When Nightmare dragged him out of bed at the crack of dawn Swap didn't know what was going to happen.

He was even more concerned when Nightmare tugged off his clothes and unwrapped Swaps bandages.

Swap shook. Scared the other was going to repeat last nights events.

Thankfully his fears were unanswered.

Instead, the larger ported them both to paradise.

An indoor hot spring.

The room was large. Much, much larger than the bedroom.

Old wooden ceiling and marble flooring.

Three of the walls were made from the same wood. The forth was made of  Japanese style shoji panels.

Taking up nearly the entire floor was a bubbling, steamy spring. Nothing but a thin ledge wrapped around it and a large flat stone across the back wall. Most likely used as a basking spot and sauna.

When Nightmare set him into the water, he nearly melted.

His aching, sore bones relaxing in the warm fizzy water. It felt magical, literally. Swap was pretty certain there was some type of healing properties that were added to the spring.

The water didn't feel deep near the rims, only a few feet deep. But it seemed to slowly slope down in the middle.

The little skeleton allowed himself to practically sink till his head was barely bobbing above the water.

Nightmare, thankfully, didn't join him. Instead the larger monster made his way to the large stone on the other side of the room.

Swap closed his eye, sighing. He hoped that this was a recurring thing.

But sadly he had his doubts.

Skeletons didn't need to bathe as much a humans and some other monsters.

It was only necessary every few weeks to scrub out any dirt and dust gathered between their joints.

Or to have one after sex to wash away any sweat and magic before it stains. Swap was pretty sure that was the reason they were bathing today.

Besides that there's no use in bathing unless for relaxation purposes.

Swap sat up, glancing to see Nightmare now sitting cross legged on the flat stone, before examining himself.

His ribs were just as he imagined, fucked up. There were webs of cracks and missing chips in his bones. All of which would most likely leave scarring.

One of his lower left ribs was missing an entire inch of bone leaving an obvious gap. Hopefully without aggravating it and letting it to properly heal the bone will grow back and fuse.

His sternum had seen better days. Deep bite marks where plane to see, flushed in his magic to show irritation.

He sighed sadly, angrily, knowing those would leave a mark as well.

The small skeleton reclined back, resting his head on the ledge.

He couldn't help but wonder how many more scars, cracks, and bites he'll get.

"Pet! Come here." Nightmare suddenly called out.

Swap jerked his head, body tensing. He furrowed his brow, wondering what the other wanted.

Hesitantly he stood, stumbling a bit do to his aching hip, and made his way over.

He walked along the edge, not wanting to swim through the middle. Without a doubt he wouldn't be able to make it with how sore he was.

Nightmare watched him, seemingly bored. His tentacles waving lazily.

"What do you think about 'Muffin'?" The larger said as he reached the stone.

Swap looked up at him in confusion. "W-what?"

"For your new name." Nightmare said simply, giving a smirk.

Swap froze. At first unsure of what the other meant.

Then he remembered. He had been to engulfed in what was happening at the time to register the others words.

"Why can't I keep my name?" Swap asked fearfully.

His name was, well, his! He couldn't give it up!

Nightmare rolled his eyes. "Because there's literally thousands of Underswap Sanses names 'Swap'. That's so bland and over used."

He tried to protest but Nightmare continued, ignoring his desperation.

"I can't call you Blueberry because that's the original Swap Sans name. Berry is the name of the Swap on my brothers stupid Dream Team. I hate that bastard so theres no way I'm naming you the same and Blue is the little Swap Error brings over sometimes so it'd be confusing." The larger waved his hand nonchalantly with a chuckle.

Swap stepped forward emotions boiling in him. He didn't want to lose the one thing he had!

"And actually I think I've heard of a few that have the name Muffin, so never mind on that! Azure or Cobalt maybe? No, no. Those don't match you eyes."

The boil reached its limit. Swap stepped up, slamming his hands on the stone. "I don't want to be renamed!" He growled.

Nightmare gave him a glance before waving a tendril his way, as if he was shooing a fly.

Swap backed up a bit. Not wanting to get hit or risk damaging his already broken ribs more than necessary.

"Indigo is close. But your magic less purple...." Nightmare mumbled to himself as he leaned his head against his fist.

The smaller let himself sink into the water, tears pricking his sockets as he glared up at the other.

He couldn't believe this. He really was nothing but a pet now.

The bastard took everything from him. His life, his body, and now his name.

Nightmare looked down at him for a moment then waved his hand. "Go back to doing what you were doing. I'll think more about it at breakfast."

Swap sat there for a second, looking up at the larger with desperate eyes that were blatantly ignored.

He stood and stumbled, making his way back to the place he had been to try and relaxed again.

Half way back one of the shoji panels slipped opened.

Swap stopped, eyes widening as Cross walked in.

The monochrome skeleton caught sight of him and paused, only for a second, before walking along the edge towards Nightmare.

Swap watched as Cross passed him without a glance.

The small skeleton forced himself to look away and continued back to his spot.

When he finally got there he turned to see Cross kneeled by Nightmare, softly talking.

The sound of the bubbling water and length apart made it impossible for him to hear them.

Sighing softly he turned, placing his arms on the ledge and resting his head on them.

Slowly his tension unwound.

Letting his eyes flutter closed his worries, anger, despair washed away.

Just for a little while.