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Error found Ink practically bouncing off the walls of the Doodlesphere. Somehow. There weren’t even buildings…
“InK, WouLD y-yoU C-comE bACk to EARth nOw.” Ink didn’t hear him over whatever they were rambling on about this time, so with a sigh Error fished the little creature up with his strings.
Ink yipped and blinked up at their mate in surprise, grinning brightly from the island’s grass.
“Ru-Ru! Hi! I didn’t see you there. I was thinking we should totally have a sleepover, except I’m not sure where because there’s no trees for your hammocks in the Doodlesphere and you don’t like sleeping in the grass with me and I don’t wanna be in the anti-void too long cuz everything’s white except your beanbag and I can only stuff my face into it for so long before I need to breathe and I can’t look at the white for too long before I can’t breathe and I’m pretty sure I need to breathe—“
Error was beginning to doubt Ink did need to breathe. “INK. wE alr-reADy diSCusseD thIS. We’RE g-goINg to NIghtMAre’s CAstLE in 20 mINutes-s-s.”
Ink gave Error a frog blink before sitting up. “Oh.” Giggling they latched onto Error’s arm, squealing as he swung them back onto their feet. Stars, the idiot was lucky they were cute.
It took about 50 years off of Error’s questionable lifespan, but he managed to assure that yes Ink had all their things and no they did not pack any firecrackers, paint, or silly string. Smiling behind a sigh, he ripped a hole in whatever you’d call the Doodlesphere and they stepped through into the Dark Lord’s castle. More like drama queen.
“N-now, wHaT’s tHe f-firST rule, SQuiD?”
Ink sighed petulantly, dragging their feet a little. “Keep it down because only Horror and Nightmare know I’m here and Noot Noot is in denial.”
“YuP.” Error slid a chocolate bar under Cross’s door to distract the guard from investigating. “W-wHat’s THe nExt ruLe?”
“Stay with you cuz I’m bad at cover stories and desca—delcsa—de-escla—calming people down.”
“Pfft, GOod.” He ushered Ink into his room, their eyes sparkling at the glow-in-the-dark stars. “A-aNd laST?”
“Don’t, uh, um… I forgot.”
“T-take yOuR viAls bef-FOre BeD.” A soft ‘oh’ followed Error as he chucked their bags in the corner. He glanced back at his curious little lover and smirked. “I bEt yOu wAnt a-A tOUR.”
~***~
The spare tower, surprisingly, was by far the hardest thing to keep Ink from going apeshit in. The minute they walked in their sockets grew wide, an orange exclamation mark and yellow star lighting their face. The whole long five minutes was spent chasing an absolutely vibrating little skeleton as they attempted to scale the walls and everything in sight. Sometimes succeeding.
“NeXt hoLIDay, yOu’Re g-gEttINg a ch-cHiLD leaSH.” Ink groaned and tried to squirm out of their over-the-shoulder carry.
“But Errooooor, I like to be up high! And there was so much cool stuff on the shelves I couldn’t reach and I couldn’t tell what the things were and you wouldn’t tell me and I had to know so I had to climb!”
Error bounced Ink around a bit before plopping them on the bed. “Are YoU a-aLwaYs th-ThiS squIRreLLy?”
“‘M not squirrelly—oof!” Sitting on Ink (gently, of course) was one of Error’s greatest passions in life, as well as a great way to squish some sense in them.
“b-BeTter?” Ink grumbled and stuck their tongue out but melted into the sheets and eventually nodded. Clingy days weren’t so hard to handle once you spotted them, it was surviving until then. Error released Ink with a fond shake of his head, tossing them their bag as he dug a chocolate bar out of his own. “G-get CHanGed AnD wE can SNeak Out t-tO HorrOr in The kitCHen.”
Ink gave a hum of acknowledgment and the noises of rifling through their bag let Error know they’d gotten right on it as he turned to change as well. Until—
“…Uh oh. I forgot my pyjamas. I guess I could sleep in this?”
Cautiously, Error looked back to see Ink still dressed in their admittedly gross clothes. “N-not In my BeD yOu’re nOt.” Error observed Ink’s crestfallen face and sighed. “I… I s-suppose I-I cOuLd sHAre.”
The yellow T-shirt hitting Ink’s face knocked the confusion right off it, leaving a bit of rainbow in its stead. They quickly changed and muttered their consent to head out. Their lowered tone grabbed Error’s attention and his breath caught in his throat.
With the shirt falling to mid-femur and slipping off a patterned shoulder, Ink frankly looked… shit, who was he kidding—that was damned adorable. “Uh, y-yEAh, l-l-LEt’s Go.” It was nice to know Ink was as colored as he felt, at least.
~***~
Horror did a double take when his guests entered the kitchen, raising an amused brow at the pair. “Having… fun?” Ink squeaked and hid behind their larger mate, ducking their skull into his shoulder blade. Error glitched a little, scowling.
“W-whAt, diD yOU c-crACK yoUR sKULL in tHe gUtt-TeR? iNk f-ForGot thEir pyjAMas a-aNd wE had To imPrOviSe.” Horror just laughed his big booming laugh, eye twinkling with humor as he served them fried plantains and sandwiches. He held up Ink for a moment, Error couldn’t hear what they whispered but Horror’s grin grew wide and Ink seemed even smaller, somehow.
Ever the protective, Error growled, but Horror just shrugged and let Ink hurry to join him at the table. When he passed them however—
“Ink… thinks you look… hot… by the way. Maybe you should… ask them out… sometime.”
He clearly said it loud enough for both of them to hear, judging by the mortified look on Ink’s face and the bit of ink they threw up. They seemed to wilt into a sad rainbow puddle (which, knowing them, was somewhat likely,) as Error glitched a good deal more than before.
Error handed Ink a couple napkins and tried to calm the yellow and blue covering his face. “I, yOu, TH-they—oi j-jUSt FUCK OFF, hORror!”
“I heard the magical fuck word—” Killer poked his nosy head through the far doorway, lighting up with maniacal glee when he spotted the trio. “Why hello Inkblot, didn’t know you vibed with Windows Vista here that much~
Ink gave Error a look that clearly said this was his fault, the freckles sprinkled across their cheeks visible among the bright rainbow blush. “A-and you told me to be quiet,” they huffed, pouting at him. Error put his burning face on the cool wood of the table and pointed vaguely at them.
“WE aRe g-geTTing yOU a beD,” he said with a groan, “bEc-caUse thIs is NOt hApPenIng aGAin… a-aNd mayBe sOme pyjAmAs too.” Ink smiled shyly as they adjusted Error’s nightgown-sized shirt they wore, snuggling into his bare ribs for warmth. Somewhere in the background Horror chuckled and Killer made a gagging sound.
Idiots, the lot of them… But Ink was pretty cute.