Work Text:
"Go on my little butterfly, it's time for us to start sleeping. Tuck your little wings in…"
"Hey, why'd you stop?"
A clashing sound of the waves climbing against the shore ring with the seagulls chirping by. Many of the AU's in the multiverses don't ever have beaches in their script; they were usually locked from the pacifist route. The Omega Timeline though, was different. Not an AU but a safe haven, more of a mini kingdom Cross would describe it as. Shouting of kids running around, monsters playing volleyball and more families lingering at the sand to take in the sun.
Cross was resting his head on Ink's lap, a small cheeky smile on his face when he had caught the artist off guard. A lingering satisfaction burning into his stomach since with the two, it had always been a back and forth friendly exchange on who can get the other. Ink pressed his hand against his flushed cheeks with his rainbow freckles, averting his eyes away to a spot next to Cross.
"I thought you were sleeping, C."
"I was. Just so happened to wake up to you singing."
"Couldn't you spare a little embarrassment by pretending to sleep a little longer?"
Ink pouted, poking on the space between Cross's brow ridges. Cross chuckled, taking his partner's wrist and giving an apologetic kiss on top. He squeezed his hold tight as he closed his eyes. "Would you rather realize I was awake later or now?"
"…Good point."
"But, hey. I didn't say I didn't like it. It's nice, did you come up with that?"
"Just the top of my head. Wanted to try a bit of poetry." Cross pushed himself up from Ink's lap, shaking the sand off his face.
The two were sitting somewhat far from shore since the sand was softer and warmer. A thin, sheer blanket was underneath to secure their spot and a woven basket filled with what Cross had prepared sat nearby — food, Collé's trusty star plush and many more. There was also a pile of seashells besides Ink as well, looking quite out of place.
Ink shifted his position, probably getting aches from sitting with his legs closed together for so long. "You slept for a while though. I hope it wasn't because Collé's keeping you up with her little tea parties."
"Of course not. Did you know Mister Draco found Emily robbing his cookies? Absolutely horrifying."
Ink rolled his eyes with a silly grin, leaning back with his arms stretched back, his palms flat against the sand. Cross glanced ahead the beach, seeing their little daughter trying to rearrange the seashells in indistinguishable shapes not so far by. Her nose bridge scrunched as she eyed which shells looked prettier next to each other, just to throw them away for another shell.
"She's been at that for a while." Cross said, trying to suppress an amused laugh from Collé's blunt behavior.
"Actually, she's been waiting for you to wake up so we can turn you into a sand mermaid."
"What? Why me?"
"I dunno , don't shoot the messenger."
"You're perfectly right there! And you'd make much more of a prettier mermaid than I'd be."
"Oh, you flirt." Ink purred, resting his head against Cross. He hugged his own legs as he completely ignored what Cross was trying to argue for. The guard hummed, grabbing Ink's shoulder to bring him closer. Ink tilted his head up to press a kiss to Cross's jaw, pushing a violet blush to his face. "I mean, at least you don't need to dig a giant habitat destructive hole here. You know how much of a hassle of that to fix?"
"Never thought of you to be the one so concerned for the environment."
"It's the OT, C. Good luck finding another person who can make sand out of thin air. And it's super annoying, it even got Dream out of all people annoyed as well." He let out a loud sigh. "Do me a favor and tell the village kids to stop digging so deep. Actually, lecture the parents for me as well."
"I can try? I mean, I'm just some guy so they probably wouldn't listen to me that much."
"You're a real hand-some guy though."
"C'mon, Ink." Cross snorted. "That's horrible."
"Hey! Don't think I haven't noticed how the other single villagers were looking at you like a five star Michelin restaurant's steak." Ink muttered. "They must be waiting for me to be this terrible guy who's been mistreating you so that they can scoop up and save you from my toxic yaoiness."
"What in the stars are you saying?"
"Nothing. I'm just complaining. Jeez, this is why we live in the middle of nowhere with no civilization other than us three."
"You say that like it's a good thing. And we both know how that went."
"Do I? Huh. Don't remember." Ink pressed his finger against his chin in a thinking motion before lifting his head up. "But anyways. This just means I gotta kiss you more in public."
Cross couldn't help but let a dope grin rise. "Not complaining."
"I'll start now. Mwah." Ink smooched Cross's cheek.
Cross watched as Collé realized he was up. She started to stumble to him with seashells in her arms. Then she accidentally tripped over a mount a kid (he assumed) left previously, Cross instinctively reaching over to hold her from falling on her face. Her shells were everywhere, but at least the ground was just sand and they didn't shatter into dangerous bits like glass. And well, Cross was used to his daughter's clumsiness, much like who she took that trait from as well. (Even if Ink wanted to deny it.)
Protecting was what he knew, so this was second nature to him. He helped Collé back up, patting her pink polka-dot beach-shirt down from the tiny grains.
She chirped, "Daddy!"
"Mhm?"
"It's apple!"
"You want an apple?"
"No!" Collé raised her hands up.
Cross glanced over at Ink for help on how to decipher their daughter's word soups. The other shrugged, sticking his tongue out as if to say 'figure it out yourself' in a lighthearted manner. Ah, that man sometimes.
Recently, they've been trying to teach her different words after being able to recognize the alphabet of their languages. One of the advices that the local mothers gave to the two in the Omega Timeline was to have her actually experience what the words could mean, other than just pointing at pictures of them. So, that was one of the reasons why they were there at the beach, although there wasn't much other than sand, water, shells and even more sand. Too tiny to even play volleyball or the beach ball and Cross highly doubted that any crabs or fish would come by to say hi. Other reason though…
"Collé." Ink said, pointing at the pile of shells next to him that the little one had most likely accumulated while Cross was asleep. "What's this?"
"Shell!"
"Good job! C'mere, you!" Collé forgot about her other scattered shells and waddled over, Ink pulling her into a firm hug to give her big kisses on the cheek. Collé squealed in response.
"That's not an apple," Cross said as Ink placed her back down next to him.
"Maybe she thinks you're an apple."
"What kind of apple wears a dark purple and white Hawaiian t-shirt?"
Ink pulled the basket between him and Cross, taking out the sandwiches that Cross had prepared beforehand for the small trip. Some fruits to go with it as well and coincidentally red crispy apples inside. Funny, you'd think that they'd be Collé's favorite from how often she mentioned them but really they were pineapples. Yellow, crispy pineapples.
It was Ink's turn to be sleeping now, sitting up and crossing his arms like the weirdo he is. Seriously, that could not be comfortable. That was why before, Cross was napping on Ink's lap— er. Well, at least Ink looked peacefully asleep into whatever dreamland he was going to, so it was Cross on watch duty. Although, Collé was starting to get bored trying to entertain herself from shell hunting, standing at the sand and watching the water and sand pull underneath her body with each tide. So Cross decided to join her near the shore. They then relocated just further up so that the two wouldn't be constantly be crashed by the waves.
Even though the toddler was getting a bit older and more independent, Cross would still have to keep up with her massive energy. And work for Ink doesn't get any lighter with time. It left the two at a constant lack of sleep state. Even Ink was fine not having a consistent cycle from being soulless and all, Cross definitely suffering through the effects of it. Finding himself zoning out outside tasks with keeping his daughter alive from her own mischief.
Today was one of those rare moments where Ink stepped back from his work to relax. Creators were quiet and Dream and Swap had insisted on taking over patrols.
"Nappy?" Collé had stopped trying to pile a hill of sand to peek over to Ink who fell sideways. Cross would go over to help him get back on a comfortable position, but he didn't want to interrupt Ink's sleep.
"Papa's just resting for a bit. But it's okay, daddy's here to play."
Collé blinked up before giggling, taking a handful of wet sand in her hands and making thin towers by letting it drip like a funnel. Cross watched as she started making purposeful formations with each tower placement before it finally hit him that she was trying to make a castle. Or…. whatever that was. A sad heap with some uneven spikes around. Maybe she was trying to remake Nightmare's castle. But then, how in the multiverse would she be able to see that? It wasn't like Dream had a polaroid of it, that'd be so stupid.
Later, Collé had assigned Cross on seashell duties, so he just went up to where the tides end with shells scattered and piled all over. Most of them were broken with its respective chips nowhere to be found. Although, it wasn't too hard to find whole shells either since they were visibly bigger. Most of them were pale in color — not that there's some neon shelled creatures in the sea that Cross knew of. Maybe his daughter would appreciate a vibrant deep red, or maybe a dark brown with staggered stripes.
Not shortly after, he heard a soft wail. Alerted, Cross went over to check over Collé who was on her knees and sobbing out loud to the sky. Passerbys glimpsed over to check before ignoring it. "What's wrong, dandelion?" Cross knelt over, pulling her into a hug.
"Collé's castle! Waaah!" Her voice was just as loud but muffled from her face buried into his shirt.
…Oh. There's no signs left of whatever Collé had made other than a dark and small bump in the ground. The tide must've rushed in and washed it away. Well… shit. He could've sworn they sat high enough for the tide to not reach up that far yet. "It's okay. It's alright." He said comfortingly, patting her back.
"Gimme it back!"
"Ah… I don't thin—"
"Waaaaahhh!"
Thankfully, there weren't that many people playing at the beach, but Cross still didn't want to see his little star cry like that. There's so much he could do though, he can't just snap his fingers and have the water disappear out of revenge. Not only would the sand dry up and just crumble against their hands so there's no sand castle at all, it's also a stupid idea to fight against water. Cross sighed. If Ink were awake he'd probably be able to figure out how to deal with it. Maybe he could paint her a new sandcastle. Perks of being able to bring art to life.
"Do you wanna see Mister Draco?" Cross asked when Collé's cries started to quiet down. "He's probably very bored sitting with Papa."
Collé shook her head, rubbing her eyes.
"Uhm…" If her star plush wasn't going to console her, then what will? He could go and ask a local parent, but they'd probably think that he's a terrible father and look at Collé with a pitiful look. Like, what kind of parent asks another parent on how to stop their own child from crying? Especially with his and Ink's not so great reputation around after the incident. Not that it was entirely untrue, Cross was definitely not a textbook definition of a parent. But he loves Collé and he knew that he was trying.
"Mermay daddy..."
"Huh? Say again?"
"Mermay…"
Oh.
Collé wanted to make a sand mermaid out of him, like what Ink had said before. Cross didn't know how he felt about laying down still for an hour — maybe a little more, considering how fast the little girl worked. He knew Collé was perceptive enough to find his eye twitching as a sign of hesitation. Her eye lights started to grow bigger, shimmering against the golden sunlight.
Oh… oh no…..
"Mermay……… I want…"
Please don't give me the puppy eyes! Cross pleaded to himself, scanning over for Ink who was still napping away and back to his daughter who seem like was in the verge of tears now. Ahhhh…. Fuck it!
"Mmh? Collé?" Ink blinked awake as Collé nudged him. "Did'ja need somethin'?"
"Daddy!"
"Your daddy's over ther—"
Ink's words cut off when he found Cross buried in the sand. He power-walked over, kneeling next to him carefully to not get sand on his face.
"Woah." Was what Ink can say.
Collé followed behind, although less carefully and kicking the sand into Cross's mouth. Cross spat it out, resting his head back on the ground after.
"Are you stuck? Need help? I can—"
"No. No, I can get out of here easily."
"Woah, hoh. Look at Mister Confident." Ink snorted. "You comfy in there?"
"More or less. Well, I don't wanna ruin all of Collé's hardwork. You should've seen her trying to push the sand onto me and get mad when I started to wiggle around."
"Making the kids cry from pranks is my job, C. You have to be the good parent if I'm the evil one."
"Hey, we're two peas in a pod." Collé ignored their not so loud whispers to put the shells from the pile she grabbed out of when she woke up Ink onto Cross.
"What ever could we do if our kid ends up hating both of us when she's older? You know their impressionable toddler stage goes by real quick during the first year."
"Well, it is how it is."
"You're more laid back about that than I expected."
"I trust in us and I trust in her, y'know? And besides, I'll just bring up today where she tries to suffocate her old man in sand half an hour ago."
Ink frowned, eyes in a concern orange and purple. "She did what now?"
"Oh yeah, she accidentally kicked a whole pile. Tasted terrible."
"I'd imagine. Wow, Collé's really putting you through it, huh? Tea parties and now this."
"Like you said before, she's only little for so long. When will it be the last time she just so blissfully played around without a care in the world—"
Cross cut his words as Collé started to dig him out. "Done with daddy now?" Ink asked.
Collé nodded. "Daddy not mermay."
"Yup, we saved daddy from the curse of being a mermaid, now he can finally walk with two legs."
"Oh, thank stars," Cross sat up, letting all the shells fall off. "You wanna go home now, Collé? Sleepy?"
The girl shook her head, pointing at the waters. Cross patted himself down as he stood up, shaking his body to let the sand fall. Ink folded up the hem of his pants, although they were probably going to get wet anyways. They gave their hand out to Collé, to which she took and with their strength they lifted her up just above the ground. She swung her legs up, babbling small giggles before they settled her back down. There was a big, bubbly smile on her face that never left.
Their legs reached above the waters, just enough for Collé to float comfortably. There was no hiding that the two were slightly nervous to let go of her, Cross's grip on her firm and Ink constantly checking on her. What if one of them let go and then suddenly a water god from nowhere came, scooped her up and then have her transported to the other side of the Omega Timeline? But then again, it was all about experience. And there was no such thing as a water god in OT, as far as Core and Dream were concerned.
Ink watched over the sunset, the blue and pink colors in his eyes simmering into the warm orange light. It doesn't purge the color away, instead it accentuates it. If Cross didn't think Ink was pretty before, he definitely was now. No one other like him to capture the sharp and gentle beauty of his. Almost like the sun was kissing his face.
Ink was not the sun, no. He was just the person who the sun had blessed. And how could Cross blame it?
"This is nice," Ink said, checking back at Collé. Then, slowly he let go of the hold on her. Cross followed, trusting that she wouldn't wander too far, although rescuing her wouldn't be too much of an issue from how far in the waters they were. "We should come here more often."
"Yeah."
"…What? Do I have leftover ketchup on my face?" Ink tilted his head, Cross startled when he was caught with his eyes kept fixated on the artist.
"K-kinda, actually."
"Oh. Oops."
Nice save. Cross leaned over the best he could, licking just right next to Ink's mouth. Ink's eyes widened, a faint blush blooming against his cheek. Cross pulled away, wiping his own mouth with his free hand.
"You. Are so gross."
"You can't say anything about that, paint puker."
Ink argued back. "You cannot keep using that against me! And you like it anyway!"
"Whaaatever." Cross stuck his tongue out as Ink rolled his eyes.
"Lean down again, you."
Ink gave him a small peck, pulling away before Cross had his hand against his back to keep him from getting any further away. The guard pushed Ink back to another longer and deeper kiss, Ink holding onto his arm. They probably shouldn't try slobbering over each other's mouth, just in case a sneaky big tide came to crash over the two. "You know," Cross murmured as he kissed his cheek. "We're gonna be able to do all of this less and less."
"I know, I was there when Ms. Chiffon was lecturing you about childcare last week," Ink stepped back to focus on their daughter speaking to the fish that swam over. Huh. Turns out there were sea creatures who'd go up to them. "I mean, it's not like we have that much time together right now anyway."
"Still. I missed you."
Ink beamed, a gentle breeze brushing against them. It caused their daughter to sway back to them, Cross catching her. "I missed you too." Ink replied as he pinched Collé's cheek, her letting out a small whine. "Hm. Maybe we should've brought our camera after all. I can't believe we didn't bring it for Collé's first beach day."
"It's alright, I mean, you can always bring it out whenever you want, can't you? Transport liquid or painting it out of thin air and all or whatever you do."
"Oh. I forgot I can do that!"
Ink tried to walk further into the water, Cross reaching out with his other hand for him out of concern he could also be washed away. Ink stopped and turned to face his partner, a cheeky smile on his face being highlighted by the sun's radiance. How could the sun rival Ink's radiance, though?
"But I can worry about what we left home later for now. After all, the sun is just so beautiful here! I almost want to paint it."
"It is." Cross's gaze was kept on Ink.
"Sometimes, I wish the doodle-sphere had something like this." Ink continued, hand raising to cover his eyes from the blinding sunshine. "But painting that is too complicated for me to do, unfortunately."
"Well, at least we have the omega timeline."
"Yeah."
Ink wadded towards Collé who looked up at him, not knowing what he had been rambling out for the past minutes. Then he carried her up into her arms, her wiggling around in the air. "And, we have a much brighter starlight here. Isn't that right, Collé?"
"Yay!" Collé smiled back. Ink lowered his arms, kissing her cheek. Cross leaned down to kiss her other cheek. "Daddy… Papa… Love you!"
"Love you too." Cross chuckled, Ink kissing the side of her head in response.
Cross didn't want to return to the doodle-sphere quite yet and Ink had felt the same way. It might've been because it had been so long since the small guardian had a break that Cross didn't want it to be all over. So, the two sat at the beach again where their blanket was, the number of people dwindling as the sky turned into a deep indigo night.
Ink hummed a random tune as he patted Collé's head, her sleeping on his lap. Cross had returned from buying a bottle of apple juice for the two from a nearby shop. "I was going to get some wine but then maybe Collé would want something to drink later too."
"It's not like we can finish a whole bottle in a day anyway, it's just gonna be left rotten in the shelf for a good couple of years until we remember." Ink reassured, patting the free seat next to him. They didn't really prepared any fancy glass to pour into, so Cross just popped open the cap and gave the bottle for Ink to drink.
"I wonder why your creators haven't called for you today yet. Usually they'd interrupt in the middle of us doing something."
"Who knows? Maybe it's their holiday too. I know that Error's busy finishing his crochet blanket. He's making like a whole pocket blanket so all of his dolls can sleep in it! Super cute idea!" Ink passed the bottle to Cross.
"I thought he just knits?"
"He's learning to crochet recently. Not too soon to start a new hobby, I guess. I'm kinda jealous though, I wish I could start something new. Though I don't have time for that." Ink rested his head against Cross.
"You can always get start and get back to it later."
"But I'll forget what I'm doing and then it's frustrating trying to figure it out again. Man, wish we were back at the time where the multiverse hasn't grown so big. So much simpler."
"Well, still. It never hurts to still try." Cross said after taking a drink of apple juice, pushing the bottle into a small hole in the sand next to him. "You still have tomorrow and tomorrow's tomorrow too."
"Yeah. You're right. And actually… I think now is better than before anyway. I like it here now." Ink lifted his head up, his eyes flashing into a pink-orange swirl and a spade shape. "If I went back, I couldn't have been with you. And I like it with you."
Ink kissed Cross again, slowly pulling his head away as they shared breaths. Ink let a lopsided smile, gaze down at the sand.
"I wouldn't want it any other way."
A silence followed, yet it never felt haunting to Cross.
After all, those times he and Ink were alone in his AU, they have sat in this shared silence. It was never awkward to the two, more of a comforting and gentle muted music into their ears that whatever was in their mind. Letting them bask in each other's presence since that was what the two had. Cross had always found it easier to let himself relax around the artist because of this. There was no pressure to make a conversation nor hold a wall to protect himself. Just Ink with his colors, splashing all against the whites in Cross's world.
There was more to comfort from Ink though. He was the embodiment of opportunities. The embodiment of a never stopping future. For some reason, it felt like Ink was always two steps into the future. Or perhaps Cross was always two steps into the past. To catch up to him was the reason to keep moving forward. Sure, that had frustrated him at times because why would you just keep going and never look behind? What was the point of doing what you did?
There were so many scars because of these ideals. All carved into his bones, a lingering reminder of the past. No matter how much you push ahead, the past would always stay. It was the root of the tree of memories. That had made Cross realized that Ink had never ignored the past. Instead, he carried them with him. And Ink was going to help along with everyone else to pull Cross into the present too. Eventually, Cross saw beyond what Ink had meant to him and to who Ink was. With every layers of Ink peeled, the more Cross fell deep for him.
Ink was a maze, and Cross would rather spend the days staying inside rather than trying to find a route of escape.
"I love you, Ink." Cross said, pressing his forehead against the other's. "Even when you're on the other side of the multiverse. Beyond the words in all dictionary. All paths, I want them all to lead to you."
"I'm already here with you, silly."
"And I want it to stay that way, if you let me."
The confusion on Ink's face was prominent when Cross leaned back, going to search through the basket. "…C?"
Cross held a small, velvet box in his hand, meeting Ink's eyes with a gentle lavender color on his face. "Ink."
"C…Cross." Ink hid his face with his free hand, blinking rapidly and having the colors in his eye switch rapidly. Most of them being shades of soft, pink affection.
"My soul is yours and only yours. It has always been yours from the day I loved you. From the day it felt walking into the warm sun after a long, cold winter. From the day you have became the home I return to. From the day you have painted colors into my monochrome world, letting me be able to branch out as a person I am now. You are the catalyst and the painter. You've protected me so many times before, so let me promise to protect you."
Ink dropped his hand. "You know… you've always been great at keeping promises."
Ink pulled Cross towards him by the collar, another kiss to his nose. Cross and Ink's eyes lingered onto each other before they pressed their mouths against each other. Ink's hand went to cup Cross's cheek and Cross had to balancing his hand behind Ink before he tumbled over. Immediately before Ink shoved him off, covering his mouth.
"Urrpk." Ink swallowed, tears threatening in his eyes.
"You alright?"
He let out a sigh from relief, wiping his mouth from the excess paint that escaped. "S-sorry. The plan was to make this emotionally sappy with me kissing you and crying ugly."
"Ah."
"I forgot about my whole puking thing for a moment. Huh. Maybe it was best for you to keep mentioning about it. Actually, we should just keep a bucket on us at all time."
"There's only so much we can remember to carry, Ink."
"Teehee." Ink readjusted his position back to place, trying to get Collé more comfortable. He pushed the tears back, wiping them with the back of his hand. "Let's stay together for many years more then, okay?"
"You don't even have to ask me." Cross smiled as Ink took the promise ring out of the box. He let Cross help slip it onto his finger. A simple, plain design with a violet pearl-like iridescence.
"Pfft. How long have you been planning all this, you big sap?"
Cross shrugged with a smile, scratching his cheek shyly. "A little over a year with Epic and Swap."
"Even the whole beach thing?"
"Ah. No, actually. I was just trying to find an opportunity to do this since we don't really… have a confident idea on where to do it. But I figured you might like something more quieter and casual, y'know?"
"Haha! I like it when my man can improvise." Ink smirked. "Well, Collé's gonna so pissed when she finds out she was asleep through all of this."
"She's only around like, what, two in human years? I'm sure she'll live."
"Oh, you're terrible, C."
"You just sat there and watched her find seashells for thirty minutes while I was asleep."
"C'moooon!"
The two burst into stifled laughter, trying not to disturb their daughter. Cross took the bottle of apple juice from the hole to drink, Ink using his free hand with the ring to pat Collé's head.
"I've gotta make you a ring too later. Just to match!"
"Heh. I'll be looking forward to it."
The three lingered at the beach for a little longer, the light from the night sky grazing against the happy couple. The stars twinkled into disorganized constellations with the waves of the water lapping in a rhythmic pattern. Ink had his eyes closed, hands interlocked with Cross's. Not yet.
"The moon sure is beautiful tonight, isn't it?" Ink murmured.
"It sure is."