Aconitum

A Late Night Talk

Dust knocked on Nightmares bedroom door early in the morning. So early in fact that the man was still asleep. He wasn't a heavy sleeper and while he didn't react badly to being woken up he most certainly hated the results of being woken up. See Nightmare looking like Nightmare only happened with a certain amount of concentration. An amount of concentration someone who got woken up at 4:37 in the morning wouldn't have.

Nightmare answered the door despite this, he could be himself while looking like the guardian of the tree of emotion. Especially if he used a blanket to wrap around his head and back, as well as use the dark to his advantage. Dust must of been adjusted to the dark or just more awake then Nightmare because he saw through it. Well sort of.

"Oh shit. Sorry to interrupt you, but is Nightmare in there?" Nightmare rolled his eyes.

"Of course. Let me go get him." He walked behind the door, and tried in a last ditch effort to get his magic to work, but it was 4:39 in the morning though and he was much to tired to change. He walked back to Dust fully trying to play it off as a joke, "What do you need Dust?"

Nightmare certainly didn't have the sense of humor to play it off as a joke. Dust was just left confused and scrambling for a moment before replying.

"Dude what happened?"

"That does not matter. What matters is that if I hear a peep about this from any of the others I will have your head." Dust shrugged it off.

"Alrighty. Do you want to step out or will we have this conversation awkwardly in your doorway?" Nightmare stepped out of his room, only to immediately walk outside. It was bad enough that Dust was going to know, but if Killer or Horror woke up? He'd never live it down. So he and Dust were stood in a field outside their house at 4 something am.

"What did you need?" Nightmare drew the blanket around himself tightly, he knew that if Dust had any reason to harm him he'd lose in this pathetic state.

"I dunno," Dust halfheartedly kicked at a blue flower, "that's a lie. I just needed someone to talk to, and I know you're usually awake around now."

"What do you mean?"

"You scream sometimes, ya know that right? Killer or Horror might sleep through it, but when you're already awake it's hard to ignore." Nightmare wanted to lash out, to hurt Dust for daring to mention it out loud. For destroying the illusion.

"I'm aware. That was not what I was asking about though. Why do you need company?"

"I couldn't sleep. I-" Dust sighed, "I didn't want to have to go through it again. I guess I assumed you'd get it to a point."

"I suppose I do," Night hesitated, but on top of that, he wished he was Dream. Only for a second, but in that second he wished he was someone who understood what to say,

'Can I help at all?'

"Bein here is helping." Nightmare must have said it out loud this time. What he really wanted to say. 'Can I help at all?' some people, probably Dream, might say it has a double meaning. Could Nightmare help Dust? Could he help anyone at all? He didn't know.

"Anything beyond that?"

"I just- I don't want to kill them again. You got me out, but it seems like my brain never left."

"I have the same thing, I escaped but it doesn't always feel that way."

"I wish I could escape for real."

"So do I."

The conversation tottered off for a while. Nightmare found himself understanding Ink a little better though. The silence that normally calmed him, while comforting felt like an absence, like there was something he was meant to be saying. He couldn't find the words that fit, but he spoke anyway.

"Wait who did you think I was when I answered the door?"

"I thought you were having a one night stand or somthin,"

"Wait- what?!" Dust shrugged,

"Hey man some people are really into tentacles," Nightmare made an offended sound, "just sayin-"

"I am going back to bed," Nightmare got up, barely hiding his amusement as he headed back inside.

"Just because you can't handle the truth doesn't mean I need to protect you from it!" Dust called as Nightmare closed the door and flipped him the bird. He couldn't hear it but he just knows Dust burst out laughing as he made his way back to bed.

~~~

Fun fact this chapter was nearly called Intimate-ation cuz of the "I'll have your head" bit. It didn't fit Nightmare style though, so it's this now. Which depending on how you look at it, it could still be a pun.

Also this is part one of a concept broken in two, so hopefully tomorrow I'll have the other part to Intimacy.