After the meeting, and after the Star Sanses left, Nightmare took Cross aside.
“You did good for your first mission, Cross.”
‘That was a mission? I thought it was a favor. Thank you though.’ Nightmare laughed.
“Well, anything that would take two hours or more, give or take a few minutes, I consider it a mission.” Cross nodded and decided to hug Nightmare. Never having received hugs often, especially from his “crew,” he was a little surprised at the gesture. Hesitantly and gently, he hugged Cross back. They held on for a bit before letting go. Cross smiled and walked off to surprise Killer by cuddling him. They soon realized that physical affection was Cross’s way of showing love and/or gratitude.
A few weeks later, Nightmare was looking for Cross, only to find him to be asleep on Killers lap. When Nightmare asked about it, Killer simply said, “I saw him stumbling around a lot and asked him about it. He said he was tired. He tried to go to his room, but it was painful to watch him stumble around like that. So I had him lay on the couch and somehow my lap ended up to be a pillow.” Nightmare chuckled and tossed Killer two blankets, one for Cross and one for himself. “Thanks boss!”
“You’re welcome, Killer.”
As he walked to his room, Nightmare was thinking, “I love how these boys take care of each other.”
