Chapter Text
They were all gathered near the bridge, staring down the soldiers on the other side while subconsciously keeping their eyes on Dream. Dream, who stood there with his bow in hands, staring down the ambitious child who challenged him to the duel in the first place, the porcelain mask hiding his face, showing none of the emotions Sapnap was sure were present on his face.
Dream wasn’t dressed in any of his regular armour, the enchanted netherite he knew would protect the other, instead, he was dressed in painfully casual clothing, his simple white porcelain mask, brown cargo pants, black leather boots and a green hoodie. As opposed to Tommy’s war uniform, were you to view them as strangers, you wouldn’t expect who was actually the more experienced bowman, but maybe, it would lead Tommy into a false sense of security as well.
He shuffled his feet as he waited for the duel to start, waiting for l’Manbergs general to arrive, he together with George, Eret and Punz were gathered on the land near Dream’s placement on the bridge. Weapons out and at the ready, in case any mobs were to get closer to them than would be appreciated, or even more concerning, if the other side decided to break their reluctant truce before the battle.
He looked to the side, carefully watching his friends and comrades, George was showing clear concern, but tried to hide it, failing miserably, even his glasses didn’t help, the worry for his best friend shining through clear. But he didn’t judge his friend for it one bit, it was exactly how he was feeling after all, Punz on the other hand seemed confident in Dream, with a minimal amount of worry, confident enough to provide their enemy with arrows. And Eret, he was equally concerned and conflicted, but Sapnap couldn’t properly place who Eret was concerned for exactly, all that mattered was that he didn’t seem keen on interfering on Tommy’s behalf.
Unlike the soldier’s of l’Manberg, which Sapnap picked up on and noted without any issue. He wasn’t sure who seemed most concerned for Tommy but it was a close race between Wilbur and Tubbo, the latter clenching his fist in silent anger and concern while the former held his gaze steady even when a creeper approached, his eyebrows knitted together in clear worry for the outcome. Meanwhile Fundy was looking on with a hint of guilt, already feeling bad for giving the child his bow, unwilling to be the indirect cause of the others’ death.
Sapnap got snapped out of his daze when George nudged him, nodding down towards the bridge, “Get your mind out of your arse!” Was what the brown haired man whispered to him quickly after, and all he could do was snicker in reply, already imagining Bad’s quick scolding. However, instead of giving his friend a verbal reply he simply looked down, listening to Wilbur count down, his hand slowly lowering.
He could see Dream and Tommy turn their backs towards each other, as they took a step whenever Wilbur audibly counted down. He watched as his lovers’ dirty blond hair blew in the wind, immediately wishing he was able to run his hands through those beautiful strands of hair, but he would be able to do so after the duel, keeping those words in mind he focused all his attention back onto the duel.
“Three.”
One more step away from each other, yet one step closer to the end of this war.
“Four.”
The light reflects off of Dream’s mask, and he can only imagine the determination written on his face, brilliant green eyes glinting dangerously, always prepared.
“Five.”
He’s imagining l’Manbergs grief once Tommy dies, he’s sure the other will, there was no way he wouldn’t, and he won’t accept an outcome where the child doesn’t die.
“Six.”
He looks over towards his comrades again, and watches as George’s fingers slowly cross, copying the movement, returning the small smile George sends him once the other notices his copied movement.
“Seven.”
He glances over towards l’Manbergs’ soldiers again, seeing them share most of the same feelings he has, maybe if things had gone differently they could’ve all become friends, it was truly sad to see it go this way.
“Eight.”
The grip on his sword tightens, his right hand gripping the diamond sword while his left hand still has their fingers crossed. He’s ready for a battle, even though this duel is supposed to be the end of the war, it felt too good to be true.
“Nine.”
This was it, a few more seconds, he’d just have to wait for Wilbur to shout out the next sentence. He shares one last gaze with George, and a nod with Punz and Eret before looking directly at Dream. He was shocked to see that the other was already looking at him with a sideways glance, the hint of a brilliant green eye barely peeking out.
He rolls his eyes and waves his hand slightly, he loved this man, but he really needed to pay more attention to the duel. Just by listening to that familiar wheeze, Sapnap knows Dream caught onto what he was conveying, and he looked own at the bow in his hand, before walking forward just one more step, readying himself for the duel.
“Ten paces, fire!”
It seemed like the whole world slowed down as he watched Dream turn around, bow in his hand. The string was already pulled tightly and the arrow was notched, with just a glance Sapnap could tell his lover was aiming directly at Tommy’s heart. The arrow left the wood of the bow within mere seconds, but it felt like a whole minute for him, watching the arrow glide perfectly below the arrow being send from the opposite direction.
Wait...
The arrow being send from the opposite direction?
Sapnap’s head turned so quickly he was sure he got whiplash, as he stared at Tommy in horror, watching Dream’s green tipped arrow enter the young blond’s chest right through the heart, the green tip coming out red the other end. That young, overambitious child had managed to actually aim the arrow towards Dream. He ignores the screams of the opposite side, his brain finally connecting that Tommy’s arrow absolutely would’ve hit it’s mark.
He doesn’t even look at Dream, or his comrades as he rushes towards the now blood stained bridge, they would never get the blood out of that wood, but that wasn’t his main concern. He nearly slipped over the blood, Dream’s soft wheezing laugh signalling that his lover had very much picked up on his mistake. The corner of his mouth pulled upwards at that beautiful sound, good, at least he was capable of laughing, he wasn’t dead.
The smile disappeared the second he sees Dream’s body laying limp on the ground, the arrow stuck in his chest, barely missing his heart. If that wasn’t heartbreaking enough, the sight of Dream’s bloodied smile, and teary eyes staring back at him would’ve done the trick, the white porcelain mask had been knocked off during the fall, revealing his lover’s face not only to the him, but also the rest of the world. He was sure the man would’ve freaked out about it it was any other time, he always did like the mystery surrounding his face.
Tommy’s arrow wasn’t an immediately fatal shot like Dream had done to Tommy, that foolish boy had died before his body even hit the ground, it was a small mercy, not having to hear the anguished cries of his own comrades, a mercy he was unable to give to Dream. It felt ironic to him, the young boy had called Dream many things, coldhearted being one of them, yet here his lover was, making sure the young boy would feel the least amount of pain possible, both physically and emotionally.
He could’ve written poems, or composed music about how kind the man could be, or even sang songs about it, but this wasn’t the time, it would never be the time anymore.
Sapnap kneeled next down to his lover instantly, carefully pulling the taller man’s body into his lap, supporting his back, Dream’s head tucked against his shoulder. The man’s brilliant green eyes were staring up at him, looking at him with such a desperate yet loving look in them, he already know he wasn’t capable of being saved.
And Sapnap knew the same thing.
Which is why he didn’t stop Dream when he opened his mouth to speak, he only looked at the man with love and longing, wanting to remember everything about him in what he knew to be his lovers’ final moments. “At least... i didn’t lose.” The words were so unexpected yet so like him, they ripped a startled laugh from him. Leave it to Dream to be able to make someone laugh even in his final moments, “Dream... i love you.” Those were the only words he managed to utter once his laughing died down, and they didn’t disappoint.
Dream’s face and body softened at the words, he didn’t lose the look of love on his face, if anything it grew more extreme. But what those little words did add was an air of resignation, not only around the dying man but around Sapnap himself as well, it seemed to span throughout the entire world, at least, to everyone present, it seemed that way.
He hesitantly loosened his arm from around Dream, ignoring the blood as he carefully brushed his thumb across that oh so beloved freckled cheek. He didn’t need a reply to know Dream loved him as well, all he needed was to hear the sound of his breathing, a sound he has never once treasured as much as he did now. There have been many close calls during the war but he never once remembers counting the seconds between his boy’s breathing, his eyebrows drooping as he realises the time between each intake of breath increases.
“There are a lot more things i wanted to do with you, you know that right?” Instead of letting his mood drop, Sapnap just talked. He didn’t want his boy to die in silence, if there was one thing Dream hated it was that. He simply strokes his boy’s freckled cheek, resting his own cheek on top a bunch of messy dirty blond hair. “Find a desert temple... beat the end, find a underwater monument..”
The lack of Dream’s objections speak for themselves, and he knows the other wanted those exact same things. “Steal Bad’s muffins again, even if he keeps preaching that we can just grab them whenever we want and it isn’t stealing... call George short until he kicks one of us in the shins-“ he hears a soft wheeze, but he keeps talking, the sound of a discussion off in the distance “-switch Techno’s sword out for a rubber training sword... escaping angry piglins in the middle of the Nether”
He chuckles, it sounds a lot less lively than it usually did, but he keeps talking. “You laughing at me and George as we try to kill a ghast for more than ten minutes... only for you to get it done with one hit.” He isn’t sure when his hopes of their future turn into reminiscing old memories. “Us swimming around in boats, unaware of gurglers below us, playing our stupid games...” he starts running his hand through the dirty blond hair, not even realising that Dream’s breathing had stopped seconds ago.
He is shocked out of his daze when a hand grabs his shoulder, and it feels lie the bubble around him and Dream has broken entirely as the sound of infuriated yelling crosses his ear. “We need to go Sapnap! We need to take him out of here and back to the base, Eret and Punz are keeping them busy!” Them? Oh... right, they were fighting a duel. He felt determination flood his body and he looked at George with a forced smile, not wanting his friend to feel the slightest bit down.
“Alright.”
The arm he has around Dream’s torso tightens, and he carefully wraps his remaining arm under the man’s knee, standing up and lifting Dream with him in a bridal carry. He sees George lean down quickly to take the white porcelain mask, slightly stained with blood, but still whole. He’s sure they all would have lost it, if Dream wasn’t-
The sound of Wilbur’s voice startles both him and George, and immediately shot them into action. George took the lead, and the older man dashed through the trees, clearing the path for him, he’ll be sure to thank the other once they get back to the base, but for now they escape with Dream’s , there would be time for tears and feelings later, for now, they were back in a war, and there was no way they would let l’Manberg win after this.
For their city.
For Dream.
But now, while they were running through the woods, their other comrades defending their escape, and renouncing their war, all Sapnap could think was how he would tell everyone else, how they would tell everyone else. How was he supposed to look Bad in the eyes and explain what happened, how was he supposed to send a letter back to their old village explaining this all to Dream’s family, how was he going to tell anyone that Dream was dead?
He would figure it out, but for now, he’d clutch Dream’s still warm body in his arms, as he tried his best to not drop him, and let his lover down again.