WARNING: Mentions of gaslighting, unhealthy guilt driven habits, guilt complex and toxic/abusive behavior on Killer's part.
Head canons:
-Error and Dust are unapologetically savage when people are assholes but don't grasp that fact. Error is not as harsh as Dust due to having a brain to mouth filter.
-Error has a stutter but it only shows up when he's tired, stressed or overwhelmed.
-Error will say what needs to be said a lot more logically. He will repeat himself until it sinks in.
Dust, Horror and Error go down to eat the food Cross made not wanting his hard work to go to waste. Error reheats everything and dinner is a silent affair. Everyone can feel the weight of Cross's despair and are all furious with Killer. When he turns up to eat everyone gets up leaving the room to put away the jambalaya. Error snaps at Killer to make a sandwich since he clearly wants nothing to do with Cross's cooking throwing a loaf of bread at him. Dust and Horror give him withering glares before leaving back to their rooms. Killer is left holding a dented loaf of white bread in the kitchen with a confused look on his face.
By the next morning Dream had cooled off but still refused to talk to Killer. Cross was nowhere to be found both magically and emotionally leaving Dream fidgeting worriedly in his seat beside Nightmare's which is still empty. "Where is he?" Dream murmurs.
Dust fixes him with a deadpan look, "It's almost like you told the kindhearted person clearly struggling against the bully in your relationship to fuck off. Oh w-wait you did." Everyone gapes at him, but he remains firm not backing down from his statement.
"Wow Dust, you have a death wish?" Killer asks raising a brow.
"Shut the fuck up Killer." Dust snaps stabbing his sausage with his fork. He says nothing else continuing to eat.
Horror purrs from his chair proud of his mate for saying that even if it was harsh. Error hums in agreement continuing to eat his steak and cheese omelet enjoying the small bite of the bell peppers. The remainder of the meal is spent in tense silence though Dust can tell what he said hurt Dream. Dream excuses himself after clearing his dishes clearly upset and Dust finds satisfaction in knowing he was put in his place.
Dream searches for Cross in every nook in the castle after breakfast hoping Cross isn't anywhere dangerous.
Nightmare summons everyone to receive new missions carrying Cross looking annoyed.
"Dream can't even look at you after last night." Killer sneers at Cross once he is set down.
Cross sees that Dream won't meet his eyes and swallows down the lump in his throat waiting to hear his assignment. Nightmare assigns him to fetch a mid-range relic in Outer-Lust. He leaves without a word to anyone the portal shutting behind him. Dust and Horror are sent to scout out potential relic locations and Error to prevent interference. Killer is dressed down then and there for his failure to get a low-class relic in a relatively neutral AU. Nothing is said about his behavior from the previous night before he is sent to do cleaning as punishment.
Killer starts with the kitchen planning on finding where the others hid the jambalaya as he never got any. He cleans all the dishes, the sinks, counters, and floors before he finds the leftovers. They are marked with a magic seal courtesy of Error with a note saying that assholes don't get leftovers. Annoyed, he huffs slamming the fridge closed before finishing the kitchen cleaning. He continues to clean until lunch time when he stops to eat. He finds that there are containers of jambalaya for the twins but only sandwiches ingredients for him. He rolls his eyes pulling out the sandwich stuff right as Nightmare comes downstairs.
"Jambalaya's in the fridge." He says simply. "Error says I don't get any."
Nightmare rolls his eye-light, "You shouldn't have insulted Cross's cooking then." He takes the two containers before teleporting back to the office to prepare for Cross's inevitable choice to avoid everyone again. He is not tolerating that behavior this time around due to it stressing Dream out. The yeti AU is still on their planning agenda which is stressful enough without the added stress of Cross avoiding everyone AGAIN. Yet…something in his chest clenches at the thought of Cross being distressed enough to avoid everyone again. He shakes his head not ready to look further into said feeling.
He finds Dream pacing in the office and sighs softly, "Dream what is it?"
"I just undid all the progress I made with Cross in one night! He's going to avoid everyone again!" Dream replies his voice cracking.
Nightmare sets the containers aside going over to him, "He should have heeded your boundaries. He did this to himself by pressuring you when you were upset Dream."
"That's not the point and you know it." Dream replies. "I hurt him right after he felt comfortable enough to spend time with us again! Told him he was no better than Killer!" Dream hiccups softly distressed. Nightmare pauses before going closer to offer Dream a hug still unsure of his triggers. He slides a tentacle over to rub the tears away surprised when Dream opens his arms for a hug. Nightmare pulls Dream into a hug rubbing his back as Dream cries upset with himself. "He didn't d-deserve what I said to h-him…"
"Oh sunshine…" Nightmare murmurs nuzzling him more. Dream nuzzles back looking at him with tear filled sockets. Nightmare wipes them away gently leaning to kiss his cheeks. Dream blushes a few more tears falling down his cheeks which Nightmare quickly wipes away.
"I brought up lunch and yes you need to eat." Dream looks away reminded of Blue's seriousness about his unhealthy guilt-driven habits. Nightmare sets the jambalaya to reheat over the fire more concerned about Dream's well-being than before.
"Dream you haven't actually denied yourself food out of guilt, right?" He asks carefully. Dream avoids his eyes fidgeting nervously. Nightmare gently slides a tentacle under his chin tipping his chin up so their eye lights meet. Dream freezes for a moment making Nightmare nervous he set off another trigger. Dream fidgets more the longer Nightmare gazes into his sockets. His willpower slowly crumbles away, fresh tears filling his sockets as he gives a tiny nod much to Nightmare's dismay.
"B-But Blue h-has been helping m-me…he…also t-told me not to…do t-that…" Dream trails off his eyes darting away from Nightmare's worried gaze as more tears fall down his cheeks guilt radiating off of him. He refuses to meet Nightmare's eyes again trembling. Nightmare hates that Dream's guilt is feeding his corrupt core especially because Dream is already struggling through the aftermath of three nearly back-to-back episodes. "I…I know…guilt…" Dream trails off a soft sob escaping him.
"Dream please don't push yourself." Nightmare whispers pulling his lover into a loose hug and stroking his skull with his tentacle. Dream clings to him his tears soaking into Nightmare's turtleneck as his lover gently rocks him trying to calm him down. After a few minutes Nightmare rubs his lover's cheek to get Dream to look at him.
"I'm s-sorry…N-Nighty…" Dream hiccups when their eyes meet again nuzzling into the palm on his cheek when Nightmare wipes his tears with his thumb.
"You don't have to apologize for your emotions Dream." Nightmare nuzzles him wiping away the tears that continued to drop down Dream's cheeks while using a tentacle to remove the reheated jambalaya from the platform above the fire. Dream hiccups softly working through his emotions using a breathing exercise. Nightmare siphons his guilt away nuzzling his love the entire time. Dream purrs softly enjoying the affection. Nightmare brings over the bowl he combined their servings into. He brings a spoonful up to Dream's mouth dismayed when he doesn't eat it. "Dream please eat…"
"I d-don't deserve to enjoy his cooking after last n-night…" Dream murmurs looking away.
"You need to eat Dream. Making mistakes doesn't mean you don't deserve food." Nightmare replies softly.
"You sound like Blue…" Dream murmurs laughing shakily.
"It means he cares and worries about you as much as I do." Nightmare purrs softly making Dream blush lightly. "Please eat sunshine you haven't eaten anything since 8 this morning." He brings the warm jambalaya back up to Dream's mouth smiling when he eats it. Nightmare eats a spoonful his eye widening as the flavors burst on his tongue like fireworks. The bowl is empty within ten minutes both enjoying the flavors. They then begin to do paperwork while they wait for the others to return aside from Killer.
By evening the paperwork is done leaving the twins to wait for everyone to either return or check in. Nightmare makes them both dinner ensuring that Dream eats again before they turn in later on. After dinner, the two return to the study surprised to find Error there saying that he sent Blue and Ink elsewhere using a redirection method.
"If I had my way, I'd kick Ink's ass but that would c-cause a scene. Would never lash out at Blue t-though." Error murmurs softly accepting the offered cup of tea. They discuss what is going on while Error is careful to avoid mentioning Ink knowing he is Dream's third ex who was the most abusive of the three. They continue to talk until Nightmare excused himself to check on something in the vault.
Once he left Error looks at Dream, "You need to t-tell him about Ink-k and the others-s. Avoiding it is m-making it w-worse for everyone, especially C-Cross." Dream looks away.
"I know w-what Dust s-said was h-harsh b-but you literally j-just told Killer he c-can get away with that s-shit b-by yelling at Cross for apologizing. T-think about t-that." Error leaves Dream in the study his words weighing heavily on his soul.
Nightmare is gone for two hours having texted Dream after the first ten minutes that there are several alarms going off and he has no idea what tripped them. By the time the vault is sorted it's midnight and Nightmare wants a hot bath to soothe his stiff joints. Killer meets him at the crossroads of a corridor saying all the chores are done clearly still miffed about Error's pettiness. Nightmare rolls his eye light reminding him not to insult the chef next time. Killer grumbles but leaves to his room.
Nightmare finds Dream waiting with a hot bath drawn when he returns to his room, "You're good to me." He sighs getting a smile out of Dream though he seems distracted. Once they settle into the bath Nightmare begins to gently wash Dream's back though Dream isn't purring like he normally does when his back is given special treatment.
"What's on your mind Dream? Did something happen while I was in the vault?"
Dream is reminded of Error words feeling guilty. He knows avoiding the topic of his exes and their abuse makes it harder to heal but he hates thinking about them. After a few minutes of fretting he sighs,
"My second ex gaslighted me a lot using my guilt against me to get his way. He faked tears a lot…" He mumbles just loud enough for Nightmare to hear. "That's why I reacted so poorly t-to Cross's apology…" Tears well up in his sockets as he thinks about his harsh reaction to Cross's apology realizing he allowed his anxiety to get the better of him instead of seeing it as a genuine apology. He sniffles reminded of both Error and Dust's words earlier that day. He has failed to protect Cross from Killer who is obviously bullying Cross out of petty possessiveness and jealousy.
Nightmare pulls him closer, "I hate these three assholes more and more each time I hear how badly they hurt you." He grumbles softly. "While it's not the point Cross still pushed when you were upset even if it was to apologize for upsetting you." He holds up a hand before Dream can protest, "That said I agree that Cross didn't deserve to be snapped at." He sighs softly pulling Dream's back to his chest nuzzling his skull.
"I'm worried he'll find creative ways to hide from us again. I'm scared the others will lash out at Killer; I don't want this to tear the team apart Night!" Dream rambles his voice cracking a little. "What if Cross never recovers from this…if I drove him away...lost his trust forever!" he's shaking distressed the anxiety attached to his job title getting to him. "Some guardian of positivity I am…" He hiccups shaking clearly near tears again.
Nightmare rubs his back gently making it clear he wants Dream to be against his chest so he could comfort him, but Dream shakes his head, "I…I…don't…deserve comfort…not after this…"
Nightmare turns Dream to face him gently placing his hands on his shoulders, "Dream please, I hate seeing you be so hard on yourself."
He looks into his lover's eyes his own full of worry. He carefully lifts them both from the bath as the water had gone cold. He drains the tub rinsing it before beginning to refill it with the soaking salts they both love. He keeps Dream wrapped in a towel while it refills. "You are an amazing guardian Dream. Making mistakes in your love life doesn't make you a bad one. Your failures don't make you a bad one. That's an unhealthy amount of guilt to carry."
5 minutes later Nightmare gently helps Dream back into the refilled tub getting in behind him and picking up the dry sponge to clean Dream's back happy to hear him letting out shaky purrs as he gently massages his spine with the soft sponge. By the end of the bath Dream is barely awake clearly soothed by the massage and scented bath water. He helps Dream get out once he does a quick wash to remove the sweat and excess goop in his joints. Once they're both dry, he gets Dream into pajamas and under the blankets of their massive bed making sure he's settled kissing his temple before heading off to find Error as he has a hunch that something happened between he and Dream earlier.
He finds Error in the library reading poetry in his string hammock. Without looking up he says, "I told him to tell you about his exes instead of avoiding the subject. Pointed out that you both just gave Killer the greenlight by being nasty to him over simple mistakes and for apologizing. Dust told him the same thing though he was a lot harsher. Neither of us are sorry at all for calling out the bad behavior on your parts. Neither of us will apologize for saying what needs to be said. Dream avoiding the subjects of his exes is hurting everyone that isn't Killer. Killer will use it to his advantage and continue to antagonize Cross until he snaps mark my words."
Nightmare is floored by his straightforward statement trying and failing to find a way to retort without making an ass of himself.
Error sighs closing the book gently, "You know I'm right Nightmare. Killer is being an ass because he can't cope with the concept of sharing you two with Cross despite agreeing to. He can't share and won't stop until something with drastic consequences happens."
"How are you so certain this is how it will go?" Nightmare asks him.
"Because I know enough of Cross that he will sooner spiral into guilt driven madness than try to address the issue with two people who take the side of the toxic member of the poly quad. One because he was traumatized by his toxic exes but refuses to openly discuss it and you because you are not ready to admit that you are IN LOVE with Cross despite knowing he will treat you right."
"What about you and Blue then?" Nightmare fires back.
"Now you're just being an ass because you hate being told you are in the wrong." Error retorts before teleporting away with his borrowed book leaving Nightmare standing there in shock.