Nightmare had teleported to his void just as a starting point for looking for his brother. He hadn't known where else to go to look and he didn't want to stay in Abyss's AU any longer with all that tension and sorrow in the air.

You'd think Nightmare's energy would be fueled by negativity such as tension and sorrow, and quite frankly, it kind of was. But Nightmare didn't like those feelings being so strong around him. He had to escape.

Thinking for a moment, Nightmare came to the conclusion that Dream had either taken Cross to Overtale or Outertale. Dream had always liked the pretty AUs and had seen such beauty in the galaxies of Outertale, he'd claimed it as one of his favorite places to go. He'd also deemed Overtale equally capable of being his favorite AU for the amazing sights on the surface, including oceans during a sunrise or sunset when the light hit the water just right, or the beautiful fields of flowers in some other places around that world, and many other views that were just breathtaking. Personally, Nightmare liked Overtale best. There was a cliff that granted an astonishing view of the ocean that Nightmare would occasionally visit just to relax.

Snapping himself out of these thoughts, Nightmare decided to go to Outertale first and look around there. He didn't trust Cross in the slightest.

With a snap of his fingers, Nightmare appeared in Outertale. He began looking around, growing more skeptical by the second. He knew about Cross's little crush on Dream. Well, actually, it was a huge crush. He knew that Cross had once proposed to Dream and was rejected, and later on, after saving Dream from one of Evil Nightmare's sick plans, he disappeared and was never seen again until only yesterday when he was found by Dream.

Anger flared in his chest at only the thought of Cross being so close to Dream again, at Cross trying to get handsy. Even though Nightmare knew he was probably just jumping to very far conclusions, he felt a rush of protectiveness over his brother and continued his search.

* * *

Cross sat in the grass in Overtale beside Dream, listening to several stories of after Cross disappeared.

"--Then I met Ink, and it was kinda like having a new you there by my side. He was with me through thick and thin, helped me fight off my brother and even eventually reform him..." Dream's expression had been bubbly and happy up until that point. Then his smile dropped and he glanced at Cross, a hint of sadness in his eyes. "I- I wished many times throughout our journeys that you could have been there in Ink's place on our adventures..." he tapped his index fingers to one another as he went on, "Or at least that you could have been there with us."

Cross felt his heart sink at Dream's words. He was right. Why had Cross made the stupid decision to leave? Dream could have gotten killed because of Cross's absence if Ink hadn't been there to help. Cross could have been the one helping Dream reform his brother. But stupid feelings just had to get in the way of Cross's common sense and had made him feel unwanted since the rejection of his proposal to Dream. He wondered momentarily whether Dream even remembered that.

Cross was thrown out of his thoughts when he realized that Dream was looking at him expectantly.

"...Well..? Do you?" Dream paused, "I-It's okay if you don't. I understand."

Embarrassed to have been caught not listening, Cross shook his head a bit. "Gah, I'm sorry... I spaced off. What did you ask?"

Dream looked at Cross with a slightly surprised expression. "Oh. I asked if you wanted to go to Classic and get some Nice Cream..." Dream blushed a little and looked away shyly. Before, he wouldn't have been so embarrassed to ask Cross something like this... But now, what if Cross had grown out of things like that...? The question was in Dream's expression and even after all this time, Cross could read him like an open book. He smiled.

"I'd love to," Cross reassured Dream, "It'd be my pleasure to pay, too. I really gotta start making up for leaving you..."

Dream beamed and stood up, holding out a hand for Cross. "Let's go then!" He smiled brightly and formed a portal to classic Undertale. As the two of them stepped into the portal, Nightmare appeared right in front of them. Dream squeaked a bit, alarmed by the sudden appearance and held onto Cross's arm. Cross couldn't help but feel that old rush of protectiveness over Dream. He had never quit his job, after all. He was still Dream's bodyguard.

Nightmare stood in front of the two and smiled at Dream, but didn't pay Cross any mind. "Yo. How you holding up, bro?"

Dream smiled back and replied, "Better than ever, brother... I have you and my bodyguard back, plus I've got all my friends. I've never been happier."

Cross grinned at Nightmare with a smug look as if to say, Can't argue with that logic, can you?

Nightmare inwardly scowled but on the outside he smiled at Dream. "I'm glad you're happy."

Nightmare honestly never really liked Cross. Maybe it was because he was just protective over Dream, but Nightmare always just hated the thought of Cross being around his little brother. Cross wasn't quite the fan of Nightmare, either. A "friendly" war, if you will.

Dream began beaming when Nightmare smiled. "Stop that!" He whined with a smile.

Nightmare paused, confused. "Stop what?"

"I'm not used to seeing your sweet smile!" Dream joked.

That only made Nightmare smile wider. He and his brother hadn't joked around with each other in so long. While Dream wasn't looking, Cross rolled his eyes.

"Nooo!" Dream giggled when Nightmare's smile grew, "It's blinding me!" He leaned on Nightmare and covered his eyes.

Nightmare stifled a laugh and nudged Dream, responding, "I guess you aren't used to seeing such a handsome smile."

"Hehe.. Nope! Not at all!"

Cross cleared his throat awkwardly. "...I'm glad you two are finally getting along," He remarked.

Dream smiled brightly and gave both Cross and Nightmare a hug.

"At last," Dream agreed, "At last."

Nightmare and Cross glared at each other.

--END OF CHAPTER FOUR--