Work Text:
Tommy stood upon a hill, the bright and cheery sun weighing down on his back, his head hung low as he watches Philza flee into the forest, his heels closely harried by Quackity and his goons. He knew he shouldn’t have trusted him. He can’t trust anyone nowadays. Not his friends, not his brothers. Not even his father. How could Phil betray him like this? To keep something so important as a compass with the location of L’Manberg’s sworn enemies secret from him? To keep secret from him a device with the location of his Tubbo?
His lips pulled into a scowl, it shouldn’t have been this way. Phil, his father, was supposed to be his right-hand man! Just like Tommy was to Wilbur, Just like Tubbo was to him! But that hadn’t happened had it?! How was that fair at all!? He didn’t ask for this! He never wanted to be president! To have to make the decision between harboring his father’s secret, or hunting down those who rightfully deserved to be hunted like the ANIMALS THEY ARE! Tommy had just wanted to be able to make his own decisions! He was only as power-hungry as any other guy! He had never wanted to be in charge! All of his posturings were just jokes, silly bravado! Couldn’t they see that?
No, what all he had wanted was peace- peace, freedom, and the ability to mess with whomever he wanted. Being President of L’Manberg gave him none of those things. But what choice did they have? Who else could have been trusted with this position of power? Wilbur was mad, Niki doesn’t want anything to do with the L’Manberg anymore, Quackity and Fundy are too power-hungry and have other agendas otherwise, Eret is a traitor, George is a foreigner, Techno is an anarchist mercenary traitor, and Tubbo-
Tubbo …
Tubbo was a traitor too. He had sided with Schlatt after all. With Dream. With Technoblade... Their sworn enemies. Their foes, their adversaries of the highest caliber.
He can clearly remember watching in horror as Technoblade propped an injured Tubbo up with one arm and picked up Wilbur’s barely alive body with his other. He remembers running after them to save Tubbo from this perceived kidnapping, never mind the desperate battle against Dream and Techno’s many Wither bosses going on behind him. He remembers meeting Technoblade’s eyes and shouting at Tubbo to break out of Technoblade’s hold so that they could kill him together, so that they could be together again. He remembers the way Tubbo turned away from Technoblade’s side with a trident raised to the sky. He doesn’t want to remember the three-pronged scar that rests upon his belly.
Tommy snaps back to attention. No- No there was really no one else who could lead, was there? It hadn’t mattered that he was only sixteen years old, that he wanted nothing to do with the position, that he was in a high-stress situation, had just got done watching the home he fought for getting destroyed, had watched his Tubbo betray him-! His hand clenched into a fist as icy-hot rage boiled in his gut. But that wasn’t his fault, was it? No, of course not! It was their fault! It was all of their faults. Wilbur’s, Techno’s, Dream’s, Quackity’s, Eret’s, Fundy’s, Schlatt’s, Tubbo’s! He choked in rage squeezing his eyes shut even as his temper flared perhaps hotter than it’s ever been. Hell- He bet even Niki had something to do with this- this- DISASTER! Hadn’t he done EVERYTHING right!? Hadn’t he been loyal!? Hadn’t he been Patriotic!? Smart!? Strong!? Hadn’t he been supportive!? Despite EVERYTHING!? No-one, NO-ONE AT ALL, COULD SAY THAT HE. DIDN’T. TRY-- His throat squeezes shut in rage, red and white flashes flew behind his eyelids.
Because of course, he tried! He tried so, so hard! He probably did more for the rebellion than Techno, Wilbur, and Tubbo combined! He did what he had to and more! In fact, he bets the only reason the country exists at all right now is because of him and his willingness to give everything he had for his country! His FAMILY! And more importantly- he always did the right thing! And how could he be wrong?! He always did the right thing! He was always right! No- They were wrong. They were all wrong. Everyone but him. And now, now that he has this, this power, he’ll show them all just how wrong they were. How wrong they ARE! He’ll show them all exactly why you don’t mess with Tommy Innit!
His anger left his body in heaving breaths, but as he opened his eyes, as he looked up, he couldn’t help but feel all his anger, his, rightful, Righteous, anger, drain away like tears in the rain. As he looked down upon the city he once knew, he once loved and cherished, he felt… nothing. Once beautiful streets were tarnished, and once tall towers were toppled. Craters pockmarked the ground, and even despite months of cleaning, and thousands of dollars invested into restoration efforts, L’Manberg was still a no man’s land in comparison to what it was before.
He hated it.
He hated this.
He hated-
A hand suddenly landing on his shoulder startled him out of his reverie. He spins around and set his eyes upon the ever emotionless mask of Dream.
“Are you okay Tommy?” Dream trilled, his voice smooth and deceitfully reassuring, “You looked pretty beat up about something.”
Tommy shrugged without any real effort put into the gesture. He felt empty right now. Vulnerable. A feeling that was otherwise known as; Not being in the mood to talk to Dream, of all people.
Dream, however, either didn’t notice this, or didn’t care, as was shown by the fact that he continued to speak to him anyway.
“Well, if you’re sure…” Dream says, tilting his head.
“I am fine.” Tommy jerkily affirms, shrugging dream’s hand off his shoulder.
Dream stares for a moment, his gaze drilling holes into Tommy before shrugging himself, “Alright then. I just wanted to come over here to commemorate our respective countries’ new status as Allies,” The word rolls off of Dream’s tongue in an oily tone, making Tommy’s toes curl, “And, while I know that, we Personally, haven’t exactly been on, the best of terms …” Dream shuffles around in his bag for a moment, chuckling. “I just wanted to give you this, as a sign of our new, everlasting, friendship.”
And there, just in front of him held by his enemy, was his Disc. His mouth dropped open in shock as he found he could do nothing but stare.
Dream laughed now, his voice oozing with smug amusement, “Now, Tommy, I know this might be a bit of a shock, but if your mouth opens any wider it might just,” Dream gestures at him with the disc while clicking his tongue, “ Pop off.”
Tommy abruptly shuts his mouth with a click as he slowly, uncertainly reaches out and grasps the disc, looking up into what he assumes is Dream’s eyes. Why hadn’t he just taken it? Was he waiting for something? Confirmation maybe? Confirmation that this couldn’t be anything but a dream, a nightmare? Instead, all he gets is a steady solemn nod from his- What even is Dream now? An ally? An enemy? Whatever Dream was now, It didn’t matter. His whole body shakes as he slowly, reverently pulls the disc out of Dream’s steady hands and gently settles it close to himself. And suddenly it’s just too much for him to handle. Getting exiled, Starting a resistance in exile, watching Wilbur go insane, getting betrayed by Techno, having his home destroyed, getting betrayed by Tubbo, and now…
Tears prickle at the corners of his eyes and a shuddering sob works its way out of his mouth. He falls to his knees, hunched over, as unbidden tears go from trickles to streams. And there, hunched and kneeling in front of one of his greatest enemies, he cries. He cries so hard he feels his temples press in on his skull from both sides, a pounding headache working its way into his mind. He cries so hard he makes his body seize, makes himself want to hurl. He cries so hard he forgets how to breathe.
And finally, when it all almost seems too much for him to handle, something warm, something human, drapes over him in a hug, and suddenly he can draw in a few breaths in between his choking sobs.
Dream squeezes him in a gentle, but firm embrace, and hums into Tommy’s hair, “Let’s get you home, you clearly need some rest.” Tommy feels Dream lift him off the ground into his arms, but he is crying too hard to argue. He is crying too hard to register the fact that it wasn’t a cold hard mask pressing into his hair, but instead a real human face. He was crying too hard to feel Dream smirk into his hair. And as Dream slowly carries Tommy home, Tommy isn’t crying too hard to wonder why no-one has tried to stop Dream from carrying him away.
And, in between sobs, Tommy wonders why he doesn’t want them to.