Chapter Text
Cross entered his room and closed to door softly. He let out a loud sigh before deciding to flop down on his bed, his face buried in the pillows. He melted into the soft blankets and cushions of the bed while admiring the peaceful quietness of the room. Until Chara appeared.
“Yknow, I don’t think that’s a super productive choice of activity”, his ghostly companion commented. X-tale Chara, CC for short, has been with him since the downfall of his AU. Although the company was…slightly…nice, it was a bittersweet reminder of his old home. He decided to throw a pillow in CC’s direction from his place on the bed.
“Tch. Yknow a ‘Hi, I’m so glad you’re here!’ Would’ve been appreciated”, Chara mumbled from behind him. Cross sighed before flipping over, now laying on his back with his face pointed at his ghost buddy.
“What’s up with you? You’re in a sincere mood today.”, Cross stated plainly. He didn’t necessarily want CC to leave, but at the same time he did. It was an emotion he didn’t know how to describe to himself.
“Funny. I wanna know what’s up with you and Kill joy.”, Chara replied. He stared at Cross with a ‘you know what I’m talking about’ look. Cross took a minute to process what he said before responding.
“Kill joy? You mean Killer? I don’t know what you mean. There’s nothing going on.”, Cross dismissed the question.
“Bullshit and you know it. You’ve been glancing at him like a mom whose kid is near a pool.”, CC laughed. “If that’s not evident enough that something’s going on then I don’t know what is.”
Cross wasn’t surprised Chara had picked up on it. They shared a soul after all. For all Cross knows, Chara could be present 24/7 and just chilling in a different room. But if Cross can’t see him, then it’s like he isn’t there. Cross slid his hands over his face and groaned.
“You’ve noticed it too right? The fact that he’s not in my face anymore, or instigating, or pushing my buttons. Do you think I did something?”, Cross replied quickly.
Chara stared at him and laughed. “For fucks sake Cross, you almost seem upset he isn’t doing those things.” Chara floated to the other side of Cross while speaking, “No you didn’t do anything wrong. He’s trying to figure you out.” Cross gave CC a confused stare.
Chara scoffed, “Yknow, for how observant you are, you really are dense. He wants to know why you don’t talk to him.”
“I don’t talk to anybody.”
“He wants to know why.”
“Why would he want to know that?”
Chara let out an exaggerated sigh, “Because, you’re like a mysterious main character in a movie.” Chara adjusted his tone to one of a narrator, “the quiet moody one has many secrets he shall not tell a soul…”
Cross smiled slightly and grunted, “Shut up.” Chara giggled at the sight. Cross supposed that maybe the spirit wasn’t wrong. But how could he simply talk when he felt like his throat was closing in. When his lungs felt empty and his head felt fuzzy. It was a never ending battle that nobody could even see.
CC smiled softly, sensing the others thought pattern. He spoke softly, “I think it’s what you need. Support. Companionship. This…fear? Anxiety?”, Chara spread his arms wide, “this impending doom that awaits you if you dare say a word, isnt going to happen. I think that once you try it, it’ll become so much easier. Give it a try?”
Cross stared at the ceiling while contemplating CC’s words. He inhaled sharply before responding, “Yeah okay, I’ll give it a shot.”
Chara smiled and shouted a loud ‘Yes!’. Cross snorted and sat up, before deciding he should probably leave his room. Chara offered encouraging words before vanishing into thin air.
God he hated that ghost.
…
Dust watched Cross enter his room before passing his door and knocking on Killer’s. He heard Killer shout something along the lines of “who’s here to see my beautiful face” before responding that it was Dust. The door opened moments after and Killer dragged him in.
“So what brings you here Dust Bunny”, Killer said with a wide smile. ‘Dust Bunny’ was a nickname given to him from the copious amounts of literal dust bunnies in his room. The nickname stuck ever since they had cleaned out his room.
Dust leaned against the wall and looked at Killer, trying to figure out his words. “Are u mad at Cross?”, he asked. From his deductions, he equated silence with being upset with someone. So he felt it was a fair question.
Killer smiled wider, “Criss Cross? No, quite the opposite actually.”
The fuck did that mean? Dust stared at Killer in confusion, hoping that his lack of response would encourage the other to keep talking. Killer seemed to get the hint.
“I wanna know why Cross is so quiet all the time, so I thought if I was quiet too, then maybe I could understand.”, Killer said with the same smile on his face.
“Like walking in another persons shoes.”, Dust stated.
“Exactly.”, Killer finished.
Dust supposed the idea made some sort of sense, not that he’d admit it. Dust thought the idea through before speaking again. “Have you ever just simply…asked him? Like just straight up asked why he doesn’t talk?”, Dust responded evenly.
Killer opened his mouth the speak but paused suddenly and closed his mouth. Dust snorted and understood what the answer was. Killer spoke again shortly after.
“Wouldn’t he just stare at me?”
“If you go about it the right way then the worst you’ll get is a ‘I don’t wanna talk about it’.”
“But then why ask in the first place.”
“You never know until you try.”
Killer groaned and looked away, “I don’t know how to go about it. I found him having a panic attack in the kitchen with Nightmare the other night. I want to help, but I don’t know how to do that.”
Dust hummed in understanding before twitching slightly. He didn’t really know what to say to that. He knew that Killer couldn’t mention the incident, since he wasn’t supposed to know. He also knew that Killer was an idiot.
“What have you learned from observing Cross.”, Dust said suddenly.
“He’s boring.”
“Other than that”
Killer chuckled, “He seems content when he’s listening to us. His eyes light up slightly when we offer him to play games with us. He picks at his hands when he’s nervous, and taps his foot in patterns. He also eats chocolate constantly.”
Dust was rather surprised at Killers words. It seemed that Killer had actually used his brain for once and focused on others around him. For as much as the group joked about Killer’s smarts, they knew he could be very aware if he felt up to the task. Clearly, this mattered a lot to Killer.
“You sound like a fool in love”, Dust said while clasping his hands together in a cutesy pose. That earned a small scoff from Killer and Dust smiled. “Use what you have learned to your advantage. You know how Cross reacts to things, so use it to grow closer to him.”
“Huh, I guess you’re right. Why didn’t I think of that?”, Killer said with a stupid grin on his face. Truthfully, Killer didn’t know what he was going to do with the information he gathered. He just assumed it would all work out in his favor. Dust coming here had really been a treat for the skeleton. “Plan initiated, now we just wait for Crossy to come around. Thanks Dust Bunny, you’ve been a real help”
Dust flipped him off before speaking as he left the room, “Don’t mention it tar-face.”