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It took longer than usual for Killer to return to work, leaving Ink alone most days. Ink was devastated as he always was when the love bombing stopped, and he did anything to get that affection back, but nothing he tried actually worked. He’d cook meals, even when he was barely able to stand, and Killer wouldn’t come home. He’d make him gifts, but he’d never be able to speak enough to give them to him. The only time Killer gave him attention was when Ink initiated anything sexual, but even then sometimes he would just simply ignore him and pretend like nothing was happening. He hadn’t gone fully back to beating and manipulating him, but he was pulling away and it actively hurt him so damn much.
But instead, here he sat, alone at work, cane at his side, and his husband nowhere to be found. He understood that Killer had people who needed him, that he was a hero and his job was more than just a job, it was a responsibility. Ink understood that, and he loved Killer for how much he sacrificed for others, but fuck he just wanted his husband back. He especially wished he was here on days like this, when he could barely stand and even his cane wasn’t enough to keep him standing without fucking awful pain. Thankfully his heart wasn’t acting up today but fuck his leg was ending his life right now, barely able to stand without collapsing with a scream. It was no wonder he had to close up early, and he messaged Killer that he was doing so so that he wouldn’t freak out about it like he had so many times before. It took Ink hobbling around, fucking wishing that he would’ve accepted his husband’s offer of a wheelchair previously, because despite what he said at the time it was that bad, until he was able to finish closing.
Ink sighed and plopped down onto his chair, huffing hard enough that his chest started aching, just from walking around for a few minutes. He hated his leg and he hoped that this wouldn’t screw up his heart, he already had one painful issue and didn’t want his other to flare up. He sat there, not letting his cane go, and his head flopped over the back of the chair as he tried to calm himself down, taking deep breaths and feeling his heart rate still and stop beating loudly in his ears. He slowly reached over the counter and grabbed his oximeter, giving it a minute to read his heart rate. 145 bpm. Fuck. He remained on the chair until he could take proper deep breaths and he slowly watched his heart rate go down, it was only then that he reached over and grabbed his phone.
He opened his messages with Killer, and to his surprise his husband responded. He smiled wide, even though the text was short and easy it was a text, he never really texted him during work.
“Okay, you okay?” The message read. Ink smiled as he texted back quickly.
“yeah bad day for my leg im just gonna call an uber or smthn” He wrote.
“No no, lemme call you a car, wanna keep you as safe as possible and Ubers are shitty.”
“oh dont i used yo uber a lot you dont hav to do that”
“Don’t fight, I’m calling you a car and I’ll have them help you outside okay?”
“okay thank you” Ink smiled, finally taking a proper breath now that his heart rate was normal. “i love you <3”
“Love you more, I’ll text you when they’re outside.”
“thank you have a good day at work ill see you when you get home >.<”
Ink smiled at the idea of his husband actually showing his love to him and if his leg wasn’t stiff with pain he would’ve kicked both of them back and forth with a giddy giggle. He took the oximeter off his finger and put it back where he found it-or where he thought he found it, he couldn’t really remember-and turned to his phone, scrolling through whatever bullshit was on his social media. He was genuinely surprised when Killer actually allowed him to have social media, but that surprise was retracted when he found out that he went through it every few days. He wasn’t allowed to text people without his permission, which meant his messages were filled with texts to companies to commission personalised stuff, and random videos he sent to his husband throughout the day.
It took less than half an hour for Ink to see the text from his husband, just saying they were here and not to freak out when someone walked through the back door. He sighed, trying to stand up but immediately fell back into his chair with a yelp. That small noise of pain was all that it took for whoever was picking him up to barge through the door and look around the room, worry in his eyes. Every hero knew that the husband of the number one hero was constantly the target of villains, so any sound of distress was worrying to all of them, especially if the number one hero sent you to take care of him for the time being. Ink jumped a bit when the door slammed open and quickly turned to see the man, smiling when he saw who it was.
“How’s it going Blue?” He said with a smile, watching as the tension eased from the hero’s body.
“Ink, you know that’s not my name,” He said with a jokingly annoyed tone, crossing his arms.
“Yeah, well, everyone calls you that so why can’t I?”
“Oh shut your mouth buddy, or maybe I’ll leave you here.”
”You wouldn’t dareeeee,” Ink smiled, trying to stand up again, only to almost fall forward, this time being caught by the so-called ‘Blue’.
“You okay?” He asked.
“Oh yeah, my leg’s real bad today so I couldn’t make my way home on my own.”
“Damn, well you should be thankful I’m here then, right?” He joked.
“I’m always thankful to see friends,” Ink smiled as he let himself lean into Swap's hold.
“You’re sweet buddy, let's get you home, yeah?”
“Sounds good, I want my couch right now I’m fucking exhausted.”
“Hell yeah, I feel that. I could use a damn vacation one of these days.”
“Oh couldn’t we all, I’ve been trying to convince K to go somewhere with me for a couple weeks, I mean I’d fucking love to go somewhere in Asia, but obviously he’s got stuff to do and he can’t just drop everything and go away with me.”
“Oh yeah that does suck. I mean, coming more from his position I’m sure he feels bad he can’t go out with you. I mean maybe it’s different because of your disability and- ahem- habit of being kidnapped every week, but when I can’t go with my partner I send them on vacations on their own so they can relax and just join them whenever I can.”
“Yeah, I was never really someone who enjoyed solitude, I’d much rather go out for a couple days or weeks with K or with friends.”
“As if you have friends,” Swap joked.
It hurt.
But it was alright.
He didn’t know.
Didn’t know that it was Killer’s fault he couldn’t have friends.
“Anyways, can I go home now?” Ink asked.
“Oh, yeah of course! I completely forgot,” He replied with a sheepish laugh.
“It’s okay, I’m just tired now.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll be home before you know it.”
Swap smiled and Ink could feel the air buzzing with non-threatening magic, and he closed his eyes as he physically prepared. His entire body felt jostled and while it may have been less than a second it felt like an uncomfortably long amount of time where he could feel his bones buzzing in his skin. He gripped his shirt tightly, wrapping his arms around himself tightly. Fuck, he loved the idea of being able to teleport but he hated the feeling when his body couldn’t understand being magically forced through the barriers of space. The buzzing in his bones and skin stopped suddenly and he slowly opened his eyes. The light was bright and he felt the cool breeze lightly whipping through his hair and clothes, making him shiver a bit from the cold. Ink immediately realised that he was outside and as he blinked his eyes open, looking up, he realised that he was out the front of his house.
“Sorry, I try not to teleport inside people's houses, lemme help you inside okay?” Swap asked as he lightly gripped his cane, taking it out of his hand when Ink let it go.
“It’s okay, as long as I don’t have to use my leg and end up on the couch I’m happy,” Ink replies.
“Sounds good, lemme pick you up so you won't have any chance to use or hurt your leg more.”
“Hell yeah, carry me like a princess,” Ink smiled.
Swap laughed, smiling as he carefully leaned down, grabbing his legs and picking him up ‘like a princess’ just like he asked. Ink smiled a bit, laying in his arms and letting him carry him inside the house, the door unlocked for… some reason. Ink probably just forgot when he left, and he hoped that no one would mention it to his husband, he probably wouldn’t be happy about that. But nothing was out of place and Blue easily carried him to the couch, as Ink was almost light as a feather, the skinny bastard he was. He was carefully set down on the couch, his cane placed on the table in front of him and Blue grabbed a few pillows to make him more comfortable.
“Thank you,” Ink said with a smile.
“Can I get you anything? Maybe some food or a drink?” Swap asked.
“That’d be nice, there should be some leftover pasta, could you microwave it and maybe get me a glass of juice or water?”
“‘Course, be right back.”
Ink smiled and nodded, leaning back and kicking his legs up on the couch, specifically putting his injured leg up on one of the larger pillows. He let out a small sigh, his leg was still in a lot of pain, but not having to move it anymore made it feel at least a little better; or hurt less at the very least. It took only a few minutes, mostly of Ink just watching some shitty show he didn’t care about before Blue came back in, a bowl of reheated pasta and a glass of juice in hand which he passed to Ink with a smile.
“Anything else bud?” Blue asked.
“No, I’m okay thanks,” Ink said with a smile.
“Awesome, you got my direct number right?”
“Yup!”
“Good, K is doing some important shit today so if you need anything just message me and I’ll be right over, ‘kay?”
“Okay, got it. Do you know when K is gonna be done with work?”
“No idea, he told me he might be home tonight but he might also have to stay out for the night, I’ll let you know if he tells me anything.”
“Okay, thank you Blue.”
“I told you not to call me that.”
“And yet you never stop meee~”
“Fine, fine, whatever, text me if you need anything.”
Ink nodded, which gave Blue all the permission he needed to leave. He smiled, stepping back as his magic filled the air once again, but this time Ink didn’t have to prepare for the awful buzzing feeling dislodging his muscles from his bones. He blinked, and in that split second Blue was gone and Ink was alone. He sighed, dropping back against the couch and starting on his food as he flicked through channels, trying to find something to entertain himself while he ate. He just hoped that his husband would be home tonight so they could spend time together, but he wasn’t expecting much.
Ink ate his food, keeping his leg as still as he laid down on the couch, trying to remember if he had taken his pain meds this morning and that’s why he was in pain. But his memory was so shitty that he never would’ve been able to remember no matter how hard he tried, which frustrated him so damn much. It didn’t take much for him to completely give up and he knew either way that he probably couldn’t even make it to the kitchen to get his meds either way. He quickly resigned himself to his fate, just like everything else that happened surrounding his disability no matter how frustrated it made him.
The night stretched on, and he was stuck on the couch, trying to stay awake so he could greet his husband when-if-he came home. He had no idea what time it was by the time he drifted off, but he swore he could see the sky lighting up through one of the large windows in the living room. The couch wasn’t too comfortable but after being up the entire night , his body didn’t care about how it would be aching from the shoddy sleep in the morning, it just cared about sleep. Ink swore as he drifted off that he could hear the sound of footsteps and the buzzing of magic in the air, but he couldn’t stay awake long enough to process it, instead his eyes drifted shut and he passed out within less than a second.
He couldn’t remember what he dreamt of, but he woke up much more comfortably than he expected to. Killer must have gotten home and moved him to the bed, because he felt the cool weight of another body pressed against his, and loose arms wrapped around him. He was tired, leaning into the body and pulling the sheets a little tighter around them as he yawned, keeping his eyes shut the whole time. Ink was so happy that his husband was actually affectionate with him for once, and actually slept in with him, or maybe Ink had woken up in the middle of the night again, not like he knew.
Ink sighed, turning around and nuzzling into his chest as he wrapped his arms around him. It was in that moment when he realised that his lover was awake, he could feel his shuffling as his arms wrapped around his back and pulled him tighter.
“Mmmh… morning…” Ink whispered.
“Good morning love,” He whispered back.
Ink’s eyes shot open, sitting up as he looked down to him. “Night??” He asked, shocked.
“Morning,” Night smiled back up at him.
“Wh… What? When did I…?”
“After you fell asleep I snuck in and nabbed you,” Night said as he sat up.
“Oh, that’s nice of you,” Ink smiled, “I missed you, y’know.”
“I missed you more my love,” Night grabbed him and pulled him closer, wrapping his arms around him. “I am glad I managed to grab you so soon, Cross has been asking about you.”
“Is he okay??” Ink asked, his voice filling up with the smallest bit of panic in his voice as he looked up at him.
“Yeah, he is. Sun took good care of him, do not worry, would you like to get dressed and see him?”
“Yes, please, I need to make sure he’s okay.”
Ink almost left out of the bed, forgetting that his leg was acting up still, and he collapsed to the floor quicker than Night could stop him. His leg pulsed with pain as he fell to the floor with a yelp, but within a second Night jumped to the floor and wrapped his arms around him.
“Fuck, you okay Ink?” Night asked panickedly.
“Ffffffuck… I forgot about that…” Ink said with a pained laugh, “Ever just forget you’re disabled…?”
Night chuckled in response and carefully picked him up, placing him on the bed and trying to make sure that he was alright. He did what he always did, rolling up his pants to look for any visible injuries, even though there was never anything that could be seen, other than maybe some minor bruises that most people had from bumping into stuff.
“Night, you know there’s nothing that you can see, some shit is going on inside my leg that no one can see and no one can fix.”
“I know, I just like to make sure,” Night sighed as he rolled the pants back down. “…You are right though,” he chuckled.
“I know, I know, I always ammmmmm~”
“Sure my love, sure.”
“Hey Night?”
“Yeah love?”
“Can I see Cross?” Ink asked.
“Of course, let us just get dressed first and I will take you right there. Sun has not left his side since it happened so he will be alright, okay?”
“If your brother dates my brother I swear to go-”
“Oh come on, they are just friends. Plus, it is not like either of us have any right to decide who they date.”
“Fine, fine. Either way, I will have feelings about it.”
“You and I both, but that doesn’t matter right now.”
Ink sighed and admitted defeat, nodding as he flopped back onto the bed, letting his legs dangle over the side of the bed as Night presumably got dressed on the other side of the room. Night haphazardly chucked some loose clothes on top of Ink, hitting his face and making him scoff indignantly. He sat up, grabbing a pillow and throwing it right at his half-clothes lover’s face, making him laugh his ass off.
“Rude!” Night yelped as he chucked the pillow to the side of the bed.
“You started it,” Ink teased, poking his tongue out at him.
“Goodness gracious,” Night rolled his eyes, pulling his shirt over his head and walking back over to his little lover. “Cheeky little brat.”
“You love me,” Ink laughed, placing his hands on his chest.
“Oh, do I?” Night asked as he slowly gripped the bottom of Ink’s shirt and slid it up his chest.
“Thought we were gonna see Cross, not fuck.”
“No, no. I am not fucking you, come on, I am giving you new clean clothes,” Night said with an eye roll.
Ink chuckled a bit and got undressed after lightly shoving him away so he could get dressed himself. He may not be able to walk by himself today but he could dress himself, he wasn’t that weak. After he slipped into his new clothes he allowed Night to help him and let him pick him up, as unhappy as he used to be about this he got used to being carried around every once in a while. The only reason it didn’t completely piss him off is because it happened so rarely and once every other month wasn’t the worst thing that could ever happen.
Night slid his mask on and carried Ink through the halls as he wrapped his arms around his neck. No matter the dozens of villains they walked past on their way to the Medway not a single one looked at them strangely. It was a part of life here, and even the newer recruits got used to it after only a few days of seeing them together. It was a sort of unspoken rule between everyone here, especially the lower ranked villains, to ignore their affection, to not bring attention to it. So even though they walked through the halls for ten minutes-Nightmare’s room being in a different secure part of the mansion than the med bay-not a single glance was spared for them.
They walked into the med bay and past the-much shorter-halls lined with doctors and rooms with injured men and women until they got to one of the furthest doors into the med bay. Nightmare pushed the door open and Ink excitedly looked inside to see his brother.
Cross was lying there in his bed, Sun at his side and they were joking around. It seemed like he was much more lucid than before and didn’t sound like he was hopped up on pain medication. Both men turned when they heard the door open and he could see Cross’s eyes light up when he saw his brother there in Nightmares arms.
“Ink?” He asked with a huge smile.
“Cross!” Ink smiled as he slipped from Nightmare's arms and stumbled over to his brother. “You okay?”
“I’m good, but man are you okay?” He asked with a small chuckle as he leaned over and tried to help him up.
“Yeah! Shitty leg day I guessss,” he joked as he sat down on one of the couches beside the hospital bed.
“Man, you definitely skipped leg day,” Cross joked, chuckling when Ink bursted out laughing. “Man! That wasn’t even that funny shut up!” He said, earning another cackle of laughter from his brother.
Ink quickly calmed himself down from his laughing fit and leaned over to grab one of Cross’s hands, wrapping both of his around it. He sat there smiling for a few moments, looking him over as he sat there in his hospital gown. His eyes lingered on his stomach, right where he knew the injury was and his smile slowly faltered, replaced with a guilt ridden look.
“Hey,” Cross said as he noticed the staring, placing his hand on his cheek and guiding his gaze up to meet his eyes, “It’s fine, I’m fine.”
“It wouldn’t have happened if I wasn’t here.”
“Oh c’mon, I’m a villain, the number one hero would’ve stabbed me either way at some point.”
“You wouldn’t hav-”
“C’mon Ink, we’ve had this talk. I promise you this isn’t your fault. Plus, I’m okay, no more pain, healing well, like it never happened.”
“You’ll still have the scar.”
“Nothing wrong with scars, we all have plenty.”
“I just wish tha-”
“Shush child,” Cross lightheartedly pressed his finger to Ink’s lips, “tell me how you are instead of feeling like shit.”
“I…” Ink muttered, his eyes lingering on his stomach again before he lightly slapped Cross’s hand away and blinked away the feeling in his eyes. “I’m okay, K’s being affectionate again…”
“But…?”
“But…” Ink trailed off, looking to the side, off in the distance.
“Ink? Did he do something to you?” Sun finally piped up.
“No! No no he’s been nice, he’s okay… just… well…”
“Ink. What happened,” Cross said, his tone a little harsher but Ink knew he was just getting protective.
“You… were right, Crossy.”
“I know, I’m always right,” he joked a bit. “What am I right about?”
“He…” Ink looked up at Cross, guilt on his face as it usually was, “Dad…”
“He… are you kidding? He actually did it?” Cross asked, his hand squeezing around Ink’s. “And he just told you?”
“Things can’t keep going like this Cross…”
“I know, we need to keep you the hell away from the bastard,” Cross hissed out.
“No.”
Ink’s voice was harsh, dark, and it surprised all three of the other men in the room. He looked up at Cross, the guilt on his face replaced with something else, something… more determined. It told him not to ask, not to push the issue, to just shut up and not say another word. His hands relaxed, and he breathed out a sigh to calm himself down. He didn’t know what this mood was but he refused to make it worse. Ink was predictable, his moods fell into specific categories and it was very easy to tell how he was going to react to things. So when new things happened, whether good or bad, they were worrying, almost scary, and part of him knew that the only reason his attitude ever changed was because of his husband.
“Do you want to go out to the gardens today?” Cross tried to change the topic.
“Are you healthy enough? I don’t want you to get more injured.”
“The doctor said I’m good to walk around, but someone won't let me walk around even though I’m allowed to,” he said as he shot a glance at Sun.
“You could have died , I am not letting you out of my sight.”
“Blah blah blah, are you a doctor?”
“No but I was literally in medical school before I became a villain so I have experience.”
“So you’re literally not a doctor and we should listen to the actual doctors.”
“Pleaseeee Dreammmm,” Ink whined, looking up and giving his best puppy dog eyes.
“I-”
“Pleaseeeeee!”
“Oh my god fine,” Sol hissed as he leaned back and crossed his arms like a tantruming child.
Ink smiled wide and Cross looked over at him almost offendedly. He looked over to try to tell him off but was distracted as Ink shot up-again forgetting about his stupid fucked up leg-and almost collapsed again. Cross reached over, trying to grab him but it was Nightmare that stopped him from collapsing, his tentacles wrapping around him to hold him up before he hit the floor.
“Let me guess,” Nightmare sighed out, “You forgot you are disabled again?”
“…No…” Ink muttered sheepishly, hoping that maybe they’d believe him.
“Dumbass,” Cross said as he smacked the back of his head lightly.
“Dipshit,” Ink growled back as he was carefully sat back down on the chair by Nightmare’s tentacles.
“Well if you’re gonna be an asshole then I won't go to the garden with you.”
“Okay, Nightyyyy let’s go to the garden, just us two,” Ink whined as he turned around to his lover.
“Hey wa-” Cross whined.
“Nuh uh you said you didn’t wanna go so I’m gonna go with the guy I like far more than you,” Ink said with an accompanying eye roll.
Cross whined, which resulted in chuckles from everyone else in the room-Cross was not the type of person to quite literally whine. Maybe it was that that made Ink take him with him, or maybe it was the fact that he knew he wasn’t going down to the gardens without his brother at his side. So after they helped Cross get dressed-despite him insisting he didn’t need the help. But Sol wanted to take care of him and Ink wanted to see the damage to his stomach.
The scar was ugly, healed enough that it didn’t need to be bandaged so Ink could actually see it, but it was ugly. Deep and scratched up, sutured together but obviously not with the precision of a proper doctor. It was a deep and long indent in his skin, as long as the largest part of the blade. It was pink and looked like it had actually only punctured as deep as the few layers of skin, but Ink guessed that was because someone around here had healing magic and dealt with the deeper parts of the wound.
“Pretty gnarly huh?” Cross joked.
“It’s not funny…” Ink muttered as he threw a shirt at him.
“Listen bud, I got the scar anyways. I can hate it or I can make the best of it, yeah?”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Ink rolled his eyes as he gripped onto Nightmare and his tentacles helped him up without any more pain.
Nightmare helped Ink while Sol helped Cross as they were forced to venture down to the gardens, being directed by Ink every step of the way. He yapped and yapped, really not shutting up a single step of the way; but none of them really minded. They liked it when Ink babbled to them about whatever the hell was on his mind in that moment, and Ink always had a lot going on in his mind.
He didn’t even realise when they had stepped into the garden, so long in his own world that the warm sun beaming down onto his face didn’t give him pause. He liked talking, yapping, babbling, and he was never really able to do it with his husband. He annoyed him far too much, and he never wanted to annoy him, he wanted to be a good little lover and he would shut himself up if that’s what it took.
It was only when Nightmare settled him down, placed him on his lap as he sat down himself. Ink snapped out of his talking and smiled back at Nightmare, then over to Cross and Sol.
“Oh we’re here!” Ink said cheerily as he leaned back and nuzzled into his neck.
“Ha. Gay,” Cross said, even as he was pressed against Sol’s side.
“Says you,” Ink rolled his eyes as he stuck his tongue out at him.
“You’re cuddling with a guy. That’s pretty gay.”
“So are you!”
“You’re both equally gay, problem solved?” Sol cut in.
“No!” They both yelped as they continued arguing as only brothers could.
Sol and Nightmare exchanged looks as they let them ‘hash out their differences’. They were both fine there, holding them close as they just spent time together. It was stupid, how they could go from sweet and worried about each other to play-fighting like nothing happened in moments. It was sweet, and out of everyone here that would understand, Sol and Nightmare-or Dream and Night-would completely understand. It was just… a brother thing.
It did eventually get stale, boring, so Nightmare and Sol just decided to start a conversation together even over the bickering. Eventually Ink and Cross just gave up with their bickering and instead just shot each other nasty looks while they let the other brothers have an actual civil conversation.
The light reflected against the trees, letting rays through, and as the sun set and golden hour shone through, lighting them up with beautiful yellows they decided it was finally time to go back inside. Cross walked alongside Sol, hand in hand as Sol forced him back into the medical wing, and Nightmare carried Ink back to their room, cuddling him tightly. It was so nice for them both, all four of them just getting to enjoy each other’s company, hanging out like they hadn’t since high school. Yet now they sit alone, as two couples instead of one group.
Nightmare sat Ink down on the bed and climbed on top of him, nuzzling into his stomach. He wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him close as they both settled on the bed. He let Ink pull off his mask and run his hands through his hair, finally getting a chance to care for Night after letting him care for him all day. Even though he couldn’t do much, he knew this little bit of love was more than appreciated by his darling lover.
“Affectionate as always, hm?” Ink said with a smile as he continued to pet his hands through his hair.
“Always for you…” Night whispered back as he pulled himself closer.
“You’re adorable,” Ink whispered as he leaned back.
“Are not.”
“Are too.”
”Nuh uh.”
“You’re like a child. Is all I’m gonna do today argue with the people I love?” Ink said, painfully dramatically.
Nightmare looked up, giving him a faux upset look that made Ink burst out laughing. Nightmare sighed and pulled himself closer, leaning up and pressing into his neck. Ink smiled after calming his giggling fit down and placed a hand on the back of his head.
“I miss you,” Ink whispered as he turned towards his ear. “I miss you so much. All the time.”
“Then… stay with me no not leave.”
“Love… you know I can’t do that.”
“I know you wont.”
“What’s the difference?”
“You are able to leave. But you refuse to… and I do not know why.”
“You are never going to understand.”
“I know… and I am sorry I never can.”
“Don’t apologise. This isn’t your fault.”
“I know but-”
“No buts.”
Nightmare sighed, looking up at Ink sadly. Ink responded with a small sad look and slowly taking his mask off and petting his hand through Nightmare’s hair.
“Maybe in another lifetime. Another universe, we’re together.”
“I am certain of it.”
“I like to dream about it sometimes… I like to draw it sometimes. The way you’d take care of me…”
“Then why leave it as only a dream?”
“Because then I wake up and realise… it’s not that easy.”
“It could be,” Nightmare mutters as he takes Ink’s hand and brushes a kiss along his knuckles.
“If it was then I’d love nothing more than to stay like this forever."
“Now that is a dream I can make a reality, at least for a little while.”
“A little while is all I really need. Every second feels like an eternity in your arms.”
“And I will love you for every eternity that you remain as mine.”
“Well… there’s no world where I would ever disagree when you say such pretty things like that,” Ink giggled as he pressed a kiss to his temple.
“Well no words could ever compare to the beauty I see in front of me.”
“Oh you sweet talker,” ink giggled again as blush coated his face. “Shut up and let’s put on a movie.”
“But I want to look at you all day.”
“Okay well-” Ink sputtered, tripping over his words, “ I’m putting on a movie and you can stare like a creep.”
“I will.”
Ink sighed, reaching over and shaking his head to get the flush on his cheeks to go away. He grabbed the remote, settling back against the cushioned headboard, letting Night remain on his lap after taking his boots and gloves off. Ink didn’t dare look down at him as he flicked through movies and shows, trying to figure out what he may want to watch. He knew that if he looked down he would see Night staring up at him with all the love his big, purple, eyes could muster. He didn’t feel like melting from blush so heavy it made his entire face heat up.
He wished that his husband ever made him feel like this.
He wished that he had a better husband.
He wished he married Night instead.
Night would never make him feel the same way his husband did.
The feeling of having him in his lap was so nice, running his fingers through his hair and his other hand tracing patterns onto his back through the loose black shirt. He could feel as Night relaxed in his arms, the tension relaxing from every muscle in his body with every passing second and every new movie Ink put on. Ink didn’t even know when his lover fell asleep in his arms, or what time it was. He didn’t know what time he fell asleep, but it was late.
It was so… domestic. Domestic in a way he hadn’t had in years. Even when he was with Night or when Killer was finally being nice to him. Sometimes he felt like… well, that he was laying with the number 1 hero or the most dangerous villain rather than his husband and lover. It was strange, the people and their titles weren't completely different. When he layed with night he was laying with the villain he was, and same vise versa. But… sometimes Night was next to him in bed and sometimes Nightmare was.
Today Night was here, his precious lover who he’d do anything for. The only person who would cling to him and let him play with his hair. The only person who let him stitch his clothes or draw stars on his arms. As he drifted off into sleep it was sound and happy, slowly drifting to the side until his head laid against the pillow despite still being in a sitting position. It wasn’t comfortable, and maybe his leg would be fucked again tomorrow, but he wouldn’t mind while he was asleep.
Everything was alright while he was asleep.
“Ink! Come here!” Night called as Ink’s eyes flicked open.
He squinted as the sun radiated down against his skin and blinded him. He held a hand over his eyes, tucking his face into the crook of his elbow as he sat up with a grunt. Ink pulled his arm away and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands.
“Stop being so lazy!” Dream yelled with a giggle.
Ink dropped his hands to his side, perfectly timed as Dream flung something at him, hitting him square in the forehead. Ink froze for a second before he looked down at the box of strawberry milk that landed in his stomach.
“What was that for!?” he demanded as he launched himself to his feet, milk box in hand.
“You are being lazy! Get up!” Dream called back with a giggle. “Eat lunch with us!”
“You threw something at me!” Ink said as he stood over the lunch table.
“So that you would go faster.”
“I went plenty fast!”
“Not fast enough. Now sit. I wanna actually eat lunch with my friend.”
“...Fine.” Ink hissed out as he plopped down on the other side of the bench.
“You two fight too much,” Night pointed out as he flipped the page in his book.
“At least we have conversations! All you do is read!” Dream said with a playful eyeroll.
“Nighty c’mon, put the book down and have a conversation with usssss~” Ink said as he placed a hand on the open book and pushed it down onto the table.
“You two are so loud,” Night sighed as he bookmarked his page and closed the book.
“But we are fun! You are laaame!” Dream said.
“I am not lame,” Night muttered with an accompanying eyeroll.
“Lame or not you’re coming over to my house tonight right?” Ink asked with a smile as he took a bite of his enchilada.
“Oh lame or not I will always enjoy both good ass food and any time I can spend with you and your lovely Mom,” Night smiled.
“Well she does like you so you’re always welcome at our house.”
“Hey! I did not get an invite!” Dream said as he reached over and smacked his palm into Ink’s forehead.
“Hey what was that for!” Ink yelped. “Wasn’t even my job to invite you…” he muttered.
“What?” Dream asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion.
“Cross was supposed to invite you,” Ink shrugged. “He’s your boyfriend after all.”
“He is not!” Dream shrieked as he stood up, gaining the attention of the other groups sitting around them eating lunch.
“Looks like it from where I’m standing,” Ink rolled his eyes.
“I am not dating your brother!”
“Good. because I’d boil you from the inside out if you did,” Ink said, his smile sweet as he took another bite despite his threat.
“You are the only one who thinks they are dating. Now sit down Dream people are staring,” Nightmare said as he tugged on his jacket, pulling him back onto his seat.
“Ugh. fine I thought Cross invited you so I will since mama is already expecting you. Dream, come over to my house for dinner and a movie tonight.”
“Yes! I accept!” Dream giggled as he took a bite of his own food.
“Cross will pick us up after school, meet me out front?” Ink said as he finished his tamale and started eating his rice and beans.
“Okay!” Dream smiled as he looked over to his brother.
“Yeah, hopefully Cross will be quieter than you two,” night added
“Oh c'mon you know he is but you’ve never driven with him, he plays music so loud you can;t think when he's in the car,” Ink chuckled.
“Ah. Fun,” Night sighed as he picked his book back up and put it in his backpack.
“Very. I swear he’s making me go deaf,” Ink sighed.
“You sure that you are not making yourself go deaf? Loud ass,” Night said with a cheeky smile.
Ink gasped dramatically and clutched his chest, pretending to faint and fall back. As leaned back and pretended to fall he completely misjudged how small the seat was and completely fell back onto the floor with a grunt, making Dream and Night burst into laughter. Ink laid there shocked for a moment before joining in on the laughter and pulling himself back onto the bench. He smiled as he pulled the elastic band from his hair and shook the leaves from it. As the groupwide giggling fit Ink pulled the band around his wrist and reached back to tie his hair back up.
“No, leave it down. It is cute like that,” Night said.
“Wh-wha?” Ink muttered as heavy blush coated his cheeks.
“I… sorry that just slipped out,” Night giggled sheepishly.
“He is right. It looks nicer like that,” Dream chimed in. “You can't get a wolf cut and only wear it up you know.”
“It’s not a-”
“It is totally a wolf cut,” Dream smiled.
“I-” Ink spoke but the loud ringing of the bell cut him off.
“Saved by the bell,” Dream giggled. “Literally.”
Ink rolled his eyes as he slung his bag over his shoulder and stood up. He ignored whatever else Dream called after him, flipping him off as he walked back inside the school building. Dream laughed heartily and pulled his bag onto his shoulders, running along behind Ink, leaving Night there alone.
“Idiots,” he muttered under his breath as he stood up, following the pack of students back into the school.
The rest of the day was boring but Ink knew the night was going to be far from that. Dream and Night had a way of making everything interesting when they were around.
Well Dream did.
Night just sat there and looked pretty.
Ink shook his head to clear that thought from it, especially as he saw Dream and Night walking right towards him. Ink smiled, taking his headphones off and waving to them, gesturing for them to hurry. Dream took the gesture as a sign to start sprinting towards his friend with a familiar huge smile on his face. He weaved in and out of students leaving to go home before he launched himself on top of Ink, making them both topple onto the concrete.
“Dream get off!” Ink giggled as he shoved Dream off him.
“Awww! Not my fault you’re weak enough that you can't carry me!” Dream said but he still helped them both to their feet.
Nightmare finally got to them both, never speeding up his brisk walking pace even after Ink was toppled to the ground. He sighed and looked them booth over as they giggled to themselves.
“Ink, your hands, do they hurt?” Night asked as he crabbed one of them and looked over the bloody scratches from the concrete.
“Oh they’re fine, scratches never killed someone,” Ink said as he wiped the blood off onto his pants.
“I could heal-”
“No!” Ink yelled, cutting him off. “Never again I swear to god!”
“Hey I was not that bad!”
“Ohhhh yeah you were,” Night chimed in as he crossed his arms.
“Well I am getting better!”
“Not enough to practice on an actual human. But hey you could always become a bunny and bird healer,” Night shrugged with a small giggle.
“No! No, I'm gonna be a healer and make sure all the heroes are good and not hurt!”
“I know you are,” Ink smiled as he ruffled his hair, “You just gotta get better at it. You know it's hard tryna perfect powers when they’re not the ones you’re born into. That’s why all the heroes only use their power. It's hard enough to perfect your own power enough where you can fight.”
“But you-” Dream whined, being cut off by the blaring of music coming from a car.
“Ah look who it is,” Ink sighed as he grabbed the twin’s hands and pulled them towards the car.
“You were not kidding when you said he played it loud,” Night huffed.
“I’ll ask him to shut it up. He always listens better when it’s not me asking.” Ink sighed with an accompanying eyeroll.
He dragged them towards the car, gesturing for Cross to roll the window down, and once he did Ink yelled over the music to get him to shut it up. It only took a small back and forth-much less than usual-for him to turn it low enough that they could speak without having to raise their voice. Ink walked around the car, plopping down into the front seat while the twins sat in the backseat. Cross made smalltalk as he pulled out of the parking lot and made the long trip home.
Ink tuned out, and he guessed Nightmare did as well since the only two voices he heard were that of his brother and Dream. Though he wasn’t paying all that much attention, and Night was always the quietest of the four.
Ink didn’t know how much time passed before they got home, but he knew exactly how long it took at the same time. It took the same amount of time as every other damn day. The four of them piled out of the car, the twins both leaving their bags inside for when they left later that night.
They stepped through the threshold of the house and immediately the smell hit them. Nothing they could pinpoint but fuck did it smell delicious.
“¡Mamá!” Cross called out as he and the others kicked their shoes off. “¡Nosotros estamos en casa!”
“Cross!” She exclaimed happily.
“Dream y Night estan aqui tambien,” Cross called back as he walked into the kitchen.
“Oh! Bienvenida! Venir, venir! Yo haciendo cena!” she said as she rushed out and welcomed them properly.
“Thank you miss!” Dream giggled, “Tu… uhm comida es… muy bien,” Dream tried.
“Oh you poor boy. Isn’t your father Spanish?” She sighs.
“Yeah, Dream just does not process languages well,” Night points out.
“Oh? You can not either!” Dream pouted as he crossed his arms.
“I speak 3 languages other than English dumbass.”
“Ugh! Nuh uh like what?”
“English, Spanish, Russian, and German.”
“Wha? Since when?”
“Well I was officially deemed fluent in German in a government test last year so… Now I’m learning Korean too.”
“Stupid…” Dream muttered.
“You can barely speak English, let alone another language.”
“Boys boys,” Cross interrupted, “Fight when you’re not standing in front of my poor mother.”
Cross’s mother smacked him overhead with a towel and earned an upset look from him.
“I am not poor.”
“It’s just a figure of speech.”
“I know, now I am poor and dumb?”
“No! No, that’s not what I meant.”
“Shush. Go to your room and clean yourself up. You are a mess for work and you will not be allowed to sit on my furniture with grease on you.”
“Okay, okay I will. Will you let me clean my clothes in our washing machine for once if I do?”
“No. Salir. Rápido.” he said as she smacked him on his back
Cross sighed and sauntered off to his room, the four of them watching as he left. When he was out of sight Ink and Cross's mother turned back to the boys with a wide smile. They smiled back as she led them over to the couch and continued their small talk.
“So boys, how was school?” She asked.
“Good! I got a painting done. My teacher said she was gonna keep it for a school art show,” Ink smiled, “I have a picture of it if you'd like to see?”
“No, no I’d like to see it for the first time at the show. You are so talented Mijo, you’d better become an artist someday,” She smiled wider.
“Aw I’m alright, I wouldn’t say I’m that good.”
“No she’s right Ink, you’re amazing,” Night said, watching as the blush blushed across his face and he awkwardly giggles.
“Th-thank you,” he smiled.
“You three hang out, I need to finish dinner up in time for your father to arrive,” Ink’s mother said, she leaned into Ink’s ear and whispered, “Ustedes dos harían una linda pareja.”
Ink’s face flushed harder and he laughed it off awkwardly and playfully waved her off. She stood and left towards the kitchen, leaving the three alone to talk. Cross eventually joined them well after Ink’s blush faded. He was thankful, he would never hear the end of it if Cross knew.
Or if anyone knew.
Then it only took another small while before their father arrived home from work. He was ushered by their mother into their bedroom to also clean up before dinner. He sat down, beer in hand, and joined in on their conversation before they were all called to the table for dinner
Ink liked that memory. He hadn’t really slept well in a long time, his dreams never comforted him. But tonight his usual tossing and turning didn’t become an issue. His limbs tangled with Night’s, and perhaps it was his soothing presence and not the dream’s fault that he had a restful night. Either way he was glad Night was there.
Fuck did he love him. He loved him so much. Maybe if it was safe for him to…
No.
No he wasn’t gonna leave his husband.
He loved Night but he loved Killer too. He couldn’t deal with that, but he could deal with him. However hard or… dangerous it could be.