Work Text:
It's a peaceful day in the corner of the Doodlesphere that Ink had placed the Star Sanses base in. You sit in your assigned room on your bed, playing one of your favorite games on your laptop. The lights from outside shine in through your window, imitating sunlight. It gives the room a nice, comforting feeling. It's peaceful for a little while, until Ink BURSTS into the room, leaning against the door and holding it shut. You raise a brow in confusion, lowering your headphones.
"Hello Ink." You greet him with a blank look, waiting for him to explain himself. He chuckles sheepishly, jolting when something begins hitting the door.
"Heeey, you! So, funny story.." Another thud. "I kiiinda made Berry mad at me and I need to take shelter here, is that cool?" He holds up his hands as if to pray, pleading with you. You raise your index finger to your chin, contemplating.
"What did you do to Berry to get him this mad? And where's Blue?"
"Blue's in his universe, he left Berry here because they were gonna talk about stuff. And uh..I may or may not have hit him with paint balloons. Bright, neon colored paint balloons."
"Ink, you dumbass-" You sigh, saving your game and closing your laptop. "You know not to provoke the kid."
"Okay, but in my defense, it was insanely funny." He snickers, moving a box of random things you own in front of the door and plopping down on your bed.
"You do realize that won't hold him for long, right?"
"Yeah, but I'll savor my freedom while I still have it. Soooo, what have you been up to? Haven't seen you a lot today." He lies upside down, looking up at you with the goofy grin he always has.
"Well, I was just playing my favorite game and chillin'. At least, up until you broke in." You poke his forehead, earning a chuckle from the skeleton.
"Hmmm..sounds like it would get kinda boring after a while." He rolls over, resting his chin between his hands. "You should come hang out with me, Dream's busy and Blue's gone."
"I mean, I could. But what would we do?"
"We..Huh." He blinks a few times, the small symbols in his eyesockets changing each time as he thinks. "How abouttt.. we go paint the outside of HQ? We could make a masterpiece!" He grins, sitting up with his legs crossed. "C'mon, what do you say?"
"Sounds pretty fun, Ink. But if you throw paint balloons as me as well I might have to kill you."
He laughs, giving you a playful nudge.
"Wait, so does that mean you'll actually join me?"
"Yeah, just let me change first-"
He grins wide, shaking you back and forth excitedly before pausing, running over to the nearest window. You wince as you hear him throw up a bunch of ink, letting it fall into the depths of the sphere before closing the window and leaning back in.
"This is gonna be great! C'mon!" He gently tugs your hand, before the door bursts open. You both freeze like deer in the headlights, looking down at the skeleton approaching.
Berry was a small fellow, much smaller than blue and having an overall cyan color scheme in comparison to Blue's calmer tones. A bandana with a large ribbon behind it is tied around his neck, his eyelights constantly being shaped like stars, where in comparison Blue's only occasionally do the same thing. At the moment, those eyelights have shrunk to mere pinpricks, as he holds up a comically large knife, pointing it in Ink's direction. He hides behind you, as if you were able to defend him. Gee, thanks Ink.
"INK- You Have Dared To Cross Me, And Now You Will PAY!" You can't help but snicker a little at how adorable the little guy looks, covering your mouth with your hand.
"Look, Berry, I said I'm sorry!" Ink struggles to hold in a laugh.
"You'll Be Sorry Alright, WHEN I GET YOU-" He charges forwards, but you interfere, grabbing his head. He struggles against you, swinging his arms to try to get to Ink.
"Now now, Berry, let's just cool it. Ink apologized, let's move on. You wanna come paint with us to make up for it?" You smile as the little skeleton perks up at that, making his blade disappear into his inventory.
"Really?! You Mean It?" He grins wide, his eyelights expanding to a much bigger size.
"Yeah! Right, Ink?" You turn to him, watching him nod before looking back. "Well, it's settled then."
You pause, hearing the sounds of shortcuts, before grinning and running into the living room. Blue and Dream seem to be having a casual conversation before realizing you're there, smiling towards you. Blue promptly runs over, picking you up and spinning you around.
"Ha Ha! I've Returned! Did You Miss Me?" Blue grins before putting you down, putting his hands on his hips.
"You know I did, Blue! How's Paps doing?" You tilt your head, genuinely curious. He chuckles at your reply.
"He's Doing Well! He Wanted Me To Give You A Small Bag Of Suckers That He'd Been Holding Onto, So Here You Go! Try Not To Go Through All Of It At Once, Okay? Sugar Rushes Are.. Scary." He briefly glances over at Berry, narrowing his eyes. You let out a laugh at that, putting the little bag he hands you into one of your pockets.
"Noted." You turn to Dream, who holds his arms out for you. You grin as you leap into his arms, embracing his warmth and the pleasant scents that surround him.
"Oh, I've missed you! How've you been doing while I've been away? Good, I hope? If not I'll have to give Ink a stern talking to." Dream glances at him from the side, earning a laugh from the more colorful skeleton.
"Don't worry, I've been alright. I've just been hanging out in my room, and I just split these two up from a fight." You point towards Berry and Ink, the former putting his knife away the moment he's spotted and smiling innocently.
"Goodness, Berry! What Did I Tell You About Having Knives In HQ?" Blue frowns, walking over and carefully taking the blade away from his shorter "cousin". "You Know Better."
"Sorry, Blue.." Berry pouts, crossing his arms. The taller skeleton pats his skull, smiling a bit.
"Just Be More Careful Next Time! You Don't Want To Hurt Anyone, Do You?"
Berry looks at Ink. "..Maybe."
"Berry! Bad!" Blue frowns again, poking the smaller skeleton's forehead as you finally let go of Ink.
"Me and Ink were just about to go outside and paint, if you'd like to join us. You guys don't have anything else to do today, right?" You offer, silently hoping they'll agree.
"I'd Love To Join In! It Could Be Good Exercise." Blue puts his hands on his hips in a hero-like manner, his cape swaying out behind him.
"I'd like to join, even if I just end up watching. Ooh! I could make some tea for everyone, how does that sound?" Dream smiles as everyone agrees with that idea, stepping into the kitchen to make some magic-based teas for everyone. He made sure to remember your favorite kind in advance.
Everyone moves outside, Ink stopping you a moment so he can use Broomy to paint a grassy area for you all to stand on, grabbing some paint cans he'd left beside the house and walking over to the first blank wall.
"Okay everybody, let's get started!" Ink grins, handing a smaller brush to you. You pause a second, realizing that due to getting caught up in your excitement you forgot to change into something you're okay with getting paint on.
"Wait a sec, I'll be right back." You run back inside to your room, changing hurriedly before rushing back outside. Ink paints a few step stools using Broomy so those who can't reach taller areas can use them, balancing on the large brush to paint patterns with smaller ones.
Berry jumps up onto Blue's shoulders, standing up on them so he can reach the upper areas thanks to the bigger skeleton's height. Blue doesn't seem to mind it all that much, instead focusing on what to paint outside of his room. Dream walks out and places down a yellow gingham blanket, then goes back inside to sit the teacups down where everyone can easily access them.
You stand outside your room, beginning to paint whatever comes into your head that relates to you somehow. You want to ensure that the space feels truly yours, so you put a lot of thought and care into each stroke. Of course, you could always just repaint later, but it's the thought that counts. Berry eventually runs out of ideas and goes to talk to Dream, so Blue takes the opportunity to paint a little bit beside you.
"So, how's adventuring been, Blue? Is it..everything you'd hoped?" You paint a little star pattern. He hums thoughtfully, completing a heart you'd forgotten to finish.
"I Suppose You Could Say That! It's Given Me A Lot Of Opportunities To Meet New People And Experience Other Worlds. But That Can Also Be Kinda Stressful..Especially When You Start Running Into Variations Of You That Are..Well.."
You both look over at Berry, who's currently zooming around a very confused and startled Dream in circles.
"Yeah..I don't know how I'd feel about seeing so many of Me. I mean, the three of you guys alone is a stretch. Imagine if all of the variants were in one place?"
"That Would Be Very Much So Impossible- Which Really Makes You Think..Just How Big Is The Multiverse? What Parts Of It Are So Closed Off, Even Ink Hasn't Seen Them? It's All So..So.."
"Mysterious?"
"Yeah! Exactly." He smiles at a little cutesy painting you made of him right below his window, looking as if he's holding it up. "But I Suppose That's How It's Always Been."
"I feel that. It makes me wonder if we've ever met before, in some other timeline. You think things would be much different?"
There's a short pause.
"Nah, I Don't Think It Would." He smiles, you share it. You continue painting side by side in peaceful silence, until you hear the sound of something splattering. Sharing a worried look, you turn back to see Dream looking down at the ground, a green paint balloon having hit his head. Ink is frozen like a deer in the headlights, and Berry is laughing hysterically.
"I- I am so sorry, Dream, I meant to hit him, not you--"
Dream looks up, an eyesocket twitching as he picks up one of the balloons Ink had left lying on the ground, throwing it and hitting him square in the face. Berry collapses, laughing even louder.
"Oh Dear, It Seems Ink's Declared War." Blue chuckles, laughing a little as he speaks, watching them begin to form more paint balloons to throw at each other. A devious grin crosses your face as you look back at him. His expression slowly shifts to a worried one. "Oh No. Don't- Do Not Even Think About It-"
"I'm joining in!" You pick up a balloon.
"Pick your side!" Ink grins, getting hit in the side of the head with a red balloon.
You shake your head. "Nah..I'm taking my own side!" You throw balloons at the both of them, before getting pelleted with them yourself. Blue huffs as he watches you, before going still when he feels a presence behind him.
"Nothing Personnel, Double." Berry grins, throwing a cyan balloon at Blue's back.
"YOU DIDN'T EVEN PHRASE IT RIGHT-" Blue sighs, joining in the battle. Paint balloons fly across the yard, splatting the walls as well as everyone laughs, having a great time. The commotion grows so great, even Error finds himself popping his head in from the Anti-Void, before closing up the portal to avoid a balloon to the face.
After a while, you each grow tired, huffing and raising up little white flags before drinking the tea that Dream brought out (that thankfully is somehow still warm, and paintless). You then turn to the walls, seeing a beautiful mess of color accompanying your art from earlier, smiling a bit at your collective handiwork.
"Y'know, I think it looks good like this." You hold up your hands like a camera, smiling.
"I think so too! Hey, you know what would fit?" Ink turns to Dream, seeing if he'll catch on.
"Oh! A picture!" Dream rushes to his room, grabbing his camera and running back out. Everyone stands in front of the wall together, grinning and posing. "Say cheeeese!"
"Cheeeese!"
Getting to spend so much time with the skeletons you both look up to and admire is an experience you wouldn't trade for anything in the multiverse. Anything at all.
"IIIII say..on this momentous occasion, we should all watch a movie. First one to fall asleep gets their face drawn on!" Ink holds up a washable marker menacingly.
"I've got coffee, you won't be getting me anytime soon." Dream grins, going inside to clean off the paint and change his clothes to wash them later. Blue follows after him to do the same.
"It'll probably be you first, Ink." You snicker, using a towel to get some fresh paint off of your face. He calls out after you as you start to head to the bathroom attached to your room. "NUH UH!"
"YUH HUH!" You shout back, going to take a warm shower to get all of the paint off of you.
An hour or two passes, and you find yourself building a strong pillow fort with Blue and Berry. Dream sits to your left, Blue to your right with Berry leaning on him, already looking pretty tuckered out. Ink observes everyone from his spot in front, eagerly waiting for the moment someone falls asleep.
Dream whispers to you as Blue looks through a selection of movies for you to watch together. "Did you have fun?"
You whisper back. "Yeah, I've had a lot of fun with you guys today. I love having peaceful moments like this..it's really nice. I really have to thank you guys for taking such good care of me lately..it means the world to me." You lean on him a bit, and he smiles as he places an arm around you.
"Of course. You're a very dear friend to us, never forget that we care for you. We'll always be here for you, no matter the circumstances."
You yawn a little, the comforting aura emitting from him making you feel safe enough to rest. "Thank you, Dream.."
"Careful." Ink grins like a cheshire cat, watching as your eyes begin to close. "There's still an active threat in the room." He says in a sing-song tone, waiting to attack.
"I'm gonna fucking Get You later."
"I'd like to see you tr-" Ink pauses mid-sentence when he sees that Berry's fallen asleep, grinning madly. "Well. Looks like you'll be spared after all."
"Oh boy." You snicker, the rest of your little group grinning amongst themselves as the movie begins. Ink claps his hands so the lights dim, sitting closer to you and relaxing on some pillows, giving commentary from time to time. Soon your eyes begin to close..those around you growing tired as well from a long day of adventuring.
It's peaceful for a while.. the perfect environment to relax.
..Until a portal opens.
"IIIIINK!"
"Ah fuck."
"Language!" Blue frowns as Ink stands up to go outside. Blue considers carrying your sleeping form to your room like he always does, but decides not to since Dream's already asleep with you. He'd rather not disturb you both, at least not until he needs Dream's aid..
Oh boy.