Angst & Fluff! No ship, just Nightmares group comforting and trying to help him. Warning for mentions of the sexual assault, flashbacks, and nightmares of it happening in a different way. Proceed with caution if it's a trigger.
It'd been a few weeks since the incident with Ink had occurred, Nightmare didn't seem to be getting any better. Nightmare seemed to be getting worse, much worse.
He was much less expressive around his team... if they got to see him outside of his office at all. That was another problem, he's been isolating himself from the others. If he wasn't in his office, he would be curled up in his room crying. Today was no different.
Killer was walking by, and heard light crying coming from Nightmare's room. His heart ached at the sound of his boss crying. Normally he'd knock, per Nightmare's rules, but this time he just walked in.
Nightmare had his back turned, and his crying muffled the sound of Killer entering his room. Nightmare was curled into a ball, tightly holding a pillow as he cried into it.
Killer stayed at the doorframe, and knew that the others wouldn't hear. The rooms were on the third floor, everyone but these two were on the first floor. "Nightmare, can I have permission to enter your room?" Killer asked. His voice was unusually soft, almost like he was scared of making things worse.
Nightmare only nodded in response, still facing away from Killer. Tears were still running down his face, even though he was trying desperately not to cry around Killer. He was already in a vulnerable state, he didn't need anyone to see him crying.
"Nightmare, it's okay to cry. It helps you heal and process what's wrong. You don't have to hide your emotions. Not around me or the others, we won't judge you for expressing your pain how you see fit." Killer said, sitting on the edge of the bed. He placed his hand on Nightmare's shoulder, his gaze soft and caring.
Nightmare didn't like crying around anyone, he hated it. Now though, he entirely broke down in tears, his body shaking slightly.
Killer pulled Nightmare into a gentle hug, not letting his hands go past mid-back. He gently murmured soft words of comfort, rubbing the top of Nightmare's skull while the king sobbed into Killer's chest.
Nightmare appreciated the fact that Killer was mindful of where his hands were placed, and tried not to cross any boundaries that Nightmare placed after the incident. A small smile crossed Nightmare's face, the first genuine smile he's had in weeks.
While the comfort helped console Nightmare for a small moment of time, Killer knew that flashbacks would act up a lot. He'd definitely be more focused on how Nightmare acted, making sure to catch him before things would spiral too far to try and comfort him.
"Me and the others are watching movies down on the first floor, do you want to come down and join us?" Killer asked softly, he placed his hands in his lap, and moved away to look into Nightmare's eye.
Nightmare hesitated for a moment, unsure if he was stable enough to be around the others. He didn't want to ruin the vibe the others had down there, but.. he didn't want to be alone in that moment.
Eventually Nightmare nodded, deciding to try and be around the others. Killer smiled at that, his normally invisible eyelights flashing with excitement momentarily.
"You can have one of your blankets, that's why I was coming up here. Let's go." Killer said, his voice soft yet also more bright and happy.
Nightmare gave a semi-genuine smile, and he grabbed one of his smaller blankets and wrapped it around himself. He then followed Killer out of his room, just wanting to stay in his presence. Killer felt safe, he was comforting and gentle.
