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Dream walked on the prime path through the SMP, his hands fidgeting nervously with the hem of his turtleneck. It’d been a few weeks since he’d been let out of prison and he was still nervous. He couldn’t ignore the hateful glares and nervous glances whenever he was near. He acted like he didn’t see people move away from him when he approached. He felt every glance, every piercing stare, every insult, every movement towards a weapon. Dream saw and heard it all. Just because he was in prison didn’t mean he had lost his ability to be stealthy. He heard how they spoke about him. How they had people keep an eye on him when he’d get close to certain people’s stuff or home.
Dream had changed his clothing since he got out as well. He now wore all black, a black turtleneck, black cargo pants and black combat boots, a thick black cape finishing off the look. He wore his mask over his entire face since he didn’t do much talking to anyone. His hood was always up as well. He often wandered around the main SMP or the biomes in it alone. He didn’t have anyone who cared about him. It’s sad really, but it’s better than being in that obsidian box. Dream walked through the community house, ignoring the looks he got from whoever was in there, he didn’t care enough to check.
Dream pushed the door open and left without a word. As much as he disliked some of the people on the SMP he missed the social interaction but was used to not having any. He was used to being alone, but that didn’t mean he liked it. Dream sighed as he continued walking closer to the outskirts of the greater SMP. He mentally groaned when he saw Tommy, Quackity, and Ranboo. Why of all people did he have to run into did it have to be Tommyinnit. He began walking faster, hoping he could just speed walk by and be fine. Tommy noticed his oncoming approach and scowled. There were a few people who were against letting him out. I’m sure you can guess who the main person was. Tommy stepped onto the path.
“So you’re out here you bastard. Here to ruin someone’s life?” taunted Tommy. Dream ignored him and attempted to walk by but Tommy grabbed his forearm. Dream’s eyes widened. He hated physical contact. Ever since he was dragged into that cell. Hell, maybe even before that all Dream knows right now is someone who hates him is touching him and he loathes it. Dream jerks his arm away so rough and fast Tommy nearly falls forward.
“Don’t fucking touch me.” Tommy backed away from him, scared of the taller individual and shocked he actually spoke. No one had heard Dream even utter a word since he’d been out. Dream realized he scared him and let his slouched posture return and his arms loosened. His breathing had gotten quicker. Dream pulled the hood more over his head and turned on his heel, walking away from the group as fast as he could. He pulled up his admin table and teleported, appeared in a plains biome. He crouched, hugging himself as he calmed down. Eventually, his breathing evened out and he stood back up, observing the area. It was just a simple field, flowers here and there with the occasional animal. Dream sighed. He didn’t even know how far he had gotten from the SMP but he didn’t really care. The farther the better. It meant he was alone, actually alone, so he reached up and unclasped the mask from his head, letting the porcelain mask fall from his face.
Dream took the cracked mask and gently hooked it to his belt. The wind felt wonderful against his face. Dream felt something nudge him and his breath hitched, turning around sharply. Dream stared at the horse that had nudged his arm. The horse was white. It looked like Spirit. Dream swallowed and raised his hand, reaching out to the animal. The horse backed up at first before moving closer, putting its head on Dream palm. Dream took a shaky breath and rubbed the animal's head gently. He felt a smile tug at his lips and he went into his inventory and pulled out some wheat. The horse ate directly from his hand and Dream laughed fondly when it looked up at him for more. He doesn’t even remember the last time he laughed.
Dream scratched behind its ear, his smile getting wider. Dream hummed happily. The main reason he was leaving the SMP was to try something new. He’d been wandering around the whole time, alone, with nowhere to go so, he was going to try building. He had never been much of a builder but Sam had taught him some basic things back before he hated him. Dream laughed bitterly.
“I think I’ll call you Mist,” said Dream. The horse snorted. Dream smiled and cracked his knuckles. He walked over to the forest and pulled out his axe that cut through the wood like it was nothing to it wasn’t very hard to do. Dream continued to cut trees, and gather things like sand for glass for about an hour. By the time he was done he felt like he was going to fall over but he steadied himself on Mist. Dream smiled at his new pet and rubbed her neck. He walked over to his materials and began crafting, and smelting. Dream hummed a song he couldn’t remember the name off while he worked. The night before he had made some basic drawings of what he was going to do. His breathing was labored and heavy as he finally managed to drag the wood closer to the spot he was going to build. Then it hit Dream like a bus. He couldn’t pick up the wood. Dream turned to it and attempted to pick up one of the wood beams for the home but he couldn’t. He managed to get it a few inches off the ground but if he couldn’t even lift the whole thing off the ground how the fuck was he supposed to build a house.
Dream continued trying to pick the wood up only for his arms to feel like they were on fire and he’d drop them. Dream knew he had gotten weaker because of the lack of exercise but he thought he could at least still pick up wood. Dream felt himself getting worked up. He just wanted to build a house for himself, he just wanted to have a place to go home too. Tears of frustration welled in his eyes and he quickly wiped them away. After what felt like hours of trying to move stuff he collapsed to his knees, breathing heavily. How could he be so goddamn weak? Dream sniffled when the tears came back. He scrubbed at his face angrily when they began to fall. He didn't want to cry, why was he crying? He couldn’t be weak; he hated being weak. Dream grit his teeth and punched one of the wooden beams in front of him.
The pain sparked and he drew his hand to his chest. Dream bit his lip to stifle a sob. Why was he even crying? That wasn’t going to help him but he couldn't stop the tears from falling. Dream felt something nudge his head and he saw Mist next to his face. She leaned forward, nuzzling her head on his cheek. Dream felt a sob escape his lips when Mist laid down next to him and he lunged, wrapping his arms around her neck as he cried. The horse seemed startled at first but calmed back down once she realized Dream meant no harm. Dream clung to the animal like she’d leave him. Hell, she probably would, everyone did at some point. Dream was unaware of the person getting closer and closer to his location. Techno moved the limb out of his way and his eyes widened at the sight of a whole bunch of wood and other things. He narrowed his eyes when he noticed the hunched over figure next to a horse. Said figure actually looked to be hugging the horse.
Techno raised an eye brow and approached the dark figure. He didn’t know anyone on the server who wore all black either. His confusion shifted to slight worry when he heard the choked sobs of the other person. Once he got closer, he got a glimpse at the person, recognizing the other’s hair immediately. Dream. Techno’s eyebrows furrowed in concern and he looked at the horse he was practically clinging to. Techno rubbed his hand on the animals back.
“Dream?” called the hybrid/ Dream’s entire body jolted in surprise, not expecting to hear another voice and his head shot up, seeing Technoblade crouching down next to him. Dream’s mouth went dry. No, no, no, no he was going to see how weak he was. Techno respected him and he respected Techno, they were strong, he wasn’t supposed to be weak. He couldn’t be weak.
“Are you okay?” asked Techno. Dream looked away and wiped his face. Techno had seen him without his mask so he wasn’t very worried about that.
“M’fine,” mumbled Dream. Techno looked at him with an unimpressed look.
“Well, you’re clearly not fine Dream.” Dream glared at him with as much annoyance as he could muster. He coughed into his hand, sleeve rolling down slightly.
“You’re skinner,” commented Techno. Dream lowered his arm and shoved his sleeve down.
“That’s what happens when you go to prison and all they feed you are raw potatoes and eating too many raw potatoes can make you sick,” remarked Dream. Techno looked away at the mention of prison. He knew Dream had been released recently, he didn’t think it was too bad but looking at him now made guilt settle into his chest. He had huge bags under his eyes. He was definitely skinnier. His voice was raspy and the voice cracks sounded painful which probably meant he didn’t use his voice too often. He just looked, tried.
“Well, uhm, at least you’re out…?” said Techno cautiously. Dream raised an eyebrow at him.
“Not much different from being in there, I’m kinda hated by everyone,” answered Dream. Techno sighed and sat down.
“I don’t hate you which means I wanna know what you were out here, alone, hugging a horse-”
“Mist.”
“Hugging Mist, while sobbing. I won’t settle for “I’m fine” either because we both know damn well that’s bull.” said Techno. Dream pulled his hood further over his head, trying to hide. Dream wanted to do anything but talk about his emotions but he knew Techno was just as stubborn as him. Dream sniffled.
“I want to build a house because I… don’t have one, b-but i- I can’t pick up the wood because I’m w-weak.” mumbled Dream. He hugged himself, nails digging into his arm. He was waiting to be made fun of, to be mocked for being weak, or for just something.
“That’s what’s wrong?” asked Techno. Dream nodded hesitantly.
“I’m not supposed to be so goddamn weak, I can’t be weak.” said Dream. Techno sighed and gripped Dream’s shoulders, turning him so he was facing him. He saw how Dream tried to flinch away from the contact and let go immediately.
“Dream, there’s nothing wrong with being weak. We’re all weak sometimes, it’s just a natural thing. Your case is a bit special because you were in prison and you’re physically weak as well as mentally weak. We all have points in time where things become too much or something happened that damaged our strength. You just gotta have someone through it and you’ll be okay.” Dream laughed bitterly.
“I don’t have anyone techno.” said Dream. Dream kept his head down.
“I can’t walk through the SMP without someone reaching for their weapon or being glared at. None of them wanted to release me really, only Sam, Bad and Punz. They all had more power because they were guards. No one wanted me out. Tommy mocks me constantly. No one speaks to me. Before I was let out the one person I thought would stick with me, the person I considered a mother, renounced me as her son and took in someone else like I was easily replaced. No one loves me, no one cares about me. I’m alone, homeless and weak. ANd i hate it,” ranted Dream. He felt the tears come back and he wiped them away immediately. Techno sighed.
“I don’t hate you Dream” said Techno. Dream’s eyes shot open and he glanced at Techno.
“You’re the one person who hasn’t hurt me, besides Phil of course, but you stand by my side when we fight. You have my back and I have yours. Yes, I respect you for your stubbornness and your wit and your fighting skills and style, but I also just care about you like a friend.” Dream gripped the grass in his fist.
“Now, about this house,” said techno. Dream perked up at his words.
“Do you have any designs or anything?” asked the hybrid.
“W-what?” Techno rolled his eyes.
“I’m gonna help you build Dream, and I won’t take no so don’t try. I can be just as stubborn as you.”
“Once we’re done you’ll just be a green teletubby.” joked Techno. Dream felt a smile tug on his lips and he chuckled quietly.
“Before that, who’s this beautiful horse?” asked Techno. Mist nuzzled her face on Dream’s cheek again making the blonde laugh.
“I just found her after I teleported here, well I guess she found me. She reminded me of Spirit.” explained Dream rubbing her neck.
“Spirit?”
“Yeah, the animal that Tommy used the remains of to blackmail me.” remarked Dream.
“Oh, yeah I remember. Tommy told me about that when he was living with me and as someone who values pets I almost kicked him out.” said Techno holding a hand out to Dream. He took his hand and Techno pulled him up, not commenting on how skinny Dream’s arms were.
“Plans?” asked techno. Dream pulled them out and showed him.
“Hmm, so a small cottage of sorts huh? Cool, can I add things where they seem to fit?” asked Techno. Dream nodded.
“Sure, I don’t mind.” Techno smiled.
“Then let’s get to work.” Over the rest of the day they got to work building. Techno handled the heavy jobs while Dream made and gathered more materials. They talked about whatever they wanted to. Techno told him about everything that had been going on with him and offered him an invite to meet Steve. Dream didn’t talk about what really went on with him because well, it was ever so slightly depressing and he hadn’t done anything since getting out. The one thing he did tell him about was how he had picked up writing from prison. He had some of his work in his enderchest and he gave it to Techno who thoroughly enjoyed it and Dream got excited and told him about how he was really big on writing when he was younger and when he’d write when he first started the server. The hours went by and night soon came. They'd gotten quite a lot done but they'd have to finish at a later date. Techno huffed as he sat down across from Dream who had gotten a fire started and was cooking some steak because he actually teleported to a field that still had cows. Mist was laying behind Dream and the blonde was leaning against her side as he messed with the food.
“She seems to like you.” said Techno, motioning to the large animal behind him. Dream smiled and rubbed her leg.
“Yeah, it’s been a while since someone willingly liked me,” joked Dream. Techno rolled his eyes.
“She’s a sweet girl, I’ve always had a thing with animals.”
“Yeah, I’ve seen how dolphins adore you in your manhunts.” Dream laughed.
“I swear to you I’m a princess-”
“Don’t even start Dream.” Dream huffed and pulled the steak away from the campfire and gave onto Techno. Dream watched as Techno pulled out a potato.
“Really? I don’t have any idea how you eat those.” commented Dream. His experience with potatoes isn’t exactly good. Techno shrugged. It was February so it was still chilly out and got pretty cold at night. Dream shivered and grabbed his cloak from his inventory as he had taken it off awhile ago. He threw it over his shoulders and pulled the hood up.
“What’s with all the black anyway?” asked Techno. Dream shrugged.
“I sneak around a lot during the night, how do you think I got all my shit back from Tommy and Tubbo.” answered Dream pulling out Nightmare.
“You seem to like that axe.” Dream shrugged and put it back in his inventory.
“I suppose I do, I’ve had it since I’ve gotten it. It’s slain quite a few people. I also just feel safer with it I guess. It’s nice to be able to actually defend myself again.”
“I also made this axe, it’s got it’s own personal meaning.” Another strong gust of wind came through and Dream shivered.
“Fucking hell I’m not used to wind or the cold.” grumbled the blonde. Techno laughed fondly and bit into his steak. Dream gave Mist some wheat since it was all he had on him. Dream dug into his steak finishing it quickly. Techno was done a few minutes after since he had eaten earlier in the day, Dream had not.
“That was good.” said Dream as he licked his fingers. Techno hummed in agreement.
“You gonna head home soon?”
“Yeah probably, where are you staying?”
“Eh, I’ll find a tree or something.” said Dream.
“Like hell you are.”
“I thought you at least stayed in a building fucking hell.” grumbled the hybrid.
“There’s no building I’d feel safe enough to stay in. I swear tommy was gonna jump me like a week after I got out, he only stopped after I showed him I was armed.” said Dream. Techno rolled his eyes and stood up holding a hand out to him.
“Yeah no tree, you can stay the night at my place. No rent.” Dream looked up at him.
“Can I really?” asked Dream with a small smile on his face.
“Yeah, let’s go.” Dream grabbed his hand and pulled the other up. Dream brushed himself off and Mist stood up seeing Dream getting up.
“Hey baby,” said Dream sweetly as he ran his hands through her mane. Techno placed his hand on her back.
“I have a saddle, I was gonna save it but you seem to need it.” saud Techno pulling into out of his inventory. He tossed it to Dream who gently put it on her and buckled it.
“Thanks.” said Dream as he was about to get on but Techno moved him.
“I think I’ll take that spot thank you.”
“Excuse me? She’s my horse.”
“And you’re too tired to get us back to the tundra without sleeping so I’m doing it.” said Techno as he got on. Dream grumbled. He went to climb on but then realized he’d have to be touching him and froze. Techno noticed his sudden hesitation.
“You good Dream?” Dream glanced at him.
“You… yeah uhm, I’m fine.” said Dream. Techno raised an eyebrow.
“I uhm, don’t like physical contact.” explained Dream.
“Oh, well that’s a bit of a problem.” Dream chuckled.
“Nah, I think I’ll be fine, I trust you.” said Dream. Techno watched as Dream took a few deep breaths before jumping up and sitting behind Techno.
“Don’t fall off please, I won’t pick you up.” said Techno as they began walking.
“I’m not gonna-” The horse jerked and Dream wobbled, latching onto Techno’s torso instantly.
“What was that Dream? You didn’t finish,” remarked Techno. Dream huffed.
“Screw you.” Techno laughed. Dream hugged him tighter when it got bumpy again. They began bickering until that slowly died out leaving them in comfortable silence as they made their way to Techno’s house. Dream rested his head on Techno’s back, eyelids becoming heavy. Dream watched as they crossed by a river, the stars reflecting in the water. Dream subconsciously hugged Techno tighter. He was happy Techno had found him. He was glad Techno cared about him. He helped him build his home after he was too weak to do so. It felt nice to know there was at least one person who cared about him on the server. He understood why the others hated him, he knows it’s his fault. He doesn’t deserve Techno but he’s here anyway and from the looks of it he’s not leaving anytime soon.
“Tech?” called Dream. Techno perked up.
“Mm.” Dream yawned before speaking.
“Thanks for being my friend. It’s nice to have someone who doesn’t wanna stab you.” said Dream. Techno smiled.
“Your welcome Dream. You sound like you’re about to pass out.” Dream chuckled lightly.
“Tired.”
“Get some sleep then, I’ll wake you up once we’re there.” said Techno. He felt Dream nod and in a few minutes he heard Dream’s quiet snores from behind him. Techno huffed and refocused on getting them home, just happy he could give Dream a home.