Suffocating Joy {Nightmare x Reader}

Enlightenment or Deception? Pt. 1

~(Y/N)'s POV, one month later~

I flipped through one of the thousands of books Nightmare had in his library. I would've never taken him as the sort of guy to read, considering he only has one eye. A skeleton walked in- it was one I'd never seen before. Something I should mention, the Elite, which is the name for the new Star Sanses, switch between Nightmare's base and Dream's base. It was about every 4 months or so, so we had just switched over. "Can I help you?" I asked, seeing the skeleton jump a bit.

"O-Oh, uh, sorry. Didn't, uh, s-see you there..," he said, walking over. "That wasn't an invitation to come talk to me, you know." I realized how snappy and rude I was being, but I've been stressing over the conversation I had with Nightmare, Dream, and Reaper a month or so ago. "Sorry, that's...pretty shitty of me," I said, turning to him, "Name's (Y/N), I'm a human. Its's nice to meet you..?" "U-Uh, Cross, and same," he said. I shook his hand and continued flipping through the pages. 

It was a book on different Gods and their original AUs. The one about Nightmare and Dream was torn out, black marks along the remaining bits of the page. Nightmare...well, he had told me a little about himself, but he rarely ever  talked about his AU. He would only ever mention his mother, saying things like, 'Mother would've liked you,' and such. "You're trying to figure out stuff about the twins? Don't bother, the archives were destroyed long ago by that fucking maniac."

I turned to Cross, who was glaring at the book. "What do you mean?" "Dream...he's told me a bit about his AU. Some things about Nightmare, too. Turns out, he's just a huge asshole. Was then, is now, and will be." I felt myself start getting angry. He wasn't an asshole! Sure he had a rough exterior, but he was really caring when you got to know him! "What makes you think he's an asshole?" Cross scoffed and sat down, sitting backwards in the chair.

"Dream told me about his world, like I said. Basically, Nightmare and Dream were identical twins, at least physically. Nightmare spread FEAR and HATE all around the kingdom, making other's angry and hostile. He would push Dream away for days at a time and would never go play with any of the other kids. He was an evil little snot from the beginning. Then, he corrupted the only thing Dream was dead-set on: the Gold Apples,"

"He never said much about the apples, and he didn't elaborate, but he did say Nightmare turned them black and rotted them. He destroyed the tree they grew from and killed his own mother! He turned on the villagers and killed them all, he almost killed Dream, too! Long story short, he destroyed his world and drove his brother out. He's an insane, homicidal maniac who wants nothing but death and despair to fall on anyone he meets! No matter how nice he pretends to be. It's all just a plan to hurt you when you least expect it,"

"I would know- He tried to make me one of his demented, killer henchmen. Luckily, Dream saved me before I could be completely corrupted by him. He made me slaughter so many, destroy innocent monsters' homes...he's the true definition of evil, (Y/N). I can tell he's got you under his control, just by the way you speak. Don't let him corrupt your mind, too." Cross's words left me...speechless. Was...was Nightmare that bad? No...well... "Are you...sure? Maybe he just needs a friend who-"

"(Y/N), Nightmare told me himself; He's incapable of feeling any positive emotions." "N-No, you're wrong, he...he cares about me! We're friends, I..." Cross's face displayed pity, a look I was familiar with. "It's okay, (Y/N)," he said, putting his hand on my shoulder. I felt my lungs and eyes ache before starting to sob into my hands. Cross put his arm around me and pulled me into a hug. Was...he really just trying to get close to me to hurt me? ...I don't know anymore.

~Nightmare's POV~

I sighed and paced around the room, hearing Dream whine. He wasn't used to the darkness of my castle, much less the silence. "Dream, shut up." "Brother, I'm worried for (Y/N)! What is Praesent tries to mind control them or something?! Someone should be there, watching over them!" "They're perfectly capable of defending themself, Dream," I said, But were they? I sighed and sat down. "Brother, you know I can read your emotions, right? Go find them and protect them!"

I sighed as Dream's small hands tried to push me out of my room. "They're doing research on Praesent, Dream. I shouldn't disturb them." No matter how much I want to see them. "Brother, stop being such a sad sack and go see them!" I sighed in defeat and started walking, making Dream fall flat on his face. I walked towards the library, seeing some of the former Star Sanses glare or wince at my presence. I opened the door to the library and saw (Y/N) and...Cross.

"...he's the true definition of evil, (Y/N). I can tell he's got you under his control, just by the way you speak. Don't let him corrupt your mind, too," Cross said, his aura full of hate. (Y/N)'s aura, however, showed they didn't believe him, but that they were upset. That fucking- "Are you...sure? Maybe he just needs a friend who-" "(Y/N), Nightmare told me himself; He's incapable of feeling any positive emotions." (Y/N)'s face went pale, I could tell they were getting more upset. 

"N-No, you're wrong, he...he cares about me! We're friends, I..," they said. Their aura was pure dismay. As I was heading over, Cross touched them. My (Y/N). I felt rage consume my body, but then...then, (Y/N) started crying. Cross held them in his arms. No. No no no, I was supposed to comfort (Y/N), not him. I stormed over, my tendrils knocking over shelves and dispersing books  and papers everywhere. "You!" Cross yelled, letting go of (Y/N) and pulling out his blade.

I glared and shot my tentacle towards him, which he dodged. I grabbed shelves and books and pulled them back, hitting him a few times. He fell forward onto his knees, so I took my shot to kill him. I held his limbs down and grabbed his skull, smashing it into the ground. I pulled his head back up and, as I went to smash it down again, two warm hands held my arm. '(Y/N)' "Nightmare, c-cut it out!" I turned and saw how upset they looked.

Their beautiful features were marked with red spots from crying, while new tears rolled down their cheeks. I paused and released Cross, pulling my tentacles back towards me. He groaned and started getting up, but that's the least of my worries. Right now, I needed to comfort (Y/N). "(Y/N), are you alright?" They hesitated before shaking their head. "Can...can we talk, Nightmare?" 

Date: 10/01/22 19:39

Word Count: 1169