Inkmare Oneshots

Tough Dreams - Fluff

Warnings: Crying, vivid descriptions of traumatic stuff, bad dreams

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Ink and Nightmare were currently sleeping together in the same bed, Nightmare's bed to be exact.

Ever since Ink moved into Nightmare's mansion, his sleep had significantly been a little more.. complicated. Before he lived with Nightmare he barely slept at all, and when he did Ink received no dreams at all.

So, to suddenly be sleeping almost every night and receive such bad nightmares made Ink unnerved and not wanting to go to sleep in the first place.

It wasn't exactly Nightmare's fault Ink was having so many nightmares—it technically was since just his aura made that happen subconsciously and they slept in the same bed so Ink got the most of Nightmare's aura—but it did get less bad the more time he slept. Almost as if his body and mind was getting used to Nightmare's alarmingly powerful aura.

The first night Ink stayed was horrific. Ink had a major panic attack in the middle of the night and it lasted most of the remaining time he had left to rest. Ink had just sat there in Nightmare's arms sobbing and screaming his 'eyes' and 'lungs' out. His voice had been hoarse for weeks after that.

Currently they had been living together for about 3 months, which they celebrated by spending the entire day together in each other's company, taking time off their work. Sure, they spent time with each other everyday, but it was a special occasion so it's different!

Nightmare was facing Ink, his face directly looking at the window that was covered by their curtains.

The octopus was currently sleeping soundly. Ink, on the other hand.. well, he was having another one of the nightmares I was telling you about previously. This time: the dreams were taunting him about things he forgot. To be more specific, he was being reminded of his past.

Ink was surrounded by an empty white void, all alone—everything about that he's terrified of. Of course, there was the empty husk of what was once his brother, but that hardly counts. It's more a mannequin at this point.

Anyhow, there were whispers teasing Ink. Saying things like, "you forgot, didn't you?" and also, "you weren't meant to still be alive." Which, to be fair, were both somewhat true things! It's just in the way they were said, it isn't very pleasant.

Plus, Ink obviously didn't want to be told he wasn't supposed to be alive. He also most likely didn't want to remember his traumatic past.

Back in reality, Ink was tossing and turning. He was also starting to tear up, which finally sent enough negativity to Nightmare in order to wake it up.

Immediately after that happened, Nightmare opened their eyes and frowned. 'Not again..' it thought, not liking the fact that Ink had to suffer in his sleep so often. Nightmare pulled Ink closer, moving their tentacles to soothe the small skeleton by giving him physical affection. Nightmare learned that's what calmed him down most.

"Shhhh; you're alright. I'm here. You're not alone." Nightmare whispered lovingly, also giving Ink some words of encouragement.

Meanwhile, Ink was still getting plagued by the mean whispers all around him. Ink was hugging his legs to his chest, resting his face on his knees. Ink was curled up into a tiny ball.

Then, suddenly, Ink heard something that was unlike the rest. It was.. calming, reassuring. It wasn't like all of the other horrible words being said to him; so Ink clung onto those kind words that he so desperately craved during this point in time.

Nightmare continued to comfort Ink with both physical and verbal reassurance that everything was fine—and would continue to be fine.

When Nightmare noticed that Ink seemed to be calming down, they decided it was best to wake him up. Nightmare gently shook Ink, "Wake up, darling." Nightmare spoke in a volume that was just over a whisper. It was a hushed speaking voice now. Nightmare glanced over at the curtains covering their window, just figuring it was better to wake up fully for the day. There was no reason to go back to sleep at the moment.

It took a few minutes of shaking, but eventually Ink opened his eyes. He gasped for air, sitting up almost immediately after. Since he sat up so quickly, Nightmare had to let go—getting left behind.

Obviously though, Nightmare sat up with Ink and gently picked him up, placing the upset skeleton on their lap. Ink rested his face on Nightmare's shoulder, wrapping his arms tightly around it's chest. "Do you wish to speak about it, darling?" Nightmare asked.

Ink stayed silent for a few moments, just trying to collect his thoughts without crying or doing anything of that sort. However, unfortunately, Ink had forgotten why he was so upset in the first place.

"Take your time—I'll be here." Nightmare stated, not rushing Ink to remember whatsoever.

Ink smiled, 'They know me so well..' he thought as he lifted his face from Nightmare's shoulder—now facing the other directly. Ink stopped smiling when he realized he would have to disappoint Nightmare with his bad memory once again.

"Uhm.. I'm sorry, but I can't remember-" Ink stated, before he was interrupted by Nightmare shushing him with a small peck on the teeth.

"Hush. I said 'take your time', didn't I?" Nightmare said sternly, but lightheartedly.

Ink blinked, looking to the side as he was blushing. He was frowning slightly, though. "You did.. but still!" Ink said, looking Nightmare back in the eye. "Things would be so much easier if I could just remember stuff."

Now it was Nightmare's turn to frown. It sighed, lifting their hand and placing it on the left side of Ink's skull. "Sure, things would be easier if you could remember more often-"

"See!" Ink exclaimed, cutting Nightmare off.

"-BUT I'm dating you for a reason. If I was tired of your forgetting things, you know full and well I would just leave you—which I'm never going to do." Nightmare said, finishing what it was going to say.

Ink blinked, not having expected that. Although, in hindsight, he should have.

"Oh- aha, thanks!" Ink said, sheepishly giggling. He still felt bad that he had forgotten, though. It would take time for him to feel better about that.

Nightmare smiled, kissing Ink's cheek. "You're welcome, hun." It said. "Now, would you like to go back to sleep or get up?" Nightmare asked, bringing out the questions.

He thought about what he wanted at this point in time. "If it's not a bother-"

"It won't be."

"-could we just lay down and cuddle?" Ink requested something that shouldn't be bad—in fact it should be desirable—but nevertheless Ink was still cautious. It was still pretty early on in their relationship, after all!

Of course, though—without any warning—Ink was suddenly pulled down and was now on top of Nightmare, hugging them.

"Obviously we can." Nightmare stated, annoyed with how much insecurity Ink was holding at the moment. 'Hopefully he'll forget about this encounter soon and go back to his peppy self.' It thought.

Ink didn't say anything else, just wanting to cuddle with Nightmare now. Ink kept his legs wrapped around the other's hips and one of his arms wrapped around under it's armpits. Ink was just clinging onto Nightmare.

One of Nightmare's tentacles had twisted itself around Ink's waist, making sure he was secure. The creature also kept hold of the arm that wasn't clinging onto him, just holding Ink's hand while Ink held their hand back.

They were just content with holding each other for now.

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Requested by @Inkingmistake

(1290 words)