..........ffforgottt to add this but for the dating headcanons x reader that has Killer characteristics can you maybe do them reacting to reader's Soul fluctuating to Stage 1 for the first time eeeeeverrrr... I feel like that would be Hmmm. Can't find the word for it. Comforting? Perchance
& sorry for bombarding your inbox lol 😭😭 i'm just soo joyous
Bombarding? Absolutely not! Honey, if anyone should apologize, it’s me. The creativity gremlin has awoken!! This will now proceed to be my personality till I have finished.
(Starting with Noot and will work my way down the line)
Nightmare x Killer! Reader
Future employee got yoinked-
Congrats, you’ve gained a job. Let the terrors begin.
Nightmare is an expert in bringing out the worst in people, and he’s more than happy to steer you back to your murderous ways
You’ve become the king’s main source of negativity. Your overflowing determination and constantly fluctuating Soul make your emotional aura unusually intense. He can sense your mere frustration from halfway across an Au.
While the rest of Nightmare’s crew has an upper hand with magic, your inability to be killed and completely feral need to be the last one standing has you gaining the god’s favor quickly
Nightmare stared down at the crumpled heap of human limbs with mild fascination. How a creature could sleep comfortably in that position, he had no idea.
Or maybe you were passed out again.
Blood tricked down your forehead as he lifted you up with a tentacle. Definitely passed out.
Apparently conscious enough to know when you were being lifted like a ragdoll, one of your blank sockets peaked open, the eye underneath barely visible under all the sludge leaking from your tear ducts. The faint light of your Soul cast the world in a thousand shades of crimson as you scowled at him heatlessly.
A fresh line of Determination slid down your stained cheek and further soiled the carpet. “What.”
Nightmare blinked slowly at your rumpled figure, caught between amusement and something similar to annoyance, but not quite. “The hall outside my office is not your designated sleeping space.”
You closed your eyes in mutinous dismissal, dangling carelessly like your leg wasn’t twisted completely backwards. With bones sticking out of it. “Dust’s camping outside my room.”
Normally, Nightmare would respond with sarcasm. Maybe annoyance. “And your grand idea was to collapse in an easily accessible space?”
You grunted, “Was aiming for inside the office.”
Normally, you’d respond in kind.
Nightmare stared at your bedraggled form for a long moment, then sighed, “Very well.”
You continued to hang limply from his extra limbs as he made his way through the castle, completely at ease in a way none of the rest had ever been when in your position. Nightmare made sure not to bump your mangled leg as he carried you further into the shadows. The exhaustion leaking from you was bland and aching, leaving a musty taste on the back of his tongue.
“What are you doing?” you sighed when he finally put you down. Despite your exhausted irritation, you sank into his bed without protest, covering the top blanket in blood and tar.
Nightmare hummed and inspected your leg, carefully removing the summoned-bones and sending healing magic through the warped flesh. “Just because you have no sense of self-preservation, does not mean I enjoy the screeching ambience of your pain.”
He got the distinct feeling you were rolling your eyes at him, “Apologies, ‘majesty. I’ll endeavor to dodge the ambush better next time. For your sake.”
Nightmare chucked and squeezed your ankle lightly, sending the last bits of magic through the former wounds. “Careful, brat.”
You huffed, pulling your leg back, "What's with the water?”
Nightmare looped his tentacle back around your waist and lifted you from it. You gripped the top-most blanket with a hiss of displeasure, but didn't resist further. “You think I'm letting you wander around like that? Go clean yourself.”
You grumbled as he set your feet down on the tiles of the bathroom but shuffled inward. “Do I get clothes?”
He tossed a bath robe at your head and shut the door. “Try not to drown yourself.”
“Yes, boss.” Your dull response echoed through the wood. A loud splash and a curse followed after.
By the time you had come out, steam had built up in the room enough to billow out when you reentered the main portion of his chambers. You squinted in his direction suspiciously, drowning in the bathrobe. “This isn’t my room.”
“It’s not.” he deadpanned, not bothering to look up from his book.
“Or a guest room.”
“Not in the slightest.”
You stared at him for a few moments before seemingly deciding that you couldn’t be bothered to care and flopping back onto the bed gracelessly. Nightmare watched out of the corner of his eye as you yawned largely and curled up into a ball. “Read to me.”
He raised a browbone, “I beg your pardon.”
“Read.” you poked the book in his hands, “to me.”
“And why would I do that?” Nightmare asked, amused by your sudden boldness.
“Because I can't see the page,” you huffed, “and the closest thing I've had to a decent story is Dust’s Stars-awful reality shows.”
Nightmare grimaced, that did sound dull. “Very well.”
You made a surprisingly good audience, Nightmare found. You were quiet and attentive, genuinely interested in the story. The few times you did ask questions, it was when he’d paused between chapters. It was remarkably more enjoyable than he would have suspected.
Eventually, your quiet breaths lengthened and your questions ceased. Curious, the king glanced over.
You’d fallen asleep.
Nightmare found himself staring longer than he tended to. Inspecting the way you curled around your quietly whirring Soul. The vibrant red had settled, and, in the place of your usual warped circle, was a flickering heart within a heart. Peace and contentment radiated from your still form.
“Absolutely zero sense of self-preservation.” he murmured, closing the book and blowing out the lights.