Breakfast

Breakfast

A Mermay Prompt

(Note: this is me talking to my old self. I’m projecting myself into these characters and I’m addressing no one specifically. Take it how you will, I hope you enjoy)

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Growl.

“Y/n.”

Embarrassed at the loud noise your stomach just made, you curled into yourself.

Cross glared at you disapprovingly. “Have you eaten anything this morning?”

You could lie. You could lie with such ease. But he would never believe you. Not after that very obvious sound. Your stomach growled again.

Your companion sighed. “You can’t be skipping meals like that. Especially when you’re using up so much energy. What if you got attacked again? Would you even have enough strength to fight back? Defend yourself? Or even call for help?” His voice raised in volume as he got more and more carried away in his rant.

“It won’t happen again.” You grumbled, arms crossed over your knees.

All the righteous anger was suddenly gone and Cross scooted closer to you. “Y/n. I’m not angry at you for not eating. I-…” He glanced back into the water, checking to make sure no one else was listening, before turning pleading eyes back to you. “I’m scared. It’s terrifying. I… I don’t want to lose you, and I know it seems dumb to you. ‘It’s just a few meals, it’s not a big deal. You’re overreacting.’ And yeah, I kinda feel stupid feeling this strongly about it, but,” His hand rested on your knee. “I care about you. I always will. And if something is hurting you, whether now or in the long run, I feel this painfully crushing need to fix it. To heal you, and make you feel better. And if I can’t, I feel like my soul will tear itself in two trying to find a way.” His eyes held pain and truth.

“Oh.”

He smiled at you. “Yeah. Sorry. That was a lot.”

You were lost. And slightly upset but that was fading. It wasn’t that big a deal but he seemed so upset by it. Why would he even care?

“Y’know what, I have an idea.” Cross started again. “There are a few food places near the docks, right?” Nod. “I’ve been wanting to try some of y’all’s food and since your stomach is already rebelling, do you think you could grab something for us to share? I won’t be far, and you won’t have to eat it all if you don’t want to. Do you think that’d be fair?” He gave you a hopeful look.

Dang it, he was using those puppy dog eyes again. There were a few good places by the docks that would be open this early.

“Uh. I can do that.” You shrugged. He needed to eat too. Probably a whole lot more than you. “But, what do you want? There are a few options.”

He shrugged back at you. “Whatever you come across first, I guess. I haven’t actually had legger food.”

“People food.” You corrected.

“Am I not a people?” He teased.

“Nah.” You shot back easily. “You’s a fish.”

“Excuse me!?!” His tail splash violently in the water as you laughed. “I am not a fish! Oh my stars! Go! Go get me food, you little urchin!” He shooed you back up the path to your car.

You… did get food from the first open place you saw. It just wasn’t breakfast food. You didn’t know why they were open this early and the cafẽ wasn’t.

“Ooooh! What is it? It smells good!” Cross looks like an excited puppy whose owner just got home. Waves crashed around him with the force of his tail tossing back and forth.

“It’s called pizza. I’m not sure if you should even eat this.” You admitted.

He tilted his head at you. “Do you eat it?”

“Well, yeah…”

“Then I’m sure it’s fine! I mean, my stomach’s pretty strong and I don’t see you living on a diet of fish.”

“Ugh. Fine. But if you eat too much and get a stomach ache, it’s your own fault.”

“Good.”

You opened the box and handed him a slice before taking your own. It had been a while since you’d eaten out. And he was right. It smelled amazing. You bit into your pizza savoring the taste. Correction: it was amazing.

Out of curiosity, you spared a glance at Cross and nearly choked. His duel-colored eyes were blown wide and his mouth hung slightly open in shock, the pizza sitting on his… tongue.(Skeletons had tongues?) His stunned, love-struck expression was topped off with tears in his eyes.

Once you swallowed your food without choking again, you spoke. “Are you crying?”

His wide eyes focused on you. Remembering himself, Cross chewed and swallowed his pizza before answering. “Am I what?”

“Crying.”

He looked confused. “What’s that?”

If you had food in your mouth, you would have choked again. “I- You- What??”

“What’s crying?”

“Yeah, I heard you the first time! What do you mean ‘What’s crying?!?’ You’re crying right now!!”

“I am?”

“YES?!?!”

“Uh…” He looked down at his hands and pat himself down as if searching for something. “…What exactly does that mean?”

“Ugh!” You pushed yourself to your feet and strode up to him. Reaching up, you gently wiped a tear off his cheek to show him. “This is a tear. Tears come out of your eyes when you cry. Crying can happen when you’re sad, hurt, or even happy. I assume these are happy tears?”

His looked at the tear and reached up, feeling the other tears on his face. “Oh. Yeah, I think it’s happy. I didn’t know I could do that. I guess those would normally get swept away by the ocean.”

“Oh. That makes sense actually.”

His gaze didn’t leave your hand as he slowly reached down and cupped your hand in his own. “Is that why my eyes would hurt when I…” He locked eyes with you and suddenly pulled away. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have grabbed you.”

You shrugged. “It’s okay. I don’t mind.”

“You’re so small.” He grinned down at you, proving just how much height he had on you and effectively changing the subject.

You huffed. “I am not small! Oh my stars, Cross! You’re just huge! It’s not a fair comparison!”

He chuckled. “What would be a good comparison?”

Killer. “Someone normal sized. Your butt takes up the entire beach.”

“And yet there’s still room for your tiny butt.” He teased.

“That’s it!!! No more pizza!!! I’m eating the rest and you can’t have any!!!”

“Wait! No! I’m sorry! Y/n! No!”

Mermaid bean? And reactions of the bad Sanses perhaps?

Ooooooooh! I’ve been meaning to draw this one!

Masterlist

I kinda turned it into its own au…

And then Killer named her Bubble.

being an artist is having both a superiority and inferiority complex

Judgement

With Dust

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“Dust?” You asked. He stopped just as he passed you in the hall. He didn’t turn to look at you but seemed like he was in a hurry. “Where are you-?”

“Stay with Horror.” He commanded roughly. “He’s in the kitchen. Don’t leave him.” He started marching down the hall again.

“Wait, is something wrong? Aaaand you’re gone. Nevermind.” You huffed and started towards the kitchen. Maybe Horror needed help? Or he was having another episode? But ‘don’t leave him’ implied that if that were the case, Nightmare would have been called instead. Unless Dust thought you would do better? Just in case, your pace sped up.

You rounded the corner into the kitchen. “Horror, are you okay?” Your slightly panicked state blurting out the first thing that came to mind.

Horror looked up from the stove where he was currently making macaroni and chicken nuggets, Killer’s favorite. In his hand was a wooden spoon, his grin was casual, and him eyelight focused on you in recognition. His brows furrowed as he processed your question.

“Mm… yeah? Are… you okay?” He shot back at you. “You’re… stiff.”

You sighed. “I thought… I don’t know. Dust said to come find you and not leave you. I don’t know what I was thinking.” Definitely not that he was biting into Nightmare’s limbs again. Nope. Not that.

The grin on Horror’s face widened. “You thought… I was feral… again.” He chuckled.

You sputtered. “I-! Horror-!”

“Nah.” He interrupted before you could deny his claim. “It’s… fine. You weren’t… hurt. That’s… important.” He turned back to the stove.

Awkwardly, you shuffled over to peer over his shoulder at the food. You took note of the salt and pepper shakers nearby. “Soooo… do you know where Dust went?” You hoped he wasn’t mad at you after the other day. Your arm was still dramatically swaddled in bandages that itched. You couldn’t come up with a good reason for him to be mad at you, he had looked rather upset with himself actually, but that didn’t stop you from speculating. Was it the knife? Had that set him off more than you thought? Was he avoiding you because you’d reminded him of his past?

“Dust? He went… on a mission. Took Killer… and Cross. He’ll be back… later.” Horror shrugged. The wooden spoon was tapped on the side of the pot and set down before Horror turned to face you.

“Oh.” That made sense. They had things to do and couldn’t afford to carry you around like the dead weight you were. Really, you’d only slow them down. Though, Dust seemed rough when he talked to you. Maybe it still had something to do with you.

“Y/n.”

Your attention snapped to Horror as you realized you’d spaced out. He looked concerned.

“What is it?” He asked slowly.

“I…” I’m fine. It’s nothing. I’m sorry, I just spaced out for a second there. I’m fine, really. “I don’t know. Dust was… rough when he left. I… Do… Do you think he’s mad at me? For the other day? I didn’t mean to scare him. I just… I didn’t know.” You shrank under the taller skeleton’s gaze and looked at your feet. “I’m sorry.”

A chuckle shocked you as Horror turned back to the food. “Dust isn’t… mad.” He stirred the noodles again before seeming to approve the consistency and walked the pot to the sink. You helped him scrape the noodles into the strainer-“Colander.”-colander with the wooden spoon and he dropped a stick of butter into the still hot pot.

“It’s called a colander?” You peeked into the sink.

“Yeah.” Horror tapped the bowl. “Strainer’s the thing… with wires. Better for… sifting flour. Not noodles.” He chuckled at you as the timer on the stove went off. You handed him the oven mitts and stepped back.

“…You’re sure Dust isn’t mad?”

Horror’s laugh echoed through the castle. “Yes! Have you seen… Dust angry? He doesn’t… beat… around the… bush.” He set the tray of chicken nuggets on the stove and turned the over off. “If he… was mad… everyone would know. Especially you… But he’s not… mad. Not… at you.” That last sentence sounded like an afterthought.

“…What do you mean? Not at me? Who’s he mad at?” You questioned.

Horror shook his head. “Not… important. Dust can tell you… later. Here.” He handed the spoon to you and picked up the stra- colander. With your help, he carefully poured the macaroni noodles back into the pot.

You dropped the topic of Dust at the promise of information later. That didn’t stop you from worrying but now you were content to wait.

Lunch was eaten, Nightmare came out just long enough to eat before dismissing himself back to his office, and you and Horror were watching a movie in the living room when Cross’s portal opened in the hallway. You bounded off the couch to peek around the corner at them, Horror giggling at you. Someone you didn’t recognize was talking.

“-come b-b-back for th-that favor-or-or l-later, a-abomination. D-D-Don’t forge-get that.” Growled a voice that glitched terribly.

You looked around the corner where Cross stood over a panting Killer, who was splayed across the floor and dripping hate. Dust was still on the other side of the portal, talking to someone out of sight.

“I won’t.” Dust answered, curt but not rude. With the conversation apparently done, Dust entered the castle as the portal shut behind him. He kicked Killer softly. “You good?”

“I hate you.” Killer groaned back.

“Anything new?”

“Shut up. Let me die.”

Cross chuckled, turned away from the two, and saw you in the doorway. “Hey, y/n. Wassup?” Killer groaned.

You glanced between the three skeletons. “Uhh… Hi? What did you do to Killer?”

Dust grinned and kicked Killer again. “Nothing.”

“Stop.” Killer complained.

Cross laughed at the beaten skeleton. “Killer just took on an entire au by himself. He’ll be fine.”

That didn’t calm you at all. “What?! Killer are you okay?!?” You rushed to his side. He had hundreds of cuts, big and small, and several forming bruises. At least, from what you could see. No doubt there was more damage under his clothes.

He grinned weakly at you. “Aw. You’re concerned for lil ol’ me? I’m flattered, kiddo. You can blame Dust for the, well, dust. It was his idea.” His head lifted to look at Dust. “Are you done with me now?”

Dust folded his arms and looked at Cross, who shrugged. “Yeah, sure. Go get yourself cleaned up, Killer.”

Cross helped Killer to his feet and headed towards the infirmary. You took a step after them but stopped when you glanced over your shoulder at Dust. He stood with his hands in his pockets, watching you, waiting for you to make a decision on who to follow.

You stepped back. “Dust.”

“Y/n.” He nodded. “I assume you have questions.”

“Yeah.”

“Shoot.”

You rocked on your heels. “Uh, what exactly did you do today?”

“Destroyed an au.”

That made you freeze for a second. “…uhhhhhh… well, um, how’d you do that? Doesn’t Nightmare try not to destroy whole worlds?”

“I called in a favor with a… friend. And I got Nightmare’s permission for that.” Dust’s nonchalant attitude had you at a loss for words. He sighed. “Look, I called in a favor but it came with conditions, Cross had to be transport cause my ‘friend’ wasn’t going to taxi me and Killer around. Basically, if I didn’t let anyone touch him and offered him a favor later, he’d help us completely destroy Lustswap. As it turns out, it was some sort of multiversal traffic hub. Bastards. I had Killer clear them out ‘cause,” He gave your arm a pointed look. “he needed to fix a mistake. Me and Cross stayed back to guard Er- my friend. That’s why Killer’s so messed up. That make sense to you?”

Your thoughts were racing. He helped destroy a whole au, made Killer do most of it, and Cross was a taxi? No, wait, he didn’t say that. “I… you… Why?” Was all you could get out.

Dust raised a brow. “Why what?”

“…Why’d you destroy it? I don’t understand… I mean, I’m… relieved… that it’s gone but… why?”

“Y/n. We did it for you.” You froze. “Did… Did you think it wasn’t for you? That we just randomly lashed out at one au specifically?”

You fumbled for your words. “Why?”

Dust’s face scrunched up in concern. “We… Y/n, we love you. You’re family. Why wouldn’t we?”

We love you.

You’re family.

…Family.

Dust hugged you, startling you from your thoughts. You found your voice. “I don’t deserve it. Your love.”

A rumbling growl came from the skeleton. “You shut up. You’re not allowed to talk bad about yourself, you hear me? No bad talk, no judging. That’s not your job.” He squeezed you gently. “It’s mine.”

You hugged him back. There was silence for a few minutes before you spoke. “…Thank you.”

“No problem, kiddo.”

I did not mean to only have this up for a day…

Ayo???

Omg…

I even caught it on the exact mark…

100 followers…

I… I’m flabbergasted*…

Thank you guys.

It’s been a long ride, and there have been many bumps along the way, but y’all stuck around through it and we made it to the other side.

Y’all have changed my life for the better and for that, I thank you.

I want to do something special for hitting this mark but I’m not sure what…

Again, if you’ve made it this far, thank you so much for 100 followers! I could not have done it on my own, and you all made my day!

Thank you!

*flabbergasted is brought to you by viewers like you

Dwelling/House

A Mermay Prompt

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You lived alone. No roommates. No family members. No one to notice if you went back to the beach. Again.

Your gear was already packed in the car ready to go. You kinda left it there after meeting that siren, the shock numbing your mind enough to just head to bed and pass out.

But oddly enough, despite your lingering fear, you longed to go back and see him again.

So you grabbed your keys.

The drive there was short, you only lived a few miles away. You carried your gear to your normal entry point, a hidden cave-like beach. It was tucked away in the side of the cliff and behind a few perfectly placed trees that hid the entrance from view but allowed you to walk in no problem.

The pebbles shifted under your feet as you started putting your gear on.

“I’d ask if this was your place but I’m pretty sure your species needs warmth.”

A yelp escaped you as you spun to look at the water. The orca siren’s eyes crinkled at you, his smile hidden behind his arms as he laid across a boulder a few meters from the shore.

He noticed your gear. “Aw~! Did you come back to see me?” He sat straight and gave you a toothy grin.

You huffed. “Didn’t you promise not to stalk people?” You changed the subject.

“I did. But stalking implies staying hidden. And I wanted to say hi.”

“You also said no loopholes.”

His grin fell. “I did, didn’t I?” At your nod he shrugged and pushed himself off the boulder. “Well, I guess that’s that. Bye.” He turned.

“Wait!” You sputtered out. You didn’t want to scare him off! You were just poking fun!

The smug grin he shot over his shoulder at you made you wish you hadn’t stopped him. “Yes~?”

Dang it, he had you in a box. “Fine! I did want to come see you, you overgrown guppy! You happy?” You crossed your arms.

He laughed at your pout. “You’re cute! I like you. Hey!” He snapped his fingers. “We never properly introduced ourselves. I’m Cross.” He swam forward and held his hand out to shake your hand.

You hesitated. When he got closer, his lower body beached itself on the rocks, displaying his large orca features. The deep black was intimidating against the gray pebbles between the two of you. Scars from different aquatic battles riddled his body like words that would tell you how he got each one.

But what caught you off guard was his dorsal fin. The very obviously male dorsal fin was flopped over on his back. A trait specific to domestic orcas.

He was domesticated. Most likely he was rescued and then released when he proved he could survive on his own. But you’d never heard of any sirens being rescued let alone an aquarium that housed sirens.

You were getting off topic. The point was, he was familiar with people. So he shouldn’t be a threat to you.

You shook his outstretched hand. “I’m y/n. Nice to officially meet you, Cross.”

His grip was firm. “Nice to meet you too, y/n.” The beaming smile he gave you had you smiling back as the handshake ended. “Soooo? You’re comin’ into the water today. Care if I show you around?”

You laughed. “I’ll have you know, I practically grew up in these waters.”

He shrugged and somehow smiled more as his hands held his chin, his elbows digging into the rocky beach. “Things change. I could show you my place?”

You hesitated, not because of the idea of being in a small space with a large predator though that was a solid reason, but because it was the first time someone had asked you over.

The basic movie type response was all you managed to get out. “Most people buy me dinner first.”

“I mean,” He glanced back at the water. “I could grab you something. Though, I have a feeling you don’t appreciate… what do you people call that fancy fish? Sasha?”

Oh stars. “No! Please don’t ever call it that again! Oh my stars! Sushi! It’s called sushi!” You laughed. “And no. I actually don’t like most uncooked foods. It… I don’t know. I just don’t like it.” Shrug.

Cross nodded. “That’s fair.”

You finished shuffling your gear on.

“So… is that a no?”

“Is what a no?” You questioned. What had he asked?

He gave a halfhearted smile and glanced away. “To coming over to my home? You don’t want to see it?”

Ugh. He looked so sad like that. “Oh. Uh, sure. I’m gonna be in the water anyway.” You tried to shrug away your fear but it lingered.

His face lighting up relieved some of that fear. He whistled a happy little tune that had you smiling as you approached the water. Cross backed up off the beach. “You ready?” He beamed.

You took a moment to take a deep breath. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

The nozzle went in your mouth and his arms went around you again before darting away from the shore. Coral that would have taken you several minutes to reach, was there and gone in less than a minute as Cross expertly sped through the water.

He was talking.

“It’s bigger than most dens. I don’t like small spaces so boss helped me find a bigger enough space to feel cozy. I added a few things too. Just a couple plants and shells, stuff to make it look nice, y’know? Oh! And my pod is out hunting. So we shouldn’t have to see them until after I take you back. You don’t want to meet them. They’re… well, let’s just hope you don’t meet them. They’re more wild than me. And the coral here is insane! Have you seen all those colors? I mean, of course you have. You live here. But they’re so pretty! I didn’t know the water could have so many colors!”

And on and on he rambled, you were content to listen. He seemed like he needed someone to talk to and it was calming. So you settled in for the ride as he talked about anything and everything that came to mind. Coral, fish, water currents, snails. He continued until they reached his home.

“There was this one fish that- Oh! We’re here!” He whistled happily, let you go, and darted forward into a cave mouth. He beckoned for you to follow. “Come on! I’ll show you around!”

Your cheeks hurt from smiling as you swam into the den. He wasn’t kidding about the space. You could fit three school buses comfortably in the decorative cave with plenty of headspace. The edges and corners of the den were covered in all sorts of colorful coral, shells, and pearls of multiple sizes.

“Ta-da~!” Cross spread his arms wide. “Welcome to my home! It’s not the prettiest thing but I try.” He shrugged nervously. “You’ve probably seen better.”

You shook your head at him. No, this was better than any home you’d seen on land. He actually managed to stick every type of color he could find in a space and make it look good. You couldn’t get these same colors out of flowers. A shiny pearl caught your attention and you reached down to touch it.

A hand grabbed your wrist. You looked up to see Cross looking very stern and worried.

“I… Please don’t touch my pearls.” He said before slapping himself in the face. “Oh my stars! You can’t understand me! I’ve been talking forever and you haven’t heard a thing!”

“Mm.” You shook your head no at him and gestured to your ears and back at him. You could hear him.

He hesitated at your flailing. “Uh… are you okay?”

You nodded yes.

“Wait… can you hear me?”

Nod.

“Everything?”

Yep.

“But… don’t your ears stop working when they get full of water?”

Nope.

“Huh.” He eyed you. “You legged people are confusing.”

You playfully punched his shoulder.

“Hey! What’d I say??” He complained, not even bothering to rub the shoulder as you nursed your wounded hand.

You rolled your eyes and turned to explore the rest of the cave. He hadn’t just plucked the coral, he’d moved entire boulders and dug up plants to keep the coral’s lively color. It was beautiful.

You turned to him after exploring the whole den and gave him an approving thumbs up. He laughed at you and you spent the rest of your time listening to him ramble and checking your oxygen before he took you back to the shore.