3665 words. Co-written with Heh_HeyaKid
The night was dead silent as Cross opened the door to his apartment. He flicked on the lights to see Chara, his younger brother, resting on the couch, half asleep.
Cross sighed, shaking his head and placing the bags he was holding on the coffee table. "Hey. Char. Are you asleep?" He whispered, only getting a gurgle in response. Cross chuckled softly. "Alright." Cross picked him up and brought him to the bedroom.
He was greeted by a different voice when he entered the living room again.
"Cross, am I right?"
Cross felt cold suddenly, wrapping his arms around himself tightly. He looked around, the room was dark, but he should've been able to see- he caught a glimpse of cyan in the shadows. Cross yelped and stumbled back, falling onto the couch. It was an eye.
"Wh-who the hell are you-?!"
A dark chuckle was heard. "Hell indeed." Whoever it was, they stepped out of the shadows. "I'm Nightmare, a demon sent to this God forsaken planet to, well, find you." 'Nightmare' seemed to be dripping with goop. Cross immediately noticed the tendrils curling behind him and the bright pearly grin. He seemed to be wearing nothing but pants.
"A-a demon-? Like- oh, fuck- why me-?!" He gripped the crimson couch. "No- I can't! Don't I have enough demons? Please, my brother needs-"
"I'm not here to torment you, relax."
Cross paused. "Excuse me?"
The towering figure sighed. "Well. . . Normally us demons get assigned to torment and ruin humans lives, but, well, your life is already shit, so I'm here to get you back on your feet. You can call me your Guardian Demon."
Cross couldn't believe what he just heard. He stared at the demon in front of him blankly for a few seconds. "Take your shoes off."
Nightmare was taken aback. Did a mortal just tell him what to do? "You dare try to command-" His booming voice was cut off by Cross.
Cross pulled the much larger monster down by the collar, if he could, he couldn't because Nightmare wasn't wearing a shirt, so Cross grabbed one of his ribs, making sure Nightmare looked him in the eye. "Look, you could be the Prince of Hell for all I care-"
"I actually am-"
"What did I just say?" Cross asked. Nightmare was too stunned to speak, never having anyone treat him like this before. "Good. As I was saying, you could be the Prince of Hell for all I care, I. Take. No. Shit." Cross glared. "Also, you were going to wake up my brother." He let go and looked at a sleeping human on the other bed in the room.
Nightmare scoffed at him. "Your brother can't hear or see me, but if he is awake, for all he knows, you're talking to yourself."
"Ah, alright." Cross sat down on his bed.
"How bad does someone's life have to be to have a Guardian Demon?" Nightmare laughed.
"I thought you could see for yourself?" Cross asked, curious.
"Where did you learn that from?"
"School."
Nightmare paused. "Mortals teach each other about guardians?"
"How long has it been since you've been last summoned?"
Nightmare was about to answer, but didn't. "Why would I tell you, a moral?" Cross raised an 'eyebrow' at him. Nightmare sighed. "Yes, I can."
