Cross was heading to Nightmare's room. he's been acting weird the whole day and he wanted to go check on him. He knocked on the door, but only a mumble was heard.

He just opened the door anyway to see a small skeleton. He was wearing purple and seemed to have a crown with a moon crescent on. He seemed to be of some sort of royalty.

"..."

"..."

"Who are you!?" Cross asked pulling out his knife.

The small skeleton "What do you mean who am I? Idiot! I—oh, I suppose to you I look different," He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "I'm Nightmare, Cross."

Cross stared in disbelief for a little before bursting out in laughter and tears, "You look like a child! You're so adorable!"

Nightmare's face flushed, embarrassed, "Shut up! Once I'm stronger I can kill you in an instant!" He threatens and Cross ceases his laughter to small chuckles. "And I'm not a child, I'm far older than you."

"Wait, but why are you like that? You're usually taller...and goopy."

"Ugh, I'm not that short—and this is only temporary. My brother has been spreading havoc on negativity in AUs so my power weakens in contrast."

"So how long do you stay like this?"

He stayed silent for a moment, "A few days to a week."

"Awww, then I can have more time with this adorable you!" Cross cooed, grinning a Cheshire-like grin while Nightmare groaned.

"Don't tell anyone except this group," He gestures around him to signify the Nightmare Gang. "I have this side of me, okay?"

"Sure, you adorable lil' munchkin." Cross teased.

"You will die if you call me anything like that."

"Keep saying that.~"

As time went on and Nightmare still hasn't transformed back, and Cross kept a close eye on him. He noticed little changes after Nightmare's form changed.

He was extremely quiet, only said something when he had to or someone got on his nerves.

He spent a lot of time in the library. He still does even in his other form, but he spent more time there now.

He was definitely less aggressive—and less intimidating. Cross guessed he must've known this because he didn't use fear to put the others in their place. No, he roasted them. He was scary when he was mad no matter what.

"He's still adorable, even if he's mad." Cross sighed all lovey-dovey.

"Stop fawning over our boss, it's kinda weird." Dust grimaced.

Cross gave him a glare. "At least I'm not dating a cannibal." He countered.

"Hey! Don't talk about him like that!" Dust growled as he stood up from his seat.

"Make me." Cross challenged, also pushing out his seat to stand. They both had a glaring contest before Horror pushed Dust to the other room to let him chill. "Ha! Gay!"

"Fuck off! You are too!"

Cross chuckled, pleased with the other's anger with him. He looked through the cabinets and looked in the back, He had a secret chocolate stash so that no one would eat them. He chuckled darkly, "All to myself—"

"Cross."

Cross jumped and looked behind him to see Nightmare. "H-Hey Boss!"

"Come with me. I need a guard since my power is weak." He opened a portal to a Swapfell pacifist route. Cross followed quickly. The portal shut and Cross looked around. They were on the surface, the place where the Underground opened up to the world.

"I thought you hated pacifist routes?" Cross questions. Nightmare stayed silent, walking down the mountain and into the forest. "Should we go a different way? This way has a lot of rocks."

"It's fine." He walked down the path, worn down as many have traveled down it. Cross stayed next to him, cutting down the greenery in their way. "Cross, may I ask you a personal question?"

Cross felt surprised, he didn't know why. "Sure. It depends on the question."

"Do you ever think about what would've happened? If circumstances were different and you were happy in your pacifist AU? If all those bad things didn't happen?"

Cross felt himself stop for a second, the thought, of course, occurred every once in a while, but he couldn't put it in words or on paper. He didn't even think it could be described. How wonderful and sad it would be—and how and what he would miss and gladly leave behind.

"You don't have to answer—"

"I think about it, but I don't like thinking about it. It just gets me depressed. I just don't like dwelling on the stuff I can't change."

Nightmare took this in and nodded. "Thank you."

"L-Let continue," Cross said and move ahead quickly. Nightmare thought he upset him with the question, but he followed, not saying another word.

They got to a hill down at the base of the mountain, you could see the city in all its hues as the sun sets over the city.

"It appears to be sunset in this timeline." Nightmare sighed softly, sitting down in the swaying grass. "I miss sunsets, to be honest." He twirled a long piece of grass around his finger. Cross sat down next to him, leaning back on his hands, it was nice. Just unsettling that Nightmare actually liked it.

"I'm sorry about that question, I put you in an awkward situation—"

"No! No! It's fine, I just don't know what that would be like. And it kind of hurts."

"I...understand."

"Why are we here anyway? Are we turning another AU?"

Nightmare shook his head, "I just wanted to get out of there. It gets hectic with those fools." He rubbed his face with his hands, "And it's been six days and I still haven't gotten back to myself. I've tried everything and it's not working!" He kept ranting, it took a while to get everything out. Cross listened and didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry. I don't usually let things get to me but this," He gestured to himself. "This gets to me."

"Everyone's gotta vent sometimes," Cross shrugged. He felt something press into his shoulder. He looked over to see Nightmare leaning into him. He immediately felt his face go hot. "U-Um, Boss?"

"Just stay here a while." He ordered, closing his eyes. Cross kept his eyes trained on him, scared to move the slightest bit. "Pfft—are you scared of me or what?" Cross kept silent, him laughing seemed unreal too. "You..." He pulls away to look at Cross. "You are scared of me." He seemed kind of upset and almost disappointed.

"What? No." Nightmare backed away a little, "No, no, no—my silence didn't mean that!" Cross stammered.

"Well, then what did it mean?"

Cross knew that answer but didn't want to say it out loud, of course. He brushed it off as some dumb fantasy he had. But he didn't realize it would grow to such an extent, where he would think he actually had feelings for...

"Fine. You don't have to tell me." He mumbled coldly, They stood in awkward silence for a long while, "Come on, it's getting dark and we have to get back anyway." Cross felt he couldn't say anything more that would make it better, so he just nodded in agreement and followed.

Cross followed him as they climbed the steep mountain. It was quite dark out in the forest. Cross almost tripped over a rock or tree root.

They walk in silence, Cross wanted to say something but he didn't know what to say. "Nightmare, I—"

"You know what?" Nightmare finally snapped out of his silent trance at the ground, his head snapped up as he turned around to Cross. "Tell me."

"What?"

"If you're not scared of me then what? What do you feel about me?" He shook, tears pricked his eyes. "I-I don't get it—everyone hates me a-and fears me. But you just—" He felt a pair of arms wrap around him. He looks up to see Cross.

"Shh, calm down." To Nightmare, it seemed kind of childish someone was trying to calm him down, but he liked the touch. Oddly calming. "Look, I can't tell you, not yet at least, but please don't beat yourself up about it." Nightmare was quiet again, and he nodded.

They both heard something at the same time, a rumble. Cross looked around and then looked up, "Run. Go!" Nightmare saw the avalanche of rocks heading towards them and felt Cross yanking him forward. They ran, pebbles fall on them but boulders crashed around them.

"We just need a place where they can't fall!" Cross looked over to see no one. "Nightmare?" He called out, running back. "Nightmare!?" A rock fell in front of him. He dodged it and saw Nightmare on the ground. His leg was stuck under a pile of rocks.

"God fucking dammit—fuck!" Cross saw him wince when he tried to move.

"Hold on, don't do anything." Cross panicked. Cross used magic to get the rocks off him. Nightmare tried standing up but more rocks came crashing in on him. He screamed out in pain but saw Cross unconscious.

"Cross!" He felt his soul sink. He tried to pull himself out of the pile but he was stuck. With his magic low, he couldn't use blue magic. "Come on Cross, we can't die here." He pleaded.

Cross stirred, there was a crack in his skull that was bleeding. He looked up to see what was going on. He got up quickly and used the last of his magic to pull Nightmare out and teleport somewhere close but away from the avalanche.

"Get on my back, you can't walk." He ordered.

"But you're hurt!" Nightmare said, his hand gesturing to his head.

"Just do it—I'm fine."

Nightmare did so. Wrapping his arms around Cross, he took in the fluff from his jacket, and the warmth of him as he buried his face in the softness. After a while of silence, he said something.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled, burying his face in Cross's scarf.

"For what?"

"For being a fool."

"You're date didn't go well?" Dust asked sliding next to Cross.

"Shut up."

"Ok, but seriously, what happened?"

"Someone tried to kill us with rocks." Cross assumed. He was pretty sure it was intended as it never happens in different timelines.

"Jeez." Dust looked away down the hall. Killer peeked his head out the door of Nightmare's room.

"He is as healed as I can get him right now." Killer looked over to Dust and then back to Cross, "Your boyfriend wants to see you." Killer smirked. Cross went to retaliate but he heard a shout from Nightmare. Killer popped back in and said something and then came back out fully. "Careful, he's moody."

"Yeah, don't go too rough with him. He's still recovering." Dust and Killer fist bump and laugh at him. Cross just gives them an angry glare as they walked away.

Cross looked in Nightmare's room. Nightmare was sitting on the bed, his left pants leg was rolled up and there was a bandage around the bone. "Hello."

"H-Hey." Cross saw his vision double for a split second.

"Are you okay? You look dizzy."

"I just have a concussion."

"Exactly. Sit down." Cross sat next to Nightmare, he realized just how short Nightmare became. His feet were dangling off the bed but they didn't even touch the ground. He looked so different it confused Cross.

"Why are you staring at me?"

Cross realizing he was, looked away, "What? No, I'm not!" He blushed, looking at the door.

"I wanted to talk to you, um," Cross looks back at Nightmare. "I wanted to...apologize mostly. I think I just don't understand the feelings that I have. They are positive I can tell. Disgusting, I know. But it's so infuriating that I need it more than anything!"

"Do you realize you get mad you look cute?"

Nightmare blushed profusely, "Th-That's exactly what I mean."

Cross's eyes widened as Nightmare explained, "Every time you say something like that, my face feels funny a-and I feel this...thing in my chest...and you—" Nightmare stopping to compose himself, "I can't stop thinking about you." Cross blushed when he said all that, his mouth agape a little in shock, "It's pathetic, isn't it?"

"What? No!" Cross realizing how scared he sounded recoiled back, "I can't stop thinking about you either," He dared to continue, "It's like the pounding in your soul won't stop?" Nightmare nodded. Cross chuckled softly. "Yeah, a-and I don't know if it's my concussion or something else but I just want to ki—" He froze, getting a little too far with his words.

"What? What do you want to do?"

He doesn't even know what love is. Cross looked away. Could I try to explain it? "H-Hey Nightmare,"

"Yeah?"

"C-Can I k-kiss you?" Nightmare felt Cross lay his hand on top of his. He felt all this gross emotion swell up in him.

"Y-Yeah. Sure." Nightmare also felt nervous, he didn't know why. When Cross turned to him, he could barely look at his face, but Cross's hand came up to his face. "U-Um, just go slow." He mumbled shyly.

"Mmhm." Cross squished Nightmare's cheeks together, "Hehe, you look like an angry marshmallow."

"Because you're not taking this seriously!"

"Alright, fine." He leaned in slowly, taking in the feel of their lips meeting. Cross leaning in more and pulling his waist to him deepened the kiss. Nightmare held onto Cross's jacket for balance.

Nightmare broke away, "Mmhg—you said one!"

Cross smirked, leaning closer, "When?"

"You said 'kiss', not 'kisses'!"

"That was one kiss—a long kiss." Cross pinched at Nightmare's face again. "And since you're smaller and such...makes it seem like I'm in control now.~"

"Wha—ah!" Cross lifted Nightmare off the bed and into his lap. "Cross! Put me down this instant!"

"No." Nightmare said something to retaliate but was cut off by Cross kissing him on the forehead. Cross looked at his blushing face. "You get so flustered," Cross muttered in a whisper as he did little kisses down Nightmare's jaw and down to his neck. This made him laugh, "What?"

"Stop! You tickle!" He said between giggles. He was laughing. Something Cross found rare. He liked it—Cross liked making him laugh. He gave him one last kiss on the lips and let him go. "Haha...what was that?"

"What do you mean?"

"I still don't understand this beating in my chest," He said almost sadly.

"Well, what did you feel just now?"

"It was...a good feeling. And I was terrified, but I felt safe at the same time? And I kinda miss it." Nightmare confessed.

"How do I explain this without being awkward?" Cross took a breath in, "So, the emotion you're feeling is a positive one. Probably explaining why it's so odd to you," He looked at Nightmare, his head tilting in slight curiosity. Fuck, I can't explain it to him when he's being so cute! He brushed off the blush from his face and continued, "I know what you're feeling—I have it too."

"Goddamnit, just stop beating around the bush and just tell me." Nightmare demanded.

"I love you," Cross said quickly. Nightmare stared for a moment as confusion spread across his face. "U-Uh, do you not know what love is too?"

Nightmare threw his head back in laughter, "You? Loving me?" Cross's soul sank. Nightmare shook his head, "You can't love me, I'm not made to be loved! That's my brother's thing. And even so, it's not like I'll be any good at loving you. Once I turn back, I probably won't be feeling this way. And you probably won't either." His voice got quiet. "I'm sorry, I should've said it sooner than to drag you down with me." He teleports away, probably to the library, where Cross knew he would go.

The following week was rough. Neither of them talked to each other at all. Not even the occasional hey, just Nightmare ordering Cross and the others to take negativity into AUs.

Cross felt heartbroken. His feelings felt rejected and tossed out to a waste bin of his emotions. God, he felt so stupid! Why would he think—that after all that, he would like him? He's just his guard, nothing more anymore.

"Cross!" Cross's head perked up to look at Horror peeking through his room's door. "Nightmare assigned us to another AU." Cross got up and followed Killer outside his room, where a portal to Storyswap was already made.

They were scoping out the area of Snowdin in the trees. "Seems like we can take them out easily, leave half behind and get some people to mourn," Cross mumbled. Killer nodded and they started getting to work.

Hurting people never got easier for Cross, but he had a job to do. He and Killer cut up monsters, killed Asriel, killed everyone in Snowdin. Chara and Toriel were the last to stand there. Red knives floated around them, "I don't know who you are, what you want, but you didn't have to kill all those monsters!" Toriel threw flames and knives from Chara flew at them, separating the two on either side of the path. Toriel was focused on Killer when Chara focused on Cross.

Cross hated he was fighting her so similar to his Chara. He dodges a string of knives, "I already know your tricks," He threw a knife at her. She flew past it, falling on the snow as she looked up at him. "Got any last words?"

"No." Something stabbed him in his back. A bloody red knife. He went to pull it out but a massive wave of memories stopped him. KARMA.

All this bloodshed he witnessed.

All the people he killed.

People that just wanted to help him, but he couldn't trust—might use me again.

Something else shot through his arm, wielding the large knife he had. Caught off guard he fell to the snow.

You pathetic excuse for a victim.

Just because you lost your family, means you have to take it out on others? Pathetic—can't even deal with your own problems, and has to shove it on other people and hurt them too.

Even Nightmare doesn't want you around and he's the embodiment of negativity! And to think you were something special to him, now isn't that funny?

You can't help anyone and you call yourself a guard?

How dare you? How dare you? How dare you?

Chara was in front of him, he looked down to see bloody snow. His blood. I deserve this. He was dizzy from blood loss as Chara pulled him up by his shirt. That kid was strong.

"You think you can come here, cause mayhem, kill everyone, kill my brother?!" She cracked at that, "And I thought maybe the cycle of resets would end, but not like this."

Cross felt something pierce his chest, he looked down, his soul was cracking. I deserve so much of this.

He heard a gasp and Killer had killed the Chara. Cross heard his words but couldn't make them out. He felt himself go to sleep as Killer tried to pick him up.

Killer tried to stop bleeding until Nightmare or Error opened a portal. He saw Error and explained what happened as they took him back to the castle.

Nightmare was informed of what happened. He tried to keep his cool, but he was really scared. Cross's wounds were fatal, one of the wounds cracked his soul—a critical hit to his soul. Nightmare tried to stop himself, but at the end of the day, he caved.

"Cross?" He peeked through the crack in the door to his room. Nightmare thought he was unconscious, Killer did say he was. Cross looked like he was sleeping, but he just didn't want to talk to Nightmare.

Nightmare checked his HP, 10/30. He had only a little magic, but he pressed his hand to Cross's. A green glow faded in and out of view between their hands. Nightmare tried to push his magic limit. He could never really do healing magic, it was a purely positive magic whilst he was negativity. It drains him a little, but he was fine.

"Nightmare? What're you doing?" Nightmare gasped and let go, the green glow faded away.

"I-I..." He didn't know what to say. After a week of ignoring each other, he felt that what he said was wrong. He didn't know what to say to make it better. 'I'm sorry.' wouldn't cut it. He looked away, "N-Nothing. I'll just leave." He turned away but something wrapped around his wrist, tugging him back.

"Wait," Cross mumbled. "What were you doing?"

"Healing magic..."

Cross looked at him, sitting up in bed, "B-But that makes you—"

"I know, I know. I just—"

"You don't have to Nightmare. I know that hurts you. I don't want to hurt you more than I already have." Nightmare looked at him confused, "I think the reason you can't turn back is because of me. You love me, and I think that's a powerful enough emotion for you to not turn back."

Nightmare shook his head, holding onto Cross's hand. "I think...I think I would rather be in love." Cross's eyes widened as he heard that. "I think I was wrong, pushing you away like that. If I do turn back, before that I want to at least try loving you."

Cross smiled and pulled Nightmare to him to kiss him, "I've been waiting to kiss your cute face!"

"Cross!" Nightmare blushed.

Cross sighed, "Oh, you get so blushy sometimes. You are cute, especially since you are so small." He grins when Nightmare looked away. Nightmare's face was a deep purple. "Sorry. I just like teasing y-!"

Nightmare was quick to put his lips to Cross's. Tasting like chocolate. Nightmare could feel Cross's lips tug into a smile as he kissed back slowly. His hands fell at Nightmare's waist, pulling him deeper in. They part for air, breathing slightly heavier.

"We should do that more often," Nightmare said.

"Maybe more than that?" Cross wiggled his eyebrows in a sexual innuendo. Nightmare laughed and pushed back the skele with a shove back into the bed, "Haha! Oh? Right now?"

"Shut up." Nightmare sat on the side of the bed until an arm pulled him down next to Cross. "Hm?"

"Stay with me the night?"

"Of course,"

Bonus:

Cross is sitting in Nightmare's throne, one leg swung over the other when Nightmare walks in.

"Get out of my seat."

Cross unfolds his legs, leaning on his elbows on his knees, "It's kinda comfy though," Cross smirked at the smaller skele. Nightmare growled and tried to push him off, "I'm a knight—you think you could push me off?" Nightmare crosses his arms with a huff.

Cross chuckles at the anger marshmallow. Then an idea pops in his head. "Nighty.~" Cross opens his arms up as though to offer a hug, "C'mere."

Nightmare sighed, defeated. He walked over to Cross and sat down in the middle of his legs, leaning back and letting Cross envelop him in a cuddle. Cross nuzzled the crook of Nightmare's neck, resting his head on his shoulder.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Greatly," He paused, "My king.~" Nightmare snorted with laughter at the nickname. He rested his head on Cross's chest and played along.

"Good, my knight."