Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In a cottage far away, there was a man in his early-20’s, freckles dusting his tanned cheeks and smooth jaw, beautiful ram horns sprouting right above fluffy pointed ears, long, dirty-blonde hair curling softly around his face, his poofy tail twitching to his emotions. He had bright, viridian eyes, the swirls of neon green within them causing them to look like a deep void.

The man startled as he heard the doorbell ring from his spot by the fireplace. Briefly panicking, he rushed to change out of his iconic dark-green cloak and black boots, the viridian lining and the smiley faces on them making it obvious it belonged to him. Hiding his very recognizable weaponry, he let his mind wander in thought.

He had made sure to put his little cottage in a very secluded area far away from his server, wanting to be able to get some peace and quiet every time he needed to wind down, but that doesn’t mean the possibility of somebody finding him was off the table, in fact, settling down like this upped the chances.

Forcing himself to relax, he approached the door with steady steps, even as his hands shook, all the possibilities flashing through his mind and the consequences of the public finding out where he lived.

‘Maybe it’s just a lost person, or maybe even an animal. Relax, dumbass! The paparazzi couldn’t have possibly found you,’ he nagged at himself, trying to think positively.

Opening his door and preparing for the worst, he squinted as he came across.. nothing. Looking around in confusion, he saw something at the corner of his eye. Looking down, he blinked in bewilderment as he made eye contact with-

         ..a baby?

It was a boy, inside a basket, a deep blue blanket below it, whoever had left it there hadn’t even had the decency to put a blanket over the poor thing. The boy barely even had any hair on his little head, he didn’t even have any proper clothing for the winter weather.

“Well then.. at least it’s not those hungry vultures,” he muttered, slight amusement flashing in beautiful viridian eyes. It quickly disappeared as the corner of his lip twitched downwards. ‘What kind of person, a parent no less, would abandon their child on the porch of a random cottage in the middle of a forest?’

Shaking his head, the blonde decided to think about it later. Picking the basket up, being careful not to jostle the sleeping child inside it, he noticed a note tucked in with the blanket below it.

’I can’t do it anymore. I’m sorry. His mother died during the birth, and I was taking care of him for a while, but I just can’t do it anymore.

His name is Schlatt, given to him by his mother. His birthday is on September 10 and he’s almost a year old.

Please, give him the good life he deserves, the one I couldn’t bear to.’

Fingerless gloves covering scarred hands clutched the paper hard enough to crumple it at the sides.

Sympathy for a father that had just lost his wife and was being forced to take care of a child, one he’s most likely not emotionally stable enough to properly care for, had the blonde man turning and walking back into his home.

         It was now the child’s home too.

(Maybe if I had brought you to someone else back then, someone more capable, you wouldn’t have had to live through this.)

It had been 16 years since then. The blonde man was now 37.

And that blonde man was Dream Wastake.

Now, let it be known that Dream is a very smart man. His pride had always been his own mind, after all.

He knew when and how to use the pawns on the board to win the game, he knew when to let specific pieces go, when to attack, when to conserve his strength, or when to save one of his troops.

So of course he would never expose his one weakness to the world, especially now during war.

Dream knew that the second someone from the silly rebellion found out about his son, they’d be searching for him in a heartbeat. So he kept him hidden far away from the Mainlands in a cozy cottage made just for the two of them. He would do anything for his son’s safety. After all, a parent’s job is to keep their children safe and happy. And Dream was proud to say he felt like he was succeeding in those two tasks.

Before the ‘Great L’manburg’ (Prime, just the name gave him a headache) was created, the blonde man was planning to bring his precious child to this amazing land he had created, he wanted to show his son off to his friends!

He wanted to show his son how he dealt with the glitches and bugs in the server code, like the teen had begged his father to when he was a child. He had so many hopes that this land would be peaceful and united.. a family of sorts. But now the server was divided, his friends turning their backs on him and listening to Wilbur’s lies of tyranny and evil that ruled the server. He found it ironic that the brown-haired man and the rest of the L’manburgians thought their great country started with the wish of freedom, and definitely not with a drug van and multiple breakings of Dream’s very simple rules.

Sighing, he remembered the duel Tommy had practically forced him to agree to. He was fairly confident he’d win, the child had a nasty hand for a sword or an axe, but it was common knowledge he didn’t particularly have a good time with a bow.

The blonde didn’t exactly have a problem with the duel rules that they agreed to, it was the fact that in order to win..

         ..he’d have to kill Tommy.

And he really didn’t want to do that. As much as he laments the child, he does have a slight begrudging respect for him. And taking another’s canon life was not something to be taken lightly, and it’s definitely not something he was looking forward to. But at the same time, he needed to go back to his son. This childish war had kept him from being able to come home frequently and had created a rift between him and the younger.

‘I don't want to do this to Tommy. He doesn't deserve this. But if this means I can see my son again.. then so be it.’

(I should’ve known it wouldn’t be that easy. I’m sorry, my little Dot. I hope one day, you can find a way to forgive me.)

Dream decided that raising children was hard, and to any parent who had multiple? Especially if all of them were this young? He was in absolute awe. A new-found respect for the other parents who can keep up with the loud crying in the middle of the night, the constant diaper changes and more. Especially for single mothers, having to deal with the effects of pregnancy and with no one else to help? It sounded like a nightmare even to his ears.

At the beginning of this adventure, Dream had made a checklist of all the things he needed to do to make his house and himself prepared for raising a child. A nursery was built and the house was baby proofed, the toy box was filled with a wide range of different toys (from dolls to shape puzzles to mini building blocks, whatever Dream had heard children liked to play with). 

He thought he was ready for anything!

         ..oh, how wrong he was.

Schlatt was a gremlin of a child. Pulling Dream’s long hair when it was down, throwing his food right at Dream’s head (with incredible aim he begrudgingly acquiesced, he’d be proud if he wasn’t constantly the victim) and somehow finding the blonde’s very delicate trinkets (that were placed on the highest shelves of the house, by the way) and using them as chew toys-

-and don’t get Dream started on crayons! He had gotten them just to keep the baby occupied.. and came back to Schlatt’s room to find doodles all over the walls.

Despite all of this, he couldn’t help but adore his new son. He had fallen in love with the child who loved causing chaos around the house, he sometimes wondered how dull life would be without the constant cooing and excited screeching coming from the other 24/7.

The blonde had bought a lot of books to read up on child care and what he needed to do to keep Schlatt fit and healthy. Viridian eyes scanning books one after the other to make sure he got all the info he could. He had also taken the small child to the nearby village’s cleric for a check-up since he had been found on his porch (Schlatt hated it, and Prime did the sound of his son's cries break his heart). Thankfully, by some miracle, Schlatt was a very healthy baby!

One day, Dream was reading in the living room in his most comfortable chair (a padded rocking chair that he had found on sale years ago, he had piled pillows and soft fluffy blankets onto it to get maximum comfort) and enjoying the quiet of the afternoon. He had put Schlatt on the floor in the middle of the living room with all his toys nearby, and the child had somehow drifted to sleep by the comfortably warm heat of the sun. Dream let him rest, the quiet was much appreciated every once in a while.

As Dream continued to read, he hadn’t noticed his son wake up. The little boy sat up blearily, still tired from the nap, and looked at his father sitting a bit away from him. Schlatt didn’t seem to like the distance between them and promptly decided, in his sleepy, baby state, to do something about it. Dream had, of course, seen Schlatt attempting to walk several times (failing, unsurprisingly, but the attempts were cute and he actually seemed to be doing better each time) but he wasn’t exactly expecting him to be able to do so properly anytime soon.

But Schlatt was an overachiever apparently, because this (fucking toddler!) child pursed his lips in a pout and stood up on wobbly legs, his stubby arms waving around in an attempt to keep himself balanced on his legs that were still too young to handle his full weight. The little albino squealed loudly as he stood up straight, Dream finally noticed his son and immediately put his book down excitedly.

“Hey kiddo, what ya doing?” Schlatt gave his father a gummy smile as he took a shaky step forward, Dream immediately falling to the floor to hold his arms out to his son. “Yeah! That’s it kid.. one step at a time now, be careful!”

Schlatt took a step towards his father.. then another.. and then another. And he made it to Dream who had the largest smile on his face with the familiar glimmer of tears in his eyes.

“You did it kid!” Dream scooped Schlatt into his arms and swirled around, the toddler cackled as he was twirled through the air.

“You’re adorable! You’re my little Dot aren’t you?” Schlatt let out a happy screech at the new nickname and Dream smiled giddily. He had read up on the meaning behind that nickname.. he found it quite fitting.

“Well I’ll call you my little Dot from now on then!” Dream held Schlatt close as the small child fiddled with his long hair that was thrown up into a high ponytail. The blonde felt like he was on top of the world. If this was the feeling of utter pride that parents have for their children’s achievements.. then he would gladly go through the struggles of single parenting alone. 

(I should’ve given you more praise, more attention. I should’ve made you see that I loved you, that I genuinely cared.)

Voices of conversation and laughter filled the campsite, the moon shining above and the dark sky glimmering with stars. Dream sat around the campfire he had made, listening to his allies' plan and occasionally getting distracted. Adding in his own opinions and speaking at only the right time, by now, they were used to him only speaking when necessary. 

He’ll be honest, he didn’t want to be there. He wanted to go home, to his cozy little cottage in the woods, to warm sunlight streaking on him in the morning, to late night talks and movie nights with his son. His son, who had been waiting for months in an empty cottage. The blonde had promised him he wouldn’t be long, but look at him, stuck in a pointless war with people who were so stuck in their own beliefs that they raged bloodshed and bred hatred over independence on a land that was already as independent as possible.

Sighing silently behind the mask, his mind flashed to the duel yesterday.

Tommy on the floor, bathing in his own slowly spilling blood as his body disintegrated, appearing back at his spawn point, where he will lay unconscious the rest of the week. 

 

Within the tears and screams of agony on the L’Manburgians’ faces, the cheers of his own allies and the rushing of water below the bridge, Dream’s voice, perfectly pitched to be as authoritative yet soft manipulative as possible, still rung out throughout the battlefield, where a soldier was killed area.

 

         "We’ll discuss when he wakes up.”

 

As the murderer blonde speaks and turns away, the tears streaming down his cheeks hidden within the emotionless mask, shaking of his form covered up with baggy clothing and snug, form-fitting armor, and underlying panic in his tone hidden with practice not ease, never ease, he wondered why he had ever let it get this far.

Suddenly feeling very tense, he forced his own body language to relax itself, lest one of his allies question his sudden switch of emotion. He can’t let them see weakness, not now.

Remembering what he had been wanting to say for a while now, he cleared his throat when there was a lull in conversation, drawing attention to himself.

“I’m going to be away for a few weeks, maybe a month. I’m heading out next week, Punz is in charge,” Dream’s tone left no room for argument, though he had said once before that even if he uses said tone, if his allies thought the decision should be changed, then they should step up.

“Where are you going?” Purpled inquired from his spot on the grass, the fact that he was the only minor on their side and that he had used to be good friends with Tommy and Tubbo didn’t give him much say in final decisions, but they have learned his opinion can be very valuable, he was slowly gaining respect and they mostly treated him like a little brother. Punz was seated beside him, smirking at an indignant Sapnap across the fire, who was jokingly offended at not being the one left in-charge.

“I just have a few errands to run, I also have to visit someone,” The blonde kept it vague yet logical, not wanting to reveal he had a son so early in the game. George raised an eyebrow where he was seated on a log, seated next to Ponk, who also looked mildly apprehensive.

“It is really important, right? Not just another adventure because you’re feeling kind of stressed, right? It’s something that’s actually important, right, Dream?” Sapnap spoke up, the mirth in his eyes gone, replaced with equal apprehension, “Or is it about the- y’know, war we’re in right now?”

Dream frowned, confused at the sudden barrage of questions, usually they would just let him go, trusting him to come back after the scheduled time he mentioned or if they called. “Well, I mean, no but-”

He was cut off by a slightly panicked Ponk, “Well if it’s not important, you can’t just go!” The blonde blinked, now very confused, “What? Why?”

He turned his head to look at Punz, who also seemed slightly distressed, “We just got back from a huge turning point of the war, Dream, who knows what those filthy L’Manburgians will do!?” Purpled nodded beside him, agreeing despite the insult he would’ve punched the older ash-blonde for if he had heard it a few months ago. It seemed the youngest on their side was finally starting to see what truly made the rest of them dislike the rebels.

“Guys, come on, it’ll only be a little while-” Dream tried again, before he was promptly cut off by Sapnap, “You’re our leader, Dream! You can’t just leave!” The raven exclaimed, voice a few pitches higher than it usually is.

The dirty blonde’s mouth closed with an audible click, his mask having been moved up slightly earlier to reveal said mouth.

He didn’t have anything to say to that, after all.

(I shouldn’t have put my duties in front of you, shouldn’t have forced myself to stay because of my own selfish guilt. I didn’t want to stay but I thought I had to, I thought I had to keep leading in this childish war, to keep more casualties from happening, but I ended up just causing more.)

Dream was right on the money like always. Schlatt spent the majority of his time running around the house and pushing things over the second he could walk across the room.

But it also seemed like something was bothering him.

It was worrying Dream, he kept touching his head and massaging his poofy white hair, sometimes when he would push or brush something over the top of the small child's head, he would wince and cry out. The blonde would have to spend an hour or two calming the distressed toddler afterwards.

One time after he had another one of those sessions, Dream had sat him down and asked him if everything was okay.

“Does your head hurt? How long has it been going on?” The toddler remained uncharacteristically quiet. Dream sighed, dropping the subject. “You know you can always talk to me okay, Dot?” He smiled, reaching his hand up to stroke his hair like he always did.

What he didn’t expect was Schlatt to cry out, using his own arm to swat his away. Pushing himself off the chair, he bolted away as fast as his little stubby legs could take him. His father’s hand, frozen mid-air in shock, dropped defeatedly. Hearing the door to the toddler’s room slam, Dream felt his heart drop.

‘You just hurt him! What kind of father are you!? He obviously didn’t want to be touched and you touched him anyway!? Prime you’re such a disappoi-’ Forcefully shutting down those thoughts, the blonde took a few deep breaths to calm himself, breathing in sharply.

The toddler had eventually left the room and seemed to act as if nothing happened, but Dream wasn’t sure if he should bring it up again. On one hand he wanted to make sure his precious Dot was alright but at the same time he didn’t want to overstep any boundaries. 

A few days past with Schlatt still showing signs of.. something being wrong, Dream had gently tried to get some more information but received nothing as if he even tried to get an inkling as to what was wrong, Schlatt would run away from him in a panic.

That night, Dream had tucked Schlatt in carefully. Watching as the smaller gently put his head on the pillow and refused to move it once it was set down. The blonde sighed and kissed his forehead while whispering goodnight.

“Remember I’m always right down the hall, okay, Dot..?” The child seemed to understand as he nodded, pristine-white hair bouncing up and down, before he closed his chocolate-brown eyes.

Dream stayed by his son’s side for a few more minutes in concern before he eventually decided to call it a day too. He left Schlatt’s room, dimming all the lanterns throughout the house, making sure that doors and windows were locked (paranoia’s never killed anyone, right?) before heading to his own room, doing his nightly routine before settling into bed.

Dream loved his house, but his room was a special place for him. His walls were painted in a pleasing light mint color, his king-sized bed was pressed against the end of the far-right wall from the door, a large window spanning through the back-wall, showing the whole backyard. His bed was covered in different fluffy, soft blankets ranging in a dark-green color scheme that never failed in helping Schlatt calm down when he was distressed, he had a lovely bookshelf lined with all sorts of books (adventure, futuristic, horror, historical, he had it all), a fluffy dark-green carpet and wardrobe filled with comfortable clothes and pajamas.

His walls used to be empty, but now they were covered with pictures of his son and himself, some of Schlatt playing with Dream’s pets (Spirit, other horses and multiple cats that are mostly strays that basically live with them) or even just them sitting in the garden. He had never felt more relaxed anywhere else than when he was in his room, it was his safe space where the insecurities ( ‘I am raising him correctly, right? Could someone else do it better? Could I have done something wrong? Oh Prime I’m not cut ou-’ ) all breezed over the top of his head. He sighed heavily, running a hand through his slightly damp hair before extinguishing the small, red-orange flame from the lantern for the night.

The sound of crying woke Dream up quickly, the moon was out, the night resembling a void of deep space, and he could only guess that it was past midnight. The blonde quickly threw his covers off, fumbling with a match before relighting the lantern and slamming the door open to sprint to his son’s room. He carefully moved the already cracked open door more so he could get through, lifting the light higher so he could assess the situation. 

         Oh.

His son was bawling his eyes out, clutching his hair tightly in his chubby fits as tears streamed down his cheeks.

Dream rushed forward, sitting down gently so as to not aggravate the distressed child further. Placing the lantern on the side table so he could gently untangle the toddler’s fingers and hold them gently. “No Dot, shhh.. it’s alright sweetheart. You’re alright, Papa’s here,” The blonde shushed him quietly, inching closer to the smaller.

Schlatt looked up through his big, watery eyes and sobbed before tackling Dream in a hug. Dream gently hugged him back, making sure to not touch his obviously sensitive head. He continued to whisper soft reassurances in his son's ear, reminding him everything was going to be okay, that his dad would protect him from harm. Schlatt seemed to have calmed down slightly and Dream gently held his cheeks in his palms.

“Hey Dot, can I please see what’s wrong? Will you let me touch your hair?” Schlatt lent into his hands and he took that as permission to gently sift through the soft locks. Schlatt stiffened and whimpered as Dreams carefully let his calloused and scarred fingertips brush over his scalp-

         Oh.

“Oh, you poor thing! Why didn’t you show me?” The little stumps, Dream knew, were the beginnings of horn growth. They were swollen and red, which horns are known to usually look at first, but with the right ointments and potions you would barely feel a thing. It was completely normal for hybrids such as goats, sheep, cows or sometimes even endermen to grow horns. It wasn’t a completely painless experience in the first few years while the lumps were developing but it was when they started growing out during the teen years.

Dream hadn’t expected Schlatt to be a hybrid, lacking any iconic features that are usually shown in hybrids. Dream almost didn’t notice Schlatt’s eyes on him, his Dot's eyes were filled with fear as he watched his father inspect the small lumps on his head. Dream gently wiped the tears out of his son’s eyes before pulling him into another hug.

“You’re perfectly fine. I have ointment downstairs right now that can help you feel all better alright?” Schlatt sniffed and nodded. Dream gently picked his son up and rested him on his hip as he grabbed the lantern.

“Let’s not fall down the stairs alright?” Dream joked as he carefully made his way down the staircase. Feeling lighter as a soft giggle was heard from the small child.

Dream gently applied the lavender scented oil to the swelling, watching as Schlatt seemed to slump a little with relief on their table, he poured a bit of healing potion on a rag before holding it to the lumps for a few seconds, letting the skin absorb it.

Dream sat himself down in one of the chairs before trying to look Schlatt in the eyes, the blonde had noticed that his son had refused to make eye contact with him throughout the whole process. 

“Dot, Dot look at me please,” Schlatt reluctantly looked into Dreams own eyes that seemed to almost glow in the dark, his neon green swirls even more prominent (perks of being a pretty strong admin).

“You’re not weird,” he tested, trying to see if his suspicions were correct. It seemed they were as his son flinched violently. “Schlatt, I am serious here. I went through this too buddy! See these big things?” 

Dream knocked on his own horns before pushing his hair back to show where the skin turns to horn, showing off his pointed ears too. “My horns started just like that! You have horns Dot! And that’s alright, more than alright! It may be a little painful, especially when your ears start to grow out, but you'll be okay, I'll be here every step of the way, I promise,” Schlatt reached a chubby hand forward before gently touching the horn, the shame had seemed to seep right out of the boy at the sight, viridian eyes relaxing completely, the owner breathing a relieved sigh at seeing the fear and shame leave his son’s eyes.

The blonde’s eyes turned soft, fondness and pure pride shining through them as he carded his fingers through fluffy white hair. “You’re just like me.. Just like papa. I couldn’t be happier, Dot.” He murmured softly, the glimmer of tears shining through his eyes.

Though it seemed Schlatt had misinterpreted the smile as a sad one. Fearing he had caused his father to cry, he lifted his hands up, making grabby motions as his lip wobbled. The older paused before he pulled the smaller closer, even as he shook.

The albino didn’t know what to do, his father had just comforted and made him feel better by running his hand through his hair and giving him that weird soft stuff that helped stop the pain on his head, but papa wasn’t in pain and he wasn’t tall enough to do what papa did! Maybe he could try talking to him? Papa did that for him too and his voice and words calmed him down. Yeah! He could make papa happy again if he said something!

He opened his mouth, but nothing except for a slight breath of air came out. He tried again and again, growing frustrated as it still wouldn’t work. His papa was looking at him strangely, probably in what papa called ‘confusion’.

“Dot? Are you okay? Are you still in pain? Shh.. it’s okay, papa’s here,” The blonde shushed him, confused and concerned by his son’s sudden puffs of breath and the frustration in his eyes.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, something finally came out. And all it needed was a little help!

“Pa- ..pa! Pa-pa! Papa!” Schlatt squealed, happy he was finally able to get it. He stopped short though, when he noticed the look of shock on his papa’s face.

Dream was frozen, shock and pride filling his hazy mind. He felt stinging in his eyes and wetness on his cheeks and didn’t even bother to wipe the salty tears dropping down his jaw as he pulled Schlatt closer, finally snapping out of his stunned state. “Papa! Papa!” The one-year-old in his arms had been repeating the word over and over like a mantra the moment the tears started to fall, distressed at seeing his father crying at something he had said.

The blonde laughed, smiling even wider when he saw the white-haired child light up at the familiar sound. “It’s okay, Dot, I’m not upset. I’m happy! Very happy! You said your first word! And it was papa!” Proud viridian and joyful chocolate met as Dream picked his son up, twirling him in the air in happiness, always keeping eye contact, the child himself squealing in excitement.

         “I’m so proud of you!”

(I understand why you don’t call me papa anymore, I shouldn’t have that privilege when I was the one who ruined the chances of a life you could have had. I'm so proud of you, Dot. So, so painfully proud.)

Dream and Tommy stood in front of each other in a standoff, the older blonde noting that the younger looked way too old in that stupid deep blue uniform that all of them wore. He took a deep breath and looked at Dream with a fire in his eyes the older hadn’t seen in a long time.

Not since everything became more serious than it was supposed to be.

“Alright.. I’ll do this for L’manburg. I’ll give you both of the discs, if you let us have our independence,” Tommy looked like he was trying to eat salt as he spoke. The taller blonde stilled, momentarily stunned. He couldn’t believe it.

Shaking himself out of his stupor, he thought of it more closely, the shorter held those discs so close to his heart — maybe even closer than he did Tubbo — that he would have never expected the teen to ever give them up for superficial reasons.

And yet there he stood, despite the shaking, he was still trying to stand his ground against the man in green, the one he was and is always told to fear.

“Wait-” His mouth moved on it’s own in his stunned state, but he was cut off by the L’Manburgian anyway. “Cat and Mellohi,” He pushed, almost desperately. Dream could see it, he wasn’t blind. He could see how badly Tommy wanted this.. It reminded him a bit too much of his stubborn son back home.

“That is.. a very, very interesting deal.” Dream’s brain was already in motion, weighing pros and cons, plans upon plans forming as the information processed.

He could get the fighting to stop. He could go home. To his son! And he could even satisfy the majority of the server members, it would upset his allies that he just so 'easily' (yeah, right, as if he would ever) gave into the annoying child's pleas, but honestly he could tell they were all tired.

They were tired of watching their backs for an attack that could happen at any moment, they were tired of waking up every morning and thinking how best to protect themselves against their old friends.

“That is very selfless of you Tommy.. those are your discs,” Dream was actually really proud of Tommy, it isn’t easy facing the leader of your enemy and offering something so close to your heart for something else you desire.

“For L’manburg. For Wilbur, for Tubbo. Not for Eret-” Dream didn’t really listen to the rest of the boy's sentence. He felt bad for Eret really, knowing the hate that the newly-crown king would have to carry from here on out.

“How about this, I’ll grant you technical independence, for both discs. No war, but we still consider you a part of the Essempii-” He was promptly cut off.

“That’s just you being delusional but that’s alright-” Dream had to calm himself before he actually threw something. This was a very important conversation and just as Dream thought Tommy could act maturely for this trade he pulls something like that.

“Basically, we won’t fight you. Unless we have a really good reason,” Dream then started to list a few basic rules, every agreement has to have rules after all. “We won’t go onto your land unless we’re allowed and we’ll-” Again, he was cut off.

“Yeah yeah- independence man. Just independence,” With that, the boy pulled out the two discs and held them out. Dream took them, examining them carefully to make sure they were the real ones.

Confirming they were, he nodded and shook hands with the teen and the deal was sealed.

Dream listened and watched as Tommy arrived back at the borders of ‘L’manburg’, where he was greeted by the rest of them, “Tommy! How did your negotiation go?”

“Wilbur.. Wilbur I just secured our independence.”

“You what?” The rest of the L’manburgians (minus Eret) arrived at that, bombarding Tommy with questions and concerns.

Dream smiled, only hidden by the mask. “Good day,” He said easily, Tommy turning back to him with a challenging grin. But he was already turning away, heading back to the community house, where he knew the rest were waiting for him. Prime he had a lot to explain and he really hoped that they wouldn’t hate him for his decision.. after all, it was only technical independence.

At least Dream could finally go home.

(I was already too late. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Schlatt.

         I love you. Please remember that.

                         - Dream )