~ 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 ~ {𝑵𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒙 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓}

Chapter 6: Time Well Spent

After the events of Birdtale, Nightmare (who had so graciously pulled you through to safety) had rebuked you. It went a little bit like this:

"(N/N), are you insane? Do you know who those monsters were?"

"No! Of course not! If I did, I would have known how to protect myself!"

"Did you know their weaknesses? Sure you didn't. Am I wrong?"

"Well actually, Mr. High-And-Mighty, I don't know their weaknesses. So how was I supposed to know what to do? They aren't in the inter dimensional archive of monsters, and—"

A few beat of silence when you saw the unidentifiable look on Nightmare's face.

"...Did you read the whole thing?"

"What?"

He leaned forward more, neon cyan eyes throwing daggers of the sharpest material. You almost flinched. Almost.

"Did. You. Read. The. Whole. Archive. Of. Universes."

"...No, I only read up to C." That was a huge book. Huuuuuuuge. You had no idea there were so many universes.

Leaning back in the velvet chair, Nightmare sighed and rubbed his temples. It was an adorable nervous habit—adorable??

Before your thoughts could get further carried away, Nightmare resumed his little speech. "You were lucky I lingered. If I had not, you could have died. Or worse, captured."

"I appreciate the concern," you drawled. But there was a small part of you that did like the concern. You didn't realize until after you left that it had always been there. "Why don't you want me to read the whole—"

"(N/N), you're one of my best fighters," the king intruded, aggravating you slightly. "I would hate to lose you so soon."

Cocking your head to the side, you narrowed your eyes. Trying to make your (E/C) gaze as hard as possible, you uttered, "Great to know that you actually value me. Why don't we have a little... Castle Chat?"

Castle Chats were little sessions that you and Nightmare had, mostly just talking about how the Castle worked. It was made up usually of you asking a question, then him asking one about yourself and your past. It took time, but it was always time well spent.

Nightmare sighed again, yet he nodded. Guess he had stuff on his mind, too.

"I'll go first," you smirked, reviving a cold glare from the inky monster. "Sooooo..." you trailed off, thinking of a question. You had to soften him up a bit before asking the real questions. "Is this place a world of its own?"

"Ah ah, (N/N)," the king interrupted. "I'm going first this time. What do you think of Dust?"

Reclining further, you furrowed your brow slightly. What did you think of Dust? "Well," you started, "He's nice. He treats me well, and he was one of the first people I met. I guess that he's a pretty cool guy for someone with such a horrid past."

Your lips twitched. "Yeah. I like him."

Nightmare twitched slightly, a hint of a feeling that he had never quite felt before spiking. It was slightly like jealousy, had a touch of anger, and... something else. Something he had tried to hold back for the longest time.

"MY TURN," you shouted unnecessarily, folding your hand under your chin. "Is the Castle an AU all ok its own?"   

"Almost," he answered, "But not exactly. It's more of a manifestation of my mind, shifting as my mind shifts."