Error Oneshots

Fishbird (3)

Summary: Error Queen yearns for freedom, for his home, and along the way, unexpectedly, also for a human.

Category: M/M

Relationship(s): Nightmare/Error

Additional Tags: Slow Build, Interspecies Romance, POV Alternating, Merman Error, Human Corrupted Nightmare, Possessive Behaivior, Referenced/Implied Drug Abuse

-

Maybe it was not a matter of trapping the ocean in its wholeness, the boy thought. No bottle, jar, or container in the world was big enough to contain it. Perhaps just one part of it would suffice—the most important part. The one he could hold onto and hide away

"But that would be stealing," his father said, humoring him when he told him about his plan.

"I wouldn't be stealing it. I will be protecting it."

"And who will you be protecting it from?"

The boy answered, firm and unforgivingly, "Everyone."

His father chuckled. "The ocean can't belong to anyone, boy. You have to learn to admire it and love it from afar, just like the rest of us."

The boy frowned, dissatisfied with his father's logic. He kept quiet in contemplation. After a pause, he wondered, "But what if the ocean gives part of itself to me? What if the ocean chooses me? I wouldn't be stealing it if it willingly decides to be mine."

His father kept silent for a moment, studying his reasoning. Then he said, "If you were to achieve that, then you'd have proven your worth to make it yours. And at that point, you wouldn't be stealing it," he agreed.

-

Nightmare Joku starts visiting the aquarium more often, giving Error another reason to look forward to sunset. Nightmare arrives under the dark curtain of the night after everyone else has left.

He sits close to the tank and is always at the caretaker's side. He smiles at Error and keeps him company. Sometimes he writes in his little notebook, and sometimes he talks about many things in the human world that Error considers as amazing as they are confusing. Perhaps even weird and scary at times.

"Yeah, that's humankind for you," Nightmare admits, hardly looking bothered about it.

It's not that Error hates humans. On the contrary, he's helped and saved far too many from drowning to even remember their faces. He isn't coldhearted; it's just that his civility toward them has morphed into dislike after being treated like a prisoner. But now, for the first time, a gentle human is accompanying him in his solitude, explaining everything about a world Error did not know, had no interest in, but is now curious and eager to learn more about.

Time is not torture anymore, and the tank, as confining as it still is, feels less oppressive now. Day and night have meaning again. Time passes naturally and easily, just like when he was free.

"Why don't you come during the day?" Error asks one night.

"Oh?" Nightmare perks up. "Do you love my company that much?"

Error bites his lower lip. He has no heart to deny it but good sense to not blurt it out.

Nightmare laughs. It's a good sound, beautiful, and rich. It's not mocking, but it holds amusement. It's kind and comforting, making Error want to listen to it more.