They were sitting on the sofa, fidgeting their hands anxiously. This wasn't normal for them. They were usually calm.

"What did you want to talk about?" he asked carefully. He decided to let his own surprise wait.

"I'm sorry, but it's time for me to return back home.." they whispered, tears slowly leaking from their eye sockets. "I've been gone for seven years and now I'm expected back. I really wish I could stay with you, I really do. I don't want to leave you behind, I don't want to leave them behind. I don't want to go..."

He was too shocked to speak. All he could do was rub their back. He was speechless, unable to say anything.

"Please don't hate me for this," they begged quietly, slipping their warm hand on his teary cheek.

"I could never hate you!" he immediately answered. "I just... I can't believe that you're actually leaving... I knew it was going to happen.. But I didn't think it would be this soon.." he whispered.

"I promise to come back for you, all of you," they assured. "I will come back and then we can have our perfect wedding. Can you wait for me?" they asked softly, looking at him with their beautiful eye lights.

"I would never betray you. I will wait for you. I swear that I will never betray you. You are my love, my only love," he promised immediately.

"Thank you," they whispered. "I have to go pack my stuff now." They kissed his skull before standing up.

"Wait!" he grabbed their wrist.

"What is it?" they asked softly.

"I-" he hesitated. Was this really the right time to tell them? "Nothing.. Just.. I'll miss you, a lot.." he mumbled.

"I'll miss you too," they admitted before leaving the room.

He was left alone on the sofa. Well, as alone as someone with a ghost next to them and a new SOUL inside them can be.

"You will regret your silence," the ghost predicted.

-----

And they were right. He did regret it and he would regret it until the day he died.

Cross sat up in the bed. The memories of the previous night slowly crept back into his hazy mind. The dream was fresh in his mind as a reminder of what he had done.

Lust was waking up next to him, blinking his eye sockets. Cross almost flinched back from the designer, but kept his spot on the bed.

"Morning Cross," Lust hummed, offering his usual smile. "I'm sorry about last night, but thank you so much for helping me out," he added, getting himself up from the covers.

"You're turning from a loyal partner to a slut," Chara announced, seeming - again - disturbed by Cross' actions.

"I-" Cross choked on his own words.

"Everything alright?" Lust asked, a bit concerned.

"I'm s-sorry.." the monochrome skeleton managed to stutter. His head was spinning with thoughts.

Lust turned around, brows furrowed. "You have nothing to be sorry for. What's wrong?" he asked softly, carefully reaching towards Cross' cheek.

"STAY AWAY!" Cross cried out, stumbling back and falling off of the bed onto the floor. His eye lights were wide and burning with tears. All the emotions he had been locking away were now flying out of their cage.

Lust pulled his hand back, raising both of them in the air, worry and shock in his eye lights. He remained on the bed.

"It's okay, I'm sorry. Just breath," he spoke softly.

"No.. No.. I broke the promise.. He trusted me... How could I have done this to him..? I swore I would never do it.." Cross sobbed, panic rushing through his body.

"Cross, breath, everything's alright," Lust tried to assure him. "Just take deep breaths and calm yourself. It'll all be just fine," he promised.

"No! I promised to marry that man..! I promised him the entire world.! I swore that I would never betray his trust... I swore.. But look at me now..! Look at what I'm turning into.! A fucking useless slut.! You out of all people here should know how that feels!" Cross slapped a hand on his mouth immediately. Tears were running fast down his cheekbones and his breaths were shaky. His whole body was shaking.

Lust inhaled sharply. The sudden words had cut through his SOUL like a knife. It had hurt, a lot.

"I-I'm sorry..! I.. I.." Even Cross was stunned by what he had accidentally blurted out. Now he felt horrible for saying something like that to his friend.

"It's okay," Lust sighed.

"I.. I just.. I promised him.. And I... I.." More purple tears fell from his eye sockets as he sobbed out his pathetic excuses. "I promised him... And.. I.. I couldn't keep that... Promise... I broke it... And with so many different people.. I feel so dirty.. Yet... I... Fuck..." Cross couldn't stop the words flooding from his mouth. He was in a shaking ball on the floor by the bed. Chara was right by him, a bit bothered and not quite sure what they were supposed to do.

"Shh, just calm down, deep breaths. It's alright, everything's alright, just calm down," the designer hummed, still keeping his distance. The worry in his eye sockets was clear.

"No... You don't understand... I betrayed him.! I betray-" Cross couldn't stop the name from slipping from his tongue. He immediately slapped a hand over his mouth, but that was too late.

Lust's face fell immediately. He looked horrified before the horror turned to sadness. He looked down, speechless.

"I didn't mean to.. Oh fuck.. No... I didn't mean to... I-I wasn't s-supposed to say h-his name.. I didn't m-mean to.. H-how...? I.. W-why..? I.. I-"

"Cross," Lust called out, cutting off the rambling, panicked skeleton on the floor. There was pity in his eye lights when he looked at Cross. "You don't want me telling this to anyone else it seems like, don't worry, I won't tell anyone," he spoke softly, carefully.

"You weren't supposed to k-know... I..." Cross sobbed. No one was supposed to know. He couldn't take that risk, but now he had already messed up.

"Stop crying and get yourself up from the floor.. You're showing way too much weakness!" Chara exclaimed, clearly a bit panicked by the situation as well.

"Hey, it's alright. Everything will be fine," Lust hummed softly, brows still furrowed with worry. His eye sockets were flooded with tears.

"He... He was the light of my life.. The one who saved me... And now I'm afraid that he's gone.. I don't want to believe that... H-he's strong.. He isn't d-dead.. He promised t-to come back for u-us... H-he wouldn't break that p-promise... S-so I shouldn't h-have broken m-mine... D-do you think he w-will still love m-me even after I b-betrayed his trust l-like this..? Do y-you think that he w-will forgive me..?" The pitiful, broken look in Cross' eye sockets made tears finally slip from Lust's eyes.

Lust took a deep breath in before opening his mouth. It hurt, but he couldn't say what he should have. "He.. He once mentioned having a lover back at home... He mentioned it by pure accident and didn't say much, but the look in his eyes told more than a thousand words could... He was in love, so badly.. It made me wish that I would one day find someone who would look at me with such love.. I'm sure he will forgive you."

Cross remained silent. Tears rolled down his cheekbones. Even Chara was drawn speechless. As the realisation of Lust's words finally sunk into Cross, he began sobbing even more uncontrollably.

"Why don't I go make some tea to help you calm down?" Lust suggested softly. "Come sit on the bed, it's way more comfortable. Don't worry, I won't be sitting down next to you until you're comfortable with it," he continued as he got up from the bed, making space for Cross.

-----

Cross wanted to sink six feet under and never crawl out. He couldn't believe he had let himself slip like that in front of Lust for a dumb reason like that.

"Do you feel better now?" Lust asked carefully after a few minutes of silence. He was sitting on a chair near the bed, but hadn't dared to come closer yet, wanting to give Cross some space.

"Yeah.. I'm so sorry for what I said about you earlier.. I wasn't thinking and it just slipped-"

"It's okay," Lust hummed, cutting him off. "You were hurting and your mind wasn't working properly. I understand that you didn't mean it. I forgive you." He smiled softly.

"I still feel awful for saying that.." Cross mumbled, looking down.

"I know you didn't mean it," Lust assured, pity in his eye lights. "You should probably rest today, you must be exhausted. You can stay here at the back, no one will come here. I have to go take care of something, but I'll return to the tent soon. Don't worry about anything, just focus on resting."

"Alright.." Cross nodded. He felt like he could use some sleep.

-----

Lust left the costume tent behind with tears burning his eyes sockets. He hurried through the snowy weather, rushing towards the Big Top.

He tried his best not to be a sobbing mess by the time he got to the warmth of the large tent. But the moment Error opened the door to the sound booth, he broke down.

He fell towards the floor, feeling Error garb him before he could hit it. The DJ glitched badly, but held him close and moved them both onto the sofa on the back wall.

"wHo HuRt YoU tHiS tImE? wHaT hApPeNeD? pLeAsE tElL mE," Error frowned. He didn't like seeing Lust cry, especially not this much. The designer was sobbing so hard.

"I... I.. He... I... Couldn't..." Lust couldn't form the right words. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know how to say it.

"wAs It ThE rInGmAsTeR aGaIn? DiD hE hUrT yOu? If He DiD I'lL-"

Lust shook his skull violently. "I.. No one.. I.. Just.. He looked... So... Pitiful... Broken... I.. I couldn't... The way he... He loved him... So much... I... I couldn't... I didn't... I should have... But I..." Lust broke down again, burying his face into Error's chest.

"c-CaLm DoWn, uH, i," Error stuttered. He still had no idea how to deal with things like this.

"I can't... I can't tell you... About it... But I... I... Promised not t-to tell anyone.. B-but his... He.. I couldn't.." Error's SOUL ached at Lust's broken words. He didn't know what was going on and that made him even more anxious about Lust's hurting.

-----

It took Lust a while to calm down. Error stayed by his side the whole time, patiently waiting. The designer really appreciated that.

"ArE yOu OkAy NoW..?" Error asked hesitatedly, furrowing his browbones.

"Don't worry darling, I'm alright," Lust whispered, wiping away the remains of his tears. "I'm sorry. It's just.. Someone came to my tent and accidentally said something.. I can't tell you who it is or what they said.. They didn't hurt me, but I just.. I felt so bad for them.." he explained quietly, looking down.

"i WoN't AsK aBoUt It ThEn, BuT rEmEmBeR tHaT iF yOu EvEr WaNt To TaLk, I wIlL bE hErE fOr YoU," Error mumbled, carefully rubbing Lust's hand. His haphephobia wasn't as bad around Lust, but he was still glitching quite a lot. (It didn't matter that much as he was too busy worrying about the designer.)

"Of course I will remember that!" Lust hummed, smiling softly.

The look in the DJ's eyes was not the one Lust had dreamt of. No, it was more than what he had dreamt of. Error was not who he had expect to fall for, but now he wouldn't change his partner for anything in the entire world.

-----

Ink sat in silence in the prop tent. He had lied to both Dust and Killer tonight. He had promised to go sleep with both of them - individually, not at the same time. He knew that Dust and Killer weren't in speaking terms anymore, which actually confused him. He didn't understand how this had happened.

He lied to them often. He loved Dust and cared for Killer, but sleeping with them just wasn't his thing. He just had already dug himself a hole and now he would lie in it until the end of the world. He couldn't bring himself to disappoint either of them, which was why he always agreed to sleep with them despite not really liking the idea. He preferred doing other stuff with them - like cuddling!

That's why he would often stay in the prop tent until the curfew and then use that as an excuse of why he couldn't come for them in time. But of course that wasn't a very good plan so he couldn't use it often, but every now and then it worked perfectly fine.

Tonight was one of those nights when he just absolutely did not feel like sleeping with anyone. Tomorrow he would just tell them that he had lost track of time again.

The tent was quiet. All the machinery was off and Blue had gone to his tent hours ago. Ink just had happened to get stuck on the design for one of their new props.

He happened to peek out of the window behind him. The starts were visible on the night sky. He pressed his face against the window, trying his best to capture as much of the view as he could. When was the last time he had seen starts from outside? How many years had it been? He didn't remember, and maybe it was better that way.

Words: 2331

[8.2.2023]

So, yeah, asexual Ink who's too afraid to admit that to his partner and fuck buddy because he doesn't want to disappoint them.

And what the hell was that I saw? Hurt/comfort in my angst book? And with some lore as well? No way! Well, is the next chapter a good place to drop an absolute hurt/no comfort bomb-?