#acrossnighterrors

Dream could not keep the smile off his face as he entered the recovery room. That expression was mirrored on every face he saw, especially on the one in the bed. Cross and Error each sat on either side of the hospital bed, hovering near their datemate should he need anything. Further to the side were Finch and Ink, close enough to be supportive but far enough away that they didn’t crowd. And the brightest smile in the room was on Nightmare. His old friend was resting in the hospital bed, the top end raised so that he could sit up and interact with everyone. He looked tired and a bit pained, but he was happy, and that was enough to make Dream smile as well. 

“Dream!” Nightmare exclaimed when he saw him, wiggling in excitement. He looked like he wanted to wave his arms around, but Dream knew from his research that wouldn’t be a good idea. “You’re here!” 

“Of course I am.” Dream moved closer, intentionally going onto Error’s side and taking Nightmare’s hand. “How are you feeling?”

“A bit sore,” Nightmare admitted, “but good. Like a weight’s been taken off.” Dream lightly squeezed Nightmare’s hand, getting a squeeze in return. “They’re also giving me the good stuff. I like these pain meds.” One of Error’s hands found its way onto Dream’s shoulder, and gave the winged man a comforting and supportive look. Dream was about to say something when one of the doctors entered the room.

“Well, it looks like you’re good to go, young man,” she said, checking things off her clipboard as she spoke. “Everything looks fine; you can continue your recovery at home.” There is a round of cheers throughout the room, good will surging through everyone.

“Doctor?” Dream queried once the noise had died down. “What things should he, and the rest of us, be careful of during recovery? What time period are we looking at?”

“About two weeks recovery, all up.” The doctor responded, flipping some pages. “At one week, he will need to come in for a check up, so that we can remove his compression bindings and see how he’s healing. He should not remove the bindings before then, which means no showering until after that appointment.” There was a bit of choked, nervous laughter from Error and Cross at that; the doctor continued on as though she didn’t hear them. “Other than that, no strenuous activity; nothing that is going to put stress on his body, especially his upper torso and arms. He should not be lifting his arms up during his recovery and he shouldn’t be doing any heavy lifting.” She looked over the top of her clipboard to Nightmare. 

“You will most likely feel sore and sensitive for some weeks, even after we give you the all clear. Over the counter pain medications should be taken as needed, and use ice packs to reduce any swelling. One thing you should know; swelling can last as little as two weeks, but could also last as long as four to six months. Do not worry if you are on the longer end of that spectrum; it will subside eventually.” With that, she finally put down her clipboard and gave Nightmare a smile. “And I believe that is everything. All you need to do now is sign the release papers, and you will be on your way!” Nightmare gave another cheer, and Cross immediately moved to help Nightmare stand up. 

“Let’s get you home, Love.” He said as he helped to support Nightmare’s weight, arm around Nightmare’s waist for support. Finch and Ink gave a wave from where they were standing by the door.

“We’ll come check in you later, ‘kay?” Ink said, flashing a grin and a wave before ducking out the door. Finch gave him an unamused look as he disappeared, before turning back to Nightmare.

“Take it easy. We will visit you after we finish work for today.” Finch at least waits until Nightmare gives him a cheery, ‘Bye bye!’, before leaving. Dream watched all of this, happy that his old friend has managed to develop such a support network, before he stood and moved over to Nightmare. Cross almost seemed like he was about to do the usual posturing routine he does whenever he interacts with Dream, but refrained from doing so while holding Nightmare. Which was good; Dream didn’t feel like battling the old grudge of his friend’s datemate at the moment. Right now, Dream’s entire focus was on Nightmare.

“Ready to head home?” Nightmare flashed a giant grin to Dream’s small smile, but neither were any less sincere than the other. 

“Yep!” Dream briefly wondered when was the last time Nightmare had sounded so cheery; it had been a while. “But can we stop and get burgers or something before we head back to the apartment? I’m starving!” There was a smattering of laughter from all four of them as they led Nightmare out the doors of his recovery room. 

“You can have whatever you want,” Error said, sliding into the open side of Nightmare and taking the other’s hand. “We’ll make a stop.” Dream couldn’t help the fond smile on his face as he watched the three of them walk together, Cross and Error on either side and ready to support Nightmare should he need the help. Despite his reservations about one of them, he had to admit that they were both dearly devoted to Nightmare. It eased his worries about the future; Nightmare would be fine, with all of them standing beside him.

Yes, Dream thought to himself as he signed off on the release paperwork, Nightmare would be just fine.

~~~~~~~~~

It was late at night, a few days after Nightmare’s surgery. Dream was returning to his rooms, after having stayed up until past midnight to finish up on some paperwork. He was quietly making his way through the halls, doing his best to make sure he didn’t wake any of the sleeping occupants, when he noticed a faint light and muffled sounds coming from underneath the door leading to Nightmare/Error/Cross’ common room. He paused outside the door for a moment, listening carefully. It sounded like the tv was on, which aligned with the faint light that didn’t seem to be from a lamp or ceiling light, as well as what sounded like static. 

Strangely, he couldn’t hear anything else, no talking or conversation between the datemates. He supposed they must have all fallen asleep watching a show or something. He debated with himself for a moment, before ultimately deciding to go in and turn off the tv. He didn’t want the noise and light to eventually wake up the sleeping trio, and also it would be better if he could avoid power wastage. When he opened the door, however, he didn’t see the three bodies he expected. Instead, he saw only one, and that one was wide awake. Nightmare stared back at him from his position on the couch. The other was lying down, ice pack clutched to his chest, and he looked remarkably tired.

“Nightmare?” He asked softly, not knowing where Error or Cross were and not wanting to wake them if they were sleeping. “What are you doing up so late?” 

“Sore,” Nightmare croaked out. “Couldn’t sleep, and I didn’t want to wake my datemates up.” Dream nodded, before stepping into the room and quietly closing the door.

“Do you want some company?” Nightmare’s eyes gave Dream his answer without having to say anything. Dream gave a smile, making a quick turn to grab another ice pack and a tub of ice cream from the freezer, alongside two spoons, before making his way to the couch and sitting near Nightmare’s head. “Here, take this one,” he helped Nightmare swap the old ice pack for the new one, “I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s melted by now.” Nightmare let out a moan as the cold hit his sore chest, relaxing into the numbing chill.

“You are a saint,” Nightmare whispers, resting his head on Dream’s thigh and digging out a scoop of ice cream. Dream gave a tender smile and ran his hand through Nightmare’s hair before turning his attention to the tv screen.

“So, what are we watching?” Nightmare gave a shrug against his leg.

“Whatever was first on when I hit the power button.” Dream rolled his eyes a little at that before grabbing the remote and flicking through the channels. He eventually stopped on the nature channel, figuring it would be entertaining enough without being so entertaining that Nightmare wouldn’t ever get to sleep. The black-haired male let out a few grumbles at his choice, but comforted himself with ice cream. 

Much to Dream’s hypothesis and satisfaction, it only took a few episodes before Nightmare drifted off to sleep, sticking ice cream surrounding his mouth and faintly snoring. Dream huffed a laugh before cleaning up Nightmare’s face and grabbing the afghan off the end of the couch, covering Nightmare with the blanket. He fished out the remote once more, killing the tv. His hand had not stopped running gently through Nightmare’s hair and Dream couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face as he looked down at his old friend.

“Sleep well, Nightmare,” he said softly, feeling his own exhaustion begin to settle in his bones. “May you have pleasant dreams this time.” It took only a few minutes more for Dream himself to drop off into sleep. 

Both boys slept well into the next morning, still cuddled to each other when they woke.

~~~~~~~

“Dream!” Nightmare burst into his office, whining dramatically. “Dream! My datemates are being mean to me!” 

“Uh huh,” Dream said, not even looking up from his paperwork and paying on the bare minimum of attention. Nightmare being dramatic wasn’t anything new in his life.

“They kicked me out of the shared bed!”

“Did they, now?” Dream signed off on another form, his voice devoid of any emotion.

“They said I stink!”

“You do.” Nightmare let out a dramatic gasp of betrayal and Dream couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “Nightmare, it has been six days since you last bathed. I understand that these are your doctor’s orders but, at the same time, you reek. We will all be grateful once you get the sign off tomorrow; and the first thing you do after getting that sign off better be going and taking a freaking shower!” Nightmare pouted at him, and Dream let out a sigh in response.

“You think I like this?” Nightmare’s voice was distinctly whiny and Dream could already feel a headache coming on. “I’ve been wearing the same bandages for six days! I can feel the grime on me! It’s disgusting!” 

“It is only for one more day,” Dream sighed out. “Just one more day; then you can take a nice, long scrub, and cuddle with your datemates, and everyone will be happy again. But until that time,” Dream waved his hand in front of his nose, face curling up slightly, “do you mind?” Nightmare’s jaw almost hit the floor. He stared in disbelief and indignation for a minute or two, before spinning around and marching out the door.

“Ink!” He screamed, slamming the office door behind him. Dream managed to contain his laughter until he was certain that Nightmare was out of hearing range, then it tumbled out of him without restraint. 

Oh, Nightmare could be just as dramatic as he remembered. He was rather glad that hadn’t changed in all these years.

~~~~~~~~

“Well,” the doctor said, looking up from their examination notes. “It appears that I can give you the all clear!” Nightmare let out a ‘Woot!’ and bounced in his chair, until the doctor gave him a stern look and he settled down. “You still have to take it easy. No running, no heavy lifting, no raising your arms above chest level; at least for another week or so. Nothing that’s going to prevent your body from healing itself. But you can finally rid yourself of the compression binder and lift the restriction on showers and baths.”

“Thank the stars above,” Error not-so-subtly whispered behind them. Nightmare spun his head around to give a glare in Error’s direction, but it didn’t last long before a giant grin spread across his face. 

“You know what that means?” Nightmare bounced to his feet and, in a split second, his hoodie was off and in the air. “I’m officially shirtless, baby!” 

“Nightmare! Put your clothes back on!” Dream immediately got to his feet and snatched the hoodie out of the air, but it was too late to grab Nightmare as well. He just danced around the room, always out of Dream’s reach, chanting ‘no shirt, no shirt’. 

“No shirt!” Just when Dream didn’t think it could get any worse, Ink was on his feet and without the top part of his clothes as well. Dream wasn’t sure how Ink had managed to strip his many layers in such a short time, but he had, and was now joining Nightmare in his dancing and chanting. At least Finch had the good sense to not join in; merely hiding his face underneath his hat. 

“Well,” the doctor capped her pen and stood up with hardly any sense of urgency. “I think I’ll leave you to handle this.” And then she was out the door before Dream could say anything. Within mere moments of her leaving, Error, Cross, and Finch all sped out the door to join her.

“Wait! Don’t leave me!” Dream tried to get them to stop, but they didn’t even look at him and it was too late. He was the only one left to try and get Ink and Nightmare to put their shirts back on. 

It would take quite some time for Dream to grab hold of the two of them and be able to wrestle them back into their shirts; or in Ink’s case, the tattered remains of his shirt. But even when he managed it, the two of them did not stop smiling. And honestly, Dream couldn’t stop smiling either.