I honestly can't tell if I like this or not-

⚠️And first smut of the book- be warned lmao- (at the end)⚠️

Snow spun down from the thick and heavy clouds suspended above the town, the flickering street lamps casting wonderful orange glows down on the blanket of snow spread evenly over the pavements and road like it was installed there purposely.

If it was a painting there would probably be only one lone set of footprints leading out down the pavement like an arrow pointing in the direction or desired travel. But in reality the snow was plagued with muddy and scuffed footprints, none of them making any sort of pretty pattern or specific direction. It was a frenzy of directions and pathways, not at all looking like a painting.

Cross huffed, his breath coming out in a small cloud that spread out in front of him like smoke from a factory before disappearing into the chilly air and becoming invisible. It was nearly seven o'clock and in the winter month, the sky was already deep blue gradienting to black, white speckled starts strewn out across it like white paint splatters on a canvas. It gave him sorta Bob Ross vibes.

The shops around him were lit up brightly with lights that came in many colours, lots of fairy lights now having been strung up around the front window decorations to signify that now October was over, it was officially Christmas time. Lots of people would find it annoying that Christmas decorations and themes were already popping up when the actual event was over a month away. Oh and they'd go ballistic over hearing the supermarket stores playing Christmas songs.

But Cross didn't actually mind all that. Sure, the songs get repetitive and boring after the 20th time, but don't all songs? And he liked all the festive decorations; the gingerbread men and houses, the scratchy tinsel that made him sneeze, the gorgeous smells of roast turkey, potatoes and pudding. He always made an effort to get everyone presents for Christmas, getting all his immediate family and close friends something small and silly for them to enjoy for the day and probably forget within a week. He didn't mind if they did though, he just enjoyed the spirit of it all. And it was tradition for him to try make gingerbread houses in a competition against his younger brother, Chara (He was currently the reigning champion for three years running).

But at the moment he was heading to a restaurant at the end of the next street by the name of "The Blue Apricot". It was a weird and unique name, but then again, weird and unique described the restaurant perfectly. He'd been there once before and had found everything reasonably priced and nice to eat, so thought there'd be no hurt in suggesting it for his meet-up.

He wasn't going there just for leisurely fun, no. His idea of leisurely fun on this freezing November night was curling up on his couch with a mug of hot chocolate while watching something like The Great British Bake-Off on his TV and drooling over how good the food looked. He'd tried recreating a few recipes several times, but that ended with disaster and the kitchen on fire once. That particular event got him evicted from his lady apartment. But that was years ago, and he'd improved since. At least he hoped so.

But anyway, no, he wasn't going by himself just for some food. He was meeting someone. He'd admittedly been seeing them regularly over the slow course of a month now, the two of them having bumped into each other in a large shopping centre when they'd both tried to snatch the last box of Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee on the wrack. Eventually Cross lost the fight for the coffee pods, but on the conclusion that the guy had to buy him a drink later that afternoon. Turned out they got on well and soon enough they were meeting up regularly - around once or twice a week - to this point now.

It would be the seventh time he met up with the guy in the past month - excluding their first meeting - and he couldn't be less excited than the first time, smiling softly to himself. The guy was moody, that was for sure. And he absolutely despised the Christmas season with all soul, as he was told on their last meeting, all the decorations and cheery music apparently putting him in a fowl mood instead of lifting it. But Cross didn't mind, finding his opinions rather funny.

With the image of his friend in his mind, Cross forced himself to take his freezing hands out of his pockets as he finally reached the restaurant entrance. Despite his small skeletal hands being covered by thick, fluffy black gloves, they were still frozen to the bone, trembling as they pressed against the red painted door that had a light sheen of frozen ice coating it.

Shoving it open he stumbled inside, quickly shutting it behind him before the cold air completely ruined the glorious heat that the restaurant provided. It felt like he'd stepped into a completely different world, Antarctica to Africa. The heaters must have been put up to full, going on overdrive as they worked at keeping all the chilly customers warm.

He cast apologetic looks at the people unfortunate enough to be sat at the tables right by the door and pulled his hood down, his sopping scarf and gloves coming off as well. He shivered and unzipped his thick arctic coat, letting it hand loosely off his shoulders as his mismatched pupils scanned rapidly across the tables for any sign of his dat-- friend.

And then he caught sight of him, the dark boned skeleton staring out the window he was sat next to and watching as the snow started building up into quite a force to be reckoned with. Smiling widely Cross walked over, tapping him lightly on the shoulder and then clasping hands tightly together.

He flinched slightly and turned abruptly, the look of annoyance melting into nothing as he realised who his assailant was. "Oh, I was wondering when you'd get here."

Cross' smile dropped momentarily and he looked dismayed. "Am I late?"

He snorted, rolling his one blue eye and waving for him to sit down. "It's fine Cross, only five minutes. But I was starting to worry the storm had swallowed you."

Looking down at the table to hide the faint blush that stained his cheeks Cross nodded, the panic leaving. "Y-Yeah, I was starting to worry about that too."

He stared at him shyly and shoved his coat, scarf and gloves onto the empty seat next to him. "Have you ordered anything?"

"Yep."

"Wh- for me as well?" He frowned, confused.

"Yyyeep." He smirked, pushing the menu towards him. "Two tacos and the deluxe hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows?"

Opening his mouth to retort a different response, he trailed off and looked down at the table in embarrassment. Yes, that was his favourite, the thing he had nearly every time they went out. And damn did a luxuary hot chocolate sound good right now. "Lucky guess."

Giving a laugh, the octopus pet him on the head with one of his tentacles and leaned back in his chair a bit, his unzipped hoodie hanging loosely off his shoulders and exposing about six inches of his black goopy bone before the bunched up fabric around his elbows covered it up from sight. He glanced out the window once more and hummed. "It's mad isn't it - that we can be all warm in here while a literal storm is raging outside."

Following his gaze Cross nodded, watching as a man with his Siberian Husky looking dog was slipping and sliding everywhere across the icy snow as his dog bounded around like a kid at Christmas. It was in its element really. The guy, however, was not. "Yeah, it's like...magic."

As soon as he said that he regretted it, worrying that Nightmare might think of him as stupid or childish for referencing the weather to something like magic. But to his surprise the taller gave a small nod, one finger pressing against the cold window pane. "Yeah, magic."

Cross smiled softly and felt his cheeks heat up once more as the octopus cast him a lazy smirk, his expression sending little fizzles of energy through his soul. "You'll have to walk a long way to get back to your place..."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there." Shrugging dismissively he tore his gaze away from the outside world and focused on the one around him. It was irritatingly Christmas themed, with tinsel woven through all the wooden rafters supporting the ceiling. Some fake wreaths of holly had also been hung up decoratively, but that was it. Thank god. It was a rule for him that nothing Christmas themed could even be heard of till after his birthday, otherwise it pissed him off. Oh, and it had to all be gone by January 1st. But most people followed that anyway.

Noticing his irritated gaze Cross spoke quietly, glancing around anxiously. "I tried to pick somewhere with minimal Christmas decorations, sorry."

"No." He looked at him in surprise, shaking his head. "It's fine, I was just looking around."

The smaller gave a smile and looked like he was about to say something else, but cut himself off as he caught sight of a waiter walking towards them with a tray full of two drinks, and two meals. "The foods here."

Nightmare blinked and glanced behind them to see the waiter stop at their table and picking up a large mug.

"Coffee and toasties?"

Nightmare raised a finger subtly, nodding and muttering a silent thank you as it was placed down in front of him, his meal following. He hated talking to people, really. It was just so awkward, and had countless opportunities to go wrong. Ordering the food had been painful enough by itself.

The waiter hummed and placed the remaining drink and plate down in front of Cross before stepping back. "Enjoy your meal."

Cross gave a much more enthusiastic thanks and looked eagerly at his large mug of hot chocolate, the actual drink hidden from view by a mountain of whipped cream and pink and white marshmallows that stuck out like gems in a stone. It also had a little speckled blanket of chocolate sprinkles showered over it, the hot beverage looking so good that it made him drool slightly.

Nightmare's drink was the complete opposite of Cross' plain and simple, a mug of steaming black coffee with nothing else other than a saucer and one of those divine Biscoff biscuits in the environmentally bad plastic packaging. He sighed and cupped his hand around the mug, deliciously warm tingles shooting up his fingertips and flowing through his arms like a lazy river. Rubbing his thumbs in mindless circles he stared down at the drink, only breaking his gaze from it when the cutlery was placed down in front of them.

The waiter gave one last "enjoy your meal" before turning and walking off to whoever else needed waiting on and leaving the two skeletons alone.

"It looks so good." Cross breathed, his fingers quickly clasping around his first taco shell and ignoring the knife and fork. Tacos weren't really the kind of food you eat delicately anyway. He took a large bite and had to restrain himself from letting out a mukbanger-moan at how good it tasted, instead referring to closing his eyes instead.

Snorting in amusement Nightmare cut a corner of his cheese toastie off and dragged it away with his fork, watching the yellow stringy cheese stretch out between the two pieces and fall limply to the plate when he pulled it too far. The loose ends snapped and coiled up a little dejectedly, splayed out like little fingers. He ate the little corner and let his focus wander back to the snow outside once more, the snow having seemed to finally reached it's peak. It wasn't getting any softer, but wasn't getting any heavier either.

Any footprints that had been visible previously were now gone, covered entirely by a thick blanket of snow that stretched out across the streets smoothly. It was piled up against the wall edges of house walls, the parts of snow that hadn't been flattened down by trampling feet building up to just over twice as tall as the rest of it. The postbox on the far corner of the road had a thick snow hat on it, chunks occasionally breaking off only to be quickly replaced with more.

Thankfully the restaurant was only full of blank background noises; the clink of cutlery, conversations, and scraping of chairs being pushed back and forth. There wasn't any cringey Christmas music or any music in general really. Sunday night was music night at this place, where they'd play old tracks from different genres. He was deeply thankful they'd decided to meet up on Saturday for that exact reason.

The two sat in comfortable silence while enjoying their meals, occasionally making small talk that ended rather fast. But neither of them minded really, they just enjoyed each other's company. They both sipped at their hot drinks, Cross ending up with more of it around his mouth than actually in it. That resulted in a coughed notification followed by awkward and embarrassed wiping of with a napkin.

For whatever reason again Cross felt his cheeks go slightly hot, his eyes cast down at the table in embarrassment as he quickly scrunched up the paper napkin and pushed it to the far side of the table. God, why was he such an embarrassment? "S-Sorry."

"Don't be, it was cute."

As soon as those words had left his mouth, they both froze. Both their faces flushed darkly in embarrassment and Nightmare quickly tried to blurt out apologies his cheeks stained dark cyan. "Oh god- I-I didn't mean it like that- I-I--"

"It's okay--" He smiled nervously, shaking his head. "Thanks..."

The taller gave a weak groan of embarrassment but didn't bring it up again and continued to silently eat his food until there was only crumbs left. Cross however, had practically licked the plate clean, leaving not even a smear of sauce left on his plate before he took his last gulp of hot chocolate.

Nightmare waved over the waiter that had served him and pulled his hoodie back up over his shoulders, zipping it up and shivering. Cross kept his gaze on the wooden surface of their table, far to busy listening to the sound of his pounding soul than anything the two said. He was so focused that he completely missed Nightmare paying for the meal, only jolting back to reality when he'd put his wallet away.

"Wait it was my turn to pay--" He blurted, looking up in surprise as the waiter walked away.

"Too late." Nightmare grinned, flinging his thick fur lined coat over his shoulders and wrestling his arms in before zipping it up and shoving a grey beanie hat on over his skull.

The oreo tried spluttering protests, but found himself cut off as the octopus threw his scarf in his face, laughing.

"Deal with it, Cross." He hummed, picking up the boy's coat for him and bowing mockingly. "You can just pay next time."

As always Cross' soul fluttered a little in excitement from the mention of "next time", a smile forming on his face as he nodded. "And the time after that."

"It's a date." He said, helping the smaller wrap his fluffy black and white scarf around his neck. The skeleton pulled his gloves on, his mind totally blanking the word date from its current buzz of the last perfect-yet-torturing sentence he'd said. But he did manage to force out a quick "yeah".

Pushing their chairs in and double checking they had all their stuff, the two walked to the door, Nightmare pulling it open for Cross and letting him walk out first before following suit. Once outside they realised just how much they'd really appreciated the warmth of the restaurant, a chilling wind sweeping down the road that made imaginary icicles form on every bone in Cross' body. His teeth chattered and he quickly slipped his hands into his coat pockets, already feeling them going quite numb.

Beside him Nightmare stared down the icy road and frowned, not exactly fancying the idea of taking the hour walk home in the dark and snow. "Right, I'll be going then."

Cross must have been thinking the same thing, because within seconds he said something that he instantly regretted. "You should come back to my place--"

The taller blinked, slowly dragging his pupil across to look down at the smaller's hopeful, embarrassed, annoyed, nervous, and cold expression. "...Go back to yours?"

"Yeah, m-my apartment is only fifteen minutes away..." He mumbled meekly, his hands balled into fists in his pockets. Damn that was a mistake.

"Are you sure? I mean, I don't want to take up your space-"

"It's fine! I promise, a-and I can sleep in the living room, you can have my bed." He nodded firmly and stared up him, quick successive shivers rippling through his body and forcing him to clamp his teeth together to stop them making that irritating chattering noise. "B-Besides, I don't want you to slip in the snow and get hurt- you live ages away..."

He snorted in amusement and rolled his eye. "I think your concern is a bit over excessive, but... If you say so. If it'll ease your worried soul."

"It would." Cross nodded and smiled, small clumps of snow falling from his fluffy hood and falling onto his nose. He sneezed, going cross-eyed for a moment and vision going fuzzy.

Laughing, Nightmare nudged him softly and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Let go then, before you catch a cold. Lead the way to your mansion."

"It's not a mansion, it's an apartment." He huffed, rubbing his nose and shuddering before turning in the right direction and starting to make his way down the snowy road.

"Difference?" He snickered and followed close behind, his tentacles rippling in the cold and docile behind him. They weren't the biggest fans of the cold, becoming pretty useless and sluggish. Hibernation if you must.

"A lot." He muttered, his eyes fixated on a brightly lit shop window as they walked past it. It had a large gingerbread man and woman stood at one side, two gingerbread children stood by them with their wide icing smiles and piped buttons. They were surrounded by an entire gingerbread setting, a house, garden and forest built up behind them. Snaking through all this were hundreds of fairy lights, the bright beams illuminating the shop window and casting the shadows of the gingerbread family down on the snowy floor in front of them.

It was the bakers, Cross' absolute favourite shop. They'd always create elaborate setting for each holiday in bread, biscuits, buns and confectionary. For example, this year for Easter they'd made at least twenty bunnies out of hot cross buns, creating a whole grass field with icing covered flowers and little dirt mounds made of crumbled chocolate brownies. And for Valentine's Day they'd created an entire love story out of croissants, chocolates and pain-au-chocolates. And only a few weeks ago, there had been a gory blood scene of gingerbread men dressed up in icing costumes sacrificing some sort of beast to three witches. That was honestly one of his personal favourites to date. He actually had the bakery calendar up in his kitchen, each of the different months holding images of the different displays they'd had over the last year. It was a joy to look at, really, and he bought it every year.

But in this chilly weather, sadly there was no time to stand and stare like he normally did.

Shoving his gloved hands under his armpits he huffed, trying to warm the frozen bone in an attempt to not get some sort of skeletal frostbite.

Walking next to him Nightmare glanced over, one of his hands slipping from it's pocket and reaching out to grab the smaller's and squeeze it softly. "Cold?"

Cross' face flushed softly and he nodded a little, hoping that the blush would just be mistaken as a result of the cold air and snow. "Y-Yeah..."

Rubbing the back of his palm through both their gloves, Nightmare looked down as Cross intertwined their fingers tightly and squeezed tighter. But he didn't comment on it, only smirking a little to himself as he watched the snow fall all around them.

It had slowed drastically since they went into the restaurant, looking like someone had caught them in a slow-mo shot - except it was only the weather that had ceased to recognise time. It was a beautiful sight really, and the dark night sky and twinkling stars only added to that.

Suddenly Cross gave Nightmare a smirking look, the white skeleton gripping his hand tighter. "Have you ever done ice skating?"

"Uh, no? But wHY?!" He shrieked as Cross suddenly jumped and slid down a small slope on the pavement, his shoes sliding smoothly across it and sending the octopus slipping after him. "Cross!"

"Yeah?" He snickered and glanced back at him, gliding scratchily forwards and balancing quite well.

"You're going to make us slip and fall!" He hissed, wobbling and gasping has he windmilled his other free arm to keep his balance and not topple to the floor.

"Oh come on Nightmare, it's not that bad." He let go of his hand and giggled, stepping back a little more and leaving his friend stranded in the middle of the pavement with his arms spread widely either side of him, his eye narrowed into a slit. "Get back here, now."

"Or what?" He gave a wide grin, the blush on his cheeks completely unknown to him, along with the pounding of his soul. "You'll throw a tantrum?"

"No- I'll fucking kill you." He yelped, almost slipping as he took a step. "Sweet mother of Joku--"

Cross covered his mouth with a gloved hand to muffle a laugh, only to squeal in surprise as something cold and thick wrapped around his waist tightly. "Wait--"

He shrieked as Nightmare's tentacle pushed him backwards, his feet slipping and sliding everywhere as he tried to catch a grip on the wet ice and failing miserably. Within seconds his world turned sideways, his body thumping onto the ground. Luckily Nightmare had shoved him more or less onto a snow ditch, the thick fluffy layers of snow cushioning his fall to an extent. But it still sent shock waves of freezing lightning through his whole body.

"You ass!" He yelled, struggling to push himself out of the snow bank. But every time his hands tried to push into the ground and elevate him, they just sunk deeper and deeper into the snow, his gloves soaking wet within seconds. "Nightmare!"

The sound of slow and laboured shuffling rang out and about two minutes later the shit-eating grin of the dark skeleton appeared over his vision, skull and body illuminated by the streetlamp above them, it's beams highlighting them perfectly. "Can I help you, young man?"

"Yes- you can." He struggled to get up once more, his teeth starting to chatter. "I-It's freezing in here--"

Biting back a laugh Nightmare leaned over and held a hand out, his sharp teeth showing. "My, my, that was silly of you."

"Shut up." He muttered, pulling his hand out of the snow and grasping onto his outstretched one. Almost instantly as he did so he felt a spark, his actions ceasing as he looked up at the taller. It had been so sudden, but he'd felt it. A bolt of some sort that, despite the soggy gloves, had sent a river of warmth up his arm and to his soul where it stayed, beating rapidly.

He was certain his face was hot with embarrassment, and his wide eyed expression probably didn't help him much as Nightmare raised a brow. "...You gonna get up?"

Cross choked a bunch of flustered nonsense, his brain momentarily freezing and forgetting what he was even doing. His mind felt foggy and out of touch, his train of thought all over the place like a rollercoaster. Why was he in the snow? Why was he on his back? And why was Nightmare looking so attractive right now?

If he didn't do something soon, he felt that the moment would be ruined and things would get heavily awkward. But then again, he didn't just want to get back up and continue walking in fear of loosing the spark.

So instead he grinned, his grip on his friend's hand tightening and his expression only increasing as it dawned on Nightmare what he was about to do. "cROSS NO--"

He was yanked harshly down into the snow by him, the white flakes consuming his body and wrapping around him like the world's coldest blanket. "YOU DICK!"

All he could do was laugh, gleeful giggles leaving his mouth in a stream as he rolled sideways and fell out the snow pile and staggered drunkly to his feet. "Catch me if you can!"

He took off down the road, gripping onto lampposts, bins, car wing mirrors and shop doors as he slid down the hill at dangerous speeds, nearly slipping and cracking his head on the ground at leat five times in the space of ten seconds.

From behind he could hear Nightmare lurching after him and yelling profanities, quickly stumbling behind at similarly life threatening speeds. And no matter how fast Cross ran, Nightmare's tentacles managed to snatch him and yank him to a stop, the two spinning around and slipping on the ice before finally coming to a stop.

They clutched onto each other's shoulders for balance, feet slipping and shifting everywhere to try get a grip. The part of pavement they were on was still at a slight angle, so within seconds of finding the right balance, they toppled over to the floor again.

Now, if this were a hopeless romance book, Cross might have fell down with Nightmare on top of him, arms either side and faces nearly touching. But because this wasn't one of those books, and there was ice included, that didn't happen. Nightmare fell with a yelp before choking out a cry as Cross' knee connected squarely with his 'stomach' and knocking the air from his non-existent lungs.

He groaned loudly and curled over, Cross spluttering panicked apologies as he stumbled up to his feet and clutched onto a nearby lamppost. "O-Oh god I'm so sorry!"

Pushing up onto his knees Nightmare wheezed and gave a dismissive wave. "It's fine--"

He got back up to his feet and looked around as if slightly dazed before his eye locked onto Cross and he tripped onto his shoulder tightly with a hand. "But let's try to get back to yours without endangering our lives--"

"Good idea." Cross smiled sheepishly and gently removed the taller' hand from his shoulder before boldly intertwining their fingers again.

They actually managed to walk all the way to Cross' apartment without any more slips or falls, only a little stumble at the steps that lead up to the tall apartment block.

Stepping inside they quickly tore their sodden coats, scarfs, gloves and hats off, left in their damp underclothes. Both their trousers were completely soaked through, but there wasn't much they could really do about that.

Cross waved a quick hello to the grumpy looking receptionist in the main lobby before dragging Nightmare up three flights of stairs to his floor. The whole time they were muffling snickers, Cross scolding Nightmare about how one of his neighbours had young children that went to sleep at this time. Yet he was also doing terribly at stopping giggles and laughs, barely able to stagger up the cold stone stairs.

Pulling his keys from his pocket the skeleton quickly pushed them into his lock, the chocolate shaped keyring bouncing against the wood of the door like it always did - an action that happened so often that one side of the painted copper keyring had gone blunt and shiny where the paint had been rubbed off. It was a Cadbury's chocolate bar, the purple packaging being slightly peeled off to reveal the dark squares of chocolate beneath it.

He pushed it open quickly and shyly offered Nightmare into his home, rather quickly wishing that he'd tidied up the apartment before leaving instead of leaving it in a mess when he'd rushed out to meet him at the restaurant. "Sorry a-about the mess..."

The taller stepped in wordlessly and glanced around, taking in the messy coatrack and and pile of shoes stacked up in the corner. "It's fine, you didn't know I was going to come round."

The oreo shut the door behind them and hung his coat up and tossed his scarf and gloves over the radiator. "I-I'm just gonna go get changed, um, I'd offer you some dry clothes but..."

"Nah, don't worry." He grunted and tugged his damp hoodie off over his head, lying it flatly on the radiator and leaving himself in a grey short-sleeved top. "I'll lean against the radiator or something, don't worry."

Cross bit his 'lip' softly and nodded, quickly scurrying off into another room and calling. "I'll be quick!"

Nodding he snickered and let the heat of the radiator flowing through his legs and back, his eye scanning across what he could see of the apartment. He had a nice view of the living room and the view out the window, which was currently blocked by a swirling wall of snow.

It had one nice sized grey sofa facing a decent sized TV with a fish tank next to it, LED lights at the bottom illuminating the water and fish and making them appear to glow blue. Fish visibly darted in and out of seaweed and Little rock structures, neon stripes sliding smoothly down their sides. The walls were white and the curtains dark grey, drawn back to let the minimal light in and when closed, they were clearly meant to block out all outside forces.

The floor was wooden, but a fluffy black rug was strewn out across in front of the sofa, another white circle one pushed against the window where a little desk and chair was positioned. Messy papers and pens were strewn across it along with a few bills and work forms. A simple light hung from the white ceiling with a nice shader around it, another lamp stood proudly next to the sofa and a tiny desk lamp at the table.

He also got a quick glance into the small kitchen, being able to see the cooker and stove. A door lead off into what he assumed was a bathroom, and one more door was slightly ajar from when Cross had slipped in there to get changed. He assumed that was the bedroom.

Just as he was about to start wondering where the skeleton had gone, he rushed back out of his bedroom, old clothes gone and replaced by new ones. He wore a grey fluffy sweater with a loose neck that exposed the very top of his sternum, the sleeves long and brushing down over his fingers which curled over them tightly. He wore a pair of loose black shorts with white X's striping through them. He only wore black socks on his feet, never wearing shoes while around the house.

"Sorry if I took to long."

"You need to stop apologising for everything." He took his appearance as permission to walk into the living room and be a bit more nosey with his judgment of the boy's home.

"Oh yeah, I um- yes." He just about managed to stop him from saying sorry again, the palms of his hands pressed tightly together through the fabric of his sweater sleeves. He watched as Nightmare glanced around his living space, desperately wishing he kept better care of it. The darker's house was probably spotless and clean, arranged and in order instead of his clumsy arrangements. Restraining from another apology was a hard battle.

Nightmare flexed his fingers by his side and gave his lazy version of a smile, staring at the smaller instead of the apartments interior design. "So, did you have anything in mind we could do, or were you just offering me here from the kindness of your soul?"

He looked down at the carpet and scuffed his feet against it, mumbling softly. "More the kindness of my soul, I guess... Unless--"

He opened his mouth widely to blurt a suggestion, but quickly shut it upon deciding no, that wasn't a good idea.

"Unless what?" Nightmare pressed, raising a brow and stepping a little closer.

"W-Well, I had planned on trying to bake some cookies yesterday, but never got the time... And th-then I forgot about it today as well." He glanced up at him.

"Cookies?"

"Uh, yeah. Y'know, the circular biscuits with--"

"I know what a cookie is, Cross."

"O-Oh- I-I--" He flushed in embarrassment, his face going hot and his sweater suddenly feeling a bit to warm and tight against his body. God, why was he being such an idiot around this guy? Why did he assume the dumbest things? And why, why, why did his soul never stop thundering in his chest every time he so much as looked at him?

"I-I just assumed--"

A soft laugh and a pat on the shoulder hushed him as Nightmare walked past, clearly amused. "There's no need to be so apologetic, I put that up for misinterpretation."

Cross blinked and turned after him as the taller walked into his kitchen, momentarily having a panic over whether her cleaned his worktop up after making his lunch this afternoon. Thankfully he had, all the cutlery having been put away and plates washed clean to drain on the rack.

Pushed neatly into the corner of the black marble countertop the ingredients for his cookies lay forgotten, the boy having been far too busy daydreaming and getting ready for his date-- meet up with his friend to remember to do anything with them.

He tapped his fingers against each other softly, staring up at the taller. "...Would you like to make some with me?"

Nearly flinching in surprise at the sound of his voice, Nightmare glanced back at him. "Make cookies with you? Eh, I don't know, I don't really like sweet things."

He puffed his cheeks out and crossed his arms over his chest, having it already set in his mind that he was going to have Nightmare help him with these cookies. Even if he had to move his hands by himself. "Well, maybe if you make it yourself, you'll like it more!"

He raised a brow sceptically at him and sighed loudly, looking at him. The smaller had an irritatingly hopeful look in his eyes, the mismatched pupils wide and round instead of their usual small oval shape. Blinking, he felt the breath catch in his throat and he swallowed, his soul doing a little summersault in his chest.

Oh god- what the hell was that feeling-?

Finding himself unable to figure out why his chest felt so tight suddenly, he subconsciously nodded. He hadn't even realised what he'd done until the skeleton gave a happy yell and clapped, pulling him by the wrist to the counter and dragging over all the ingredients he needed.

Oh- I guess we're doing this now-

He watched silently as Cross dragged down one of the three thick recipe books he had stacked and flicked through the pages quickly before stopping at a double page spread on instructions for making cookies. The pages displayed the ingredients and steps on one side, a full page image of steaming chocolate chip cookies on a plate printed. Squinting, he realised that in the background of the picture, there was a Christmas tree.

"This is a Christmas recipe?"

Cross paused and took a quick look at the title of the recipe book that read "100 perfect meals and treats to make for the family on Christmas". He took a moment to fake a big smile, shaking his head. "No, of course not."

Doubtfully nodding, Nightmare stared at all the necessary measurements. "...200 grams of sugar is a lot for fifteen cookies..."

"Well, we can always lower the amount of sugar and sweet stuff if that'll make you feel better." Cross pulled out the weighing scales from under the counter and set them up, handing the bag of brown sugar to Nightmare. "Measure how much you want. But I wouldn't advise anything under 100g. Otherwise they'll just be plain."

Shrugging the octopus poured in just over 100g, the bag being placed back down after as Cross happily cracked two eggs into a bowl and got to whisking them with a fork.

"We need 300 grams of flour, and then loooaads of chocolate chips." He giggled and danced behind Nightmare to grab the butter from the fridge, showing Nightmare what to do with the baking powder. "I just need to melt this, and then I think we just throw everything together and mix."

"...You think? Aren't you reading the recipe?" He blinked, stirring the flour, baking powder and sugar together with a thick wooden spoon.

"Those are just for show. I always end up doing them wrong anyway, so why not just wing it?" He gave a delightful laugh that sent Nightmare's soul crazy again, his cheeks visibly heating up to a soft cyan as he watched the smaller grab a pan and start up the gas stove, the slices of butter being dumped in and heated up slowly.

His eye subconsciously wandered up and down his body, taking in his small frame, careful actions and angelic smile. Damn, that smile was starting to have effects on him he wasn't sure he liked or not. He was so focused on staring at the smaller's hips at one point that he didn't even hear him speak up. "Wh-?"

Shaking his head in amusement Cross clicked his fingers in front of his face, stirring the butter. "I said, can you measure out some vanilla extract?"

"Oh uh- sure-" He forced his eye to drag away from the smaller's body and over to the small brown glass bottle full of vanilla extract, his fingers turning it over and over in his palm. It's yellow sticker logo was stained brown from spillages and felt slightly sticky to the touch, the screw on cap being slightly dented. It made him wonder just how much Cross used this thing for it to get in this state. "Where do you want it?"

"Just chuck it in the bowl." He shrugged, flicking off the heat for the stove once the butter had melted to that lovely golden syrup-like liquid.

Nightmare blinked and unscrewed the cap, his mouth twisted in a frown as he thought of the monochromatic skeleton. They'd known each other for just over a month now - at least - and had met up regularly over that time space. It was clear they'd developed a good friendship, both having similar interests in some areas and both getting along fine. They'd established they were friends a while ago, happy to keep it that way. So why was he now feeling so strange towards him? Why was his mind so fuzzy and soul so fluttery?

Why was--

"Nightmare! That's enough!"

The octopus jolted back into reality once he realised he'd been pouring the whole time, far more than the recipes recommended one teaspoon having pooled in the middle of the sugar and flour. "Oh fuck- sorry I wasn't thinking straight--"

Not straight at all--

Cross took an anxious look at the bowl before shrugging and giving a laugh. "I guess it'll just be very vanilla-ery."

"Yeah, Sorry. These'll probably come out shit." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"No no, we can't judge them yet before they come out of the oven all crispy and golden and we take a bite." He shook his head and slipped beside him with the pan of melted butter. "...You know what?"

"What?" He glanced at him, expecting him to declare the recipe as ruined.

"...I think we've done this in the wrong order."

"You don't say."

"Oh well!" He shrugged and poured the mixture in with the eggs following quickly and sliding over the flower-y mixture and completely refusing to absorb.

"Time to whisk!" He said enthusiastically while grabbing what was (in Nightmare's opinion) the weirdest utensil in the kitchen. It's shape was just so weird, and all the little gaps at the top were almost impossible to clean. Bad design, really.

Stirring the mixture rapidly Cross stuck his tongue out a bit, feeling like he was back in primary school when him and his friends would make "potions" in the bathroom out of every single soap possible, water, grass and rocks. They used to really think themselves as wizards, proudly presenting each revolting and sickly smelling concoction to their parents and gleefully jumping up and down when they'd pretend to approve. Sadly his letter to Hogwarts never came. An opportunity for a great wizard lost.

It took a good three minutes before Cross was satisfied that it was all mixed in good enough, the skeleton then jumping up to grab a large pack of chocolate chips. "And now the best part!"

Nightmare watched in slight surprise and amusement as the skeleton poured at least half the bag in, the chips flowing out like a waterfall into the bowl, so much so that you couldn't even see the dough anymore. "You uh, really do like chocolate, don't you?"

"Yep!" Cross nodded happily and momentarily forgot their earlier conversation of how Nightmare disliked sweet stuff. But they were dark chocolate chips anyway - not exactly what you'd call sweet. "Now all that's left is to make them into balls and cook them!"

They stood close together as they tore pieces from the dough and rolled it in the palms of their hands until they reached a lumpy-yet-satisfying spherical shape and placed them down on the tray covered by a sheet of baking paper.

It took around five minutes for them to do so, a bit of dough flicking occurring here and there that left Cross with a smear on his cheek, and Nightmare with one down his nose.

Giggling gleefully Cross quickly slid them in the oven and set a timer for fifteen minutes before going to the sink to wash his sticky hands. Nightmare leaned over him as he did so, his arms reaching around his waist to get a hit of the hot water streaming down from the tap. With his chest pressed against the smaller's back, Cross felt his face go hot quickly and he shifted, his soul deciding it would be a good time to launch out his throat and plummet to the floor. He shivered deeply when Nightmare stepped back, his knees feeling weak. He'd liked the feeling of their bodies pressed together far to much.

"L-Let's go sit in the living room and wait-" He managed to say, smiling shakily and placing the towel they'd used to dry their hands on the kitchen worktop.

The two walked in together, Nightmare pausing like the mocking gentleman he is and letting Cross enter first before following. The sofa was small, so with them both sitting on it, there was only really a ruler's length gap between them.

The taller sunk into the fabric of the sofa and hummed, his eye focused on the lit up fish tank. "You like fish?"

"A little. My brother got them for me last year for uh, Christmas." He pulled his legs up with him onto the sofa, his arms wrapped around them loosely.

Groaning, Nightmare looked over at him. "Don't mention the dreaded 'C-word' to me, it's only November."

Laughing, Cross shrugged. "You asked, I only answered. It was then he noticed Nightmare still had some cookie dough on the bridge of his nose. He leaned over and reached a hand out, earning a confused question from Nightmare that went unheard before he scraped the bit of dough and held it up on his finger before licking it off. "Dough."

"Oh-" Nightmare reached a hand up to his face and felt over it quickly for any other missed smears of dough, embarrassed. Thankfully he didn't find any, but he did however notice the one on Cross' cheek. "Um, you've got something-"

He leaned over and placed his thumb against the smaller's cheek. It was surprisingly hot, a flood of purple quickly taking its usually pale hue and Cross' eyes wide. He wiped off the dough and went silent, staring at the oreo's flustered expression. "Cross...?"

Damn, why did he look so good right now? His flushed cheeks and embarrassed expression being the perfect combination. Was it wrong to think that? Cross was just his friend, after all, right?

Without even registering it he'd started leaning forwards, his hand cupping the smaller's cheek softly and angling towards him. His soul was pounding, but he couldn't even hear that through the ringing of his 'ears'.

Cross on the other hand was frozen, his soul going ballistic in his chest and knocking against his ribs so hard it hurt. He felt that horrible pressure build up in his chest, one of anxiety and painful hope. He gripped onto Nightmare's wrist tightly and leaned in as well, their mouths brushing against each other for a tantalising moment before a loud stream of beeps rang out.

They both split apart abruptly, their faces full of horror, dejection and embarrassment, neither able to stop spewing out apologies that deep down, they knew they didn't mean.

"I-I'll go get the cookies--" Cross forced, lurching to his feet and staggering off into the kitchen, his face scalding hot.

He had to grip onto the kitchen counter once he got out of sight, his knees having turned to jelly and mind turned to a whirlwind. He'd nearly kissed him. He'd nearly kissed him. Brushing a finger over his 'lips' he felt the lingering tingle dance across them that still remained. Was it bad that he wished the oven could have waited thirty seconds more? If it had they could gave completed that gesture and either be apologising profusely again, staring at each other deeply in love, still kissing or having him pinned roughly against the couch wit--

Stop it Cross!

He shook his head rapidly to get rid of those filthy thoughts, trying to think of anything other than the skeleton left alone in his living room. He tried thinking of Christmas and all it's decorations, or the summer and how much nicer its warmth was compared to this freezing Antarctic weather. He even thought of his fish in a desperate attempt to get that guy off of his mind, remembering his own shocked and confused face when Chara had proudly presented them to him.

After a frantic scatterbrained thirty seconds he managed to remember the cookies, hurriedly grabbing an oven glove and pulling the door open. He fumbled with the tray, his hands unable to stop shaking for whatever reason. In fact he nearly dropped the damn things until a hand gripped onto his wrist and steadied him.

"You okay?"

Within that second any progress he'd made on calming his mind was shattered, his breath hitching at the sight of Nightmare's slender dark hand wrapped delicately yet firmly around his wrist.

"I-I'm fine--" He choked, quickly placing the steaming rack on his wooden chopping board and shivering deeply as Nightmare's chest brushed his back once more. Why did this have to be so confusing?

The taller stared down at him, definitely noticing his shaky actions and anxious movements as he pushed the oven door shut. He gripped onto the smaller's shoulders and rubbed them softly, frowning. "You sure?"

"Yes- N-Now let's try these cookies!" He forced the thought of how nice Nightmare's hands felt out of his mind, instead focusing on the fifteen golden-brown cookies in front of him. They were still hot, but Cross couldn't bare the thought of standing and waiting there with Nightmare doing another clueless thing that would send his soul and thoughts crazy.

He picked one up quickly and blew on it in a sad attempt to cool it down, inwardly hoping that along with the cookie, his face would also reduce in heat. But alas, it stayed hot enough to fry an egg. It was impossible to stop the deep shiver that rippled through his body as Nightmare leaned over, his chin hovering over his shoulder and chest now firmly pressed against Cross' back.

"They don't look bad."

"Y-Yeah--" He swallowed and squeezed his eyes shut for a good moment, scared he'd just melt into a puddle right then and now.

"...Are you going to try it?"

"Oh- o-of course--" He swore under his breath and shakily held the cookie up to his mouth, taking a bite.

It was too hot really, having to push it around in his mouth for a bit before it was a nice temperature. Almost immediately his mouth was flooded with the taste of vanilla, Nightmare's earlier slip up with the measurements shining through clearly along with the abundant lack of sugar. He thought the chocolate chips might have saved them, but sadly they didn't do much other than mix oddly with the vanilla.

"It's shit, isn't it?"

"Wh- no-" He swallowed and turned to face him, laughing nervously. "It's fine, just um, unique."

"That translates to bad in my dictionary." He stared down at the half eaten cookie, blinking.

"Well- you try it." He huffed and pushed the cookie up to his face, regretting that action as soon as he did it like every other living decision he made.

But Nightmare didn't push it away - as he thought he would - and instead took a small bite. His reacting expression wasn't the best one and he squinted a bit as he chewed suspiciously slowly before swallowing. "It's uh... yeah, unique."

"Let's just scrap them--" Cross dripped the cookie back on the rack. "I can always make some more tomorrow, and um, see how they go."

"Sure." He bit his lip and stared down at the smaller skeleton, subconscious trapping him against the counter with one hand resting on the black marble and he other on his hip. Beneath him Cross was shaking, barely able to keep his breathing steady as he stared up at the taller male.

"N-Nightmare... About e-earlier- I--"

He squeaked as he was cut off with a kiss, his eyes widening and sentence dying on his tongue quickly. He was frozen, his fingers digging in tightly to the counter as he felt their mouths pressed firmly against each other. Sparks of energy flooded through the two of them and they both breathed in sharply, pulling back.

Cross panted and felt his lower back dig into the kitchen counter, his legs rendered useless and mind reduced to a thoughtless, spinning mess.

"That's what you wanted, isn't it...~?" Nightmare murmured softly, his thumb rubbing against the skeletons scalding cheek and smirking a little. "Yes?"

He could only nod dumbly, his eyes glazed as he stared up at him with anticipation.

The second kiss came naturally, the two pressing close to each other with Nightmare's hands firmly gripping his hips and squeezing them. It wasn't as gentle as the first, both of them greedily capturing each others lips, and within seconds, Nightmare's tongue had pushed into Cross' mouth.

The boy trembled beneath him, panting into the kiss and gasping as Nightmare lifted him up onto the counter and pressed his tongue against the hot and sticky walls of his mouth. He flung his arms around his neck desperately, his legs doing the same in an attempt to pull himself closer.

Above him Nightmare growled and gripped onto his spine through his sweater suddenly, earning a surprised wail of pleasure from Cross as his body trembled immensely. He broke the kiss and tipped his head back, drool already leaking down his chin steadily.

The dark skeleton stared at him intently and grunted, his free hand gripping onto Cross' chin to pull him to face him. "You don't want me to stop, do you...~?"

Shaking his head weakly he shifted, his fingers gripping onto his shoulders tightly. Chuckling softly under his breath Nightmare lifted him off of the counter and pressed their foreheads together softly. "You look tired."

"Mm, n-no..." He clumsily wiped the drool away on his chin with his sleeve, smearing it across his face even more and making a mess. "I-I'm fine..."

"Are you sure?" He slowly made his way to the bedroom, pulling the door shut behind them and glancing around.

The room was simple and neat, a double bed stood in the middle of the room with small tables on either side. It had grey bedsheets and white pillows, they'd been arranged neatly and pulled up fully instead of being fung back messily. A large fitted wardrobe stood in one corner, a armchair next to it. There was one window in the room that, similar to the living room, gave a good view of the swirling snow and the top of a tall lamppost that cast an orange glow into the room.

Nightmare didn't bother drawing the curtains, carrying Cross to the bed and dragging the sheets back before placing him down and quickly joining him. He didn't waste time and leaned down to press a quick kiss against his lips before trailing small butterfly kisses across his cheek and jaw, down to his neck where he left a longer, lingering one.

Cross bit his lip and squeezed his eyes shut tightly, an embarrassingly long moan leaving his mouth as he felt Nightmare's hot tongue drag up his neck. He shivered deeply and tipped his head back for better access, panting.

The taller glanced up at him occasionally as he nipped and sucked at his neck before sinking his teeth in.

"MnhAaHH~! N-Nightmare~!" He cried, his skull sinking into the plush pillow and hiccuping softly.

The octopus was clearly getting impatient, because he pulled back quickly and pushed his hands quickly under Cross' sweater, his fingers curling around his spine and squeezing tightly and earning a loud moan. The smaller jolted and opened his eyes to stare up at the ceiling, his breaths coming out in quick and rapid pants.

Nightmare hummed and dug his fingers into every gap and crevice, sliding along the vertebrae's and pumping it smoothly while Cross writhed and whimpered in pleasure.

God, his touch was enrapturing, every touch he trailed across his ribs, spine and sternum sending delicious tremors down his body that only added to the pooling heat in his abdomen that felt like a stream of water from a hot kettle, able to burst at any second. His vision already spinning with stars, fuzzy.

Above him Nightmare leaned in for a kiss, their 'lips' quickly crashing together and tongues fighting as his tentacles got to work snaking under his clothes. One pinned his arms roughly above his head and the other three groped him, pumping his spine, gripping his ribs and coiling round his pelvis.

Cross wailed helplessly into the kiss - if you could even call it a kiss it was so messy - and arched his back fully as the pounding heat became too much to bare. He formed his male body, shuddering deeply.

Purring lowly Nightmare pulled back, his tentacles already making quick work of tugging down the smaller's shorts despite his woozy protests. Throwing them carelessly across the room where they crumpled on the floor he hummed, his thin fingers already reaching forwards and curling delicately around his length.

"Mnhaa...~ N-Nightmare...!"

Cross gave a gasp and bit on the fabric of his sweater, his legs shaking and subconsciously spreading wider for Nightmare to get better access. He stared at Cross' dick for a good moment, debating what to do before he moved the hand and pressed his thumb lightly on the tip, rubbing it in soft circles before dragging his fingers down and starting to stroke it slowly.

He gasped loudly and bit his lip, feeling on fire already as waves of pleasure washed over his small body. Gosh, it felt so good, and Nightmare had barely done anything yet.

The taller quickened his pace and grinned, listening to the gasps and laboured pants he got in return. Leaning over, he used his free hand to cup his hot cheek and rub it softly with his thumb, muttering soft nothings.

Trembling, Cross gulped down air and leaned into his touch, pathetic mewls and squeals escaping him as Nightmare's slim fingers worked their magic at his throbbing length. It felt unbelievably good, so much better then when he'd done it himself alone. "Nightm-maarreee~"

Within a few more seconds Cross found himself dragged over the edge, whimpers of bliss spilling from his 'lips' as he came unexpectedly, his release hitting his exposed tummy and staining his sweater which he weakly tried to pull down over himself in embarrassment, eyes half lidded and staring up at the taller. "M-Mnh... I-I love you...~"

Grunting Nightmare nodded and quickly pulled his own shorts, throwing them to the side where they lay discarded. He hadn't remembered forming his male body, but didn't think much of it, not caring. He gripped onto the smaller's hips and pulled him closer, lining up to his rear.

Cross dug his fingers into the sheets and looked up at him, giving a small nod as Nightmare looked at him for conformation. The taller leaned over to kiss him softly as he pushed in, his fingers digging into his hips hard enough to leave bruises in the morning.

He managed to push all the way with minimal complaints, only occasional hisses of pain from Cross and the gritting of his teeth. He was so tight around him and the urge to not just start ramming in and out was hard to ignore. Instead he gave a shallow thrust to test, watching him intently.

Cross gasped and gave a drawn out moan, his eyes squeezed shut and teeth digging into the fabric of the pillow beneath his head that was now damp from the drool that slid from his parted 'lips'.

Above him Nightmare hummed, his finger slowly dragging down the smaller's frame, tracing along his sternum then his spine, his hips and finally his inner thighs. "Want me to stop...~?"

The smaller shook his head quickly, his fingers digging tightly into the sheets beneath him and flexing inwardly to ease the aching pain that had built up from gripping on for too long. "N-No- I-I'm fine..."

Leaning over to lick his neck the octopus nodded, his tongue dragging right from his shoulder blade up to his jawline where he left soft butterfly kisses that sent bolts of electricity through Cross' entire body, shivering.

The room was silent apart from Cross' cute little gasps and soft moans and Nightmare's murmurs, the weather outside surprisingly calm and still. The snow still fell in soft showers of little flakes that spun around in the wind and hit against the glass window panes with the softest thud that was unheard to the two lovesick adults. The streetlamp outside that usually irritated Cross so much only illuminated the falling snow more, giving them orange, yellow and white glows and halos.

Circling his arms around the back of his neck Cross tipped his head back, soft purrs of delight leaving him as Nightmare left a few hickeys to join the array of faded bite marks already strewn across his neck. "Mnha~ N-Nighty...~"

"Hm?" The taller moved down to his sternum, biting at it's scarred surface and earning an embarrassingly loud moan from the skeleton beneath him.

"NmhaAHhH~! G-God I love y-you."

Snorting, Nightmare pulled back to stare down at him. "I've heard that twice already in the last ten minutes, sweetheart."

"Mm, just needed to make sure you know..." He mumbled drowsily, eyes half lidded as he stared up at him. "A-And last time y-you didn't say it back..."

"Alright, alright. I love you too." He pressed a quick against the smaller's 'lips', a lingering spark left on both of them. "Can I start moving now...?"

The oreo stared up and him and nodded, his breath coming out in a surprised gasp as he felt Nightmare shift inside of him. He threw his head back and moaned loudly, his hands already clawing at his lover's shoulders as he thrust shallowly into him. "O-Oh~! Nightmarreee~"

Planting his hands firmly on either side of the skeleton's skull, Nightmare started thrusting with more force. Occasional groans and moans would leave his lips from how tight he was, but otherwise he tired to keep noises to a minimum, wanting to hear Cross.

At a particularly sharp thrust he gave a wail, his head tossing from side to side on the pillow as Nightmare hit his prostate. "F-Fuck! R-Right thEre~!"

Grunting, Nightmare aimed for that spot over and over, eye locked on Cross' pleasured expression. His tongue hung from his mouth and sticky drool slid down his chin in a long line, dripping down onto his neck and the pillow. "Heh, you like this, don't you~?"

He tried to choke back a response, but all that managed to leave his 'lips' were pathetic mewls and pitiful moans, his eyes rolling back in his skull as the octopus placed a lingering hand around his neck.

He could tell he was getting close when the familiar ball of pressure built up in his abdomen once more, and tossed his head back and forth, mouth wide open and sticky with saliva. He tried desperately to hold himself together, but when Nightmare wrapped a tentacle around his aching length and squeezed, he broke.

He came with a shriek, his body jerking through his orgasm and body rocking weakly, hands falling from Nightmare's back and onto the bed above him. Moaning lowly Nightmare came soon after, releasing deeply inside of him and slowing to a stop, panting. He pulled out and rolled off of the boy, his body facing his and smiling.

Meanwhile Cross didn't know how to think. Everything felt swimmy, like he was moving underwater and looking at everything through a fish tank. He hardly had the energy to even look at his partner, his fingers half-heartedly curling around his palm.

"You did so well...~" Nightmare murmured, holding his hand and rubbing the back of his palm with his thumb. "I'm so proud...~"

Cross gave a measly hiccup in return, his eyes fluttering shut weakly and chest jerking up and down rapidly as he tried to regulate his breathing.

"Wait here, I'll go get you something." He gave the smaller a kiss on the forehead and slipped out of bed, padding across the floor in only his top which he tugged down over his pelvis, male body now gone.

The smaller whined softly in protest, but didn't stop him and sank down into the bedsheets, pulling the covers up over his chest and clutching them tightly. He still couldn't think straight, his mind unable to register what time the digital alarm clock on his bedside table displayed. He could make out the number nine, but that was it.

Meanwhile Nightmare stepped quietly through the oreo's living room and slipping into the kitchen. Humming under his breath he glanced around the different draws and cupboards indecisively before starting to open them at random. He wasn't snooping, just looking for something.

Eventually he found it, the third cupboards he'd opened displaying a stack, four bars high, of chocolate, the shiny purple packages glinting in the light. He grabbed one quickly and pushed the cupboard door shut, casting one quick look at their dejected cookies before flicking the kitchen light off and walking back out.

He crept back into the bedroom quietly and went to call out to the smaller, only to see he was curled up and fast asleep in bed, the blanket clutched to his chest.

Smiling fondly he shook his head and drew the curtains shut to block out the light from the outside streets lamp, throwing the room into blackness. Slipping back over to the bed he set the bar of chocolate on the bedside table and sighed, easing himself down by Cross and draping his tentacles limply over his small frame.

He spent a while just watching the boy as he slept, but without any creepy intentions, just curiosity. A finger reached out to brush over his red zigzag scar and he kissed his nose quickly before settling down close beside him, yawning.

Within minutes, he was asleep.

————————————————————————

W e l l

Noice 11,000 words, more than I thought it would be

Ngl this was my third attempt at writing this cuz something just wasn't right. And in the end I left myself with three days to write this lmao-

Oh well hope you enjoyed, I completely forgot how to write smut, I completely forgot how to write in general, and s C R E E E E

Anyway happy birthday karma I guess

And next update will be "Prison" part two ;)

-Jess-