After a moment a young face pops from the painting followed quickly by the rest of their body. They are dressed like a housekeeper and look singed, their hair blackened around the edges.
"Ello monochrome." Jude replies, before they see that their friend is upset.
"Hurt you again so soon?"
"Something like that…" Cross confirms.
"Oh…"
"I just need to be away from everyone right now."
Cross's voice cracks as he lays down on the bed, tears welling up in his sockets. He began to softly sob shortly after his body quaking slightly.
Jude goes over and pats his back before tucking the blanket around him for warmth before heading off to see Licht.
"So, we can't fuck with the twin idiots?"
"Not unless you want to make it worse for Cross."
"What about the arse who caused this?"
"Seeing as he has no idea, we haunt this place…"
Their face twists into a malicious smirk, "Say less."
Come morning it became obvious that Killer hadn't slept a wink the night before. He has dark circles under his sockets and jumps at every slight noise. Dust smirks to himself easily able to tell that Killer had gotten acquainted with the castle's phantom resident still unaware of Jude's existence.
"Rough night knife boy?" Dust leers.
"Fuck off." Killer snaps his hands quaking around his cup of coffee.
Dust just smirks at the knife wielder making him angrier. Nightmare walks into the room with Dream behind him. He raises his browbone at Dust to ask what was going on.
Dust simply shrugs leaving Nightmare to assume it was a meaningless squabble as usual.
Cross noticeably doesn't turn up for breakfast no matter how many times Dust sees Nightmare use his magic to call the soldier. Dust didn't blame him though he can tell it bothers Horror that Cross is skipping a meal again. He reaches under the table to squeeze his larger partner's hand getting a gentle squeeze back to show Horror understood. Error joins them shortly after with his own cup of coffee.
"He's not coming Nightmare. He has no reason to be at the table." Error murmurs as he watches another failed attempt by Nightmare to summon Cross.
"He has never refused a direct summons." Nightmare grumbles.
"Then stop repeatedly telling Cross he's the problem over misunderstandings while doing ABSOLUTEY nothing about the actual bully in your polycule!" Dust snaps not in the mood to deal with the twins' 'woe is me' bullshit at 8:30 in the morning.
"Couldn't have said it better myself." Error hums as he sips his coffee watching Killer choke on his in shock.
Up in the rafters Jude is silently cackling wishing Licht joined them to watch the unapologetic savagery occurring. Nightmare blinks shocked. Dust then continues,
"It's eight fucking thirty in the morning and I have not yet had my coffee so don't start up the 'woe is me' act when the consequences of your actions stare you in the face in the form of his empty chair. Want him to stop hiding? Then actually tell Killer the fuck off when he acts like an asshole. Cross will stay away until there's a mission because he had EVERY right to be upset at both of you."
"But…" Dream starts to protest only to get cut off by Error who glares at Nightmare,
"He is a trained soldier who can and will survive on rations. He doesn't need to eat meals with us so, stop trying to summon him and eat before Horror tears the tablecloth from stress."
Horror blinks slowly having not realized he has the fragile cloth in a death grip.
"Sorry?" He mumbles letting it go.
"Not your fault." Error replies before digging into his plate of waffles, eggs and sausage.
Everyone eats in tense silence after that, the only sound being the scraping of silverware on plates. Dream won't meet their eyes while Nightmare is on autopilot trying to process the fact that Dust and Error dressed him down about his relationship issues…Error for the second time in fact. Jude leaves to tell Licht all about it excited to see that the B plot poly isn't tolerating the twins' nonsense. Cross himself is still asleep having been plagued with nightmares of his past for the first three hours after he fell asleep leading to him waking up constantly until around 2am when he finally fell into a deep dreamless sleep.
Dust does get his cup of coffee and is noticeably less agitated as he does the dishes with Error and Horror once breakfast is over. Killer had left to his room where he passes out shortly after his head hit the pillow. The twins went to the library where they sat in tense silence unable to deny any of what had been said.
A thought comes to Dust as they wash plates,
"You think Licht would bring Cross a plate?"
Instead of an answer Error suddenly glitches violently startling the others.
"Buggy?" Horror asks looking like a kicked puppy.
"I'm FiNe…yOu just s-s-startled me." Error reassures him his stutter resurfacing as a result of the glitch "GrAbBed mY hAnD nOt ThE bOwL." They return to the task at hand once Error's glitches fade away. A thought nags at the largest member of the trio.
"Food for Oreo?" Horror prods looking worried and Dust nods looking up in the general direction of the tower before calling out,
"Not sure if you can be summoned, but if you can hear us…we have food for him."
The air gets colder as a presence makes itself known,
"Say less."
They jolt as a maid with singed hair appears instead of the man with the broken neck.
"There's two of you?" Dust gawks.
"One per tower ya." Jude replies.
"So wHo might y-you bE?" Error asks.
"Call me Jude. I was a housekeeper until I got zapped while cleaning the bell tower."
"Messed with knife boy?" Horror asks slowly.
"Blimey you should have seen his face! Every time he thought he was safe!" Jude cackles.
Dust snickers along with Error, Horror lets out a bark of laughter.
"Food for Oreo?" Horror repeats to Jude who nods.
"If you can keep it warm, I will gladly bring it up for him."
"The dishes are charmed to keep food and drink the correct temperature until consumed." Dust explains and Jude smiles picking up the plate and glass of chocolate milk before vanishing from sight.
"We are never telling Killer about them." Dust declares quietly once Jude is gone.
The others nod in agreement knowing that Killer deserves whatever punishment the resident spirits dish out seeing as the twin idiots are utterly useless in that regard.
Cross wakes up to find a breakfast plate and a cup of chocolate milk waiting for him. He eats still too drained to question how Jude snuck it up here without the team seeing them. That's a problem for later when his head isn't throbbing from crying himself to sleep only to be jolted awake mere minutes later.
Down in the library Dream wrings his hands distressed at the fact that both Dust and Error are right….painfully so. Cross is trained to survive on rations; never mind the fact that there's a powerful ghost protecting his safe space. Nightmare us still reeling from the audacity from those two while also making a mental note to ensure Dust gets coffee before anything is discussed in the morning meetings.
"They're right and you know it." Dream murmurs.
"So what? We allow Cross to survive on rations?" Nightmare grumbles
"He's clearly upset with both of us and no amount of force will make him come down from the tower unless it is for work." Dream replies with a sigh.
"We have royally fucked up…again…"
Nightmare startles when Dream swears as his brother rarely does so much like Blue.
"Dream…" Nightmare tries to placate his lover.
"Nothing will change until we do as Dust says and punish Killer for his behavior in a way a lot harsher than making him do chores. No matter how poorly executed Cross's intentions were I still reacted horribly and so did you." Dream snaps.
"And Cross gets away with avoiding the issue at hand instead of discussing it like and adult?" Nightmare fires back.
"You're more than welcome to challenge the phantom guarding his hiding place if you think he'll stand aside and let you in because you're master of the castle." Dream retorts annoyed.
Jude watches from inside a painting wanting so badly to laugh at their own stupidity to their faces. They know all about Dream's exes even though the guardian avoids the subject like the bubonic plague. They have to give Error credit for being an amazing actor. They met Error by accident but happily gave him an ear to talk off since gossip is their favorite pastime after their death. The stutter was new to them, though Jude assumes it's to do with the way his body spazzed out for a moment when he was touched suddenly.
"Fine then what exactly kept Killer up all night?" Nightmare asks.
"I didn't sense anything around or in his room so, the angry lynched man cannot be responsible. Besides he seems content to stick to the tower where I met him." Dream replies rubbing a hand down his face.
That's what we want you to think jajajaja. Jade thinks to themself pleased that their presence has yet to be sensed by apple idiots' empath powers.
Licht must have scared Goldie's arse real good for them to bring him up.
They continue to argue for another hour until Killer approaches the library after his nap. The others are walking toward the garden when they spot him likely going to disrupt the twins' private conversation.
"Leave them alone Killer!" Dust yells.
"Who dusted and made you boss?" Killer sneers back.
"They're my boyfriends so I can see them whenever I feel like it."
He throws the ornate doors open getting the twins' attention interrupting what was becoming a progressive conversation.
Oh, bugger off knife boy! The tea was just getting good.
Jude flicks their finger, and everyone watches as Killer is tossed aside like a rag doll landing a good five feet up the corridor. Jude grins as they hear Killer yell,
"What the fuck do you want from me?!" right before the ornate doors gently slam shut.