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Tubbo had always been afraid of storms. Ever since he was a kid he’d run and hide at the sight of lightning and the sound of thunder so when a low rumble was heard by the 16 year old he immediately darted under the desk in his room. A small whimper came out of his mouth when a flash of lightning lit up his room. No one was home right now to comfort the boy. Tommy, Techno, Wilbur and Phil had all left to go mining while Tubbo opted to stay here and work on his garden. He buried his face between his knees and put his hands over his ears. A loud crack of thunder made him jump and the overwhelming fear of storms became too much and tears ran down his face as he whimpered, a sob building in his throat. His breathing was ragged and he pressed harder on his skull trying to block out the sound to no avail. He yelped when the thunder only got louder. He didn’t notice when the front door of the home slammed shut too lost in his mind. Dream’s breaths were short and his black cape was soaked. He pulled it over his head and hung it on the coat rack. Dream looked out the window where it was pouring. He shuddered. He never liked storms, while he wasn’t as scared of them as he was of heights, he disliked them with burning passion. He thought he had turned rain off. He must’ve been wrong. Dream was thankful his cape protected his clothing but was also rather disappointed when he thought no one was home. He and Techno had set up a deal and he was told to come by whenever he wanted to.
“Damn.” muttered Dream as he removed his mask and rubbed his tired eyes. Dream sighed in annoyance and put the mask back on. He was going to leave until a particularly loud rumble of thunder made him jump and put his hands over his ears. Even with his ears covered he heard the yelp from upstairs. He recognized it almost immediately.
“Tubbo…?” mumbled Dream. He walked over to the stairs and quickly made his way up them when he heard a sob from the boy’s room. Dream speed walked to Tubbo’s door and quietly knocked. When he received no answer other than a whimper he pushed the door open. He was met with the sight of a sobbing Tubbo, hands over his ears, shaking violently. Dream’s eyes widened and he ran over to him, kneeling on the ground in front of the desk.
“Tubbo?” whispered Dream. He didn’t know what was wrong but quickly figured it out when a loud clap of thunder shook the room. Tubbo cried out at the noise and it all clicked. Tubbo didn’t like storms. Dream sighed with momentary relief. He was glad Tubbo wasn’t hurt or anything but he still had a panicking 16 year old. Dream remembered when he would get like this during storms. Sapnap would pull him close and whisper calming words to him while rubbing circles on his back or combing fingers through his hair. Dream had gotten better at hiding his fears now that he was older and he knew how to handle them better, mask also hiding how he truly felt. Dream lightly touched Tubbo. Tubbo’s closed eyes widened at the contact and his head shot up. He pushed himself further under the desk which wasn’t very far since his back was already touching the wood behind him.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay Tubbo. It’s me,” whispered Dream calmly. Tubbo’s back was flush against the wood now but his shoulders slumped slightly at the sight of Dream.
“D-dream?” asked Tubbo. Dream’s breath hitched at the sound of his broken voice.
Tubbo was a sweet kid. Smart and caring. It broke her heart seeing him so scared. Dream’s mind flashed back to when Schlatt had him in that box. He looked so scared then and his face now was almost an exact duplicate. He shuddered at the thought.
“Yeah, it’s me, you’re okay.” said Dream. A flash of lightning lit up the room once more and Dream visibly flinched at the loud sound following a few seconds after. Turbo yelped and Dream suddenly felt arms wrap around his torso. Tubbo had launched himself at Dream after the noise. Tubbo buried his face into his shoulder and sobbed.
“I’m s-scared,” mumbled Tubbo. Dream hugged him back, pulling him close and put a hand on the back of his head.
“I know Tubbo, it’s okay, deep breaths.” cooed Dream. Tubbo cried out when another crash of thunder sounded through the room. Dream racked his brain. Sapnap also would try to find and place where the sounds were quieted. Dream’s eyes widened when he remembered the basement Techno made under the house. Dream stood up. Luckily Tubbo was shorter than him by a lot and he scooped him up bridal style. Tubbo still had his arms around his waist and face buried into his neck as Dream quickly walked out the room. One of the loudest claps of thunder nearly made Dream drop the boy but he shook his head ignoring the feeling of dread growing in his stomach. Dream quickly kicked the door open and made his way down the stairs.
“It’s okay Tubbo, you’re okay.” whispered Dream. Tubbo sobbed into his shoulder. Dream reached the bottom of the room and went over to the bed. He sat Tubbo down on it gently but Tubbo immediately scrambled over to the desk, hiding under it. Dream was going to move him but figured that he wanted to be there because he felt safe. Dream happened to be taller than the average male so he hit his head on the oak wood as he slid under the desk.
“Ow... “ mumbled Dream as he rubbed his head. Tubbo quickly latched onto him again and Dream began threading his fingers through the brown hair.
“Dream I’m scared, it’s so loud,” mumbled Tubbo between shaky breaths. Dream sighed.
“I know it is, I don’t like it either, but it’s okay. I won’t anything happen to you,” responded Dream. The two sat there for what felt like hours. Dream noticed Tubbo was getting calmer. He chalked it up to being tired.
“Ya know Tubbo, I hate storms too.” said Dream. Tubbo sniffled and looked up tiredly.
“You d-do?” asked Tubbo. Dream nodded.
“Yeah, when I was younger, before I even met George I would get really bad panic attacks.” repsoned Dream. Tubbo hugged him tighter and Dream reached up and pulled his mask off since the basement was hot and his warm breaths hitting him back in the face. Dream smiled fondly at the boy. Tubbo stared at his revealed face and Dream pulled Tubbo closer.
“I had Sapnap though. He was like a brother. He’d comfort me, hug me and run his fingers through my hair until I calmed down. He did it no matter how many times it’d happen. He made me feel safe. My fear of storms lessened when I got older because I figured out how to handle it and if I really couldn’t I could just go to Sapnap.” said Dream. He was smiling at the memoires.
“T-tommy usually helps m-me.” stuttered Tubbo. Dream looked down at him.
“Yeah? He seems like he would. Little gremlin cares about his friends,” joked Dream. That got a quiet chuckle out of Tubbo. Dream was grateful Techno built this bunker so deep. The rumbles of thunder could barely be heard. Tubbo would occasionally jolt when a loud one passed and bury his face into Dream’s chest but otherwise the quiet in the bunker calmed him down. Dream noticed how tired Tubbo looked and he tapped the boy.
“You should sleep Tubbo,” said Dream. Tubbo yawned and shook his head.
“Storm still happening,” mumbled Tubbo. Dream chuckled lightly.
“Nothing’s gonna hurt you Tubbo,” said Dream. Tubbo lifted his head from Dream’s chest.
“How?” asked Tubbo. Dream smiled and kissed his forehead.(
“I’m here aren’t I? I’ll protect you Tubbo, nothing's gonna hurt you,” stated Dream, determination strong in his voice. Tubbo hugged Dream tighter and rested his head back on Dream’s chest.
“Promise?” mumbled Tubbo. Dream smiled.
“I promise, now sleep,” answered Dream. Tubbo mumbled something that sounded like a thank you before he was out. Dream yawned, the bags under his eyes that never went away made his eyelids heavy. He shook his head. He needed to stay up for Tubbo. The blond sat there for at least an hour and a half before Tubbo’s quiet snores and the lack of sound in the room lulled him to sleep. Dream leaned his head back on the stone wall and his eyes closed. Tubbo remained fast asleep next to Dream. About 15 minutes later a very distressed Tommy ran through the front door followed by Techno, Wilbur and Phil. Tommy immedtealy ran up the stairs to the boys room and his face drained of color when he saw no sight of him.
“Is he alright?” asked Wilbur.
“He’s not even here!” yelled Tommy. Phil’s eyes widened at that.
“What?!” yelled Phil as he raced to his room.
“I thought you said he had some serious freak outs during storms?” said Techno. Tommy turned to him.
“He does! He can barely move usually!” argued Tommy.
“Okay calm down, he could’ve moved to a quieter part of the house,” said Phil, and the room quieted.
“He’s probably hiding somewhere,” said Wilbur. Tommy nodded and the group began searching through the house. The other 3 could see how anxious Tommy was getting no matter how much he was denying it.
“I’m sure he’s fine Tommy,” said Phil trying to reassure the boy. Tommy shrugged off Phil’s hand. Techno suddenly remembered the basement, no one really used it so it slipped his mind.
“Did anyone check the basement?” asked Techno. They all turned and looked at the pink hybrid. Tommy immediately dashed towards it and ran down the stairs the others a few feet behind. Tommy skidded to a stop at the bottom of the stairs and scanned the basically empty room. He began to panic until his eyes landed on the two bodies huddled under a desk.
“Is that?” started Wilbur.
“Dream,” finished Tommy. Dream and Tubbo were huddled together, Dream holding the boy close, their quiet breathing filling the room.
“Why is Dream here?” whispered Techno. Tommy shrugged. He was just happy that Tubbo was okay. He could tell how uncomfortable Dream looked under there though.
“Should we move them?” asked Tommy. Phil shook his head.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Tubbo doesn’t like storms and I’m only gonna assume Dream helped him. We don’t want to risk waking him up,” answered Phil. Phil smiled at them.
“We should leave em be. Let them get their sleep,” said Techno.Tommy turned around to leave with the others but he hit another table in the room and a glass bottle rolled off.
“Shit!” whispered yelled Tommy as he attempted to catch the bottle midair only to fail. The bottle shattered and the other 3 stared at him with annoyed faces. They all saw Dream’s body jolt at the sound and he hit head in the desk above.
“Ow…” said Dream. Dream opened his eyes to see all 4 of them their. He rolled his eyes before checking to make sure he didn’t wake up Tubbo.
“Sorry.” mumbled Tommy. Dream smiled at him.
“You’re fine Tommy.” answered Dream. Phil walked over and kneeled down in front of them.
“Is he alright? We know he hates storms but we were so far away.” asked Phil. Dream looked down at Tubbo.
“Yeah he’s good. I came here when he was in the middle of freaking out and I just brought him down here. He calmed down after a while.”
said Dream.
“Glad someone helped him. They can get really bad if the storm is awful.” said Wilbur.
“I can tell.” Dream yawned and tried to stretch under the short table.
“Since you’re awake do you think we could move him to a bed?” asked Techno as the hybrid swept up the glass shards.
“Yeah probably. It's better to stay down here because the storm could get worse.” responded Dream. Dream removed the boy’s arms from around his torso and slid out from under the desk. The tall blond nearly fell over when he stood up. He stumbled and placed a hand on the wall.
“Oh the back pain I’m gonna have,” mumbled Dream. Techno chuckled at that one. Dream reached down and gently pulled Tubbo out from under the table carrying him bridal style and laying him down on the bed. Dream surprised the others when he jumped on the bed next to Tubbo, the boy immediately latching into his torso once more.
“You staying?” asked Tommy.
“I said I’d make sure nothing would happen to him and I meant it.” said Dream. No one questioned his words. Dream reached up and removed his mask laying it gently on the bed. His green eyes looked tired and the bags under them didn’t help.
“Looking tired their Dream.” said Phil. Dream shrugged and smiled at him.
“When am I not tired,” said Dream followed by a chuckle. Wilbur was going to ask if he wanted anything to eat but Dream had already passed out once again.
“Welp. I’m gonna go upstairs and get dinner started. Wil? Wanna help?” said Techno. Wilbur nodded and the two made their way upstairs. Tommy was saying at his friend and Phil put a hand of his shoulder.
“He’s fine Tommy.” said Phil.
“Yeah I know.” said Tommy. Phil furrowed his eyebrows.
“Is something wrong then?” asked Phil. Phil saw Tommy smile.
“Nope. Nothing wrong. I’m glad Tubbo got the help he needed.” said Tommy. Tubbo moved slightly in the bed, nuzzling his head into Dreams chest, a warm smile forming in his face
“It’s good to see him happy after everything that happened.” said Tommy referencing to L’manburg. Phil nodded. He understood what he meant. A lot had happened recently and they were all kind of…. overwhelmed. Tommy smiled.
“I’ll have to thank Dream tomorrow.” said Tommy. Dream suddenly smiled.
“No need Tomathy,” said Dream. Tommy’s cheeks turned red and Phil burst out laughing at the name. Tommy crossed his arms.
“Oh fuck you,” grumbled Tommy. Dream smirked.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m tried so could you two talk somewhere else please. Don’t wanna wake Tuboo.” said Dream. Phil wiped a tear from his eye and nodded.
“Let’s go Tommy,” said Phil. Tommy nodded and turned to follow Phil but stopped for a moment.
“Dream?” said Tommy. Dream cracked an eye open.
“Yeah?” responded Dream.
“Thank you for uh helping him,” said Tommy. Dream smiled and closed his eyes.
“Your welcome Tommy.”