Our Little Toys

CHAPTER 31

TW: blood, violence, & some sort of disassociation or something I can't really describe.

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Ink threw himself at Nightmare the second he walked close enough for him to be able to reach him. Nightmare smiled and offered him the plate of food that he fixed for him, Ink took it as soon as he possibly could. He was very hungry for no real reason he could think of, and he just scarfed down the food. Nightmare chuckled, and pulled him into his lap as he ate. His attitude was a welcome change from everything that happened the previous day. Yesterday he seemed so broken by what Dream had said to him, and what that meant to him. Yet today he was the usual happy, bubbly self, and Nightmare was honestly relieved.

He loved seeing Ink all happy like this, and he was not excited to burst his bubble. But the happiness had to be short lived as it would be better to tell him then to leave Ink high and dry.

"So Ink, I have something to talk to you about." Nightmare said, starting gently.

Ink hummed in response and turned his attention over to Nightmare and smiled sweetly. Nightmare sighed and looked at him with a sympathetic smile. He pulled a small bracelet with a charm on it out of his pocket and handed it to Ink. he lit up and immediately yanked it out of his hands. He always enjoyed little gifts, it was a love language to him, and he enjoyed it more than Nightmare realised he would.

"It is for you." Nightmare said, still smiling sadly, "if you click on the charm it will send a notification to my phone. I will come down as soon as I can if you press it, alright? But, it is only for emergencies."

"Okay! Why, though? Is something wrong?" Ink asked, his excitement turning to scared curiosity.

Nightmare sighed, but couldn't manage to force the smile back onto his face. He took Ink's hand and placed a small kiss on his hand before deciding to hesitantly continue on his train of thought.

"I took time off of work, but unfortunately, despite the fact that I virtually own the law firm I work at, my vacation days have run out. That means I have to go back to work. Which further means that I have to spend most of my day at work, so I will not be around as much as I have been."

"Awww, really?" Ink pouted, and felt tears welling up in his eyes.

Nightmare placed a hand on his cheek and gave him the softest look Ink had ever been given. He clung to the hand and let the tears fall from his eyes. He felt stupid for feeling like this, he'd known him for virtually no time at all and half that time he'd been torturing him, yet he felt like he'd never been closer to another person in his life. No matter how much he hated it, he genuinely did care for Nightmare in a way he never thought was possible.

He hated it, but he did genuinely adore Nightmare. He loved how he cared for him and he loved how he protected him. Ink knew he couldn't help him in the way that he's been cared for, and the longer he was here the less he hated that feeling. So he clung to Nightmare as he wiped the tears off his face. Nightmare asked him to stop crying, as it wasn't a nice look for him. In his words, Ink was too pretty to look so sad, and his comments somehow only made him feel nicer.

"So, while I am gone, Killer will be taking control of your care. He will be bringing your meals and will take care of everything you need." Nightmare explained, Ink's fear growing with every word.

"No, no please." Ink begged, desperately clinging to him and crying into his shirt. "Please don't leave me with him, please don't leave us with him. Stay with me, I need you Nightmare."

Nightmare pulled him into a tight hug and held him while he cried. He reassured him that he would be ok despite him not benign there. Ink couldn't deal with the idea of him not being there, it kind of felt like a safety blanket was just ripped away from him and he was just left alone, high and dry. He didn't want Nightmare to leave him, he begged for him to not leave, Ink begged for him to take him with him. He wanted to stay with him, but Nightmare knew that he couldn't let him leave the house, let alone leave the room. Ink knew it wasn't happening, but he just hoped that maybe he could say something to convince him, despite the fact that it was completely out of his hands.