Work Text:
Nightmare managed to wake up before Miracle. That was good; being woken up by a child jumping on his bed wasn’t the best way to start the day. Especially when he was excited about something; Halloween, Giftmas, trips to (safe) AUs… His birthday and today was his birthday.
Birthdays also felt weird to Nightmare. When he was a child his birthday never mattered; when the villagers came to wish Dream a happy birthday and give him gifts they always ignored Nightmare. Dream always just assumed the birthday wishes where to both of them and gifts were to share; after all, they’re twins and twins share everything. If Nightmare ended up alone on his birthday then he’d still get beaten up; no break just because of the date…
Things had changed now but Nightmare didn’t celebrate his own birthday, it was just full of painful memories. A day that was meant to be full of fun was full of neglect and abuse instead and he just wanted to spend that day locked away in his library. He had refused to even tell his gang when his birthday was… Too bad they found out when they saw social media posts from Dream’s birthday celebration, Nightmare cursed the fact that they’re twins. The boys got him gifts and they had cake for dessert but other than that, they did accept that Nightmare didn’t want to celebrate and left him alone.
At first Nightmare wasn’t involved with the Murder Time Trio’s birthdays but he let them do their own thing. But that was another thing that changed when he and Killer got together. He got them gifts and helped with making little parties for them. Killer liked having “birthday sex” too where Nightmare pampered him.
Miracle’s birthdays were huge events. Nightmare wanted to give his son everything he never had. He wanted his son to know he was loved and that they were happy he was born so he made sure that the 30th of November was all about Miracle and what he wanted to do. The Murder Time Trio had lots of parties but planning a child’s birthday was a lot diffrent and Nightmare had no idea what to do at first.
The Murder Time Trio had totally taken over planning Miracle’s first birthday and Miracle loved it, so many balloons and colourfully wrapped presents and of course the huge cake Horror had spent days on designing and making. After Nightmare had seen the example every other birthday got easier to plan and only got easier over the years.
The result ended with a very happy child. He didn’t have anyone his own age but his birthdays were still filled with fun games, good music and great food. Each year was bigger and better than the last. Nightmare and Killer didn’t care if they were spoiling their son; they felt like he deserved it and he never acted like a spoiled brat. These parties really were something Nightmare enjoyed, finally birthdays weren’t something he dreaded. Even his own was more tolerable since Miracle made that day so much brighter; he just wanted to see his father smile.
This year was going to feel weird for Nightmare though. To Miracle it was just another birthday and he was just as excited as ever, to Killer it was just another birthday and he had already made the comment of it almost being another year since he’d given birth… But to Nightmare this one felt special… Miracle was now six years old… Six… The same age the Apple Twins were when the Apple Incident happened… The worst year of his life… When the abuse got to be too much, when he felt his whole body and mind break… When he lost everything…
All Nightmare wanted was to make this birthday and year the best he could for his son. He wanted to make sure he’d never experience the pain he did… He was going to make this birthday extra special and the gang had been a big help in that.
He had to be quick, before Miracle woke up. Nightmare was quiet as he slipped out of bed; there was no point in waking Killer, he was useless in the morning. Quietly Nightmare headed to Miracle’s room and stuck his head in to see his son was still fast asleep, cuddled up in the blankets and surrounded by his favourite plushies. His reversible octopus held close to himself and the cat sleeping peacefully on the end of the bed. It didn’t look like he’d be getting up any time soon so this gave Nightmare time to make sure everything was perfect.
The common room was decorated and there were five piles of presents; a pile from each of them, including Colour. Everything had been set up once Miracle had gone to bed. It was all looking great, not a single thing out of place.
Happy with how things were, Nightmare began to walk through the castle. He heard Horror in the kitchen already preparing breakfast and any other food they’d eat that day but he didn’t go in, instead he kept walking all the way to the courtyard.
He had gotten Miracle the best gift he could think of; he turned part of the courtyard into a climbing park since Miracle was always climbing everything he could. There were rock walls, more trees, a tree house, monkey bars, everything Miracle would need to have hours of fun. Of course Nightmare was paranoid over the boy’s safety and had installed as many safety nets and harnesses as he could and he wasn’t about to let Miracle climb without an adult there.
It had been quite the challenge to keep it secret from Miracle; he loved going outside and it took time to set all of it up. Nightmare had made so many excuses as to why he couldn’t go out there. A storm made the trees fall so it’s not safe, he was too busy, let's go outside the castle for a change. He was relieved he could stop all of that now. He just knew he’d love it.
Miracle was likely to want to use the park right away so Nightmare wanted to make sure everything was still as safe as possible so he began to walk around making sure it was all in order. Nothing has been damaged overnight, the nets were still secure and nothing was loose. Good.
“...Boss?”
Nightmare turned to the door to see Horror standing there with a mixing bowl in his hands. He began to walk towards him, it was time to go in anyway; he couldn’t waste too much time.
“Good morning, Horror, what are you doing here?”
“Was gonna ask you the same thing. I was making breakfast when I heard the door so I went to make sure Miracle wasn’t sneaking around. We all want to get his reaction to this on camera.”
“I see, well I was just making sure all the safety precautions were still intact. I can’t let my Little Prince get hurt.”
“...He’ll be just fine, you know.”
“I hope so… Killer says that I worry too much.”
“You do.”
Nightmare glared at that but sighed and began to head inside. He couldn’t help worrying when Miracle was so fragile, he couldn’t bear it if something happened. “Let’s just get back in. You need to finish making breakfast and I need to get Killer so we can get Miracle… Unless he’s already jumping on the bed and waking Killer up…”
Horror just let out a laugh at that and began to head back as well. “Sure thing, Boss. I’m almost done mixing everything. I have a mix of pancakes and waffles and the jam, maple syrup and chocolate spread are already set out.”
“Good to hear… I’ll be back as soon as I have Killer and Miracle.”
“Right… I’ll quickly go see if Dust’s up before I start cooking them.”
Nightmare simply nodded at that and began to head back upstairs as Horror went to put the bowl back in the kitchen. Nightmare peeked his head into Miracle’s room first to see him still sleeping but it didn’t look like it was as deep a sleep like it was the last time he looked.
With a small grin Nightmare continued to his own room. When he opened the door he saw Killer sitting up slightly and staring off into space. Nightmare knew that it took a bit for Killer to wake up in the morning and he really looked sleepy.
“Hey, Kills, are you ready to get our son?”
“Yeah… I suppose,” Killer muttered as he stretched. “Where were you?”
Nightmare hesitated before he spoke, he knew exactly what his boyfriend would say… “I went to make sure the climbing park was safe…”
“...Really?”
“Yes… I can’t help worrying.”
“I know, I know. He’ll be fine though.”
“Yeah, that’s what Horror said…”
“He caught you checking?”
“He was making breakfast and heard me.”
“Of course he did… Right… We better get Miracle up, he’s going to love everything we have planned for today. I still can’t believe it’s been six years since I gave birth… My little baby is so big…”
Nightmare rolled his eye at that and watched as Killer pulled himself out of bed with a yawn and another stretch. They quickly changed and walked out of the room together. Miracle’s room was only next door so the walk wasn’t far, still they crept quietly and nodded to each other before they opened the door fully, Miracle twitching in his sleep at the sound of the door creaking. As the adults approached the bed, Miracle turned onto his back and groaned, his purple eyes slowly opening and he blinked up at his parents a couple of times.
“Wakey, wakey, Birthday Boy~” Killer teased and laughed as Miracle’s face went from confused to excited, his eye-lights turning into stars, in only a few seconds flat.
“It’s my birthday!” Miracle shouted excitedly as he shot out of bed, his father’s tentacle quickly catching him, stopping him from running off.
“Slow down,” Nightmare said, “if you start running around too soon after waking up you’ll end up dizzy.”
“But it’s my birthday!”
“Someone has a case of the zoomies,” Killer commented with a laugh as Nightmare glared at him.
“Happy birthday, Little Prince, but you have to slow down. We have all day to get your presents and all that food Horror’s making.”
“Sorry Daddy… I’m just excited!”
“I know, you’re going to love what we have for you this year…”
“We worked hard on it, we’re going to have a lot of fun together,” Killer said with a smirk. Obviously Nightmare’s climbing park gift was the best but Killer had made sure to get his son all the toys that were sure to annoy everyone, as he always did.
A meow made them all turn to see Diamond the cat get up and stretch her front legs and then her back before she sat on the bed and began to groom.
“Aww, good morning Diamond!” Miracle said happily as he reached out to gently pet her, getting a small purr in response. “Mama and Daddy are going to make this the bestest birthday ever!”
“The best birthday ever,” Nightmare corrected, “‘bestest’ isn’t a word.”
“But it is going to be the bestest birthday ever!”
“It really is,” Killer cut in before Nightmare could try to correct the child again. “Just wait until you see your really, really, big present!”
“Really, really big present?” Miracle asked, looking up at his mother with wide eyes, the stars never fading. “I want the big present!”
“Breakfast first,” Nightmare said as he took Miracle’s hand and began to lead him out of the room.
“Aww why?”
“Because if we show you your present you won’t want to do anything other than play. You need to eat, and besides Horror worked hard on today’s meals and he’ll get into a state if you don’t eat.”
“Oh… Okay! I want the yummy food anyway!”
Killer smiled as he watched them leave, Diamond following closely behind as always. He was aware of how much this day meant to Nightmare. He had told Killer everything about his childhood and Killer knew that Miracle turning six was a big deal to him. Killer wasn’t going to annoy Nightmare as he normally would, he wanted to do his part on making today perfect for him and he wanted to reassure him that nothing bad would happen to Miracle, at all.
Killer simply followed behind his family listening to Miracle talk about how yummy Horror’s food was. Both Nightmare and Killer couldn’t help but smile as they listened to their son ramble on. He was so taken with the simplest of things, so innocent to everything. It would be hard to believe he was raised by murderers and a tyrant by the way he spoke.
When they reached the common room, Miracle’s eyes went wide again as he saw the pile of gifts, all neatly wrapped up by Nightmare and Dust. Killer had been the one to decorate the room and Horror, as always, cooked and baked.
“Oh wow!” Miracle said as he let go of Nightmare’s hand and ran over to the pile. “So many!” He was quick to pick up a box and shake it but Killer was also quick to gently take it away from him and put it back on the pile.
“After breakfast, okay, Kiddo?”
“Can’t I just open one now?”
“No, because then you’ll just want to open them all. Once we’ve eaten you can open them, then we’ll show you the big one.”
“The big one’s not here? Because that one looks big!” Miracle said, pointing to one large box.
“The big one is much bigger than that one.”
“I can’t wait!”
“Well you’re going to have to wait for just a bit,” Nightmare said as he placed his hands on his son’s shoulders. “Let’s get something to eat.”
As if on cue Miracle’s stomach growled and he turned his head to look up at his father. “Alright, I am pretty hungry…”
“Let's go then,” Killer said as he hopped off towards the dining room. “I can smell it from here!”
“Well he’s woken up faster than normal,” Nightmare commented as he took Miracle’s hand again to lead him off to the dining room.
Their arrival was met with Horror and Dust happily calling out; “Happy birthday!” It made Miracle giggle and he quickly sat down onto the chair and was served a big plate of pancakes and waffles.
“A good big serving for the birthday boy,” Horror said as he stepped back. “Eat up, you have a big day ahead of you, you’ll need it.”
“Just don’t tire yourself out too much,” Dust added, “you don’t want to collapse and make your daddy freak out today of all days, right?
“Right! This smells so yummy! I can’t wait to eat!”
Nightmare helped Miracle put his topping of choice onto his pancakes and waffles before he sat down to eat his own share.
The room was filled with excited chatter. Miracle swung his legs back and forth as he ate and talked on and on about his birthday plans and what he hoped he’d gotten.
Seeing Miracle so happy brought Nightmare peace. His son was alright, he had given him a great childhood and would continue to do so. He turned to Killer when he felt his hand being placed on his shoulder, Killer was smiling up at him and Nightmare couldn’t help but smile back. He had such a great family.
“Holding up okay, yeah?”
“I’m fine, Miracle’s going to have the happiest birthday we can give him… It won’t be anything like when I was a child…”
“I know, just look at how excited he is… He’s going to love that park.”
“Yeah… He really is…”
Killer turned his attention to his son and watched as he stuffed his breakfast into his mouth as he chatted with Dust, trying to get him to say what his big present was. “Relax, Moonlight~ Let’s just enjoy today, yeah?”
“Right,” Nightmare said as he began to eat again. “Just behave yourself, Kills.”
“Of course I will, when do I not?”
Nightmare rolled his eye again and sighed, as much as he found Killer annoying his cheekiness and gremlin behaviour really did help him relax… He’d gotten so used to it. If Killer wasn’t acting full feral there was something wrong.
After breakfast they went back to the common room and sat together as Miracle sat on the floor and tore off the colourful paper that covered his presents. Each toy, book and clothing item that was uncovered was met with excitement and carefully studied and opened up before Miracle moved on to the next one.
The adults watched on with smiles, Miracle always thanked them after each gift and once he was finished opening the gifts from one person he’d hug them tightly before going onto the next person’s.
Like always Killer’s gifts were loud and annoying toys, as well as a book of pranks that he suggested they try out together. Dust ended up getting a few kids’ science kits and action figures and Horror got him some small kid sized cooking tools, simple recipe books and plushies. Nightmare ended up getting him clothes and books, which most kids probably wouldn’t be too happy about but Miracle took after his father with his love of reading.
While each and every gift was met with the same level of excitement, Miracle really wanted to see what the big one was. Putting his new remote control car down he looked up at his parents and stood up. “Can I see the big one now?”
“Welp, no point in delaying it anymore… We still have to show you the cake as well,” Killer said as he dragged himself up and scooped Miracle into his arms.
“He’s going to love the cake, it was fun making it,” Horror said with a smile. He always went all out with everyone’s birthday cake but Miracle’s more than anyone else’s. “It’s simple but perfect.”
“Is it big?” Miracle asked hopefully.
“It’s too big…” Nightmare said with a sigh. There were only five of them, a three tier cake was too much; they’d be eating cake for weeks.
“Yay! Big present first! Then I’ll blow out my candle and have cake?”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Killer said as he began to walk. “I’ll make sure me and you get the biggest pieces and Nightmare gets the smallest.”
Miracle gasped at that and playfully hit his mother with a tentacle. “That’s so mean, Mama is being a meanie!”
“I’m not a big fan of sweets anyway, I can just not have any,” Nightmare told him. He’d rather not have any cake but he knew Miracle would want him to…
“Daddy will get cake!” Miracle stated firmly. The way he said it sounded like one of Nightmare’s orders, the small child had a very quiet innocent voice but when he wanted something he really sounded just like his father. Like any child he often copied his parents and Nightmare was often firm and demanding; Killer thought it was cute when Miracle did it though. He tried so hard to be just like his daddy.
“Well Miracle has spoken… Just like the little prince he is, you gotta have a slice now~” Killer teased and stuck his tongue out at Nightmare.
“I suppose he has, you’ll be such a good leader one day,” Nightmare spoke as he pat Miracle’s head as they began to head to the courtyard.
“Can I see the big present now?” Miracle asked as he squirmed in Killer’s arms wanting to be let down so he could run off. “Where is it anyway? Is it outside?”
Killer grinned and began to walk faster. “It is, your daddy spent a long time setting it all up.”
“Is that why I wasn’t allowed outside?”
“Yeah, we couldn’t let you spoil the surprise.”
“Let’s just go, I want to get the cake out,” Horror said as he began to walk faster, making the others laugh as they followed behind him.
It didn’t take them long to get to the door. Killer put Miracle down and he bounced excitedly as he stared at the door knob. They couldn’t keep him waiting any longer and after pulling out their phones and getting ready to record, Nightmare summoned a tentacle and used it to grab the door knob.
“Ready?” Nightmare asked.
Miracle turned quickly to look at Nightmare and nodded. “Yes! Open the door!”
“There he goes again, demanding just like you are~” Killer teased before Nightmare slowly opened the door.
Miracle gasped when he saw it; all the new trees… All the climbing equipment… It was so perfect. He stood in the doorway, his mouth open and just stared at it.
“Well?” Nightmare asked as he placed a hand on Miracle’s back giving him a small and gentle nudge forward. “Aren’t you going to go have a closer look?”
“All of it is mine?”
“Of course, only the best for my Little Prince.”
“It… It’s amazing! The best!”
“I knew you’d love it, you’re always trying to climb everything.”
“Are you going to go play on it?” Killer asked, he’d never seen his son this excited before.
“Yes!” Miracle said but instead of running off to the climbing park he turned around and wrapped his arms around Nightmare’s waist in a tight hug. “Thank you, Daddy!”
“You’re welcome… Now remember the rules for this; you have to have at least one adult with you when you play on it at all times and you have to wait until we check all the safety equipment for damage as well. You also need to come down when we tell you to.”
“I will! Let’s go! Let’s go!”
Killer laughed as Miracle began to bounce again and he nudged him forward. “Off you go then, you’ll have a little time to check things out while Horror gets the cake ready.”
“Okay! Come on Mama, I wanna race you there!” Miracle was already running off with the cat chasing after him before he even finished his sentence.
“He loves it,” Killer said before he ran after him leaving the others behind to watch them as Miracle began to run around trying to figure out what one he wanted to climb on first.
Miracle was safe. He was never going to be harmed and was surrounded by people who loved him. He got to celebrate his birthday, he was given the best gifts they could find… Nightmare knew he’d always worry but as of right now he felt secure. He watched on happily as the two people he loved the most began to mess around, both of them smiling and laughing. It was all going to be okay.
“Hey, Boss,” Horror said, bringing Nightmare out of his thoughts. “I’m going to take the cake through here so we can eat beside the door and then we can all go outside.”
“Great idea, I’ll come help!” Dust said happily. “You’ll need a table right? I’ll go get one!”
“Thanks, I’ll get the cake and the lighter for the candle.”
Nightmare watched them run off and turned back to his boyfriend and son. Killer was helping Miracle put on the harness and helmet so he could go up the rock wall. Nightmare knew he’d make sure everything was safe before letting Miracle go but his own paranoia made him walk towards them to check for himself.
They weren’t going to have much time before Horror showed up with the cake but even when he came back with it, they could still climb for a bit. After all, the cake would still be there and they wouldn’t need to light the number six candle until they were ready.
The whole day was probably going to be spent outside, with Miracle climbing up everything he could. Climbing the trees, being with nature… And being with the people that he loved and loved him back. This really was a better childhood than Nightmare had and that fact really calmed his mind.
