Archive of Our Own

Miracle's magic was weak. It had always been that way and having to take magic blockers to stop the negative magic attacking his normal monster magic just made him weaker. Despite this his ability to use his magic began very early. His attacks didn't do much damage if at all and he couldn't hold onto souls or things with blue magic for long but he could still use magic. He was best with his tentacles having had them since birth and they acted as extra limbs used more for grabbing things than attacking but they could also be used to defend by wrapping them around himself.

What Miracle was second best at, and what he was most proud of, was his ability to make portals. It was the first magic he ever used, not counting his tentacles. At first he could only open portals to AUs that were under his father's control and once he opened one he got very tired and couldn't open another or do much of anything until he rested. He had improved a lot since then and could open portals to worlds not owned by his father, although he could not get into any positive worlds and probably never would. He still got tired after opening a portal though and for that reason he wasn't allowed to do it alone.

There were other reasons he wasn't allowed to go to other AUs alone of course. Those being that he was only four years old, he was weak, he could collapse and no one would be around to help, someone may find out who he is and hurt him. Nightmare had made the dangers of exploring the Multiverse very clear. He would take Miracle to worlds he deemed safe and let him practise his portals and other magic. After all, it was good to learn in case he ever had to defend himself.

The thing was Miracle wanted to improve. He wanted his parents to be proud of him and pet his head for a job well done. Nightmare was a strict teacher and really pushed his son to be the best that he could be, since if he couldn't escape from danger he would fall easily. Miracle wanted to impress Nightmare more than anything, so he did the only thing he could think of to improve; he began to open portals to random worlds when he was alone in his room. He would just open and close them without going through so he wouldn't get trapped. He wanted to open them faster, he wanted to work on his stamina, he wanted to make them bigger and make his father proud.

Then one day when he was alone in his room (his mother and his Uncle Dust were training, Uncle Horror was baking and his father was in his office doing boring adult stuff that he wasn't allowed to help with, even Diamond the cat wasn't really there since she was asleep on his bed,) he opened a portal to a random AU. Miracle smiled; he did it on the first try and he didn't feel tired or faint! He was getting better! He went to close it but he paused for a moment; what if he went through it just for a second and then opened a portal back home? He needed to practice home portals too. He knew he wasn't allowed but he wasn't allowed to open them alone either. He didn't feel tired so he should be able to get back easily. His father never needed to know.

Having made up his mind, Miracle took a few steps forward to go through the portal to the unknown AU. Upon arriving on the other side Miracle was hit with nausea from travelling through time and space like that and the portal snapped shut behind him due to the shock of suddenly feeling dizzy and sick. He shook his head and took a moment hoping that this would end soon, if it didn't who knows what might happen to him. He might get attacked or his father and/or mother would find him missing when they came to check on him and he'd be so grounded. Miracle tried not to panic and took a deep breath before he looked around.

He was in an alley out of the way and out of sight from any of the locals so he stepped forward a little so he could see a bit more of where he was. He knew he shouldn't, he knew he should find a way to get home and do nothing else. But, he'd never really seen much of other AUs; he'd only ever known corrupted Dreamtale and Haventale and the only other AUs he'd visited were pretty much the same as those; dark, gloomy, void of life and what life there was seemed dark and dangerous. There was the one time his father had taken him to Outertale but they hadn't spent long there and his mother often insisted on taking Miracle to visit his friend Colour. Miracle was curious to see what else the Multiverse had to offer.

This AU was bright; the grass and trees were a vibrant green, there were flowers of all the colours of the rainbow, the buildings were white and pillars and statues decorated the streets. It looked like something out of one of those Greek and Roman history books that Miracle had tried to read with the help of his father but Nightmare had ended up reading them to him anyway.

Part of Miracle wanted to go exploring but he wouldn't risk that. This was a neutral AU and he didn't want the people here to realise he was the son of Nightmare and hurt him, he had to hide and open a portal home before someone realised he was gone anyway. He turned on his heels and went back into the alley to try to open a portal. Throwing his hand out in front of himself, Miracle closed his eyes and concentrated on his magic and thinking of home. Dark magic sparked at his fingertips but died just as quickly as they came and suddenly Miracle felt very sick.

He collapsed onto the floor with a gasp. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, this couldn't happen, it couldn't! He had to get home! He didn't want to be grounded and be put to bed early and not get any sweets or dessert! He didn't want to get attacked or kidnapped! Desperate, Miracle tried again but this time nothing happened.

He was panicking; he couldn't get home! He had to get home! Tears and black goop began to well up in his eyes and fall down his cheeks. He wanted to go home. He was scared. He wanted his Mama and Daddy.

Palette opened up a portal with no problem and stepped out with a skip in his step. He had another meet up with Goth today which meant it was going to be another fun day spent with his best friend. Although he really wished for more... He shook his head to get rid of that thought. Goth was his best friend, nothing more. He wasn't going to let this crush that was sure to lead nowhere get in the way of their time together.

Walking along the streets of Reapertale Palette couldn't help but smile. He was meeting Goth at a café where they'd have an early lunch and then they'd go to a few shops and just hang out. Palette hummed a song as he walked, today would be a good day.

He suddenly stopped in his tracks as he passed an alley. There was something off about that alley, there was something dark there. Palette wasn't as in tune with his emotional senses as his mother was but he knew the feeling of someone hurting. There was someone in that alley that needed help. Palette's first instinct was to rush in and help whoever it was but he forced himself to stop before he did. He'd had run-ins with his uncle that taught him to always think before rushing to help the unknown. Not only that but a person feeling strong negative feelings in an alley did seem a little dodgy; for all Palette knew it could be a junkie who'd just jump him and take all his money.

But this was Reapertale and the gods didn't typically take drugs so Palette decided to take his chances and stepped into the alley. He stood on guard just in case he had to fight or flee but he wanted to see what it was and see if he could help the person.

Palette relaxed when he saw a small child sitting with his knees up to his chest and sobbing quietly. It was just a child, probably lost. Feeling more confident, Palette got closer. The first thing he noticed was that the child wasn't dressed like the locals, with his black shorts, red button up shirt and dark red cape while the gods typically wore robes leading Palette to believe he wasn't from Reapertale. That was good; it would mean finding his parents was easier since they'd stand out more.

"Hey," Palette spoke gently so as not to scare the boy and knelt down so he was more eye level with the child.

The boy jumped, wiped his eyes and looked up at Palette fearfully before scrambling to his feet, his arms lifted to his chest as if covering something. That was a fair reaction, stranger danger and all that; Palette wasn't put off by it.

"It's okay," he said, staying knelt down hoping that would put the boy at ease when he saw that he wasn't moving. "Are you lost? Do you need help?"

The boy stared Palette down, looking like he was thinking but he made no effort to answer the question.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Palette reassured. "The shopping district is just over that way, you could find a security guard there to help you? I can take you there if you want?"

The boy answered that with a shake of his head and pressed himself to the wall. His purple ring eye-lights seemed to shake and there were tears running down his face. The poor child seemed really scared so Palette smiled at him trying to seem comforting. Hopefully any aura he inherited from his mother would be enough to calm the boy down somewhat.

"That's okay," Palette said, "you're scared, it's alright. Why don't you tell me what your parents look like and I'll go look for them and send them over here?"

The child was frowning at Palette now and was shaking more than he was before. Palette didn't really know what to do, his aura was nothing like his mother's but he thought it would help a little. Maybe he should try to strengthen it?

"My name's Palette," he introduced himself, hoping that maybe if he seemed more familiar the scared child would trust him a bit more. "What's your name?" Palette extended his hand meant to offer a handshake but the boy yelped and dashed to the side making Palette jump at the sudden movement and turn quickly to see where the boy went.

Palette gasped when he saw the child again. Tentacles. Black, goopy tentacles, four of them that came from the boy's back and were held in front of him defensively. "W-what?" Palette managed to get out as he stared. Those tentacles looked just like his uncle's. There was no way. Right? But what other explanation was there? Now that Palette had seen the tentacles he could clearly see that the negative energy was a lot stronger than what you'd normally expect from a lost child.

"K-keep away!" The boy called out as he backed up slowly.

Palette's mind caught up with him. This wasn't good; what if this meant his uncle was here and planning an attack? …But then if Palette acted on that assumption and he was wrong that could be bad. It would mean he'd call his parents here for no reason and waste their time. What if the boy, his cousin, really was just lost? …What if his uncle abandoned him?

"Hey, no, it's okay," Palette said, putting his arms up. "I'm not going to hurt you. Promise."

The boy stared at him looking him up and down. "You... You're Uncle Dream's son?"

Well that confirmed that this boy really was Nightmare's. "That's right," Palette told him and smiled again hoping to put his little cousin at ease. He couldn't believe it! He had a cousin! "You're Uncle-Mare's son?"

The boy nodded slowly. "Don't hurt me!" He cried out.

"Hey, no, I'm not going to hurt you!" Palette reassured. This certainly wasn't what he was expecting out of today. "I wouldn't hurt my family unless I really absolutely had to and I'd never hurt a little kid."

"Family..." The boy whispered as he continued to glare.

"Yeah?" Palette said, confused. "We're cousins... That's a little weird to say... I never thought I'd have a cousin. It's really nice to meet you!"

"Daddy said that Uncle Dream and his family would want to hurt me."

Palette frowned at that. Of course his uncle would think like that, after all Nightmare wanted to kill Dream and Palette had been used as a hostage before so it was fair to assume that he thought Dream might do the same thing. "I'm not going to hurt you, really. I want to help you. You're lost right?" Palette was slightly worried there was more to it than just being lost. His uncle wasn't a good man so he was slightly scared that the boy was abused.

The child didn't lower his guard but he nodded his head slightly. "I... I wanted to practise portals but I went through the one I made... Now I don't have the magic to get home. Mama and Daddy will be worried if they can't find me and I don't want to get grounded!"

Palette sighed and slowly stood up watching as the boy backed up a little more. Palette spoke slowly; he really had to know if his uncle was hurting the child. "Grounded? Will your parents hurt you at all?"

The boy looked confused at that. "Of course not!" He sounded shocked that Palette would even suggest it. "I'll just get sent to bed early and won't get sweets. Why would they hurt me?"

"No reason," Palette quickly said, feeling relieved that the boy didn't seem abused. There were no cuts or bruises that he could see either. "Well anyway, we better find a way to get you home. Unfortunately I can't open a portal to your home but I can take you into town. I'm meeting a friend for lunch so we can get you some monster food to get your magic levels up and then you should be able to get home."

The child was quick to shake his head rather aggressively at that. "No! If people find me out they'll hurt me!"

Palette really wanted to argue that point but he knew that there was a possibility that could be true. He wouldn't hurt his cousin and he knew Goth wouldn't either (neither would his mother, step-father or half-siblings,) but Nightmare was hated and even if people wouldn't hurt a small child they could still use him as a hostage. Palette really wished that wasn't the case but he couldn't naïvely believe that they wouldn't do something bad to the child.

"It'll be alright," Palette reassured the boy. He had to do something there was no way he could leave him here to be found by someone who would hurt him. "You didn't have those tentacles when I found you so as long as you don't summon them it'll be fine. I'll protect you and if people ask I'll just say you're the kid of a family friend that I'm babysitting for extra money or something."

He really didn't know if the boy would trust him or not. Nightmare had often said that Palette was too trusting and that's how he got kidnapped so he was worried that his cousin would be the opposite and not go with him. Palette was surprised when his cousin lowered his tentacles and they retreated into his back. He had a moment of silent celebration seeing that his cousin was trusting him but that died quickly when he saw the boy's soul. At first it was apple shaped but it quickly turned into a normal shape but that wasn't what Palette concentrated on; his soul was outside his body which wasn't really a good thing and to make it worse it wasn't just white; it had a red target on it... Just like Killer's. Palette felt as if he should've known but he'd been so caught up on this boy being his uncle's that he hadn't given thought to the other parent but of course it was Killer. He was Nightmare's boyfriend although his uncle seemed to want to hide it. It was obvious to everyone though that Nightmare's right hand man was also his lover. With the soul on display like that it was clear who the child's parents were.

"Oh," Palette said dumbly.

"I can't go out there," the boy muttered looking back up at Palette. "I really want to go home."

Palette sighed as he thought of another way. He knew his cousin didn't want to get in trouble for sneaking out but it was more important that he got home than it was to avoid being grounded. "I have my phone; do you know your parents' numbers? You can call them," Palette suggested. It wasn't the best and he'd probably have to run because he didn't doubt for a second that his uncle would not be happy about him being this close to his son but if it meant the boy would get home it was worth it.

Unfortunately the child shook his head. "Never needed to know," he said as fresh tears began to well in his eyes.

Palette tried to keep a calm mind. Nightmare or one of his gang was bound to notice the kid was missing at some point and go looking. Palette could just stay here with him until they found him but who knew how long that'd be? There were thousands of AUs so Nightmare could take days to find him and the longer it took the angrier his uncle would become; he could think Palette kidnapped the kid and while Palette was improving there was no way he'd be able to defend himself against his uncle's wrath.

"Is there any way you could hide your soul? Like push it under your clothes or something?" There had to be a way. The boy's shirt was dark so hopefully the soul wouldn't shine through.

The boy wiped his eyes at that and looked up at Palette. "I could... But it's really uncomfortable!" He whined, making Palette laugh. At least he found a solution.

"That's the only way I can get you home. It won't be for long and you don't have to do it until we get closer to other people."

The child looked thoughtful before he slowly nodded. "You promise you won't hurt me?" He asked.

"I promise and don't worry my friend's also really nice; we'll keep you safe and hopefully get you home before your parents notice you're gone."

Palette watched with a smile as his cousin stepped closer to him, still seeming a little wary. Palette offered his hand and smiled wider when the boy took it and squeezed. "Thank you," he muttered.

"It's no problem! I'm happy to meet another member of my family! …I still don't know your name though."

The boy looked up at him with wide eyes as if he just realised he hadn't given his name. "It's Miracle."

Palette smiled down at his cousin. It was a really nice name, not something he expected from his uncle or Killer. He had expected something more sinister. They must love their son a lot. He liked that, now he knew for sure that his uncle really wasn't all bad. "Nice to meet you," he said as he went to take a step but stopped when he heard his phone ring.

Miracle jumped at the sound as Palette pulled it out of his pocket still holding his cousin's hand.

"It's okay," Palette said, "it's just my friend. That's actually good, I can tell him about what's going on."

"Your friend won't hurt me?" Miracle asked. The poor kid looked quite scared, Palette wished he could do something to make him feel better but he knew he couldn't. Miracle had clearly never been outside alone before and he honestly looked too young to be alone anyway.

"Goth's nice, don't worry. He wouldn't hurt you." Palette told him and answered his phone before he left Goth waiting too long. "Hey!"

"Hey, Pally," Goth said cheerfully. "I'm waiting outside the café now, where are you?"

"I'm still about five minutes away. Something came up."

"Is there something wrong?" Goth asked, sounding a little worried.

"Not really?" Palette's answer sounded like a question. Miracle was alright now and he had a plan to get him home but he was still Nightmare's son and he was a little worried about his uncle showing up and taking things the wrong way.

Goth caught on to Palette's tone quickly. "Why did that sound like a question?"

"Um... Well, I found a lost kid," Palette explained, hoping that this wouldn't freak out his friend at all. He looked down at his cousin who was just watching him closely as he clutched his hand.

"I see," Goth said, "so we're going to look for their parents?"

"No, not really. His parents aren't here. He doesn't have enough magic to open a portal home so I was just going to buy him something to eat and then go into an alley and hope his magic has replenished."

"I see... But why can't you just open a portal to his world?"

"Because I can't."

"...Why?"

Palette took a deep breath. He doubted Goth would want to hurt Miracle but he could still freak out over it and he didn't want to put Goth in danger if Nightmare did come looking. "You've got to promise not to freak out and not let anyone else know about it," Palette said.

"I promise..." Goth really sounded unsure. "Palette, you're worrying me a little."

"Sorry!" Palette couldn't help but giggle a little at that. "I promise everything will be fine, it's just... The kid I found is my cousin."

"What!?" Goth blurted out. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean he's my uncle's son. I didn't know he existed but there's no way he's not. He has tentacles and his soul has a target on it."

"Oh my god, Palette!" Goth groaned. "This sounds like a terrible idea!"

"It'll be okay. Uncle-Mare doesn't know he's here so all we need to do is get his magic up before he finds us."

"Are you sure your cousin isn't going to attack us?" Goth asked. "I mean we're talking about Nightmare here."

"He's little," Palette argued, "unarmed and low on magic. He's clearly scared and he just wants to get home."

"I don't like fighting," Miracle said, guessing what his cousin's friend was worried about from what Palette was saying. "It's scary! Mama and my uncles do the fighting and Daddy tells them what to do."

"It's okay, Miracle," Palette said to reassure him. "He's really harmless, Gothy."

Goth sighed. "Okay, I trust you Palette. Where are you? I'll come to you."

Goth made his way over to the alley as fast as he could. He really didn't know what to think of this at all. All of a sudden his best friend (and crush) had a cousin. If it weren't for the fact that Palette's uncle was evil Goth would be happy for him. Palette's assurances that the child was harmless didn't really help much knowing who the parents were. Looks could be deceiving and Palette was rather trusting. But with that being said Goth didn't want to cause a scene or have to call his parents or Palette's. He rushed along until he came to the alley Palette had said he was in.

Goth really didn't know what he'd been expecting from the son of Nightmare but it wasn't that. The boy, Miracle, Goth believed he'd heard Palette call him, was younger than he'd thought he'd be. He didn't look as if he was concealing any weapons within those shorts, shirt and cape and he was clinging to Palette's hand and looking up fearfully at Goth.

"Uh, hi," Goth said, turning his attention to his friend.

Palette beamed at him and nodded his head towards the child. "This is Miracle," Palette introduced. "Miracle, this is my friend Goth."

Goth watched as Miracle shuffled closer to Palette like he was trying to hide from Goth. "H-hello," the small child muttered, now hidden behind Palette.

"It's alright," Palette spoke gently, "we're going to get you home, okay? There's nothing to be afraid of."

Miracle whined and gripped Palette's hand tighter. Going out to where there were a lot of people was scary and he'd never done it before. He would feel safer with his parents than with his cousin and his friend. But, Palette was nice; he hadn't done anything to hurt him so far and had promised to protect him. Maybe his father was wrong about his biological uncle's family... Well Miracle didn't know Dream but Palette was good and even if Palette was the exception at least he was with him and not Dream. Miracle decided he'd try to trust these teenagers but he stayed hidden behind Palette anyway.

Palette and Goth looked at each other both silently wondering what to do about the little boy's fear. Both teens were big brothers and had little siblings but dealing with the child of literal negativity wasn't the same as babysitting their little siblings.

Goth knelt down slowly and smiled gently. "Hey, Miracle, it's nice to meet you. I know you're... Wary about going to where there are lots of people but it'll be okay. We'll keep you safe and we can get you sweets or a cookie or something?" Goth said, trying to coax him out.

Miracle peeked at Goth from behind Palette and looked up at him seemingly intrigued by the offer. "...I want a cookie," he admitted quietly.

"Well, then we should get going before they sell out," Goth said before he looked up to his friend. "Ready, Palette?"

"Ready," Palette nodded and gave Miracle a light tug. "Let's get going. The sooner we get you fed the sooner you'll recover enough to go home."

Miracle just nodded and the three of them began to walk out of the alley. With Palette and Goth walking either side of Miracle hoping he'd feel safe. Palette was really glad that he'd been the one to find him. He really didn't want to think about what could have happened if someone else had found him instead... If they recognised his soul... Palette just shook his head. It didn't happen so it wasn't worth thinking about. His cousin was safe.

They walked along in silence. Goth was wary about this whole thing but he trusted Palette and the child really did seem harmless. He hadn't really expected a child of Nightmare to be so fearful and so innocent. Miracle also seemed to be quite curious about their surroundings and while he didn't ask questions and still seemed to want to hide behind Palette, Goth did catch him staring at the statues and the flowers.

"They're statues of different gods," Goth explained seeing Miracle stare at a statue of Undyne. "That's the goddess of war; the Undyne of this world."

"Cool," Miracle said, his voice full of wonder. "...What is this AU?"

"Reapertale," Palette told him, "it's an AU where everyone's a god. Goth's dad is from here."

Both teenagers were shocked when they saw Miracle's eyes suddenly change from rings to hollowed stars. That wasn't something they had expected to see and while Palette stared in shock Goth laughed. "Guess pretty starry eyes run in the family, huh?" Goth joked, making Palette blush.

Miracle watched his cousin blush and tilted his head. He thought they were just friends but wasn't that called flirting? Mama did stuff like that to Daddy all the time! Choosing to ignore it for now since he wanted to know more about this world of gods, Miracle looked back up at Goth. "Does your daddy have a statue here?" Miracle asked, looking around trying to spot one that looked like a Sans.

"Oh no, he doesn't have one here. He's not really a god that's worshipped at least not publicly and not really by what you'd call 'good people.'"

"...Why?" Miracle asked. "That doesn't seem fair."

"He's the eldest god of death," Goth explained. "He's used to it, so am I. Death isn't something that's celebrated. Anyone who does pray to him is normally wishing for the death of someone in their life. It's a necessary job but not really a nice one."

"Oh," Miracle said, not really knowing what else to say to that.

"Mr Reaper works hard. Even if he's not appreciated, he's still a good guy. If he wasn't around to reap dead souls you'd have a lot of undead wanting revenge or just causing problems. Besides if death didn't exist at all there would be serious overcrowding problems," Palette explained.

Miracle frowned at that; he'd heard that name somewhere before... Oh yeah! "I think Daddy mentioned him before, when I was listening to what they were talking about... They call it 'eavesdropping'?" Miracle said, looking up innocently.

"Really?" Goth asked. "Nightmare's your father right? What did he say?" He had to admit he was curious about what Nightmare had said about his father. He doubted it'd be anything good but it didn't stop his curiosity.

"Hmm," Miracle thought for a moment. "I don't remember most of it but I do remember Daddy said something like 'Reaper is such a dick,' and then Mama and my uncles laughed. I don't know what 'dick' means but when I said it Daddy gave me into trouble and said it's a bad word and I shouldn't say it. When I told him I'd heard him say it he said he was allowed because he's a grown up and grownups can say it. I don't get it but if that's what Daddy said then it must be right."

Palette had to hold back a laugh and Goth just raised a brow. All things considered that wasn't that bad; though they were a little surprised that Nightmare would give his son into trouble for something like swearing. It didn't seem like something he'd really care about.

"Well..." Goth sighed, "I really don't know what I expected. I'm not surprised that Nightmare said something like that. He's one of the few people Dad can touch and every time he finds someone he can touch he takes advantage of it. Even if that person will threaten his life for it... Like Uncle Error... and Mr Dream because Mr Cross doesn't like him doing that. He's lucky Nightmare needs death to be honest."

Palette laughed at that. "I think your mum is the only one who puts up with him."

"Probably," Goth shrugged. "I don't think Mr Ink minds too much but then he's really weird and a bit insane. No offence Palette."

"None taken," Palette said with a giggle. "I can say a lot of bad things about Dad... I mean I do love him but yeah, he's weird."

"...Ink... Ink..." Miracle muttered. "I've overheard Daddy speak about him before as well!"

"Oh?" Palette looked curiously at his cousin. "What did he say?" Now it was his turn to wonder what Nightmare said about his father.

"That he's annoying and doesn't take anything seriously... Then he said he's a bigger 'bastard gremlin' than Mama! I don't know what 'bastard' means either but Daddy also said it's a bad word; like 'dick' …Maybe I shouldn't be saying them..."

"Don't worry," Palette reassured. This was pretty funny and he did sort of agree with his uncle there even though he did care about, and love, Ink; he really wasn't a good father. He couldn't disagree with what Nightmare had apparently said. "We won't tell since you're just repeating what your father said, just don't use it outside quoting him, okay?"

"Okay!" Miracle let out a little giggle. Speaking with the two teens seemed to have helped a little and for the rest of the walk into the town Miracle was talking openly and asking Goth questions about the statues and the gods they represented.

The market was busy today. There were lots of gods wandering around and trading. The hustle and bustle of the crowd put Miracle on edge again; the confidence he had gained from learning about Reapertale seemed to disappear as quickly as it came. He slipped behind Palette again, he felt safer hiding behind his cousin than Goth; he didn't really know why. Maybe it was because Palette was bigger or because he was the one to find him or maybe it was simply because Palette was family and that fact was comforting.

Miracle had shoved his soul in his rib cage to try to hide it from anyone who would recognise it as similar to Killer's. It was really uncomfortable since his soul was never meant to exist inside his chest. He'd been born with it outside his body and while that did contribute to his weakness since it was easier for an enemy to hurt him with his soul always out, it was simply meant to be like that. Miracle didn't like forcing his soul to where it wasn't meant to be, it made him feel trapped and claustrophobic, it felt irritating and he just hated it. He wanted to cry and complain about it but he knew this was the only way he'd get home so he dealt with it.

Palette gave his cousin's hand a gentle squeeze letting him know he was still there and wasn't about to let him go as they began heading to the café. "It's okay," Palette said gently. "Just don't let go of my hand; that way you won't get lost."

Miracle let out a small whine. He really didn't like being in this crowd; it was scary, what if someone recognised him? What if people would be able to tell just by looking at him? And that wasn't even mentioning the people who accidently bumped into the small child by accident as they rushed about. "...Palette?" Miracle asked quietly, making his cousin look down at him. "Can you carry me?"

Seeing his cousin look so sad and scared, Palette stopped and carefully picked the little boy up. Holding him upright in his arms they continued on their walk. Miracle held on tight with his arms around Palette's neck and his head buried in his shoulder. With his body facing Palette like this Miracle let his soul go back to where it was meant to be making sure it was out of sight of the passing gods.

It wasn't too long before they reached the café. Miracle quickly forced his soul back into his ribcage, accepting that he'd just have to put up with the feeling of wrong as Palette placed him down. Miracle looked around the little café curiously, despite how busy it was outside the café was not. There were a few people dotted about here and there but it was rather quiet. It was before the lunch rush so Miracle supposed that was why it wasn't busy yet. It was a simple little café with a wooden counter, tables and floors. It even had a fireplace on the far wall making it feel extra cosy.

Goth walked up to the counter and smiled at the old barista who smiled back at him. "Well, hello Goth," she smiled sweetly at him, "back with your boyfriend again today~" she seemed to tease lightly, making Goth blush.

So they are a couple? Miracle thought with a smile. They're cute.

"He's not my boyfriend," Goth denied making Miracle frown, he was very confused. They were cute and Goth flirted earlier and this lady said 'boyfriend,' the two of them even smiled at each other the same way Miracle saw his parents smile at each other. Maybe they hadn't told each other yet?

The old lady giggled and lent over to pinch Goth's cheek. "Of course," she said, sounding as if she just said it to appease the demi-god. She looked over at Palette and smiled at him as well. "Hello to you as well, dear."

Palette smiled back at her and took Miracle's hand again. "Hello, how are you?" He asked politely.

"Oh same old, same old," she said with a wave of her hand before she looked down at Miracle who once again hid behind Palette. "Who's this little cutie?" She asked.

"This is Miracle," Palette said, "I'm babysitting... He's a little shy."

The old lady just smiled at Miracle. "Oh don't worry, little one I don't bite."

Miracle just gripped tighter to Palette's jacket. He knew that this person couldn't tell who he was but he was still nervous about being attacked. "Why don't we order something, hmm? Miracle?" Palette gently encouraged. "You wanted a cookie right?"

He nodded his head at that and let Palette gently urge him over to the counter. He looked over the options of cakes and sweets that were behind the glass, still a little nervous about being here. Luckily no one pressured him to order so he stood there and watched as Palette and Goth ordered their own. Palette even asked for the cookie for Miracle.

"Want a milkshake?" Palette offered, "You should probably have a sandwich as well."

Miracle looked up at Palette with his eyes shaped like stars again. "Yes!" He spoke, sounding rather excited before he added "…Please?"

Palette just giggled and picked him up again. "What kind then?"

Miracle looked up at the menu board that Palette had angled him to see. It was the kids' menu that had pictures next to the words. Miracle could read really well for a four year old since his father was very intent on teaching him to read, write and do maths from an early age but having the pictures there made it much easier for him to know the options.

"Can I have the strawberry milkshake and cheese sandwich?" Miracle asked quietly and looked to Palette to see him nod before he repeated Miracle's order to the old lady since he'd been too quiet for her to hear.

Their food and drinks were soon placed on a couple of trays and Palette had to put Miracle down so he could carry one over to a table. Miracle didn't want to let go of his cousin but he couldn't be carried when Palette had the tray nor could he hold Palette's hand. He settled with grabbing hold of his jacket instead and followed quietly to the table closest to the fire which also happened to be furthest away from other people. Goth paid for the food and took the other tray before he followed after them.

Miracle happily pulled himself up onto one of the chairs as Palette and Goth placed down the trays. Palette put Miracle's food in front of him before he sat down himself.

"Thank you," Miracle said, looking up at the two teens. Palette was handing Goth money for his and Miracle's food and Goth was silently pushing his arm away. Miracle couldn't help but giggle at them as he picked up one of the four little triangles of sandwich.

"Don't mention it," Palette said, giving up on handing Goth the money and stealthily slipped it into his coat pocket instead. "I couldn't possibly leave you there."

Miracle just gave a small smile in return and kept eating while swinging his legs back and forth. It was so good to finally get some magic back into him. He felt much better already and he'd just taken the first few bites. As soon as they were done he knew he'd have enough magic to get home, he just hoped his parents hadn't come to check on him yet. Hopefully if they had, he'd be able to tell before they spotted him and he could hide up a tree or something. If they thought he'd been up a tree the whole time and not in Reapertale the punishment wouldn't be as bad since, as far as they knew, he'd never left Dreamtale. He'd still get into trouble for that though since they didn't like him climbing without an adult just in case he fell. He liked climbing though and didn't like waiting around for someone to have time to take him outside and he wasn't allowed to climb the bookcases. He'd tried and his father panicked. Apparently bookcases weren't stable enough to hold a child's weight but a cat was okay.

Palette watched his cousin eating happily. He really seemed cheerful for his uncle's son; he was just little so maybe childhood innocents played a part in that. But then again with the way he spoke about Nightmare it seemed that he really was a good father. Palette really wished his uncle could be good again, he wished he could have a relationship with him but most importantly he knew that if Nightmare did change his ways then it'd make Dream happy. He really wanted to see his mother happy... Palette forced away the thought; it would be enough for him to just be friends with his little cousin.

Miracle was quick to finish his sandwich and he'd even polished off half of his milkshake. He was quick to pick up the cookie and take a big bite. The two teens couldn't help but let out a little chuckle at the way the little boy seemed to just melt into his seat with an "mmm," and his eyes turned to stars again. He looked like he was really enjoying it.

"Is it good?" Goth asked as he took a sip of his coffee.

"Really good!" Miracle answered with his mouth full. He swallowed his mouthful before he spoke again. "Probably the second best cookie I've had."

"Only second best?" Palette asked with a raised brow. He knew from experience that the home baked sweets here were top quality.

"Mmm hmm, Uncle Horror makes the best cookies!" Miracle said before he took another bite. "He makes the tastiest foods! And I help but he doesn't let me use the knives or any hot things."

Hearing that made Palette smile more. Nightmare and his gang really didn't seem that bad. They clearly cared for Miracle and took care of him.

The rest of the meal was eaten with Miracle asking the odd question about the Multiverse. As it turned out he did know quite a bit but there were a lot of specifics he didn't know. Palette and Goth were more than happy to tell him anything they knew and they could've talked for longer but they did need to get Miracle home before his family freaked out.

Once they were finished the two teens loaded the trays with their plates and cups to take back to the counter and thanked the barista on their way out. They walked out of the café with Palette holding Miracle's hand again but as soon as they were back into the crowded streets Palette felt Miracle's grip tighten. He looked down at his cousin and Miracle met his gaze before he let go of his hand and reached up with both hands.

"Up?" Miracle asked quietly.

Palette nodded and picked him up again letting Miracle cling to him again and hide his face. He was really happy that he'd gotten his cousin to trust him so quickly. He seemed to feel safe when Palette held him and he was clearly trusting Palette to get him home... Maybe his uncle really could be good if this was how his child acted.

Goth watched on with a smile. Palette was so good with him but that really wasn't a surprise; he was good with kids. The sight of Palette carrying his scared cousin and whispering comforting words to him was really cute. He'll be a really good parent when he has kids of his own one day, Goth thought as they walked back to where they'd found Miracle. Too bad that'd never be with me...

They got back to the alley quicker than they'd gotten to the café with Palette carrying the little child all the way there. Palette let him down and Miracle was quick to allow his soul to come back out and sit outside his ribcage again.

"Ready to go home?" Palette asked as he pet his cousin's head to which the boy lent into happily.

Miracle nodded. "It was nice meeting you! Thanks for the food!"

"No problem," Goth said, "we're just glad we could help."

Miracle giggled and waved at them before he turned around and held his arms out. This time he had enough magic to open up a portal for sure! Closing his eyes he concentrated on his magic and thought of his room. The magic sparked on his fingertips as he pushed through the barrier his father had put up when he was born and a dark portal opened up. Miracle smiled and jumped up and down in excitement making the teens laugh again. "I did it! I did it!"

"Careful," Palette said, still laughing lightly, "we don't want it closing before you can get through."

"Oh, right!" Miracle stopped bouncing and turned back to his cousin and Goth. "Well, bye... I guess..."

The teens looked at each other at that; Miracle seemed sad to go...

"Don't worry," Palette told him gently, "we'll see each other again. Maybe when you get really good at portals and you can open them without any problems we can meet up?"

Miracle seemed to light up at that. "Yes!" He said and jumped up and down again. "It can be like a secret mission because Daddy would never let me!"

"We'd have to be very careful," Goth added, knowing that if Nightmare found out he'd probably attack them.

"I can be very careful!" Miracle giggled. "I'm the most carefulest!"

"...I don't think that's a word," Goth muttered.

"I'll practise lots and lots," Miracle announced and turned back to his portal. "Bye bye for now! Hope you guys start kissing and doing proper couple things soon!"

"WHAT!?" Both teens called at the same time as their faces flushed.

They could only watch as Miracle giggled and ran off through the portal. As soon as he was gone the portal closed and the teens were left alone in the alley.

"Uh, Palette?" Goth was the first to recover from the shock and embarrassment.

"...Yeah?" Palette managed to whisper out.

"I think your cousin either misunderstood something or has a very vivid imagination."

"Yeah you can say that again. I have no idea where he got that from."

Both teenagers stood there awkwardly. Both thinking that their feelings would never be recuperated yet they were both so obvious that even a four year old could see it.

Now back at home, Miracle sighed in relief. Still he wasn't out of the red just yet. He had only been gone for just over an hour and a half but his parents could have still come to check on him so he began to look for evidence that they had.

His toys lay undisturbed.

He couldn't hear any yelling or anyone freaking out.

There wasn't a thicker sense of negativity.

Miracle let out a little giggle; had he done it? Had he really not been caught?

Diamond wasn't sleeping on his bed; in fact she wasn't even in the room. The only one who knew he'd been gone was a cat and as a cat she couldn't tell on him.

Smiling Miracle sat down on the floor and picked up his current Lego project and happily started working on it... Maybe he should use the spare pieces to set up a trap since it was really funny when his father stood on a Lego and screamed.

Miracle had been working on his Lego castle for about five minutes when he heard his mother's footsteps coming towards his room. He tensed, still a little worried that Killer did know he'd been missing...

"Hey, Miracle," Killer said, pushing open the half closed door and looking at his son to see him happily playing with Lego.

"Mama!" Miracle pulled himself off the floor again and jumped into Killer's arms. He didn't seem mad at him and he was really happy to be back home.

"Whoa!" Killer stumbled back a little but still managed to catch Miracle and readjust him so he held him on his hip. "You're starting to get a little big for that," Killer laughed, "one day you're going to knock me over."

"That'd be funny!" Miracle giggled.

"No~" Killer said, his tone clearly teasing. "It'll only be funny if you knocked Daddy over, not Mama."

"Both would be funny!" Miracle retorted.

Killer was about to argue with his son when he was interrupted by a loud meow and Diamond getting on her hind legs and pushing her front paws on Killer's leg as if trying to get to Miracle. Aww, she missed me, Miracle thought but wouldn't dare voice it.

Killer looked at the cat with one brow raised. "Weird cat," he said, "you've been with him all day." Still he put Miracle down and watched as he went over to the cat and pet her making her purr happily. What Killer didn't know was that she had woken up to find Miracle missing; she'd been worried and was now happy to have him back.

"She was sleeping for a really long time," Miracle said, "she looked happy on my bed."

"Cute," Killer said and knelt down next to the cat so he could pet her too. "I was just on my way up to get you for lunch, Horror made soup, and she came darting towards me. I thought it was a bit weird when she grabbed my sock and started to pull me to your room. For a second I thought something had happened. Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Miracle looked up at his mother trying his best to look confused. "I'm fine. She woke up, jumped off the bed and left the room. I thought she needed a drink or something."

Killer just shrugged. "Weird, maybe she just wanted more attention. …Anyway, we better go get lunch before it gets cold. Hungry?"

"Yep!" Miracle called. Even though he'd already eaten he couldn't tell his mother that, besides he'd just used up the magic the first lunch had given him getting back home.

Killer smiled and stood up again. "Let's get going then, but first we have to get your daddy. Want to barge into his office and blast air horns?"

Miracle gasped at that and jumped to his feet. "Yes! Yes! Can we?"

Killer smirked and pulled out two air horns from his inventory. "Of course, but remember we have to be really sneaky and quiet or he'll hear us coming."

Miracle giggled and took one of the air horns. "I'll be the bestest sneakiest person ever!"

"Right, let's go!" Killer laughed and winked at his son before taking his hand and leading him towards Nightmare's office.

Miracle was really happy that he'd gotten away with it. They didn't know and now he got to prank his father with his mother's permission which meant that the one that'd get into trouble would be Killer and Miracle would get off with just a talking too since his mother had encouraged it. He really counted himself lucky.