Chapter Text
Wings were important.
They told you who really cared about you, they told you who you could trust, they told you who you could lean on when everything inevitably went to shit.
The colors could fade, sure, as time passed and relationships died, sometimes slowly, sometimes overnight, but for the most part, colors told you who to put your faith in.
The Dream SMP was no exception, and throughout the wars, throughout the relationships that became unsalvageable, throughout all of the tears that fell, the wings of the members remained colorful with the colors of people who cared for them.
Or at least, most of them did.
There were always a few that held the shame of pure white wings, void of all color, a signal to everyone that you had no one, a shining beacon that you were more vulnerable than the wings that had a different color for every feather. White wings quickly grew into disarray, because as the colors emerged, another hand could preen your wings.
For those with white wings, any hand that touched them hurt.
In the early days of the SMP, no one bore white wings. Dream had one wing that held a rainbow of colors signifying the mother he’d left behind and a few of gold for his brother, while one wing mixed black and light blue for the two friends he’d always have by his side.
George held a black and lime green wing, while the other one was speckled with darker shades of green hinted with a dark blue, showing the care that his pseudo-family felt for him.
Sapnap had a wing of blue and green, and a wing of red for his father that had raised him from the flames that he’d been born in.
They had their wings, they had their colors, but as all wings, they didn’t stay. Relationships changed, and no one who entered the smp left quite the same.
Though it started with just three, the smp grew into a land of people with colorful wings. They didn’t hold the record, that fell to another server with startling builds and breathtaking views, but everyone had someone who cared.
Wilbur, Tubbo, and Tommy, all bearing similar colors, although they varied in their vibrancy and wouldn’t stay long.
Purpled and Punz- two brothers who still held each other’s hues, though they had faded far past their prime. Purpled held a cluster of feathers from his newer family on the Bedwars server, and both entered the server separately.
There were others, of course there were others, the server was full and it only got larger, it welcomed new members who joined later and were met with white wings and tears. By then, it was too late, there was no leaving, but for a short period of time, it was fine.
Yes, it was a downfall of the saddest kind, it was the failure of a place meant to be a haven, and where better place to start than the beginning?
_________
“Hey, Dream?”
Dream hummed, eyes shut.
“Look at me, dummy.” George pouted, so Dream yawned and pried his eyes open.
“What, Gogy?” Dream asked, gazing up at him. “I thought we were relaxing.”
George groaned, flopping backwards onto the grass. “But I’m bored. I thought we were going to make a new server and have fun, but all you’ve been doing is sitting here. It’s almost dark.”
Dream grinned behind his mask. “Someday this server will be so exciting and all you’re going to do is sleep. Don’t even try to deny it, George. Anyway, you gonna let me put my bed next to yours?” He laughed as George spluttered for a response, and sighed contentedly. “Someday, George, I’ll have made this server a wonderful place, and I’ll pass it on to you. I’ll retire, maybe get a cat, and you’ll be happy.”
“I’m happy now, you big dumb idiot.” George grumbled, slumping against Dream’s shoulder. “I’m tired.”
“I know.” Dream whispered. “But look how pretty it is out here.”
And, well, if George had mumbled something about it not being as pretty as Dream, neither said anything. Their wings said enough, the blue and green bright against the other colors.
_____________
Sapnap logged onto the server, tapping at his communicator and looking around. Dream had invited him to it, saying it was his and George’s, and as much as they made eyes at each other, he wanted to be a part of it.
Suffice to say, he wasn’t surprised when he arrived at their newly made house and caught them staring at each other from opposite sides of the room.
“God,” He huffed, setting down a bag, “The amount of tension in this room. Save it for when I’ve got my own house and don’t need to freeload off of y’all.”
“Sapnap!” They both objected at the same time, but didn’t say any more.
“Yeah,” He nodded. “That’s what I thought. How’s your day been so far?”
It was mindless conversation, but it was the best kind, filled with aspirations that they wanted to fulfill and goals that they wanted to reach. They talked about anything and everything, and the black on George’s and Dream’s wings seemed a little more bold at the end of it.
What a tragedy, then, that the colors faded as if bleached.
__________
“Sapnap!” Dream hollered. “Sapnap, wake up!”
It was a week, maybe two weeks later, and others had joined, but Sapnap still hadn’t caught up on sleep. He wasn’t used to living on his own, none of them were, really. Dream had just moved out of his mother’s, George had moved out from his father’s, and Sapnap had moved out from the house that his dad and his not-stepfather-but-could’ve-fooled-me owned. They were young, inexperienced, and they wanted the world as they made it.
Sapnap answered the door, hair wild. He spoke through Dream’s laughter, “What, dude? I was sleeping. C’mon, don’t laugh. Don’t you dare act as if you don’t leave home with hair like this after spending some time with Gogy, okay?”
Dream laughed harder, wheezing slightly. “What do you mean?”
He only shrugged. “Whatever, man, what did you want to tell me?”
“Oh, yeah,” Dream cleared his throat and stood up. “I invited some new members here, they seemed pretty close, and they seemed pretty nice, so I figured we couldn’t lose anything by inviting them here.” He seemed nervous, so Sapnap smiled.
“Sure, dude. When do they get here? I’m excited to meet ‘em.”
And, just like that, three names appeared in chat.
Wilbur Soot joined the server.
Tommyinnit joined the server.
Tubbo_ joined the server.
More names joined in the days that followed, and as they did, sorrow and misfortune did, too. They weren’t aware of the dark shadow that passed by their shoulders, for how could they be?
The days passed by, lighthearted and carefree, but it wouldn’t be long before the first colors faded.