Aftercare uwu

And let's momentarily forget my headcannon that Nightmare hates water--


It was finally quiet in the bedroom, the only sound being Cross' ragged panting breaths and Nightmare's calm ones. They lay down on the bed facing each other, the blanket tangled messily around their legs and remnants of the smaller's clothes thrown across the floor carelessly.

Cross clumsily grabbed hold of his husband's hand, fingers barely able to curl around his palm and hold on.

"Tired?"

He gave a small nod, but tried to sit up with trembling arms. "I-I... I w-wanna bath..."

Nightmare smiled softly and nodded, pushing his arms under the completely rawed smol and pulling him up into his chest. "Of course, angel."

He stroked the top of his skull gently with a hand, pupils locked onto Cross' half lidded ones. Stepping to the door, he undid the triple locks and walked out, heading down the corridor. "You did so well, precious..."

Cross dug his face into Nightmare's hoodie, not caring about the mess he might have made all over it. He felt tired and drained, his vision still blurry with tears.

They stepped inside the royal bathroom, the deep blue tiles being a calming colour. The king gently set Cross down on the edge of the deep, wide bathtub, a tentacle pushing the plug in and turning the taps.

Scalding hot water and icy cold flowed from the two taps, steam rising as they clashed together in a spray of water at the bottom of the tub and shot down the marble surface, steadily starting to fill it.

The oreo stared down at the floor woozily, his pelvis and entire lower body aching with pain and the lingering tingles of ghostly pleasure. He lifted a hand up to wipe the mess of drool and release that caked his chin, only succeeding in smearing it more and getting his hand covered.

Beside him Nightmare snickered, taking a warm, plush towel from the heated rack and crouching in front of him. "C'mere, silly."

He wiped away the sticky mixture from his face, murmuring sweet nothings all the while and rubbing small circles on Cross' knee that sent shivers vibrating through his whole body. "Better?"

He nodded wordlessly, pupils rolling up to lock onto his shakily. His body was slick with sweat and covered in a mixture of both their release - majority his - and tears. Soul residue ran messily down his spine and made him tense every time the thick liquid slipped into the cracks between his vertebrae's.

He smiled and leaned down to give him a kiss on the forehead, the smaller's soul fluttering as he did so. "We'll get you chocolate after this, yeah?"

"Y-Yeah..." He felt excited at the thought, knowing that Nightmare always spoilt him after their sessions. "Cuddles too..."

The taller snorted, pouring a decent amount of bubble maker into the bath and watching as the shiny hollo balls built up rapidly from the churning water. "And cuddles, of course."

The bath was now halfway full, piles of luminescent bubbles piling up around the edges and making a rather impressive tower down at the end with the taps. Nightmare waited for a little longer before turning them both off, a finger dipping into the hot water. A small ripple formed in response, the rings spreading out across the water slowly before lapping against the edge of the tub and disappearing.

Stepping back, he tugged off the last remaining item of clothing on him - his hoodie - and dropped it to the floor in the corner. "It's ready now, precious."

Cross craned his sore neck back to look at the bath below him, the water looking ever so inviting and warm. He made no protest as Nightmare pulled him up into his arms and stepped into the tub, the perfectly temperatured water going half way to his knees and lapping around them endlessly.

The taller slowly sank down into the tub, Cross being lowered down after him. The skeleton tensed at first as his tailbone hit the water, but soon went limp against his lover's chest as his body was submerged in the liquid. It sent waves of lovely warmth through his body, his fingertips tingling and sinking down up to his shoulders.

Nightmare wrapped his arms around his waist and let Cross' head lean on his chest, his entire upper half still out of the water. He rubbed fond circles on his shoulders, watching as his lover would shiver deeply every time his fingers trailed closer to his shoulder blades. He dragged them up to his neck, rubbing small and careful circles over new and faded bruises that littered his jaw line and below.

Cross purred sleepily and closed his eyes, melting from all the lovely affection. His body was in power-off mode, nothing registering to him other than than Nightmare's fingers and the warm bath.

The water made it feel like he was being enveloped in a hug, the slightly tight feeling making him feel safe. And the added plus of Nightmare actually hugging him from behind was a greatly appreciated bonus.

"I'm going to wash you a bit, okay sweetheart?" Nightmare murmured, his fingers brushing over his cheek lightly. The smaller silently nodded in response, feeling him lean over to reach for the many soaps stacked up along the rim around the back of the bath.

He poured a generous amount of mint and chamomile scented body soap. He rubbed his hands together and let the liquid froth up, bubbles squeezing through the gaps in his fingers and popping. He then slathered the slightly green tinted liquid over the smaller's shoulders, massaging it in.

"M-Mm...~" Cross purred softly and let his shoulders sink down loosely, leaning into his touch.

Nightmare looked down at him fondly and slowly worked his way down to his spine, kneading the knots in it while also ridding it of thick soul residue. He also washed his arms. It wasn't needed, but he knew Cross would appreciate it more.

"Mhn... N-Nightmare th-that's...! Mm...~" He dug his face into his chest and shivered, back arching helplessly as his hands ghosted over his pelvis, fingertips on his hips.

"I know precious, I know." He pressed a a kiss on the top of his skull, fingers working away at his pelvis and scrubbing off the sticky mess clinging to his smooth bone. His touch sent Cross into a sleep-like state, his eyes not able to open even if he tried. They felt so heavy, physically impossible to focus on anything other than the wonderful feeling of Nightmare's hands rubbing him clean.

Shuddering as his hands ran down his thighs, the smol halfheartedly pulled his knees up to his chest so that Nightmare could reach them. He happily complied and worked his way down his thighs before stopping at his knees and rubbing small circles on them with his thumbs.

"There... All squeaky clean." He murmured, resting his chin on top of his skull.

Cross smiled weakly and pulled a hand up to grip onto his ribs, pulling himself closer to his chest and just relishing the warm comfort of the bath.

"You wanna get out?" He traced random shapes on the back of his neck, feeling rather tired himself.

"No..." He shook his head firmly. "I wanna stay here a little longer..."

"Alright, that's okay." He tipped his head back and let it hit the tiled wall, his eye closing. It was honestly relaxing sitting like this with Cross pressed up against his chest like a clinging koala baby.

They stayed like that for a few minutes in peaceful quiet, and as much as he wanted to stay like that for possibly forever, falling asleep probably wouldn't be the best for either of them. His spine was already starting to feel locked up and stiff.

"Alright Cross, time's up." He curled his fingers around the edge of the tub and pushing himself up, Cross whining in protest.

Standing, he pulled himself out of the bath and took Cross with him. He placed him down on the edge of the tub once more, taking a towel from the rack and smothering his body in it.

The bean groaned and pushed the towel down until it was out of his face, draping it round his shoulders and letting Nightmare dry him thoroughly. He was still half asleep and incredibly drowsy, eyes focusing tiredly on the fluffy black rug on the floor by his partner's feet.

Nightmare gave him a pat on the head and grabbed his own towel, his body not needing much of it really seeing as only half of him went underwater and his body was pretty wet anyway nonetheless. Wrapping it round his waist, he held out a hand for his lover.

Cross gladly accepted it, his eyes half-lidded as he stumbled to his feet and gripped onto him, his legs weak, shaky and almost buckling beneath him. He felt two tentacles curl around his waist for support, his head pressing into Nightmare's side and arms wrapping around his waist as they pulled the plug and shuffled down the hallway and back to the bedroom.

The smaller sat down on one of the comfy purple armchairs in the corner of the room and rubbed his eyes wearily, watching as Nightmare tugged off their ruined bedsheets and tossed them carelessly by the door to be sorted tomorrow.

The octopus walked round to him on the way to the wardrobe, dropping something hard and oblong onto his lap.

Blinking groggily he looked down at his legs to see a bar of milk chocolate, the sleek purple wrapper shining from the light of the dark crystal chandelier hanging from above. A smile quickly formed on his 'lips' and his fingers worked at opening the packet, the plastic peeling back slickly to reveal the gorgeous dark brown chocolate inside.

He brought the bar up to his mouth and bit into the corner of a square, relishing the divine taste that spread across his tongue and warmed his soul. It was just what he needed.

Nightmare watched him closely as he pulled a new sheet over the royal double bed and chucked a new set of pillows on along with a clean blanket, the other ones not really in the condition to sleep with. He kicked the dirty sheets into the far corner of the room, leaning them in a bundled heap as he walked to the wardrobe once again.

Pulling out just a hoodie for himself, he wriggled into it and smoothed it down over his pelvis, the hem of it just barely covering. He then grabbed a light grey sweater for Cross, waking over to him and shaking his head softly in amusement upon seeing him nibbling childishly at the chocolate bar.

"Let's get some clothes on you, yeah?"

Cross nodded and placed his chocolate bar down, holding his hands up in the air demandingly.

"You're a right princess, aren't you." He muttered, pulling the oreo's hands through the fluffy sleeves and slipping it over his head with no problem, the hem reaching to halfway down his thighs.

"Mhm." He looked up at him sleepily, one eye closed as he rubbed it with a fist.

"Alright, bed time for you my highness." He bowed and held out a hand, earning a tired giggle that followed closely by a yawn. Taking it happily, Cross let Nightmare guide him to the bed, mumbling apologies as he managed to bump into a chair, the chest of draws and the bed post. "Whoops."

"Clumsy idiot." He said fondly, watching as his favourite skeleton collapsed on their bed and buried his face into the new pillows.

He slipped in beside him and pulled the blankets up to their shoulders, a hand resting on Cross' cheek and rubbing little circles absentmindedly.

He purred weakly in response, the sound so quiet that he could have missed it from the gentle pounding of rain against the bedroom window covered by curtains.

"You always make me so proud sweetheart, yo did such a good job today..."

Cross smiled and reached out from his hand, squeezing it warmly once he got a grip. Nightmare grinned back and leaned in to press their mouths together. The kiss was gentle and sweet, tingles running through their 'lips' as the taller pulled back and let his forehead gently bump against the other's.

"Love you, peanut."

"Mmh, love you too."

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Longer than I thought it would be woa

Basically I was starved of aftercare in an rp so I was like o h I guess I'll just w r i t e it (which I'm fine with by the way lmao I knew it wouldn't happen)

But uh y e a

Just the idea of Nightmare turning from d a d d y to soft boy looking after his exhausted and wrecked smol makes my heart go big fast

And I just love aftercare like suxhsjsjdhdh it's so sweet and uwu that I just can't-

Ahahahdhysjgydhsyxtcyd

-Jess-