Sanscest/UTMV Oneshots (Vol. 1)

Dream & Ink || Because I Wanted That Brother

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING ONESHOT CONTAINS ANXIETY.

READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED

~oOo~

Ink had wanted to go to an AU and sketch some things. Blue was busy doing things in his AU, so Dream is the one Ink dragged along on this adventure. He isn't complaining that much, it was rather relaxing. He was just also tired from working for hours yesterday and had originally planned to use this one rare free nothing-to-do-at-all day he had to sleep. But Ink convinced him to come, and he was glad for it.

They spend a couple of hours roaming around the forest for a couple of specific spots Ink had found a few days ago. Of course, because Ink already forgot how to find them, they get lost a few times, but they do manage to find them after some scouring. Dream dozes off a bit at the first location, and almost does at the second one, mostly wavering between zoning out and sleeping. After the third one, though, they got hungry and they teleport to a different AU for some food, a break before they went to the other AU Ink wanted to sketch in.

Once they get their food, Ink stares at Dream for a bit before silently taking out his sketchbook. He tries to ask what he was drawing, but Ink stays tight-lipped about it. It became apparent what he was drawing after the crown was finished, though, and Dream blushes a bit as he realizes Ink was drawing him.

Ink glances up and smirks at him, shooting him a wink. He rolls his eyes and chuckles. Dream sips at his drink and glances up, immediately making eye contact with Nightmare.

He freezes.

Nightmare freezes as well, eye socket widening slightly. He's on the other side of the street, with a couple members of his gang. He assumes the other two have gone off somewhere. Maybe to get some food? Like what Ink and he did. The other two members of his gang haven't noticed them. They stay locked in the staring contest for a minute.

He slowly sets his drink down. He fidgets a bit, warring with himself. A big part of him wants to jump up and run across the street, say hi, and start talking. This is a rare moment where they're not fighting each other, and clearly not planning to any time soon. He wants to take advantage of it and try and talk to Nighty civically, but what would he even say? It's been years since they've had an entire conversation. What does Nighty even like anymore? Does he still like reading? Can he even start a conversation with a question about reading? Or should he be more generic and talk about the weather first?

He doesn't know.

But he does know this staring contest is getting awkward fast. Should he go over and say something? It really feels like he should. But he can't bring himself to. What if Nightmare doesn't want him to come over? What if he gets mad at him for talking to him like they aren't enemies? He doesn't want to be the reason Nighty had a bad day. Maybe he should just look away and pretend he didn't notice him. But what if that makes him upset? What if he thinks he was annoyed to see him and came over here to confront him about it? He really didn't want to confront anyone right now.

What to do, what to do...

Before he can make a concrete decision, Nightmare seems to break free of whatever he was thinking and his stare sharpens into a harsh glare. His tentacles flick angrily behind him. Dream flinches and finds his mouth open on its own—what it wants to say he has no clue—and he forces it closed, teeth clicking together. His brother rolls his eyes in annoyance and turns his back on him, tuning in on the conversation Dust and Killer were having.

Dream continues his staring, a guilty taste in his mouth, even though he isn't exactly sure what he did wrong. A bitter voice in his head tells him he did nothing wrong, that this was purely on Nightmare and his childish feelings. He decides to neither agree nor disagree with it.