Still thinking about this very very good thread.

BECAUSE...what if this all starts because Dream is in heat? https://twitter.com/weirdwormy/status/1302748859119144961

What if this happens every couple of years, and it's the one time Night will call a truce and take his brother in for a few days because he's the only one who can handle the intensity of Dream's aura when he's heat stricken (and visa versa when it happens to Night)

Dream already feels uncomfortable with the way his aura affects people generally. Any normal partner he took during a heat would be immediately addicted/fixated on him, would demand a permanent bond, and Dream doesn't want that at all.

But he'll let Nightmare and his boys take care of him in heat since their LV and Nightmare's protection prevents them from developing that urge to claim him, but they all have a very nice time fucking a very willing and needy Dream into oblivion.

AND THEN CROSS JOINS THE TEAM. And when heat time rolls around NM explains what's gonna happen & tells him he's welcome (downright EXPECTED) to join in but Cross has all these misguided feelings about how he really LOVES Dream and would never take advantage of him in a heat state

And so he refuses to participate.

NM thinks he's an idiot, of course, but if Cross wants to make them both suffer (because Dream assumes that Cross just...doesn't want him...? ;_;) he isn't gonna say no.

Cross DOES insist on watching/keeping guard because he doesn't necessarily trust the others to take care of Dream properly and thinks there needs to be at least one person with a clear head (HA) present to stop things getting out of hand.

It's torture. His own self-induced hell, watching Dream getting fucked over & over, in every hole, every position, on every surface. And all the others are sensibly taking turns with breaks in between because if you stay exposed to someone in heat of course you're gonna catch it.

All the smells and pheromones and Nightmare dropping in to touch and tease Cross, OF COURSE he starts going into heat himself but is so. determined. not to give in. He's just doing this for Dream. His needs and feelings don't matter.

TL:DR Cross deserves to be driven crazy with self denial and then snap in a profound and messy way, to Dream's utter delight.

Additional thoughts:

Cross is trained as a soldier, so there's probably techniques and things they use to prevent going into heat at the wrong time, or so you don't catch it from someone you're meant to be guarding.

Cross DESPERATELY trying to keep himself under control and stable, but Dream's scent, his begging, and Nightmare's EXTREMELY UNHELPFUL teasing and goading and touching eventually making Cross's efforts useless.

Also: When Cross snaps, he's all instinct and feral urges and gets possessive and grabby which Dream likes but Nightmare doesn't because EXCUSE ME, KNOW YOUR PLACE. And he slams Cross into a wall because NO, BEHAVE.

Except Cross's heat-addled instincts interpret this as if he accidentally made a move on someone else's mate and that touching Dream is off-limits and it takes the twins a while to coax him back around to doing it again.