The book o' random Oneshots

(H/C)Happy Birthday Cross

Crossdust silliness I wrote for Cross' birthday!

Enjoy!
~~~~~~

The rain is grey, and dull, and the sky is dark so late in the night. Occasionally a blitz of lightning illuminates the outside world, but for now, the castle stays an isolated echo of the rain in the dark. The sound of it echoes through the halls, the damp chill of it lingers in the air.

Cross finds himself staring out the large window at the end of the hall, sitting on the cushioned ledge and listening to the rain patter against the glass as if it were begging for shelter from the cold night. Cross' skull lulls towards the window, resting on the cold glass. It makes him feel so hollow inside, but it almost feels nice. To live as nothing but himself for the moment, and listen to the rain.

He's startled from it as hands caress his hips at the same time lightning strikes, making his soul jump and his bones prickle. A warm skull presses against his back and he quickly calms himself. "You look lonely, staring into the rain like that..." Dust whispers to him, curling against his back. Cross' shoulders relax and his soul beat calms as he's assured it's only his lover. Dust's legs tangle comfortably with his own, and his chest is pressed flush to Cross' back as his skull presses just barely into the crook of his shoulder. His arms are wrapped around Cross' stomach, hands twined together.

"Fuck, you scared me..." Cross breathes, his voice is almost drowned out by the downpour.

"M sorry," Dust murmurs back, his arms pull tight around his waist in a little apologetic hug.

"Mmh, you're warm enough to make up for it," Cross sighs, happily letting Dust curl up against him.

There's a curl of satisfaction in the close contact. One of Dust's hands slides up to his collarbone, another falls to his hip. Dust presses him down until Cross is on his side. Cross huffs and rolls onto his back, giving his smallest lover a sideways look.

"Soo, what are you doing?" He asks, a small grin playing at his mouth. His sockets look heavy and he seems tired.

"Gettin a good look at you," Dust answers simply.

Cross' eyelights warm the space between them and a soft flush spreads over his face as he realizes how close they are. Dust only gets closer, pressing a little kiss to the scar on his face. He lays one bent leg over Cross' hips, mostly just to keep him close, and his other lays straight beside him. Dust's body is curled into his side, but he's turned so that he can lean up over his face. One of his arms rests on Cross' ribs, and another against the soft throw pillows on the window lounge. When thunder shakes the castle again, Cross finds himself too lost in their kisses to care.

"Yea, you're overthinking."

"Am I?" Surely he hadn't been, but, maybe he had.

Dust gives him a look, and Cross realizes he just started overthinking the concept of overthinking.

"Okay, I might have been. It just... you guys did so much for me today, but I... I can't help but remember..." Cross sighs, turning his skull towards the window.

Dust's face tucks against his neck, "ya thinking about your family?"

Cross hopes the way he winces isn't an answer, hopes the way his ribs rise sharply isn't an answer. However, with Dust laying serenely over his chest, it certainly is.

"It's okay bud. Well it doesn't feel good, but, it's okay to miss them. I miss mine too. You're... allowed to miss em. Just because we did nice stuff for you today, doesn't mean you've gotta feel one hundred percent awesome. We want you to feel good, but you don't feel good by ignoring all the feelings you have, ya jackass," Dust scoffs, pressing a lazy kiss to his jaw.

Cross laughs a little, sort of miserably. "What? I thought that was the secret to true joy," He drones sarcastically. Dust seems to ignore his humor, opting to pinch one of his ribs

Dust asks him in a diligent mimicry of his earlier question, "sooo, do you want to talk about it?" His voice is a low murmur, quieter than the rain, but the offer seems so loud.

"Are you sure? It won't..." Cross knows his and Dust's worlds are vastly different. He knows Dust's guilty expression when he's reminded of the other's and their own brothers. The brothers they never once opted to kill. Then again, that's where he and Cross were the same. Even if he never chose it, Cross harbored the guilt. Gave it a safe place to live, burrowed deep in his ribs.

"I assure you, I wouldn't offer if I didn't want to hear, Cross." The reminder is soft and stern.

"Right... I just... My brother and I used to celebrate together. After everyone else had celebrated with us, anyway," Cross murmurs, smiling a little. "It was nice. Even when the world changed, even when it was broken apart and pieced back together, that stayed the same, for a time." He can feel the sting in his cheeks. "I miss it... I miss him. I miss all of them."

Dust's hand comes up to cup his face, pulling his skull down to awkwardly bump against his own. "It's okay to miss them... I'm glad you told me," he whispers.

For so long, the rain softens the silence between them, chattering at the window in a way that made the quiet less demanding. Cross cries, the rain covers him, and Dust curls against him, kissing away the tears when they fall too low. Cross watches the rain fall down the window, pooling in the cracks on the ledge outside, but never seeping in. How long has it been since he's said a single word about his universe? Too long, probably. That makes him cry a little harder, it feels like he's forgetting more and more as time goes on.

Cross looks away from the window, turning his back to it, and tucking himself around his lover. He holds him close, as though that might keep him whole, for just a moment. Dust adjusts himself a little, only throwing a leg over his hip and making sure that he was level with Cross, so that he could press more kisses to his face. There's a long, filling kiss shared between them. It feels like wholeness, being so close that all the wounds are covered, and all the cracks and chips fit perfectly together. He holds Cross' hand lovingly.

"What did I do to earn partners like you... anyone who loves me as good as you?" Cross whispers, his voice a little hoarse.

"You don't earn love, it's something you deserve... Night tells us that over and over, and you still can't get it, huh?" Dust asks. He can see Cross' mouth twitch into a guilty grin. "But if you ask me, you survived, you gave yourself to us, you love us so well, and that's why you deserve us."

"I think you've been hanging out with Nightmare too much."

"Acknowledge you deserve to be loved or I'll throw you out this window, I swear on our King's name," Dust says, giving him a sharp look.

Cross knows he isn't bluffing, he's SEEN Dust launch Killer out a second story window. He deserved that, though. He only sighs, "I deserve... to be loved."

"Yes, yes you do," Dust says, smiling in that soft way he rarely does. "And by all of us."

"I deserve love from all of you..." Cross parrots quietly, flustered. It feels so stupid and egotistical.

"You're so good... and yes, you do. Which is why you should come to bed with me, H and Kils are piled up in Night's bed. He's waiting for you, reading a book in that tacky old armchair. You need to get some rest," Dust says, voice soft.

"Waiting for me?"

"Mhm, he sent me out to find you. You know how he worries about us," Dust laughs.

"I do..."

"So, come to bed with us?" Dust offers, sitting up.

"Alright."

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

Remember to attain an appropriate amount of human sustenance, take your meds, and have a good hydration. Don't forget to have a wonderful day, either! Much love from a mothy friend. This is it for my time with you today, But I do hope you enjoyed this chapter you silly little butterflies.

- Arca