I suppose this is the aftermath of "The perfect Soldier"

It had been around an hour or two.

Blue's body had dusted long ago, leaving an unattractive pile of grit and black slime in the centre of the throne room to be illuminated by the soft rays that cracked through the stained windows. It was rather pitiful to see really, only the mangled remnants of his blue scarf left undigested by the monstrous slime that had coated his body before. The only part of the skeleton not fully disintegrated yet was the skull. The eye sockets had melted in on themselves and the nose had dripped messily too, the entire top half having dusted and the rest following suit. It would have been fascinating to watch, really.

Sat atop the grand throne the two lovers sat, the king sat up regally while his subordinate spilled himself over his lap, head resting against his chest and fingers playfully tugging at one of his partner's tentacles. His legs sprawled over the arm of the throne and his back was pressed against the other, though an appendage cushioned it so his spine wouldn't ache.

Twirling the tip of the tendril around and around in his fingers he hummed, mismatched pupils flicking up to the Negative Lord and his free hand stretched up to cup his cheek, rubbing smooth circles on it with his thumb. "How much longer do you think it will be until Dreamy and Inky realise we killed poor Blue and storm in?"

Nightmare gave a low chuckle and leaned into his touch, his eye falling shut for a moment as he relished the faintly warm feel of Cross' hand. "Not much longer, sweetheart.. I'd say an hour at most."

"Hm, alright." His fingers rubbed under Nightmare's jaw and the taller gave a rumbling hum, seemingly liking the soft affection. "I suppose I can wait a little longer."

The throne room was no longer lit up a ghostly blue with the moonlight, but more a pastel peach. Sunrise was breaking over the corrupted lands and the sun's rays just managed to pierce through the ashy clouds and past the windows. It was a rather bleak looking sunrise really; the corrupted lands never saw the full force of the sun, only ever a muted and warped dulled version. But no one seemed to mind.

Orange hints pricked their way across the flagstones and reflected nicely off of the misty glass windows, giving the normally deathly room an almost sorrowful spark of life. Of course any feeling of life was shrivelled by the crushing feeling of Nightmare's deathly aura that crushed the castle in its vice like grip. Blue's pitifully determined attitude had been such an annoyance, like an awfully persistent fly constantly trying to land on your leg during a picnic, or seagulls snatching at your food on the beach.

But the fly had been crushed and the seagull shot, resuming everything to the peace and normality the Lord was used to. Though it had been fun to feel Blue's determination break down into fear as he'd stepped close, restraint crumbling as he'd gripped his chin and tipped the skeleton's head up to meet his piercing gaze. Oh what a delight it had been, like a child receiving the bike they'd been wanting for Christmas - with a few discrepancies.

Cross tipped his head to the side thinking for a moment as he stared at the large and intimidating throne room. "Surely this wasn't always just used for sitting upon, did it have any other uses before you took over?" The castle hadn't always been Nightmare's of course. He had.. procured it through a means of negotiations.

"Ceremonies, knighthoods, the occasional Ball too I suppose." His gaze dropped down to Cross and he watched as the soldier slid out of his lap and stretched in front of him before humming, spine popping.

"The occasional Ball, hm? I don't suppose you know how to dance, do you?"

Nightmare's brow slowly rose and a slight smirk twitched at his lips. "The real question is, can you?"

Pushing himself up on his toes Cross was silent or a moment. "When I was trained for becoming a soldier, I learnt a few steps."

"Only a few?"

"Oh shush, c'mere." He held out a hand for his King who gave a weary sigh of a response. "Right now, Cross?"

"Yeah, I mean, I'd love to see Dream and Ink's horrified faces if they walked in to see their best friend dead and us dancing on his dust-" He snorted off in a laugh at the end and glanced back at the large doors. Upon receiving no response he whined, mismatched pupils sliding back over to stare at his lover. "It'll pass the time."

Nightmare stared at Cross' outstretched hand for a moment before giving a low chuckle, their fingers clasping together as he pushed himself to his feet. "I spoil you too much."

"Ah well that's because I have you wrapped right around my finger." Cross gave a sharp toothed grin and twirled his finger around the bloodstained fur on his hood to demonstrate, soon pulling it away to leave a nice spiral.

"Perhaps." Nightmare wouldn't deny it, knowing very well that Cross was right. He stepped down the flagstone stairs to the level floor of the room, his eye flickering over to Blue's remains. He was correct, seeing Ink and Dream'a horrified reactions to their carefree nature would be amusing indeed.

Stood in the centre of the room, illuminated by the soft light they both stood, Nightmare taking Cross' hands. "I trust you know the starting position of a waltz?"

Upon seeing the soldier falter he gave a slight laugh, taking both his hands and positioning them. "This hand stays on my wait, and here your elbow must always be arched above mine. Oh - and try not to step on my feet."

That earned a sneer from Cross but his head quickly dropped down to stare at his own feet in accordance to Nightmare's. His brow furrowed as something scratched beneath his foot and he kicked some dust away with a scoff. Even while dead Blue was managing to ruin his fun. It wasn't too often Nightmare was in a mood as good as this.

Watching him closely the Negative Lord slowly swayed from side to side with a sense of elegance Cross could never hope to achieve. He tried to follow as best he could but cursed as he stumbled at the first step, feet feeling like heavy bricks.

"You're thinking about it too much, Cross. Relax." The King murmured before a soft tune graced his lips with a hum, a rhythm that Cross didn't recognise leaving them. It was ghostly and low, melodic and slightly haunting, but it fitted with every step he made.

Thankfully he seemed to lose his clumsy stumbles within a minute and was soon following his partner's steps, a slight grin forming on his face as they stepped in slow circles in and out of the sunlight cast through the windows. It was like a game, except no one knew the rules, not even them.

Cross couldn't help but snicker as he was dropped into a dip, his fingers digging into Nightmare a little sharper than before until he was pulled back up. "And where did you learn to do this?"

"When you're 506 years old, you pick up a few hobbies or talents." He gave a lazy smirk, watching as Cross pushed the side of his face into his chest and rested it there, the two of them continuing to slowly dance.

They must have continued like that for perhaps fifteen minutes or so, the only sounds being Nightmare's humming, Cross' soft breathing and the occasional crunch of dust underfoot.

Dawn had fully broken when Nightmare felt a change in the air, his cyan eye slowly cracking open to stare at the large double doors as the unmistakeable aura of his brother and one other crept closer.

He chuckled and glanced down at Cross, who had both eyes closed as he rested against him. "Sweetheart, we have guests."

Cross' eyes didn't open but a smile cracked on his lips at the sound of the heavy oak doors creaking open, a gasp following suit.

"Finally."

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They're both evil, they're both crazy, and they're both in love, what more can you want?

Wow an update in under a month (just), what a shocker 😳

I was feeling inSpired so here we are - I hope this continues.

💦QUESTION💦: I have like two or three old drafts of Oneshots that I don't think will ever be published so kdhsusjwuside I was wandering if you'd like to see them Anyway? There's one for imaginary friend where cross goes to therapy 😳😳 and some more cannon stuff etc. I would publish them but most were written nearly half a year ago so the writing is tRash.

But perhaps you'll see them as incomplete drafts if you're interested
👉👈

Okie bye-

And yes Cross and Nightmare waltzed on Blue's dead body, press F once more to pay respects  👁👄👁

-Jess-