Work Text:
“Bye Mama!”
“Bye duckling, have fun.”
Puffy watches as Dream runs off, his lime backpack bumping against his back. She stands up from where she was crouched, her knees popping at the movement, her eyes locked onto her son until she disappears from his view. She gives a small smile to the kindergarten teacher before walking out to her car, boisterous and nervous children alike walking into the large building. When she reached her car, she sunk into the seat, a deep breath echoing through her.
She wasn’t nervous about Dream’s first day of school, per say, the boy has always been enthusiastic about making new friends, but she’s never been separated from the small boy for a long amount of time. What if he starts crying? What if the other students aren’t as nice as he was? What if nobody wanted to be his friend? She shook her head, hoping to clear the fog of worries.
He’d be fine, he has to be.
-
And he was.
As soon as her car pulled up to the school, she could see her son standing outside with other students, his hands flying every which way as he talked to a boy with fuschia hair. When she got out of the car, the loud beep from the now locked doors catching the attention of a dozen young children, Dream’s beam only grew larger. He seemed to say a goodbye to the boy he was talking to before running to Puffy, barreling into her legs with an enthusiastic “hi!”.
“Ready to go, duckling?” With the nod from the dirty blond, Puffy grabbed one of his small hands before walking back to the car. “How was your day today? Made any friends?” Dream instantly began chattering about the activities he got to do. Once they were settled in the car, he started talking about the kids he met.
“-and there’s Sapnap! He really likes fire, and his hugs are really warm. George likes computers, and he has these funny glasses cause he can’t see colors and stuff. Then there’s Techno! I think Techno’s my favorite一don’t tell the others!一cause he made me this crown! And he has pretty hair, and his eyes are red! I thought they were fake at first-”
As Puffy backed out of the space she was in, her eyes momentarily catching on the gaggle of students still standing outside, she saw the pink haired boy一who she assumes is Techno一 clutching his backpack straps, his eyes flicking every which way. Dream’s voice carried them out of the parking lot, a fond smile growing on Puffy’s face as she drove.
Techno. She’d have to remember that name.
-
Turns out she didn’t have to remember it, for Dream never let her forget about the boy.
Every time he came home from school he seemed to have a new story about the pinkette; whether it be something as small as the boy giving Dream a portion of his food at lunch or as big as the time he almost stabbed a classmate with a pair of safety scissors一Puffy nearly had a heart attack at that particular story一, Techno’s name seemed to constantly be on Dream’s tongue.
She never actually met the boy until Dream was almost ten years old. Through Dream’s rambling, Puffy learned that Techno had been jumping between foster homes, luckily managing to stay in the same school district as the dirty blond boy, and he finally found a permanent family when he turned ten. As soon as the boy was settled in, Dream was insisting he visited as quickly as possible.
When Dream first eagerly knocked on一what Puffy hoped was一Techno’s door, she could already hear childish screams and laughter from inside. Oh great, another child to prematurely give Puffy grey hair from their troublemaking. However, when the door was opened by a blond man with visible crow’s feet, Puffy found the source of commotion to be a smaller blond boy and a brunette seemingly the same age as Dream. Behind the two of them she could see the boy with pink hair, standing quietly despite the racket around him.
As soon as Dream caught sight of the boy, he was practically lunging towards him, only held back by Puffy’s hands on his shoulders. She’d have to teach him about barging into people’s homes when they get back to their own. He was practically buzzing with excitement in her hold while she exchanged greetings with the older man一Phil, she soon learned一and judging by the way Techno’s eyes lit up, the pinkette was just as excited.
“Mama, mama, can I please,” he dragged out the word, disrupting Puffy’s introduction of him to Phil, “go play with Techno now? He wants to show me his swords!” As concerning as that sounded, the pinkette’s father didn’t seem too bothered by the fact that his son apparently owned swords, so she nodded her head slightly before letting Dream’s shoulders go. As soon as her touch was gone, he was bolting towards the other boy, who grabbed his hand before taking him up the stairs.
The rest of the visit went smoothly, despite the two boys spending most of their time upstairs. Puffy learned from Phil that Dream was Techno’s only friend, and her son was apparently the topic of most conversations between the pink haired boy and his father. Phil also revealed that the two of them seemed to have some playful rivalry when it comes to academics, with Techno currently only inches ahead.
When it was time for Puffy to make her way back home, her eyes seemed to be in a constant roll at the groaning from her son and his quieter一yet, also disappointed, if the small downturn of his lips was anything to go by一pink haired friend. With a promise of future meetings between the two of them, Dream begrudgingly followed his mom out the door, waving at Techno as if he was leaving forever.
As Dream thoroughly gushed about how cool Techno’s swords were, Puffy could only mutter a small plea to anybody listening to give Phil and herself mercy for whatever these two would get into the longer they knew each other.
-
After that, Dream and Techno seemed to become even more inseparable.
Every afternoon was spent with the two boys either in Phil’s home or, most often, due to the lack of two other children, Puffy’s house. Every Friday turned into dinner at Phil’s house, where the two boys stayed for roughly two minutes after they finished their food before they were running off to do who-knows-what.
When the two were twelve, Puffy started to notice that while they did start to stay at the table longer, their fingers started to tap in seemingly random patterns. The flicks of their fingers seemed to have no pattern whatsoever, but they both seemed to understand each other perfectly, if the occasional contortion of facial expressions was anything to go by.
They somehow seemed to understand each other more than anybody else did, even their own parents.
When the two boys were thirteen and Phil called them in the middle of Techno having a panic attack, Dream barely heard what was happening before he was out the door, bolting towards the pinkette’s house while ignoring Puffy’s calls for him. Phil later confided in her that nobody could calm Techno down, not even him, until Dream locked the two of them in a room, away from concerned eyes. After that, Dream’s number became Phil’s main speed dial.
When Puffy received a call from a crying teenager一Sapnap, she soon discovered一pleading for her to pick up Dream, she was worried sick. When she arrived, finding her son clutching a towel drenched in blood to the lower half of his mouth, while Sapnap scrambled to explain how his father’s throwing knife ended up in Dream’s chin rather than the target on a nearby tree, her worry only grew.
However, when the young blond boy was safely in the hospital, and a pink haired boy slammed through the door, it was hard to determine who was more worried. However, even though they both held a newfound protectiveness over the boy, apparently Techno was willing to go as far as attacking a student who made fun of the medical mask with a smiley face Dream started to wear to cover the large scar.
As the two got older, Puffy could sense something changing between the two of them.
She could see it in the way their eyes lingered when the other wasn’t looking, or in the way their cheeks held a permanent rosy tint while together, or in the way their hands somehow seemed to always find the other's while walking together.
She wasn’t the only person who noticed, and she and Phil would often have hushed conversations about the two after their weekly dinners. The teens must have been blinded by something because their obvious feelings apparently weren’t seen by the two of them; even Techno’s brothers noticed somehow.
Then, when the two turned sixteen, everything changed. Dream started staying home after school, locking himself in his room and only coming down for dinner with Puffy. When they did travel over to Phil’s house, Dream seemed to avoid Techno like the plague. Phil had told her with shaky words that Techno became quieter than usual, almost reverting back to what he was like when he first started living with the older blond.
Puffy didn’t try to hide her worry, but she also tried not to overwhelm her son. She felt as though she was walking on eggshells around the boy, waiting for day his emotions finally boiled over, spilling out without abandon.
And spill out they did.
As soon as the front door slammed shut, Puffy’s head snapping up from where she was reading a book, she could tell Dream was feeling worse一which she didn’t even know was possible一than usual. When he walked by Puffy’s vision, she noticed that the skin visible above his mask looked rubbed raw, as if he was trying to furiously wipe something away. He took off the mask he was wearing, tucking it into his pocket, a scowl visible on his lips. “Dream-”
“What, Mom?” Dream’s voice was flat, leaving no room for any emotion besides anger, tension clear in his shoulders as he stopped in front of his mom. Puffy’s jaw closed with a click, any further words being blocked by her pursed lips. She was worried for her son, worried that if he kept going down this path of avoidance and anger he would only end up hurting himself. Dream’s face dropped, the anger dissolving into exhaustion. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap, I…”
He trailed off, only the sound of Puffy’s book closing filled the air before the woman opened her mouth, her words light but urging. “Dream, what’s been going on?” The dirty blond boy didn’t answer, his face shifting away from Puffy, his dull eyes examining the hardwood floors. He didn’t budge an inch at Puffy’s words, stubbornly keeping his mouth shut. “Please, duckling, I’m worried about you.”
Dream seemed to finally break at the nickname Puffy hadn’t used since he was a child, his head dropping. A sob broke the silence, hands coming up to wipe the tears now freely flowing from emerald eyes. Puffy could practically feel her heart break, her legs moving before she could stop them, bringing her closer to her crying son. She wrapped her arms around his shaking form, his own arms wrapping around her as his head dropped onto a shoulder. “Oh, Dream.”
“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry, Puffy.” She tried shushing the boy, not knowing what he was apologizing for, but he interrupted her before she could speak. “You’re gonna hate me, I’m sorry, I didn’t want this to happen, I’m so sorry.” Puffy’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, one of her hands coming up to cradle the back of Dream’s head.
“Hey, hey I could never hate you. You’re my little duckling, right?” Another sob sounded through the air, ripping painfully through Dream’s throat, but his head nodded slightly. “I could never hate you, Dream, no matter what.” The two stood in silence for another moment, Dream slowly calming down as Puffy rubbed his back. “Now, you wanna tell me what’s been happening lately?”
“I’ve been avoiding Techno, because…” Dream paused for a moment, almost as if the words were spoken without prompting, before he continued again, his words laced in hesitance. “Because I’m in love with him and I don’t want anyone to hate me.” The boy seemed to deflate after that, the tears finally taking a toll on him, but Puffy’s mind was whirling.
He thought she’d hate him for that? How long has he been separating himself from everyone around him? How much has he been hurting this entire time?
She came back to her senses when Dream’s back started to slowly tense under her touch, almost as if he was expecting her to completely change her mind. She further tightened her grip, pressing a small kiss to his messy hair. “That’s okay, duckling, you’re okay.” His back loosened once again, almost weightless against Puffy’s chest. “Let’s go sit down, okay?” With a small nod, the two shuffled over to the couch.
“I don’t think Techno could ever hate you, duckling. In fact, I think he’d be quite happy to hear what you told me.” She raised his head with her hands, wiping the tears gracing his cheeks with soft thumbs. He smiled slightly under the attention, but it came out watery, the scar from his jaw to his top lip shifting at the movement. “Besides, if he doesn’t reciprocate your feelings, we can get your favorite ice cream and watch movies on the couch.” That garnered a small laugh out of the boy’s mouth, the first in who-knows-how-long.
The next morning, she could hear him giving himself a pep-talk in the bathroom when she walked by, and a small smile appeared on her face. She was almost positive that the pinkette returned her son's feelings, but at least her words from the night before seemed to make Dream feel confident enough to actually go through with what she suggested.
Later that afternoon, Dream had walked through the door with a wide smile on his face, the mask long tucked away. Before Puffy could even mutter a greeting from where she stood at the kitchen counter, she was wrapped in a strong hug. After a moment of confusion, her arms found their way around her son. Small ‘thank you’s were being mumbled into her shoulder, and a large smile broke out across her face.
Three days later, at their weekly dinner, everything seemed to go back to normal, and Dream formally introduced Techno as his boyfriend to Puffy.
-
After that, the only thing that changed between the two of them were their hands that seemed to constantly be intertwined rather than lightly brushing against each other. Fridays weren’t spent any differently besides an added teasing from Techno’s youngest brother. They became as inseparable as ever again, spending their afternoons at each other’s houses.
When the threat of college became more than a warning, the two of them applied to the exact same universities, and Puffy had heard them discussing how they refuse to separate no matter what. She’s sure there’s never been another expression besides happiness on her face when she looks at the two of them, and she can bet on there never being another in the future.
Now, as she stands with Phil in his driveway, watching her son and his boyfriend driving off with a car full of luggage, the ever-present smile on her face grows larger.