Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There she hung, her body gently swinging from side to side. A beautiful sight, don't you think? The pulsating wounds near her wrists still bleed out even hours after she died. Wood beneath her became stained of her red fluid. Her blade was dirtied, dull on her desk. It laid right next to her open computer. The screen was a bright white color. It's color had slowly dimmed over time as it lost battery. The image, however, seemed clear as day. It was a scene, from Undertale, where the player first enters the underground.

The soundtrack was faint, but still noticeable to the human ear. It provided little comfort when a poor, unsuspecting mother pushed open the bedroom door. A shriek came out of her throat. Her daughter was hanging from the ceiling, just barely above the floor. She pushed her hand to her mouth and suppressed the urge to gag and puke up all her sorrow on the wooden tile. The father and son related to these two ran to the mother's side.

Her father, who once had never cried in front of his son, felt water begin to roll down his face. He pulled out of his phone and dialed 911. His fingers shook as he held the phone up to his ear. Small, innocent little brother. Oh, how he stared. He stared and stared at the body of his older sister. How could someone he perceived as strong go to such lengths to get rid of her pain? Even though so many different things were running through all three of their minds, they all thought one exact same thing. What could they have done to cause this?

Although the ambulance arrived quick, it was useless. The hanging girl had been dead for three hours. Officers and medics carefully set the body down on the stretcher, still treating the dead as though she were alive and in pain. Because, well, it was the respectful thing to do.

The world treated her with the pity and care she desperately needed after she took her own life. It was only after she died were her struggles seen. How sad.

Friends from her work would cry over memories they shared when they talked shit about bosses and customers with her. Old classmates would whisper to one another about how they saw it coming, but never said anything. Old teachers would send emails to parents, sending their regards and prayers for the family.

Maria, the girl's closest friend, isolated herself for weeks in her room. Plates of food at her door would go purposefully bad and turn moldy. She thought time alone would help her heal, but her dreams of her late friend sent her spiraling. The dreams told her she was alive. She would see her dear friend, walking around and talking to these figures she couldn't quite make out. These figures varied from looking bright and having vibrant attire to being pitch black with only bare hints of teal. Dreams became what Maria called visions.

It was becoming too much. Maybe, just maybe, her friend was alive. Maybe..maybe Maria had to go out like she did to get to her. She had to find her. She had to.

She was found dead with ten stab wounds all across her torso exactly eight weeks after the death of her friend.

" Together in death, woah-woah

Would you die tonight for 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦?

(Baby, join me in death)

Won't you die?

(Baby, join me in death)

Won't you die tonight for love?

(Baby, join me in death) "

Chapter Text

Eight ran her fingers through her hair while staring at herself in the mirror. Her eyes tore away from herself and down to the picture stuck between the frame and mirror itself. It contained her and all the sanses she befriended over the years. Shefound it a shame she couldn't just..choose who to pursue. Choosing felt constricting, but not choosing felt like she was a whore. And so what if she was? She was surrounded by hot skeleton guys every other day. Eight couldn't help herself.

While thinking about her romantic life, she straightened out her black turtleneck. Her sleeveless turtleneck was a constant staple in her wardrobe. This was just because she had to borrow it from Dream, the only guy with her body type. Thank God he has man boobs or else it'd feel way too tight. It was a tight shirt all in all, but it wasn't too restricting. Combat boots and slightly baggy pants. It makes sure movements in the legs aren't too visible. Eight works better if quick on her feet, so she needs some form of advantage.

A knock on her bedroom door snapped her out of her thoughts. "Eight! We're about to get going. If you take longer than five minutes to get out here, I'm not gonna wait for you this time." Dream's voice echoed from the other side of the door. His knuckles rapped against the door once more before the wooden barrier flung open. Eight cleared her throat while looking Dream up and down with narrowed eyes. "I don't force you to wait for me, you know. I can make my way to Underswap on my own."

Dream sighed while rubbing the bridge of his skeletal nose. "I know that. It's just a safety precaution." Eight closed the door behind her as she walked past Dream, her shoulder pushing against his. She let out a laugh when she noticed him stumble back. "Just say you love me at this point!"

A nervous laugh forced itself out of Dream's mouth. He rubbed the back of his neck as his gaze followed her turn a corner. Dream pulled out a folded paper from his pocket with a heart wax seal keepig it shut. "I wish I could."

Eight held up her hand while smiling up at Swap. They connected hands and bumped chests. "Geez, Swap. You gotta tell me what's up Dream's ass today. He was more demanding of my presence, and I think that he's actually gonna stop waiting for me at some point." Swap chuckled as he readjusted his scarf. "To be fair, Eight, he doesn't like being late. Dream says it doesn't make sense to be somewhere at the exact time. Something about being on time is basically being late.."

Swap shook his head and shrugged. "It's whatever. I'm sure there's a good explanation for a the rushing this morning. If I'm gonna be honest, he was on Ink and I's ass while waking us up, too."

Ink came from the same hallway Eight did while rubbing the area around his eye sockets. He yawned and lazily waved at the two other. Ink got his brush on his back and swiped it against one of the walls. A portal slowly began to grow bigger and bigger before them. Ink took a swig from each and every vial on his hips before turning toward Eight and Swap.

With his hands on his hips and a smile, Ink brightly exclaimed, "We're gonna go get groceries!" Eight's smile became crooked. "How anticlimactic," she muttered under her breath.

Dream sneaked behind Swap and flicked the back of his skull. Swap winced and held the area that was hit. "Come on. Let's get a move on. We don't have all day."

"Technically," Ink began, only to get pushed into the portal by Dream. He glanced backward before looking forward again and jumping into the portal. Swap and Eight exchanged confused and worried expressions.

Swap stepped to the side with an out stretched arm, his hand lifted to hold Eight's. "Ladies first, of course." Eight rolled her eyes as she took his hand. "Why thank you, good sir." Swap realized his face felt hot when Eight's hand touched his. He clenched his jaw and watched Eight hop into the portal. Swap straightened out his clothes before walking in himself.

God, he needed to snap himself out of this.

The loud universe of Swaptale forced itself upon Eight's ears. Everyone in this AU were, in general, in lifted spirits. That's what made it the easiest to buy food. People were easy to convince to charge less. Although Dream disapproved of it, he never stopped Ink from doing it. Because, well, food is necessary and things need to be done to obtain it.

Eight and Dream went off to get drinks while Ink and Swap stayed in the city's supercenter to grab physical foods. Because of Swaptale being so positive, it was one of the first to reach peace between humans and monsters. Eight was glad that Chara was able to fix the misunderstanding between the two races.

"Ok, so, we need two packs of water, two galloons of milk, and a gallon of orange juice." Dream had already hoisted up two packs of water, his arms not straining one bit to keep them leveled. Eight grabbed the two milks needed, but orange juice was no where to be found. Only pineapple.

Eight tilted her head to the side and looked over at Dream. "Did anyone specifically ask for orange juice?" Dream nodded. "Ink said he wanted some. No substitutes." Eight pursed her lips together while staring at the non existent orange juice carton. "If we put a post it note on a pineapple juice carton with the words 'orange juice' on it, do you think he would tell the difference?" Dream dead panned at Eight. "He may be slow, but he's not that slow. Let's just get it and tell him there wasn't orange juice."

"But I thought he didn't want any substitutes?" Dream rolled his eyes. "And I thought I was the one to give orders, but here we are." Eight scoffed, but kept her mouth shut. Arguing with Dream at the moment would be fruitless. Besides, what even was his deal? Was he on his monster period?

The two paid, fairly, for the liquids and walked back to the supercenter. However, because of the liquid to food ratio, it would be at least a good couple of minutes before Ink and Swap came back from their grocery shopping.

Because Dream was becoming annoying to even look at, Eight kept her attention toward everything else.

After a while, Swap's voice cut through the tense silence between the two. "Hey, guys! Sorry we took so long. Ink kind of.." Ink pushed Swap out of the way and angrily out the bags of food on the floor. "One of the sellers told me I needed to calm down when buying food and shouldn't try to get sellers to lower the price! No one should be calm buying groceries. Sales are to be made. SALES." Swap picked up the grocery bags while lending a tilted smile over to Dream. "Are we all set to return back?"

Dream grumbled something not one of the three could hear; he still nodded. He picked up the classes of water and walked up to an empty wall. Ink threw his brush at the wall, and a portal appeared, swallowing the brush whole. Swap and Ink walked into the portal before Dream and Eight did. Eight held all three cartons in her arms, her vision impaired from the jugs blocking her eyes. Dream noticed with a frown. He picked up the pineapple juice at the top and walked into the portal. Eight, although confused, walked right after Dream into the portal.

While putting groceries away, Ink found the pineapple juice. He looked at it with a questioning gaze. "I think you guys got the wrong the juice. I asked for orange juice." Eight sighed. She looked up at Ink with a pleading expression. "There weren't any there when we checked. I double checked, and that was the only one there." Swap set the milk into the fridge before turning around the face the two. "Ink, it's just juice. There's always following Sunday when we can get orange juice."

Ink's eye twitched. It flashed a bright white color before going back to a normal green and yellow. "It's..fine. It's just juice. It's just juice." Eight smiled. "See? I don't know why you make such a big deal out of it. There's always next time." Ink snapped his head over to Eight. "Don't."

Eight brought her hands up in defeat. "Shit. Sorry. Absolutely. Won't talk about that." Ink pointed a playful accusatory finger at Eight. "Because I swear if you do, I'll-"

Dream slammed his hands on the table. "Would you both shut up? It's literally just juice. Stop trying to make jokes out of it. It's annoying, repetitive, and honestly quite draining for anyone around because it's so unnecessary. It's a useless argument. God fucking damnit!" He yelled as he stormed off. Ink, Swap, and Eight stared with their jaws slack in shock.

Swap cleared his throat and started speaking first. "Well.. Eight. Do you want to help me put the water packs away?" Ink took the opportunity to leave the kitchen and run to his little hiding place aka the attic. Eight look back at Swap and slowly nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Sure. Love to."

Eight lifted up one of the packs of water with a grunt. She placed it gently nearby the fridge. Eight stepped aside to allow Swap to place his down right on top. Swap clapped his hands together like he had done work involving dirt. "Alrighty! All done. We should be all good for the rest of the day. That is, of course, if Nightmare decides to let us rest for once."

Swap turned to face Eight. "Ok. I've gotta be honest with you. I do know what's been up with Dream." Eight perked up. She did a motion with her hand that could really only mean 'go on.' Swap nodded, his fingers fiddling with each other. "If Dream is surrounded by too much negativity, he can't regain positivity by himself even if he tried. And, as you saw, even fake play fighting sets him off. He told me last night he can't generate another one of his golden apples to eat until tomorrow evening."

Eight tapped her fingers against her chin. "And..you said that he can't regain positivity by himself, right?" Swap nodded, his eye shifting shape to indicate an eyebrow raise. Eight shrugged. "What if I try helping him out? I've done it before in the past." Swap's head turned from nodding to frantic shaking. "No, no, no, no. No. Eight, he needs some time alone. That's probably just what his soul needs at the moment."

Swap placed a hand on Eight's shoulder. "Promise me you won't try anything. I'm being serious. Dream can be dangerous when he's negative. He can turn out just like Nightmare if pushed far enough." Eight solemnly nodded. She kept one arm behind her back, two of her fingers already crossing. "I promise." Swap let out a sigh of relief. "Ok. Good. You don't break promises you make in full."

"See you in the halls!" Swap called out as he walked back to where his quarters were. Eight waited until Swap finally turned the corner and was out of sight. She opened one of the kitchen drawers to find a pack of mints. Eight popped the lid off and got onto right into her mouth. She closed the drawer shut and started making her way toward Dream's room.

Cheering people up is easy. What could be so hard about doing it with Dream?

Chapter Text

Eight gently pushed open Dream's room door. She was met with silence even after she closed the door behind her. Not fuss or arguing. No whining about how she was tracking in dirt either. Eight slipped out of her shoes and sat on Dream's bed.

She turned her head to the side to see Dream laying down facing the wall. Eight hesitantly hovered a hand over his shoulder. After taking a deep breath, she let her hand gently fall onto Dream's shoulder.

When she didn't hear him get mad, Eight took it as a good response. "Are you feeling alright, Dream? You can always talk to me. I want to help however I can." Eight rubbed her thumb gently against his bones. She softly spoke once more. "Dream. Please, let me help."

Dream turned around to face Eight, his eyes a little dimmer than usual. "You want to help? Seriously? You of all people?" Eight gave Dream a small smile. She laid down next to him; she tangled her legs with his. "Yes. Me of all people. Cmon. Tell me what's up." Dream's eyes softened at the gesture, but he hardened up right after. He casted his gaze downwards. "My soul isn't getting what it needs."

Eight lifted up Dream's shirt to do a small quick on his soul. Dream helped by lifting his arms a little. His soul, the golden apple, had small black spots all around it, and it's shine was gone. Eight tugged Dream's shirt back down. "What's..what's causing this?" Eight looked up at Dream with concerned eyes. It sickened Dream.

With a heavy heart, Dream decided to explain. "The last few fights against Nightmare and their failures have been weighing on me. I'm the leader. I'm the one who comes up with all of the plans that end up being a dumpster fire. I'm the one who messes everything up by trying to talk sense into Nightmare. I can't help but try and get him to come back to me. I just have this feeling he's still in there."

"He just needs help coming back out, is what goes though my mind. But I'm being delusional, aren't I?" Dream looked back up to meet with Eight's eyes. "I should've come to the conclusion a long time ago, but the realization I would have to come to terms with the fact my brother is gone.. I wasn't prepared for that then. Probably not even now."

"Oh, Dream.. I'm sure that with support, you'll be able to reconcile with that fact. It'll just-" Dream cut Eight off, his voice cracking a little. "And you..oh, you. You just can't get my hints. Maybe you're avoiding them. Heck if I know, but that's what it feels like." Eight's eyes widened. "What are you talking about?"

"Eight, I love you. Can't you see that? I've always loved you. Ever since I recruited you to help us out, I've been watching and keeping my eye on you. Eight, you're beautiful. You're one of the most elegant people I have met. You're the only one with the kindness I hold for others. As long as you're not upset, that is." Eight rolled her eyes playfully. Things were getting better. She could see the faint golden glow of his soul under his shirt.

Eight swallowed and thought for a moment. Dream loved her. He truly did. A man like Dream loves hard and passionately. Eight brought a hand up to cup Dream's cheek. "I love you, too, Dream, but I just hope this isn't your soul just saying stuff so you can be positive." Dream frantically shook his head. "N-No! Not at all. Believe me, I do love you. This isn't just just my soul's needs talking. I can prove it."

"Prove it how?" Eight tilted her head to the side. Dream sighed. He wrapped his arms around her, his hand resting on the back of her head. "I think you know, Eight." Eight froze. Her face grew bright red, just like her hair. Dream leaned in a little. "You just have to tell me you want it like I do. I don't want to do anything without your consent."

The hand on Dream's check went to the back of his neck, her fingers trailing up and down the bone. She couldn't push the words out of her mouth. Eight could see Dream's natural glow start to fade. She panicked; she acted on impulse. Eight pulled Dream in and connected her lips with his.

Dream's other hand held a firm grip on Eight's hip. His eyes cluttered close as he reveled in the moment. The way Eight's lips moved against his lit a fire deep in his chest. His body was tingling and a strange sense of euphoria was hitting Dream like a train. Dream had never expected that a kiss would soothe his soul.

Eight's tongue traced along the slit of Dream's closed lips. A shiver ran down his spine and he parted his lips to allow Eight in. Their tongues snaked along one another, a dance that was slow and seemingly unending. Dream's golden tongue gliding along Eight's caused his soul to glow brighter. The black dots slowly began to disappear the longer the two made out.

When they both ran out of air, they pulled away from each other with only a thin string of saliva connecting their mouths. Dream swatted it away while taking a few deep breaths. "Is my love..better understood in your mind now, Eight?" Eight nodded. She licked her lips, Dream's taste still lingering where he was just moments before.

Dream motioned down to his chest with his eyes. "If I may ask, could you check my soul?" Eight's hand fumbled with the bottom hem of Dream's shirt before lifting it up. She squinted her eyes just from the sheer brightness of it. Eight shoved the shirt back down and smile at Dream. "All good."

Eight sheepishly looked away from Dream while grinning. "If you ever need help with regaining positivity within your soul, I'm always available to help. I- I mean it doesn't necessarily have to be when you need help. We can do this whenever. Hah. Kissing, that is." Dream brushed a stray hair away from Eight's face, causing her to look back at Dream.

He gave Eight a small smile before leaning in to press a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I'd love that, Eight. I'd love that..for us." Dream trailed downwards and rested his head in Eight's neck. She ran her fingers up and down Dream's spine while recounting their moment together.

"Would you consider being in a relationship with me after this?" Dream asked, his breath warm against Eight's skin. Eight bit her bottom lip as she began to ponder the question. As much as she would, she felt like she needed to know for sure, and, at that moment, she didn't know. Eight hugged Dream, pulling his chest forward to be flush against Eight's. "I will consider it, but I'm not sure about any relationships right now.

Dream nodded. He pressed a kiss against Eight's neck before pulling away. "I'll wait for your decision." Eight smiled at him before leaning in for another kiss. Dream happily reciprocated, his tongue already attempting to dwell into Eight's mouth.

It had been hours of them being in each other's embrace before finally deciding to stop and depart from one another. Outside of Eight's room, Dream leaned against the door frame. "I wouldn't mind sleeping in your room with you, Eight. A little more warmth than usual would bring great comfort." Eight shook her head as she changed into pajamas. "I like to stretch out my legs in my sleep. Being with someone else while sleeping is constricting for me."

Eight began to close the door when Dream stopped it with his forearm pressed against the door. "I.. Eight?"

She looked at him with small grin while tilting her head to the side. "Yes, Dream?" Dream paused, his cheeks beginning to glow a faint yellow color. He stumbled over his words with wide eyes. "I. Uhm. You see, I.. Well, uh."

Eight patiently waited and leaned against the door. "W-Would you like to go to the gardens with me sometime? The ones in Reapertale. It doesn't have to be soon or anything. Just.. Just sometime." Eight nodded. "I'd love to. Goodnight, Dream."

When the door closed, Dream leaned his forehead against it and sighed. After a few moments, he got up and started walking to his room. "Goodnight, Eight."