I shouldn’t even be here, anyway,” your voice trailed off.
The babybones tilted his head in confusion like a puppy. “If it wasn’t for you, Dream, I probably wouldn’t even be here in the first place. I just got lucky,” you continued solemnly.
The child shook his skull vigorously in response, disagreeing with your words. “No, you’re wrong! I-I’m sure Nighty would’ve taken you in, no matter what the others think!” he argued.
You kept your mouth shut, a sigh leaving your lips.
He gazed up at you with puppy-dog eyes. He reached for the cupcake, handing it over to you. You complied, staring at it.
It was a red velvet cupcake, buttered frosting on top of it. You slowly unfolded the colorful wrapper, sinking your teeth into the treat. You couldn’t help but hum at the taste.
“I helped Rory with the frosting! We made it from scratch,” said Dream with a small smile.
“You did very well, Dream,” you responded, patting his skull again.
“Dream? Where are you?” shouted Nightmare.
Said skeleton shot his skull up, trotting towards the door. “I’m in here, Nighty!” replied Dream. The door pushed open, Nightmare taking a step in.
“Play-time is cut short. You need to take a bath,” said the goopy skeleton firmly.
His singular eye-light locked onto your figure. Your heart began to hammer in your chest as you sent him an awkward smile.
“... Am I interrupting something?” questioned Nightmare, arching his brow-bone.
“No, not at all! Dream was just giving me a cupcake,” you explained urgently.
He narrowed his eye-sockets at you, his teeth drawing to a frown. He folded his arms. “I don’t appreciate liars, Y/N…” he said darkly.
You held your hands up in a calm gesture. Dream quickly interjected, tugging Nightmare out of the room by his sleeve.
“I’ll be back later, Nini!” cheered Dream, before he sent you a thumb-up and left.
Like he said, the babybones returned half an hour later. He hopped on your bed, grabbing hold of a duck plushie that laid on your mattress. Horror had given you it during one of their outings of the AUs. The energetic child rubbed his cheekbone against the fur of the stuffed animal, sitting beside you on the bed.
It surprised you to see Nightmare waltz his way into your bedroom, taking a seat in your desk chair. You stared at him dumbly, gaping like a fish out of water. Dream greeted him warmly, bouncing excitedly in his spot on the bed.
The dark skeleton intertwined his phalanges together, gazing at you. “Explain to me what happened earlier,” he demanded, albeit softly.
You scratched the nape of your neck. You shrugged, trying your best to remain calm. “I-It’s not important,” you stuttered.
He extended his tendril, slapping you lightly on the head.
“It’s not nothing. I could sense your dread. I was going to visit you myself, but Dream beat me to it. There’s no point in being stubborn,” he growled.
You sighed, feeling defeated. “Alright, fine! I was returning a book I borrowed from the library and… Killer paid me a visit,” you huffed.
“Kiki wasn’t too nice with me either, at first, so I understand,” nodded Dream.
Nightmare scrubbed his socket, mumbling incoherently under his teeth. “I’ll take care of this,” he completed before he strided out of the room. You leaped off the bed, running towards the goopy skeleton to stop him, but you lost your footing and rammed yourself face-first into his ribcage.
You both plummeted to the floor. It took a moment for Nightmare to regain his composure, curling his tendrils around your torso before he deposited you on the ground with a plump . He glared daggers at you.
“S-Sorry!” you stuttered out.
“I swear , you’re more clumsy than Dream,” muttered Nightmare bitterly, rising to his feet.
“Hey!” shouted said skeleton, puffing his cheekbones out in response to his words.
“I take it you don’t want me to chew Killer out, then?” said Nightmare, arching a brow-bone.
“Please don’t,” you begged.
“We can’t just avoid this problem. Killer will continue to be a menace if nothing is done. I’d prefer it if all of my inhabitants got along,” explained the goopy skeleton.
Dream leaped off the bed, making his way towards Nightmare’s side. “Well, I’ve already fixed Kiki and Crossy’s issue, so I think I can fix this one, too!” gleamed Dream, stars in his eye-sockets.
“Why don’t we play hide-and-seek?” suggested the child.
Nightmare shrugged. “I suppose we can, but I can’t for long. I have paperwork that needs to be finished,” replied the dark skeleton.
“Yay! I’ll gather everyone in the living room!” exclaimed Dream as he raced out of your room, leaving you alone with Nightmare.
You coughed into your shoulder, averting your gaze away from him.
“... Why did you even let me stay here? I’m just some worthless human. I have nothing of use,” you muttered.
“That’s not true. You babysit Dream and he adores you. Not to mention you clean up the castle when we’re out,” retorted Nightmare with a scowl.
“That’s the least I can do, after you’ve given so much to me,” you said pleadingly.
Picking up strays is what I’m good at , thought Nightmare, but he remained silent. He wouldn’t admit it, but he appreciated your presence, after Dream took a liking to you, that is.
One of his tentacles curled around your wrist, pulling you forward. “Let’s go. Dream’s waiting for us,” he said calmly, turning on his heel, exiting your room.
You followed suit, emerging into the living room where the rest of the skeletons awaited you. Dream took notice of the both of you, skipping towards Nightmare happily.
Tension hung in the air as Killer glared darkly your way, causing you to shrink in on yourself. Cross caught onto the staring.
“Why’re you so rude to Y/N? You have no reason to be upset with them,” pointed out Cross.
He scoffed in response. “If you weren’t such a numbskull , you’d realize-”
“Crossy isn’t a numbskull, and Nini doesn’t deserve your ant… antag-onistic behavior!” interjected Dream sharply. He was proud of himself for saying such a tough word to pronounce, but he could savor his victory later.
“I’ve decided we’re gonna have a movie night!” continued Dream, pointing his index phalange in the air.
“Weren’t we… gonna play… hide-and-seek…?” inquired Horror slowly.
Dream paused for a moment. “I’ve changed my mind! A movie night is better!” nodded the child.
“I won’t be able to stay for long,” commented Nightmare. Dream pouted childishly in response.
“We better start soon, then!” announced Dream as he rummaged through the DVDs.
The remaining skeletons all took a seat on various parts of the couch and the love chairs on either side of said furniture. Out of a spot, you anxiously took a seat on the rug. The small twin swiftly pushed the disk into the player. Dream strolled towards Nightmare, climbing onto his lap comfortably.
The movie began.
The monochromatic skeleton left his spot on the couch to get popcorn drizzled with chocolate on top of it. He came back less than five minutes later, and to your surprise, he took a seat beside you on the rug. You blinked dumbly at him.
“It’s not fair for you to sit on the ground all alone,” whispered Cross matter-of-factly.
He handed you the bowl with a smile. You couldn’t help but grin back, popping a few kernels in your mouth. A tendril sneaked its way to the bowl, stealing several pieces of the popcorn. You turned your head, smirking at Nightmare, who handed a couple of them to Dream.
Eventually, the credits rolled.
You stretched your limbs, rising to your feet. You realized Dream was fast asleep in Nightmare’s arms. He must’ve decided to stay, then.
The goopy skeleton gazed fondly at his younger twin. He hoisted him carefully in his arms, standing up.
“I’m gonna take him to bed. Goodnight, everyone,” said Nightmare before he exited the living room.
You rubbed at your eye, a yawn leaving your lips. Cross grabbed the now empty bowl and trotted towards the kitchen, bidding you and the others farewell.
You and the other skeletons left the area, making your way to your respective bedrooms. You shut the door behind you with your foot before you flopped on your bed, inhaling the scent of your recently washed pillowcase and comforter.
You feel deep into a dreamless sleep soon after.
You woke up with a startled jolt, peculiar noises filling your ears. You dragged your feet out of your comforting bed, mind muddled with sleep. You twisted the icy doorknob open, stumbling towards the source of the noise.
You found yourself in front of Killer’s door. You paused for a moment, and against your better judgment, you gently opened the door. You poked your head in, taking the scene in front of you.
Killer’s knees were drawn to his ribcage, shivering as if he were in the middle of winter. His sockets were closed, mumbling incoherently under his teeth. Rows of bones surrounded him, trapping him inside of it. Although you should’ve gotten Nightmare to take care of this situation, you decided to help him yourself.
It didn’t come as a surprise to you that he was having a nightmare. Almost every night, one skeleton usually had terrible dreams. You swallowed thickly, marching forward.
“K-Killer… it’s me, Y/N…” you stated, voice wavering.
Silence was your only response.
You took several steps towards him as he continued to judder. You were only a few centimeters away from his bone attacks.
“Killer, wake up!” you cried desperately.
At a loss for what to do, you grabbed a book from the shelf and launched it at Killer’s skull. Thankfully, there was enough space between the bones to throw the book.
There was an audible oof from Killer as the book fell onto his bed. He growled animalistically, staring at you in confusion.
“What the hell…?” mumbled the skeleton.
The bones disappeared out of sight.
“Why’re you in my room?!” barked Killer.
“Y-You were having a nightmare!” you exclaimed.
He paused for a moment as you teetered on either side of your feet nervously.
“Well, I’m fine now. You can leave,” muttered the eyeless skeleton.
“... Are you sure you’re okay?” your voice trailed off.
He let out a heavy sigh, rubbing at his eye-socket. “Why do you even care? I’ve been awful to you,” retorted Killer.
You fiddled with your hands. “Well, yeah, but… I still care about your well being…” you argued back.
Your words stunned him into silence. He stared at you as if you had formed two heads. He folded his arms, narrowing his sockets.
“I’ll be alright. This happens often, I’ll manage,” said Killer softly.
“If you say so… Anyway, if you’re having a dreadful night, you can come to me, okay?” you offered.
You knew he wouldn’t accept your offer, but you laid it on the table, just in case he was interested.
“Thanks… I guess…” replied Killer.
He crawled off the bed, his feet hitting the carpet floor. He made his way towards the door, stopping to turn to you.
“‘M gonna play Super Smashing Fighters, you can tag along before I change my mind,” said Killer.
Your face broke into a wide smile as you followed suit.
Little did you know Nightmare was watching your encounter unfold from the shadows, pleased the both of you could finally get along.