Quid Agam?

by orphan_account

Summary:

Dream is an innocent daycare worker, saving money and working every second to try to get into college. Tommy is one of the kids at the daycare, and Dream has been caring for him since he was a baby. Everything was normal, until it wasn’t.

Chapter 1: one

"Dream, will you handle check-in today? I've got to run to the store to get some more things for lunchtime." An older female said, grabbing her purse off the hook.

 

Dream looked up at her and nodded, "Of course, Miss Walters." He said quietly, then started picking up his books to put them back in his bag.

 

"Oh baby, you can keep working on your stuff, I just need you to go sit at the desk and watch them come in, check off their names as they do. You'll be able to see them in the main room from there. I'll only take fifteen minutes." Miss Walters responded, walking over to quickly peck Dream's cheek before walking out. The male sighed quietly, then picked up his notebook and textbook before walking to the desk. 

 

He probably wasn't going to be super attentive to his bookwork, since it was better for him to have his full attention to the kids. He just had to pretend so he could satisfy Miss Walters. The elderly woman had been taking care of Dream in her own way, and really wanted the young male to go to college. However, Dream's family barely had enough money to maintain an apartment on the bad side of town, they couldn't possibly send him to college right now. 

 

Sapnap and George never quite understood that. Sapnap's family wasn't filthy rich, but his mom had recently gotten a promotion, which secured his going to college. However, George, he had never gotten less than exactly what he wanted in life. He was an only child, with two parents that had more money than either of them needed. He didn't understand. 

 

"Hi, good morning, Dream. I'm so sorry but I am going to be so late.. do I... can I?" A female started, her voice frantic and quick.

 

Dream just smiled at her, nodding and smiling, reaching his hand out for her son. The toddler ran over to him and jumped into his arms, and Dream laughed, standing back up, "I've got him, Mrs. Simons. You go. I know how hard you're working to get this promotion." He said, smiling widely. 

 

"Thank you so much, I love you baby. I'll see you later," She responded, walking over to kiss Tommy's head before rushing back out. Dream sighed quietly, turning to look at the toddler in his arms. He didn't seem to be too upset over his mother's rush to get out, and Dream was thankful that he wasn't old enough to understand. Tommy was always the first to come, last to go. His parents seemed to be uninterested in raising a child, which made him wonder why they adopted him in the first place. 

 

He continued checking in everyone that came, having to put Tommy down once one of the babies they watched arrived. Although the toddler didn't enjoy that, and attempted to throw a fit, one stern look from Dream and the promise to play later made him stop. 

 

Miss Walters came back soon after, handing off the bags of groceries for Dream to put away. He nodded, walking back to the kitchenette. He sighed quietly, and when he looked up, he saw something through the window. He froze, leaning over the counter to look outside better, believing there was something there. 

 

"I'll be right back, Miss Walters." He called out, pushing the back door open to walk through. He looked around, his stomach twisting with nerves. He stepped out further, walking over to where the window looked out to. He looked around for a little bit, looking for something he wasn't sure was even there, before sighing quietly and heading back inside. He was just being paranoid. 

 

He walked into the play area, sitting down on his spot on the rug, smiling when the kids started crowding around him. He had been volunteering here seven days a week since he was sixteen years old, so most of the kids were closer to him than they were with some of their parents. It was kind of sad. 

 

“Dream, honey, the paranoia comes from working with children that you’re very close to. I remember always feeling like something was going to sneak in and nab them, but nothing ever happened. You’ll be okay,” Miss Walters came over and said to him, helping soothe his nerves some. He smiled and nodded at her, bringing Tommy to sit in his lap. 

 

The day passed by as normal, and Dream didn’t see anything in the window when he was preparing lunches, which made him feel like what he saw in the morning was just a figment of his paranoia. Miss Walters must have been right about it. 

 

He was taking his break, sitting in the front desk and reading his textbook, eating an apple slice here and there. He was exhausted. He had been up all night studying for his online courses, trying to cram all of the classes into his tight schedule so he could jump into college easily and comfortably once he had the money to be eligible for a student loan. 

 

“Excuse me?”

 

Dream stopped reading mid-sentence, looking up to see two men standing there. They were both tall, taller than Dream himself. One of them had curly brown hair, thin wireframe glasses, and a sweet expression. The other had waist-length pink hair, and was glaring harshly at the blond in front of him. Dream shakily sighed, then smiled, “What can I do for you?”

 

“We’re here to pick up Tommy.” The brunet said, pushing the pinkette’s face to the side. Dream frowned slightly, then began flipping through the check in book for a note from Tommy’s parents about somebody coming to pick him up. 

 

He pushed his textbook to the side and looked at the notepad as well, shaking his head, “I’m sorry, there’s nothing here from his parents about somebody coming to pick him up today, so I am going to have to call and double check,” He said, bringing the phone up to his ear and punching some numbers. However, he froze when he heard a click he recognized. 

 

“You’re going to go get Tommy, and you’re going to come back and hand him to us.” 

 

Dream started shaking slightly, putting the phone back onto the receiver. The pinkette had a gun trained on his forehead, and tears started welling up in his eyes, “This is a daycare. Why would you bring a gun to a daycare?” He asked in an almost silent voice, his entire body shaking. He had his fair share of experience with guns, hell, he owned one and could shoot it damn well, but he wasn’t the most brave when he was in a daycare full of children with a pistol aimed at his forehead. The pinkette moved the gun even closer, and Dream gasped, “I’ll get him. You just have to promise you won’t hurt any of the kids.”

 

“We won’t touch them.” The brunet told him, and Dream nodded. He closed his textbook and took a second to breathe, only walking to get Tommy when the pinkette put his gun back in the holster. 

 

He stepped into the playroom, sitting down to pick up Tommy, who was fast asleep for nap time. Miss Walters was in the back room, likely eating her lunch as well. He stood up with Tommy in his arms, and walked back to the entrance. The brunet smiled widely at the sight of the blond toddler, but Dream hesitated to hand him off, “Whoever you are, Tommy doesn’t know you. The Simons adopted him when he was just a baby. You may know him, but he’s not going to… he’s not… you’re nobody to him. You’re taking a toddler from all he’s ever known. You’re.. who even are you?” He asked, holding onto Tommy. 

 

“We’re his brothers. He was kidnapped and given to an adoption agency.” The brunet said. 

 

Dream shook his head, “That doesn’t change a single thing I just said. He has a routine. Every morning, he comes here and I give him a hug. Then we go into the playroom and he makes me read him his favorite book, he’s actually starting to memorize it. Can’t read, but can memorize a book because I’ve read it to him almost every day for a year. He’s allergic to something in the mayonnaise, so I make him a peanut butter and jelly instead for lunch, and I share my apples. Then he naps, and when he wakes up, he tries to throw a fit because I’m helping with the babies. I’ve known him since he was a baby. Why are you doing this? You don’t know him at all,”

 

“But you do.”

 

“What?” Dream asked, but Tommy was grabbed from his arms and something hard hit the top of his head. It didn’t knock him out, but his knees buckled, and just before he fell to the floor, one of them grabbed him. His entire skull was throbbing, and his vision was spotty. He felt like he had to vomit, and could barely even handle one of them moving him into a car, “You… won’t.. it’s.. nothing..”

 

The pinkette grabbed his hair and lifted his head up, shaking his head, “Shut up. We will get away with this, because there’s only two things that might happen to you. Captivity or death.”

Chapter 2: two

Notes:

i’m glad you guys are so excited for this story :)

"Dream? Is Tommy with you? He's not on his mat in here.." Miss Walters asked, freezing when she saw Dream's abandoned books and food. She looked out the window and saw somebody grabbing Dream's head inside of a car, so she pushed open the door and ran out to it. However, the door was slammed shut and the car sped away. She gasped, then ran back inside to call 911 as fast as she could.

 

"911 what's your emergency?"

 

Miss Walters could barely catch her breath before she started speaking, "The boy that works at my daycare as well as one of the toddlers were just taken! They were both in a black car and it drove away!"

 

"Okay, ma'am. Two squad cars are on your way. Please calm down for me."

 

She put the phone down, then began calling parents. Deep down, the elderly woman knew that even if they were working, they would drop everything and run to get their kid once they knew that there had been a kidnapping here. Her assumption turned out to be right, and a majority of the parents told her that they were on their way to pick them up. 

 

The police cars got there about ten minutes later, pulling up into the street and heading in. They made Miss Walters sit down in the chair, and began helping parents collect their children to try to clear out the daycare before questioning her. 

 

"When was the last time you saw him before he was in the car?" One of the policemen asked, looking at her while preparing to write down whatever she said. 

 

Miss Walters sniffled slightly, immeasurable guilt growing in her chest. "When we were putting down all the kids for nap time. He always does it so much better than I do, he's so much sweeter. They always listen to him when he says it's time to lay down. Then he went to sit up here so he could work on his book work and eat some lunch." She said, sighing loudly. She shook her head, "I thought everything was fine, so I went to eat my lunch too, then when I came out to ask him a question, Tommy was gone, he was gone, and I saw the car outside."

 

"Did you happen to catch any of the license plate?"

 

Miss Walters hugged, trying to remember what she had seen, "No, it didn't have one."

 

"Oh." The policeman said, gathering his things, the other doing the same. Miss Walters sputtered slightly, but the policeman placed a hand on her shoulder sympathetically, "We will open two missing persons cases, but unfortunately there's not much more we can do. You should contact the parents. We're going to get into contact with Dream's friends to try to understand what led to this happening."

 

The woman was left in shock as the police filed out of the daycare, and she moved to call Tommy's parents. 

 

George and Sapnap weren't doing much when they heard the knock on the door. They had both finished their classes for the day, and were watching a movie on cable when it happened. 

 

Sapnap knew that George wasn't going to get up to answer it, and from the time it was, he just assumed that Dream had left his house key at the daycare and didn't want to go back and get it. However, as he was preparing to say something snide to Dream, he saw two police officers standing there. 

 

"Is this the residence of Dream Wastaken?"

 

Sapnap's heart dropped to his stomach, but he tried to keep his mind positive, "Yes. I'm his roommate. Did something happen today?" He asked. It didn't necessarily mean something terrible. Maybe Dream just got caught jaywalking - he liked to do that.

 

“Yes. I regret to inform you that today around 2:15pm, Dream was kidnapped along with one of the children from the daycare he works at.” One of them said, barely reacting as Sapnap’s face fell and tears welled up in his eyes. He looked down and covered his mouth, and the police officer sighed, “There are currently no leads, however, we will open a missing persons case for him. There is one question we have to ask. Is there any chance you know of people in his life that he recently made angry?”

 

The younger male’s eyes shot up and he frowned, trying to remember anything Dream might have told him recently, “There was one guy. But nothing significant.” He muttered, rubbing his arm. 

 

“Everything is significant in a kidnapping case.”

 

He sighed, “A few nights ago, when he was working the graveyard shift in a diner, a guy got super mad at him. But it was just because his waffles weren’t crunchy enough, and he was drunk to the point where any normal person would have been dead. I don’t think that could lead to a kidnapping.”

 

The police officer wrote that down with a slight nod, then the two of them said goodbye to Sapnap. George had not moved from his spot on the couch, and turned to look at Sapnap with a bored look, “Who was that? Obviously it wasn’t Dream.”

 

“It was two police officers.” Sapnap mumbled, too quietly for George to hear. The older male huffed, and was about to go into a lecture about how Sapnap needed to speak up more and that he didn’t understand him when he mumbled, but Sapnap looked up, “It was two police officers!”

 

George laughed, “What’d you do?”

 

“Dream was kidnapped.” He said, hearing George’s laughter die out. The older male was looking up in shock, and Sapnap sighed, “Today while he was working. He and Tommy were kidnapped. There’s no leads, just a missing persons case. Knowing his background, they’re not going to try very hard to find him. They care more about the people who will consistently put money into the investigation.” He said, shaking his head at the older. 

 

George stood up quickly, “I-I can do that. I can put money into this so they have their best people, I.. can do it. I’ve never… I..” He stuttered, not exactly sure what to say anymore. 

 

“No.” Sapnap said, “You don’t have that money. Your parents do. They send you money every month, but by the time you get the money again, it’s going to be too late. So, save some of it. As much as you can every time you get it. Ask for it occasionally as well. There’s one group of people I think will help us way more than the police, but they come at a hefty fee.”

 

“Don’t. You promised you would never speak to him again. You know what happened last time,” George whisper-shouted, trying to reach and grab the phone so Sapnap couldn’t. “Seriously. Is he really worth all that heartache? Couldn’t we find someone else?”

 

Sapnap pushed George away, “Quackity may be an ass that runs a casino that he loves more than any person he could in life, but he has contacts. We have to pay him and we have to pay them. The fact.. my history with him, it might get us a nice discount. I would tear my heart out of my chest to ensure that Dream gets home alive. That’s what I care about.” He snarled, shoving the older male onto the couch so he could walk over to grab the phone. He dialed a phone number quickly, his entire body shaking when he heard somebody pick it up. 

 

“Hello my dear. Finally.. crawling back?”

 

Sapnap sniffled quietly, and he heard Quackity shift where he was sitting. “I need your help.”

Chapter 3: three

Dream woke with a gasp, the back of his head aching harshly. He was in a dark room, and when he tried to move his leg, all he heard was a chain rattle. The male gripped the sheets of the bed he was sitting on, and then looked up, seeing a person in the doorway. 

 

"Which one are you? The coward with the gun, or the passive one who was too weak to anything but take Tommy? Or are you someone new?"

 

The person chuckled, stepping forward so Dream could see him better. It was the brunet, and he was smiling widely, "You amuse me greatly. When there were children at risk, you did as we told you, you were soft," He started, whispering as he moved even closer to Dream, his grin growing manically as Dream tried to stand his ground, "But now, oh, now, you are so fucking fantastic. It makes my entire body tingle!"

 

"Get away from me." Dream attempted to snarl, but his voice was too shaky and quiet. 

 

The brunet groaned slightly, but didn't move away any, "That could have been so much more fun if you had just said yes. Well, whatever. I didn't come in here for that, as lovely as it would be. We have a bit of problem. You see, Tommy won't eat, won't sleep, won't stop screaming for you. He doesn't give a shit that he was taken from his adoptive parents, but he lost it when you weren't there. Not even his brothers can calm him down."

 

"He doesn't know them, idiot." Dream responded, trying to ignore the grin that returned to the brunet's face when he did. He closed his eyes and sighed, reaching around to the back of his head. He could feel matted up hair, and when he took his hand away, he could see some fresh blood on his fingers. "I'm not going to help you. Tommy is impossible to calm down, and that's going to be your problem. He will refuse to eat or drink anything you offer him, and eventually you'll have to take him to the hospital. You kidnapped me, chained me to a bed, and are just letting this wound on the back of my head ooze blood. Fuck off."

 

The brunet surged forward, grabbing Dream's face tightly, "My brother is going to kill you if you don't do something. I was kind enough to come in here myself, compliment your feistiness, but if you ever want your friends and family to see you again outside of a casket, you're going to do something." He said harshly, losing all of the playfulness his voice had before. He pushed Dream's face back down, then moved to unlock the cuff wrapped around Dream's ankle. 

 

"I don't understand."

 

"You don't have to understand." The brunet responded, throwing the chain to the floor and grabbing Dream's wrist, "You just have to do what we tell you to. And if you do, I'll go back to being super nice, because you're cute and I currently don't have a reason to hate you, but Tommy's incessant crying is driving me insane." He said, then pulled the younger male off the bed. Dream wobbled, the wound on the back of his head making him feel sick still. 

 

The brunet dragged him through a long hallway, and Dream could eventually hear Tommy crying and screaming. The toddler sounded out of breath and exhausted, and Dream almost immediately dropped his unconcerned facade to run to him. He was pushed into the room by the brunet, and he tripped over his own feet, catching himself on his hands. 

 

"Dream?"

 

He looked up, seeing Tommy in front of him. There were a few other people in the room, but Dream chose to ignore them for the moment, allowing Tommy to crawl into his lap and hold onto him. He heard the toddler sniffle a few more times, then go quiet. 

 

The oldest man in the room stiffened slightly at the sight, but walked over to Dream. He kneeled down in front of him, and sighed, "Wilbur, go take him to the infirmary and get his head patched up. He's no help to us if he's sick from blood loss because you couldn't be bothered to fix a superficial bleed. Make sure Tommy goes as well. We can't handle another fit." The man said, tilting Dream's head to the side to carefully press a finger to the wound. "Techno, this was unnecessary. You did not need to injure him."

 

"Got carried away." The pink-haired male shrugged, then turned around to walk out of the room. The man huffed, then stared directly at the brunet. The male, now known as Wilbur, huffed, then helped Dream stand up, walking him in the opposite direction until they were in a room with multiple beds that had stark white sheets on them. 

 

Dream carefully placed Tommy down on one of them, sighing when he saw how swollen his eyes were. Wilbur grabbed the back of his shirt and forced him to sit down, pushing his blond hair aside to get a better look at the wound. He smiled to nobody in particular, then turned Dream's head to the side, "It's shallow, like he said, a superficial bleed. You won't even need to get stitches. Which is good, because I'm not very good at those." He said. 

 

"Can you get me a cold, damp towel?" Dream asked. Wilbur raised an eyebrow, but Dream just sighed quietly, "For his eyes. To make sure that they're not swollen shut by the time he wakes up."

 

Wilbur hummed, then walked to the connected bathroom to grab a few towels. He handed one of them to Dream, then began using the other ones to clean the back of his head. He stopped what he was doing for a moment, and dropped his chin onto Dream’s shoulder, “Where’d your feistiness go?”

 

“My..” Dream started, then sagged slightly, “My vision is blurry and I feel sick. I probably have a concussion. Sorry that I don’t exactly feel like turning you on anymore. I just miss my people.” 

 

Wilbur blinked a couple times, then wrapped his arms around Dream’s torso, ignoring how Dream’s breath hitched when he did. He smiled widely, reaching his hand up to tilt Dream’s head back, “I’ll be your people. Besides, now that you know our names, you can’t ever leave this place. Phil should have been much more careful. Now you’re ours.” He said, then leaned back so he could dress Dream’s wound.

 

“I won’t say anything. You could still let me go, and I promise that I won’t tell anyone anything. I’ll teach you what you need to do for Tommy, just please. Please let me go.” He begged. 

 

Wilbur groaned, taping the bandage before forcing Dream to turn around and face him, “Look, gorgeous, clearly you don’t have much experience with police. We didn’t just take you, we also took Tommy. If we let you go, and you started talking about how you didn’t know anything, they’d hook you up to a lie detector. Then they would get the truth out of you.” He whispered, tilting Dream’s jaw up, “They would scare you into telling them everything. Because the people who adopted Tommy have money. Don’t you know how it works? They care about people who have money, nobody else. The police would berate you and shame you until you told them what you know.”

 

Dream trembled, but he kept himself from crying in front of Wilbur. The brunet grabbed his cheeks and pulled him closer, smiling at him. Dream pushed his lips together tightly, then looked directly at Wilbur, nearly crying, “They’re not going to look for me?”

 

“I’m sorry, but no. I did some research on your family, and they can’t feed any money into an investigation. Eventually, they’ll stop searching, and you’ll be forgotten, presumed dead. They’ll move on. But I can be your people, Dream.” Wilbur whispered, his mind rejoicing when Dream looked at him with trust in his eyes. He leaned even closer, to the point where Dream could feel his breath on his face. He smiled, “Just let me be your people, Dream.”

 

The blond tensed slightly, but he quickly relaxed in Wilbur’s hold, leaning forward so the brunet could hold onto him. Wilbur grinned manically, reaching his hand up to play with the hair on Dream’s nape. It was so much easier to do this than he thought. 

Notes:

wilbur is just putting on a show - i am not a fan of actual toxic relationships btw

Chapter 4: four

"I want to play with Tommy."

 

Phil kneeled down in front of Tubbo, turning to look at his youngest son. Tommy was sitting on Dream's lap as he ate his lunch, refusing to look towards any of them. He sighed, and gently rubbed Tubbo's shoulder soothingly, "I know. But Mr. Dream there is working so he can be comfortable with us." 

 

"But Wilbur gets to play with Tommy!" Tubbo complained, slapping Phil's thighs lightly. 

 

"I know." He said, turning Tubbo away. He saw Dream looking over at the two of them, so he decided to walk over there and sit next to him. The young male sighed quietly, and looked like he was about to say something, but Phil shook his head and leaned in to his ear, "If you want to stick around, you need to take care of all of the children." He whispered in a mildly threatening tone. 

 

Dream looked to the side, nodding slowly. Phil nodded in response, then gestured to Tubbo and Ranboo to walk over. The two toddlers slowly did, and Phil decided to move back. 

 

Tommy tensed slightly in Dream's lap, but the male just rubbed his back, forcing him to look back up at the other two, "Tommy, these are your brothers. I.. I know that it's scary right now, because everything feels very new, but you should be friends. You need to have some friends here." He said, and the toddler looked up at him with terrified eyes, and Dream sighed, smiling, "I'm not going to go anywhere. I need to take care of your brothers, too, so it'll make me really happy if you start playing with them."

 

"Fine.." Tommy muttered with puffed-out cheeks and Dream smiled weakly at him. The blond toddler turned to face Ranboo and Tubbo, who were looking at him with excited faces. He pouted slightly, but Dream nodded at him, so he got out of his lap and walked over to them, "I'm Tommy."

 

Tubbo's eyes practically went starry, and he ran over to hug Tommy tightly. "Hi Tommy! I'm Tubbo!"

 

"I'm a big man! I don't give hugs!" Tommy shouted, trying to pry Tubbo's arms off of him. Dream weakly smiled, reaching out to keep Tommy from actually hitting Tubbo. Tubbo didn't even seem to mind Tommy's reaction, too caught up in the fact that the younger was finally agreeing to be friends with him. 

 

Dream leaned back slightly, his back aching from sitting on the floor for over an hour now. He shuddered and tensed slightly when he felt a hand make its way to rest on his lower back, hesitant to turn around and see who it was. However, the person made themselves known, “Hello, Dreamie. How are you feeling right now?” 

 

“Wilbur..” Dream mumbled in response, about to swat his hand away, but he started gently rubbing the knotted muscles and he no longer had the inclination to do so. He closed his eyes and sighed, chewing on his lip to try to build up the urge to move away from the older male, but his ministrations felt so good. He leaned forward and grabbed Wilbur’s hand, “Hey.. I’m supposed to be watching them..”

 

The older male chuckled lowly, “Oh, so you like this? It just feels too good, that you’re worried you’re going to be too distracted by it?” He asked, making Dream shudder slightly. He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath, grabbing his wrist and twisting it away from himself. Wilbur hissed in pain, but Dream huffed. 

 

“I’m busy. And we’re not lovers. Go away.” He scolded, turning back to look at the kids. They were now playing with a couple toys that Ranboo has brought over, well, Tommy and Tubbo had taken all of them from the former, making him sit behind them and simply watch. He didn’t seem to mind. 

 

Wilbur scowled slightly where he was sitting, and leaned back in to whisper in Dream’s ear, “We could be, you know.” He said, then left. 

 

“Dream?”

 

The male looked down, seeing Ranboo standing in front of him. The toddler looked hopeful, so he tilted his head slightly, reaching a hand out to him. Ranboo’s eyes widened slightly, but he still looked to bashful to do anything. Dream smiled, and pulled the toddler into a tight hug, setting him down in his lap to talk, “What’s going on?” He asked. 

 

“They won’t let me play..” He mumbled, pouting slightly. Dream cooed almost silently, brushing some of his hair off his forehead. 

 

Tommy seemed to notice Ranboo sitting in Dream’s lap, so he walked over and tried to shove him away, but Dream just shook his head and pulled Tommy in so they could both sit with him. They were all good kids, and warmed up to him quickly. 

 

On the opposite side of the room, Techno made his way to stand next to Wilbur. The pinkette narrowed his eyes slightly, “They really decided they liked him that quickly?” He asked, his tone snide. 

 

“He’s good with children. You do remember that he worked at Tommy’s daycare, right?” Wilbur added on, ignoring how Techno’s face contorted. 

 

They stood in silence for a little while, just looking at Dream talking to the toddlers, then Techno shook his head, “He was a glorified babysitter. Still is. And you’re not supposed to like him, Wilbur. Remember what happened with our last eight caretakers. They were all dead within a month. He’s got two weeks left. Then he’ll die like the rest of them, and we move on. Find someone new.”

 

“He’s not going to die.” Wilbur said, and Techno smirked, just about ready to start mocking him. However, Wilbur just pinched his ear harshly, turning to look at Dream again. “Be realistic Techno, if Dream dies, Tommy will lose it. And we’d never be able to calm him down ever again. No matter who we got, nobody would ever compare to him,”

 

The pinkette hummed, shaking his head, “No, I think the person who would never get over it is you. Tommy’s three, almost four. He’d be upset for a little while, then he’d move on. You are getting overly attached to a caretaker again. This happened with Sally and we all know how that turned out.”

 

“I was fucking fifteen Techno. She was the adult. That was not my fault. And I don’t give a shit about that kid. Who even knows where it is?” He snarled, crossing his arms and moving away from his brother. The pinkette narrowed his eyes, but just scoffed and walked out of the room again. 

 

Dream noticed Wilbur’s sour mood from where he was, and decided to go and talk to him after he put the kids down for their naps. 

 

After a couple hours, Dream was standing in front of Wilbur in the hallway, his heart pounding out of his chest, terrified of the stern face he had. He bit the inside of his lip, then sighed, “Something making you mad? Because you look terrifying.” He whispered, unable to find his breath under Wilbur’s gaze. 

 

“Nothing for you to concern yourself with,” The older responded in a low tone, grabbing Dream’s chin and lifting it up. He needed the blond to give in so he could move on from him. It’s what happened. Once he got a taste, he could move on and be done. 

 

He leaned in, ready to taste the sweetness that was certainly waiting on Dream’s lips, but they heard footsteps approaching them, so he leaned away, turning to see who it was. It was Jack Manifold, one of the underling guards. His face was slightly flushed at the embarrassment of walking in on what seemed to be an intimate scene, but got over it to say what he needed to, “We have a problem. There’s been a bounty placed on Dream’s head.”

 

“What?” Dream asked, trying to break free of Wilbur’s grasp, terrified. “How could that have happened?”

 

“Supposedly a miscommunication. Our spy over there said someone went to Quackity and wanted you found, but Quackity told Schlatt that they wanted you dead.” Jack said, nobody missing how Wilbur’s hands seemed to tighten around Dream. 

 

The oldest male looked up, his eyes dark, “Dream is going into protective custody with the kids. I’m going to kill that duck.”

Notes:

i’m not sure how i feel about this chapter?

Chapter 5: five

Sapnap was sitting in a private room in Quackity’s casino, holding a thick envelope of cash with a death grip. He was shaking with anxiety, he would never be okay with seeing Quackity again, but he had to. He wasn’t sure when he was going to be able to see his ex, but he was hoping sooner rather than later. 

 

After a few calls to the police, Sapnap and George learned that every day that passed, the chance of Dream being dead got even higher. The two of them got frantic, and both pulled out of their inheritance to get a base fee for Quackity to reach out. 

 

“Oh, mi amor. You look absolutely breathtaking. Twenty years old looks perfect on you.”

 

Sapnap’s heart sunk slightly, and he turned his head, seeing Quackity standing in the doorway. He was wearing navy slacks and a white button-up, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He walked over to sit across from Sapnap, leaning forward. Sapnap sighed lowly, “I’m sure you understand by now… why I need your help.” He whispered, and Quackity hummed. 

 

“Yeah, and I’ve had a spy look into it.” The male responded, pushing a folder towards Sapnap. The younger looked up at him, and he nodded, so he opened it. The first thing was a picture, and he gasped, placing his hand on it. Quackity smirked slightly, but dropped the face, “He was kidnapped by the SBI group. Tommy’s the son of their leader, and Tommy was attached to Dream. I sent somebody to steal some security footage, but as it turned out, it had been completely wiped. So, they hacked into it.”

 

He placed a tablet down on the table, and pressed play on the video. It was the security video of when Dream got kidnapped, and Sapnap nearly cried when he saw the one with long hair hit him on the back of the head with a gun. He sputtered for a moment, then he looked up, “W-why.. can you take this to the police? Maybe they can identify..”

 

“Mi amor, be realistic. Your friend’s family is dirt poor. The police don’t care about him, and not to mention, it is the SBI Mafia. Dream is probably being held as a caretaker for Tommy, and they usually die within a month or two. The children are targeted, and the caretakers die protecting them.” Quackity said nonchalantly, barely reacting at the horrified expression that crossed over Sapnap’s face. 

 

The younger pushed the tablet away, “He can’t die. Dream is.. he’s Dream. I need him.”

 

“Does he take it up the ass for you?” Quackity asked, and Sapnap gasped in disgust. The older male rolled his eyes, then leaned back into the booth, “Come on, no man on earth gets this attached to somebody if that somebody is not giving them something. Besides, look at him. He’s a twink. Even you could..”

 

“Shut up!” Sapnap shouted, covering his ears, tears welling up in his eyes. He looked back up at Quackity and huffed, “Dream is my friend. I would never consider doing anything like that with him. He’s the one who helped me after you. Who introduced me.. I just want him home, and I need your help. So can you help me, or do I need to go to someone else?”

 

Quackity sighed, weighing his options in his mind for a moment. He groaned loudly, then walked over to stand in front of Sapnap. “You have two options. The first is that you pay me five thousand dollars to reach out to Schlatt and get him to look into what I’ve found and get him back, which would cost about another ten thousand dollars. The second is you hand me that envelope of cash, spend two nights with me, let me do what I want, then I go to Schlatt, hand him that money and get him to find your friend, no other fees. What do you choose?” He asked. 

 

“I…” 

 

 

“Sapnap, you know what Quackity does to you. Go in there and be smart. Don’t give in.”

 

 

He sighed heavily, “I choose the second option. But you have to promise to follow through, please. I will do whatever you want me to, but you have to follow through. Dream’s eighteen, and he hasn’t even gone to college yet.” He whispered, shaking as Quackity got even closer to him. 

 

“I promise, mi amor.” Quackity responded, breathless. He could not even try to hide the excitement he was feeling, and he surged forward to connect his lips with Sapnap’s. He dragged Sapnap forward, then pushed him back to lay down on the table. Sapnap could feel tears welling up in his eyes, terrified of what was going to happen. 

 

Two days later, Sapnap was laying in Quackity’s bed, sobbing silently as the older slept. He was covered in hickies and bite marks, a burning feeling taking over his lower back. He felt disgusting, destroyed. He never should have agreed to do this. He and George could have scrapped up the money. George’s parents would have supplied it. They loved Dream. 

 

He heard Quackity lift himself out of the bed, and he leaned over to kiss Sapnap’s cheek, “I have a meeting with Schlatt today. You can go home.” He said, then he walked away. Sapnap covered his mouth so Quackity couldn’t hear him, then began collecting his stuff so he could run out. 

 

He made it home in a few hours, and collapsed into George’s arms while sobbing. The older male rubbed his back, and Sapnap closed his eyes, “I only did it for him. I only did it for Dream.”

 

“I know. I know. We’ll get him back.”

 

Quackity was waiting for Schlatt to make his way into the room he was sitting in, tapping his foot while scrolling through his phone. He heard the door open and slam shut, and he looked up, seeing the mafia leader standing there, his eyes dark. 

 

“What the hell do you want?”

 

Quackity sighed, “Does it always have to be so difficult with you?” He asked, sliding the envelope of money onto the table in front of him. Schlatt raised an eyebrow, opening it to look at the amount inside. 

 

“This ain’t enough for anything.” Schlatt responded, throwing the money back towards him. 

 

Quackity rolled his eyes, and stood up, leaning forward to push the cash back to him. “I’ll pay you the rest when the job is done. It’s not going to be easy, so I’ll definitely have to go into my safe to pay you. Are you going to listen now?” He asked, and Schlatt nodded. He smiled widely, then showed the man the picture he had of Dream, “This is a person who is currently working for the SBI mafia as a caretaker. I need you to kill him.”

Chapter 6: six

Notes:

happy spooky month here’s a chapter

 

CW : gun, knife, violence

Wilbur could practically hear alarms sounding off in his head when he saw the small male standing in front of him, shaking with his hand behind his back. He stepped forward, and reacted quickly when the male swung his arm towards him. 

 

He grabbed onto his wrist tightly, twisting it until the perpetrator’s knife fell to the floor. He huffed, then glared at the person harshly. They looked terrified, and tried to move away, but Wilbur just tightened his grip on his wrist, going as far as to push him back on the floor and shove his heel into their chest. 

 

After pressing the small call button he had in his pocket, he gave a manic grin down at the small male, making him panic more than he already was. 

 

“You know, I was actually planning on visiting my dear, beautiful Dream today. But now that you’ve done this, I can’t. In fact, we have to move him. Again! You have ruined my day!” He shouted, using his entire body weight to punch the person square in the nose. He was about to do it again, but he felt somebody grab his wrist tightly. 

 

He turned around with a deep scowl, but dropped it when he saw Phil standing there. “This is unnecessary. Get rid of him like normal. And you’re fine to visit Dream. It would be more suspicious if we moved him again.” He said, then dropped down Wilbur’s arm. The younger male huffed. He was really hoping to beat some sense into one of Schlatt’s stupid, little, pathetic underlings who could barely tell their ass from a hat, but he knew better than to go against what Phil said to him. 

 

“Fine..” He muttered, standing up. He grabbed the male by the collar, and began walking out of their home, ready to throw him into one of their cars. 

 

It was truly boring, getting rid of people like this, but Phil didn’t particularly enjoy killing people unless he truly saw it fit. So, a shaking coward sent to them with a knife, well, Phil didn’t see a reason to kill someone like that. So, all they did was throw them into a car and send them to a different city. 

 

He groaned heavily, slumping down to sit on the concrete below him. He was growing sick of Schlatt sending people who clearly and obviously weren’t capable of killing someone. 

 

“Wilbur!”

 

He raised and eyebrow and turned around, seeing both Techno and Phil running towards him. He pushed himself off the ground and opened his mouth to say something, but Techno interrupted him before he could, “All four of them pressed their panic buttons just now. We need to go!” He shouted. 

 

“What?!” Wilbur shouted in return, but followed the two of them to their garage. Techno seemed to be concerned about what happened, which made sense. The pinkette may put on a brave face and act like he couldn’t be bothered about what happened to people, but he did care about his little brothers. 

 

 

Dream didn’t particularly enjoy being alone with three toddlers in a safe house, but it’s not like he could safely stay in the SBI house. According to what Wilbur had been telling him, the person who placed the bounty over his head was Schlatt, who ran an opposing mafia. He said they had never been in an extreme conflict with them before, which meant that Quackity was paying him substantially. 

 

He knew who went to Quackity. He had a pit of dread in his stomach since he learned it was the casino owner that went to Schlatt, because he knew that Sapnap would go to him if he believed Quackity could get him back. And he knew what kind of cost Quackity would put on his services. 

 

Sapnap had never fully recovered from his relationship with Quackity, Dream knew that. He knew that he couldn’t provide everything Sapnap needed to get through it, but he still tried. He hated that because of his carelessness, Sapnap had to go back to the man who emotionally and verbally abused him for nearly two years. For what? Quackity told Schlatt they wanted him dead. 

 

“Dream?”

 

The male seemed to snap back into reality, and he looked down to see Ranboo standing in front of him. He kneeled down, “What’s wrong?”

 

“There’s somebody banging on the door.”

 

Dream’s heart dropped to his stomach and he seemed to finally hear the banging on the door. Except.. he knew it wasn’t just that. Someone was trying to get in. He grabbed Ranboo’s shoulders tightly, “Listen to me, what I’m about to tell you is really important. Get your brothers, and all three of you need to press the red button on that thing Phil gave you before we left. That way, they’ll know they need to come get us. Then you three need to hide. Hide, and cover your ears. Do you understand?” He asked. 

 

“Mhmm.” Ranboo responded, then ran back into the living room. Dream shook slightly, but took a few deep breaths to steady himself before reaching for the safe. He punched in the code for it, then pulled out the gun he had been given, sticking it in the back of his waistband. He didn’t have time to be scared. 

 

He pressed his own panic button before slowly and quietly making his way to the front door. He could hear the person’s grunts of exertion, so he carefully unlocked the door and yanked it open. 

 

The man shouted in pain, having been unable to catch his balance before falling to the ground. He was attempting to clutch at his leg, which was likely fractured, then Dream stomped on his fingers, grinding his heel in until he hear a loud snap. The man screamed again, but then grinned. 

 

“Oh, this will be so much fun..”

 

Dream couldn’t control the flash of horror that crossed his face when the man stood up, shakily reaching for his gun. The man was laughing maniacally, and pulled out a knife. It wasn’t very sharp, Dream could clearly tell that. 

 

“Dream?”

 

He gasped loudly, and turned to see Tommy standing there. He was about to say something, but the man in front of him began moving towards the toddler. Dream pulled his gun out and placed it on the man’s head, breathing heavily. The man acted quickly and placed his knife against Dream’s neck. The younger male sighed, then looked over to Tommy, “Okay, I need you to close your eyes and cover your ears Tommy. This is going to be scary. Please.”

 

“But..”

 

“Tommy! Do it.” He said, gulping when the man pushed his knife against his neck more. 

 

The toddler nodded, then placed his hands over his ears, closing his eyes tightly. Dream turned back to the man and pulled the trigger. 

 

 

Blood. 

 

There’s so much blood…

 

Who does it belong to?

 

 

 

 

 

It hurts..

Chapter 7: seven

Notes:

CW : needles, talk of wounds/injuries/blood

“Dream?”

 

Tommy went to open his eyes, because the room went silent, but he heard Dream. 

 

“Tommy… keep..” He started, speaking slowly, stopping to cough slightly, “Keep your… eyes… closed…” He whispered, his voice barely loud enough for Tommy to hear him. The toddler wanted to do what he wanted, but he knew better than to not listen to what Dream said, so he kept them shut. 

 

Dream sighed in relief when he saw that Tommy wasn’t going to open his eyes. He wanted nothing more than to go over to him and wipe the blood splatters off his face, but he was fairly certain that moving around was not a good choice. 

 

He internally begged his body to continue breathing, to not die because of the masochistic man’s knife. He shakily brought his hand up, trying to reach to feel for the wound when he heard a car screech to a stop. 

 

“Dream! Oh shit.”

 

A cloth covered hand immediately made it’s way to his neck, stanching the bleeding for the time being. He could faintly see Phil sitting above him, “You are not going to die here. Keep your eyes open.” He practically ordered, and Dream whimpered quietly, finding it much harder to do as he asked. 

 

“Get.. them.. out.” Dream wheezed out, carefully lifting his bloody hand up to point at Tommy. His entire body was shaking slightly, “They..”

 

Phil shushed him, then pushed his hand back down onto the ground, “Techno will. He’s making sure Wilbur doesn’t come in here, and getting me some supplies.” He said, and Dream started crying. The older male sighed quietly, then readjusted his hand placement to better stop the blood flow. 

 

“Tommy, let’s go.” Techno said, picking up his brother while placing a hand over his eyes. Phil told him that none of the toddlers were allowed to see Dream yet, which made sense. The eighteen year old had a deep cut on his neck, just barely missing the carotid. Odds say that he should be dead, but thankfully, Dream had a gun, and the other man had a dull knife. 

 

The toddler went without fight, keeping his eyes closed tightly like Dream asked him to. Ranboo and Tubbo were waiting in the car for him, and Techno told Wilbur to drive away and take them home. 

 

Once he was sure Wilbur was gone, he ran back inside to start helping Phil with Dream. He held down the male’s head as Phil started to suture the wound on his neck shut, muttering under his breath as he did. Dream was barely awake at this point, his skin pale and clammy from blood loss. 

 

“Fuck. He needs a blood transfusion or he’s going to die. Dream, what blood type are you?”

 

Dream looked up at Phil with foggy eyes, blinking a couple times before whispering, “AB.. negative..”

 

“That’s..” Phil started, looking up at Techno. The pinkette frowned deeply, then yanked up his sleeve, tying a tourniquet around his upper arm. Phil sighed, then stuck a needle into the bulging vein, then connected the other side to the one in Dream’s arm. 

 

Dream coughed again, then Phil continued suturing the wound. Dream looked up at the two of them for a moment, fat tears welling up in his eyes before they closed, his body going limp. 

 

Phil panicked for a moment, but sighed in relief when he felt that Dream still had a pulse. He completed the sutures, tying them off before wrapping Dream’s neck stiffly with bandages and padding. He huffed quietly, then turned to the other side of the room. The man was laying there, a large pool of blood around his head, brain matter leaking out as well. 

 

“This is wrong.” Techno said, looking at the man as well. Phil turned to him with a frown, and Techno just shook his head, “This is Schlatt. That greedy bastard wants every cent of money he can get, but he’s sending random, low-level nobodies to a job he’d struggle with himself. Hell, look at this knife. I don’t even know how he managed to cut through Dream’s neck with this thing. Schlatt isn’t weak, neither is his group. What’s going on?” He asked. 

 

Phil shrugged, “Your guess is as good as mine. Let’s just get Dream back so he can recover in our infirmary. Clearly it’s safer for him to remain in the home with us.” He said, ignoring Techno’s scoff. 

 

“Why are you and Wilbur..”

 

“So attached to this one?” Phil asked, reaching over to remove the tubing from Techno’s vein. He taped a bandage over it, then stared at him, “He’s the best caretaker we’ve ever had, the kids love him, he loves them. And both you and Wilbur need someone like him in your life. You didn’t hesitate to give him blood, you just did it because you knew it would save him. You care about him. I don’t believe Wilbur’s feelings for him are anything but lustful and passionate right now, they’re not companionate. But Dream won’t give into him. He reminds me greatly of your mother. I was a fool, but she was patient and kind. He is very similar to her. That’s why I want him around.”

 

Techno sighed, then moved to pick Dream up. The two of them walked out of the house. Techno sat in the backseat with Dream on his lap, holding two fingers under Dream’s jaw to watch his pulse. 

 

Phil’s overly cautious driving made it so they took forever fo get back to the house. However, Dream didn’t wake, so it could be considered a success. Techno shook his head when they got there, and slid out of the car with Dream in his arms, “I’ll bring him to the infirmary and get him hooked up to IV fluids and some more blood. You should probably tell Wilbur everything that happened. There’s no doubt he’s losing his mind by now.” He said, and Phil nodded slightly in agreement. 

 

The older male disappeared down a hallway while Techno made his way to the infirmary. He knew Wilbur wasn’t going to react well when he heard what happened. Despite the fact that his feelings were entirely lustful, it didn’t change the fact that Wilbur still cared about him and wanted him to be safe. 

 

“You’re resilient.. I’ll give you that. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who suffered a wound like this and lived to tell the tale.” Techno muttered, taping down the IVs to Dream’s arm. The male was getting some of his color back, which was good. Techno sighed, then leaned back onto his chair, “Not to mention, you managed to perfectly aim a gun so not only did you immediately kill that guy, you also sent his brains splattering across the floor. Who the hell are you?”

Chapter 8: eight

"You had some damage to your vocal cords in the attack, so talking will be hard for a few weeks. When you do talk, speak quietly." Phil said, slowly unwrapping the bandages around Dream's neck to check on the sutures. They had completely dissolved into the skin, and Phil sighed, "You are going to have a nasty scar, probably forever."

 

Dream shrugged slightly, "I don't really care. You said you had burner phones, right? I need to reach out to somebody but I don't have my own phone."

 

"We do. I'll grab one for you." The older male responded, throwing the bandages away before walking out of Dream's room. He saw Wilbur standing the hallway, and he huffed, "You still don't need to see him. Go do your job."

 

Wilbur scoffed, but he turned around and started walking back towards the playroom. He had been the one watching the kids while Dream was incapacitated, despite his arguments and fights against it. Phil needed to see if Wilbur's feelings would remain if he wasn't permitted contact with Dream for an extended period of time, or if they were simply lustful. 

 

He pulled a burner phone out of a drawer in his office, then walked back to give it to Dream. The younger male trembled slightly as he punched in the number, sighing as he held it up to his ear. 

 

Sapnap was sitting on the couch next to George, both of them trying, and failing, to do their schoolwork when the phone started ringing. They didn’t rush to answer it, assuming it was just the police telling them that they hadn’t found any new leads. Sapnap held it up to his ear, “Hello?”

 

“Sapnap.. do you know what you did?”

 

The male stiffened, making George turn over to him. He was about to say something to him, but Sapnap turned to him with tears in his eyes, “Dream..”

 

“What?” George whispered, grabbing the phone to change it to speaker so he could hear it as well. 

 

“Sapnap. Do you know what you did?”

 

Dream’s voice was harsher there, making Sapnap more worried. Did he know that he went to Quackity for this? Sapnap breathed shakily, “I don’t..”

 

“Sapnap, while I understand where you were coming from, Quackity is a lying, cheating bastard. He has no hesitation to go back on promises to you.”

 

“What are you talking about?” George asked, his voice showing his desperation clearly. They heard Dream sigh on the opposite side of the line. 

 

“Quackity is paying Schlatt out of his own pocket to have me killed. Sapnap, by going to Quackity and showing how much you cared about me, well, it only made him angry. It made him view me as a challenge. And if you told him that I was the one who helped you get over him? That would make it worse. Sapnap, Quackity is going to do everything in his power to get you back. I’m not saying go back to him, in fact, I’d prefer if you never spoke to him again. But if you two don’t find a way to call him off, you will never see me again outside of a casket. I almost died last week. Somebody slit my throat and just barely missed my carotid artery. I love you two, but you made the wrong call.”

 

Sapnap and George both started shaking slightly, the former tearing up. They truly thought that going to Quackity was the best choice, but Dream’s words were cutting deep. Sapnap closed his eyes, “We thought.. I thought.. he told me that you were going to die. He said that you were being held as a caretaker and they always die in one or two months. I.. I was scared, and he said that he would get you back..”

 

“He’s a liar, Sapnap. I can only sympathize with you so much. If you do not fix this, there’s only a few things that might happened. One, Quackity dies. These guys will kill him with no hesitation, but you know, there’s a good chance I’ll be dead by the time they do. Two, I die, and everyone moves on. Three, you never see me again because I’ve left the state. I want to be able to see you again, I really do, but I’m not putting my life at risk for it. Find a way to call Quackity off, or I am gone forever.”

 

“Can we call you again?” George asked, his voice trembling. Dream sighed. 

 

“No. This is a burner phone. The number will be useless as soon as I end the call. I may call you two again, but I’m not making any promises. So, please, find a way to fix your mistake.”

 

Dream pulled the phone away from his ear and ended the call, nearly sobbing. Phil took the phone away from him, throwing it on the ground before smashing it under his heel. Dream closed his eyes, then stood up, walking out of the room. Phil raised an eyebrow, and followed him out, curious to where he was going. 

 

Dream made a beeline to the playroom, and Phil weakly smiled. The younger male pushed open the door, and caught the toddlers that almost immediately flung themselves at him. He closed his eyes and embraced them as well, pulling them into his chest even tighter. 

 

Dream opened his eyes slightly, and he could see Wilbur standing on the other side of the room. He looked over at Phil, and the male nodded, walking over to peel the toddlers off his chest. Dream stood up, then made his way over to grab Wilbur’s arm and pull him out of the room. The older male closed his eyes, then shook his head, “You were dying and they wouldn’t even let me see you. It’s so stupid. What the hell did you do to me? Why.. why do I.. I..”

 

“Why do you care about me?” Dream asked coyly, making Wilbur glare at him. The younger male sighed, wrapping his arms around Wilbur’s neck. He looked at the scar on Dream’s neck with disdain, wishing he had gotten there fast enough to prevent it from happening at all. Dream closed his eyes, and Wilbur leaned down to press a kiss to the scar. 

 

Dream opened his eyes in shock, but Wilbur continued kissing across the scar. Once he had pressed a kiss across the entirety of it, he leaned back, looking into Dream’s eyes. The two of them stayed there for a little while longer, then Wilbur surged forward, grabbing Dream’s face tightly and pressing their lips together. He pushed him up against the wall, aggressively kissing Dream as if his life depended on it. The younger male went to reach to hold onto Wilbur differently, but he grabbed his arms and pushed them back, “Damn it.” He muttered, then turned around and disappeared down the hall. 

Chapter 9: nine

Notes:

schools sucks tbh

Dream was sitting down in front of Techno and Phil, taking deep breaths to try to quell his nerves. The two of them were staring him down, not saying anything. Then, Phil broke the silence, "Dream, we want the truth from you. That's all. You know how to use a gun, probably better than Wilbur, and you weren't even panicking when your throat was slashed. Trying to get a background check on you right now is too hard, so we're trying to get it from you directly. We would appreciate if you cooperate with this."

 

"I figured." Dream muttered, grabbing his arms. He knew that he was going to get trapped into this conversation, he knew it since he pulled that trigger. He shifted in the seat slightly, then sighed, "I grew up in the bad part of town, for lack of a better word, and when I was a kid, my family was robbed every other week. My dad was a coward, so I had to be the one to learn how to keep those people out of our apartment. And when my mom had more kids, well, I did it. I kept us safe and I kept people out of our house. I spent every hour I wasn't working on school at a gun range because I had no other choice. So, yeah, I can send a man's brains splattering across the floor no problem. It's not really a big deal."

 

Phil and Techno looked at each other for a moment, then the latter smiled, leaning closer to Dream. He knew the younger wasn't lying, so he sighed, "Well, as much as I would enjoy to see you on our front lines, you're going to stay with the children. We've never had somebody who could take care of them, and at the same time, be able to defend themselves. It's something we sorely need."

 

"Is there any news on Quackity or Schlatt?"

 

Techno shook his head, "Nothing good. Schlatt is still sending nobodies that can even make it through the door, and from our spy, Quackity's getting frustrated. And you're right, he is jealous and sees you as a challenge for somebody named Sapnap?" He said, making Dream look to the side. 

 

"My friend. He was in a relationship with Quackity a couple years ago and it was bad. I helped him get over him, and he told Quackity that, so.." Dream muttered, then stood up abruptly, "I'm gonna go."

 

Techno and Phil just sighed quietly as Dream walked out of the room, shutting the door behind himself. The pinkette scratched his head, "Well, that actually makes a lot of sense. It's more boring of a story than I expected, but it makes sense. Those neighborhoods are terrible, and every single household has a gun or something to defend themselves. People think that. they're easy targets, since they're all super poor, and a bunch of them go in and come out with no money or anything, just a gunshot wound."

 

"Or they're dead." Phil added, now messaging some of his people to steal police records about Dream. 

 

Techno turned to him in slight shock, "Do you think he's killed someone before?"

 

"We can't rule it out."

 

Dream was walking down the hallway with downcast eyes, checking the monitor in his pocket every couple minutes to see if the toddlers had woken up yet. He dragged a hand down his face, putting the monitor back in his pocket when he was pushed against a wall. 

 

It was Wilbur. 

 

The older male was once again aggressively kissing Dream with everything he had. Dream didn't hate this, not entirely, but he didn't quite understand why it was happening at all. Wilbur avoided him every day, but whenever the kids were asleep, and Dream was wandering around unattended, the brunet would find him and do exactly this. 

 

Dream felt Wilbur's hands make their way to rest on his waist, then one of them sliding up his shirt. He tried to breathe, but Wilbur continued kissing him until he himself ran out of breath, pulling away to harshly glare down at Dream. 

 

Dream's mouth trembled slightly, and Wilbur leaned down to kiss him one more time, grabbing his face and curling his fingers in Dream's hair. The younger male's mind was growing cloudy, and just as he was about to reach out to hug Wilbur, the brunet yanked himself away and started walking down the hall. 

 

The blond stood there for a moment, unable to process what happened, then he ran after Wilbur. Once he caught up to him, he grabbed him by the hair and dragged him into a nearby empty room, shutting the door and blocking it so Wilbur couldn't leave. 

 

"Dream.."

 

The blond glared at him, "What is your problem? You grab me and kiss me, and you make my mind go all fuzzy and shit, then you vanish! Most of the time, you're gone by the time I get back down to earth. So what the hell is going on?” He asked, his voice raised to just barely below a shout. 

 

“Why are you making such a big deal out of this, Dream?” Wilbur hissed, trying to get out. 

 

Dream’s heart sunk slightly, and although he’d never admit it, tears welled up in his eyes slightly, “It’s a big deal to me because you’re the first person to kiss me, the only person that has ever kissed me. I know that it doesn’t matter to you, but it matters to me. It may be cliche, and it may be wishful thinking, but ever since I came out, I wanted my first kiss with someone to be a good thing, a special thing. Being pinned to the wall and kissed like that? It may be attractive and slightly arousing, but I don’t want that. I want the people I kiss to do it for a reason. And so I don’t care if I sound like a blubbering high school girl, but I don’t want..”

 

“Dream..” Wilbur said, his voice just as harsh as it had been. He groaned slightly at the sight of the teary male in front of him, but then Dream shook his head. 

 

He pulled the monitor out of his pocket, “They’re up. I have to go. Leave me alone, Wilbur.”

Chapter 10: ten

Dream was hugging Tommy to his chest tightly, combing through his hair gently. The toddler had fallen asleep in his lap earlier, and Dream couldn’t find it in himself to go put him in bed. 

 

Ranboo and Tubbo were both laying on the floor, coloring in the pages that Dream managed to mind buried deep in a closet. They seemed to be content with it, and Dream sighed quietly, closing his eyes. He was content where he was, too. 

 

He missed his friends dearly, yes, but he felt safe where he was, and frankly, it was their bad choices that led him to being in danger in the first place. Their irrational thinking, their incredibly stupid choice. Dream wanted to believe that they were better than that, but apparently they weren’t. 

 

“Dream? You awake?”

 

The younger male opened his eyes and saw Phil sitting in front of him with a soft smile. He nodded, muttering a small apology and checking Ranboo and Tubbo. Phil sighed quietly, leaning over to softly brush his finger’s against Tommy’s cheek. Dream smiled weakly, “Any news?”

 

“No,” Phil whispered, and Dream nodded. The older male moved to sit in front of him, “But there haven’t been any attempts for a while now. So it may be a case where Quackity withdrew his request because of Schlatt’s consistent failures. I have a meeting set up with him for next week. Techno will watch over you while I’m gone. Is there anything else you want to ask me about? I want you in the loop.”

 

Dream looked up at him and bit his cheek, “I’m going to put them all down for their nap. Can we talk about it after I do that?” He asked, and Phil nodded. He stood up carefully with Tommy, and motioned for Ranboo and Tubbo to follow him. The other toddlers did without question or fight, and crawled into their respective beds when Dream asked them to. 

 

“Dream, are you gonna be hurt again?” Tubbo asked, making the older look over in shock. He walked over to the toddler and kneeled down next to his bed, placing a hand on his head. Tubbo got teary, pouting slightly, “All of you guys always get hurt. I don’t want you to get hurt again.”

 

Dream shook his head at Tubbo, giving him a tight hug. “I’m not gonna get hurt again. I’ll be okay. You don’t need to worry about me. Just take your nap. I’ll be here when you wake up.” He whispered, letting go of the toddler so he could lay back down. 

 

He closed the door of them room and shoved the monitor back in his pocket, quickly heading back into the room that Phil was waiting in. He could faintly hear Wilbur talking, so he hesitated to open the door. He had been treating Wilbur as if he was invisible, ignoring him when he spoke, walking past him in hallways, practically looking through him. He was hurt and didn’t really know how else to act. But who could blame him? He was eighteen years old, he was barely even an adult. He didn’t have emotional maturity. He had never even had a boyfriend. 

 

He took a second to take a few deep breaths, his hand shaking on the doorknob slightly before he pushed it open, seeing Phil having an animated conversation with Wilbur. He tensed up slightly in the doorframe, looking at Phil, and the older male sighed, “Wilbur and I were just finished, Dream. Let’s go talk in my office.” He said, standing up and walking over to the younger, leading him out of the room. Dream bit his lip and looked down when they made it to his office. 

 

“You know it’s about him, don’t you?” 

 

Phil nodded at him, “I know. But I’m not that kind of person, Dream. I recognize that my children have faults and I’m not going to censor you to protect him. I’m not going to make excuses for him. So, just say whatever you needed to say,” He said, reaching out to place a hand on Dream’s shoulder. 

 

“I.. I don’t know why and I don’t think it’s actually real. But he’s acting like he’s attracted to me, pushing me up against walls. Phil, I’m eighteen. I came out less than two years ago. I’ve never dated anyone, so it matters to me more than it does to him.” He said, his stomach churning with anxiety. Phil was looking at him sympathetically, and Dream sighed, “He’s.. I’m not a… It matters to me. I don’t want all of my first kisses to be somebody trying to get sick of me. Trying to get all the pleasure from me that he can get so he can stop caring. I don’t want that. And I’m tired Phil. I’m so tired. I can’t do it all. I can’t take care of the kids, keep myself from dying, and deal with Wilbur treating me like a whore. It’s too much. For me right now, death seems preferable.” He whispered, tears welling up in his eyes. 

 

Phil pursed his lips, and he quickly moved to bring Dream into a hug. He combed through his hair slightly, then made Dream lean back, “I know that you’re hurting. But trust that I am going to work to make you comfortable here. I want you here, I need you here. I honestly don’t care how my sons feel. I need to know that the children are safe, and I know that they are safe with you. I’ll do what I can about Wilbur, so stay alive for me?”

 

“Okay..”

 

 

Sapnap was sitting on Karl’s couch, curled up in himself while the older male was making him tea. He had told him everything about what was going on, everything that had happened, what he did. 

 

He had practically cheated on Karl, yet the male was forgiving and hugged him. He was able to look past it because he actually loved Sapnap. That is what the younger wasn’t used to. He wasn’t used to being forgiven for making mistakes. 

 

“Here, baby,” Karl said quietly, placing the warm mug in front of Sapnap before sitting down next to him. He ran a hand up and down his back in a soothing manner, pressing a gentle kiss to Sapnap’s cheek, “I think you should stay here tonight. I don’t know how you’re feeling, because I can’t even imagine what you’re going through right now. But I can be here for you. I want to be here for you.” He said, and Sapnap slowly turned to him, leaning into softly kiss him. The two of them stayed there for a moment, sweetly kissing each other for comfort. 

 

“I miss him. I just miss him..” Sapnap whispered, and Karl sighed, not knowing what to say. The two of them went to Karl’s room to lay down, the younger male quickly falling asleep in his boyfriend’s arms. Karl smiled weakly, Sapnap’s face looked more at peace than it had since Dream went missing, since Quackity came back and ruined it. 

 

He scowled slightly, then yanked his phone over to himself, dialing a number before putting it to his ear. 

 

“Quackity, we need to talk.”

Chapter 11: eleven

"I'd recommend going to a hospital, Quackity. You're going to lose that eye completely if you don't. Maybe a plastic surgeon can prevent the scar."

 

 

Dream was nervously waiting in Phil's office, Techno standing behind him. The pinkette sighed, then walked over to Dream, placing his hands on his shoulders to stop him from bouncing, "You're fine. Nothing is wrong, so calm down.” He said in a scolding tone, but it didn’t change how Dream felt. 

 

“Every single time I’m in here is because there’s something wrong.” Dream responded, turning to look at Techno with a panicked look. 

 

The pinkette groaned loudly, then pulled over a chair to sit down next to him. He grabbed Dream’s face and forced him to look at him, “You are stupid. Phil told you that there is nothing to worry about. So stop worrying and stop being an idiot.” He said sternly, and Dream pursed his lips. Techno nodded and slapped Dream’s back, then the two of them went back to sitting in silence. Well, until Techno got bored, “You’re good with a gun, but is that all?”

 

“Really?” Dream asked with a raised eyebrow, and Techno nodded. The younger sighed quietly, shrugging, “Yeah, kind of. Guns are what scare people. They’re seen as a weapon that kills. So, I didn’t feel the need to use anything but one.”

 

Techno narrowed his eyes slightly. Although Dream’s police records were pristine, and there hadn’t even been any suspicions placed on him, he felt like Dream was still leaving something out. Still, Dream didn’t really seem like a person who wanted to kill somebody. So, Techno was trying to let it go, “That’s stupid of you. I’ll start teaching you to use a knife. They’re more discreet and just as deadly if they’re used correctly.” He said, leaning back in his chair. 

 

“Did Phil put you up to this?”

 

Techno frowned, “Heh? No. I just told you that you need to stop being an idiot. Did you already forget about that? I was tryin’ to be nice.”

 

“Oh,” Dream mumbled, smiling slightly at the pinkette, who now had his eyes closed. He silently laughed a little bit, “Thank you, Techno.” He said. Techno opened one eye to see Dream smiling at him, and his cheeks tinted pink. He turned away from the blond to mentally scold himself, and that’s when Phil walked in, a person behind him. Dream tensed slightly, his eyes widening. “Karl?”

 

The brunet smiled at Dream, then sat down on Phil’s desk in front of the blond. He reached out to grab Dream’s hands tightly, “Hey hon. Sorry for lying to all of you, but, well, I never expected any of you to get looped up in all this nonsense.” He said, gently rubbing his thumb on the back of Dream’s hand. The blond was still in shock, his lips slightly parted. Karl sighed, “I’ve been working under Phil since I was nineteen. Usually I just do spying, and that’s actually why I really wanted to apologize to you. I originally got close to you so I could get information about Tommy and where he was.”

 

“What?” Dream whispered in complete shock, pulling his hands out of Karl’s grasp. 

 

The older male shook his head slightly, “I am sorry about it, but it was my job. It’s what I needed to do. And you know these guys now. I had to. But, then I fell in love with Sapnap, and I learned about all the shit that Quackity did to him, so I changed my target. I’ve been stealing information and money from Quackity for a year now. I’m the spy. And I already told Phil all of this, but I also blew my cover last night. I won’t disclose specifics with you, Dream, but know that Sapnap and George will be safe.” 

 

“Not me, though?”

 

“Probably not.” Karl said, hopping off the desk to kneel down in front of Dream, “But nobody’s gonna let you die, Dream. You’re going to live forever. You’ll die when you’re old and sleeping. So, I want you to calm down about all of this.”

 

The younger turned to Phil and Techno for a moment, and both of them nodded at him, so he sighed. Karl seemed to understand what that meant, so he carefully moved to hug Dream. The blond accepted the hug, feeling incredibly touch starved lately. The two of them stayed that way for a while, then Dream pushed Karl back, “Uh, you need to go back to Sapnap. He needs you to be around for him right now. Don’t worry about me anymore, I’ll be fine. Just go make sure Sapnap is okay.”

 

“You got it.” Karl responded, patting Dream’s shoulder slightly before standing up and leaving the room. Phil followed closely after him, likely to see him out safely. Dream started hyperventilating, tears welling up in his eyes quickly. 

 

Techno noticed this almost immediately, and he quickly moved his and Dream’s chair so they were facing each other, “Hey Dream, you got to look at me. Can you look at me?” He asked, his tone disgustingly sweet. He didn’t like speaking in such a way, but Dream was just about having a panic attack and didn’t need a stern talking to. The blond looked up at Techno, and he nodded, “Okay good, now I need you to breath with me. Three seconds in, three seconds out. Can you do that for me?”

 

Dream nodded slowly, shakily taking the breaths in the way that Techno told him to. After a couple minutes of it, he seemed to have calmed down his breathing, and wasn’t actively having a panic attack. He reached out to grab Techno’s hands, and surprisingly, he wasn’t swatted away. Techno held onto his hands tightly and inspected Dream’s face, making sure the younger was back to reality. 

 

“Thank you Techno. I’m sorry, I just.. I don’t even know what just happened.” Dream said, bringing up one hand to rub his aching head. Techno shook his head at him, his way of saying that Dream didn’t need to apologize. The blond turned back to him, “You really had a change of heart about me, huh?”

 

Techno pursed his lips slightly, “Well, now you’re ruining the moment, Dream.”

 

The blond laughed at him, leaning closer. They stayed that way for a couple minutes more, then Techno leaned in to connect their lips. 

 

His kiss was soft, caring. As if he was ready for Dream to push him away at any second. It made Dream feel warm in a way Wilbur’s kisses didn’t. The blond lifted his hands up to cup Techno’s face, leaving room for the pinkette to place his hands on his waist. The kiss had no tongue, nothing aggressive. It was sweet and kind and perfect. Dream liked it, a lot. 

 

Wilbur did not. He stood in the doorway, watching his brother kiss the one that had been treating him as if he were invisible for over a week, now. He didn’t understand how Techno of all people could make Dream want to kiss him. It made him furious. 

Chapter 12: twelve

Notes:

fundy is not wilbur’s son because i had a new idea for the story

Karl combed through Sapnap's hair as the younger male watched old videos of Dream on his phone. He felt incredibly guilty about lying to him, and knew that he should probably tell him what he knew. 

 

"Dream is safe, Sapnap."

 

The younger male looked up to his boyfriend with tears in his eyes, "How can you know?" He asked, his voice trembling. Sapnap truly had not been okay since Dream's phone call, feeling guilty, ashamed. 

 

"Because I saw him the other day." Karl said, avoiding eye contact with the younger. Sapnap looked at him with shock, opening and closing his mouth as he tried to say something, nothing coming out. Karl sighed quietly, “I’ve worked for the people who he’s with for a couple years now. I heard about what had been happening and went to check on him. He’s fine. He misses you and George, a lot, and he’s a little scared sometimes, but he’s okay. And before you ask, I asked if you two could see him, but the boss said not yet.”

 

Tears welled up in Sapnap’s eyes quickly, and he sat up, hugging Karl. The older was shocked for a moment, then hugged Sapnap back. Sapnap sniffled slightly, “Thank you. Oh god, thank you. I think just knowing that he’s okay is enough these days. And that also means that you can have contact with him, right? You can check in on him?” Sapnap asked, and Karl slowly nodded as response. The younger male kissed him gingerly, then smiled at him. 

 

“I love you Sap,” Karl whispered, moving the shorter so he could tightly hug him to his chest. 

 

Sapnap teared up some more, then nodded, “I love you too, Karl. But don’t lie to me again. You said you worked in an office.” He said, lifting his head up so he could look at Karl. The male was slightly flushed and laughed slightly as a buffer. 

 

 

 

Quackity brought a hand up to his face, pressing his fingers over the disgusting scar over his eye. He was half blind with a scar that went from the corner of his mouth to his hairline, and they had no leads on who did it. Not to mention, somebody stole almost all of the money from the safe. He just had enough money to pay for hospital bills and keep the casino running. He had to withdraw his request from Schlatt because he didn’t even have that money anymore. 

 

“Fundy!” He shouted, trying to get the ginger into his office faster. The younger male pushed open the door and peeked his head in, waiting for Quackity to say something to him. The ravenette glared at him, tossing the file he had to the side, “You’re finally going to do something. Nobody has ever seen you, so nobody knows you work for me. You’re going to go to the SBI mafia and convince them to let you in. You’re going to present that information specifically about me, act as if you’re a spy. Then you’re going to get all up close and personal with their caretaker. Once you get him to trust you, you call me and we take him. It’s as simple as that. Do not fail.”

 

He pushed the file into Fundy’s hands, and the younger tensed up. Once Quackity left the office, Fundy opened the file and saw the picture of Dream. His entire face flushed a dark pink, and you could practically see cupid’s arrow shooting through his heart. Dream was beautiful. 

 

He folded the picture and put it in his pocket, then walked out of the office. Quackity was standing there again, with a small knife and he grinned. He swiped it up and cut just above Fundy’s eye, right through his eyebrow. Fundy brought a hand up to feel the gushing blood, and his eyes widened, “Why?”

 

“To make it seem like I caught you. Sorry, but I am going to have to give you a few more.” Quackity said, then made about six more shallow cuts on Fundy’s body, then one deep one on his chest, just above his heart. Fundy gasped quietly, coughing harshly. It hurt badly, and he still didn’t understand why. Quackity pulled out a handkerchief and wiped Fundy’s blood off the blade of the knife, “You should really get going now. You’ll bleed out before you get there if you don’t. So go, start running.” 

 

Fundy gasped quietly, then began running out of the back exit of the casino. He didn’t know why Quackity chose him for this. He was the rookie, the one that nobody wanted to work with because he was not good at anything. He could barely look Quackity in the eyes, and he was extremely naive, letting anything and everything away his emotions. He was the worst choice for such an important job. 

 

That’s why. 

 

Fundy stopped for a moment and thought about it. He would be the last person Quackity would pick for an undercover mission, and that’s why he chose him. It was more likely for them to believe that this stupid, weak twenty year old was giving them everything he knew because he got scared of Quackity. 

 

He placed his hand over the cut on his chest and pressed down with as much force he could muster, continuing to run through back alleys. He knew where the SBI mansion was, he knew where the backyard was, at least. He had been sent there with a partner once to take pictures from the fence. He was almost fired from the casino because of that job. He almost fell into the backyard and blew their cover. 

 

His vision was growing fuzzy, black specs starting to crowd at the corners. Quackity must have done this on purpose. If he gets there, even if they figure out the plan, he bleeds out and he’s gone. If he gets there and they trust him, he gets healed up and gets a job. 

 

He saw the backyard, seeing a blond person sitting there with three kids running around. He gasped quietly when the male turned over to look at him, shocked when he saw it was Dream himself. The blond gasped as well, and said something to the kids before running over to him. 

 

“Oh god, what happened to you?”

 

Fundy coughed a couple times, playing up the pity factor as much as he could, “I worked for Quackity. He thought I was a spy…” He sputtered out, feeling blood gather in his mouth. He flinched slightly at the feeling, and Dream pursed his lips. 

 

“I’ll get you help. Just keep your eyes open, okay? What’s your name?” Dream asked. 

 

Fundy looked up at him, and blinked at him slowly, smiling deliriously, “Fundy..” 

Chapter 13: thirteen

"Dream, you shouldn't be bringing random people into this place, especially when they said they worked for Quackity," Phil said to Dream in a scolding tone. The younger pursed his lips slightly, avoiding eye contact. He should have guessed that when Phil told him to help care for Fundy's wounds that he would have been scolding him the entire time. 

 

He placed down the next strip of tape over the cut on Fundy's eyebrow, and sighed, "He was bleeding out right in front of me. He said that Quackity thought he was a spy, so he hurt him. Quackity was being cruel, so I wanted to help him. Worst case, we have to send him outside state lines. I've been here for a while now, Phil. I know what you guys do. Respectfully."

 

"It's just dangerous, Dream. I'm not saying I won't help him and listen to what he has to say, but you need to start feeling some more hesitation before doing things like this. That is all I ask." Phil said, carefully pinning down the last bandage. He seemed to be exhausted, and Dream felt a little bad adding more stress to his day. 

 

The two of them waited in silence, well, until Dream had to go back to watch the toddlers. He walked off quickly, since Tommy was having a bit of a meltdown, and left Phil waiting there alone. Phil didn't exactly trust the male unconscious in front of him, but he did rationalize it with himself.  

 

If you followed the back alleys from Quackity's casino, it was quite easy to reach their home. And if this male was bleeding out, covered in stabs and cuts, he'd want to stay out of the public eye. It made sense. 

 

Two hours later, Fundy woke with a small gasp. He turned around a couple times, flinching when he saw Phil standing there. The older male narrowed his eyes, and Fundy's heart began pounding out of his chest. He was genuinely fearful of Phil, "I'll tell you everything I know! Please don't send me back to him!" He said quickly, bowing his head down. 

 

"Hmm?" Phil responded, raising an eyebrow. Fundy was quivering and avoiding eye contact with him. The blond male pursed his lips and sighed, "Alright then. Tell me everything you know about Quackity."

 

Dream was sitting in the playroom, softly rubbing Ranboo's back as he colored. Tubbo and Tommy were playing with their toys together, but Ranboo never seemed to be as interested in doing that than they were. He giggled and lifted up the paper, revealing a drawing of Dream and the kids. It was a little crude, but adorable nonetheless. 

 

Dream smiled widely at him, picking him up to kiss his head. Ranboo giggled again, hugging Dream. The blond sighed, "You are an angel." He said, tickling Ranboo's belly for a little bit until he saw Wilbur. He froze for a moment, then snapped out of it to smile down at Ranboo. "You keep coloring. I'll be right back, okay?" He said, Ranboo nodding in response. 

 

"I just want to talk," Wilbur whispered when Dream walked up to him, and the younger sighed, pulling him to the other side of the room, in an area where none of the kids could see them. 

 

Dream looked at him, "If you want to talk to me, you need to talk. You need to say what you're thinking. I'm done with all of you thinking that you need to censor what you say around me. I'm not weak. So, if you want to talk, say something."

 

"I do want to talk, but I need you to listen." Wilbur said with a slightly harsher tone, and Dream pursed his lips shut. Wilbur huffed and shook his head slightly, "You make me feel something. I see you and my heart feels like it's going to pound out of my chest. You get hurt, and I feel like somebody is tearing my heart out of my chest. You make me feel. And I don't know what to do with that. The last time I felt something for somebody, she was grooming me. Everything I thought, everything that I felt was controlled by her. So I don't know how to act when I feel something this strong for somebody, and I am sorry for how I treated you, but I don't know any better. I've never had anything more substantial than a hook-up, Dream. So yeah, I was being an asshole, but I'm trying to be better."

 

Dream crossed his arms in front of his chest, chewing on his lip slightly, "Okay. Fine. But I'm not sure I want to let you use your past as an excuse, or a reason, to treat me the way you did. You made me feel like those women who were always on my street, soliciting anyone, anytime. You made me feel like my aunt. You made me feel like you were going to drag me into an alley, have your way with me, then kill me. I know it's not rational, but you made me feel worthless. I'm not sure if you were trying to get sick of me, or if you were trying to sort out your own feelings, but don't do that at the expense of my feelings. If you're truly sorry, I'll accept that. And if you start treating me better, I'll forgive you. But that is the best that I can do for now, please.." He said, looking up at Wilbur with wide, hopeful eyes. 

 

Wilbur was about to say something in response when the door to the playroom was slammed open, startling everybody in there. Phil was standing there, and he jogged over to Dream and Wilbur, "Somebody attacked Quackity? I just called Karl and he only took money from Quackity. So which one of you reckless nimrods went after that psychopath?" He hissed between gritted teeth, shaking with rage. 

 

"Somebody did what?" Dream asked, turning back to Wilbur. The brunet looked just as shocked as he did, but nobody knew if that was genuine. Phil sighed heavily, then turned on his heel and walked out of the room. Dream stood there in silence for a moment, then turned back to Wilbur, "I need to go back to the kids. Don't do anything stupid."

 

In a lapse of judgment, Dream leaned over and pecked Wilbur's lips, shaking his head slightly. Then, he walked back over to the kids, Tubbo hopping up into his arms the moment he did. 

 

Wilbur felt his heart rate increase slightly, and he simply smiled. God, Dream was perfect.

Chapter 14: fourteen

Fundy was released from the infirmary a couple days later, after Phil bad leeched all the information he had on Quackity out of him. He ended up sharing more than Quackity had said he could, which could end up being detrimental to him once he goes back. 

 

He was also given his phone once he showed Phil that he blocked the numbers of everyone he used to work in the casino with. But, he seemed to have forgotten that Quackity was.. well.. Quackity. 

 

So he wasn’t surprised when his phone started buzzing with a call. He looked around for a moment, just to make sure that nobody was there, then answered it, bringing it up his ear. 

 

“I had to use a new number. I assume that means you were successful in infiltrating?”

 

“Yes, I was.” Fundy responded in a whisper, still scared that somebody would walked into the room. 

 

“Good to know you’re not entirely useless. There’s a package in the bushes on the left side of the house. Set them across the wall and make sure they’re connected to the detonator. Only set them off when Dream is standing next to that wall. If I’m correct, it should be the playroom.”

 

Quackity ended the call after that, and Fundy quickly deleted the number and shoved his phone back into his pocket. He quickly jogged outside, planting the bombs across the wall in a way he had learned would inflict the most structural damage. The detonator was the last thing he pulled out, and he put that in his pocket once he saw it blink in conformation. 

 

He walked down the hallway inside, looking around when he saw Dream. The blond was carrying one of the children, the one who he was pretty sure was Tubbo. He sped up his steps slightly, but two arms quickly reached out in front of him and he stopped. 

 

Both Wilbur and Techno stepped in front of him, and Fundy stiffened up. The brunet glared at him harshly, stepping forward, “Newbies don’t get to get close to the kids, or Dream. He might’ve been the one to find you, but you are not going to be around him again. Do you understand me?” He snarled. 

 

“I understand..” Fundy responded, immediately turning on his heel and walking the other direction. Wilbur and Techno both looked at each other with a glare, having found themselves in an unspoken competition with each other over Dream. 

 

But, no matter how much they competed for Dream, they mutually agreed that they were not going to let Fundy anywhere near him. 

 

They went their separate ways, neither of them noticing how Dream was looking at them with an.. almost sad look on his face. He didn’t want this. He thought it was fun at first, to be cared about by people, people he could end up in a relationship with, but he didn’t like that they were competing. 

 

Tubbo looked up at Dream from his spot against his chest, “Why’re you sad?”

 

“Huh?” Dream asked, looking back down at the half-asleep toddler he was holding. He smiled weakly at him, “I’m not sad, honey. I can’t be sad when I have you and your brother’s around!”

 

Tubbo smiled at him, then went back to resting his cheek on Dream’s chest. The older male sighed quietly, then continued walking down the hallway. Phil wanted to hang out with the children today, and Dream was never objected to spending some time alone. Especially now. 

 

Once he dropped Tubbo off with his father, he sat down in the backyard so he could be left alone. He closed his eyes and chewed on the side of his cheek, taking in some deep breaths. He missed his friends. Karl had told him that Sapnap wanted him to frequently check in on him and tell him what was going on, but both Dream and Karl knew that he wasn’t allowed to do that. They both hated lying. 

 

He heard the door open and shut, and heard a small huff, so he turned around. 

 

Fundy was standing there, rubbing his neck with an exasperated look on his face. He looked over to where Dream was sitting and his face flushed, “Oh god! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you. I’ve just been inside for days now and I wanted some fresh air, and, oh, I’m sorry,”

 

“Fundy! You’re Fundy right?” Dream interrupted, waiting until the ginger nodded before he continued speaking, “It’s okay. I don’t own this backyard. I totally understand the being inside for days thing as well. When I got hurt, god, I was inside for weeks. Not only was I recovering, but everyone was just.. so concerned that I would drop dead if I got out of their sights.” He said quietly, and Fundy stepped forward. 

 

“You were attacked?”

 

Dream raised an eyebrow, then scooted over, making room for Fundy to sit down next to him. The older hesitantly did so, gulping when he could faintly smell Dream’s shampoo from where he was. The blond sighed quietly, “I was attacked about two months back. It’s where I got this scar,” he said, lifting his chin up so Fundy could see the contrasting line across his throat. He dropped his head back down, then turned to look at Fundy, “Thank you.. for telling Phil about Quackity. I hate to admit it, but I’m genuinely terrified of what he plans on doing. I love the boys, and I never want them to go through the pain of losing someone. They’re too young, and they’ve lost so much already. I just.. want to pretend.”

 

“Pretend?” Fundy asked. 

 

“Pretend.” Dream confirmed with a small smile, stretching his legs out, “Pretend that I don’t have a vengeful casino owner that wants me dead. Pretend that I’m not being held here, that I’m here because I just want to be, that I could go home and see my best friends, my family. I just like to imagine.”

 

Fundy immediately felt terrible for what he knew he had to do, but he was able to shake off the feeling quickly. He had to do this. He feeling of fear towards Quackity was stronger than his affection towards Dream. He dodged his eyes away, then turned back with a smile, “Could you.. uh.. show me around?”

 

“Sure,” Dream responded, smiling again. He knew that Techno and Wilbur were trying to keep Fundy away from him, but he didn’t care at the moment. The two of them began walking around the mansion, Dream careful to not show Fundy any rooms that any of the SBI could be in. They ended up in the playroom, with Dream standing near the exact wall that Fundy needed him to be. He turned around and froze, seeing Fundy reaching into his pocket, “I.. I thought.. Fundy, you don’t have to do anything.”

 

Fundy shook slightly, “I have to. Quackity will kill me if I don’t. I’m sorry. Please just close your eyes and imagine. Imagine that it’s quiet and calm. Just imagine something nice Dream.”

 

“I thought you could be a friend.” Dream whispered, covering his ears. He was too trusting. He should have known better than to blindly trust somebody just because they weren’t kissing or flirting. 

 

Fundy backed away from the wall quickly, reaching into his pocket to grab the detonator. 

 

 

 

 

 

BOOM

Chapter 15: fifteen

The entire house shook. 

 

Phil shot up from where he was sitting, hearing the explosion and the loud crumbling of his house. He picked up the toddlers, then ran out to the hallway, turning down it, “Everybody get off the second floor! Now!” He shouted, almost immediately running down the stairs once he did. 

 

“Phil! What the hell is going on?” Wilbur shouted, coughing slightly from the dust that was spreading throughout the first floor. He seemed to notice that Dream wasn’t coming down with Phil as well and his face dropped, “Oh no. No, no, no, no!”

 

Wilbur ran away almost immediately, ignoring Phil’s shouts towards him. He ran straight towards where the explosion seemed to be, listening for anything that might hint to where Dream is. He stepped into the playroom, gasping when he saw the giant, crumbling hole in the wall. The ground was covered in rubble, and Wilbur immediately knew that everybody needed to get out of the house. 

 

“Wilbur..”

 

He froze, turning back around to look in the playroom. The dust made it hard to see, the crumbling wall making it even harder to hear. He coughed harshly, trying to get the dust out of his throat, listening for his name again. 

 

“Wilbur.. help..”

 

“Dream! Where are you?” He shouted, waving his hand around to try to see. He heard faint whimpering in front of him, and his heart skipped a beat, tears welling up in his eyes. He dropped down to lay on his stomach, faintly seeing Dream’s face through the dust and rubble. Dream was shakily sobbing, barely able to catch his breath. He smiled when he saw Wilbur, and the older could see the blood on his teeth. He sat up and pushed aside a piece of the wall, trying to get closer to the blond. Dream sighed quietly, and Wilbur dropped back down to his stomach, “Dream, no! Keep your eyes open and keep listening to me!”

 

Dream opened his eyes again, wheezing slightly. He reached his hand out, silently begging Wilbur to grab it. The brunet didn’t notice, because he was more concerned about trying to push the pieces of the wall off of him. They were too heavy, and he took a moment to cry before kneeling back down in front of Dream, grabbing his hand tightly. 

 

Dream weakly smiled at him, and Wilbur brought his hand in to kiss the back of it. “I’m here, Dream. Tell me what you’re feeling so I can tell Phil. He needs to know so he can help you, when you get out of there. Techno will help,” He said frantically, making Dream look back up at him again. 

 

“I can’t feel very much, actually. And I can still move around a little bit, which is good, I think. But.. but my left foot..” He started, stopping when he began shivering, coughing a couple times, “It’s trapped, probably crushed. But I don’t feel any pain,” He said with a weak laugh, noticing how Wilbur’s face contorted, and he sighed, “Which after I say that, I realize that’s a really bad thing. Well, if there was even a change of me surviving. Wil, it’s a good thing that I can’t feel anything right now. It’s good.”

 

Wilbur shook his head, “It’s not good. As soon as Techno gets in here, we’re going to get you out. Then Phil will.. he’ll fix you up, okay?”

 

“No,” Dream whispered, tightening his grip on Wilbur’s hand. He cried softly for a few moments, then sighed, pulling his hand away, “You’re going to let me go and go with your family. This house is going to collapse. It’s better me than you, or the kids. Can you just.. leave me a phone? And can you tell Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo that I’m so sorry? That I’ll watch over them forever? Please. Please, protect them. I.. this is my fault that this happened, and.. please. Go. I don’t you to watch me die.”

 

More tears welled up in Wilbur’s eyes and he shook his head. He stood up again and tried to push the rubble up, using every ounce of strength he had inside him before crying more, grabbing Dream’s hand again, “I can’t live without you. I am so in love with you. You can’t die. Please, please just hold on.” He whispered, starting to look around, trying to find a better way to get Dream out. When he found nothing, he looked back down at the blond, who was smiling at him, despite the situation, “I’ll make sure the three of them know that you love them. I’ll make sure they know they have their own guardian angel now. I’m sorry that I couldn’t do better.”

 

“Don’t apologize. I have met the love of my life. Most people never get to do that, even the ones who live to be ninety. I love you, Wilbur. I love you, and I love the kids. Just.. can you leave me a phone? I have to say goodbye to everyone I can.” He whispered shakily, finding it harder and harder to catch his breath. 

 

Wilbur nodded, pulling his phone out of his pocket and placing it in Dream’s hand. He sobbed quietly, leaning over to press a soft, loving kiss to Dream’s lips, trying to ignore the blood left on his lips. He grabbed Dream’s face, and then began shaking his head violently, “I can’t, I’m sorry, but I can’t. I love you too much to just leave you here.”

 

Dream sobbed, “Wilbur, please,”

 

“Wilbur! Dream!”

 

Wilbur turned around quickly, seeing Techno and Phil standing there. Phil’s face fell, and the two of them ran over as fast they could. Dream was barely conscious by the time they were able to push Wilbur aside, and he pulled Phil down with the little strength he had left, “Go. Please, spare me the pain of my adrenaline and shock wearing off. Let me sleep.”

 

“Dream.. I..” Phil started, but when he looked down at the younger blond’s face, he nodded. Both he and Techno grabbed Wilbur’s arms and began dragging him out of the room, holding him tightly despite how much he was struggling. 

 

“Dream!”

 

Wilbur was sobbing at this point, all of them were. Dream was the first caretaker that all of them loved dearly, and they were losing him. 

 

Dream sighed with a smile, happy knowing that they would all be safe. He looked up and saw that the ceiling was cracking, so he pulled the phone forward and dialed the house phone number of Sapnap and George’s apartment. 

 

“Hello?”

 

He choked back a sob at the sound of George’s voice, closing his eyes tightly, “Hi George..”

 

“Dream? Sapnap! Get in here! Dream are you okay?”

 

“No, I’m not. I’m sorry you guys. I really thought I was going to be the one that lasted. I just wanted to call so I could say goodbye. And that I’m so sorry. Please, move on from me.”

 

“Dream? What? No! Please!”

 

He hung up the phone before they could say anything else, and he threw it to the side, resting his head down. He saw another piece of the ceiling fall down and he sighed, closing his eyes and falling asleep. 

 

He woke up to the sound of beeping, his eyes aching from the sight of a stark white room. 

 

“Oh Dream, you’re awake! You’re very lucky that your husband was able to get you here in time.”

 

He blinked a couple times, “My husband?” He asked, looking up at the nurse. She smiled and nodded, gesturing to the other side of the room. He turned around, and his heart sunk. 

 

“Hello, my lovely Dream. I was so scared.”

 

Dream looked at the nurse, who was still smiling widely, and he knew better than to start raising concern, “Don’t worry, Quackity. I’m okay.”

Chapter 16: sixteen

"Karl is bringing them."

 

Wilbur didn't even turn to Phil, just continued staring at the headstone they had carved out for Dream. He didn't say anything and Phil sighed. The brunet hadn't spoken to Phil or Techno since the house collapsed, the last thing he said to them being,

 

"We could have saved him."

 

Telling the children what happened probably was the hardest thing that Phil ever had to do. They were all so scared once the house was gone, and all of them solely asked where Dream was. Tommy's wails were nearly excruciating to listen to, Tubbo and Ranboo scream-crying as well. 

 

"I don't want you! I want Dream!"

 

It pained Phil to know that he didn't matter to his children as much, but he knew it would end up being that way. Dream was with them almost every second of every day, and they were only children. 

 

The two of them heard a car pull up, and Phil slowly turned around, seeing Karl helping Sapnap out. George was likely getting out on the other side. 

 

The youngest of the three ran over to the two of them, shoving Phil to the side to see the grave. His heart stopped and he just about sobbed, "I wished it wasn't true. I wanted it to be a lie. I wished... I wished you were lying to keep him safe," He whispered, his eyes fixated on the gravestone. 

 

"We're truly sorry, Sapnap. We did everything.."

 

"Cut the bullshit, Phil." Wilbur interrupted, glaring over at his father. Everybody turned to look at him, but he looked down at Sapnap, "He was trapped under pieces of the wall. It was too heavy for me to lift it up on my own, but instead of Phil and Techno helping me pick it up, they dragged me away. They left him alone and left him to die. He didn't do a single thing to help Dream." He snarled, pointing an accusatory finger towards Phil. 

 

The older male pursed his lips and snapped, not able to handle Wilbur anymore, "He begged me to leave him! I didn't want to! He didn't want to feel the pain once his adrenaline and shock wore off! He didn't want to go through the recovery he would've had to! He begged me to let him sleep!" He shouted, practically fuming at his son, "You can be hurt and you can be sad, but you will not, not! Blame me for complying to his final wish. You will not villainize me for doing what he asked me to! You will not lie to his loved ones and say we just left him to die!"

 

"Will you two shut up?" George shouted, turning to look at the two of them, "Nobody cares about the way you're feeling right now! You knew Dream for a few months, we knew him for years, and now he's dead! He's dead and we hadn't seen him in months.."

 

Tears welled up in his eyes and the feeling of guilt quickly returned to Phil's conscience. Wilbur pursed his lips, then turned away, walking off. 

 

 

Dream had to pretend he wasn't terrified as Quackity held his arm as they walked out of the hospital. He was scared of what the male would do to him as soon as they were out of public, when he could do whatever he pleased without the risk of being caught.

 

"Make sure to call us or come back if something happens, you two!" A nurse shouted at them, waving. Quackity smiled back at her, digging his nails slightly into Dream's back. The blond's breath hitched, but he smiled as well and walked next to Quackity without a word or any fight. 

 

He nearly started sobbing when he saw Fundy in the car waiting for them, finally starting to fight against Quackity. He managed to wrench himself out of the older's arms, "What the hell is wrong with you? Why didn’t you just leave me there to die?”

 

“You better zip it,” Quackity hissed, grabbing Dream’s arm with a bruising grip. He threw the male into the backseat of the car, sliding in himself before lifting up the divider between the front and back. Dream was shaking now, pushing himself away from Quackity as much as he could. The ravenet groaned in annoyance, pulling Dream back to him by the leg. He pinned Dream down so he couldn’t get away again, then leaned forward, “I’m not going to kill you and don’t intend on doing so anytime soon. So shut up and stop acting like a kicked dog.”

 

Dream stopped fighting for a second, “You’re a psychotic bastard who abused my friend and paid to have me killed. Then you blow up my house, and kidnap me? Let the people I care about think I’m dead? Yeah, I’ll stick with the kicked dog act.”

 

“God, okay. I’m keeping you around for the foreseeable future. So if you want to act like a kicked dog the entire time, be my guest.” He said, and Dream looked at him with wide eyes. Quackity smirked at him, then pushed their chests together, able to see clearer how Dream’s lips trembled, how his eyes were starting to glaze with tears. “I’m keeping you around because I need to see what Sapnap saw in you.”

 

“Sapnap and I never dated!”

 

Quackity shot his arm up to cover Dream’s mouth, his lips curled into a scowl, “Whatever. I don’t care. But he cares about you more than anybody else. Even that little rat boyfriend of his who stole my money. So I’m going to figure out what is it about you that makes everybody fall and kiss at your feet. If you behave, and you listen like a good boy, I’ll consider letting you leave. Letting you go back to your beloved pack of murderers.” He said, making Dream look up at him in shock. He faked a look of sympathy, leaning even closer to him, “You didn’t know? They usually kill their caretakers once they know too much. You see, Fundy actually thought our plan would fail because of Wilbur, but then Phil and Techno dragged him away with grins on their faces. Because they could pin the blame on me. They didn’t have to do it themselves, and they were glad because they always seem to struggle with hiding the body. That’s the difference between me and them, Dream. You’re the only person I have ever put a price on, and I took it back. Their hands are dripping with blood. Mine are clean.”

 

Tears welled up in Dream’s eyes. 

 

Is that why?

 

Were they done with me?

 

Did I know to much for them to keep me around?

 

Was I not different?

 

Quackity slowly uncovered Dream’s mouth, nodding when he didn’t make a sound. He hit the divider twice, and the car turned on, Fundy beginning to drive away. Dream pushed himself off the seat, trying his hardest to not believe a word Quackity was saying, trying to believe they really cared about him, “How do you know that?”

 

“Schlatt’s had a spy in their ranks for years now. He sends me whatever information they get. And he told me that the spy saw either Phil, Techno, or Wilbur kill their caretakers once they heard some information, or once they started to get too comfortable. I don’t make up things about killing people, as terrible of a person that I may be. I saved you, Dream.” Quackity whispered, leaning towards the blond again. Dream didn’t tense up as much as he usually did, and he didn’t say anything for the rest of the day. 

 

Not until Quackity brought him to a courtroom with a matching pair of rings. 

Chapter 17: seventeen

Notes:

this chapter skips to almost two years in the future

Dream closed his eyes and sighed, knocking his head against the window of the car. It was strange, but he had actually gotten used to being with Quackity, and.. well, he didn't hate it. 

 

He wasn't the most cooperative for a while, refusing to even step into the courtroom Quackity tried to bring him to, and that made the older grow quickly exasperated. However, they managed to settle the argument as long as Dream wore a ring and pretended to be married to him. It took some convincing, but Dream decided it would be better to simply pretend to be married. 

 

He didn't believe what Quackity told him about Phil, Techno, and Wilbur. He knew it couldn't have been true. But he also knew that it had been almost two years. They had probably already moved on. He didn't want to cause them the pain of seeing him again. 

 

"Dream, why are you so mad about this?"

 

Said male turned to look at Quackity, "You used my... you got somebody pregnant because you thought I needed children to be happy. I love kids, I do, but you didn't even let her hold the baby. Purpled is precious, and I love him, because he's my son. And I know you know better now, but I'm just.. mad." He said, opening the car door and walking out. He turned to the backseat to get Purpled out, holding the sleeping baby to his chest tightly. 

 

"Dream," Quackity started, but the blond was gone. He banged his head against the steering wheel, his irritation quickly growing. 

 

He gave up everything for Dream. He moved out of the city so the blond could be away from the casino, he bought Dream a house, he enrolled him in good online classes, he did everything for him. 

 

The ravenet got out of the car as well, jogging into the house to find Dream. The younger was sitting in the nursery, pulling his hair back to get it out of his face. Quackity slowly walked over to him, sliding a hand across his back. Dream sighed, "I'm sorry, okay? I just... today is Tommy's birthday. He's turning five. I miss him. And it seems wrong, but when I see Purpled, I feel like I'm trying to replace him." He whispered, turning to look at Quackity. 

 

"That's different, Dream. I know you feel bad, but look at Purpled. He's your son. Tommy wasn't. And you can never replace Tommy. Even I know how much he meant to you." He said, silently begging that Dream would believe what he was saying and drop the attitude. He didn't want to do what he did to Sapnap to Dream, knowing it would make the blond finally take the opportunity to leave. Dream nodded at him, whispering a small 'right' before sitting down in his chair. Quackity kneeled down in front of him, "I lo.. I care about you, Dream. Don't drive yourself into a hole because you feel bad. Tommy thinks you're dead. They have moved on. I have to go, okay?"

 

Dream nodded, letting Quackity kiss his cheek. The older male walked out of the room while dialing a number on his cell, and Dream turned away. He had lied, it wasn't Tommy's birthday. That had been over a month ago, but he believed that if he didn't come up with a good excuse, Quackity would do something terrible to him. It didn't matter how kind he was, how much he gave him, Dream remained terrified. 

 

"Don't worry, baby. You'll be safe from everything."

 

He leaned over and kissed Purpled's forehead, then left the room with a baby monitor in hand. He went to his room to change into sweatpants and a sweater, sitting on his bed. He curled up on himself, closing his eyes tightly. He knew that he didn't really want to be with Quackity anymore, but there was nowhere for him to go. His friends thought he was dead. His family had most likely given up on him completely. 

 

He had nowhere to go. 

 

He pursed his lips and pulled out his phone, dialing one of the three numbers he had in his phone. 

 

"What do you need, Dream?"

 

He felt a little nervous at the tone of Quackity's voice, but he sucked it up, "I was just wondering if I could go out today? I've been cooped up for a couple weeks now, and I think the sun will be good for Purpled. I just want to go to the beach." He said quietly, and he heard Quackity groan, which was almost covered up by the sound of his car screeching to a halt. 

 

"Sure, go. But send me hourly updates."

 

"Of course, of course! Thank you!" He said, smiling as he hung up the phone. He sighed, it was always a good day when Quackity let him go out without a bodyguard. He went back to the closet, picking out a pair of swim shorts and a sleeveless hoodie. 

 

He changed, then carefully snuck into the nursery, changing Purpled as well. He truly couldn’t stand being stuck in the house for weeks, and he couldn’t think of many places that Quackity would let him go to. However, the beach was public enough that nobody was going to be taking the time to get a close look at his face. 

 

Dream made his way to the garage, where his car was waiting. He was glad that Purpled didn’t wake up the entire ride there, but he also knew that meant he would probably have to deal with a screaming baby in just a little bit. It was exhausting. 

 

“Okay, baby, we’re here. Please don’t get mad at me for this,” He whispered, then picked him up, wincing when he woke up and began crying. He patted his back a couple times, then sat down in the backseat to feed him. He closed his eyes and sighed. He was not expecting to be a dad by age twenty, and presumed dead at the exact same time. “I’m sorry that you don’t have the family that you should. I got into some trouble and well, I have to stay with Quackity. Even though it’s been so long. Your Uncle Sapnap is hold have loved you so much. Then, your Uncle George would have been a little more hesitant because he’s not good with feelings, but he’d love you too.”

 

Tears welled up in eyes for a moment, then he shook his head, taking Purpled to the bathroom. He changed his diaper and put sunscreen on him before going to sit out on the beach. 

 

Dream

at the beach, purpled is content

 

Quackity

Good. Stepping into a meeting. Direct your texts at Fundy until I call you. 

 

 

He sighed, then shut his phone off, putting it in his bag to keep it from getting overheated. 

 

“Oh he is precious! Is his mom here?”

 

Dream looked up, seeing a group of women standing in front of him, one kneeling. He put on a fake smile, then sighed, “She’s not in the picture.”

 

“You’re doing this on your own? Oh that’s so brave of you! And he is the most precious baby I have ever seen! And you.. are the most handsome man I have ever seen.” One of them said, and Dream awkwardly laughed, pulling Purpled closer into his chest. 

 

“She’s drunk. Sorry. Cute baby, though!”

 

The group of women scurried away, and Dream sighed, turning the other way. 

 

His heart stopped. 

 

Just a few yards away, he saw none other than Wilbur and Techno. Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo were running around, screaming and laughing. He fumbled for his phone and turned his back to them, quickly calling Fundy’s number. 

 

“Dream?”

 

“Fundy! I need you to come pick me up because I don’t think I could drive. I’m at the beach, and.. they’re here. I need to go home.” He whispered, his entire body shaking. 

 

“Okay. I’ll be there in a few minutes. Stay put so you don’t draw any suspicion running away. Just keep your face away from them, maybe go into the ocean. Just calm down, Dream. Breathe.”

 

He peeked over, then shook his head, “Okay. Please get here quickly! Please..”

 

He put his phone down, then adjusted himself so his back was turned to them properly. He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself. He was supposed to be dead. They made a grave for him. 

 

Fundy got there quickly, realizing that he should have changed before coming to the beach. However, his sole focus was now getting Dream away before any of the SBI noticed that he was here.. alive. 

 

“What the hell? How are you alive?”

 

Fundy froze and turned around, seeing Wilbur and Techno standing there, livid. 

Chapter 18: eighteen

Notes:

i genuinely love writing for this story so im gonna end up throwing out a chapter much more often than other stories

Fundy’s mouth suddenly felt very dry, and he quickly flickered his eyes over to Dream. The male looked terrified, and quickly pulled his hood over his head, starting to pack up his things. Purpled didn’t seem to like how he was being jostled around, and he hiccuped as if he was going to start crying. 

 

Dream shushed him and began gently rubbing his back, trying his hardest to make sure the baby didn’t start crying. He didn’t want any attention drawn to him, despite Wilbur and Techno seemingly fully focused on the ginger standing in front of them. 

 

“You killed Dream. You destroyed our home!” Wilbur nearly shouted at Fundy. The male gulped, trying to think of something to say so he could keep the two of them distracted long enough for Dream to slip away unnoticed. However, Wilbur continued, “You don’t get to just walk away after that! You’re coming with us! You’re not getting away. You have to pay!”

 

Fundy pursed his lips and glared, “You have a new caretaker, remember? Why didn’t you move on like you were supposed to? Why are you even here? You live miles away!” He responded, trying to make them see that he was not the meek child he was before. 

 

“We moved. You blew up our house, remember? We finally found a new place about a month ago. What? You want to blow up that one too?” Wilbur snarled, noticing Fundy’s eyes flickering away again. He was about to follow his gaze but Fundy huffed. 

 

“Fine. Take me with you. I don’t care anymore. Punish me, torture me, kill me. I have nothing to live for anyways.” He said, and Wilbur felt his anger rise even more. He and Techno looked at each other, and Techno nodded. The two of them grabbed Fundy by the arms and walked away with him, sending a message to their new caretaker. 

 

She was an elderly woman who truly should have been in a nursing home, but she took care of the children well enough. She was also old enough that she couldn’t really get a good grasp on what they were a part of or what they did. That, or, she just didn’t really seem to care about it. Either way, she seemed to be a good fit for what they needed. 

 

Dream watched them take Fundy away with wide eyes, and he pulled his phone out, calling the one person he had never called before. 

 

“This is Schlatt. What do you want?”

 

Dream gulped, “Um, this is Dream. I don’t think Quackity told you that he gave me your number, but I need some help. The SBI sons are at the beach I am, and they took away Fundy, so I need help getting home safely. Can you help me?”

 

“Uh, I guess so, yeah. I’ll be there in a few minutes but give me a goddamn heads up if they come back. I’m not in the mood to deal with them. And you better be ready to go the second I’m in front of you,”

 

“Okay, I will.” Dream responded, then put his phone back. He slid sunglasses onto his face, and nuzzled into Purpled’s head. The baby seemed to be content where he was, almost in a trance watching the waves move back and forth. He put his bag on his shoulder, then waited, his lips trembling. 

 

His phone started buzzing again, and he picked it up, expecting Quackity or Schlatt, but it was Fundy. He trembled slightly, then declined it, blocking the number almost immediately. He picked up all his things and began running to the parking lot, seeing a tall man with chops there as well. 

 

“Dream? Let’s go.” He said, grabbing his shoulder before leading him to his car. “I don’t have a car seat so you’re just going to have to hold your baby. I saw them in their car, I think that they know you were at the beach. Are you certain you don’t want them to find you? They could protect you from Quackity. They thought you were dead and now they believe you’re not. They’re never going to stop looking for you now.”

 

Dream shook his head, “I don’t want to live a life where I’m scared I’m going to die. You tried to kill me once too, don’t you remember?”

 

“Okay, in my defense, I thought the last guy was going to be too scared to do anything to you, but then he turned out to be a sadomasochist.” Schlatt said with a small shrug, trying to lighten the mood some. He buckled himself in, then turned to Dream again, “I’m not going to judge you on where you feel safe. But I am going to have you stay with me for a little while. I’ll talk to Quackity, let him know that they have Fundy, and make sure he knows that Fundy’s one that shares everything he knows when he’s captured. I’ll convince him that once the threat is gone, you’ll go back to him. Quackity is not safe, Dream. He’s not. Deep down, you must know that.”

 

He started the car, and began driving away when Dream saw Wilbur. The brunet was looking around the beach with an angry face, and Dream looked down, feeling guilty. “Do they know I’m alive?” He whispered, looking at his phone. He thought about it for a minute, then rolled down the window and threw it as hard he could. 

 

“That was dramatic, but smart,” Schlatt said, and Dream pursed his lips. He simply looked ahead as Schlatt drove, not responding to his attempts at a conversation. Which Schlatt got pretty annoyed with after a while, “Oh my god. I don’t know what nonsense Quackity has been feeding you, but I would very much enjoy if you actually tried to have a conversation with me. You’re going to continue to feel overwhelmed and scared if you stew in your thoughts. See, this is exactly why you can’t go back. That stupid duck is corrupting your thoughts.”

 

Dream looked over at him, seeing how angry he looked, “I never want to go back to Quackity.”

 

“Good. I don’t plan on taking you back.” Schlatt responded, his grip on the steering wheel tightening. Dream weakly smiled, then Schlatt’s phone started buzzing nonstop. It was Quackity. 

 

“Where the hell are you taking him?”

 

Dream’s heart stopped at the sound of Quackity’s angered voice, and he turned to Schlatt with fear apparent in his eyes. However, the older male just shook his head at him, “Quackity, Fundy was captured and the SBI knows that Dream is alive.”

 

“No they don’t! Fundy lied and told them that he was trying to find a contact. I’m not stupid. Dream’s name is not saved into his phone. It has a different one. Bring him back! Now!”

 

“Unfortunately Quackity, I won’t be doing that. Dream is currently feeling unsafe and I’m doing what I can to prevent that. He will be staying with me until further notice just in case Fundy does end up blabbing before you can get him out of there. You know better than to fight against me.” Schlatt said, his voice low and threatening. Dream shuddered slightly at the sound, then looked down, hiding his face. 

 

“I’m going to kill you! Bring him back! Now! I don’t give a shit about Fundy! Give him back!”

 

Schlatt glared at his phone, “Dream is not a possession. He is a young adult who is scared.” He snarled, then hung up, blocking the number. He tossed his phone out the window as well, then he went silent. Dream wouldn’t admit it, but Schlatt was equally as terrifying as Quackity was. “If need be, Dream, I’ll kill him. I’ll kill him and move you. You can live a normal life without anybody here knowing that you’re still alive.”

Chapter 19: nineteen

Notes:

CW : talk of car crash, death

Schlatt drove until they were out of town, still seething from the call with Quackity. Purpled had fallen asleep in Dream's arms, and the blond was just about ready to pass out himself when Schlatt pulled off the road, sighing, "We're still about two hours from my home. Unlike your other two nightmares, I stayed where I lived. You good with being dropped off at a hotel for the night? I was gonna find a car seat for you to use so you don't have to, you know."

 

"Yeah, thank you," Dream mumbled, beginning to notice how sore his arms were feeling. He adjusted his grip on him slightly, then Schlatt got out of the car, opening the door for Dream. 

 

The two of them made their way into the hotel, where Schlatt bought two rooms for an overnight stay. Dream was too exhausted to even think straight, so Schlatt led him up to his room with a careful hand, carrying Purpled himself. 

 

"Look, before you lay down and pass out, I need to ask you something." Schlatt said, helping Dream place pillows around Purpled on the bed. The blond looked up at him and nodded, Schlatt sighing lowly, "I know I threw my phone out the window, but I had another, I did it to make you feel better. And one of my people, Puffy, she reached out to me and told me some pretty bad news. Do you think you're in the right state of mind to hear something really, really bad?" 

 

Fear grew in the pit of Dream's stomach, but he nodded at him, "I don't want to be sheltered. Even if it hurts, I want to know." He said, his voice shaking. 

 

"Quackity can't escape from some of his tendencies. He never did anything to you, but the urge was there. To do to you what he did to your friend. And before you jump to any conclusions, nothing happened to your friends. George.. and Sapnap are their names, correct?" He asked, and Dream nodded in confirmation. Schlatt made him sit down, then he continued, "Dream, Quackity knew that he would never be able to go after Sapnap. Subconsciously, he couldn't bring himself to do it. So he went after the people closest to you that he had no connection to."

 

Tears welled up in Dream's eyes, "No.."

 

"He went after your family. Yesterday was your death anniversary, and they were going out for the first time on that day to celebrate your life instead of grieve. He told one of his people to run a truck straight into their car. They flipped, your mom died on impact. Your younger sister held on the longest, but she died in the hospital just a little bit ago." He said quietly. Dream froze and he covered his mouth, trying to muffle his sobbing. He looked at Schlatt again, and the older male tensed slightly, “Tell me what you need me to do Dream. I want to help you. Especially because of the news that I’ve been giving you.”

 

Dream stood up and walked to the other side of the room, the exhaustion raking his body feeling completely overshadowed. He took a deep breath in, then gulped, “You can make fake IDs, right?” He asked, and Schlatt nodded. He sniffled, “My dad’s brother died a few years ago when he fell off of a building in Japan. It was possibly a murder, but it was never investigated or anything because of how high profile the suspect was. But the point is, according to everything in the United States, my uncle is alive. And according to the same government, I’m dead. I want you to make a fake ID so you can pretend to be my uncle and take charge of funeral arrangements. I don’t want anybody there. I know it seems selfish, but I need to be able to go. My family didn’t have many people anyways, so it won’t be hard.”

 

“Okay, I’ll get on that. You stay in this hotel room and don’t answer the door for anybody.” Schlatt whispered, guiding Dream away from the door. He left a few moments after that and that’s when Dream lost his composure. 

 

He ran into the bathroom, collapsing onto the floor in a heap of sobs. He gasped a few times, coughing harshly. His little sister was only sixteen years old. She was sixteen and she died in a hospital room alone. Believing that her brother was dead. 

 

Purpled started crying a couple hours after Dream locked himself in the bathroom, and the blond had to use all of his willpower to peel himself off the bathroom floor. He walked over to him and picked him up, realizing that he didn’t have much of any baby materials. Just three diapers and a container of formula. He couldn’t do much for very long. 

 

“My love, I’m so sorry that I kept you from your family. But if I hadn’t gone away in the first place, I never would have had you. And I’m going to be hurting for a really long time, because I’m going to miss them, very badly. And I’m going to be sad, but I love you. I love you so much. And they would have loved you too, I promise.” He whispered, making the bottle in the crappy hotel kitchen. Purpled seemed to have calmed down, looking up at his dad, who still had fat tears rolling down his cheeks. 

 

The next morning, Schlatt came to him with the confirmation of a fake ID, and enough baby things to last them for upwards of a week. 

 

Sapnap was sitting in George’s room at his parent’s house when they got the call. 

 

“What?”

 

“I’m very sorry, but the father’s brother has reached out. He came to us this afternoon, with a proper ID. He is the next of kin, which means that he has the automatic right to all the planning. And he specifically stated that he does not want a service, and does not want anybody there. I do apologize if you were close to the family, but you may only visit their graves once they’re buried. That is the best I can offer to you. If you have any grievances, please reach out to his brother.”

 

Sapnap gasped when she hung up the phone, not being able to believe what she said to him. The elderly Irish woman had been so kind to them, so understanding that even if they weren’t related. 

 

“Sapnap, what happened?”

 

The younger male turned to George and his parents, sighing, “Mr. Wastaken’s brother reached out and took over everything. There will be no service, and we can’t visit their graves until after they’re buried.” He whispered, and they looked at him in shock. George’s parents scurried out of the room, his father already pulling out his phone to make calls. 

 

“Sapnap,” George started, “Didn’t Dream tell us once that his uncle died?”

Chapter 20: twenty

Dream was sitting down in front of his family's graves, Purpled held on his chest by a kangaroo scarf. He was wearing a mask and glasses, which would be considered suspicious on a normal day, but many people in the graveyard looked similar. 

 

"We only have a little while longer," Schlatt said, and Dream sighed. He stood up slowly, and was about to say something when he froze. Sapnap, and George's family was approaching quickly. Schlatt turned around as well, then sighed, "They're here for me. You just go. Get away quickly but not too fast. Go."

 

Dream nodded, then turned the other way, whispering a small something in his ear before walking off. Sapnap and George didn't even think about the retreating person, assuming that it was nobody important. The younger of the two friends walked straight up to him, shoving his chest, "Who are you to decide? Who are you to say that they don't deserve the respect of a service? A proper funeral? Who are you!" He shouted. 

 

"Don't tell them anything."

 

"I'm his brother. You trying to tell me that I can't do any of this?" He asked, grabbing Sapnap's wrists and prying his hands away from his chest. 

 

The younger male looked even angrier, and the only thing keeping him from flinging himself at Schlatt again was George's hands on his shoulders, "Dream told us that his uncle died! So who are you? And what are you trying to gain from this?" He asked, his entire body tensed up his anger. 

 

"My brother was dirt poor. Any person who is even capable of making fake IDs has no reason to pretend to be me. There's nothing to gain from my family. From them. They're all dead. The only thing I'm getting is some furniture and my parent's ashes. I didn't die, but I did get in a lot of trouble with some pretty bad people. But you don't need to know my life story." He said in a harsh whisper, trying to not get them kicked out of the cemetery. He looked over at George's parents who looked like they were just about ready to take his side, and sighed, "I came back to the United States. Then I learned my brother, my sister in law, and my nieces and nephew were all dead. So no, I didn't want a big service where a bunch of fake people told stories about how much they cared. Because nobody cared about us. If they had, then Dream wouldn't be dead. He wouldn't have been working in that daycare, he would've been in college. If you think that my family is more important to you than they are to me, then be my fucking guest. Throw a service and tell stories. But stay the hell away from me."

 

He stormed off, meeting Dream in the parking lot. The blond male looked up at him nervously, "How'd it go? Do you think they suspect anything?"

 

"I don't think so, because that was some really damn good acting. But I think I might have hurt them. I was harsh Dream. Really harsh." He said quietly, momentarily looking back at the group. Sapnap's anger seemed to have faded completely, and he looked just about ready to cry. George was looking over at the two of them, and that made Schlatt nervous, so he grabbed the blond by his shoulders and started leading him to the car. 

 

George’s parents stood there in complete shock, and they looked over at the two males standing in front of them, “Did Dream need money for college tuition? We have.. We would have given him what he needed.”

 

“He wouldn’t have taken it, mom.” George said quietly, turning back to the look at the graves. He rubbed Sapnap’s back, then sighed, “None of them would have taken any money. Dream wanted to put himself through college. It was one of his goals. He almost had enough to apply for a student loan.”

 

George bit the side of his cheek, then covered his mouth. He looked over to the direction where Dream’s supposed uncle was standing, seeing him talking to a blond person holding a baby. His uncle looked nervous for a second upon seeing George, then the two of them quickly walked away. 

 

“George?”

 

Said male turned back to Sapnap, and he sighed, “You guys stay here. I need to make a phone call.”

 

“Phone call?” Sapnap asked, but George was already walking away from them. 

 

He pulled his phone out as soon as he was out of range for the other three, pressing in a certain number that he was actually nervous to call.  

 

“I told you not to contact us anymore.”

 

He gulped, “I know, but I need your help, Phil.”

 

“You have five minutes. Talk.”

 

“Dream’s family died in an accident.” He said suddenly, and he heard Phil’s breath hitch on the other side of the line, so he continued, “It was Dream’s death anniversary, and they were all going out together to celebrate his life. But when they were driving, a truck ran a red light and crashed into them. But I have the feeling that it wasn’t an accident. The truck driver never stopped, he just kept driving, even though he saw their car flip. He sped up. It may be pretentious of me to say this, but something more is going on. I know.. I know that I’m a civilian, and I have no authority or proper knowledge of your life. But, somebody is killing the Wastaken family. And I think they’re going to go after Dream’s uncle next. Can you just.. look into it?”

 

“I’ll see what I can do, George, but I’m not promising anything will come of this. There are plenty of people in this world who are just fucked up in the head. You never know, that truck driver could have been high out of his mind, or drunk, or hallucinating. Don’t get your hopes up. We’ll reach out to the uncle. Stay out of this, George. And do not call me again. I will tell you if we find anything.”

 

Chapter 21: twenty-one

"So you moved over here as well?"

 

Quackity pursed his lips, "No. I've been over here for business, then you got up my ass about meeting. So, I came to where you were." He lied, his eyes flickering over to his phone every couple minutes. He wasn't sure what led to this, but he had his assumptions, of course. "So, he reached out?"

 

"He.." Phil started, but he narrowed his eyes. Something deeper was going on. "No. I came here to talk to you about why you killed Dream's family. Especially on the anniversary of Dream's death. They have never done anything to you and they deserved to have some peace in their life."

 

Quackity began laughing loudly. They still didn't know. He stood up with a sigh, then leaned over to get up in Phil's face, "You really don't know? You really gave up so quickly? You didn't even check did you?"

 

"What the hell are you talking about?" Phil said, raising his voice and shooting out of his seat as well. He had little to no patience regarding Quackity, and he wasn't in the mood for guessing games. 

 

Quackity smiled at him with a malicious grin, then sighed, leaning back, "Dream is not dead. He never was dead. And had you checked, you would have known. The entire plan was one to capture him. I've had him for the past two years." He said, and Phil's eyes widened. He launched himself over the table, pinning Quackity on the ground. The younger laughed, "Woah, old man, I didn't know you could still move around like that."

 

"Where is he?" He snarled, gripping the collar of Quackity's shirt even harder, his knuckles practically turning white at the pressure. 

 

"Don't know." Quackity responded, hissing in pain when Phil slammed his shoulders back to the floor. The older male was just about ready to say something else when Quackity continued, "That day that you captured Fundy at the beach? He was there to pick up Dream. Dream saw you and was scared. But you captured the ginger idiot, so Dream called Schlatt. That's who he's with. I don't know where, and I don't know why Schlatt is being so nice to him. So leave me alone, go to the one who's actually with him."

 

Phil's anger raised even more, his entire being so furious that he could barely think of the words to say. He slammed Quackity's head down one more time, then stood up, "Tell me why you killed his family."

 

"Because he went with Schlatt and turned his back like the traitorous whore..."

 

Phil stomped on his face before he could continue his sentence. He let out a shaky breath, trying to regain his composure before leaving the room. He slid into his car and called Jack, not even letting the other male speak, "I'm going out of town. Do not tell my sons anything. Understood?"

 

"Yes sir."

 

He hung up the phone, then immediately began speeding down the road. He wanted to get to where he needed to be as fast as possible, he didn't have any time to spare. He didn't trust Schlatt, and if what Quackity had said was true, he needed to get Dream away from him as soon as possible. 

 

It took him a little over three hours to get to where he knew Schlatt's home to be, and he immediately ran up to the door and slammed his fist on it. 

 

"Ah, Phil. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

 

The blond male glared at him, "You know exactly why I'm here, Schlatt. Don't pretend."

 

"Yeah, I do." He said, then moved to the side so Phil could walk in. He grabbed the other male by the collar of his shirt and kept him from continuing to walk into the house, "I'm not going to stop you from going and talking to him, but I'm not going to force him to stay. He's terrified of seeing you again."

 

Phil stopped for a moment, turning to face Schlatt with disdain, “Why do you care?”

 

“I have to.” Schlatt responded, pushing Phil away from him. He sighed heavily, “Dream had spent two years with Quackity feeding him lies. So he’s terrified of you. And he didn’t have anybody looking out for him that didn’t ulterior motives. So I’m doing that. I got him away from that fucking psycho. I pretended to be his uncle so he could visit his family’s graves. I have been there for him. Don’t get all high and mighty with me because I have more blood on my hands. I’m doing what’s best for that kid and his son.”

 

Phil went silent, and he just stared at Schlatt for a while. Neither of them said anything. Neither of them were sure there was anything left to say. 

 

“Phil?”

 

Said male turned his head, seeing Dream standing in the doorway. Tears welled up in the younger blond’s eyes, and he slowly walked over to hug Phil. He gratefully accepted the hug, and pulled Dream even closer to him, “Hello, Dream.”

 

“I don’t understand. How are you here?” He asked, his voice muffled by Phil’s shoulder. 

 

“I’ll give you two some privacy.”

 

Schlatt walked out of the room after he said that, and Dream leaned away from Phil. The older male sighed lowly, “Why didn’t you.. why..”

 

“Phil, I couldn’t. I can’t.” He whispered, stepping away. “My mind is muddled, exhausted. In the last couple years, I’ve heard more lies than truth. My heart aches at the thought of never seeing you again, but I’m also not sure if it’s a good idea for me to come back. I have a son. A baby. I can’t be a caretaker for anybody but him, not anymore. I love your boys, but I don’t want them to feel replaced.”

 

“Then don’t be a caretaker.” Phil said, starting to feel an unfamiliar franticness. Dream looked over at him with wide eyes, and Phil sagged, “We have a caretaker that can stay on the job. We don’t need anything from you. We just need you. Everybody.. just needs you. I’ll get you an apartment near our house, and I promise I won’t tell anybody that you’re alive until you want me to. Please just come back,”

 

Dream sighed, then looked down, “Find me an apartment, I’ll move back. But don’t keep your hopes up, I can’t guarantee anything. I’m scared, Phil. Quackity killed my family. He’s not above killing me.”

Chapter 22: twenty-two

Dream stood in an empty apartment with pursed lips, balancing Purpled on his hip. Phil and Schlatt were arguing outside, which seemed to be their favorite thing to do lately. He turned to look at his baby, smiling at his face, “What did I get myself into?”

 

He clicked his tongue, then turned his head back to the window. Phil and Schlatt seemed to be at a standstill, and Dream sighed, slowly sliding down to sit on the floor. The two older men hadn’t been able to agree on a single thing for the two weeks that the three of them had been staying together, and it was beginning to exhaust Dream. 

 

“You’ve known him for a month!”

 

Dream sighed, adjusting Purpled in his arms to cuddle him against his chest. After a couple minutes of sitting there, he scoffed, then walked out the door. He went straight up to the two fighting males, standing in between them, “Enough!”

 

“Dream..” Phil started, but Dream cut him off. 

 

“I am done being the center of conflict. I am done being the source of the fighting. I don’t want to live like that anymore. I just lost my family. That pain is still fresh. Schlatt, you don’t know me. Phil, you barely know me. I need a break. The only reason I haven’t run away yet is because I don’t have the money to do it. Let me be twenty years old.” Dream said, then began humorlessly laughing, “I can’t even drink and I’ve been kidnapped twice, I’ve almost died twice, and I’m dad. I’m twenty! Can’t you see that I’m breaking down? Stop fighting!”

 

He started sobbing, cutting off his talking. Purpled looked up at him, then began sniffling as well, nearly crying just at the sight of his dad crying. 

 

Phil went silent, then looked at Schlatt. The two of them nodded at each other, then the latter began walking away. Phil made Dream look up at him, then sighed, “I’m here for whatever you need. Dream, just tell me what you need, okay?”

 

“I need furniture. I need a nursery,” Dream whispered, still trying to stifle his sobs while comforting Purpled at the same time. Phil nodded, then guided the male back into the apartment building, waving his hand. 

 

“I have some people who will move everything in. Are you okay with being in there while they do or do you want to stay out?” Phil asked. 

 

Dream stopped walking for a moment, his footing beginning to stumble. “Phil, take my baby,” He whispered, then began to fall over. Phil just barely managed to grab Purpled, and kneel down to break Dream’s fall. The young blond was completely out, unresponsive to Phil’s words.

 

“Sir? What’s happening?”

 

Phil turned to see one of the movers standing there, looking over at them. He nodded with a sigh, “I’m sorry, he’s just exhausted. Any chance I could get you to move in all the bedroom items first? Just so he has a comfortable place to rest?” He asked, and the mover nodded, turning to shout at the other men. 

 

Once they moved in all the pieces of furniture for the bedroom, Phil brought Dream to lay down on the bed. The young male was overwhelmed and exhausted, and his body finally gave up. 

 

Phil rubbed Dream’s cheek soothingly, then carefully placed Purpled down next to him. The infant calmed down the second he was next to his dad again, and Phil pursed his lips. He never got to have this kind of bond with his own children, and he still wished that he had just tried harder when they were young. 

 

He walked back into the other room, seeing that the movers had gotten in most of the furniture that he had purchased for Dream. He sighed, then felt his phone start buzzing in his pocket. “This is Phil.”

 

“Where the hell are you?”

 

“Quackity. My location doesn’t concern you.”

 

“Phil! You stomped on my face and disappeared! You really think that I’m just going to let that go? I know you know where Dream is and you’re going to tell me right now! I’m done putting up with you and your family’s nonsense!”

 

Phil huffed, then pulled out a wad of cash to tip the movers with, “Quackity, you make one more wrong move and I’ll kill you. I’m not going to be passive anymore. You even look in Dream’s direction again, and you’ll live the rest of your days regretting it. Ask Fundy. We’re not above torture.”

 

He hung up the call after he said that, blocking the number that Quackity had called him with. He groaned, then walked over to the window. The movers seemed to be just about done, which was the good thing about hiring a large group of them. 

 

“That’s the last of it, sir.” One of them said, and Phil turned around. He nodded, then handed him the stack of cash he had pulled out. They nodded in thanks, then walked out the door. 

 

Phil decided to stay until Dream woke up. He walked back into the bedroom, sitting down on one of the chairs and pulling out his phone. He felt bad, of course. He knew that his constant fighting with Schlatt was probably one of the factors that lead Dream to getting to this point of exhaustion. But for some reason, he couldn’t help it. Schlatt made him feel angry, a deep, scorching rage. Everything that he said seemed to be something that made Phil lose his composure, and he just started fighting. 

 

It partially stemmed from the fact that Dream would go to Schlatt, a man who he didn’t even know, rather than face his family again. It hurt, just a little bit. He had missed Dream so much, and knowing how terrified Dream was to see any of them again hurt. 

 

Dream began to stir a couple hours later, slowly blinking his eyes open. Phil was by his side again as soon as he was awake, and Dream sighed. He looked next to him and saw that Purpled was still deeply asleep, and he smiled weakly. He began looking around the room, seeing that it was full of furniture that had not previously been there. 

 

“Dream, are you feeling okay?”

 

He finally seemed to notice that Phil was standing there, and he slowly nodded, “I’m fine, don’t worry. I just.. I’ve been thinking so much that I haven’t been able to sleep at all. I’ve been trying to figure out how I want to move forward. What I want to happen. And it’s turning out to be a lot harder than I originally thought.” He said quietly, smiling at Phil. The older male furrowed his brows slightly in confusion, and Dream looked down, “I’ve spent a lot of time lately trying to sort out the truths from the lies with everything that Quackity told me. I do that by reminding myself of the good things, but I’ve been struggling more and more trying to remember those. It’s been so long since I’ve thought about it, and it’s almost like they’re buried so deep down that I can’t even go and find them myself.”

 

“Dream, what do you need?” Phil asked again, and Dream looked at him with a scared look. 

 

He bit the inside of his cheek for a moment, tears welling up in his eyes, “I need Wilbur.”

Notes:

(👍 ͡❛ ͜ʖ ͡❛)👍

Chapter 23: twenty-three

Notes:

not my best work lmao

"You disappear for a month, then come back and try to tell me that I have to come with you at this very second? No way in hell!"

 

Phil huffed, then walked back around so he was making eye contact with Wilbur again, "Why won't you listen to me? This is important."

 

"You say that about everything." Wilbur responded, his voice low and gravely. 

 

He continued walking away from Phil, and the older male finally gave it up, "Dream's alive." He said, his tone calm, yet serious. Wilbur froze, and slowly turned around to look at him again. His lips trembled for a moment, and Phil continued, "That's where I was. I was getting him back. You don't have to like me, you don't have to trust me, but will you just go to his apartment? He needs you."

 

"You're just saying that. It's not real."

 

Phil shook his head, "He said it himself. Look, I would never make something up about Dream. Never. Just go." He whispered, then placed a key in Wilbur's hand. The brunet thought about it for a moment, gripping the key tightly in his fist before looking back up at Phil. His dad was looking at him with a pleading face, "Please. I know that you still hate me for what happened, but he's alive. Go to him. He won't tell me the full story, he won't tell me much of anything."

 

Phil left the room, ending the conversation with Wilbur then and there. He looked at the key again, and he let out a shaky sigh. He walked out of the house, feeling like he was going to regret his decision to do this, certain that this wasn't real.

 

He ended up in front of a nice apartment building, walking up the stairs to the penthouse level. His hands were shaking as he went to unlock the door, so much that he couldn't even manage to fit the key in the slot. The brunet sighed, taking a few deep breaths to try to soothe his raging nerves. 

 

When he finally managed to unlock the door, he was greeted with an empty apartment. There were only a couple lights on, and Wilbur sighed. He expected too much of this, he shouldn't have gotten his hopes up. 

 

"Wilbur.."

 

He didn't even get the chance to look up before a body crashed into his chest. A familiar scent filled his mind, and tears welled up in his eyes. He pushed the male away from him for a moment, "Dream? You're real? You're here? Oh look at you! These freckles.. your eyes... oh god, you're real!" He said, tears rolling down his cheeks. Dream sobbed, and leaned back onto Wilbur's chest. 

 

The two of them slid down onto the floor, remaining in their tight embrace. Dream was trembling, and he looked back up at the brunet, "I missed you so much. I wasn't sure Phil could convince you to come." He whispered, almost silently. Wilbur was about to say something when the two of them heard a soft cry coming from the other room. Wilbur's eyes widened, and he started to get nervous again. 

 

"Is that.."

 

Dream looked at him, and nodded with shame. He bit his lip, "I'll explain everything, I promise. Will you let me?" He asked, finally reaching the point. This is what he was most terrified of. He needed Wilbur in his life, but Purpled was his son. Wilbur nodded, and followed Dream as he walked to the nursery. The brunet froze at the sight of the small baby in a crib, but he didn't say anything yet. Dream picked Purpled up, and walked over to Wilbur again. "This is my son, Wilbur. Purpled."

 

"You had a son?" Wilbur asked, his voice strained. 

 

Dream nodded, then moved to sit down. "But before you freak out, let me explain." He whispered gently, checking to see what Purpled needed. The infant had already calmed down, though, so Dream just sighed and looked back up at Wilbur. "Quackity kidnapped me. The entire plan with Fundy was to kidnap me. That's where I was the past two years. He manipulated me into thinking that he actually cared about me, and lied to me about you guys every chance he got. It's why I was scared. I couldn't tell truth from lie and I could barely remember the time I spent with you. Purpled wasn't conceived a normal way, Quackity did some.. things.. without my consent, and that's how he came to be. Wilbur, I asked Phil for you specifically. You were the one I needed. I’m struggling to remember things, and I can’t do it alone.”

 

“You’re never going to be alone. Never again. Because I am never letting you go,” Wilbur responded in a whisper, leaning over to Dream again. He hesitantly reached a finger down to Purpled’s cheek, gently rubbing it with a soft smile. Dream’s heart fluttered at the sight, and he looked up. 

 

Wilbur was looking up at him already, the two of them silent. The only sounds in the room was the sound of them breathing, neither of them ready to say what they wanted to say. Wilbur sighed quietly, then leaned over to Dream, gently pressing their lips together. This kiss was nothing like any other. Dream’s entire body felt warm and fuzzy, tears welling up in his eyes once more. The two of them stayed that way for a while, foreheads touching, sharing soothing kisses every couple minutes. 

 

“I’m always scared.. that something is going to happen. I want to be prepared but I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to.” Dream whispered, looking down at Purpled with his stomach twisting. 

 

Wilbur hummed, tilting Dream’s face over to him so they were looking at each other, “I’m going to be here with you, forever. You don’t need to be scared because I am never going to stop protecting you. You are my life, Dream. I’ve learned that. I love you, so much. Please, never forget that.”

 

“I love you too..” Dream said, the two of them meeting together for one more soft kiss. 

Chapter 24: twenty-four

Notes:

short fluffy filler chapter

Wilbur stared at Dream from his place in the doorway with a small smile. The blond was happily speaking to Purpled as he packed a small bag of things. The baby was rolling around on the floor, giggling. 

 

“Are you going to help or are you going to stand there and stare?” Dream asked, raising an eyebrow. Wilbur snapped out of his daze, seeing Dream standing up. He let out a soft laugh, then walked into the room completely. Before kneeling down to help, though, he tilted Dream’s head up and placed a soft kiss on his lips. Dream’s cheeks flushed light pink, and he rolled his eyes. “Flattery doesn’t mean you don’t have to help. You can either carry the baby or the bags.”

 

Wilbur hummed, then carefully picked Purpled up off the floor. Dream smiled and nodded, whispering a small ‘thank you’ under his breath before standing up as well. He threw his bag over his shoulder, and the two of them stood there for a moment, basking in the peace they had for a little longer. 

 

Wilbur had stayed with Dream for the past month, catching up with each other. Wilbur also helped Dream by differentiating what was true and what wasn’t. It made him feel better, safer. 

 

“You promise that you actually want to do this?”

 

Dream nodded, “Of course I do. There is nothing that I want more right now.” He whispered, placing his hand on Wilbur’s cheek before kissing him. The brunet nodded, and Dream leaned back, “Our appointment is in thirty minutes, so we should probably get going. If not, our next opportunity is in four months. Come on,”

 

The two of them walked out the door, Dream locking it behind them. Wilbur couldn’t help but stare at the ring he had put on Dream’s finger. 

 

 

They had been sitting in the park, Dream relaxing against Wilbur’s chest as the sun set. Purpled was fast asleep in his carrier, Dream having just reapplied some sunscreen. The two of them were just about falling asleep themselves, content. 

 

“Dream?” Wilbur asked, his voice no higher than a whisper. The blond hummed quietly, and Wilbur lightly chuckled. “Are you even awake, love?”

 

Dream sighed, “I sleep when Purpled sleeps.”

 

“Ah, you sound pretty awake to me,” Wilbur said with a smile, slowly brushing his thumb across Dream’s freckled cheek. Dream looked up at him with half-closed eyes, humming when the older male placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. 

 

Wilbur stood up, pulling Dream up with him, despite his protests. The two of them stood there for a little while, and Dream was getting ready to sit back down, “Wil, I’m tired. What’re you doing?”

 

“Something important,” He whispered, then dropped down to one knee. Dream’s eyes widened, and his mind was cleared of the fogginess of sleep.  Wilbur pulled out a small box from his pocket, opening it to reveal a gold ring, encrusted with diamonds, a beautiful teal gem in the center of it. Dream gasped quietly, dropping down to his knees as well. Wilbur smiled at him, “Well, you’re not supposed to do that. I’m the one supposed to be like this.”

 

Dream shook his head frantically, “I can’t feel my legs right now, Wilbur.”

 

“Oh Dream, I know this is rather sudden, and that there’s virtually no reason for you to accept this, but I’m certain. I’m certain because these past two years I’ve learned that I can’t live without you. I can’t breathe without knowing that you’re safe. I want to be there for you forever, I want to be able to stay by your side no matter what happens. I love Purpled, I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life by your side, protecting you. No matter what happens, I love you. Will you marry me?” He asked. 

 

Dream began sobbing quietly, covering his mouth with his hands. Wilbur felt more nervous every second Dream too longer to reply, but those nerves were there for no reason. Dream smiled widely and began nodding, “Of course, yes, yes.”

 

“Thank god,” Wilbur whispered, earning a small laugh from Dream. The brunet slid the ring onto Dream’s finger, then smiled. The two of them shared a teary kiss, then turned to Purpled. Dream reached over to touch one of the infant’s feet, rubbing circles with his finger. Wilbur sighed, then placed his chin on top of Dream’s head, “Can I..”

 

Dream smiled weakly and looked up at him, “We can set it up. Make an appointment. Go through with a stepparent adoption. They’re easy.”

 

“Yeah,” Wilbur said, kissing Dream’s cheek. The two of them smiled at the baby, then looked back to each other. Wilbur’s heart skipped at beat at the sight of Dream’s face, and he leaned down to kiss him. 

 

 

“Wil!” 

 

The brunet snapped out of it again, realizing that Dream was standing in front of the stairwell. He walked over, holding Purpled against his chest tightly as to not jostle him too much. Dream grabbed his hand once he got close enough, and Wilbur weakly smiled, “Sorry. I’m just excited.”

 

“Hmm,” Dream hummed in response, “Well, you can be excited in the car.” He said, then began walking down the stairs. Wilbur chuckled softly, then followed the blond down, knowing better than to continue delaying Dream. The younger was just as excited for today as Wilbur was, perhaps even more so, and that meant he wasn’t going to sit around and let Wilbur make them late for their appointment. 

 

The two of them drove to the nearby adoption office, Wilbur finally thankful for all of Phil’s relentless precautions. It meant that Wilbur would pass any and all background checks, and his record would be pristine. The perfect candidate for stepparent adoption. He almost felt.. bad. 

 

“You still okay with me doing this, Dream?” Wilbur asked again, just making sure. 

 

The blond sighed heavily, leaning over to stare directly at Wilbur, “I am certain that this is okay. So you don’t have to ask me anymore. I want Purpled to have two parents, I want him to be safe in case something happens to me. And I want to marry you, so who better to do this? Okay?”

 

“Okay..” Wilbur responded, kissing Dream once more. Then the two of them walked in. 

 

Purpled started the day with one parent. 

 

And ended it with two. 

Notes:

hey look i didn’t jump straight back to angst

Chapter 25: twenty-five

Notes:

CW : stalking, gun, blood, death

"Phil, I'm not going to bring him back. Until he says that he's ready to come back, I'm staying here with him." Wilbur said harshly into the phone, turning to look out the window every couple minutes. Dream was out collecting their mail, getting some sun. 

 

He had a panic attack a couple days prior, and that resulted in him shutting himself into his room for multiple days. After something like that, there was no way in hell Wilbur was going to bring Dream to see the people he still had lingering fear towards. 

 

“I didn’t say it had to be now, but will you not even try? Just ask him, okay?”

 

Phil ended the call before Wilbur could say anything else to him, and the brunet sighed. He was exhausted, and by the time Dream made his way back to the apartment, he was knocked out on the couch. 

 

Dream flipped through the mail as he walked up the stairs, not expecting to see much more than bills or Christmas cards from his neighbors. However, he saw something that made his heart stop. It was a thick yellow envelope, the size of a piece of paper, with his name written with sharpie on the back of it. 

 

He froze where he was momentarily, running back down the stairs to look at where the mailman was. It was just a normal USPS man, who didn’t seem like he was being paid by anybody to do this. 

 

Dream felt tears well up in his eyes with panic, worried about what this could be… what was inside it. He took a deep breath, then began walking up the stairs again, knowing it was probably better to open this next to Wilbur. He opened the door of his apartment, and saw that the brunet was asleep on the couch, and he didn’t want to wake him up. 

 

So instead, he walked into their bedroom after throwing the rest of the mail onto their table. He sat down on the floor, then slowly began to open the envelope, nearly sobbing when pictures began falling out of it. 

 

They were all pictures of him, from the day that he moved into the apartment with Phil and Schlatt. He began sifting through them, his breath becoming more rapid as he saw more of them. 

 

There were hundreds of photos completely surrounding him. He covered his mouth, and turned back to the envelope. He picked it up, pulling out the last photo. 

 

It was one from that morning. 

 

It was a picture of him standing in his kitchen, holding Purpled as he made a bottle. He stiffened and dropped it on top of all the others, then pulled the final thing out of the envelope. 

 

3 days. 

 

It was written on a half sheet of paper, the same crude handwriting with sharpie. He starting shaking with anger, and ripped the note in half, gripping the sides of his head. He was breathing heavily, trying to block out the sound of Quackity’s voice echoing in his head. Dream knew that this shit was his work. He just knew. But he wasn’t sticking around to see what would happen if that ‘3 days’ was even real. 

 

“Dream!”

 

Wilbur seemed to have woken up from his nap, and walked into the bedroom to see his fiancé surrounded with photographs of himself, clutching his head. He stepped over them, making the blond look up at him. However, despite the tear tracks on his cheeks, and still trembling lips, Dream looked angry. 

 

The two of them stayed there for a moment, then Dream dropped the pieces of the paper he tore up on the ground, “I’m not sticking around for that psycho to waltz up here. We’re leaving.” He said, then stood up. Wilbur gaped at him from his spot on the floor, then grabbed Dream’s hand. 

 

“Dream, where are we going to go?” He asked, and Dream frowned in response. He sighed lowly, then turned back to the brunet. 

 

“I don’t know,” He whispered, then kneeled back down to grab Wilbur’s face, “But we can’t stay here. It is clearly not safe for me or Purpled. I’m done being scared of him. Frankly, he’s making me mad. I knew from the second that you and Techno took me from the daycare that my life wasn’t going to be normal anymore, and I accepted that a long time ago. But what I’m not going to accept is a fucking psychopath who won’t leave me alone. Who takes pictures of me through a window. From the top floor of an apartment complex. I don’t have a damn clue on how he’s doing that in the first place. He’s crazy and it’s never going to stop until he’s in jail or he’s dead. Whichever comes first. We need to do what’s best for our child, and right now, that’s leaving. Wilbur, don’t make me go alone. Because I will leave you here.”

 

Wilbur’s heart skipped a beat, and he cursed his mind for finding Dream so attractive at the moment. However, he just nodded, so Dream stood back up and continued backing clothes into a bag. Wilbur looked around at the photos for a moment, reassembling the note so he could take a picture of it. Dream looked over at it for a moment, his eyes downcast, but he shook his head, then walked into the other room. The two of them moved quickly, trying to get everything sorted out before leaving. 

 

Then, when Dream walked into the nursery to get Purpled, he was met with a horrible sight. There was a person there, standing over Purpled’s crib. He froze, his eyes wide. The person didn’t seem to notice that he was there yet, entirely focused on the child in front of them. Dream didn’t even hesitate to pull out a gun and point it at their head, “Step away.”

 

The person’s eyes widened, and they slowly looked up at Dream. It wasn’t anybody that Dream recognized, and when they straightened up, he could see the knife that they had in their hand. They narrowed their eyes at him, “You really gonna shoot a gun so close to your baby’s little, sensitive ears?”

 

“Well, it’s a damn good thing that I have a silencer.”

 

Their eyes widened, and their hand moved like they were going to drive the knife towards Purpled, so Dream pulled the trigger. The sound was significantly quieter, quiet enough that Wilbur didn’t immediately come running into the room. 

 

Dream walked over to the person, stepping on their abdomen, right where he sent the bullet. “What the hell is happening in three days?” He asked, his entire body burning with rage. The person was about to fight back against him, but Dream pushed his foot further into the wound, and so they didn’t. 

 

“Quackity was going to kill him.”

 

Dream raised an eyebrow, then leaned down to stare at the person, “Well, I bet Quackity sent you in here thinking that I’d be too scared to do anything, huh? Well, that might have been the case a few weeks ago, but now? Now.. I’m not going to put up with the threats towards my child. I would send you back to Quackity with a message, but you know as well as I do,” He said, leaning down to whisper directly into their ear, “You aren’t leaving this room alive.”

 

“Quackity will kill your child. He’ll kill him then the rest of your life will be completely misery! You won’t win this, you stupid..”

 

Dream didn’t let them finish their sentence, shooting the gun again. He closed his eyes for a moment, clicking the safety back on before pushing the gun into his pocket. He heard a gasp from the doorway of the room, and turned to see Wilbur, “What..”

 

“I did what I had to do.”

 

Wilbur walked over to him and tilted his head up, slightly shaking his head, “I’m not judging you. Believe me, I’ve done much worse. But we should probably get out of here so Purpled doesn’t see all of that.” He said, pointing to the dead body on the floor. 

 

“Well, then let’s go.”

 

Notes:

dream isn’t scared anymore he’s pissed.

Chapter 26: twenty-six

"Come on, Dream, here."

 

The blond furrowed his brows, but followed Wilbur. Well, he had to. Wilbur was holding his child. 

 

The two of them walked up to the door of a cottage, one that Wilbur had taken some strange, twisted road to get to. He wasn't in the most trusting mood at the moment, but he believed that Wilbur would never do anything to endanger him or Purpled.

 

The brunet knocked on the door, and a short female slowly opened the door. Wilbur whispered something to her, and she nodded, opening it enough to let the two of them inside. She reset her security system once they were all inside, and Wilbur sighed, “Dream, this is Niki. She’s a retired member of our group, and lives in this safe home under my protection.”

 

“It’s good to meet you, Dream. I wish we could have met under better circumstances.” Niki said, reaching out to shake Dream’s hand. 

 

He slowly nodded, “It’s nice to meet you, too. I’m sorry that Wilbur pulled you out of retirement.”

 

Wilbur pursed his lips and looked at Dream incredulously, but Dream just raised an eyebrow. The brunet groaned and handed Purpled to Dream, turning to Niki, “Sorry, he’s in a bad mood.”

 

“That’s alright!” Niki responded, laughing quietly at their interaction. “And Dream, don’t worry about it. There are worse things to do than protect a family. If he asked me to be a spy again, I would’ve said no.”

 

Dream weakly smiled and nodded. Wilbur walked over to him and pulled him away from Niki away for a moment, “I have to go. But Niki will keep an eye on you. Anything weird happens, and she’ll call me. I have to go now, okay?” He said, leaning down to press a soft kiss to Dream’s lips. 

 

“Are you sure this is safe?”

 

Wilbur shook his head at Dream with a sigh, “I’m sure. Look, this house was made so they would be safe. You have to trust me.” He whispered, hugging the blond tightly. Dream closed his eyes, then Wilbur leaned over to kiss Purpled’s head. 

 

“It might be surprising to you, Dream, but Techno is the one who trained me. I’m fairly capable.” Niki said from where she was, and Dream nodded. 

 

Wilbur pecked Dream’s lips once more, then walked out the door. Purpled made grabby hands towards the door, whining quietly. Dream shushed him, then turned back to Niki, “I’m really sorry.”

 

“Don’t apologize, Dream. I promise that if I wasn’t okay with this, I wouldn’t have said yes. Besides, I’m not the only person who lives in this house. Do you remember Jack? He retired about a month ago, soon after Phil found you. He was tired of the life, and with Quackity going on his rampage, he was done. So, he came to live with me and the husbands.” Niki said, and Dream raised an eyebrow. She seemed to notice what she said was strange, so she continued, “Not my husbands, I’m not married. It’s just what Jack and I call the two of them. One of them, Skeppy, was Techno’s partner whenever they went to do something, but then he fell in love with a baker, so they both live here for safety.”

 

Dream nodded slowly, “So, do they know?”

 

“Dream, did nobody tell you?” She asked, and Dream raised an eyebrow. She sighed, then led the blond over to sit down on the couch, “Phil told all of the retired members that you were alive. We are sworn to secrecy, but we all know. It was a precaution.”

 

He took a deep breath in, then groaned. He was sure Phil believed it was for a good reason, but Dream wasn’t too happy about it, “I feel like that wasn’t the best choice. There are too many people lately who can’t be trusted.” He said, but Niki reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder. 

 

“Trust me when I say that I know how it feels. But Phil has been doing this for a long time, and if he had any reservations about anybody, they don’t know. Dream, the only thing any of us care about right now is keeping you alive. When everyone thought you died, Wilbur shut down. He couldn’t be a person for a very long time. Wilbur is my friend, and he could not survive losing you again. Nobody could. Look, if it comes down to it, if Quackity finds you, he won’t leave this house alive. We don’t care, we don’t know him. I don’t care. I’ll kill him. But Dream, in exchange for that, we need you to be a person. You can’t shut down because you’re angry or you’re scared. You can feel those things, you can be in bad moods, but at the end of the day, you need to keep moving forward. You have a child, you’re engaged to Wilbur. Once Quackity is dealt with, you can have a normal life. So pick yourself up, and stop doubting everyone.” She said, her voice kind, yet stern. 

 

Dream’s eyes widened slightly, but he looked down  and tears welled up in his eyes. “I’m sorry. Nobody ever lets me process anything.”

 

“Dream?”

 

The younger male turned around and saw Phil standing there, who weakly smiled. He walked over to the two of them, rubbing Purpled’s head before grabbing Dream’s hands, “Quackity will be dealt with. If it comes down to it, we send you to a police station, and tell them that he kidnapped you and held you hostage for two years. We aren’t afraid of him. That scar over his eye? Techno did that. He went after him, like an idiot, and attacked him in the night. I have threatened him, extensively. Many times. Wilbur is just about ready to storm his home and kill him. Everyone is on your side. Fundy is willing to change his alliances. I don’t trust him, of course, considering what happened last time, but he seems a little more genuine than he was last time. Apparently the two years with you was enough.”

 

“I hate him,” Dream mumbled, “I hate him so much. I never want to see Fundy again.”

 

“Okay, okay, that can be done. You never have to see him again. Dream, keep your head on straight. From my experience, killing people can hurt. It can be hard to process and deal with, especially since the last time you did it, your throat was slashed. Take your time to process everything you’re feeling. You’re going to be under our protection until Quackity is in jail, hell, until Quackity is dead.” Phil said. 

 

Dream looked down with a tense look, chewing on his lip for a moment. Both Niki and Phil seemed to be waiting for him to say something, and he sighed lowly, “Don’t bother with jail. Just kill him. He deserved it four years ago, the second he hit Sapnap for the first time.”

Chapter 27: twenty-seven

Dream coughed harshly, covering his mouth as he walked through the isles of the convenient store, looking for medicine. He had come down with something, so he chose to leave Purpled with those who were healthy at the house while he went out and searched for something to bring his fever down. 

 

"Hey, hon, you need help?"

 

He turned around to see an older woman standing there, holding a basket. He weakly smiled, "Sorry, yes. I've been running a fever, and I need something to get it down so I don't give anything to my son. I don't think I'm quite prepared enough for him to get sick."

 

"Oh, the first time they get sick is always hard. Any acetaminophens will help with a fever. If your fever gets worse, or you start to start to get sicker, head to a doctor. If you're seriously sick, it could be quite dangerous for your son." The woman said, reaching down to grab a bottle of medicine to give him. 

 

Dream smiled and nodded gratefully, rubbing his temples slightly. He wanted nothing more than to go home and lay down. Well, actually, he wanted nothing more than to go and cuddle with Purpled, but he knew that it was best not to. 

 

He took the bottle and walked over to the other side of the store, grabbing a bottle of water. 

 

“Yo! Look at you!” A man shouted, and Dream turned around, seeing somebody with their phone pointed directly at him. His eyes widened slightly, confused, but they continued speaking, “A few years back these two fellas were running around town, all frantic, showing off pictures of you. I’ve still got their numbers. Oh wait until they see this picture. Hehe! I’m gonna be rich cause if you!”

 

Dream began walking away quickly, ignoring the click of a camera behind him. He headed straight up to the cashier, buying his items before leaving. He had quite a ways to walk, despite having chosen the closest convenient store to the safe house. He was so tired. 

 

Once he made it back, he saw Niki and Jack in the living room with Purpled and his heart ached. He sighed lowly, and that’s when the other residents of the house came over to him. 

 

“Come on, Dream. You should lay down.”

 

He turned his head and nodded, “Yeah, thanks Bad. I will.” He mumbled, letting the older male lead him back to his bedroom. He laid down with a slight groan, his legs sore. Bad placed a hand on his forehead, then pursed his lips. 

 

“I could have gone for you. To the store, I mean.”

 

He pursed his lips and shook his head, “Bad, you know that you weren’t ready to. I managed, but… there was somebody. He took a picture of me. He was talking about two guys who were searching town. I think he was talking about Sapnap and George. He said he had their numbers. They’re going to know. If what he was saying was true, I.. they’re going to..”

 

“Hey, don’t worry about that.” Bad said, handing him two of the pills from the bottle. Once Dream had taken them, he pushed him back so he was laying down fully, “I’ll make sure to talk to Phil. But you? You don’t concern yourself with anything other than getting better. The four of us may be able to keep Purpled entertained and cared for, but he will always prefer to be with his dad.”

 

Dream smiled, “Well, if this turns out to be anything more than a common cold, you’re going to have to get Wilbur to be there. I’m a bit too scared to even risk getting Purpled sick.”

 

“I know. So sleep. Give the medicine time to kick in. We’ll all still be here when you wake.”

 

Once Dream had rolled over and closed his eyes, Bad walked back out into the living room, sitting down on the couch. Niki looked up at him, “Do you think it’s time? I know that we haven’t gotten Phil’s approval or anything, but I don’t think we should have to wait. I know that I’ve been pegged to be the most rational of us all, but I’m quite ready to make a move. We’re retired, we technically don’t have to listen to Phil anymore.” She said, and Bad shook his head. 

 

“We do, because if we act rashly, you’re going to be dragged back into that life. Phil is trying to find loopholes, or someone else to do it so we don’t have to. Niki, we just need to him up our end of the deal. With Quackity gone, that threat is gone too. We don’t have to worry about anybody’s identities revealed. We should just be patient, okay?” Bad said, grabbing her shoulders tightly. 

 

She pursed her lips, and didn’t seem to be completely convinced, but the conversation was dropped. They all sat in an uncomfortable silence, none of them knowing if there was anything else to say. Niki almost seemed too eager to go after Quackity, and nobody knew how to explain it. 

 

A couple hours later, the door slammed open, Wilbur standing there. They all stood up, and the brunet rushed in, grabbing Bad’s shoulders. “Where is Dream? We have a very big problem.”

 

“He’s asleep. He’s got a fever. What’s going on?”

 

Wilbur sighed, closing his eyes. “A little while ago, Sapnap and George called Phil. We assumed it was about Quackity and were worried that something had happened, but we very quickly figured out that it was not about him. They were furious, yelling incoherently, we couldn’t understand a thing they were saying. We were unlucky enough for Techno to be in the room as well. Once Phil was able to get a word in, Sapnap immediately yelled, asking us how could we lie to them again. How Dream could be alive and we continued to tell them that he was dead. Everybody now knows that Dream is alive. And they’re not going to stop until they see him.”

 

“Wilbur?”

 

The brunet turned around and saw Dream standing there, his cheeks flushed with his fever. Wilbur walked over to him slowly, pulling the shorter into his chest for a hug. The two of them stood there for a long time, nobody in the room interrupting the silence. 

 

“I’m not ready. I’m not ready..” Dream whispered into Wilbur’s chest, “I can’t do it.”

Notes:

okay i promise that dream won’t avoid them forever

Chapter 28: twenty-eight

Notes:

CW : fighting, blood, injury, major character death

"I can't do it. I can't see them again until Quackity can't hurt them. He needs to be gone."

 

 

Dream stared at the wall silently, his stomach churning from constant anxiety. Only himself and Bad were at the house, the others having left to finally have their meeting with Phil about Quackity. 

 

Despite the fact that Dream knew Bad was fully capable of defending himself, he still didn't feel quite as safe with almost everyone gone. He always felt like there was something looming over his head and he could never get rid of it. Not until he was gone. 

 

He slowly pushed himself off his bed, reaching over to the nightstand to grab his ring. He felt around for a moment, struggling to find it before turning on the light and seeing that it wasn't there. He quickly grew panicked. It was the most expensive thing he had ever owned, and he managed to lose it. He looked around on the floor by the nightstand for it, but it was still nowhere to be found. 

 

"Looking for something?"

 

His stomach dropped. He slowly turned around to see Quackity standing in the doorway, inspecting Dream's engagement ring. The blond slowly stood up, trying to subtly reach behind him, "How'd you find me?"

 

"If you want to talk, I'd recommend keeping your hands where I can see them, dear," Quackity said in a cold tone, and Dream froze. He grit his teeth in frustration, then decided to play along for the time being. He moved his hands back to his sides, where Quackity could clearly see them. He took a shaky breath in and out, then looked directly at the male. 

 

The two of them stood there in silence for far too long to be comfortable, Quackity maintaining his sickening smirk. Dream chewed on the side of his cheek, “I’ll ask again. How did you find me?”

 

“It wasn’t hard.” Quackity said mockingly, flicking the ring back towards Dream, who barely caught it. The blond quickly slid the ring back onto his finger, watching as Quackity narrowed his eyes. “You were walking around town as if nothing would happen. I found you, and had a lackey stake out for a few days. Once everyone was gone, I just walked in,”

 

Dream frowned, “I’m not here alone.”

 

“Oh? You mean that knife throwing circus act? He may be able to aim, but he’s not prepared for when somebody pulls a gun on him. I didn’t hit him fatally, because I am just that nice, but I do believe that he’s currently bleeding out in the living room. It feels so wonderful to have blood on my hands again. Real blood.” Quackity said with a sinister smile, and Dream was just about ready to give into his terror. 

 

He looked around Quackity, trying to find where the male was hiding his gun. However, Quackity quickly ran over to him, locking him in a chokehold, then began dragging him through the house. 

 

Dream coughed, feeling like the air had been knocked out of him by the sudden force. He waited for a moment, then harshly elbowed Quackity’s groin before turning around and punching him in the nose. He froze for a moment before the voice of reason took over and he began running to the kitchen. 

 

He has a gun. 

 

Don’t go to Purpled. He can’t find him.  

 

Keep a close distance. 

 

Grab a knife. 

 

He may be stronger, but you know how to defend yourself. 

 

Stay calm. 

 

Words were repeating in his head, over and over. He took a deep breath to try to steady himself, then grabbed one of the kitchen knives. They weren’t particularly sharp, but they were better than having nothing to defend himself with. 

 

He looked around the kitchen frantically, waiting for Quackity to appear when he heard the telltale sign of a gun ready to fire. He waited for half a second more, then ducked down. The bullet flew straight over his head, hitting the wall. Dream stared at the hole in the wall for too long. 

 

That could have been your head. 

 

He quickly flipped himself around, seeing Quackity standing there again, more furious than before. He lifted the knife up with a shaking hand, the adrenaline starting to go to his head. 

 

“I’m not going to lay down and let you win. Not anymore.” He said, and Quackity laughed. 

 

Dream started running towards him with the knife raised, but Quackity put away his gun and grabbed Dream’s wrist. The two of them wrestled over the knife before Quackity managed to get it out of Dream’s hand, sending it clattering to the floor. 

 

He grabbed Dream by the neck and slammed him into the cabinets, doing it until they shattered and the glass shards cut Dream’s head. The blond cried out quietly, clawing at Quackity’s hands, which were now starting to cut off his breathing. 

 

“I am stronger than you, better than you. You may fight, but I win.” Quackity said, dropping Dream onto the floor. The blond screamed when a sharp heel began hitting his back, then as it stomped on his ankle until they heard it snap. Once the foot retreated, Dream began dragging himself on the floor, despite his entire body screaming at him to stop. The pieces of glass that littered the tile were cutting into his skin, red beads of blood reaching the surface. 

 

You can’t quit. 

 

This is for your son. 

 

He heard the gun click again, and he stopped for a moment, sobbing at the burning pain. “Stop…”

 

“I’ll kill you,” Quackity said, trying to hide how his voice was no longer as stern as it had been just a few moments before. Dream cried softly, then pushed himself up to lay on his back. 

 

He looked at Quackity, trying to ignore the glass now cutting into his back, “You can’t. Not while I look at you. You make threats and you try, so hard. But you’ll never be able to get over it.”

 

“Stop it, you bitch!” Quackity shouted, dropping down to wrap his hands around Dream’s neck again. Dream started to claw at them again, but weaker. 

 

He didn’t say anything else, ready to accept what was going to happen so long as Purpled was safe, but the hands released his neck. His mind was fuzzy, and he could barely see through the fogginess that plagued his eyes, but he could feel his body being lifted off the ground. He was carried into a car, and his mind only had one more thing to say. 

 

It’s better us both. 

 

He let Quackity drive for a while, until they were in an area that he couldn’t hurt anyone, then he reached over and grabbed the wheel, yanking it towards him. The car spun out of control, crashing into the side of the road. Dream sobbed quietly, laying there after dragging himself out of the car. 

 

You did it. 

 

You can sleep. 

 

 

---

 

Wilbur felt like something was wrong. He ended the meeting abruptly, the entire group of them rushing home. The door was ajar and Wilbur could hear Purpled crying from where he was. 

 

“Oh my god!”

 

Skeppy ran in before anyone else, running into the living room. Niki gasped when she saw Bad, unconscious and bleeding on the floor. He was pale and shaking, and Skeppy looked like he was just about ready to commit a war crime. 

 

Wilbur walked into the kitchen and his heart stopped. The cabinets were completely shattered, blood everywhere. There was a knife on the floor, and he tensed up. Purpled’s cries became louder, so he quickly ran into the room, finding that he was completely fine, not a single injury. 

 

He carefully picked him up, closing his eyes as he rested him against his chest. He didn’t even need to check his and Dream’s shared room. He knew exactly what happened. He knew what had to be done. 

 

“Wilbur?”

 

The brunet slowly turned to look at Niki, who was standing in the doorway, “Call Phil. Tell him what’s happened. Then you will accompany Skeppy and Bad to the hospital. Watch Purpled, as well.”

 

“But if this was Quackity..”

 

“I know exactly what I’m doing, Niki. This is my fiancé we’re talking about. This is Dream. I refuse to lose him again. I’m going to kill Quackity!” He said harshly, handing off the calmed baby. Niki stood there in silent shock as Wilbur stormed out the door and left. Skeppy had moved Bad into a car and was ready to drive him to a hospital, waiting for Niki. 

 

She started walking back to the entrance when she saw something on the floor. 

 

Dream’s engagement ring. 

 

She slowly kneeled down to pick it up, rubbing the dust off of it before placing it in her pocket. 

 

Until Wilbur brings him back. 

 

---

 

Quackity stumbled out of the car as if he was drunk. His head was bleeding, fragments of glass stuck into his face. He swallowed thickly, looking around for Dream. Since the blond was already injured before he crashed the car, he couldn’t have gotten far. 

 

“Quackity, did you truly believe that you could get away with something like this?”

 

He jerked his head around, trying to find somebody. But it was dark outside. The sun must have set when he was unconscious. That, mixed with the concussion he most likely had, made it impossible to see. 

 

“Who are you?” He shouted, ignoring how much it hurt his throat. There were bruises. 

 

“Don’t you recognize my voice? Can’t you hear it?”

 

The voice was harsh, unforgiving. Had Quackity not been so prideful and angry, he might have been scared. “I recognize it just fine! Stop hiding in the dark and face me! Or are you a coward?”

 

“I think you’re the coward. Waiting until that house was empty, making sure to catch Dream by surprise. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have gone.”

 

“I’m not a coward!” Quackity yelled, flames of fury starting to ignite in his chest. 

 

He was furious. Somebody was hiding in the shadows, hiding, and had the audacity to call him a coward. 

 

“You are. You hear my anger. And you know exactly what I’m capable of. What I’m going to do..” The voice said, then stopped for a moment. Quackity looked around for a moment, then felt the warm breath right behind him, then the voice continued, “To you..”

 

That whisper was enough for Quackity to pull out a gun and shoot. The explosion brightened the area for a moment, but there was nobody there. He breathed heavily, his aim faltering. 

 

Then the gun was knocked out of his hand and he was pinned to the ground. Hands wrapped themselves around his neck, and he let out a choked gasp. 

 

“Doesn’t feel good when it happens to you?”

 

He tried to reach for his gun, but the person brought a leg up to pin down his arm, putting more pressure on his throat. Quackity couldn’t breathe. He gasped quietly, then his chest began burning. His eyes began closing, and his body was shutting down. 

 

“He gets to be free from you, now. People get to be happy now that you’re gone.”

Chapter 29: twenty-nine

Notes:

CW : injuries, talk of death and dying

"He is very lucky that you were able to find him when you did. Any longer out there, and he might not have made it. He will be in the hospital for a while, but I trust that he will make a full recovery." A doctor explained, and Wilbur nodded. He looked back into the hospital room, his heart aching seeing Dream as he was. The blond was pale, connected to wires and tubes, and his eyes were closed. He looked extremely sickly, and had Wilbur not heard the consistent beeping of the heart monitor, he might have believed that Dream was dead. He sighed, covering his mouth for a moment. The doctor looked back to him, "I'll have a nurse set up a cot for you in his room. However, we do ask that you do not have any visitors until his body is stronger."

 

"Right, of course." Wilbur said, then walked straight into the room. He sat down next to Dream without a second thought, taking his hand in his own. He leaned over to kiss the top of Dream's hand lightly, dropping his head to rest on the bed as well.

 

He hated that he was not able to discern that leaving Bad and Dream alone in the house was a terrible idea, especially after the picture of him was taken. Though, the fact that Bad was okay and recovering quickly, it was something at least.

 

Skeppy was furious, and ready to kill Quackity when they received the news that the casino owner, had in fact, been declared dead. He was brought in when Dream was found and the doctors all said the same thing, 'Dead upon Arrival.'

 

It was the first time, the very first time, that Wilbur never felt a smidge of doubt or guilt about somebody dying. He wasn't like Techno or Phil, he always thought that the people they had to get rid of might've had a family, people they went home to, and it was always harder for him to even consider doing anything to them. But Quackity?

 

He would never feel guilty about bringing an end to the man who tortured his love.

 

The only thing that would have been sweeter.. was if he was the one who did it.

 

He might have been the one to find Dream, but Quackity was already dead by the time he got there. Wilbur doubted it for a moment, but when he walked over to him, his eyes were glazed over, his chest still. He clenched his fists with anger, but ran over to check on Dream. The blond had been covered in injuries, bleeding from multiple cuts, his foot swollen and turning purple, covered in bruises from the wreck. He chose to call 911, knowing that paramedics would be able to help Dream as they went to the hospital.

 

He was glad there weren't any visitors allowed yet. He wanted Skeppy and Niki's attention to remain on Bad until he had recovered, and he needed Phil to keep taking care of Purpled. The child did not need to see his dad in such a state.

 

Not to mention, he was furious at his own father. Phil had taken the liberty of burying Quackity. In the same damn graveyard that Dream's family was buried. He expected them to just donate the body to science because nobody was going to claim it, but Phil said he was family and buried the male. He could have handled it, he would have been angry, but he could have handled it, but Phil didn't even bother to ship him out of state.

 

Wilbur snapped out of his thoughts for a moment, looking back up at the heart monitor. It was beeping a little slower than before, and he sighed, "Hang on, Dream. Okay? We haven't gotten married. You can't give up before we get married, please."

 

 

---

 

"Phil?"

 

Sapnap was shocked when he opened the door, seeing the elder male standing there, holding a baby. He started shaking with anger, and was about to lash out when Phil held up his hand. The older walked into their apartment without saying a word, and a shiver ran down Sapnap's spine when he looked at the baby closer.

 

It looked like Dream.

 

He closed the door, then began following Phil until they were both in the living room, where George was sitting. His eyes widened almost comically, and his phone fell from his hands. Phil didn't say anything until he was sitting down in front of the both of them.

 

"This is Purpled. He's about ten and a half months old. He doesn't have a mother, and I'm fairly certain he was not conceived normally in the first place. His dad is in the hospital right now." Phil started saying, but Sapnap very quickly cut him off.

 

"Phil, respectfully, I don't give a shit."

 

Phil narrowed his eyes at them, then changed the way he was holding Purpled so that they could both see his face. "You should, considering this is Dream's son." He said, and George gasped. He covered his mouth with shock, trying to prevent himself from saying any distasteful words towards Phil at the moment.

 

"Phil, I am sick of this." Sapnap said through gritted teeth. "I am sick of you not telling us anything. If Dream is alive, I want to know. I want to know if he's okay. I just want the truth!"

 

Phil sighed, closing his eyes for a second before looking back up at the two of them, "He is alive. But we didn't lie to you at first. We believed that Dream died. In reality, he was kidnapped by Quackity and held there for two years. Until Quackity unknowingly revealed to me that he was, in fact, alive. Purpled was born during that time, and I believe that Quackity felt something for him. He never touched Dream, not once in those years. Then as soon as he escaped, he started sending people after him. It's why we wouldn't let you see him. We were concerned for Dream's safety, and he was concerned for yours. He was afraid. And for good reason. Quackity found the safe house, and attacked him. Planned on kidnapping him again, but Dream crashed the car. Quackity is dead."

 

"We have to see him now!" George shouted, standing up suddenly.

 

The older male shook his head at them, "The hospital is not allowing visitors until his condition improves. They believe he will recover, but it will not be quick. He hasn't even woken up."

 

The room fell silent once Phil said that, and George's legs felt weak. He collapsed back onto the couch and covered his mouth again. Sapnap looked horrified, and his entire body was trembling, "Did Karl know? Did he know?"

 

"No. He didn't. We told retired members of our group, but kept him out of the loop. We didn't trust that he would be able to keep it a secret from you two. He knows now, but he has not left the hospital. An old friend of his is currently there as well. He was dangerously injured trying to protect Dream." Phil said quietly.

 

 

---

 

Sapnap stood in a graveyard, over the simple gravestone. He wanted nothing more than to spit on it, scorn the name that was printed there. "I hate you. I hate you so much. Standing here, I am trying to remember all the times you hit me, and coerced me into things that I never wanted. But there's only one thing I can think of. I was eighteen, and it was far before you turned into whatever you turned into. I think we were on our second date. I didn't know who you were, or what your job was. I took you to a dingy café that you would have never been caught dead in. Your face when you walked in.." Sapnap started, tears welling up in his eyes as he let out a pitiful laugh, "You were shocked. But then you saw me. You immediately forgot about all the disgust you felt towards the place, and just.. walked over to me. It's because of times like that, those times made me believe that you still loved me. I think it's because you're dead. I think that's why I am remembering those things, why I am even standing here. You tried to kill Dream. You hurt him so many times. You hurt me. So why?! What did you do to me?! Why am I here?! Why do I care about you?!" He shouted, sobbing. He clutched his head with a grip too tight to be safe, shaking it nonstop, "You hurt me so many times. You were a terrible person. I don't understand. I don't understand why I can still care."

 

His sobs echoed through the night.

Chapter 30: thirty

"...Wilbur.."

 

The burnet's head shot up, and he looked at Dream with shock. The blond's eyes had started to open, still foggy and weak, but open. He gasped, and started spamming the call button. A nurse walked in, ready to scold Wilbur again, but she saw Dream awake and turned back into the hall, calling a doctor. 

 

Dream was still pretty groggy, even after all the tests were run on him, but he was awake. Wilbur wouldn't admit to it, but he was most definitely crying. 

 

"It's been three weeks? Where is Purpled? Is Bad okay? What happened.."

 

Wilbur shushed him, "Hey, calm down. I'll tell you everything, just take a minute, okay?" He said calmly, trying to get Dream to lean back into the pillows. The blond had tears welling up in his eyes, terrified of what he was going to hear, but Wilbur sighed. "It has been three weeks. Purpled is with Phil, and they're at the safe house. Bad is recovering well, and got discharged from the hospital a week and a half ago. And Quackity.. he's dead."

 

Dream gasped quietly, looking down at his lap. He opened his hands with a fearful look. 

 

Did I?

 

"You didn't kill him." Wilbur said, cutting off Dream's thoughts before they continued. Dream looked back up at him, and Wilbur gently kissed his lips before continuing, "That crash isn't what killed him. In fact, none of us know who did it. Or maybe one of us does, and they're lying. But you didn't." He said, knowing how negative Dream's thoughts would get. It didn't matter how terrible the person was, Dream would always feel the guilt that came with it. 

 

He and Wilbur were similar in that way.

 

Dream teared up slightly, then leaned over to rest on Wilbur's shoulder. Wilbur could feel tears falling onto his shirt, but he said nothing. "I want to see Purpled."

 

Wilbur nodded at him, then sighed. He most certainly was not going to keep Dream away from his son, but they needed to be careful. Dream was in no way healed or healthy, and would still be in the hospital for a few more weeks. His mind and body could probably only handle so much. 

 

"I'll go get him and bring him back, okay? You need to stay here. You're not discharged."

 

He placed a quick kiss to Dream's lips, leaving the room before he could ask why Phil couldn't just bring him. He wanted to be the one to bring Purpled back to Dream. Besides, Purpled was his son too.

 

He walked into the safe house with no warning, picking up Purpled from his play-mat. The baby babbled at him happily, touching his face. He smiled back, kissing his forehead, "Your daddy's awake. And I'm bringing you to see him." Wilbur whispered, still trying to keep that fact a secret. 

 

"Wilbur? What're you doing here?" 

 

The brunet looked up, seeing Phil standing in the doorway. He didn't say anything yet, but looked down at Purpled, "I want to spend some time with him. Dream's condition hasn't changed, and I just.. I need some time." He said, and Phil frowned. 

 

"Let’s have him eat before you go. I just made him his lunch.” Phil responded. 

 

Wilbur watched as he stepped back into the kitchen, but the brunet didn’t wait. He slipped out of the house while Phil was occupied, heading to a convenient store on the way to get some baby food. It wasn’t as good as Phil’s homemade food, but it would do. He didn’t want to keep Purpled away from Dream for any longer than was absolutely necessary. 

 

Dream was half asleep again when Wilbur got back, but he perked up upon seeing the infant. Purpled squealed once he saw him, recognizing his dad instantly. Wilbur walked over to sit on the bed, pulling Dream closer to him so the both of them could hold Purpled. He didn’t want to make Dream hold too much weight while he was still weak. 

 

“Oh my baby,” Dream whispered, tears welling up in his eyes. He couldn’t even fathom how he was separated from his own child for a month. He never wanted to let go of him ever again. 

 

Wilbur weakly smiled, nuzzling into the top of Dream’s head. The blond cried softly, his entire body feeling warm again. 

 

The nurses in the hallway were watching with adoring smiles on their faces. There were a few who felt jealousy burning in their chests from the display of such a happy, and gorgeous, family. Not everyone was so lucky to have their loved one wake up. Especially after the kind of injuries Dream sustained. 

 

Dream carefully fed Purpled after receiving some towels from the nurses, trying to avoid getting any of the food on himself or the hospital bed. He didn’t want to make a mess for anybody to clean up. 

 

“Hey, Wilbur,” Dream started, but he stopped before he said anything else. He turned his head to see Wilbur knocked out. He was softly snoring, his face peaceful despite the uncomfortable angle his neck was at. Dream giggled quietly at the sight, then leaned over to press a soft kiss to his cheek, “I’ll talk to you later. You should get some rest. I know you’ve been having a hard time. I’ll watch Purpled.” He whispered, moving Wilbur’s head so he wouldn’t wake up with a painful crick in his neck. 

 

He sat there in silence, trying to stay awake. He had the irrational feeling that if he closed his eyes again, he was going to sleep for weeks again. He was scared that he would wake up at all. 

 

“Da…”

 

Dream’s eyes widened, and he looked down to see Purpled. He looked like he was trying to formulate a word, repeating the same syllable. To anyone else, it would probably look like an infant just babbling, not yet able to say real words, but from Dream’s eyes, it was something completely different. 

 

He could tell when Wilbur woke up a little bit later, because the snoring suddenly came to a stop and he could feel the brunet jerk up from where he was laying down. He quickly looked over at Dream’s face, checking that he was still awake, then slumped back down. Dream sighed, “Wilbur…”

 

“Hmm?”

 

The two of them made eye contact, Dream’s face contorted into a fearful expression, “Can you do one more thing for me?”

 

“What is it?” Wilbur asked, slightly anxious. 

 

Dream looked down for a moment, then back up to his fiancé with sad eyes, “Can you get two more people here for me?” 

Chapter 31: thirty-one

Dream coughed quietly, whimpering at the pain that shot through his side as he did. A nurse jogged in when she heard that, pushing him to lay back so she could examine him. 

 

He closed his eyes and tried to relax as she carefully dragged her cold fingers over his still bruised ribs, but she sighed, “I’m going to take you to get another x-ray. I’m sure the doctor will want to check on your ribs.” She said with a polite smile, and Dream pursed his lips. He was glad he sent Purpled with Wilbur while he retrieved Sapnap and George. 

 

“Okay..” He whispered in response, giving her his consent. She nodded, then headed back to the hallway to call over another nurse. They brought in a portable x-ray, muttering quietly to each other as they used it on him. Dream sighed, prying his eyes open. 

 

You can’t sleep yet. 

 

You didn’t surrender then. 

 

Stay awake. 

 

Dream’s eyes widened at the sound of that voice in his head. He didn’t understand it. It sounded like his little sister. He heard it the day that Quackity attacked as well. Her voice stayed in his head, reminding him of the things he would forget in hard times. 

 

His eyelids felt so heavy, though. 

 

---

 

Wilbur sighed heavily while standing in front of Sapnap and George’s apartment building. Purpled was gnawing on one of his teething rings, which Wilbur preferred from his finger. He was certain he had marks from it. He turned to face the baby, the corners of his mouth twitching up, “Your daddy is finally going to see them again. I just hope they don’t start spouting nonsense about how I’m not allowed to marry him, because he said yes when I proposed. I need to get that ring back from Niki..” He muttered to himself, then started walking up the stairs. 

 

He knocked on the door, waiting rather impatiently for one of the others to come open the door, but neither of them did. He groaned, tilting his head back, then started knocking relentlessly. 

 

“I’m coming, I’m coming, what the fu…” He heard Sapnap say, then stop. He must have looked through the peephole to see Wilbur standing there. 

 

The younger swung the door open, his eyes wide. He was getting ready to invite Wilbur in when the brunet raised his hand, “I’m not going in. You and George, wherever he may be, are coming with me. It’s time.”

 

“Time…” Sapnap whispered, then he froze. He gasped quietly, then ran back into the apartment. Wilbur heard him faintly shouting at George, and he weakly chuckled, looking at Purpled again. 

 

He sighed, looking up. “They make me feel old.”

 

“You are old.”

 

Wilbur frowned, looking down at George with a slight sneer, “And you’re not? I may be old compared to Dream, but you’re not that much younger than me. You should be quiet or maybe I’ll change my mind and leave you on the side of the road.” He said harshly, and George narrowed his eyes. Normally Wilbur wouldn’t be so harsh with a little comment about something as insignificant as his age, but he knew everything about George and Sapnap. 

 

Including the fact that George had been pining after Dream for years now. 

 

He knew that George took Dream to his prom, when he was a senior and Dream was a sophomore. He knew that he was the one to suggest they live together, that Dream was the one who asked if Sapnap could come. He knew exactly how George felt. 

 

The things you can do with a little bit of money. 

 

George is familiar with that, no?

 

Once Sapnap shakily locked their apartment door, the three of them walked down, and the two younger waited awkwardly as Wilbur strapped Purpled into his car seat. “Sapnap, you’ll sit in the back. If I’m being frank, I don’t exactly trust George around Purpled.”

 

“Well, we both have to get to know him.” George said, crossing his arms across his chest defensively. 

 

Wilbur turned to him with an annoyed expression, raising an eyebrow, “And why is that?”

 

“Because Dream is going to live with us again. Once he’s discharged from the hospital.” George responded confidently, and Wilbur tensed up. He started glaring at the younger male, but didn’t say anything yet. 

 

“Sapnap, sit in the backseat.” He repeated in a more stern tone, and Sapnap quickly did that. He didn’t want to deal with a possible argument between the other two males. He just wanted to see Dream. 

 

George got into the passenger seat, crossing his arms and refusing to look at Wilbur as they drove to the hospital. When they got there, while Wilbur was getting Purpled out of his car seat, Sapnap grabbed George’s arm with a harsh grip, pulling him away to whisper something to him, “George, get over yourself. Dream has been through hell, a hell way worse than ours. You can’t go in there and start talking about things going back to the way they were, because that’s not going to happen. George, if hadn’t done what we did when he first got kidnapped, he wouldn’t have ever gotten hurt. I have spoken to Karl, and Phil, and Wilbur more than you have. Dream would’ve been safe. They wouldn’t have ever hurt him. It was our fault. We acted rashly and immaturely. So be an adult. Watch your words. I am not going to lose him again because you’re so stuck on what was.”

 

“You’re the one who went to Quackity and stuck up your ass.” George hissed in response. 

 

Sapnap froze with a horrified look on his face. Tears welled up in his eyes quickly, and he looked to the side. Wilbur was standing there, having heard exactly what George just said. He walked over to the two of them, handing Purpled to Sapnap before slamming George against the side of the car, “You will not blame him for anything that happened. You are just as guilty. Dream is not in love with you. So you can victim-blame all you want, blame Sapnap and Dream, the two people who were actually, physically affected by all of this. But I’ll have you know, Dream is very different. And he will not allow it. He has a son now. Purpled is more important than your crush.”

 

He released George with one last shove, taking Purpled back from Sapnap. George turned to Sapnap, but said male just glared at him, then followed. 

 

Dream was chewing on his finger, his face twisted with anxiety when the phone Wilbur gave him buzzed. 

 

Wilbur

We’re on our way up. 

 

He let out a shaky sigh, then pushed himself out of the bed, peeking out into the hall, “Nurse Anita? I was wondering if you could take the x-rays out of my room? I don’t want to tell my friends what happened yet. I need to tell my fiancé alone first.”

 

“Of course, Dream. I’ll get them.” She responded with a sweet smile. He sighed quietly, then the nurse walked in. Once she grabbed the x-rays, she turned to Dream with a smile still on her face, “I’ll bring your lunch up with your medication in a moment. I’m sure your friends will be okay with you maintaining your schedule. Especially since, you know..”

 

Dream nodded at her, “Yes, I know. I’ll make sure to eat something.” He responded, rubbing his stomach. Nurse Anita smiled at him, then walked to the nurse’s station, mumbling something to the other nurse. 

 

“Dream?”

 

The blond looked up, then turned, but he couldn’t even process what he was seeing before he was tackled into a hug. He managed to bite back the whimper that tried to make its way out, then he smiled. He buried his face into Sapnap’s neck, trying to soothe him as he cried. 

 

He felt another pair of arms wrap themselves around his torso, and he reached one of his arms to hug George as well. He winced slightly, which Wilbur seemed to notice, but the brunet didn’t say anything. Not yet, at the very least. 

 

He brought the two of them into his room, sighing when he was able to sit back down. George didn’t even wait, clearly having not listened to a single word that Wilbur or Sapnap said. “You’re coming back to live with us once you’re discharged, right? You’ll go to college and do what you wanted to do?”

 

“George, what?” Dream asked with disbelief. He closed his eyes and sighed, trying to give George the benefit of the doubt before grabbing his hands. “I know that these years have been hard on you, but you need to know that I wasn’t a prisoner cowering in a cage. I continued living. I’ve completed my online courses, so I have a diploma. I have a son, he’s teething, and he’s starting to form words, he eating real food. I wouldn’t want to be a full-time student anyways. I might work at a daycare again. That way, he can come to my work. I’m engaged.”

 

George’s face sunk, and he turned to Wilbur. The older male didn’t say anything, he didn’t even look up from Purpled. George sighed, “Do we not matter to you anymore? What about what…”

 

“I can be selfish, George.” Dream said softly, forcing the male to look at him again, “I am sorry, I really am. But I have spent so long, focusing on everybody but myself. I was ready to sacrifice my life so that everybody could be free from Quackity. I crashed that car. I’m not vanishing. I’m not leaving the state. But I’m going to have an adult life. I’m going to live in a nice house, in a good neighborhood, and I’ll make sure Purpled goes to good schools. I’m gonna get married to the man I love, Purpled’s other dad. I want to have a life. With everything that I’ve been through, I should be an alcoholic, but I can’t drink. I’m not going away, but I am going to live.”

Chapter 32: thirty-two

Notes:

i’m speedrunning chapters watch me go

Dream winced slightly in discomfort as Nurse Anita showed Wilbur how to properly tighten the rib brace, finding it harder to take a good deep breath in. Though, his ribs hurt significantly less, and he would deal with the tightness if he got that. 

 

“He needs to wear it during the day, but he can’t wear it when he sleeps. He needs at least eight hours of sleep every night, and it’s recommended that he sleeps on the side of his injured ribs. Have him ice it for twenty minutes before he lays down. He can take ibuprofen for any pain, but if the pain becomes sharp and stabbing, go to the the doctor.” Nurse Anita said as Wilbur signed discharge forms. 

 

The brunet nodded, his mind becoming muddled with all the instructions he was being given. He heard a light chuckle from behind him, “Maybe you should write it down for him. He seems to be struggling to remember it already.”

 

“Dream, love,” Wilbur said, exasperated by the blond that was now standing behind him. Dream leaned over and kissed his head, then sat down himself. Nurse Anita smiled at him and Purpled, then pulled the clipboard back towards herself. 

 

“That’s all. If you have concerns, call, if you have severe pain, go to a doctor. You need to get a lot of rest, and I know that can be hard with a teething baby, but your body needs the healing that comes with sleep. So, let your body heal. Let your fiancé do some of the work,” Nurse Anita said with a smile, and Dream nodded at her. 

 

They left the hospital soon after that, and Dream had to take a second in the parking lot. He covered his mouth to hide a teary laugh, “It’s over. I finally get to move on,” He whispered through laughs. 

 

“It’s over.” Wilbur responded, walking over to press a soft kiss to his forehead. 

 

Dream leaned into his touch, “I don’t know how to see them again. I know I want to, but… I just don’t know the right way to do it.” He said, and a playful smirk made its way to Wilbur’s face. 

 

“Well, it is Christmas soon.”

 

---

 

“You sure he wants to do this?” Phil asked, turning to look at the three kids in the playroom. They weren’t too keen on writing letters to Santa anymore, but Phil knew what they all wished for. 

 

“I’m certain. I’ve checked with him so many times that I think he’ll slap me if I do it again.”

 

Phil laughed quietly, turning to look up at the ceiling with a smile, “Got it. I will not ask. I’ll be ready tomorrow morning. You know you have to get here very early to beat them to the tree.”

 

“We know. But I think this is worth it. Just make sure Techno doesn’t see Dream before them. You know what, make him go to the tree with them. Let him act like a kid for once in his life.”

 

“He’ll never do it.” Phil responded, and he heard Wilbur laugh loudly from the other side, “However, for something like this, I will certainly force him to.”

 

“Thank you. Dream really needs a good reunion to happen, considering how terribly it went with George a couple weeks ago. Honestly, until Karl can find himself a bigger place, Sapnap is going to be living in our guest room. I knew how George felt about Dream, but I didn’t think he would stoop down so low and blame the victims. Hopefully he gets his act together, because Dream was really excited to see the both of them. Ugh. Anyways, I might just buy Karl an apartment because I don’t really want..”

 

Wilbur stopped talking, and his voice sounded muffled for a moment. Phil raised an eyebrow, straightening up against the wall, “Wil?”

 

“Sorry about that. Dream just got out of the shower and needs help with his brace. We will be there tomorrow morning before the sun is even up.”

 

“Alright. Bye.”

 

Wilbur hung up the phone before returning the goodbye, but Phil didn’t take it personally. He put his phone back in his pocket, then sighed. He wasn’t sure how it was going to go down tomorrow, but he had faith that it would go well. After all, it wasn’t everyday where somebody came back from the dead. 

 

The next morning, Phil opened the door to Dream and Wilbur bickering like an old married couple. He smiled, “You’re going to wake them up at this rate.”

 

“Oh, sorry. But someone wouldn’t stop complaining about getting up this early.” Dream said, his voice now lowered to a whisper. 

 

“I was the one who had to get up to console our crying child.” Wilbur responded, and Dream hummed. 

 

“You should’ve gone to bed when he did. That’s what I did. Just because I couldn’t get up to do that, since I’m not allowed to, doesn’t mean that I wasn’t woken up every time he started crying.” Dream whispered, walking into the house. 

 

Phil smiled at the two of them, “You really do bicker like an old married couple, you know.” He said, then started leading Dream to their lounge room. He was cautious of Dream’s still aching ribs, and helped him sit down next to the tree. 

 

“I’m more nervous about this than I was seeing Sapnap and George again,” Dream said, adjusting his sweater after sitting down. 

 

Phil kneeled down in front of him, grabbing Dream’s face gently. The bruises he had gotten from the crash had faded at this point, he looked healthy. The older male smiled, “You don’t need to be nervous. Trust me, nobody in my family has stopped loving you. Nobody. Techno visited your grave everyday. The kids tried to fire caretakers because they weren’t you. Tommy still has nightmares about what happened. Nobody ever stopped thinking about you. Nobody wanted to. And they won’t feel replaced. You want to know why?”

 

“Why?”

 

Phil sighed with a smile, “Because you came back. They won’t care, because you came back.”

 

“Thank you,” Dream whispered, then tightly hugged Phil. He closed his eyes for a moment, and whispered something to him, “I know you’re the one that killed Quackity. It’s why you buried him. Thank you. Thank you for ending it.”

 

Phil nodded, smiling at how intuitive Dream was. He wasn’t planning on telling anyone what really happened that night, but now he didn’t need to. The only person that needed to know was Dream. 

 

“I’m going to get them, okay? You wait here.”

 

Dream let out a shuddering breath, and he saw Wilbur in the hallway. He nodded at Dream and mouthed, ‘I love you’. Dream weakly smiled, nodding, when he heard the kids running up. 

 

“What’d we get? What’d we get?!”

 

“Huh?”

 

Dream looked up, seeing Ranboo standing there. The kid was taller than any six year old Dream had ever seen, and he looked to be in shock. 

 

“Ranboo stop blocking the doorway!”

 

Ranboo was shoved to the side by Tommy, and the blond boy froze as well. He gasped quietly, then ran over, sliding across the floor to hug Dream. Dream smiled, then closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around Tommy as well. The kid cried loudly, and Dream fell back onto the floor when the other two ran to join into the hug. 

 

It was a little bit suffocating, if he was being completely honest, but it was good. He hugged all of them just as tightly, kissing their heads. 

 

“You’re alive!” Tommy shouted, sitting up so he could look closely at Dream’s face. Dream smiled, then reached over to rub Tommy’s cheek. 

 

“Phil, I’m not a kid anymore, I don’t want to get up at five-thirty to watch the six year olds open presents.”

 

Dream smiled at the sound of Techno’s voice, and he watched the door as the pink-haired male walked in. Techno’s eyes went wide, and he covered his mouth at the sight of Dream. He slowly walked over to hug him as well, as if he was making sure he was there. 

 

Dream sat and watched as the three kids opened their presents, and introduced them all to Purpled. Later, when everyone else was in the kitchen eating breakfast, Dream made his way to talk to Techno. 

 

“It’s weird. Seeing you again,” Techno said, not looking at Dream yet. “You were dead. You died. And I know that you’re not actually dead, because I don’t believe in ghosts, but it’s still strange.”

 

Dream smiled and turned to him. “It is. For everyone. It’s my first time ever having a real Christmas. My family was always too poor to get anything, and I don’t count the Christmases I spent with Quackity. Seeing you all again, it’s a good gift.”

 

“Yeah,” Techno responded, placing a hand on Dream’s head. The blond giggled slightly, reaching up to pat Techno as well. The pink-haired male sighed slightly, looking at Wilbur, “Congrats on your engagement, by the way. And no, I’m not bein’ condescending. I’m not the relationships kind of guy, anyways. I don’t feel that way about anyone. I’m going to take over in a few years, and I don’t wanna drag anyone into that kind of life. Wilbur is a few minutes older than me, but he’s got you, and Purpled. He’s retiring as you two get married. Phil’s not going to drag him back into this because of a few minutes. He cares about you, and your son, too much. So, if you want Wilbur to retire, you gotta get married to him,”

 

Dream laughed at him, “I plan to. Now that’s everything’s somewhat normal, now that I feel a little safer, I’m going to do it. Wish I had my mom, or my sisters. They would’ve known how to plan a wedding. They would’ve helped. I guess I was subconsciously putting it off because I didn’t want to get married without them there. Without my dad. He might’ve not been able to protect us, but he was my dad. When I came out to him, he made me promise that he could walk me down an aisle. He didn’t care. He just wanted to be able to walk me down an aisle. He said it was because you never get the chance to walk your son down the aisle. It was a rare opportunity that he couldn’t pass up. He was a good dad. I miss them.”

 

Techno looked down at Dream sympathetically, pulling the blond into his side for a hug. Dream weakly smiled, holding back his tears. 

 

“But,” Dream continued, smiling at Wilbur, “I still have this family. And that’s more than enough.”

Chapter 33: thirty-three

Why wasn't it over?

 

"This is the fifth one I've gotten, Phil. I thought it was over." Dream said, handing the older male the threatening note he found on his door. 

 

Phil sighed, reading the words over a few times, then he placed it down. "There is only one other person that you've been in contact with that has means to send threatening notes like this, and that's Schlatt. But there's no way to know unless you contact him. It doesn't make a lot of sense, but I have no other ideas of who it could be," He responded. 

 

"No. No way. It's not safe. I'm not putting his life at risk again for this. I'll go to Schlatt." Wilbur said sternly, finally pushing himself off the wall. Dream looked down at his lap, clenching his teeth. 

 

Phil and Wilbur continued to argue as he thought about what was said. He really trusted Schlatt when he was with the man, but they hadn't left each other on good terms. Schlatt was furious when Phil sent him away, and that could be dangerous. 

 

"If I meet him in a public space, what would be the problem?" Dream asked, making the other two males look back at him. He sighed heavily, "I need this to be over. I am so done with this. So, what if I just meet him somewhere? I don't have to go alone. The faster we sort this out, the better. But either somebody comes with me, or I go by myself."

 

Wilbur bit his cheek harshly, still not wanting Dream to put himself in danger like that. They had just started planning their wedding, planning Purpled's first birthday. Dream had reached out to all of his old friends, who were all ecstatic to learn that he was still alive. Things were truly going back to normal. 

 

"I'll go with him."

 

They all looked to the doorway, seeing Techno standing there. He walked into the room a moment later, standing next to Wilbur, "You don't want him going by himself, and I'm the last person Schlatt would expect to go with him. I'll go." He reiterated, and Wilbur tensed up before nodding.

 

A few hours later, once Schlatt was contacted, Wilbur and Dream were standing in the lounge. Wilbur had his arms around Dream’s torso, his eyes closed. Dream was resting his head against Wilbur’s chest, listening to his heartbeat, “I’m going to be okay, Wilbur. I know. The idea of being in hospital again is terrifying, but I don’t think he’ll do anything. You never know, maybe he’s not even the one leaving all of those notes on our door.” He whispered. 

 

“I’m sorry. It’s just… seeing you laying in a hospital bed, unconscious for weeks, it hurt. I never want to see you like that again. And he might’ve been nice to you before, but Schlatt is insane. He will do anything for money, and he never wants anything other than revenge.” Wilbur responded, making Dream look up. The blond smiled weakly, then Wilbur slowly brought their lips together. He kissed Dream for a few moments, then kissed his cheek, “I trust my brother, though. But if you ever feel unsafe, call me. You don’t even have to say a thing. I will just come.”

 

Dream nodded, kissing him one more time before leaving the room. Wilbur watched as he and Techno walked out of the house, and noticed that Dream did look scared. Well, less scared, and more nervous. 

 

Dream was silent on the car ride there, not thinking that there was anything to be said in the moment. He needed to get this over and done with. His son would turn one in less than a month. He and Wilbur were going to get married in less than a year. Everything was going well until he started getting the notes. 

 

“I can’t sit with you, but I will keep an eye on you. If Schlatt even makes one wrong move, I will be there. Don’t tell him too much, just say things to try to get him to talk.” Techno said as he parked, turning to make sure Dream was listening to everything he said. The blond nodded, then got out, looking around. 

 

Schlatt wasn’t there. He never responded to their message, so there was no guarantee he would even come. However, Dream still walked in and sat down at a table. It was a cafe. It was public, there were people there. He let out a deep sigh, and that’s when the chair in front of him pulled out. 

 

Schlatt sat down in front of him, placing his hands on the table. Dream leaned back, crossing his arms. Schlatt grinned at him, “I see you’ve been receiving my notes. I’m surprised you’re here alone.”

 

“I knew you wouldn’t come or talk if I wasn’t here alone.” Dream responded. 

 

Schlatt seemed to believe what he said, humming slightly. He called a waiter over, ordering himself a cup of coffee before narrowing his eyes at Dream. The blond tensed up slightly, and Schlatt shook his head at him, “If you believed you didn’t do anything wrong, you wouldn’t be so scared. But you know you’re in the wrong. I was so good to you. I protected you. I got you away from that hell you were in. And how did you repay me? By reaching out to Phil and kicking me out. I was so good to you when I didn’t need to be.”

 

“You did help me, but Phil never said you had to go away permanently.” Dream said, actually fearful of Schlatt’s twisted view of what happened. 

 

Schlatt slammed his hand on the table in frustration, gaining the attention of the other people in the cafe. He raised his hand, giving a charming smile with an apology, and everyone looked away. He turned back to Dream, “I’d say it’s about time that you repay me for that favor. Your fiancé is pretty rich, isn’t he? Well, how about you come with me, and I hold onto you until he empties his pockets and pays me to get you back. I mean, I’m sure that’s the only way he’s keeping you around at this point. A twenty year old who should want to view the world, ready to settle down and become a housewife. You know why? Because you came from a dirt-poor family, and that made you greedy. If you can get even an extra cent, you’ll lift your ass up and do anything.”

 

“JSchlatt, you are under arrest for the murder of Alexis Quackity and for identity theft. You have the right to remain silent. You may have an attorney, if you can’t afford one, one will be provided for you. Do you understand your rights?”

 

Schlatt turned to Dream, who looked to be just as shocked as he was, and glared, “I’m gonna fucking kill you! I’ll get out of this and fucking kill you!”

 

The two policemen’s eyes widened, and they dragged Schlatt out of the cafe. Dream started to shake, hyperventilating, when Techno ran over to him. The pink-haired male helped him stand up, bringing him outside before comforting him. 

 

“He.. the things he said..”

 

Techno shushed him, “I know you, Dream. Nothing he said was true. I know who you are. Schlatt is going to be in prison for a long time, even just for that threat. You’ll be okay. You’ll be okay.”

 

Dream sobbed for a moment, hating how deeply Schlatt’s words hit him. It hurt to be equated to a desperate gold-digger, because he had worked so hard though his life to be something more than that. He never intended on marrying someone rich. It’s why he didn’t ever want to date George. He didn’t want to be with someone who always got everything handed to them on a silver platter. 

 

Techno didn’t say anything else as Dream cried. He just hugged his future brother-in-law tightly, holding onto him until his fiancé showed up. 

Notes:

i wasn’t lying when i said i was speedrunning chapters. anyways i’ve been writing this for three months now whoop

Chapter 34: thirty-four

"Dream? What are you doing up?"

 

The blond slowly turned around, seeing Phil standing in the doorway. The older male had been staying with him in the week leading up to the wedding while Wilbur stayed at the SBI mansion. Phil's late wife had been superstitious when they got married, so Wilbur wanted to maintain that tradition. 

 

"I'm just.. I couldn't sleep." He said, looking back up at the sky as Phil started walking over to him. Phil weakly smiled at the sight of Dream wrapped up in a blanket, and he momentarily wondered why Dream was outside in the first place. However, he remembered that Dream's only two requests when Wilbur was looking for a house were that there was a guest room and a balcony. 

 

Phil sat down in the chair next to him, groaning as his back cracked. "God, I am old." He muttered, hearing Dream try to suppress a laugh. He smiled, then turned to face the blond, "Are you nervous?"

 

Dream hummed weakly, seemingly thinking about what Phil asked. He was silent for a few moments longer, and Phil was about to ask him if he was okay when he finally spoke up again, "I don't think that I am. Not about the wedding, at least. I guess I'm just paranoid. I always feel like somebody else is just.. waiting. Waiting for me to be comfortable, then they'll blow up my house, or kidnap me. Quackity really fucked with my head, didn't he?" Dream said, turning to Phil with a pitiful smile. 

 

"Yeah, he was good at that."

 

The two of them turned around to see Sapnap standing there. He made Dream scoot over, sitting down right next to him. Dream sighed, adjusting the blanket he had so that he could share it. Sapnap placed a hand on top of Dream's head, "But that doesn't change anything. Wilbur loves you and you love him. Schlatt's in jail for the rest of his life. Quackity's in the ground." He said, and Dream chose not to acknowledge the way Sapnap's voice broke slightly as he said that. "Nothing's gonna happen to you. Not anymore. You've got an entire army of people who'll do whatever it takes to keep you safe. You can be paranoid all you want, cause you have been through a bunch of shit, and you do have a one year old son who likes to try to eat wires and cords. But know that you're safe, alright?"

 

"Alright." Dream responded with a smile. 

 

Phil looked at the two of them with a smile of his own before humming, "Well, it'd be best if you got some more sleep, Dream. I have medications that will help you sleep if you so desire."

 

"I think I'll be good."

 

Phil nodded and stood up, telling the two of them good night before retiring to the guest room. Dream rested his head on Sapnap's shoulder, staying there until he felt like he was going to fall asleep. He hugged Sapnap's arm gently, "Can I ask about George?"

 

George had been a touchy subject for Sapnap for a while now. George's words hurt Sapnap in a way he hadn't been hurt. Sapnap truly believed that the two of them had gotten closer from Dream's disappearance, then "death", but clearly George blamed him for what happened. 

 

"I think it what you said to him in the hospital room might've given him some sort of understanding. But I think the best thing is for you to tell him exactly why you didn't choose him. If you want to call him, I'll hold your hand. If you want to text him, you can do it from my phone. If you want to write him a letter, I'll deliver it. I just need him to understand." Sapnap said, and Dream sighed, leaning over to hug him. 

 

Dream decided that it would be the last thing he would do before going to sleep. He headed into the office, grabbing a sheet of lined paper and a pen. It might have been old fashioned, sure, but he wasn't sure if he wanted a timely response to what he was planning on writing in the letter. 

 

 

George,

 

I know that these past few years have been hard on you. And I know about the feelings you've had towards me. I wasn't blind to them, and I apologize for never even giving you a chance. 

 

But you need to understand why I didn't. 

 

My family was very poor, George. There were some days that I couldn't shower anywhere but school, because we couldn't afford it. So I spent my entire life working my ass off. 

 

I didn't feel good moving in with you. You told me that I didn't have to pay rent, and I had never lived in a world like that. But you just.. had the money. You grew up getting what you wanted. I didn't. 

 

I never dated you because I didn't want to experience that backlash. I didn't want to be called a gold-digger or a sugar baby, because I had been working so hard all my life, so when I did get into a relationship, I could be considered equal. That never would have happened with you. 

 

Wilbur isn't outwardly rich, and he's treated me like his equal for a long time now. He doesn't care that he's older than I am, or that his family has more money. George, you frequently brought up our age difference, and you were constantly offering me money. I didn't want or need that from you. 

 

George, I want you as my friend. You have always mattered to me more than you know. Just because I don't love you in the way I love Wilbur, doesn't mean that I want you out of my life. 

 

Apologize to Sapnap, then and only then, we'll talk. 

 

Dream

 

 

He folded up the paper, placing it in an envelope before handing it to Sapnap. The older male smiled at him, hugging him as tight as he could. "Thank you."

 

"I will always be here for you, too, Sapnap. You know that, right?" Dream muttered, and Sapnap nodded, burying his head in the crook of Dream's neck. 

 

The two of them stayed that way for a long while, hugging in silence, at least until Sapnap decided that Dream needed to actually go to bed. It was getting really late, and according to Phil, he wasn't going to get proper rest until he and Wilbur left for their honeymoon. Which, as Dream frequently reminded them, was unnecessary. But, Phil made no room for arguments, and made it a time for him to spend real time with his first grandchild.

 

Dream was finally laying down in his bed, sleeping on Wilbur's side while Sapnap slept on his. As strange as it was, he didn't like the idea of somebody else sleeping where Wilbur did. He closed his eyes slowly, falling asleep to the sound of Sapnap's snoring. 

 

The next morning, about an hour before Dream needed to start getting ready, he visited the graveyard. He went to his family first, laying down flowers on each of their graves, telling them that he loved them. He spent a moment longer at his dad's grave, placing his hand on it, "I wish you were here, Dad. You would've loved Wilbur." He whispered. 

 

Once he had paid his respects to them, he walked to the other side of the graveyard, stopping. 

 

Alexis Quackity

 

He bit his lip before kneeling down and placing a flower on Quackity's grave as well. He closed his eyes for a moment, "As terrible as you were in life, I will never disrespect the dead. And there was one thing that I wanted to say. I know that you felt love. I know that you did. In the beginning, when you first started dating Sapnap, I truly believed that you were good. That you were in love with him, because he was so in love with you, and he doesn't give his heart to just anyone. And then everything... went bad. It took a long time for him to heal. I know that you were always capable of feeling love, but you believed that it made you weak. And I feel bad. Because love is a wonderful thing, as cliché as that sounds. I don't know why you ever starting hurting Sapnap, and I don't think anyone can actually understand your mind, but he loved you. And you betrayed him. You gave me my son, Quackity. But as much as I love him, I hate you. I'm not that good of a person. I can only handle so much in my life." He said. 

 

"Did you know my brother?"

 

His heart stopped, and he slowly turned around to see a young girl, probably no older than 12, standing there. She looked so hopeful, so Dream nodded. 

 

"Wait.. you're the guy! The guy from the news! Where did you go for that long time?"

 

Dream weakly smiled, carefully watching her as she sat down next to him. She placed a large bouquet of flowers on Quackity's grave, and he knew in that moment that she couldn't hear the truth. Not yet, at least. He sighed, "I was kidnapped by someone who worked with your brother. Your brother is the one who told my fiancé's dad that I was alive. He's why I'm with them again. He dated my best friend for a while. It's how I knew him." He said, stretching the truth but not completely lying. 

 

"Really?" She asked, her eyes practically sparkling after hearing that. She smiled, "My mom and dad said that he was a bad person. It's why I'm the only one who ever comes to see him. Thanks for putting a flower on his grave. It means a lot to me."

 

Dream nodded, and the girl launched herself into his arms. His eyes widened for a moment, but he just bit his lip and hugged her back. Once she let go and said goodbye to him, he stood up, walking away. 

 

"I'm glad... that you still have some love.."

 

He left the graveyard after that, heading home. Sapnap was waiting for him, enveloping him in a hug as soon as he stopped walking. Dream closed his eyes tightly, trying to keep himself from crying. 

 

The two of them stayed that way until Phil came downstairs, getting their attention. "Everything's ready to go if you are." 

 

"Come on, man. Let's make you prettier." Sapnap said excitedly, dragging Dream up to his room. Dream smiled widely, finally feeling like he could move on after receiving that closure. 

 

Once Dream had showered extensively, Phil sat him down in front of the dresser, blow drying his hair. Dream smiled at him, not quite understanding why they were pampering him so much, but he didn't say anything. He kind of enjoyed it. 

 

Once his hair was done, and his 'huge ass eye bags', as Sapnap so delicately put it, were covered, Phil helped him get into his suit while Sapnap ran down to start the car. The older man reached into his pocket, pulling out a hair clip with a blue gem. "Something borrowed and blue. It belonged to my wife. I'm happy to give this to you, Dream. Hold onto it. Maybe give it to Purpled or Purpled's future spouse once he gets to that age. You remind me of her, you know. I always felt terrible about bringing her into this, because I wasn't in a place where I could retire. But she was far braver than I ever was, and proposed to me. She told me that we could do it. And we had a lot of good years. Then one day, she was gone. I don't know what happened to her. Anyways, I am happy for you to be a part of this family." Phil said, hugging Dream. 

 

"Thank you, Phil. Thank you." Dream whispered. 

 

The drive to the venue was quiet, the radio playing faint music. Dream closed his eyes, sighing quietly at the feeling of the AC hitting his face. 

 

He groaned when Sapnap dragged him into a private room, getting quite annoyed with the superstition placed over a wedding. "I want to see Wilbur."

 

"You'll see him in like twenty minutes. Everyone's already sitting down, Phil said it's going to start soon." Sapnap said, blocking Dream from walking out the door. He sighed, handing the blond a bouquet of flowers. Sapnap knew that the week had been hard, because he and Wilbur had barely been apart since the incident with Schlatt. Dream had a hard time being alone nowadays. Dream took a deep breath in, and Sapnap looked at him, “You sure you don’t want me to walk you down the aisle? I can always get someone else to carry Purpled.”

 

Dream turned back to him, “I’m sure. If my dad can’t be here to do it, I don’t think I want anyone to.”

 

“Alright. I’m going to go grab Purpled and the rings, then I’ll bring him to you to see.”

 

Sapnap ran out of the room before Dream could say anything, and he sat down. He closed his eyes, then heard the door open again. He was a little surprised that Sapnap did that so fast, but when he looked up, he saw Wilbur. He gasped, standing up just as Wilbur ran over to scoop him up in his arms. 

 

Dream looked down at him incredulously, admiring the way his fiancé looked in his suit, and Wilbur smiled, “I’m sorry, love, but I couldn’t wait even a second longer to see you. You look gorgeous!”

 

“Your dad is going to be so mad,” Dream responded, not even attempting to hide how happy he was that Wilbur came into the room. Wilbur just shook his head, pulling Dream in for a small kiss. 

 

Sapnap came back into the room at that moment, blinking a few times at the sight in front of him. He deeply sighed at the two of them, then handed Purpled to Dream, “I’ll watch the door for two minutes! Two minutes! That’s it! Once those two minutes are up, Wilbur, you have to go back!”

 

“Alright.” Wilbur responded with a grin, turning back to Dream. He kissed Purpled’s forehead, then kissed Dream again, giving a weak smile when he saw the clip resting in Dream’s curled hair. 

 

Dream tickled Purpled’s nose a little bit, then looked back up at Wilbur, “You know you’re going to have to pretend like you didn’t see me, right?”

 

“Love, when you look like this, every time I see you is like the first time.” He said, kissing Dream’s flushed cheeks. Wilbur wrapped his arms around Dream, and they stayed that way until Sapnap came back in and kicked him out. 

 

Sapnap sighed, exasperated, “You two are gonna make me go gray. Phil is scary as fuck.”

 

“You’re dramatic.” Dream responded, letting his friend take Purpled from him. Sapnap shushed him, then looked back up at Dream. Tears welled up in his eyes, and he smiled. Dream raised an eyebrow, concerned, “What is it?”

 

“If I tell you, I’ll ruin my speech.”

 

Dream smiled, then hugged Sapnap tightly. Phil walked in a moment later, “It’s time.”

 

Dream suddenly became nervous, his entire body shaking slightly. He took a few deep breaths, then followed Phil out the door. 

 

The venue was beautiful, of course. It was small so it wouldn’t look completely empty with their smaller guest list. And it was decorated completely with flowers and gold decorum. It was amazing. 

 

Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo were the first ones down the aisle. They had decided that they were going to be the flower boys when Wilbur and Dream had started planning, and it seems that decision was a good one. They were having a fun time, walking down the aisle while tossing the petals around. 

 

Following him was Sapnap, holding Purpled, who was the ring bearer. Dream bit his thumb with a smile, trying to hide his laughter at the sight. 

 

Then it was his and Wilbur’s turn. They met in the middle of the aisle, hooking their arms together and walking down. It was incredibly awkward, at least for a little bit, but Dream tried to shift his focus away from the eyes that were on them. 

 

The ceremony went smoothly, since they were using traditional vows instead of written ones, because there were a few too many people in the seats that did not need to know how Wilbur and Dream met. People might’ve known that Dream vanished for a while, but they certainly didn’t know or need to know that Wilbur was definitely the person who did it. 

 

They could save the real vows for later. 

 

It was safe to say that both Dream and Wilbur were rather nervous when it came time for people to start making speeches, because the bar had been open just long enough for some guests to get tipsy. 

 

“You two are literally the prettiest couple I have ever seen. And Dream, your baby is pretty too. He looks like you. You guys are great.”

 

Dream sighed, nodding at Punz. The male sat down after that, and there were a few scattered laughs around the room after. He and Wilbur looked at each other for a moment, then back to Punz. The male looked like he was being scolded by the other people sitting at that table, but he didn’t really care. 

 

“I have to say, in full honesty, that I didn’t not think Wilbur was ever gonna get married. Certainly not to someone like Dream. I was shocked when I heard they were engaged because I also didn’t know that Dream was alive at the time so.. eh..” Techno started, earning a laugh from Dream. “But, seeing you two together, I know that you are meant for each other. But Dream.. if you ever need to like escape or…”

 

“Let’s not.” Phil said, taking the microphone away from Techno before he could talk anymore. 

 

Dream smiled at the two of them, then Sapnap leaned over to grab the microphone. He grabbed a slightly rumpled piece of paper from his pocket, taking a deep breath, “Dream, the day that the policeman showed up at my door, I thought that I was never going to see you again. Things just kept going wrong. But here you are. You’re here, you’re healthy, you’re safe, and you’re married. Thank you for being alive. Thank you for coming back. I love you, man. You’re going to have an awesome life, even when Wilbur is like dying cause he’s so old.” He added, and Wilbur deadpanned. 

 

Dream laughed, leaning over to press a kiss to Wilbur’s cheek. The brunet sighed, grabbing the microphone, “I am not that old.”

 

“You’re older than him.” Sapnap said. 

 

“So are you!”

 

Dream shushed the both of them, hugging Sapnap. He sighed shakily, leaning back. He smiled at him, rubbing his cheek with his thumb, “Thank you for sticking with me through everything.” He said, making Sapnap tear up as well. The two of them laughed tearily, then sat back down in their seats. 

 

A couple hours later, Dream and Wilbur were just about to leave for their honeymoon. The blond was having a hard time letting go of Purpled, despite the fact that he knew he would be okay. He kissed the baby’s head a few more times, then handed him to Phil. The older blond smiled, “He’ll be okay, Dream. I’ll make sure to call you every night before he goes to sleep. Is that okay?”

 

“Yeah,” Dream whispered, hugging Phil before jogging to join Wilbur in the car. The two of them drove to the airport in a comfortable silence, anxious and excited for their time away. 

 

 

Dream was standing on the balcony of the house they were staying in, wearing only Wilbur’s shirt and a pair of briefs. He was taking in the scenery around him, admiring the island in a way he didn’t last night. 

 

Two arms wrapped themselves around his waist, and he smiled as Wilbur rested his chin on his shoulder. The two of them stayed there for a while, Dream slowly rubbing circles on the back of Wilbur’s hand. 

 

“This place is beautiful,” Dream mumbled, closing his eyes as Wilbur kissed his cheek. 

 

Wilbur hummed, turning Dream around so they were facing each other. “Not as beautiful as you.”

 

“You flatter me.”

 

Wilbur smiled, leaning down to kiss Dream gently. He picked the male up, laughing at the squeal Dream let out when he did so. Dream frowned, wrapping his legs around Wilbur’s waist. Wilbur looked up at him, completely awestruck, “I love you.”

 

“I know.” Dream whispered in response, slowly kissing Wilbur. The two of them smiled, overjoyed. 

 

Wilbur then shifted so that he could bend Dream over his shoulder, running back into the house, “Come on! You need to be twenty! You’re hot, you’re young, you need to try some things before settling back into your parental role!” He shouted, making Dream laugh. 

 

“Alright! Alright! Put me down!” Dream said through laughs, smiling widely when Wilbur put him down. He kissed the brunet quickly, “I love you, too.” 

Notes:

cue movie zoom out.

the end

 

i’m gonna take a break from writing, but i wanted to finish this fic out before doing so! so quick run down of what happens in the future:

- george and sapnap made up because george apologized extensively for months! that means he made up with dream as well!

- karl proposed to sapnap a year after wilbur and dream got married. they married and moved out of florida.

- dream works at a daycare again! not the same one, of course, but he loves it.

- wilbur works a normal 9 to 5 desk job, even though neither of them need to work.

- dream, wilbur, and purpled decided to move out of florida as well. despite the SBI family being there, they realized that there were too many dangerous people. they moved to the island they had their honeymoon on.

- they remain in close contact with the SBI family, purpled moving back to live with them once he’s old enough for college.

- wilbur and dream live out their days in peace, and in love.