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nametakensff · 4 months ago

Note

Hellooooo! Pretty random one but just saw the list of prompts you shared. Could you do a combo of 100/82 for Billy!? 😅🫠 Thanks in advance 😆

Hey anon! Thank you for your patience, but I have finally finished this prompt! I hope you enjoy the following 4.3k of B/illy and E/ddie fighting and fucking ✨

(the prompts were 'spraying sneezes' and 'I can't hold it')

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Content:

M/M except they hate each other, E/ddie has the fetish, E/ddie gets off to his own sneezing, sneezing while hiding, sneezing from dust, spray, stifles, holding back someone else's sneezes, sneezing in someone's face, mentions of masturbation, dry humping, public sex, humiliation, degradation, mild voyeurism/exhibitionism, hate-fucking, holding back someone else's sneezes, B/illy is shameless

CW: No clear communication, abusive behaviour and language, aggressive and unexpected sexual activities without verbal consent (though both of them want it), some suppressed shame over the fetish, homophobic slurs, physical violence and fighting, physical restraint (E/ddie is pinned down), mentions of a drug deal, young men being fucking stupid and aggressive

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NSFW, minors please DNI!

And everyone PLEASE be aware of the CWs, this is not a wholesome fic and I'd hate for anyone to be upset ❤️

Eddie hated everything about this. Hiding in a stupid classroom supply closet when he’d rather be at home, playing guitar, or jerking off to unwind. Hiding in a stupid classroom supply closet with Billy Fucking Hargrove, of all people. Wedged together like a couple of cartoon characters, uncomfortably close. He only hoped that Billy understood he was as unhappy with the turn of events as he evidently was, making the occasional huff of displeasure and pressing a firm hand to Eddie’s chest to keep the distance between them as expansive as possible. It physically hurt, truth be told – Eddie’s back pressing uncomfortably up against something pointy – but he’d rather die than admit any discomfort to Billy.

A drug deal in the school building – stupid. Absolutely downright moronic, and yet he’d given in anyway. He didn’t feel like challenging Hargrove when he sauntered up to him in the hallway, not with that dangerous glint in his eyes. Most students would be at the basketball game after school, and Eddie would have normally had a D&D session to hold anyway, which he cancelled last minute. He could make an exception (“This one fucking time”, he had emphatically stated, to Billy’s responding sneer), give Billy the goods in an empty classroom and get the hell out of dodge. He hadn’t taken into account that the weird happenings all over Hawkins would result in increased after-hours security.

They’d seen the light of a torch before they’d heard any footsteps. Both had frozen as the sound of doors being opened, and the lights of classrooms being switched on, echoed out in the cavernous hallways. There had been an unspoken agreement that it would not do at all to be caught red-handed in a very illegal drug deal. Even if this dude wasn’t a cop, it wouldn’t stop him from calling them up. Eddie couldn’t stomach the thought of another evening in the shitty little station holding room, let alone with Billy as a cellmate. With the grace of stalking cats, they were in the closet in no time, delicately closing the door behind them.

It was dark in the closet but not pitch black. A barely operative bulb bathed them in a dim orange glow – they hadn’t noticed it from outside, so with any luck, security wouldn’t either. It was with the assistance of this dismal lighting that Eddie first noticed the delicate swirl of dust motes in the air, only seconds before his twitching nostrils did. Fuck.

Keeping his imminent sneezes quiet wouldn’t be a problem, at least for the short amount of time it would take for security to look over their classroom. Sneezing silently was something a lifetime of allergies had prepared him for, one way or the other. He considered reaching up to cover his face, maybe pinch his nostrils shut, but it was probably more effort than it was worth. He could stifle perfectly well hands free, and what if he ended up clumsily knocking into a shelf trying to reach his face? Nah.

More concerning than sneezing was the matter of getting hard. He could feel an active boner stirring, pants increasingly tighter, and he hadn’t even started to sneeze yet. He wondered if the fear of being caught and the subsequent adrenaline of it was somehow encouraging his traitorous cock. This too was manageable; he just had to make sure he didn’t touch dicks with Hargrove. Easy.

Moments later he took in one last little shaky breath and convulsed as gently as he could manage. The first sneeze was incredibly itchy, a fluttery, teasing little thing. The next six came relatively rapid-fire, completely silent – Eddie was sure they would have been entirely undetectable if he and Billy weren’t currently cuddled up closer than he had been to any girl in months. As it was, the subtle contract and release of his seizing muscles was apparently a dead give-away.

He felt Billy pressing him back even further, directly into whatever bastard object was digging into his back. The sudden shove of that strong hand on his chest effectively winded him; he exhaled involuntarily as it pressed on. Composure thrown, he barely had time to react as the tickle ground down on his sinuses especially hard, perhaps in retaliation, or as if seizing the opportunity to really cause havoc. He gasped audibly, chest expanding as far as it could against Billy’s hand, and started to sneeze again.

“Heh’Gxt! ND’t!! Hh’NDTt!! EH’NGXtt!!-chu…”

“Shut the fuck up.”

Eddie peered at him through fluttering eyelashes, shuddering at the menacing glint in Billy’s eyes. Fucking psychopath.

“I’m fucking trying, dipshit! Get the fuck off me, y-you’re-!”

Eddie trembled, face heating at the effort it took to wrangle the next three little sneezes into barely audible, nasal squeaks.

“Get OFF me-!” He whisper-shouted once he’d recovered. Billy looked at him with a simmering fury but eased the pressure of his hand on Eddie’s chest. They stared at each other with pure hatred, interrupted only by a few silent sneezes from Eddie that forced him to break eye contact.

“Fuckin’ disgusting.” Billy muttered, barely more than mouthed it, but all the same Eddie suppressed a shiver of rage – and, if he was being honest, intensely regrettable arousal. If Billy shifted his thigh just a little bit closer to his crotch, he was cooked.

For a couple of minutes longer, they stood and listened. The guy wasn’t getting any closer, and Eddie wondered if he’d found something incriminating in one of the nearby classrooms to slow him down. Whatever it was, the sure-fire trajectory of his course had changed and they were left waiting in silent suspense. Eddie's sneezing had ceased, for the meantime; he’d managed to quell the initial explosive response, which had left him with stuffy, burning sinuses and leaky, irritated eyes. It also meant he’d merely prolonged the reaction, and would no doubt be sneezing into his pillow later on when he was trying to sleep. He ground his teeth in irritation, ignoring the little twitch his dick gave at the thought of bed plus sneezing.

A distinctly wet sniffle cut through the silence, and for a moment Eddie thought it had come from him. When a second followed, he realised with surprise and a giddy, traitorous excitement that it was Billy. His eyes focused in on the guy’s face immediately, and through the dim light he could make out the unmistakeable agony of a pre-sneeze expression. An unbelievably desperate, unabashedly open twisting of features that somehow softened Billy’s face into something almost beatific.

Eddie wasn’t blind – he knew the guy was surface-level attractive, it had just never really occurred to him that he would ever be able to appreciate it - what with Billy being a total serial killer in the making. But as his face dropped, there was a vulnerability about him that was downright hypnotic. Even his dead eyes seemed to sparkle with surrender as the budding sneeze took hold, flaring his nostrils into perfect little circles. Eddie had a couple more moments of lustful appreciation before the abject panic seized him.

“Hargrove!” He hissed. “Hold it back!”

God, this was mortifying. Not only were they at very real risk of being found with drugs, huddled up against each other - Billy was probably going to sneeze in his face in this proximity. The thought of it made him dizzy with arousal as much as it made him despair. His dick was hard enough to hurt.

Billy didn’t seem to hear him, or at any rate wasn’t listening. To Eddie’s dismay, he inhaled a forebodingly shaky breath of preparation. Eddie could feel the tensing of his body in the cramped space. Billy’s hand had at some point migrated from its splayed position on his chest to gripping at the lapel of his leather jacket, and as he gasped again – a stupidly sexy sound that made Eddie’s dick twitch – his hold tightened. Eddie was irrevocably pinned.

“Fuck, man, I’m serious - you gotta hold it back!”

Billy’s hazy eyes fixed upon his own, and for a moment his expression tightened into a look of scorn, only slightly underscored by the perpetual sneeziness. Eddie shivered, feeling hot and cold all over.

“I can’t hold it, motherfucker. It’s a sneeze, you can’t control that shit.” He spat back, voice more of a stage whisper than a stuck-in-a-closet-about-to-be-discovered-with-drugs one. Compartmentalising the incredible hypocrisy to rage over later, Eddie frantically shushed him, and Billy bristled like an angry cat, hand yanking at Eddie’s lapel, and –

They both froze at the sound of the classroom door swinging open, the click of the light switch. The artificial light crept into the room under the closet door, and Eddie shuffled his foot away, timidly, as if being touched by the rays was enough to signal his concealment. Eddie’s heartbeat pounded in his ears; he turned to look at Billy and saw with no small amount of distress that he looked even closer to sneezing than before. Even as the security guy started to whistle and wind his way through the desks, a gentle gasp tore out of him.

With a grace and commitment he hadn’t been aware he possessed, Eddie grit his teeth and pulled his arms out of their cramped position. Knowing he was potentially signing his own death certificate, he paused for just a moment to take in the gorgeous sight of Billy’s violently expressive nostrils before pinching them closed with a thumb and forefinger, the opposite hand clamping firmly over Billy’s mouth.

If Billy had looked like he wanted to kill him before, the absolute daggers he shot at Eddie now made him wince. He held steady though, keeping both hands firmly in place, and was glad of it when he felt Billy’s lips parting under his hand, and felt the furious twitching of his nostrils as they fought against his grip. Billy’s cruel, piercing eyes were now mere slits of irritation, leaking tears that spilled down his face and onto Eddie’s skin.

Finally, they heard the guy making his way out of the room. He hadn’t even come close to the closet, for which Eddie thanked his god damn lucky stars. As those heavy footsteps echoed further and further down the hallway, Eddie started to relax – only to gasp in pain as Billy yanked his hands away by the wrists, squeezing hard enough to bruise, and slammed Eddie backwards again.

“If you EVER. Touch me like that again, you fucking freak-“ Billy all but growled at him, shaking Eddie emphatically. Eddie didn’t even have it in him to feel scared about anything other than the fact that Billy’s crotch was millimetres, perhaps 1/100th of a millimetre away from touching his own rock-hard dick.

“-trying to fucking s-hh-! Suffocate me?!”

Eddie’s ears perked up at the tiny little stutter, that sexy little mid-sentence hitch of breath. It seemed that Billy had temporarily quelled the urge to sneeze through all-encompassing rage, but its effects were now wearing thin.

“For your information,” Eddie started, and squirmed, trying to yank his wrists free, only to be slammed backwards once again. His forearms ached as they collided painfully with the metal shelving behind him. In an uncharacteristic moment of weakness, he wished very much he skipped gym a little less. He gathered himself and continued.

“I just saved our asses – so you’re fucking welcome, asshole.”

Billy slammed him again and Eddie hissed, starting to worry that security might be alerted by the clattering sound of objects falling to the ground. A much more pressing consequence of Billy’s mindless anger was the unearthing of even more dust. Eddie’s face was feeling so itchy at this point he simply wanted to remove the whole thing. There was no way he wasn’t gonna be sneezing himself breathless the moment he stepped into the shower at home.

Billy at once seemed to understand the regrettable commotion he had caused, tensing quite suddenly with a low muttered ‘fuck’ under his breath.

“You had enough? Gonna calm down now?” Eddie whispered, taking the chance to yank his wrists free, rolling his eyes in aggravation as Billy’s hands immediately returned once again to grip him by the lapels.

“Fuck, I need’ta sneeze…” Billy announced matter-of-factly.

Eddie blushed, all of his anger instantly converted into giddy expectancy. A wave of calm suffused him, quite suddenly. They ought to get the fuck out of here, before security doubled back and they’d missed their window of escape. That being said, they had a little time left, and Billy was still clinging to him like a lifeline, even as he started into a definitive build-up. As far as Eddie was concerned, he may as well enjoy what was inevitably about to happen, all prior anxiety and revulsion swallowed up by acceptance. He just hoped that as he stared openly at Billy’s crumpling face that he wasn’t sporting a total ‘come hither’ look.

“Keep it quiet.” Eddie said, feeling outrageously like a lover giving commands during sex, then blushing further at the thought.

Unbelievably, Billy nodded his head in understanding moments before his face dropped – mouth hanging slack, nostrils flared round and angry, eyebrows drawing upwards – and then everything drew tight as the first sneeze barrelled out of him and caught Eddie across his neck and jawline.

Eddie shuddered, entirely beyond his control, and managed to suppress a moan of pleasure into a grunt that one might easily interpret as disgust. He had just moments to replay in his mind the sound of the sneeze, the heady, spraying wetness of it, before Billy was lurching forward with another.

“Hgk’TSSCHHSSTTtt!!”

To Billy’s credit, they were relatively quiet – almost nothing vocal to them at all, just the pure audible wetness as they sprayed outwards through clenched teeth. In fact, they were remarkably wet – they doused Eddie in glittering clouds, twinkling delicately in the low-light of the exposed bulb. He was so turned on he could barely breathe.

“-Hhdt’TISSSSHhhh!!”

Eddie really couldn’t help but gasp at that one; whilst the previous few had caught his chest, neck and chin, this one was delivered squarely to his face – so perfectly he couldn’t help but think that Billy, the bastard, had actually aimed it that way. He should be disgusted, entirely so, but he wasn’t. He wanted it to happen again and again. His own hands, shaking at his sides, reached up and gripped Billy’s wrists, seeking support as his knees started to buckle.

He should use this opportunity to push Billy backwards and squeeze his way out of the closet – the blonde was so entirely absorbed in his endless sneezing that it wouldn’t have taken much effort at all. He should do that, but this was also one of the hottest things that had ever happened to him, pure masturbation fodder, and he was only human. He exhaled shakily as Billy sprayed him again, his lips wet with the droplets of each sneeze, like the sickest kind of kiss.

“Hht’TSSSHHH!! TSChHH!! Hah’TTISSSHHH!! TISHHH’u!!”

Eddie could feel him trembling with the effort as the fit progressed – could hear the way a vocal desperation leaked into each barely-suppressed eruption.

“Hh-HH! HHG’TSSSXSHTTtt!!”

Okay. As much as Eddie wanted to remain getting his sick little kicks, a moment of sense suffused him and he realised they really needed to move. That last sneeze – gorgeous, perfect, soaking wet – had also been about twice the volume of those preceding it. He could tell Billy was losing any ability to control them. As much as he would honestly love to watch that play out all over him, the party was over.

He squirmed towards the door, angling himself as best he could to shimmy the rest of the way out with Billy still clinging to his jacket. When he pushed it open, Billy seemed to come somewhat to his senses and followed, dropping his hands and allowing Eddie to pull him out by the forearm.

He dragged Billy the rest of the way out of the classroom and into the corridor – no sign of security – then nearly jumped out of his skin as Billy sneezed, entirely without restraint, catching the side of his face and causing the pair of them to stumble.

“aAEHHh’TSSSHHHH’Uuu!!”

The very rafters seemed to tremble with it, made all the more explosive by the relative emptiness of the building. It echoed, bounced off the walls in a way that would be comical if it wasn’t a) painfully erotic and b) about to get them caught. Eddie heard the pounding of those same heavy footsteps returning. He ran, yanking Billy along until the both of them were sprinting, bursting out of the building and into the parking lot, empty but for a few stragglers at the periphery waiting for the game to finish.

Eddie had run towards his van on auto, realising almost immediately how fucking stupid he was to stop there. He peered anxiously in the direction of the doors they’d emerged from, finally relaxing when it was apparent they hadn’t been followed. He exhaled a stupid little laugh, but then Billy, leaning one hand against the side of the van, sneezed again, and Eddie remembered he was hard and that everything about this was incredibly awkward. Now that he was out of the immediate line of fire and could think somewhat clearly, he kind of wanted to die of embarrassment, just a little. That didn’t, however, stop him from watching with unblinking eyes as Billy’s head reared back, nostrils twitching and flaring like crazy, preparing to sneeze magnificently.

“HHh’WRRSSSSCHhh!! HAHH’TSSSSHhhh!! HUH’DTTSSSHHH!! ‘DZZTSSSHHhh’uu!!”

He aimed these towards the ground, Eddie was happy to see. Not that he wasn’t literally counting down the seconds until he could drive home and cum to the thought of having his face sneezed on as he was pinned in place, but this way he could really appreciate every detail without reflexively closing his eyes.

Each sneeze tossed Billy forward with such force Eddie was sure he would have fallen, if not for the arm he braced against the van. They burst out of him in huge clouds of spray, the initial, heavier droplets spattering the dusty ground before the finer aerosol dissipated into the surrounding air. Eddie shuddered to remember those smaller sneezes from earlier settling on his face; the thought of directly receiving an even bigger, wetter one made his knees feel weak.

Billy pulled himself up to full height, shaking his hair back over his shoulders and beaming with an indulgent look of total satisfaction. He licked his lips clean, shiny as they were with the residual spray of his sneezing, and beamed at Eddie with a look that appeared practically post-orgasmic. It was fucking shameless. Totally sick. Eddie’s dick throbbed so hard he gasped with it. Billy smirked.

“Enjoy the show, Fag?” he drawled, looking pointedly at Eddie’s crotch.

Eddie flushed, feeling hot with shame. So he had noticed, at some point or other, that Eddie had been hard. What’s more, he’d clearly sussed that it had something to do with his sneezing. He turned his eyes away from Billy’s face, considering finding a really tall building to throw himself off of – when, as his eyes darted to the ground, he caught sight of something he couldn’t quite believe. His eyes glanced up gingerly, tentatively, to Billy’s crotch, and – yep. That sure was a fucking boner, even more obvious in Billy’s tight blue Levi’s than Eddie’s baggier black jeans. Against his better judgement, heart pounding in his chest, he smirked right on back.

“Yeah. Maybe I did. Sure takes a fag to fucking know one, blondie.” His eyes flicked down suggestively with the taunt.

He’d known he was playing with fire, but the speed with which Billy came at him was alarming – he didn’t have time to move entirely out of the way, the punch catching his shoulder with a heavy thud. Stupid with adrenaline, Eddie lunged back, pushing Billy backwards until he nearly came unbalanced. He’d been hoping to trip him, get him on his back and beat the living shit out of him, but Billy was clearly just as worked up. He grabbed Eddie round the middle, almost throwing him backwards and into the side of his van, which hurt like fucking hell.

Scrambling for purchase, Eddie managed to dodge another punch before it landed on his face, catching his collarbone in an eruption of pain. Pissed off beyond belief, he kicked Billy in the shin, hard enough that he went down on one knee, then kicked him in the stomach. He raised a balled up fist to swing a punch, but before he could even process what had happened, he was slammed down onto his back, staring up with shock at the starry night sky. He realised with dismay that Billy had grabbed his kicking leg and thrown him to the floor in response.

Billy was suddenly crawling on top of him, pinning his arms above his head by the wrists. Eddie bucked wildly, furiously in response, but then Billy pressed his rock-hard dick up against Eddie’s and started to rut. Even through their clothes it felt amazing; Eddie couldn’t hold back the groan that came from deep within his throat, bucking back up and into Billy for all he was worth, not believing it was happening but unable to stop. He looked up at Billy, regarding the fierce look of pleasured concentration on his face. They locked eyes for a moment, a mutual and confused look of need mirrored in one another, before Billy shifted his hips, and that angle was even better.

“Fuck, Fuck, what the fuck, oh god-“ Eddie mumbled in an uncontrollable stream of expletives, body jerking as he ground back against Billy Fucking Hargrove, realising with both horror and excitement he was about to have an orgasm right there on the ground, in the middle of the parking lot where anyone could find them. He watched Billy, unexpectedly flattered to see him staring back down at him with an intense look of pleasure on his face. And then, as if in the wettest of all of his dreams, that expression shifted to – Oh god. Fuck. Shit.

Billy held that expression, that tortured, beautiful pre-sneeze agony for a split second before he sneezed again - an uncontrollable explosion that jerked his shoulders downwards, showering Eddie with the full force of it.

“HAHHD’TSSSSSSHHHTttt!!!”

Eddie’s hips jerked uncontrollably, a sharp gasp tearing out of his throat as he felt the wet slap of it across his face. The droplets went everywhere – in his hair, on his face and neck, some into his open mouth. He orgasmed violently, brain going blank as the pleasure overwhelmed him in ripples of ecstasy. The heels of his sneakers dug into the ground, his toes curling and legs shaking as he came apart entirely.

“Ohhh, fuck!! Ohh my god, ahh!!” He could hear himself groaning, uncontrollably, shocked by the intensity of his body’s reaction.

As the orgasm started to fade – what felt like an endless ecstasy packed into seconds – he hissed at the feeling of Billy bearing down on him, pushing his wrists painfully into the ground. He looked up at him, ready to try and push him off if he was looking to fight again when he was cut off by Billy’s own climax. He watched Billy’s face twist in pleasure, even prettier in orgasm than he might have expected, grunting softly as his hips ground definitively into Eddie’s pelvis. It was hot enough that his flagging erection twitched appreciatively against Billy’s spasming dick, despite himself.

When Billy went limp, loosening his grip on Eddie’s wrists and sagging forward, almost lying on top of him, Eddie went rigid. Head somewhat cleared by his orgasm, he was suddenly very fucking aware that Hargrove was not unlike a wild animal of sorts. Unpredictable, ready to pounce at any second – perhaps more so now that the need to cum wasn’t an all pervasive driving force. He lay on his back, body thrumming in the afterglow, and patiently waited for Billy to move.

Billy did sit back, releasing Eddie’s arms, but instead of immediately getting up, he sat there, half on Eddie’s hips and leaving him, once again, uncomfortably pinned. It was one moment later that Billy tensed, gasped, and sneezed again, undeniably aiming it towards Eddie. It splattered over his chest, the wettest sneeze of the evening, leaving Eddie’s shirt clinging to his skin. He moaned, the sound of it stupidly pornographic, then squeezed his eyes shut in total humiliation as Billy snickered at him, mocking and cruel.

“Tell anyone about this,” Billy said, and Eddie felt the pressure leave his hip. He heard the sound of Billy’s boots crunching into the gravel on either side of his head. “And even your trailer-trash uncle won’t be able to identify your body.”

Eddie opened his eyes once he’d heard the familiar roaring sound of Billy’s Camaro peeling out of the parking lot. He stared up at the sky until he heard approaching voices, then got up and got into his van. He tried to make sense of it all as his engine roared to life – did Billy also like guys? Did this mean Billy was attracted to him? Was that how psychos confessed their feelings? Did he really just have fully-clothed sex on the ground of a high school parking lot, with a dude? Nope. It was too much to think about right now. He needed to get home and take his antihistamines. He needed to shower away not only the dust from the closet, but the jizz now drying uncomfortably in his pubic hair, and Hargrove’s fucking sneeze spray.

He blinked hard, shaking his head. This was definitely something to unpack at a later time – preferably once he’d orgasmed to the memory of it enough times it no longer made him rock-hard just thinking about it. And judging by the way his traitorous cock was already starting to perk up as he pulled onto the road, that was gonna take a while.

#s/tranger t/hings #nametakenfic #sneeze fic #sneeze fucker #snz fucker #snz kink #sneeze kink #snz fet #snzblr #Mm. This one went some weird places and I was like...am I okay. but yes I am!!

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spotaus · 7 months ago

Text

New Age AU (Obtaining Killer)

Hey guys! Through with a bot of stuff for the day and I have a sneaking suspicion that this stress headache will not leave me until I finish some projects for work, so I *may* be m.i.a. for a hot second until they stop.

In the meantime, I want to drop this! (Unedited, unrefined, raw off the slab style)

Andddd @ancha-aus and @papiliovolens ! Hello! (Mutzelputz if u see this, the tags weren't working for some reason, I apologize.)

Hope y'all enjoy!

Ccino had convinced him to leave the castle. After nearly a year had passed since his last true public appearance. Since he'd stolen the apple from his brother. Nine months had passed since he'd sent Dream away. He tried not to think about it.

Nightmare had been finding out a lot about his magic. How it made him jittery, and how he felt like he understood so much more. How it made him deeply paranoid, quick to react.

How it made people listen to him.

He figured it was because he was scary now. The negative magic condensed over every inch of his bone wasn't exactly appealing, and the extra limbs which had sprouted from his spine now acted like his own personal weapons. If someone didn't listen, didn't give him an answer he liked, the limbs moved without him even thinking.

It had taken time to learn to better control them. Even now, they writhed in his wake. His nerves expressed through their lashing and twitching as they hovered just above the ground.

The streets weren't exactly crowded.

Upon word of the King's arrival to this small providence, Nightmare had found that many people fled from his path. His travel party of several soldiers, and himself on horseback. He'd always wanted to ride horses. The traitor twin was someone that every citizen wished to avoid.

Ccino had coaxed him outside with promises of fresh air. Apparently there were promising young members of the city guard that Ccino swore would be wonderful future knights. Young warriors for him to bring up loyally under his name, no fear of betrayal.

It had made sense, at the time, but Nightmare hadn't chosen to recruit any of them.

It wasn't to say he didn't want to. Several of the humans and monsters were very talented, and he did his best to give them praise, but he could tell. None of them wanted to work under him. They didn't like him. Rejection and hatred that had pierced him immediately, he could practically taste it.

Ultimately, they would do better here in their hometown. A place they were passionate about protecting, and with people they cared for. Night would not try to mold promising soldiers into his perfect guard. No matter how smart of an idea it may have been.

And so he'd moved on.

Night had visited several smaller shops, onces which couldn't afford to refuse him, and he bought some fabrics, a trinket, some small thing from each place he stopped by. He payed exactly the price he needed for each thing. He wouldn't bribe his people, either. The best he could do would be to remain neutral.

He did discover, against all odds, that he was enjoying this day out. Ccino was, in fact, usually correct about this sort of thing.

The travel had been enriching. Almost exciting. He'd never gotten out of the castle much at all, this was all new and excitingly mundane.

Good things do not last forever.

It was almost sunset when he noticed it. Torches being set up, a platform prepared. A crowd gathering.

An execution, came the mutter from one of his soldiers. Though he recognized the set-up, Night had never been in attendance to an execution. He was morbidly curious. The crowd held such a contempt. A broiling hunger for blood.

He wished he'd wheeled his horse away when a few people were ushered out of a nearby building.

The prison, maybe?

There weren't many of them. Nightmare dismounted his steed, and much to the dismay of the soldiers at his side, he found himself sinking. Into the growing shadows cast by the dying sun.

He re-emerged beside the stage, where the few people were lined up. Ready for death by hanging.

That trick wasn't one that Nightmare quite understood yet, but he was always drawn to feelings of intense negativity. He knew that, now. Something about these prisoners were bothering him, even at a distance, and he found himself more curious as he stood before them.

His guards, at the back of the crowd, hadn't seemed to figure out where he had gone. He had the time, now, to loom over the small group of prisoners.

The city guards, the trained ones, had likely seen him earlier at their headquarters. They did not speak even a word against him as he stared.

Nightmare stared at these faces.

A dog monster, scrappy and scarred, black fur clashing against a few patches of white. One of her ears was missing.

A pair of humans, both men, one with long, curly red hair and another with short-cropped red hair and the beginnings of a beard. Maybe they were brothers?

A skeleton. His sockets dripped with black magic, and his soul was a piercing crimson, just infront of his chest.

A flame monster, small and stout. Their flames a flickering green and purple. One of their eyes had a patch over it.

Nightmare was not great at determining emotions yet. He was hardly versed in his own feelings, but there had been improvement recently. Understanding new emotions had been coming more naturally to him.

Sometimes it hurt, but he was learning.

Now, past the blossoms of a headache, he felt a bit baffled as he subconsciously picked through the negativity these monsters exuded. Their fear. Their pain. Their loss, and their anger.

Oh.

"Only one of you is guilty."

He'd said it without thinking, practically announcing it with a voice that still felt unnaturally deep. A voice which rattled his ribcage and seemed to force past the barrier of darkness around him.

The group before him seemed startled. Confused.

Well, all but the skeleton, who seemed to only raise his skull slightly. As though just noticing Nightmare was there.

"How could you have possibly been jailed in the first place?" He muttered a bit quieter to himself.

He knew, deep down, that there were many, many rules in place for situations like this. Laws which he could challenge. People he could speak to. He could appoint members of his court to each of these people and try to earn their innocence through the rites of the law.

Then again, he remembered the rage of the crowd. The frustration of the people waiting to see these killings take place.

He didn't know what to do.

Now the prisoners, especially the two humans, were staring at him hopefully. He'd managed to shatter the negativity a bit. He believed them. He knew this was wrong.

"I don't know..."

The mutter came again unprompted.

These people would not have the means to repay him for his help. He couldn't just waive fees, or risk his court turning against him. He couldn't afford enemies being made so close to his inner circle.

He couldn't just leave them, though. Not after he'd seen the injustice of it all.

Stuck in his own thoughts, he was drawn out of it by a snickering laugh.

"Just set them free." A voice followed, "You are our King, aren't you?"

Nightmare then found his eyes drawn to the skeleton.

The others had eased themselves away from him. He stood, now, almost alone. He seemed unbothered by speaking up, his sockets held in an almost lazy posture. Tension going completely un-held.

He grinned up as the King, and seemed to watch contentedly as the thought settled in Nightmare's skull.

He could do that. Simply waive their charges. Pardon them. He could do that, surely. Many royals had done it before him for less certain terms. His mother had plenty of times.

"And you are guilty. You'll still be hanged. You know this, don't you?" Nightmare asked.

That was when the Skeleton's lazy sockets seemed to tighten with a sort of glee. Some hidden joke Nightmare wasn't privy to.

"Hmm." This was a poor choice. This was a bad decision. "Tell me, quickly, how you came to be here. Before I proceed?"

Nightmare didn't know why he was asking. He was... curious. Just like he had always been.

Very few people would ever speak straight to his face. Ccino, that was the only one who'd done it since his change. Since the prophecy. This skeleton had done it. He'd spoken when no one else could muster even a plea.

The silence he seemed to bring to every room. Broken, just briefly.

The skeleton stared at him a moment.

"Name's Killer, your majesty." The tone was mocking. "A while back a buddy of mine got into hot water, and I decided to help them out. Now, plenty of bodies later, I'm the one stuck on death row."

Simple. An admission of guilt.

Nightmare stared at him some more.

Finally, it seemed his frantic guards had noticed him. Found him. They rushed to his side, though not as fast as he would've liked. He could feel the frustration seeping from each armored body around him.

"You don't have an aversion to it," Nightmare voiced, "Killing, I mean."

Killer nodded. Unashamed.

It felt strangely calm, still. Perhaps it was because the crowd was still chattering. They likely hadn't noticed Nightmare at all.

The king turned to the city guard, still stood on the steps. "Free these four people. My judgement decrees them as not-guilty."

And, before any time could pass in the slightest. "Killer, I would like you to accompany me, before you abscond."

He'd noticed it. Killer had undone his cuffs before their conversation. Completely freeing himself from his weak imprisonment.

Killer seemed amused at the concept of sticking around to chat.

"If you would, I would like to recruit your services at my castle. I need a man who is willing to kill. And kill swiftly." Ccino said to establish an image. It was obvious now that his reputation would remain in the gutter, no matter what choices he made. He was not Dream.

Killer's sockets narrowed.

"And what would I get for being your little hunting dog?" Again, it was bold. It was new.

Nightmare was sure his expression hadn't changed since he'd come before the group. That same angry glare that sat permanently along his skull. The magic had an image to project.

His tendrils flicked, slightly.

"Payment, room, Fresh meals, and any other amenities you may like, so long as it does not break our treasury." He replied, "All I ask is that you simply obey me. And Me alone."

Not true. He'd probably ask for him to listen to Ccino as well. Once he knew for certain he'd stay.

Killer seemed to be thinking. He eyed they king, up and down. He looked to each of the guard around the king. The ones who were back in position now, though Nightmare could feel their annoyance. Their confusion.

Then Killer turned.

Then he turned back.

"Mm. Can't be worse than the ol' noose." Killer replied. "Funny way to run a country, my king. Hiring the first murderer you spot?"

Nightmare didn't humor that with a response. He was honestly shocked the skeleton had even agreed.

Though, all of that negativity had been swapped out for a glee. Something deep in Killer had changed during their brief interaction. A hope. Night could barely grasp the edges of its existence with his subconscious. But it was there.

He ignored the crowds as they grew confused. He ignored the worry pouring from the criminals as he had them released and informed them of their pardon.

He did not ignore when his guards told someone to keep their distance. He glanced up. Killer was standing beyond the guards, looking bored.

Nightmare, trusting fool he was, didn't even ask a guard to watch him to ensure he stayed put.

"Stand down." He ordered the guard, who begrudgingly allowed the skeleton to smugly slip past.

His tendrils kept the monster at a distance Night preferred all on their own. He seemed to take the hint.

"They're all gonna be dead by morning, you know." Killer voiced easily.

Nightmare turned to him, confused. What did he mean by that? He'd pardoned them?

"Are you deaf? The crowd wanted us dead, especially me." He chuckled, "Leaving them here is definitely going to get them killed. If the crowd doesn't rip them apart the second you leave, then it'll happen at night. There will be no witnesses."

Oh... Night hadn't fathomed that these people could turn on the innocent once declared. It hadn't even crossed his mind. Did they have a home to return to? A family they put at risk?

The noose was a fast death, but being murdered? That would've been so much worse.

He could tell, by the way they evaded looking at Killer, that he was right. Nightmare would be sentencing them to a new sort of death if he did it like this.

But he didn't have time for a trial. Or several. The sun was going down, abd Ccino expected him back. The castle needed him present, or they might revolt.

Someone might hurt Ccino.

Oh, he was such a poor ruler. He did not know his people well enough. How he lamented the lessons Dream had taken about crowds and current issues abd how to be likeable.

Night didn't know how to handle this. He was still learning!

A trembled in his hand. He tucked the limb quickly away from where it had been lightly clutching his tunics thick fabric, now hiding it beneath his cloak.

"Killer is right. It won't be safe here, for any of you." He spoke. Thank the gods it didn't sound as shaken as he felt. "I extend an offer to you all. You may stay here, or you may come take up positions among my staff back at the castle. Unlike Killer, I do not expect any crime from you, but you will be paid and housed."

The offer was met with a roar of frustration from the crowd, Nightmare chose to allow his guards to handle it. He watched, carefully, as the four looked between eachother.

The brothers agreed first. (They introduced themselves as brothers as they knelt in thanks.) Then the Dog. She said she had no family left to watch over, starting a new life would be for the best.

The flame refused, saying they would leave town by morning, and try to stay safe.

And so, Nightmare left the town with four new party members. Each had been provided a horse, each tied to one of the guards. Aside from Killer, whose steed was held personally by Nightmare.

He figured Ccino would chew him out for this, for bringing criminals into the castle when he was sent to collect soldiers, but Nightmare had a good feeling about these ones.

They did not hate him. Or fear him. He was helping them. And it felt good.

#hoping this posts. i put it into drafts first...#new age au #Night is a little poorly written here. but I promise it's intentional.#i love making the narration feel just as displaced as the character it's followinh #also. might write smth for Killer's pov of this because I can promise you #90% of it is “this loser has no clue what the fuck he”#'s doing“#in a mix of awe and amusement #and he 100% started with ulterior motives and ended up having a change of heart because of the whole #him sensing vaguely that Night was a weird paranoid kid still #OH #and that odd bit in the middle where Night is doing stuff isn't fleshed out very well #but it's meant to be a show of Night making sure his presence is known + gauging how people react to him being perfectly normal #and more importantly #he lost track of his plans. he's actually not supposed to be doing that. he's still a kid and he wanted to explore!#mm #okay #one more note #Nightmare takes those people back with him right? his castle staff is like 20% people from before and 80% people he freed from #unlawful situations or took in when they had nothing #the public sees it as him taking in shifty #evil criminals. but really? these people look up to nightmare because they were at their lowest and now have stable lives + homes and even #families sometimes #it's just cool #inside the castle is a lot safer than outside #even tho Ccino is still the only one who prepares Night's meals I think a good hunk of the staff would maul anyone they found w/ poison in a #mile radius of the kitchen.#raughhhh #okay fr last thing #I love Killer :] Him being the first is so important to me and I think he deserves the happiness ever

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