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Ink couldn’t sleep.
Of course, he never was the best at resting. He was always up and about, moving and fidgeting constantly to the point where literally everyone he knew kept bugging him to get tested for ADHD. And then there was the fact that he never actually had to sleep when he was in the Doodle Sphere. Time didn’t really exist there.
But in the AUs, he got tired just like everyone else. Usually he would just pass out from fatigue at random moments, which tended to worry Dream a lot.
Thinking about it, he had a lot of habits that could definitely be seen as worrying, ranging from the concerning level of self-depracating jokes he made to his tendency to vomit up ink when he got too emotional. Sleeping was never the first one that people noticed, but it was the one they pestered him about the most.
And now he actually had to sleep like a normal person. And he hated it. Thoughts that wouldn’t occur during the day would always come to him at night, and they generally weren’t pleasant.
This night was particularly bad, but that was to be expected, considering what had just happened.
He had told himself he would be fine with the fact that he would be alone with Error. He’d been alone with Error countless times in the past, like, bajillion years and he was totally fine then, right? Why would anything be different this time?
But of course he had to let his weird, confusing, out-of-control emotions, which even he couldn’t understand half of the time, get the better of him.
The result? Lying awake in the middle of the night with Error’s arms wrapped around him.
Ink checked the clock. 2:05 AM.
Great. Absolutely fucking great.
Ink glanced over at the destroyer. He looked… peaceful. It may have been one of the first times Ink had ever seen him completely at ease.
A ridiculously huge grin spread over Ink’s face.
He scrambled out of the bed, raced to the kitchen and bruised his fist by punching the light switch before he remembered he should probably be quieter to avoid waking Error up too quickly.
Wait, what if he’d already woken him?
He tiptoed back to Error’s room, already making excuses for why he was in the kitchen. Luckily Error didn’t seem to have woken up, as he’d only shifted in position slightly, and his glitches were calmer than they were when he was awake.
Good. Now he didn’t have to lie and tell Error that he wanted to make cookies at 2:05 fucking AM. Although, Ink being Ink, Error probably would have believed it.
Ink wondered briefly why Error put up with him despite all the impulsive, stupid decisions he made as he walked back to the kitchen. It could have something to do with what had happened earlier, but Ink was never good with feelings, so he decided not to dwell on it for too long. Perhaps he could actually ask Error when he woke up.
After rooting around in the cupboards for a bit, Ink found a sizeable bowl, went over to the sink, and slowly turned on the tap, filling the bowl until the water was near the brim.
Now he really had to be careful. One false step and the water would spill all over him, and Ink was most definitely not the most graceful person in the multiverse. Saying that he was clumsy would be an understatement.
He really should’ve filled the bowl with less water, but it was too late now. He had already left the kitchen, and pouring out water was loud, and loud noises tended to wake Error up.
Curse his lack of foresight.
It was a small miracle that Ink made it back to the bedroom without spilling any more than a few drops of water. Even he was surprised.
His grin widened. Error was still asleep, looking just as calm as before, his only movement being the soft swell of his chest as he breathed, serene as the moonlight that poured through the window, illuminating his sleeping form.
Serene, that is, until Ink threw the entire bowl of water over him.
Error sprang from the bed, hissing like an angry cat as his eyes filled with error signs and he landed unceremoniously on the floor. Ink couldn’t help but burst into cackles, practically screaming with laughter as he tried to catch his breath in vain.
“ASSHOLE!” Error roared, trying to figure out where the hell the inky bastard actually was. He hated the temporary blindness that came whenever he was caught off guard, especially as it tended to surface when he needed his vision the most.
Ink was wheezing, struggling to catch his breath in between slightly manic shrieks of laughter.
“I’m sorry, it’s just-“ Ink’s sentence was cut off with yet another wheeze. He sank to the floor, evidently finding the situation far more funny than he should have. It was enough to tell Error that he was most certainly not sorry and in fact rather proud of what he had done.
Error blinked his eyes, trying to clear them of glitches. “No, you are NOT passing out from lack of oxygen again. Not right now, not ever.”
Ink had indeed passed out from lack of oxygen on multiple occasions, having found something so inexplicably hilarious that he forgot to breathe. It seemed as though half of his life was spent unconscious, having fainted from some random necessity that he had simply forgotten to do. Yeah, he could definitely see why people worried.
But he wasn’t concerned about that in this moment in time, as he had other things to be getting on with, namely rolling around on the floor in hysterics, trying to recall how to function normally. A task that was more difficult by the fact that every time he started to calm down a little, he would catch a glimpse of the soggy Error and catapult himself into a brand new fit of laughter.
After what seemed like an eternity, Ink’s laughter started to die down, the only remnant of it being small sporadic bouts of giggling. Error could see again too, and he used the opportunity to pick the squirming Ink up.
“Hey what are you- NO, STOP THAT- ERROR-“
Error dumped him on the soaking wet bed. Ink shivered at the awful, cold texture.
“Hey!” He whined. “What gives?”
“You know exactly why I did that, you bastard!” Error growled. “Why did you do that. Why, for the love of god, did you think that would be a good idea????”
Ink shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep. Wanted you awake. Bored.” He lifted himself off the bed. Great, now his back was wet. Wet clothes felt icky. He liked that shirt too. “In all seriousness though, we need to talk.”
Error paused. He had a feeling he knew what Ink wanted to talk about, and he didn’t like it.
“About what?”
“I think you know, Error.”
Error definitely did not want to talk about what Ink wanted to talk about, but he had a nagging feeling that Ink wouldn’t relent.
Ink exhaled shakily. “I’m not gonna beat around the bush. Error, we made out. For, like, a long time too.”
Error had to stop himself from crashing, the reality of the situation setting in.
They had indeed managed to end up in a makeout session that evening. Neither of them had spoken of it before or afterwards, deciding instead to stay quiet and not ruin anything for the other. Error was never good with words, and Ink had no idea what to say for once in his life.
God, the way they were treating it, it was like they’d fucked or something. Which wasn’t an idea that Ink was exactly opposed too, but he wasn’t going to let that take over his thoughts right now. He had Important Stuff he wanted to talk about with Error. Although judging from Error’s reaction, he didn’t want to talk about it.
Great. More problems.
Error’s eye twitched as his glitching picked up.
“Ink, we are not doing this right now-“
“And I have no idea what that means for us.” Ink ran a hand through his thick, bright blue hair, which he had dyed especially for Error after remembering that blue was his favourite colour. “Like, are we friends? Are we more? Less???? What the actual hell is going to happen now?”
Error’s forced laugh was enough to tell Ink that he was not happy about the situation.
Oh boy.
“You think I have any idea either?”
Ink thought for a second. “Well-“
Too late, Error had already started speaking again.
“You think I have any idea what any of this means? That I can UNDERSTAND this? I don’t know!” Ink took a small step backwards as Error’s glitching intensified. “I don’t know what this means, or why I- no, why WE did that, or what the actual FUCK I am feeling. And you know what? I HATE it! I hate the fact that I CAN’T UNDERSTAND MY OWN FUCKING BRAIN!”
Ink may have been awful at recognising emotion, but even he could see that Error was becoming increasingly distressed as he spoke. Ink needed to say something. He needed to say something to help Error, to reassure or console him, but he had no idea what that thing was. Say something, anything…
“Is there… anything I can do?”
Error turned to look at Ink, who had his eyes glued to the floor.
“I mean, if that helps you. Or maybe I should just, uh, leave?” Ink facepalmed. “God, I am shit with emotions. I am so sorry. I should leave-”
“NO,” Error snapped, then immediately regretted it. “I mean, uh, no. Please don’t leave.”
Ink tilted his head to the side, confused. “But-“
“No buts. Stay.”
Ink blinked. “Okay?”
Error sighed in relief, averting his gaze from Ink’s eyes. “Sorry. It’s just… nevermind. We’ll talk tomorrow. Maybe.”
“Okay,” he managed to squeak out, fidgeting nervously with his hands. He smiled a wobbly smile in an attempt to be consoling and gave up halfway through to stare at the floor nervously.
They stayed in awkward silence for a few more moments.
Error glanced around the room. “We’re gonna need a new place to sleep.”
Ink laughed anxiously. “Oh, I didn’t think of that,” he said. “I really should have thought of that…”
“Yeah, you should have, asshole.” Error elbowed Ink’s arm. Ink gasped dramatically, falling to the floor. “Oh, the agony! Struck by my trusted companion, the horror, the betrayal…” Ink’s over-exaggerated speech trailed away as he started laughing again. Error rolled his eyes and then picked Ink up, carrying him bridal style.
“It’s a good thing you’re tiny, your hysterics would be ten times worse if I couldn’t drag you away from them,” Error said, trying to suppress a laugh. Ink gasped yet again and slapped Error’s arm, evidently trying to look offended while suppressing a snort and failing miserably.
“Well, if I’m short, you’re blind.”
“Rainbow bastard.”
“Glitch bitch.”
Error stuck out his tongues at Ink, who laughed a little and buried his face in Error’s shirt, even though it was soaking.
Maybe this wasn’t so bad after all.