Nightmare is so tired and wondering if all children were so exhausting to be around.
Dream grows more attached but refuses to admit it and the staff are crying over all the damage to the mansion.

—-

$% Multiverse

"Hisss!"

"Why are you hissing at me?! I'm trying to help you- DONT BITE ME!"

"You're doing a great job, Nightmare!~"

"Don't just sit there, Dream! Come and help me- DONT YOU DARE JUMP ON THE CHANDELIER!"

"Im fine thank you, you are doing such a good job there~"

Nightmares eye twitched at his brothers sarcastic wave by the door the coward, cursing when the frankly filthy babybones tried to dodge him, the child ending up throwing mud around the room in the process.

He winced when the chandelier suddenly crashed to the ground, the high pitched squeal of 'shiny!' echoing in the room and staring in disbelief as the shards of the crystal were gathered in the arms of the babybones before they scrambled under the table with their 'prize'.

Did his brother find a child or a wild animal?!

He could see why his twin would like them, the natural chaos they caused seemed to be right up Dreams alley.

He should have left and pretended he didn't see anything, deeply regretting his past decision. He was unsure what he had been thinking following Dream home, sighing when he heard a vase shatter and looking up at the ceiling as if praying for patience he had wanted to make sure the child was safe but he felt he might have been worrying about the wrong person.

"You should probably catch them before they destroy the rest of the room. It would be shame to have to replace the paintings~"

He gave them a deadpan stare at their theatrics and stared at the splatters of mud and other unidentifiable substances on the walls and furniture, doubting anything could be saved. He would personally burn everything, unsure what the babybones had been bathing in but it absolutely reeked, looking despairingly at the unrepentant kid who was happily examining the broken remains of a vase.

"Where did you even find them?"

He really wanted a cigarette but wasn't stupid enough to light one so close to a kid though, eye twitching at Dreams laughter.

..he wasnt going to like the explanation, was he?

-

Dream whistled a little tune as he scrubbed the babybones clean, not minding the little fingers playing with his wings as he thought it was a small sacrifice to make to get them in the bath.

Touching their wings was still a no go though, amused at the growl they let out when he tried to help them, having settled on showing him how to preen using his own wings and hoping they would copy his lessons.

It had worked in a way, at least all the mud washed of the frankly fascinating star patterned wings but their feathers weren't as neat as tidy as he would have preferred.

"How?! How did you get them in the bath so quickly?!"

He smirked at Nightmares outrage, tauntingly fluffing his wings and adding his magic to them to make the glow, the cooing from the babybones only growing louder. It wasnt hard to deduce what caught the child's interest, pulling them out the bath to dry and putting them in an adorable cat onesie his tailor had made.

He really had chosen well, satisfied by how efficient his workers were as well as the quality of their work.

Maybe he should give them a raise..?

"-even listening to me? Did you just steal them, Dream?!"

While he enjoyed that his twin was willingly staying with him, they could be ever so loud, adjusting the babybones hood and cooing at the cute little cat ears on it.

Nightmare was going to dust from stress one day, watching in disbelief as Dream acted like one of those soccer moms and started taking photos of the kid after giving them a cookie.

Why were they praising them?! Did they not remember how long it took them to get them clean or the number of rooms that were now ruined due to having to chase them around half of Dreams ridiculous sized mansion?! He had bite marks on his arms and Dream was missing feathers!

The sheer energy the tiny monster possessed was kind of frightening, morbidly wondering if all children were like this.

"Whose a cute, bitey babybones? You are! Yes you are~"

He wasnt sure what was worse to listen to, the baby talk or Dreams maniacal cackling.

He sighed, feeling he wouldn't be getting anywhere with this and decided to raid Dreams kitchen for some food. Desperately needing a pick me up if he hoped to survive his stay here with two highly energetic monsters.

*Crash*

"Oooo! That was fun! Can we break something else?"

"Of course!~"

He picked up the pace and pretended he heard nothing or saw the way the staff jumped and stared on slight terror at the end of the hallways where the noise originated from.

*Boom*

He was near sprinting away as the whole building shook, deciding ignorance truly was bliss the twin cackles would haunt his nightmares, his SOUL shivering in dread at just what he had walked into.

-

It had been the best month of Dreams life and he hadn't felt so entertained in years!

His brother was here in his home and the still nameless babybones was an absolute treat to have around. His brother had been a bore and insisted they try and find the child's home but he believed in 'finders keepers', feeling especially smug when Nightmare reluctantly admitted they couldnt find a trace of the child's existence in any AU after a few weeks search.

He could admit to a slight concern on what that could mean but was far too pleased that he could keep his newest entertainment longer without his brother complaining about 'kidnapping'. Honestly, it wasnt his fault they didnt believe the truth that he just found them in his home, lowering his wing when he heard a demanding chirp from behind him.

He was trying to teach them how to preen but it was a slow progress, trying to lower his wings as much as possible on the bed so the babybones could reach all of his feathers. He hadnt been preened by another monster in years, finding it unusually relaxing to have someone else do it.

Of course he wasnt planning on letting just anyone do it, as he wasnt a total idiot and knew he wasn't exactly well liked. The main reason he didnt mind this kid doing it was that they were so small and he didn't sense a speck of malicious intent from them. They were such a curious oddity, amused at all the chaos they were capable of with very little prompting.

The left wing on his home might need to be redecorated though but his brothers reactions had been priceless, not regretting the past month in the slightest.

-

"Im exhausted, absolutely drained and its all your fault!"

Nightmare complained not whined no matter what they said, snatching the tea offered and draining it like it was a shot.

"You will hurt yourself like that, Nightmare and dont you think you are being a tad over dramatic?~"

"Dramatic? Dramatic?! I dont think im reacting enough! I have dark bags under my eyes and I haven't felt this tired since you ate the apples and went completely psycho!"

He screeched, not even noticing how casually he was talking about previously traumatic topics and far more irritated at how amused his brother was right now.

"You are hurting my sensitive feelings right now. I think i may even cry~"

"Like you've ever had any normal feelings in your life! Dont try and lie to me here, dont think i forget how extreme you could be before you even ate the damn apples"

"I have no clue what you are on about, my dear wonderful brother~"

"So the villagers who bullied me magically grew afraid of me after a chat with you?!"

"Just a wonderful coincidence. They really saw the error of their ways and chose a much kinder path to follow. A miracle really~"

He was speechless at they blatantly lied in his face and how they didnt even bat an eye at the accusations, their supposed 'innocence' may have been more convincing if they weren't smirking at him the entire time.

"Listen here you little shi-"

"D-Dream?"

He quickly shut his mouth and turned to the noise, spotting the babybones by the living room door holding that ridiculously sized cat plush that Dream commissioned for them that was the size of the child's body.

"What is it, little one? You know its bedtime for baby apples~"

His eyes sharpened when he saw the kids body twitch at the last endearment, knowing that Dream caught it too by their tightening expression. They were trying to gather more information about the kid but they knew pitifully little with even the child themselves seeming to have amnesia, growing more frustrated as time went on at how little he discovered.

"Had a bad d-dream. Cant s-sleep"

"Come here then, little one~"

He was always surprised to see how soft Dream could be not having seen this since they were kids, it felt like the child teleported with how quickly they sat on the couch between the two of them.

His shock furthered when Dream draped a wing over the child and him, never having gotten the chance to ever touch the feathers before. This month was throwing everything he knew on its head, feeling many things he had thought true about his brother had been nothing but lies.

He had assumed the staff were here against their will but he was greatly mistaken, most seeming to be thrilled to work here and even getting a decent wage. Of course his brother wasnt secretly a saint but they weren't the feral dog that he had thought they were before, not ruled by insanity and pure emotion like he believed for so long.

Dream briefly looked over at the mix of emotions his twin was giving off but the shivering babybones had his main attention, softly whispering reassurances when he could feel how shaken they were.

He eventually pulled them into his lap, letting them listen to his SOUL which oddly always seemed to relax them.

He gently rubbed their back, humming as he felt their emotions slowly settle, smiling when he felt them incoherently mumble in his chest. He tried to lean down to try and decipher their words, managing to catch a few words but stiffening when he felt them nuzzle his chest.

"-miss love-dad-"

He unconsciously held them closer to his chest, having a neutral expression on his face as he looked down at the now asleep child. His thoughts raced, carefully adjusting the cat plushy which the babybones latched onto in their sleep.

He gently brushed his fingers against the babybones wings, a strange jolt going through his fingers which soon turned to warmth, taking that as a Green light to try and remove some of the broken feathers he had spotted in the babybones wings.

Nightmare shivered at the dangerous glint that entered his twins eyes, the near possessive touch of the small wings making him pray for any idiot who annoyed Dream in the future.

He might be getting along with them now but he wasnt just going to ignore their past misdeeds or how dangerous they truly were, their claw-like fingers only a small show of how easily they could hurt someone.

They might have lost control in the past learning this after many private evening chats but now it was a choice and he was wary of what they had in plan now, the feelings he sensed them direct to the babybones ones he felt in the past directed to him.

~~~~~~~~

Karma: *Filthy and trying to avoid the bath with a feral intensity*

Dream: *Amused and watching the chaos with a smile* Isnt he cute?~

Nightmare: *Covered in scratches and dead eyed as he sees the destruction caused*..are you sure this is a kid and not a feral racoon in disguise?

-

Karma: *Pure fearless and acting on all his impulses*

Nightmare: *Getting along with Dream the first time as has found a new chaotic being to focus on*

-

Dream: *In denial* I have the child around simply for entertainment, that is it!~

Karma: *Looking like a kicked puppy and acting affectionate*

Also Dream: *Holding Karma close and acting a tad unhinged* I would destroy AU's for you~

Nightmare: *Watching on in slight horror* This is going to end so very badly...