"This is Halloween this is Halloween HALLOWEEN HALLOWEEN HALLOWEEN-"

What a pleasant way to wake up.

Cross groaned and moved to turn off whatever alarm went off to wake him with the song blasting full volume. He pushed his alarm clock off of the nightstand, and it shut up when it hit the floor.

"PUMPKINS SCREAM IN THE DEAD OF NI- OH ARE WE NOT SINGING THIS ANYMORE?!" Halluciv's voice rang out from god knows where outside of the room. Nightmare slowly slid off of the bed from beside Cross, mumbling something about the holiday under his breath.

Cross got out of bed and stretched, sighing as his bones popped into place. "What time is it...?"

"6. In the morning." Nightmare mumbled. "Too damn early for this Halloween nonsense."

"I thought you loved Halloween."

"It's not as fun when there's nobody outside to scare."

"True." Cross shrugged, moving to the closet to get dressed. Nightmare stayed on the floor for a moment, having the expression of someone who had the stupid song of Halloween stuck in his head.

"Can we go back to bed?" Nightmare mumbled.

"DREAM'S ALREADY AWAKE AND SINCE HE'S NOW THE BOSS OF THIS PLACE I THINK YOU SHOULD COME DOWN!" Halluciv yelled. Nightmare groaned at him to shut up. "OK!"

Dream did indeed seem like the boss of the place, didn't he?

Once everyone was downstairs and had eaten breakfast, a new tray of pumpkin-shaped vanilla cookies on the table magically there now, Dream was already opening a letter. He had a large box beside his spot on the recliner.

"Nightmare and Cross: From the moment they hear/see this letter, they are not allowed to physically separate from each other until dusk. Nightmare, Dream, Marvul, and Halluciv: What's your favorite era? Why is that? Care to tell any stories? (Sorry if that had been asked before, I kinda feel like it had) Xcellence: Refer to Marvul as Marvel for the entire day. Asked by Sansy-ton33."

"God fucking dammit." Marvul groaned. "He did that enough when we first met...!"

"I can get used to that." Nightmare pulled Cross onto his lap, his tentacles wrapping around him protectively. Cross snickered and cuddled back, resting his head on his chest. "And personally I liked the Victorian Era, but I suppose the Medieval times were neat, too. Just don't get Dream and I started on the fuckin' times when that Jesus guy was around."

"Nightmare....remember the hurdy-gurdy?" Dream turned and looked his twin dead in the eye, completely serious when saying 'hurdy-gurdy'.

"Fuck now I want one again." Nightmare stood up, carrying Cross with him. "I'm going to see if all the junk in the attic has one in it. Haven't played it in at least three hundred years...." he mumbled, leaving with the utterly dumbfounded and confused Cross.

Dream noticed how Xcellence look just as confused and the other two looked interested. "You both remember that thing, right? God, it was everywhere!"

"What the fuck is a hurdle-gurdle-thing?"

Halluciv looked at Xcellence and grabbed him by the shoulders. "IT'S THE COOLEST INTRUMENT EVER." he knew X wasn't very musically inclined, nor was Cross or Marvul. He somewhat heard from Dream that Nightmare used to play the violin, though. But boy if he wasn't about to music the fuck out of Xcellence-

Just then Nightmare reappeared, holding Cross like a football and the instrument by the satchel. "This place has weird shit but there was one."

"What else is there? Haven't really looked around the place much." Halluciv asked.

"There was a stuffed shrimp in a suit holding a plate and a banana in a BDSM costume. And a small trebuchet. A lot of weird shit." Nightmare flopped back onto the couch and moved Cross so he was snug beside him.

"Oh."

Nightmare moved the odd-looking instrument that looked like a cross between a violin and a piano so it was on his lap, going into his passive form to get a better grip on it. "This." Nightmare said. "Is a hurdy-gurdy."

"That doesn't explain anything." Xcellence pointed out gruffly. "Go on, play it."

Nightmare grasped the handle and turned it, creating a god-awful screeching sound. Cross hissed. "Jesus Christ, let me tune the damn thing." he muttered.

"While he does that." Dream shrugged, sighing when the instrument produced another loud scree. "And hopefully doesn't break it..." he opened the next letter, lifting the box it was taped to and setting it on his lap.

"Wow. Poor Dream. Dream & Marvul ; Do you feel lonely? I can't help but feel empathy for you. (Which I'm sure you've heard a lot.)Dream; I dare you to eat all the pie that you want! Nightmare, Cross, & Dream: I dare you to hang out with each other! I wanna see what you guys like to do. Lucy: What's your favorite holiday? Also, are you okay? You seemed really upset. Cross: Do you know where milk comes from? Asked by PearlTheCat999."

"I'm not very lonely..." Dream said dismissively, setting the note aside and opening the box, pleased to see the caramel apple pie. He practically kidnapped it, teleporting off to eat it in peace. Marvul just shrugged, indifferent.

"HALLOWEEN!" Halluciv screeched, startling Xcellence. "And I'm fine!"

"I can sense the sugar rush from here." Marvul muttered quietly. Halluciv perked up and turned to him, pupils stars. "Oh god."

"I heard the word sugar?!" without waiting for an answer, he ran off towards the kitchen. Nightmare cringed away from him, seeming to be finished tuning the instrument. He played a few slightly off-tune notes, out of practice.

Cross shifted, still hugging Nightmare's arm but trying not to block him. He glanced up at Nightmare, who blankly stared back at him. "....you don't need to know where milk comes from." Nightmare muttered.

"....o-okay....and I guess Dream can join when this is over." Cross snuggled up against him. Xcellence picked up an envelope and claimed the task of reading them out, opening the letter.

"Nightmare/Cross: Are Horror, Dust, And Killer Dating anyone or have any crushes? If so, Who are they? Asked by HoneySketch."

"Oh, they're all dating. As in, three-way relationship that gets too loud for my liking sometimes." Nightmare muttered. "I'm not judging, and I know they've all had their fair share of being touch-starved and lonely in their own AUs, but they could at least try to be quiet."

Cross face-palmed. "It's sad but I'll admit it's true."

"It's the same with our guys." Xcellence shrugged. "It's hard to sleep sometimes and no restraints can really stop them."

"Huh. Guess they don't even change across timelines." Nightmare muttered. "That's the last letter, right?"

"Yeah."

Nightmare purred and snuggled back against Cross, resting his head on his shoulder. He adjusted the instrument on his lap, moving to play a few notes.

The song sounded vaguely like a what would be played at a festival, Marvul looking incredibly nostalgic as he tapped his foot. Halluciv hummed softly, leaving Xcellence and Cross very confused yet trying to appreciate the music.

It was nice.

~~~

This was written in late October and w o o p two months late-