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Sunset Boulevard

Chapter 7. (Clean version), Nightcross, Driller, Kross, Cream (a little).

“I don't know why I came"

Synopsis: Dream was so sure that Cross might be the one. Even in the short time they’d been together, he would have told you that things had been perfect. But when a past history between Nightmare and Cross is revealed, it throws a wrench in the works and sets into motion a series of events that spiral relationships out of control. With things crashing down around them, it’s hard to say if things will ever find balance again.

P7 A premier is always the prime time for drama and awkward interactions. TW for references to drugs and alcohol abuse (just a reference dw)

Clean version: Below the cut.

Director’s Cut, full version: on AO3 and the Link goes up on @jann-the-bean Tumblr same time this goes up.

Credits.

Original Cross belongs to jakei95

Original Killer belongs to rahafwabas

Original Nightmare and Dream by jokublog

Studio verse by @zu-is-here

Inspired by Atos by @atosofficial

Writing was mostly gayfish split editing between us.

Art work by Gayfish.

More info

Enjoy ;) (be aware, even in the clean version there is some lightly suggestive content)

Last part

The mask of celebrity is not one that many truly get to peek behind, and it is a mask that Nightmare has long been wearing. Although he and his co-stars weren't yet on the A list by any means, the growing number of fans always amazed and frightened him. As a child, he'd dreamt of this life, and in truth, he loved most of it. He adored his craft, the villain with the winding tendrils being his biggest claim to fame. He relished in the fine clothes and food he was deprived of as a child.

Perhaps he was a little uptight about his appearance, but it was hard not to be when his 8-year-old self might go weeks without bathing. When his tree-hugging mother refused to throw away clothes until the fabric was rotting to pieces.

So, forgive him if he was a snob at times. He wore a simple black suit tonight, gold cuffs and a deep blue undershirt. His PR team had suggested that he also wear the golden circlet that his character wears in the movie they were here for, so why not add that over that top detail.

A group of fans screamed as he got out of his taxi, cameras flashing, and people shoved pieces of paper into his face. This part was what he disliked, and this is where the mask came on.

He was a gentleman now, smart and careful with his movements. He stopped a few times to delicately sight his name and pose smartly for selfies. He was a gentleman now. He was calm. He was smart. He was put together.

As he reacted to the section where the press took photos, he held his head high. Keep your back straight. Keep your shoulders steady.

He was a gentleman, and he had his class.

Stepping away from the heart of the flashing lights, a sea of screams and shouts came out.

He glanced behind him, and the mask wavered.

"....."

Cross...

Why was he here? He wasn't in this movie! He knew there was a plan to have Cross-Sans join the cast of anti-Sanses, but that hadn't happened yet!

He didn't know he'd been invited here...

He hadn't seen him since-

He shook his head and pushed the sudden feeling of nausea back down his throat. He wouldn't let anyone see how uncomfortable the others' presents made him.

Cross stood tall and proud, less smart, more rugged.

His suit was white, but a black X was spread out on one side of it. Looks like he wasn't the only one dressing on theme.

He was so handsome...

Gosh...how could Nightmare do this? When the memory of his hands was still pressed deep in his chest.

He needed to pull himself together.

He tore his eyes away just before Cross could notice him staring. Best to just keep waking.

"Nightmare! Sir! Over here if you'd mind!"

Ah...the press. Might as well do his token interview.

"Good evening", he said, stepping to the stretched out microphone ", to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Hello Mr Oku, Channel 5 news here, just wondering about your thoughts on the new movie"

Nightmare chuckled, "Well, I haven't seen it yet, as this is what I am here to do, but I did truly love playing the dark King as always"

"Very good, very good", the reporter said, "and what would you say about the rumours about you and Cross?"

Night's soul stopped for a moment.

Shit-

He knows that his expression said plenty before he had time to cover it.

"Uh"

He knew about the photos... those stupid photos... blurry and so shameful.

He took a breath to ground himself. Best not to panic.

"If you are referring to the photos, then I will repeat what my agent already told the press"

"Nothing is currently going on between me and Cross; we were just catching up over drinks, and he let me stay the night, that is all"

"And what about the picture of you two kissing, sir?"

Nightmare swallowed the anxiety down again.

"As I said before, we had a few drinks, that's all. Thank you, good night"

"But-

And he was gone.

The red carpet seemed longer now, stretching out in front of him like a winding red snake.

He should have known that was going to come up..... his PR team had raked him over the coals when those pictures were leaked. A photo of him kissing his brother's Ex-boyfriend? A nightmare, no pun intended.

He would have given a lot to go back in time to slap himself for ever going to that stupid bar.

But even so, oh how he wished that Cross hadn't stopped it....as much as it was stupid to think so. He still wanted him.

"....."

Gentleman...

He turned and glanced behind, where the very skeleton was now getting prodded for questions himself.

And then he looked at him and they met eyes.

"......." Inside now...just go inside and try not to panic. He looked away, giving one last wave to the crowd before entering the building.

He needed wine...again.

**********************

Dream's suit felt stuffy. It wasn't tailored, the cuffs of the trousers rolled up a few times, and the jacket hung loose. A smokey grey clashed with his eyes but matched the bags under them. So tired…he could hardly believe he'd agreed to this.

His date looked far more comfortable. Killer's deep burgundy set was fitted to perfection, and his shirt was buttoned down just enough to keep the fan girls happy. He wore a blood-red heart-shaped pendant as an Easter egg. Well, that's what he said. Dream knew it was to help draw attention to the clavicle. Everything he did seemed to be crafted to feed into this sexy image….everything.

Dream resented that thought….he did truly, again reminding himself not to pin blame.

Flashing lights drew his mind back from wondering. Killer posed for the press, smiling charmingly flirty. Perfect for the camera.

Be perfect for the camera.

As Killer finished blowing a kiss into the crowd, Dream set his face with a chipper smile.

**********************

“Can we get a picture of the twins together?”

The words almost seemed to make the world stop. This was the very thing both had been hoping wouldn't happen. Yet here they were, awkwardly making eye contact. Silently.

It wasn't the first time they'd been referred to as just ‘the twins, ' and it had always been a little disheartening. But now it made the very core of Dream's being sink.

Were they even “the twins” anymore? After Nightmare had disowned him…

“....”

He suddenly felt very cold.

Nightmare made his way to him silently. Slow and elegant moments. Looking far more relaxed than Dream felt.

“Night-

The cameras flashed as Nightmare took his place next to his brother.

“Nightmare-

He avoided any eye contact with Dream, keeping his gaze on the cameras professionally.

“......”

Dream took a deep breath and smiled bright and bold. It was what the cameras wanted. The twins…and dreamtale twins.

“.....”

The dreamtale twins who would never be able to go back to the way things had been before.

Cameras flashed.

And Nightmare was walking away again.

************ Killer had always enjoyed events like this. He didn't often find himself dressing up. The prim and proper wasn't his style, but even he had to admit he was looking good.

The new movie went down a treat. Seeing himself play the cold-blooded killer used to be strange for him. That broken madness flooded his face, the snap and crackle of his soul. But he filled him with pride now.

His eyes…

The dark, blank eyes were the character's second most notable feature.

He'd been told his whole life that his eye condition would ruin his chances of making it as an actor. As his eyelights had slowly faded as the years went by. But Killer Sans had allowed him to use the hollow broken stares to his advantage.

So now he was proud.

It was odd watching someone else play the character of Nightmare Sans on screen. At this point, his Nightmare hadn't been involved in the project. But it was now all but confirmed that he'd be taken on for the next film. Killer's stomach twisted at the idea of the 4 of them working on a set together in the future.

Would he and Night have the chemistry that they were known for? Working with Night had started as a very frustrating experience. They'd been playing a set of adulterous lovers in a new drama series. Nightmare had used to look at Killer with a sense of superiority. He knew that he'd been to acting college and took every note in the script very seriously. While Killer liked to feel out the scene and use some in-prob. The two of them had clashed together.

He found his eyes wandering across the cinema room until he found him. He always looked handsome in a suit.

Looking back now, Killer was very impressed with the way he acted his craft…. Their first passionate night was in a hotel while filming on location. The vision of his lust-filled eyes still burned a hole right into his soul.

He wasn't sure why he was so hung up on him right now… he'd been with so many men and so many times he'd been dumped. So why was he still mourning the end of his relationship with him?

And Cross…

Killer wasn't sure he could even look at Cross after those rumours had started.

Sleeping with Nightmare.

It made him angry….he was currently resisting the desire to confront him, but he wasn't sure how long he would.

“.....”

Of course, they were professional. The script hadn't even been written yet. They had time.

He was an actor, so he could easily pretend that everything was alright. It was a skill that his date was equally skilled in.

Now his eyes fell on Dream to his left. He, too, was looking good at the moment. At least mostly, the suit didn't suit him even slightly. Normally, he wore deep burnt orange and warm cream colours. Grey was definitely not it, but Killer knew better than to mention that.

Coming to this with him was likely the first time he's left the house in weeks. Dream had made it clear that he wanted to be left alone. After tonight, that's what Killer would do.

**************************

The after party didn't do much to help Cross’ on edge feeling. This was the first time that Night and he would be in the same place since the hook-up that never happened.

Two beers in already, and he promised himself to cut down again. While he'd never had a huge problem in his youth, he'd sworn off it after his time volunteering for an AA non-profit. He'd seen firsthand how easily these things could spiral out of control and felt dread at how much he related to those in recovery.

So he'd been sober just about for the past 5 years. Yet he'd drunk with Nightmare at the bar, and he was drinking now.

The bar…

Perfect example of why he cut down a lot. What a mess this was shaping up to be. Hooking up with his ex's brother was a low point he'd never recover from.

He was here tonight, they both were.

Cross had recognised those golden eyes the second he caught a glance. Even if they didn't seem as bright. Dream came in with a smile that lit up the whole room. Just that alone filled his heart with longing for the skeleton.

But Dream was here with Killer.

The two were practically glued together by the hip. Killer was fine, of course, flirting and chatting. It was just another day to him.

“.......”

If all of them could just be professional, then it would be fine. Cross was sure that all 4 of them had been told the same thing from PR. Keep quiet. The less the public knew about this scandal, the better.

“Cross”

If he'd had hair, it would have stuck up on the back of his neck. A voice he would know anywhere.

He turned to look at Nightmare, who stood handsomely with a glass of wine in hand.

“You look well”

His voice was steady and didn't give much away. His posture was confident, and eyes were steady.

“Oh….hello Nightmare”

Silence fell as Night swished the wine in his glass. “About the other night”

Ah- Right to the point.

Nightmare was probably here to scold him, to make sure that he didn't dare to breathe a word to anyone about this disaster.

“My PR manager has told me it's best not to talk to you, but I just wanted to clear the air,” he said, eyes not moving from the glass.

Right.

“Which means I want to say I'm glad nothing happened”

He looked up at Cross now, and his eyes set into him deeply. Those eyes, so serious currently, Cross knew what they looked like, racked in need and want, or flecked with sadness over the situation. But now he didn't see that, it was the ice-coolness that the actor was known for.

They were studying him, perhaps looking for objections. Why did this stare make Cross’s face feel warm?

“Oh”

He looked away.

“Yes…I agree, nothing good would have come from it.”

A hum of agreement sounded from his left.

“And I wanted to say, no hard feelings”, Nightmare concluded, “and ask that we be professional when working together”.

Professional….right. I mean, what was more Professional for an actor like him than seeming to consistently hook up with people ten years younger? Wasn't that written somewhere in the rule book? Get married and divorced three times a year, or end up like Leonardo.

Gosh….he needed to pack that in.

“Cross?”

He jumped and looked back at the other.

“.....uh…I mean…yeah of course.”

Nightmare nodded at his response. “Good. Now that we are in mutual agreement, I shall take my leave. I do not wish to be involved in other scandals.” He took a sip of the wine in his hand. Not realising that Cross’s gaze had lingered a second too long on the rim of the glass as the liquid touched his mouth.

Another brief pause before Cross shook his head, attempting to shake off the haze in his mind.

“The feeling is mutual. Good night, Nightmare.”

Cross stood and watched Nightmare make his way towards the back of the room. A wallflower trying to avoid attention. He’s not sure why, but he began to wonder if he and Nightmare could be friends.

But he quickly dismissed it. Nothing good could come from befriending your ex’s brother, twin brother, at that. And, who was also the guy your so-called best friend constantly used to hook up with.

“Cross. We need to talk.”

Speak of the devil. He inwardly groaned.

“We have nothing to talk about, Killer.”

“Oh, we have plenty to talk about. I think it’s all anyone is talking about on social media. You know, you and Nightmare?” He hissed.

Cross frowned and furrowed his brow in slight confusion and annoyance.

“Go away. It’s none of your business.”

“Like hell it isn’t. Look at me! I’m talking to you. What the hell happened between you two that night? Because Moonpie looked like a total mess in those pictures. Did you sleep with him?”

Killer’s accusation of Cross started to make something burn inside him. Something Cross had not felt in a long time and tried to keep contained.

“Piss off. I’m not going to stand here and take this shit.”

“You’re not denying it.”

“Denying what?!” Cross snapped.

“That you took advantage of Moonpie when he was at his lowest! You took him to bed, didn’t you? He deserves better than that.”

“For flips sake. Think what you want. I don’t care.” He turned around, intending to leave Killer behind, but then found himself locking eyes with the skeleton they were speaking of.

The pair of violet eyes was watching him from across the room. It was strangely sobering. Nightmare was leaning against the wall directly across from the two of them. His face read as almost bored, another glass of wine in hand.

Damn those eyes and their sharp beauty.

Cross wasn't quite sure what this sight was making him feel, but his face was definitely warm this time. He wasn't sure if that was Nightmare or perhaps due to Killer's words.

“Cross! Hey!! I'm talking to you!”

Nightmare glanced at the dark-eyed skeleton and then back at Cross. He rolled his eyes and smirked for a moment. A gesture that Cross mirrored.

“Cross-

Nightmare sipped his wine again, this time the purple tongue flicking past his teeth to catch a drop.

“Hey!”

“I didn't sleep with him, alright!?” He snapped, finally turning his gaze back on his former friend whose expression was almost comically like shocked pikachu. “I didn't go through with it”.

Oh….

In that moment, Killer felt that if looks could kill, Cross would have dusted him instantly.

“And even if I had, I don't need to take this from you!”

“Hypocrite!!”

“What gives you-

He stopped.

Killer found himself squirming slightly at the harshness of his gaze. The other skeleton took a breath and closed his eyes. Cross’ breathing became slow and steady as he counted in his head.

“You have the nerve to come up to me after you bring him here as your date….” Cross said in a much calmer tone of voice. “And why do you even care? Weren't they both a piece of meat to you? Wasn't I?”

His questions hit Killer hard. Cross didn't think that, did he? After all the years they'd been friends? They had a good thing going on between them. How was it Killer’s fault that Cross had to go and fall into a relationship?

Cross didn't need to question his relationship with Nightmare or with him. He didn't need to explain himself. Did Cross think he was better than him? screw that, he was just as much of a mess as him. If he got angry, really angry, he'd probably smash the bottle in his hand. Now that's a mess.

“.......”

“Not my fault that I actually know how to satisfy a man.”

Cross’s eyes went wide with bewilderment, and then sharpened again. The look he gave him made Killer’s knees jelly, and for a second, he thought he was about to get punched.

BANG

Cross’s fist hit the bar-top hard, causing glasses to tremble and a sudden silence to fall. Killer felt his soul leap into his throat.

But Cross did nothing more, eyes shut again, hand squeezing around the bottle. His shoulders tensed as he went through whatever exercise in his head to calm down.

The buzzing of conversation slowly started picking up around them again, as Cross took one final deep breath. Then his eyes were back on Killer, but the anger was gone, replaced with….hurt…

And it made Killer's soul sink.

“Cross…”

“Fine.”Cross sighed, “Well, I hope that you make each other very happy.”

“Cross-” Killer attempted again. Trying to reason with the skeleton in front of him. He wanted to explain that he didn’t mean it. That he hadn’t brought Dream here to hurt him.

“Because if you fall off again, I ain't coming.”

That lodged any words in Killer's throat, leaving him only gasping at Cross like a fish.

“Next time you want rescuing from a puddle of your vomit, don't dare call me”

Those words felt as if someone had pierced his soul and twisted the blade. Killer wanted to say something. He wanted to say sorry, he wanted to do something to make it better for him. His best friend…… But it was too late now.

He just watched as Cross walked off.

It almost didn’t feel real as he watched as Cross walked right into Dream. It felt as if he was in some sort of soap opera as he watched the two stare into each other in silence. Seconds passed, and the two continued to hold the others' gaze. Perhaps wishing that the other could hear their thoughts and understand the unspoken words.

Cross’s face pinched in pain as he tore his eyes away from the skeleton in front of him, finally breaking free of the spell. Dream’s eyes filled with anguish as Cross walked passed.

He watched as Dream's exhausted eyelights met his.

This was never meant to happen. It was supposed to be a harmless prank. How did it all go so wrong? Now all Killer could do was watch the damage he'd done…..

Dream hesitated before walking over to him.

“Killer”

“I think I'm ready to leave now”

Hope you liked it :)

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