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fireflyxwishes · 4 years

Note

Shoot, I forgot to rb this

Prompt: Errormare angst resolved in fluff?

My apologies for taking so long to write this! Also @viridi-cass look, I did it. I finished it. (Currently writing this message before editting in the italics by hand, because you cant use html for asks ;~;) I feel like its worth mentioning that the song ‘Mind is a Prison- by Alec Benjamin’ was what inspried me to write this. I hope you enjoy the story!

In a plane devoid of life and hope, there is very little to be grateful for. As the only being inhabiting such a plane, there is close to nothing to be grateful for. In fact, there was much that he harbored much anger for. Why should he be grateful for life when life was so miserable? What right did anyone have, telling him not to be angry because “life isn’t fair”?

Error used to be filled with unimaginable hate for the Multiverse. He used to wish everyone would just die, just to free himself from this cycle of suffering. That’s all it ever was: a cycle, just like it was in those miserable AUs. If ever there was such a thing to exist that filled him with infinite rage, it was endless, inescapable circles. He had made it his mission to end all of these AUs- and, with them, any of these repeating cycles. Just mentioning resets around him made him much more irritable.

However, life was too cruel to allow him this path. The beings that watched over the Multiverse- the so-called “Creators”- stole his free will long ago. They only allowed him to persist if he followed their rules: destroy enough worlds to cause mayhem, but never enough to come even close to his goal. Error tried- oh, he tried so hard- to find a loophole and to beat them at their own game. But… he wasn’t ever a player in this game. He was just a pawn, fated to be used however the Creators wished to use him.

Curled up among his own signature strings, Error stared into the blank nothingness of his Anti-Void with an empty gaze. He wasn’t sure how long he had been hiding here, avoiding the one person that could usually put his mind at rest. He didn’t want to feel better. Any peace he felt was a lie. Error knew the truth. He could never truly find peace- the Creators would never allow him this.

As hard as he tried to keep himself from letting his thoughts roam, they did so anyways. Why did he always find himself thinking of a certain king of darkness? Why couldn’t he just forget? It was one of the few things he envied of his nemesis. How wonderful it would be, to simply forget all the pain, all the suffering? And… why did he want so badly to forget the joy? The happiness he had managed to find in the darkest of places? Why did he feel so much despair when he thought of that singular eyelight glimmering in pleasant delight?

Error clawed at his skull, turning to stare up at the nets and webs of pale blue strings hanging above him. This was never a part of his plan. He shouldn’t have accepted the help he was offered. He should have known he had to do this alone. But Error was so lonely. He had no friends in this terrible existence- even the Creators were his enemies. So, seeing someone who was equally hurt by the powerful beings- someone who sought such a similar goal to his own- almost… comforted him. He wasn’t alone in this.

Nightmare wasn’t an easy person to be around in the beginning. He was incredibly manipulative, seeking only what he could gain from their alliance. However, he and Error slowly warmed up to each other. They viewed each other as equals, and when they worked together, they were near unstoppable. That is, until the Creators intervened. As time passed, Error found it becoming more and more difficult to be away from Nightmare. He trusted him more than anyone else in the Multiverse, and Nightmare never once betrayed this trust- even though he easily could. It had gone much further than a simple alliance. They talked about their worst memories with each other, they went out of their way to protect the other, and there were more than a few secrets shared between them that both would readily die to keep.

This… wasn’t a good thing, though. Sure, he had been happy at first! He was glad to have someone he could trust, someone he could return to when he was too tired to stand. But the Creators? They didn’t feel the same way about this development. No, they were… really happy. Too happy. Nightmare started returning to the castle wounded- how he did was a mystery. Even he was too dazed and beaten to remember what had happened. No one was supposed to hurt him… It was progressively getting worse. It was only after Nightmare returned on the brink of death that Error realized what was happening.

Nightmare had gotten too close to him. Every fond moment they shared resulted in another one of these incidents. Every day Error spent in the castle, misfortune followed the king of negativity. It was even beginning to haunt the other members of the gang, whom Error was beginning to care about.

It was all Error’s fault. It was because of him.

So here he was, hiding in the Anti-Void, hoping to spare those he cared about from the pain that followed him. He was cursed- Error always knew that. He was a fool for thinking he could befriend anyone.

“I can’t go back,” he whispered to himself, feeling his own soul twist in agony. To be apart from Nightmare was like being dipped into ice and feeling himself freeze over. He was so lonely. So afraid for his strange friend. Were they friends…?

It didn’t matter what they were. It might be miserable without him, but Error couldn’t stand to see him hurt. Nightmare didn’t deserve to get hurt, he wasn’t the Destroyer. He was just caught in the crossfire of Error’s silent war against the Creators. He just wanted to protect him, even though leaving probably wasn’t doing wonders for either of them. Nightmare had a bad habit of blaming himself for these types of things. He even admitted that he pushed others away, fearing what would happen if he were to grow close to them. After all, it’s easier to be everyone’s enemy, is it not?

But Nightmare let him in. And so did Error. They had both let down their walls and opened up to each other, and now it was being used against them.

Error sat up and rubbed at his eyes, halfhearted attempting to clear his vision. “What more do you want from me?” He asked, knowing they could hear him. “Why won’t you leave me alone?!” Why couldn’t they leave Nightmare alone?

“Oh Error, you know you were never supposed to be happy,” the voices taunted, spiralling around him like mist. They were everywhere and nowhere all at once. Inside his head, outside his head, far beyond and uncomfortably close. “You knew that there would be consequences for your rebellion.”

He scoffed, resisting the urge to curl up and make himself look smaller. “Yes, but you hate me. Hurt me, dammit!” Nightmare didn’t do anything that you didn’t want him to.

“Please, you mock our intelligence. If we hurt you, you would learn nothing. You cannot have anything, because you are nothing more than a tool for destruction. You are becoming far too rebellious by forming this ‘bond’.” They paused, almost amused by his stupidity. “Maybe this will serve as a permanent reminder of what you are.”

Error tensed, clawing nervously at the strings beneath him. “Reminder? What are you going to do…?” Was it possible to stall beings that could control time and space? Was it possible to stop them?

The Creators let him fidget, allowing his anxiety to build and fester. “We aren’t going to kill him. No, that’s too painless. What we have in mind is much more… interesting.”

Long ago, the Creators discovered that they could not only speak to him, but they could manipulate his memories to “speak” through images in his mind. While they didn’t use this power often, they did seem to find it amusing. For Error, it was one of their most terrifying abilities.

And they were forcing him to relive his past. The resets… so many genocide runs… But they didn’t stop there. The images changed, instead showing a grassy glen where two young monsters were huddled together beneath an apple tree. How… how am I seeing…

It was Nightmare’s childhood. Nightmare’s AU. The Creators seemed to take great delight in displaying his torture clearly, and no matter how much Error cried for them to stop, the villagers continued hurting him. He watched it happen over and over, until the Creators at last displayed the dreaded event that turned Nightmare into what he was now. It… wasn’t easy to watch. Part of Error was satisfied to see the villagers die, to see their lives ebb for what they did to Nightmare. But… he knew that this continued to haunt the king of negativity. This incident was a source of great conflict within him, though he hadn’t really admitted it.

“You seem upset, Destroyer,” the voices purred, letting the not-memory still and return them back to the Anti-Void.

Error didn’t offer any reply, instead fighting to understand what they were planning and how he could foil it.

“You can’t beat us when you’re a hundred steps behind,” they almost laughed. “It’s almost a pity that you won’t be able to see what you caused.”

“What are you planning?” Error asked in alarm, standing abruptly on his net of strings. He had a very dark, unpleasant feeling about this. Knowing the Creators… they were likely going to hit him where it hurt the most.

For a moment, they remained silent. They were trying to aggravate him. “This is why you can’t have nice things- you are the dullest bulb in the entire Multiverse. It should be easy for you to guess,” they mocked. Error glared into the air as though that might encourage them to get to the point. “Oh, you’re so curious, though. But you know what they say-”

“Yeah, yeah, curiosity kills the cat. Now tell me what you’re planning before I go and destroy your favorite AUs,” Error threatened, his glare darkening. This, somehow, got their attention.

“Nightmare has such a sad story. So much despair and misery. Wouldn’t it be so interesting if he had to relive it? Wouldn’t it be interesting if he was trapped, knowing he is only going to be tortured each time? Doesn’t that sound… familiar?” They chuckled, fully aware of how still Error had become.

The glitches became violent. No… No, no, no nonononono- They were… They were going to...

No.

Something in the Destroyer snapped, pulling what stability he had left to tattered bits. No more resets. He knew that there was no real way to stop the Creators. No more genocide. They could do whatever they pleased, as long as the AU wasn’t an original of its kind. The Creators, however, had overstepped his limits with them. If there was anything that he would never allow, it was resets. Endless loops of inevitable misery…

He wouldn’t allow it.

Ripping strings out of his sockets furiously, he tore straight through the fabric of the Multiverse and dropped straight into the corrupted Haventale, hoping he had acted fast enough. If I get to him first… The only advantage he had right now was his unpredictability. It was clear that he had surprised them. They expected me to crash… He grinned manically, pleased that- for once- his insanity was doing him a massive favor.

He didn’t even bother to open the door to Nightmare’s office- no, that would waste time. He ripped it right off of its hinges with his strings, tossing it through a portal carelessly. Nightmare, who was sitting behind his desk, looked up and immediately sensed something was wrong. “Er-?!”

Error didn’t give him much of a chance to process what was happening, tossing forward dozens of strings to tangle around his ally with speed that rivalled lightning. There wasn’t much Nightmare could do even if he considered fighting an option. In the blink of an eye, he was tightly bound in silvery, sky blue strings. Not enough… The Creators still had power as long as they could get to his soul. Teleporting to his side, Error tried to swallow the sick feeling that seeing Nightmare staring helpless and confused at him invoked. “S0rry…” Damn glitches…

Almost against his will, his magic refused to summon Nightmare’s soul. Error started to panic, almost prepared to reach right into Nightmare’s ribcage to draw out the culmination of his being (his haphephobia would make this difficult, but not impossible). The king of negativity, however, sensed his panic and released an unsteady sigh. “I… trust you. I don’t know what has caused you so much distress, but if having access to my soul makes you feel better…” His cyan eyelight fixed on Error’s anxious gaze, silently communicating “it’s going to be okay”.

Nightmare summoned his soul, his gaze never breaking from Error’s. He flinched slightly as strings tightened around the dark, sludge-covered apple that was his soul, but he didn’t fight it. Why does he trust me so much…? Error felt guilt stab at his chest, but… he had to do this. At least now the Creators can’t get to him. As long as they couldn’t access his soul, they couldn’t do anything with him.

For a moment, he simply stood and tried to gather the courage to finish what he came to do. But… he’s watching. Waiting for an explanation… Didn’t he deserve to know what was happening? Didn’t he deserve to know how foolish and stupid Error was? Tears burned at his sockets, and he turned his head away to stare at the shelves of books that Error knew Nightmare had memorized every word of.

A gentle tug on his strings brought his gaze back to the shadowy being. One of his tentacles were winding around the strings that pinned it back, purposefully drawing his attention. “Error… Talk to me, please. You’ve been away for five days. What happened…?” Nightmare tilted his head, his face twisted with concern as well as grief. It was clear that he hated to see Error in pain.

He deserves to know… Yet, some vicious part of Error’s mind hissed for him to end this now. He was just going to die, why prolong it? Why draw it out when it was only making them both miserable? The sooner he’s dead, the sooner he will be free from the Creators’ grasp. It made sense. It was perfectly reasonable! Nightmare was an original- he couldn’t be revived or remade. The Creators would never be able to hurt him again. So why was Error hesitating…?

Taking a cautious step forward (he didn’t want to accidentally pull his strings too tight), he sat down on top of the desk in front of Nightmare and tried not to feel too ill with misery. Nightmare smiled patiently, leaning back against his chair as best as he could. “I…” Void, how was he supposed to tell him this?! How could Error begin to explain any of this? He doesn’t even know about the Creators… Not really, anyways. He knew that they created AUs, and that was it. Nightmare didn’t know they used him (and Ink) as their own puppets. Error never needed to tell him until… well, until now, when things had gotten out of his control.

“Th-they were going t0… I c-can’t le-t-t…” Error scowled, resisting the urge to scratch at his throat. Glitches… He growled in frustration, clenching his and relaxing his fingers as he sought to calm himself.

“It’s alright, Error. Take your time,” Nightmare encouraged, glancing toward the doorway curiously. “Hm. You ripped the door off of it’s hinges. The door that was supposed to be indestructible.” Despite his situation, he smiled at this. “I wouldn’t expect anything less from the Destroyer of AUs.”

A tense grin tugged at Error’s face, breaking some of his previous panic and calming his nerves- barely. He took a deep breath, then tried to speak again. “I hAve to d-... ha-ave to… prote-ect you. Fr0m th-hEm. They w-were g0ing to…” How to explain…? “Res3t…hu-u-urt you…”

Nightmare processed his mangled worlds for a moment, decoding it silently while Error fought the tiny voice begging him to end this end this end this end th-

“I’m okay, Error. I’m safe.” Nightmare gestured to himself as best as he could with a tentacle, unbothered by the strings that cut into the slimy substance that covered him. “We both are. This isn’t Aftertale- there are no more resets.” For a haunting moment, Error almost forgot he had told Nightmare about his past. For the briefest of moments, he really thought… No, they can’t control him. They can’t…

“Breathe. Focus on me,” Nightmare commanded gently, tugging on the strings once more to draw Error’s attention. The glitch lifted his head and took a deep, shuddering breath. “Good. Just breathe. Whatever you’re thinking, don’t listen to it. You’re stronger than those voices. You’re here, with me, and we’re both safe.” While Nightmare wasn’t fully aware of it, he had said just the right thing to calm Error’s nerves. They’re just voices… they’re just voices…

“If I don’t do this… I can’t… It’s my fault. I should have known better.” Error clenched his hands into fists, focusing on the threads tangled around his fingers. “I put you in danger. I’m sorry.” He was so sorry. Error never really thought any of his actions through, unlike his tangled-up companion. He always rushed into his plans without thinking of how it might screw him over later.

Nightmare blinked, then stared up at the ceiling. His eyelight dimmed, giving away his frustration. “It’s not your fault, Error. Whatever it is, I know you aren’t to blame.” A questioning gaze fixed on him. What aren’t you telling me? it seemed to ask.

Error found it hard to focus on him, instead turning to roll a pen side to side across the desk. “The voices…? I… should have told you a long time ago.” Angry tears threatened to slip down the strings he had drawn from his sockets. “They’re real, and they’re… AU Creators. Most of them hate me.” He was pretty sure that they did- unless tormenting him was their sick way of expressing affection. The glitch didn’t really care how they felt about him, though. He already made up his mind about them- they were a threat and his only true enemy. “I was stupid. I knew they wouldn’t let me have anything good. I should have known better.”

Shuddering in agony, it took a sharp tug on the strings that were linked to his fingers to draw him from his impending panic attack. Nightmare glared right through him, his tentacles struggling against their restraints rather pointlessly. “If you’re being targeted by the Creators, they are to blame. Not you. Have you considered that they wanted this?” The king of negativity hesitated, his thoughts clearly racing as he stripped the information he was given and processed it. “Creators are all-powerful, are they not? If so, they may have known we would become close. This could have been their plan.”

I really am stupid. He doesn’t even know everything, and he already has a great theory...Error shrank, his body glitching harder. Worthless, pathetic, screw-up-

“They made a mistake,” Nightmare laughed, drawing the glitch back to reality.

“W-what?” Error frowned at him, wishing he could read emotions like Nightmare could. At least then he would have a hint at what the goopy octopus was thinking.

“They made a mistake,” Nightmare repeated, smiling in dark amusement. “Really? They’re trying to beat me at my own game. Mind games are my thing. Err, you are the strongest monster in existence, and if these Creators were foolish enough to let us come together, I may be more intelligent than them. What can they do to us that we can’t parry?”

Error felt himself soften just a little at that cunning glint in Nightmare’s eye. Though his mood soured once more as he remembered why he resorted to such a brash action. “They were going to force your world to reset. They want you to relive your childhood again. To suffer in an infinite cycle until…” Well, until he inevitably ended up like Error. Desperate enough to do whatever it takes to escape the resets.

“Oh.” Nightmare seemed genuinely surprised. He blinked a few times, then frowned. “So… you came here to kill me. So I wouldn’t suffer.”

Error shifted uncomfortably, loosening most of his strings but keeping a firm grip on Nightmare’s soul (there was no way he was going to let the Creators get to it). “Yeah…”

“Hm… You wouldn’t have resorted to this if you felt there was some other way to stop them.” Nightmare stretched his freed limbs, relaxing a bit. He tapped his soul lightly with the tip of a tendril, entertained by how it bobbed mid-air. “Why trap my soul?”

At least it was an easy question to answer. Error felt like he might crash if he had to talk about what he almost did- what he still might have to do. “The Creators can’t take anyone if I have their soul. ‘M pretty sure they can’t control anyone if I make the soul my puppet, too. I was going to do that, instead, but…” Stars above, he may be insane, but he could never live with himself if he controlled Nightmare. And that didn’t make him invulnerable to attacks, either. One way or another, the Creators would find a way to take Nightmare from him.

“I see. So, as long as my soul is trapped, they can’t return me to Dreamtale?” Nightmare asked, tapping the arm of his chair thoughtfully. “They must have known… If what you say is true, and if my theory is correct, they would have known you would respond this way. And it isn’t like they have put any effort into stopping you from killing me.”

Error nodded, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. “In the past, they were always a step ahead of me. I never thought I c-could… I didn’t think I was ever going to beat them. I gave up most of the time, until we started working together. And- and they never told me their plans before they had acted!” He sat up straight, jolting in alarm at his sudden revelation. “Th-they-! They wanted me to- aGH!” With a frustrated sweep of his arm, he launched a chair near the wall to his left straight out a window, not that it made him feel much better.

This was hardly out of the ordinary for the king of negativity (who had just about as much restraint as Error, and frequently tossed people out the window in the past- rather than furniture). Nightmare did nothing more than snarl softly, just as irritated at this unveiled deception.

The Destroyer wasn’t sure if he wanted to eviscerate a few AUs or bury himself in sand for a century. Maybe both. I almost killed the only person I trust. They knew all along that I was going to do this. I should have… should have known…

“Hey.” Nightmare’s tone softened, coming out close to a whisper. For someone so threatening and creepy, he had a surprisingly quiet voice. Error, quite often, was the exact opposite. His voice was loud, and because of the glitches, it was sometimes painful to listen to. “Error, don’t blame yourself. Please, this isn’t your fault. I… I should have seen that something was wrong. My aura picked up abnormalities in your mood some days, but I didn’t think much of it. And the voices…” Nightmare let out a long, frustrated sigh and massaged his temples. “I knew something was off and I didn’t act. I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t-! It’s not your fault!” Error was furious, though he wasn’t sure who he was angry at or why he was angry. His sockets filled with glitches, rendering his firm glare pretty much pointless. “Nightmare, I’ve been fighting these idiots for centuries, so don’t you dare think you are to blame for not noticing their games! If anyone should have seen it, it’s me!” And maybe Ink, but that was beside the point. “I’m the damned moron that let them manipulate me. I know their tricks. I should have seen it, but I guess I really am a screw-up because I didn’t see it.”

“You aren’t a screw-up,” Nightmare snapped back, his eye blazing brightly. “You are the Destroyer of AUs, the strongest and most feared glitch in the Multiverse. You put thousands of broken, suffering AUs out of their misery, you hold the balance of the worlds and end potentially endless genocide. You are a protector in your own way. And you’re so much more than that. You’re a creator in some ways, too. You’re the best hacker I’ve ever met- probably the best in existence. Error, you saved so many of my plots by completely ignoring the plan.” He laughed lightly. “I value your brash actions and poor planning skills. You see everything from a different angle.” He paused, a cyan light dusted across his face. “You helped me see something worth fighting for. An ally with anger issues and a smile almost as terrifying as my own. An ally I trust to hold my soul in their hands.”

Error looked down in surprise. Nightmare’s soul hovered just above his hands just above his fingertips, strings loosely hanging around it. He looked up sharply, confused. “...Why?” He whispered, glitches hopping across his body.

“Do I need to repeat myself?” Nightmare gave him a shy smile- so different from his usual overconfident grin. “You’re worth my trust. You’re the only being in this entire Multiverse that understands me, and you accept me for it. You deserve the same and more.”

For a breath of a moment, Error doubted he was awake. This wasn’t… he didn’t deserve… I’m an abomination. But… Nightmare, technically, was an abomination too. Wasn’t he? When did Error stop viewing him that way? When did destroying an abomination become so terrifying and painful for him? Why did the Multiverse seem empty without Nightmare? Why did he feel empty thinking of being apart from him? And why did having his soul so close make Error’s soul glitch so hard it might have snapped right out of his chest?

“I… Night… What do I do…?” His shoulders sank and he fixed his gaze on the shadowy fruit that housed Nightmare’s spirit, too many questions left unanswered within. “I wasn’t supposed to…! I- I need to destroy everything, but I can’t… It’s my fault… again.”

Nightmare’s overconfident grin returned, standing out brightly against his dark face. “No, Error, I think it really is my fault. You can’t destroy me.” Why did he have to sound so smug about it?! Error glared back at him, only refraining from kicking his shin because that was physical contact. Noticing his glare, Nightmare simply laughed. “Good to know the feeling is mutual. I can’t hurt you any more than you can hurt me.”

“How in the void is that a good thing?” Error growled. To him, it was a weakness- and a very dangerous weakness, at that. The Creators had eagerly used Nightmare against him, and this was not going to be the last time that they did.

“Better to be against the worlds with company than to face them all alone.” Nightmare smirked, his head tilted and his tentacles flicking lazily behind him. “The two strongest beings in the Multiverse together? Do you truly think there is anything that can stop us?”

“I don’t want you to get hurt,” Error admitted, wincing at his honesty. “I already told you- the Creators hate me. It won’t just be the Multiverse we’re against, it’ll be the Creators of the Multiverse too.”

Nightmare leaned forward and played with the end of Error’s scarf (he was only allowed to touch his scarf, as it didn’t trigger his haphephobia). “I’ve already been hurt by them, Err. They don’t want either of us to be happy, from what I can tell. Why do you think they want me dead?” The fallen guardian smirked, tracing the stitches of the scarf with a finger. “What better way is there to defy them than by finding happiness with each other?”

It was so simple a plan, but so clever- and Error didn’t have any argument with it. Not really, anyways. Sure, he was worried about how horribly wrong this could go, how easily he could be hurt, and how many Creators would be pissed off at this development… but Error would worry about that when he had to. Truthfully, he really enjoyed spending time with Nightmare. He liked watching Undernovela with him when neither of them could sleep, drinking hot chocolate while cuddled in blankets so they could sit next to each other without touching. Error loved listening to Nightmare rant about how overrated some protagonist of a story he read is, and watching him enthusiastically gush about the tragedy he read was even more entertaining. Sometimes, his eye even shifted to a star! And their mock battles (for training the rest of the gang or simply for their own entertainment) were more stress-relieving than destroying AUs sometimes.

Error was happy around Nightmare, ironically enough. Maybe it was stupid, maybe he was stupid, but he… he wanted to learn to love, if only to be closer to Nightmare. But… what if he doesn’t feel the same way? What if we’re just friends…?

Only, he forgot that Nightmare was an empath, and Error had never been good at hiding his emotions from the other’s aura. “Err… you know I wouldn’t suggest such a thing if I didn’t care about you more than anyone else. Maybe… I suppose it’s more than trust. I shouldn’t be able to feel the things that I do when you’re around… but I do, and I would be lying if I said that I don’t enjoy it.” Nightmare was blushing once more, but it was much deeper than before. “I was going to tell you this awhile ago, but… I love you.”

Error’s face glowed softly with yellow blush, and he mentally debated if he should hide his face in his scarf or not. He settled on not doing so, though. Nightmare was still playing with the end of it, and it made the destroyer feel like yanking the fabric right off. “I love you too, or something, I guess.” He looked over his shoulder, hoping Nightmare couldn’t tell just how obnoxiously bright his face was with magic. It couldn’t possibly come off wrong, either- Nightmare could sense his emotions clear and true.

“You still wanna kill me?” Nightmare asked teasingly, letting go of his scarf. Error frowned, tapping the heel of his foot against the desk. No. He didn’t want to in the first place. But the Creators didn’t give him any other option.

“If I let go of your soul, they can do whatever they want to you,” Error sighed, looking back at the little treasure that hovered so close to his hands. That tiny voice in the back of his mind whispered that it really would be better if Nightmare was dead- they couldn’t hurt him if he was. But Error shook the thought away, well aware that he couldn’t trust his own mind anymore.

Nightmare thought for a moment, then shrugged. “Don’t let go of it, then. I trust you with it, just try not to spill chocolate on it.”

Error was pretty sure that wouldn’t be the biggest problem. “I’ve tested it in the past, and every soul has its limit on how far away it can be from its owner. Stronger souls can usually be further away, but I’ve never found one that could be more than a couple feet from its owner. Holding on to your soul is going to make our jobs pretty difficult.” Not to mention, he was going to have to find a way to keep it safe from attack, since it was exposed and easy to damage.

“Then I guess we’re going to have to stick pretty closely together,” Nightmare purred, reaching behind him. A blanket…? Wha-

“AH!” Error shouted, surprised to be lifted up so suddenly. Nightmare had wrapped the blanket around him like a cocoon, so his hold was not triggering- it was warm and almost comforting. Cradled in his arms, the glitch wriggled enough to free his face and glared at Nightmare. “Thanks for the warning.”

“You’re welcome,” Nightmare chuckled, seeming pleased with himself.

Error swatted him with the end of his scarf, then hurriedly shifted himself so he could check on Nightmare’s soul. “I could have pulled the strings too tightly! You could have killed yourself, you idiot!” He only relaxed when he was completely confident the strings had not cut into Nightmare’s soul- or, not much, at the very least.

“Alright, I’m sorry. I’ll warn you next time,” Nightmare relented, not sounding too worried about how he almost died. He stepped around his desk and walked out of the door, chuckling to himself over the door that was discarded in the hallway. “I’ll get Cross to fix it.”

Error scoffed, curling a little deeper into the blanket while he stared sleepily at the string-tangled soul in his hands. It didn’t hurt to touch it, unlike normal physical contact. In some ways, it made him feel like he was holding Nightmare’s hand. Only, unlike Nightmare himself, the apple was smooth and cold to the touch, not warm. It fascinated him.

They were in the living room sooner than Error expected. Nightmare sat down on the sofa, but he didn’t let go of Error. Instead, he curled his tentacles gently around him, holding him a little closer. “Let me go, you goopy abomination,” Error complained, wriggling halfheartedly with no intention of actually breaking free.

Nightmare peered down at him then frowned. “Promise not to disappear again?”

He was only gone for a few days! That said, he hadn’t left the castle for a long time without discussing it with Nightmare beforehand. Error rolled his eyelights, prodding the magical fruit in his hand. “I can’t really disappear without bringing you with me now, can I?”

“I don’t care. I was terrified I wouldn’t see you again. Promise me, Error.” Nightmare held his gaze, the fierce glow in his eye giving away his true feelings- he really had been terrified.

With a bit of reluctance, Error nodded. “Alright. I promise I won’t.” Satisfied, Nightmare shifted his arms to let Error slip next to him on the sofa. But… “Wait-” The Destroyer curled his arms around Nightmare without thinking, surprising them both. He ignored the glitches that sprang around him in favor of nuzzling into the blanket against Nightmare’s chest. “Don’t let me go.”

“...Okay.” Nightmare sighed and pulled him close again, making sure to rearrange the blanket so they weren’t touching anymore. They stayed like this for a while, until Nightmare eventually suggested they watch something on the tv. Old reruns of Undernovela played on loop, casting a sienna glow across the dark walls. For just this moment, Error let himself forget about the Creators and his failure. He and Nightmare were safe. They were safe, and they were together.

Subconsciously stroking the surface of Nightmares soul, it took Error a moment to realize he was lulling his goopy companion to sleep. Nightmare was staring at the television with a sleepy, lidded eye, his head drooped against his hand. He couldn’t help but smile at that soft, tired expression on his face. Stupid insomniac… Nightmare was absolutely awful at getting a healthy amount of sleep. The realization that having Error in his arms made him tired enough to sleep made the glitch’s soul thrum with affection. You’re worse than I am. At least now he could keep an eye on him. They really were going to be stuck like this for awhile.

Nightmare’s breathing slowed, and his hand slipped. The glitches from the sudden contact on his skull almost made him jolt, but Error stilled when he felt Nightmare’s warm breath on his bones. ...Wonderful. I’m a pillow now, he thought with no real venom. It really didn’t bother him as much as he thought it would. Maybe it was Nightmare’s aura calming him, or maybe he trusted him that much. Magic glowed across his face, but he did nothing more than snuggle a little closer.

“Heh… okay, you can use me as a pillow, but nO teTacLES!” He hissed, tying down the tendril that had idly curled around his arm. He relaxed when he seemed to have gotten through to the slimy limbs, which drooped back against the sofa almost dejectedly.

All things considered, it was a good night. Sure, he almost killed the first person he ever loved, but he didn’t! He finally beat the Creators in one of their games. He found happiness. He and Nightmare were together, in a sense. Stuck together, but still. This was something he thought he would never have. He thought he would have to live his life alone forever. But suddenly, he wasn’t alone, and the future looked a little less bleak. If anything, he had a small spark of hope. That, and a goopy mess of a hopeless abomination that he was more or less tethered to now. But… this was certainly a night of many firsts.

It was the first time he accepted that just one person was not an abomination. And that was something to be grateful for.

#im brilliant #errormare #error #nightmare #error x nightmare #mkay #at least i remembered today #and not a week later #hahaha...hah...

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