Chapter Text
Broad shoulders connect with solid ground roughly. Sapnap gasps sharply as his sword hits the ground next to him with a thud. His back laid against the dry dirt as he forced his lungs to intake air. Sapnap’s scarred hand flew out next to him for his sword. Fingers wrapped around the handle as a boot came down onto his wrist. Sapnap grunted in pain as tiny rocks dug into his vulnerable arm. The position was painful and made his arm bend in a way that it wasn’t made to do. He pushed weight onto his back as he threw his leg at the opponent beside him to knock him down. His kick was met with a harsh block from the chestplate the other was wearing. The person was now towering above him, the edge of a sharp blade was only a few centimeters away from his exposed throat. His teeth were bared as his eyes glared up to the owner of the sword.
“Do you give up?” The words were rough and most definitely taunting. How he imagined that voice to whisper sweet little things into his ear. Lonely nights where conversations with the bearer of that voice played on loop. The sun was hiding behind the tall stature above him, causing a shadow to fall upon Sapnap. The figure put more pressure on the male’s wrist at the silence from the other. Sapnap’s face scrunched up as he let out a hiss of pain, rudely being brought back to the sad reality of things.
A bark of laughter was forced out of Sapnap finally. “Yeah right, bitch!” He wasn’t going to back down, this was usually his response to these certain things. He swung his leg again but this time it was aimed at the arm holding the sword. The quick action knocked the arm aside, sword falling to the ground due to the lax grip. Sapnap placed his foot against the chest of the other, shoving him back harshly. The action caused the other to stumble off Sapnap’s wrist. His hand clasped around the handle completely now. Sapnap rolled over, pushing himself up off his elbow.
A harsh kick was received by Sapnap to his shoulder as he was half way up. He rolled across the ground onto his right side, his sword becoming loose in his grip. There was a swift movement behind Sapnap. The male barely caught it and threw his arm back, trying to get his sword to connect with something. His arm was roughly caught by two strong hands, the weird position made it easy for the other to yank the sword from his grasp. His arm was harshly pinned against his back. Suddenly the left arm of the enemy behind was in front of him, the blade of the sword placed right against the side of Sapnap’s neck. Warm air blew out onto the left side of Sapnap’s neck.
“Surrender, Sapnap.” The voice whispered harshly into his ear. His body ached before from exhaustion and pain but now it ached for a whole different reason. His eyes pinched closed as he focused on the harsh breathing in behind him. His back was pressed against the other’s chest. Despite the chestplate of the other in between them, he could feel the chest falling and rising in sync with his breathing. He wanted to sit and bathe in this moment for a bit longer but the nasty bite of the blade against his neck grounded him from dozing off too much.
“Fine,” he responded harshly, “I surrender, Dream.” The sword dropped from his neck and he let his head drop slightly. His arm was released from the painful pin and his whole body leaned forward away from the male behind him. He heard Dream stand up and moved til he was standing in front of Sapnap. He forced his eyes up to look at the damaged mask above him. Dream stuck a hand out to Sapnap. He looked at the hand in front of him, his own twitching at the thought of accepting it.
He brought his hand up and smacked it gently to the side, pushing himself up after wrapping his other hand around the hilt of his sword. He sheathed it back in its place on the belt hanging from his hips. He stretched his arms above his head, his muscles aching at the movement. They had been sparing all day and his actions were starting to toll on him. He let his arms fall back down to his side. His eyes caught Dream picking up his own sword, placing it on his back where his own sheath rested. The male turned towards Sapnap before walking back over. Sapnap crossed his arms over his chest, huffing.
“I’ll beat you next time, I’ve already proven that I-” His words died in his throat as Dream brought his hand up towards Sapnap’s neck. His body jolted at the brush of the other’s fingers. He swallowed harshly, his eyes darting upwards towards Dream’s mask. The mask made it so much harder to read his friend, especially after a spar.
“Kinda cut you from that,” Laughter tore from the other, shoulders shaking slightly, “Sorry.” Sapnap’s heart hammered against his chest as the fingers lingered. He was cut in many places, but Dream just had to go and point out the one on his neck. Stupid bastard. Sapnap swatted the other’s hand away.
“Uh-huh, ‘sorry’ my ass” Sapnap played it off, rolling his eyes at the other. Why did Dream have to get so touchy? Every touch from the other caused his stomach to swirl with anticipation. He sometimes thought that Dream did it on purpose, that wouldn't surprise him if it were true. He lightly punched the other in the arm playfully, earning a laugh from his blonde friend.
The sun was now setting, warm summer air ruffling Sapnap’s hair. His hair was matted and wet from sweat, sticking to the sides of his face and the back of his neck. His grey t-shirt had cuts and stains on it now, the material clinging to his body. The cuts were all minor slashes and wouldn’t need immediate attention. He brought his hand up, wiping away the sweat from his forehead. It always got incredibly hot during the summer, there were even less clouds so the sun was always out during the day.
His eyes surveyed the area that the two were in. It was a spot away from the SMP, only known by a handful of people. It's where Dream and some others would go when they wanted to spar or even a place for privacy. No one else was around, it was only the two of them. The sound of a belt unbuckling caused Sapnap’s eyes darted over towards Dream who was removing his chestplate. The other let out a groan of relief at the loss of weight.
“What are you doing? What if someone ambushes you?” Sapnap grumbled cautiously, slightly annoyed at the other. Dream turned his head toward Sapnap, and he could just tell that the taller male was smiling.
“No one’s around, it’s just us, dude” He chuckled at Sapnap’s annoyance. Sapnap gave one last glance around them, Dream was right. Sapnap looked back towards Dream, eyes raking over the other. Dream was tall and leen, muscle showing through the tattered green t-shirt he wore. His arms were slightly burned by the harsh sun, bringing out the layers of scars that littered them. A light layer of freckles could be seen on his arms, washed out by the years of abuse from the sunlight. Dirty blond locks messily spilled out from around the mask, he was probably due for another haircut. His hair looked tangled and slightly damp from sweat. His chest still rose and fell quickly from exhaustion. Sapnap’s face burned at the realization of how many times he pictured Dream all messed up. His hair is messy, sticking to his face lightly. How his breath would be unsteady and how it’d feel against his skin directly instead of it rebounding off the inside of his mask. The brush of fingers over his own skin from the other. How their bodies would practically melt together. His lips would brush against his ear as he whispered to him.
A swift motion in front of his face dragged him out of his daydream, a little startled. Dream had been waving his hand in front of Sapnap when he realized he wasn’t paying attention.
“Awwwww, were you thinking about kissing me Sappynappy?~” Dream teased as he prodded at the other. It was a good thing that his face was already red from sparing. Though it wouldn’t make a difference, Dream could read him like an open book at all times.
“Hell no” Sapnap growled lazily in response as he rolled his eyes. Dream’s question was close to his fantasy but it hadn’t gotten to that part before his mind was interrupted. He silently hoped that Dream didn’t have some secret ability that allowed him to read others’ minds, or he’d be utterly fucked. His eyes turned back to the other. No, if he did know then he would have already left you.
Unless he was just torturing you for his own amusement.
Sapnap’s face cringed slightly at the intruding thought. He really hoped that it wasn’t like that. They had been friends for years, Dream could be harsh at times but he wasn’t pure evil. Even if that was true...He couldn’t bring himself to leave the other. Dream was always there for him. Even when he fucked up and became afraid that he would leave, he didn’t. It made Sapnap eternally grateful that he stayed, it brought a certain peace to his head that deeply comforted him.
The overthinking male pulled off some of his armor too, considering it safe enough. He tossed the scratched metal onto the ground below him, stretching his chest. His chest felt a lot better at the loss of the chestplate, allowing him to breathe a little easier. The discarded chest piece sparkled under the setting sun, giving off purple and orange highlights. He still admires that piece of armor every time he sees it, Dream really had skilled hands.
Dream laid down onto the solid ground underneath him, giving a sigh of relief. Sapnap couldn’t blame him, they started around noon and only took small breaks to momentarily patch themselves up. Sapnap walked over to the other, dropping down beside him onto his back. He gazed up at the clear sky above him, taking time to appreciate the view for a moment.
“You’re getting better,” Dream said acknowledgingly to the male laying next to him. Sapnap’s eyelids fluttered closed at the sound of the other’s voice. His voice was low adverb when he spoke quieter than normal. The sound of his voice was appealing, it was like adventuring new areas during the springtime, slinking under trees as golden rays from the setting sun grazed their tired yet excited forms. It felt like freedom.
“Uh-huh, next time we spar I’ll take you down” He foretold, a smirk tugging at the side of his mouth. He reopened his eyes, turning his head towards the other to peer at him in taunt. He widened his eyes at the unexpected sight. Dream had removed his mask and was now bathing under the sky. His hair looked golden under the falling sun, his unbothered face looked like something out of a Renaissance painting. His brain sputtered and could only produce one word for how Dream looked in that moment. Pulchritudinous. Dream could feel the gaze from the other and smirked, he knew what he was doing.
“What?” Dream asked dumbly, raising a brow as he turned his head to Sapnap, “Does it surprise you?” Of course it did. Sapnap was the only one who had seen Dream’s face, that he knew of. Not even George had seen Dream’s face- which was kind of huge to Sapnap. His face was scarred lightly, not as much as his arms. The freckles were more vibrant on his face than his forearms due to him wearing his mask constantly outside. His eyes were a soft green mix, as if someone poured Turkish blue on a painting and then layered over it with sage strokes from a small paintbrush. Each stroke took a skilled hand as they painted the image. The center around his pupil was a peanut brown, appearing as if the artist took the paint and carefully let it pour around the black like a slow stream. The person then dipped their brush in gold and traced over the part where the brown and green met, like a barrier between the two. A few blots of hickory brown were added in the mix of colors to make them more eye catching.
His thick black eyelashes framed his sharp eyes nicely, giving Dream an image of ageless youth. His lips were thin and pale, slightly chapped but that didn’t make them any less desirable. The small white scars made Sapnap remember that Dream wasn’t just a pretty face. The scars told stories of wars that claimed lives to just small incidents that happened in daily lives. His mouth ran dry at the view in front of him. His fingers twitched ever so slightly as they yearned to run through the mess of hair that framed Dream’s face so perfectly.
“Well yeah,” he responded as if it were the most obvious thing on Earth, “you rarely take the thing off.”
“Do I look ugly or something?”
“Yeah, like you just fought someone for hours.”
They both erupted into laughter. The moment was nice. It reminded Sapnap of when they didn’t have to worry about constant battles. Back to when they would explore new lands and play silly games that they came up with to escape boredom. It wasn’t so bad now though, they were just older versions of themselves. With the exception of countless wounds that left their marks on their vessels.
“Yeah right, I’m always gorgeous” Dream had replied jokingly to Sapnap’s taunt.
“Yeah… You’re right”