The Haunting of Collimore Manor || Murder Trio x Reader

Chapter 29: Romantic Revelation

It had been three weeks since the great calamity that was the barrier-breaking. Everybody had been minding their own business and going about their days like always. Horror had been in the garden more frequently, Nightmare spent all his time either reading or practising his magic, Killer did whatever kept him entertained during the day that wasn't harassing you, and Error was unsurprisingly still in his bedroom.

You spent the majority of your time by Dust's side. Whenever you weren't occasionally tending to other matters, you were keeping him company in his bedroom while you chatted or were reading a book.

Papyrus had made his appearances which you did your best to shut down. He would ignore you for the most part and focus all his attention on sending hateful and degrading words Dust's way. He would mostly talk down to Dust and make him think he was disgusting and that he deserved the pain he got because he was foolish.

It was disgusting to hear Papyrus say those things, especially when Dust wasn't entirely to blame. Everything that happened was a trap set by Papyrus from the beginning. He purposely instigated Dust's bloodlust so he could hurt him and keep him under his control.

You would always have to spend a lot of time comforting and reassuring Dust afterwards. It was saddening how large the effect Papyrus' words had. Horror was right, the memory of Papyrus being Dust's cheerful brother had him convinced his ghost would be the same.

Thankfully, Papyrus stopped showing up as often and has been completely inactive these past few days. Dust's mood and general mental health had been improving day by day. From what you could tell he was well on his way to getting better, but the thought of "Papryus coming back and ruining everything lingered in the back of your mind.

You had taken some time while Dust was sleeping to talk with Nightmare. You wanted to know how often this would happen to Dust and how long it would usually last before the returned back to normal. The results were quite upsetting to hear.

Turns out that Papyrus' influence would affect Dust this badly once every few months and could either last as short as a week or as long as 1-2 months, depending on the severity of the situation.

You also mentioned in conversation how useful it would be to have a pair of gloves cursed. Killer had gone on another "shopping" trip now that the barrier was opened, but there was no way he would ever do anything you asked of him.

Apparently, Nightmare had caught wind of this idea and asked Error if he could make a pair for you, which he oh so kindly had done.

Sure, Error may have been his usual grouchy self, rolling his eyes as he handed you the gloves, but you were very appreciative. It was nothing special, just a simple pair of black knitted gloves, but in all honesty, it was a gift in and of itself to simply see Error. If he didn't come to the table every night at dinnertime, you would've been convinced he didn't exist.

Now that everything was slowly returning to the normalcy you'd been missing, you thought it would be a good time to head outside and do some gardening. You used to spend so much time talking and singing to your flourishing garden...

Ha! Gone are those days.

Whenever you would go into the garden, you'd either be met by Horror following closely behind, or were met with completed chores. It wasn't that you minded, quite the opposite in fact. You found Horror's company very enjoyable, far more so than anybody else.

He always did such a good job of caring for your garden. For such a humongous monster in both size and power, deep down he was a gentle giant. Not only that, but he knew everything that a garden needs to flourish. The right care, the right soil, he knew it all.