Another Book of AU Oneshots

Pumpkin Troubles

    Blue watched his friends in dismay as they began cutting into their pumpkins. The idea just felt... wrong. After a few moments of sitting still, Dream looked up.

Noticing Blue's regretful look, he asked, "Is everything okay, Blue? You're upset."

"I... I don't know why I'm so mad, but... I don't like the idea of just... literally gutting these..."

"Oh, Blue... I didn't know..."

"What's the issue," Ink asked as he scooped out a handful of pumpkin flesh and dropped it onto the newspaper nearby. The sight made Blue flinch. The artist hadn't been listening.

"I just don't want to carve pumpkins anymore."

"Do you get a little squeamish because of the insides?"

"That, and... I just... I don't like the idea..." The poor skeleton began to tear up. Dream squeezed his hand.

"You don't have to carve the pumpkin if you don't want to."

"Aw, c'mon," Ink whined. "That destroys the whole point!"

"It's not the original plan," Dream stated. "That doesn't mean you have to let it sap the fun out of things. If he wants, he can just stick with a drawing."

"But doesn't he realize that this is literally pumpkin season? Like, everything is pumpkin-themed, from pies to coffee, and he's already eaten some of that. Blue, that stuff is made of the flesh of pumpkins! Meaning this!" He picked up another handful of orange pulp and seeds.

Blue looked away, queasy. "Stop it, Ink; I feel sick..."

"I don't know why it bothers you so much. This stuff is completely harmless."

"B-But you're cutting into the pumpkin! Th-That just seems... it seems wrong!"

"They're not alive, Blue. They lose their source of life as soon as they're separated from their vine. It's not like you're killing it, so why're you so reluctant to do this?"

"FINE! I'll do it!" Blue threw up his hands, exasperated. "Can you just leave me alone?!"

Dream glanced between his friends nervously. "Ink, stop pushing him. Blue, you don't have to-"

"I'm going to do it, Dream," Blue huffed. He turned away to hide his frustrated tears.

"Well, this just defeats the purpose," Dream sighed. "This was supposed to be fun..."

They carved in silence for a long while. Blue had his back turned the whole time. Dream sat at his side, but kept an eye on Ink. It was amusing to see his expressions as he worked on his carving. He was alarmed to look up and find Ink had completely vanished, and so had his pumpkin.

Something slammed into the wall in another room.

"What was that," Blue asked, looking up from his own masterpiece. "Where is Ink?! What's he doing?"

Dream sighed. "Probably doing something stupid. But, he's here. Come and help me find him; he'll probably need help getting himself out of whatever situation he's stuck in."

"Oh, good. I need a moment to smell something other than raw pumpkin." Blue stood with a sigh of relief.

They followed the noise into the living room. Ink was clinging to the back of the couch, looking like he was about to collapse from the way his knees were shaking. And there was a... a pumpkin stuck on his skull.

"Ink? What happened," Dream asked with a confused laugh in his voice.

"Dream, is that you? Help!"

"Ok, you sit down. Blue, come with me; I think I'm gonna need your help." The prince gently pushed Ink's shoulders down until he knelt down. "How did you get this stuck on your skull, Ink?!"

Blue and Dream tried to lift the pumpkin off of Ink's skull as he began his explanation. "I thought I'd try to prank you two... And I guess it backfired on me."

"What made you think this was a good idea, anyway? Geez, this thing really is stuck..."

"I don't think we can get this off," Blue stated nervously, taking his hands off.

"Yeah, I don't think we can. It'd be too dangerous if we try to cut it off; we could hurt him. Ink? Any ideas how to get this thing off of you?"

"I have an idea, but I don't know how much you'll want to follow through with it."

"Well, tell us."

"Okay. See, it involves fire, and-"

"Absolutely not."

"Then I don't know. Maybe you should cut it off, just, you know, be careful."

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Dream eventually sighed and stood. "Guess we have to try. Ink, don't you dare move. Blue, come with me. You can help find tools that we can use to get that off his head."

When Ink heard his friends leave, he shakily got back to his feet. He had an idea. Needless to say, it was incredibly stupid, but it was an idea. As soon as he made it around the couch, he slowly crept up to a wall. Then, toe-to-heel, he counted steps backwards as far as he could walk. He squared up, took a deep breath, and charged.

"INK, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

The artist immediately tried to stop, but skidded the last few feet before he slammed into the wall. His vision went black for a moment. There was a loud splitting sound in his non-existent ears.

Ink fell to the floor, limp. Someone knelt down next to him. He bolted upright two seconds later. He was slightly dizzy, but otherwise fine. Pieces of broken pumpkin laid on the ground beside him.

"Ink, what does 'don't you dare move' mean to you?" Dream shook his head and offered a hand to help him up.

"I don't listen to rules."

"No, you really don't. Is your skull okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. A little shocked, but fine."

Dream rolled his eyes. Blue flung his arms around Ink's middle.

"I thought you were seriously injured, Ink! Don't do that again," the little skeleton sobbed as he looked up at his friend with teary eyes.

Smiling, the artist said, "Alright, you little baby Blue. Don't cry. I'm alright."

"I'm NOT a baby." His face was flushed bright blue in embarrassment. "Have fun earning my sympathy next time."

"Not hard to do when you're the living definition of 'sweet-heart'. Besides, 'baby blue' is a color name anyway. Consider it a nickname."

Dream grabbed Ink's wrist and dragged him toward the kitchen. "Quit teasing Blue, you numbskull. You've got pulp all over after getting that pumpkin stuck on your head. You don't get to talk."

"I got it off!"

"You ran into a wall, dang it! You're cleaning up the broken pumpkin when we're done cleaning you up."

"But-!"

"You're not teasing Blue and you're cleaning up the pumpkin, am I clear?"

Ink flushed and crossed his arms across his chest. "Fine."

Dream and Blue both smirked.

"Good."