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The King of Darkness sat alone, accompanied only by the dust at his feet and the mantle of stars overhead.
He was early. Of course he was early, he never arrived late to anything. "Fashionably late" wasn't something he believed in.
He felt a familiar magic crackle over to his right.
There he is. Finally.
The glitch walked through the still fizzing window, an apologetic look on his face. "S-sOrry i'M laTe, GOt sIdeTRacKeD."
"Nonsense, you're right on time," Nightmare reassured him, "besides, I got here much too early for my own good."
"HeH. BroUgHt you A LIttlE sOmetHiNg."
Smiling sheepishly, Error retrieved a small box from a pocket on his coat.
"Oh! For me?" Taking the box from him, Nightmare slowly looked it over. It was wrapped in the sort of paper usually in specially made watercolor sketchbooks, and tied together with some of Error's own strings. "How thoughtful of you."
"yEp, ThAt's mE, tHOugHtfUl."
“Quiet, Vis, or I'll tear out all of your tongues." The threat was empty, and they both knew it. "I can see why you chose this place to meet. It's..." They paused, looking for the right word.
"PerFEct." Error finished for him.
"Yes, exactly, and it's empty, we won't get bothered here."
Error finally sat down beside him, hand hovering indecisively before landing on Nightmare's. The glitches surrounding him intensified, but he held on anyway. They waited patiently for Error to compose himself.
"hEy, uH. I waS THinkInG... MayBe wE CouLD go oUt and GEt sOMethINg?"
"We're already out," They observed.
"Ah, BuT yoU forgOT tHE 'gET sOmeTHinG' parT."
"Hm. That I did. What did you have in mind?"
"I WAs thInKIng, mAYbe I COulD trEat thE GreAT LorD ocTOpus To soME Ice cREam."
"And what if I were to choose to get the most expensive kind possible?"
"I nEVer sAId wE hAd tO BuY iT."
Nightmare let out a theatrical gasp, putting his free hand over his soul. "Are you suggesting we steal? How scandalous! But very well. Lead the way, beloved."
"Oh, oh! Can I come too?"
Both dark skeletons swiveled their heads to look at the newcomer. Error was the first to say something.
"sQUid?!? tHe FuCK arE YOu doINg HeRe?!?"
"Uh... I think I forgot?" The artist checked their scarf for notes, but, finding none, opted to look back up at the two lovebirds with a completely unrepentant expression.
"I heard you two were getting ice cream! Can I come?"
Error looked annoyed, but not angry. The two looked at each other, then at Ink.
"I don't see why not," Nightmare responded.
"Yay! Ice cream!"
"aLRighT, Let'S go."
The three walked through the window into the alleyway of an ice cream parlor. Error pulled up his hood to hide his face. Together, they walked into a crowd of both humans and monsters.
"What flavors do you two want? They probably hate me less so! I could order for all three of us! If you want?" Ink suggested.
"Sure. Much easier than having to explain to about half a thousand people why we're 'attacking'." They thought for a moment. "I'll take the coffee fla-."
"-cHOcoLaTe." Error said without bothering to let Nightmare finish. Nightmare stared him down, miffed at having been interrupted.
Deciding it best to ignore the annoyance, Nightmare pulled up his hood as well instead of arguing. The terror and the glitch waited patiently (and impatiently) for the artist to return. Soon enough they returned.
"Look what I goot!" He said in a sing-song voice. "Ice cream! Where do you wanna sit?"
"hOw aBouT oVEr thEre?" Error asked, pointing to a table near the front, shaded by a fairly large umbrella. "I kNOw hoW mUcH yoU HAte haViNg To sIt in tHe suN." He said to Nightmare. They smiled. But before they could lean in for a kiss, a certain squid intervened by grabbing Nightmare's hand and Error's scarf, practically dragging them over to the table.
"Come on. You can be all 'lovey dovey' over here." Ink insisted.
The two let themselves be dragged like ragdolls without protest. As they sat down and began to enjoys their ice cream, Nightmare suddenly remembered the gift box. I’ll be comparable to Ink if I get more forgetful.
Carefully, he brought out the box and untied the strings. Opening the box revealed a necklace, hanging from which was a black crescent moon pendant with sparks of navy blue throughout. They looked up at their beloved. “It’s beautiful…” They breathed.
”kNew yOU wOulD lIKe it.”
Smiling, the lord of darkness put the necklace over his head, letting land softy over his chest. “I won’t take it off.”
”oH cOmE oN, iT’S not ThAT gOod…”
”No. It’s perfect, and I won’t be taking it off. That’s final.”