Chapter Text
Nightmares, as much as Netty hated them, they were just as much a part of life like everything else, even past life choices that the younger brother wanted to forget desperately. In the dead of the night, Netty tossed and turned in his bed, clenching the blanket close to his chest as he whimpered and cried out, tears filling his shut eyes and streaming down his cheeks till they hit the blankets. Netty sniffled in terror, curling up into a ball underneath his covers, trying to hide from whatever was going on in his mind. His sobbing became louder as his nightmare seemed to become even worse, he curled even more into himself, words bursting free from his throat as he cried out: “No, please, let me go! No, Mono, Boss help me! Don’t let Lez do this to me!”
“Netty! Netty! Come on, wake up, you’re having a nightmare!” At those words, Netty’s eyes burst open and he kicked the blanket off himself so hard and fast that he nearly kicked the person shaking him awake. A surprised yelp came from the person above the boy, bare feet stumbling over the floor as they took a few steps backwards before they slowly approached the bed the younger boy was lying on. Netty heaved for breath as his curled up form loosened before collapsing onto his bed, he sat up into a sitting position, head turning in different directions to ensure he was back in his hut and not anywhere else his nightmare had taken him previously.
“Netty?” The boy nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the familiar male voice call out to him, but it wasn’t either of his two brothers, it was instead the boss of New Dream village, Mono. To prove his point, Netty turned his head in the direction of the voice and sure enough, there he was, the great bag boy himself. It was a bit hard to see him through both the darkness and his tears, but the younger brother could still make out Mono’s taller form in the dark. “B-Boss?” Netty stuttered, little body shrinking against the mattress of his bed in slight fear, unsure of why Mono was in his hut in the middle of the night and what he might do. “W-w-what are you doing here?” Despite his attempts to hide it, his voice cracked and stuttered with each word he said.
Behind his mask, Mono gave a soft frown at the boy’s reply especially at how his friend seemed to cower away from him in something that he could consider close to terror at his mere presence. He didn’t know why, but he had a feeling that there was more to this than he believed. “I was walking by the huts to get back to my tent after a quick bathroom break and I heard you screaming, is something wrong?” Mono replied honestly, a twitch of concern entering his voice as he carefully walked over to the boy’s bed so he didn’t accidentally spook him, bare feet slapping the floor beneath him as he moved.
Netty tensed slightly as he turned almost his entire upper body away from the Boss to gaze back at his bed, bringing a hand up to his face so he could wipe away the tears still on his cheeks. He sniffled as he struggled to hold back tears that were still trying to break free from their tear ducts, even with Mono being a distance away from him, he still heard the pathetic noises and that made his frown deepen. “Are you okay?” Mono asked Netty, sitting down on his bed beside the boy, the bed itself making a soft creak sound as he did so mostly from his weight. Netty didn’t look or answer him, he simply continued sniffling and clenching his blanket before curling into a ball on his bed, head resting against his knees, tears hitting the fabric of his pants.
He almost felt ashamed at crying whenever he had a nightmare, but this one was so horrific, how could he not feel frightened? Even with the darkness and him wearing a paper bag on his head, Mono took notice of the boy’s hunched over form as well as heard the sniffles and whimpers coming from his nose and mouth. He didn’t think his worry could increase, but it did and it went up to eleven that the teenage boy swore to the lord above, he thought he would shake in worry. His dark eyes narrowed in concern at the younger boy as he started to have a breakdown as evident by the soft sobbing filling the air, he reached out one of his hands and set it on Netty’s shoulder, making the young boy almost jump.
“Nightmares?” Netty didn’t answer, instead he pulled his head away from his knees and looked into the baghead teenager’s eyes which were narrowed in concern and merely nodded his head. That was the only response Mono needed, he didn’t hesitate to set a hand on the younger boy’s shoulder to rub it gently in some effort to calm him down. However the gesture seemed to have the opposite effect as Netty finally broke down crying from the stress, the dam burst and tears streamed down his face. Whimpers and cries ripped freely from his throat, he sniffled like mad as he brought a hand up to his face to wipe it free from tears. The boy curled into a tight ball, rocking back and forth on his bed, trying to muffle his loud crying.
At this breakdown, Mono pulled his hand away from the little boy, body tensing like he had been frozen in a block of ice and his eyes widened. Never in all his time running New Dream had he seen a breakdown this bad before in his life, sure there were times where his friends would cry from either nightmare or stress, hell even Alle would cry whenever she felt too stressed or remembered memories that were too painful for her to recall. But this, this was a bit beyond what he’s seen but that didn’t mean he should just sit there and do nothing when his friend needed comfort. He didn’t know where the hell Netty’s brothers were, but he reckoned they would be back soon from whatever the hell they were doing outside or wherever.
Probably a little too quickly admittedly, Mono wrapped his arms around Netty and pulled him close to his bare chest to hug him. He ran a hand up and down Netty’s back while shushing him and reassuring him that it’s okay, that he could let it all out. Mono wasn’t too sure if he was doing a good job at comforting the boy or if this affection was making Netty uncomfortable and at that moment, he was considering letting Netty go. But instead, the boy wiggled his arms free from his boss’ grip and wrapped them around the teenager’s neck, curling up against the other boy’s chest, wanting to feel the warmth that emitted from him. The Boss was always so soft and gentle to others, comforting them when they’re down and ensuring they were okay and well and this time was no exception.
Despite the situation, Netty found himself smiling softly as he nuzzled his face into his boss’ chest, the tears still wanting to be free from his eyes stopped streaming down his face and his whimpers eased. The young boy’s breathing slowed and the tension as well as the stress from whatever nightmare that had been going on in Netty’s head seemed to disappear, at least for now till probably the next night. Above the younger boy, Mono smiled down at Netty beneath his mask, glad that he was able to comfort his friend after he had a bad dream though this wasn’t the first time he comforted someone after they had a really nasty nightmare especially someone who was as small as Netty.
Sour memories began to fill his brain most notably the ones of the teary red eyed girl wearing a dark blue jumper. However, the boy shook his head lightly and forced those memories back to the darkest corners of his mind, choosing instead to focus on comforting his friend. He felt Netty shift slightly in his arms which dragged the older boy’s attention back to the present. He looked downwards to glance into the eyes of the younger brother who was smiling softly back at him in a nonverbal ‘thank you’. “Feel better?” Mono asked the boy gently, hand moving to Netty’s head so he could stroke his messy hair. Netty nodded his head still smiling before nuzzling back into Mono’s chest and neck, feeling the softness of his skin against his own.
“Do you want to try to sleep again?” The younger boy gave a little shudder and coiled even more into his boss’ chest, one hand gripping some of Mono’s warm flesh. “Can you stay a little longer?” Netty asked in a whisper, surprising Mono considering these were the first words he’d spoken since the bag headed teen scooped the boy into his embrace. But still he nodded his head at the boy’s request, shifting his body so he was lying on his back on Netty’s bed, still holding Netty in his arms. He gently ran his hand up Netty’s shirt, rubbing and patting his bare back. The little boy smiled even more as he felt the Boss’ affection, he nuzzled into Mono’s chest as he rested an arm under his head, the other arm still gripping some of Mono’s skin before his grip eased.
It took a few seconds, but eventually Netty’s eyes slowly closed and his breathing eased till finally he fell asleep. But Mono continued to stay with the boy and comfort him with his presence, giving him all the affection he rarely gave to anyone. Even though there were still some sour memories flooding in his head, Mono didn’t let them stop him from comforting his friend and smiling at seeing the smile on the younger boy’s face. Though Netty didn’t say it out loud considering he had fallen asleep, but he was so glad that Mono was the Boss of New Dream and not Lez.