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It had taken a little while for Cross to be comfortable leaving the safety of his home after what had happened. It took everyone else far longer though - and by that point he was relieved to no longer be stuck at home, even with the regular hustle and bustle of people visiting. While most AUs saw the reputation the group had, those that bothered to look through it got along with them well enough and would often hang around for a few days. It wasn’t underground, and they certainly had the space to accommodate people staying temporarily.
Once they did let Cross leave, his loved ones still didn’t like him being out alone. Nightmare refused to allow it at all when he first started going out. It had been a few years now, though, Cross was wandering through a very quiet timeline by himself. It wasn't a happy place, but there weren't enough people to do anything about that fact - most likely a post genocide timeline. On account of that, it was more than likely he wouldn’t have to worry about any star Sanses showing up. Especially with how Dream had been laying low and keeping out of the way for a while now.
There was no denying that the castle was big, but being confined to it had made the place seem smaller every day. What had started as a maze, had gone on to become somewhere he could navigate better than almost anyone, the exception to that being Nightmare.
Cross had almost died back then, though, their concerns made sense.
Snowdin's air was far more stuffy than Nightmare's castle, in actuality, but it felt fresh and clear.
It was then that a flash of yellow caught Cross' eyes. Was it Dream? Why would he be here? There was no-one here. What little emotion had lingered was, if Cross was correct about this timeline, negative. He considered calling someone, considering how things had gone with Dream in the past. He shot the idea down though - this person didn't seem like a threat as of yet. And he really did need to convince the others he could still handle himself.
Cross approached, hack knife summoned in case, and soon came face to face with a small skeleton child. The weapon immediately disappeared and Cross had plenty of time to take in the child's appearance. They stared up at him not daring to talk. An expression which Cross wasn’t sure he’d ever forget.
They had a scar on their cheekbone, which wasn't caused by an actual injury, most likely. Who would go out of their way to carve A star into a child's cheekbone? It wasn't unheard of for monsters injuries to be hereditary in some cases. Children were made using a mix of their parents souls after all, and injuries could affect those. The yellow clothes that had first caught Cross' attention were not in the best condition. The kid had been alone for some time. And Cross felt a protective anger. He pulled it in, not wanting his emotions to draw Nightmare right then, since he was sure that wouldn't help.
"I'm not going to hurt you, are you okay?"
All in all, They appeared to be a combination of Cross and Dream. Cross had to take a bit of time to figure out when, but he pretty quickly figured out what must have created the kid. Because it sure as hell wasn't anything like the loving feelings between Nightmare and Killer that had led to Crescent. No, this was caused by Cross' fear. Magic was a funny thing and despite how counter-intuitive it was, children could just as easily be conceived through a fight where negative emotions ran high as, well, the more typical way. Provided those involved put enough magic in.
The kid took a wary step back.
"Hey, it's okay." Cross opened his arms to the child (no, his child), who trembled and took another step back, but Cross made no move to get closer to them. If the kid was scared then the last thing he wanted to do was push them. "Can you tell who I am?" Cross asked, only to get silence in response.
Cross was about to ask the child if they could speak - and tell them that he had a pen and some paper if that was easier - when they mumbled something. A yes. He smiled softly at that.
"Can you give me a name to call you?"
The child was still quiet for some time, "... Hope… ?"
Cross wasn’t sure why Hope questioned himself, "That suits you."
"...Picked it myself..."
Stars, no one named the child? Surely someone must have taken care of him at some point!
"Do you have a name?" Hope asked, after a while.
"Yes, it's Cross."
"Cross... " Hope was torn, to say the least. On the one hand, this was clearly his father, and on the other, he'd heard about 'Cross'. "Why are you being so nice?"
And with that, Cross knew his reputation had gotten back to Hope. He tried to explain, but after a few failed attempts just accepted that it was hard to explain why he ended up in the position he did, and promised Hope he would never do anything he thought would endanger the child.
"Hope, where do you live?"
"Nowhere."
"What about Dream?" As much as Cross hated the idea of sending Hope to the person who had nearly killed him, Hope might prefer it… "Do you want me to take you to him-"
"No." That was the first time Hope had spoken so quickly, or so loudly.
Cross bottled up his emotions behind as much of a wall as he could, the last thing he wanted to do was scare Hope with how angry he felt. But he had a feeling Nightmare had taken notice by now. He’d be there soon enough if Cross didn’t get back safely, "Do you want to come with me?"
Cross figured he'd be here a while with Hope after he didn't get a response and settled himself to sit in the snow (which was far more of a powder than snow really ought to be. Looks like it was a genocide timeline of some kind.)
After a while, Cross couldn’t just sit by without asking, "What happened when you met Dream?"
"...He didn't want me." Hope said, tone making it clear he didn't want to go into further detail.
"Why would he not want you…?" Cross spoke to himself before falling silent, as he watched the skittish child.
“Please come with me, I don’t want you out here alone.”
Hope didn't speak as he thought, and Cross sat patiently waiting. Dream didn't want their son, but Cross? Cross already loved this child more than his life. After what felt like an eternity, Hope nodded. Cross smiled and got to his feet before gently helping his son up.
“It’ll be where Nightmare is, but if you don’t like it we’ll leave. Just… Give it a few days. Please.”
Hope’s small smile dropped at the mention of Nightmare, but he nodded again.
The fact that both may have cried a little when Cross hugged Hope would forever stay between them. And Nightmare when he ended up finding them that way.