This was the fifth night in a row that Necro and Zerif had been awoken by the sound of screaming. They hadn't even gotten a moment to process what was wrong before their instincts had led them to practically leaping out of bed and racing toward the source of the terrified shrieking. Coming out of his and Mal's shared room, Lucky also raced toward the two men as fast as his small legs could carry him, his sockets widened in an obvious look of fear as orange tinted tears freely dripped down his cheekbones. Zerif had readily scooped up the child, allowing Necro to continue toward the kids' bedroom alone as he tried to offer the tiny Papyrus the comfort he desperately needed right now.
The necromancer slipped into Lucky and Mal's shared room, his normally blank expression twisting into one of fear and concern as he approached the teens hammock and grabbed onto her shoulders, beginning to shake her lightly in an attempt to wake her. Her sockets remained shut though, and she continued to writhe and scream, tears running down her face and shifting into deep blue threads. He scooped her up out of her hammock and held her close to himself as he made his way over to Lucky's bed, sitting on the edge and beginning to lightly tap his fingertips on her cheekbone, hoping the contact would disrupt whatever nightmare she was having.
Her sockets opened, though full of errors as she sobbed loudly, and he continued holding her, pressing his teeth to her forehead and mumbling softly, "Mal, hey, it's alright now. I got you, ok? You're safe, I promise. You're home, you're with your family, and you're safe." Through her sobbing, Mal's voice was hoarse as she choked out, "D-Dad? That's really you? You promise I'm safe? You promise he won't hurt me anymore?"
Necro hummed in confirmation and gently patted the side of her leg, "Yes, it's really me, Mal. I promise you, you're safe, and as long as I'm around, no one's gonna hurt you ever again, I swear it." The teen wrapped her arms around him and clung to his shirt, burying her face in his shoulder as she continued to sob brokenly. Gently resting his head atop hers, the necromancer began to hum softly, his sockets drifting shut.
As she listened to the tune her father was humming, Mal felt herself begin to relax again, her sobbing gradually dying down. Hearing the sound of a floorboard creaking, the necromancer opened his sockets again and glanced toward the door where Zerif now stood, a still terrified and worried Lucky in his arms, and he offered them a faint smile of reassurance, still humming lowly. Zerif let out a deep sigh, carrying Lucky into the room and seating himself on the edge of the child's bed beside his partner. Not much time passed before Lucky began to squirm and whine though, frowning as he reached for the teen, "B-BIG SIS? ARE YOU OK NOW?"
Peeking at Lucky, Mal let out a deep breath and nodded, smiling weakly in an attempt to ease the child's concern as she mumbled, "Uh huh... I think I'm good now, Pap." The child made a face, wiggling his way out of Zerif's grasp and moving closer to Mal, tightly wrapping his small arms around her. In response, Mal wrapped a single arm around him and held him for a moment, allowing him to calm down before withdrawing from the half hug and sighing, loosening her grip on Necro and slipping off of his lap, taking a step away from him and stretching. With both kids now standing, Zerif slid closer to his partner, delicately wrapping an arm around his waist and tugging him as close as possible. Necro said nothing, simply laying his head on the other man's shoulder as he watched the kids.
Meanwhile, Lucky reached for Mal, his sockets wide with expectation. The teen let rolled her eye lights, smiling faintly as she lifted him up into her arms, humming softly, "There. Better?" The tiny Papyrus nodded, laying his head on her shoulder and running at his sockets with the back of his hand, "UH HUH, I THINK SO." He attempted to muffle a yawn and Mal snorted in mild amusement, "You sound tired, bud. Do you think you're ready to go back to bed?"
Lucky shrugged, "YEAH, I GUESS SO... CAN YOU STAY IN MY BED TONIGHT? WITH ME?" Mal arched a single brow bone, tilting her head, "That's your bed though, Paps. I'm big, and I wouldn't wanna take up too much space." The child shook his head, his response almost immediate, "THAT'S OK. I DON'T MIND IF YOU TAKE UP SPACE THERE." The teen sighed, her expression softening, "...You're a really sweet kid, y'know that?" He looked at her once again, his sockets still wide and filled with hope, "DOES THAT MEAN YOU'LL DO IT?"
Mal chuckled, "Yeah, I guess so." Her answer caused the child in her arms to perk up, smiling brightly, "GOOD! THEN THE GREAT PAPYRUS CAN KEEP AWAY ANY BAD DREAMS THAT TRY TO GET YOU!" Mal did her best to refrain from laughing, instead pressing a kiss to the top of his skull, "That's right. With you looking after me, those bad dreams won't stand a chance." Lucky continued to smile brightly, squirming in her arms. Taking the hint, she gently lowered him to the floor and released him, watching as he darted back over to Necro and Zerif.
Nearly bouncing in excitement, the tiny Papyrus pointed at Mal, "SANS, ZERIF! GUESS WHAT?! I GET TO TAKE CARE OF BIG SIS! SHE'S GONNA SLEEP IN MY BED WITH ME AND I'M GONNA KEEP THE BAD DREAMS AWAY!" Zerif laughed softly and Necro couldn't help but smile affectionately at the child, "That's awesome, kiddo. You're gonna do a great job too, aren't you?" Lucky nodded, beaming up at him, "UH HUH! I PROMISE TO DO MY VERY BEST!" Necro hummed in acknowledgement, reaching out to gently pat his head, "Alright, Papyrus. I believe you."
Zerif grinned at Lucky as well, giving him a thumbs up, "And so do I, short stuff." The child's smile seemed to widen even further and he giggled, already feeling excited at getting to take care of his sister. Zerif let out a sigh, still smiling as he stood, turning to offer a hand to Necro, "I think the kids are ok now... Now c'mon, babe. Let's go back to bed too. Heaven knows you need your rest."
The necromancer rolled his eye lights, still smiling faintly as he took his boyfriends hand and stood, absentmindedly intertwining their fingers, "Fine, fine... lead the way then, Zerif." Zerif's eye lights briefly flickered, shifting into small hearts before returning to their normal splatter shape, and he gently squeezed the shorter man's hand, before turning and guiding both of them out of the room. The adults gave the kids one final "goodnight", and then vanished, leaving the two of them alone.
Mal watched as Lucky pushed his blankets aside, arching a brow bone as he looked at her expectantly. She then exhaled deeply, playfully flicking her deep blue ecto tongue at Lucky before crawling into the bed and stretching. The child followed her lead and she tugged the blankets up over both of them, smiling as he cuddled closer to her, letting out a rather big yawn.
The teen shook her head, smiling to herself as she closed her sockets and began to relax, only cracking one socket open again as she heard Lucky mumble, "Goodnight, big sis... I love you." Continuing to smile, a single blue tinted tear dripped down her cheek, and she mumbled back, "I love you too, Paps."
