Chapter Text
It was a quiet, sunny day in Underswap, which was supposed to be impossible underground- but at this point, there was really no questioning the logic of the AUs. The change in weather was pleasant; snow was nice, but nothing was better than the warmth of sunlight seeping into one’s bones! Dream had escaped into the forest while his friend was distracted looking after Papyrus. Blue meant well, but there were times when his energy was hard to take in. So much positivity… Yes, it was true that he benefited from high levels of positivity, but it… well, it went to his head fast. Blue’s, in particular, was similar to being sugar high. Sometimes, he just needed to get away and relax, else he spend all of his energy without even realizing.
He had counted exactly five robins in the trees since he had left, two bright red cardinals- he was pretty sure they were a couple- and one lone crow that had been watching him since he sat down. It had bright, intelligent eyes that seemed to peer right through him. Perhaps sensing the cake in his inventory, the bird skipped closer, leaving little forked prints in the wet snow.
Dream chuckled and retrieved the cake, breaking off a small piece for it. “Here you go. I’m not sure if crows like cake, but I hope you enjoy it.” The crow eyed him warily, but it seemed that hunger was a stronger drive than fear. It hopped forward, snatched the chunk of cake, then flapped a few feet away to poke at it curiously. Blue would have accidentally scared it away, and Ink… “Heh…” Ink would have tried to catch it. Dream certainly had interesting friends. Though, as he thought, his mind wandered elsewhere.
...Cross wouldn’t have scared it away. Dream thought with a smile of how gentle Cross was, especially with small creatures. It was entirely possible that he would have befriended the crow. The image of Cross’ soft laughter, sitting in the snow with a crow perched on his shoulder… it filled Dream with bubbles of warmth. Stars, he loved to hear him laugh. It was rare to see him smile, let alone laugh. But every long, painful fight was worth enduring, just knowing that he might have a chance to hear that muted laughter soon after. Cross was always quick to check on him- to make sure he wasn’t hurt too badly after fights. It was sweet.
He turned his attention from the crow to the trees above, watching the cardinals hop through the pine boughs and duck through the needles. One would prod through the branches first, and it seemed to hold them up for the other. It was such a polite gesture, especially coming from two birds. He supposed that the first didn’t have to hold the branches back for the second, but it did anyways. Dream wondered what the first got from this little gesture of kindness. They would both forget soon after, because not all birds have long-term memory. So why hold the branches back? The second bird could get through on its own. It was more than capable. That said… what if it didn’t? What if it was held back, and it lost the other in the dense nettles? No matter how long it searched, no matter how far it pursued its lost mate, it may never reach them.
Maybe the first one knew that. Maybe that was why it slowed down and helped the other. It didn’t want to lose its mate by accident. It always came back, just to hold those branches, just to ensure that they were still together.
Dream smiled, tossing another piece of cake to the expectant crow. This time, it bravely puffed up its feathers in warning while it ate the cake where it had fallen. That it trusted him at all was adorable. He wondered how close he could get it to come before it flew away. Soon enough, he found that it would come within a foot or so from him- just out of his reach. That was alright, though. He wasn’t Ink. He didn’t intend on catching it. Although it was just a crow, he enjoyed its presence more than anything.
Rather suddenly, the crow squawked and flew into the trees, dipping into the darkness and out of his sight. Dream watched it go, staring down at the cake in his hand in confusion. What did I do to scare it away…? Not long after being abandoned by the crow, he felt a subtle shift in his aura. Why was he detecting negativity? Sitting up in alarm, he looked around for its source.
He was about to summon his bow when he finally caught sight of the source of negativity. A crushing weight of relief washed over him. Cross. The knight was plodding through the snow in the stretch of trees to his right, his weapon drawn and clutched in a tight hold. ...Why is his weapon drawn…? Dream shifted to his feet, fingers twitching with an anxious itch to summon his own weapon. No. Cross is friendly. It was just the low tones of negativity setting his nerves on edge.
“...Cross?” Dream called, just loud enough to be heard but not enough for his voice to echo through the snowy woods. He settled with holding his arm back to calm his magic- he really didn’t want to accidentally summon a weapon just because of a little negativity. Especially not because of Cross’ negativity.
The knight stopped and turned to face him, though it was hard to see his expression under all of that fluff. Why was his hood up…? “Dream…?”
Now that he was standing, he could almost understand what he was sensing. Fear. Why was Cross so afraid? Was he afraid of Dream…? Or… for him? Dream didn’t move any closer, as much as he wanted to. He didn’t want to upset Cross any more than he already was. “Um… is something wrong…? I mean, I’m happy to see you, but…” He had told Dream that Nightmare had some important missions or something, and that he wasn’t going to be able to slip away for awhile. Did that change? If so, wouldn’t Cross be happier?
“...What did we do for Blue’s birthday.” Cross stopped a couple of yards from him, his hands trembling. Dream was uncertain how he could be so stressed out and still keep a firm hold on his knife.
“...What…? Cross…” Dream hesitated, then tried to smile, even though he was becoming increasingly worried. “We brought him and Papyrus to Candytale for the day. Papyrus tried to steal the honey-flavored hard candies. Blue got a sugar rush and we lost him in the gingerbread maze. We found him in Underfell- Red looked so mad… And I’m pretty sure you were eating all of the Hershey’s Kisses that you could find.” It was a great day, aside from the near-panic attack of losing Blue.
For a moment, Cross seemed to relax, but then his walls went right back up. He lowered his knife just a little bit, though his shoulders were still tensed up. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes.” Dream responded almost immediately, and without a single doubt in his head. He trusted Cross entirely.
“Come here then.”
A flicker of uncertainty ran through him. “Cross… please let me help.” He took a step closer, but it was timid and slow. “I know you’re afraid, but I don’t know why. And… if you don’t want me to know, that’s okay. But please… don’t…” Dream took another step closer, casting away his anxiety for a moment. “Don’t hold it in. We can go get tacos instead… Just… please don’t hold in the negativity.” Maybe he was hypocritical for saying such a thing, but this was Cross. Cross mattered so much more to him than his own health.
He had walked as close as he could to Cross without walking right into his knife. They were close enough for Dream to reach out and hug him, but he didn’t. He knew that Cross needed to act first. He had to overcome whatever fear was haunting him, even if it hurt Dream to let such an emotion fester within him. I could just use my aura. I could just make him happy. But that wasn’t fair to Cross. That was depriving him of whatever closure he sought.
Cross stepped in front of him and peered down at him, nothing but his eyelights visible upon his face. He gently tilted Dream’s chin up so they were staring each other in the eyes, causing an avalanche of emotions to rush through Dream’s soul. “Do you trust me…?”
Why did it sound like he was pleading for something else? Some alternate response? Dream softened, though he was still extremely concerned. “No, I don’t just trust you. I love you, Cross.” He leaned forward and kissed his cheek, unable to resist his instincts to comfort him any longer. Though he did manage to hold back a bit.
Cross froze, his eyes widening, and then he desummoned his knife so he could practically strangle Dream in a warm, fluffy hug. “It’s you…”
“Of course it’s me, Cross…” Dream’s voice was muffled from having his face mushed into his jacket. It smelled so distinctly of Cross, it made him want to melt into it and never leave. “I’m sorry if it seemed like it wasn’t…”
Cross was stroking his head softly, tears rolling down his cheeks. “No, it’s not your fault. I- I’m sorry that I worried you. I was just afraid…” He pulled back a little so he could look down at Dream’s face. “I was afraid that you wouldn’t be here.”
Dream freed one of his arms so he could tug Cross’ hood down (not seeing his face was causing some unnecessary anxiety within the guardian). His relieved smile quickly melted into a concerned frown. “Are you hurt?”
Cross looked away, though he didn’t let go of Dream. “No…”
“Then why are there bruises all over your face?” Dream gently turned his head back around so he could look more carefully over the wounds. It wasn’t just bruises- upon closer inspection, there were fine cracks around his eyes, which ran around the sides of his skull and, assumingly, to the back of his skull. He wiped away the tears that had gathered beneath Cross’ eyes, his soul aching at seeing him injured.
“It’s nothing,” Cross assured him, a small, broken smile winding across his face.
That was a lie. Dream could tell by all of the strange negativity bundled within him that it was definitely something. “Cross…” Was asking what happened too insensitive? He frowned, then shook his head. “I’m… just glad you’re okay. If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s alright… but can I at least heal you?”
The knight nodded and backed up a little, rubbing at a dark bruise on his head. “That’s fine.” They both sat in the snow, enough space between them to be comfortable, but still close enough to feel each other’s warmth. Dream carefully removed one of his gloves, a brilliant gold glow slowly growing between his fingers. He blinked his eyes shut momentarily (it often required much more focus to alter his aura’s magic to healing magic). When he opened them again, he was pleased to see that the yellow glow had brightened to a pale green. It wasn’t perfect, but he was still learning how healing magic worked.
“Would you like some cake…?” Dream asked, tracing the cracks and dark splotches on Cross’ face. Beneath the green light, he could see the injuries slowly fading away. “Papyrus bought some at Muffet’s bakery earlier today, so I brought some with me out here.” It wasn’t chocolate, but Cross seemed to enjoy most sweet treats- even if chocolate was his favorite.
Cross smiled, rubbing his arms awkwardly. “Ah, no thanks. I ate a ton of chocolate bars to…” He trailed off, but Dream tensed at the words he knew Cross was leaving out. He ate chocolate bars to recover HP. Oh Cross… what happened to you?
“Alright, if you’re sure.” It was best if he dropped it. He wanted Cross to talk to him about it, but not until he was comfortable. Removing his hand, he carefully looked over Cross’ face for any other cracks and bruises he may have missed. There were still some traces of purple across his face, but it was pretty decent work, considering Dream was still a terrible healer. “There. Almost back to normal.” Dream smiled, moving to slip his glove back over his fingers.
Cross stopped him, his hand settling over Dream’s uncovered hand. “Dream… thank you. I… I sort of owe you an explanation, don’t I?”
Not really. Dream was more than willing to forget about it if Cross wanted for him to. He wouldn’t forget it, but he just wanted for Cross to be happy. “If you want to explain, I’ll listen,” Dream assured him, crossing his legs and propping his head up with his hand.
Cross glanced around nervously, then settled back with a sigh. “The others found out about our… meetings. They told Nightmare about it.” He cringed, a hand reaching up to linger against his neck. “Nightmare… didn’t take it well. Or maybe he took it too well.”
That explained Cross’ behavior almost immediately. Dream felt chills cut through his soul at this information, realizing how bad this could have gone. How bad things could still be. “My brother knows about us now…?”
“Yeah…” Cross murmured, his gaze flicking down to their hands. “He… he told me how great it was. That you were close to someone that was his. Dream, he… he wanted me to bring you to Haventale. To the castle.” His emotions darkened, seemingly boiling within his soil as he tried to keep the negativity from slipping past his walls.
Dream’s fingers twitched, needing to reach out and tug those negative emotions away. To replace it with comfort and joy. I should have known this would happen… I’m so sorry, Cross…
“I told him no,” Cross laughed bitterly, his gaze hardening. “Told him I wouldn’t betray your trust like that. It was stupid, I know, but I was so tired of jumping through hoops for him. I guess I got to a breaking point.” He rubbed circles over Dream’s hand, seeming entranced by the slight movement. “Didn’t blow over well, as you could see.”
The guardian hummed to himself, noting that the wounds weren’t as bad as they could have been. If Nightmare was angry, he would have broken bones. If he was really angry though… He would do so much more than physically wound the offender. He would make them suffer. Dream had seen it happen far too often. He could heal broken bones and he could help rebuild destroyed homes, but the soul and its emotions were much more delicate. Once shattered, there were very few ways to repair them.
“He… I guess it was implied, but I know when he’s threatening someone. He threatened to hurt you. To… I don't know, pretend to be you? I don’t know. He told me that it would be really easy for him, since he knew you better than anyone else in the multiverse…” Cross looked up at him, as though needing a reminder that Dream was, in fact, still here, and that he couldn’t possibly be a shapeshifting shade. There were tears in his eyes again, though he was trying to hold them back. “I… I guess I panicked. It probably wasn’t smart, but you know how he is… He could have been telling the truth. He was. H-he was going to make you disappear and replace you.”
Dream let those words sink in, feeling that he wasn’t sure what to make of it. Nightmare couldn’t kill him, that much he was pretty sure of. Or, he couldn’t kill him without some serious backup, and a whole lot of negativity. Still, there were probably a lot of other ways to get rid of somebody. His soul twisted painfully as he remembered just how afraid Cross had been when he showed up in Underswap. He was so afraid that he couldn’t even hold it back behind his emotionless walls. Cross genuinely believed Nightmare had taken his form. That explained the questions, too.
He leaned forward to pull Cross into a hug, pressing his face into Cross’ neck. I won’t ever let that happen. I won’t let Nightmare hurt you like that. For a moment, they clung to each other in silence, listening to their breathing and the rustling of the trees around them. Finally, Dream raised his voice to a low whisper. “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere, alright? Nightmare is just trying to get in your head. And even if he was serious, his plan didn’t work.”
Cross tightened the hug a little, then softened into Dream’s hold. “Right. You’re right.” Although he could still sense doubt, Dream was happy that Cross was calming down. And maybe a little doubt was healthy. He really could have been mimicked- Nightmare was far from lying about knowing him well. The possibility made him queasy. He didn’t like to think of what would have happened if Nightmare really did pretend to be him. And he could still show up pretending to be me. He could be doing that anywhere, anytime. It was really troubling.
“Do you want to stay at Blue’s while we figure out how to approach this…?” Dream asked, hoping to distract himself from the mess of worry that this was developing within him.
“Would Blue be alright with that?” Cross asked, his tone just a bit hopeful. He was trying to sound neutral, but Dream could read his voice just as easily as he could sense his emotions.
“Well, Papyrus might argue about it because you seem to have pissed off my brother, but Blue will probably find a way to smooth things out with him,” Dream sighed, nuzzling his face into the fluff of Cross’ hood. “Blue is always trying to find ways for us to spend more time together. He’s going to love having you around.” Blue had a thing for matchmaking. He tried to be subtle about it, but Dream noticed how excited he got when Cross was spending time with the guardian of positivity. He was the same way with practically every other couple he had met- or had brought together.
Cross hesitated, then whispered, “Thank you, Dream… I love you, too.”
That… was the first time he ever said it back. And after he said it once, Cross made sure to insert those words into every conversation that they had.
Cross loved him.
And Dream, without needing to force his own positivity, without needing to pretend or lie to himself, loved Cross back.