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Dream walked into the house and immediately heard crying.
Not quiet crying, either. Full-on sobbing, loud, someone-is-hurting crying. Oh, no. No, no, no, okay, come on. Let’s solve this. Striding through the hallway, he glanced around. Then, he checked the bathroom, the kitchen, even the garage. The cats were all gone. “Patches.” He called quietly. She still didn’t appear. Oh. Oh, no. This is bad. This is really, really bad. Swallowing, he bit his lip, started listening and looking around.
Taking a breath, he started walking towards Ranboo’s room, immediately grimacing. This isn’t going to be a good thing. This isn’t going to be nice. He knocked on the door, pressed his head against the wood for a moment. “Ranboo? Are you okay?” He called. There was a loud sniff. Taking a breath, he called out, “Can I come inside?”
“Please?” Ranboo called. Opening the door, Dream entered in and found Ranboo wasn’t alone. Not only did he have his cats, he had Purpled’s and Patches. All of them were curled around him, cuddling up and purring the whole time. Sniffing, Ranboo rubbed at his eyes. “Hi.” His voice cracked.
“Hey.” Making his way over, Dream settled down on the edge of the bed. “Can I move closer?” Nodding, Ranboo pulled his knees to his chest, rested his chin on his knees. “Do you want to tell me what happened?”
“My parents were emotionally abusive.” Ranboo mumbled quietly. Blinking, Dream tipped his head to the side, thought for a moment. “A-and I don’t—” Ducking his head down, Ranboo looked to the side. One of the Ragdolls—Enderchest—snuggled closer and shoved their way into Ranboo’s arms. He cradled them for a moment, quiet.
“Do you mind if I touch you?” Dream asked.
“Go ahead.” Reaching over, Dream touched Ranboo’s shoulder. Slowly, his brother leaned over into the touch, dropped to the side with the cats moving out of the way. Dream caught him, let him lean into him. “Do you want to talk about what’s wrong?”
“I don’t know why they’d do that.” Ranboo whispered. “Wh—did I do something wrong?”
Dream looked down at him. Slowly, he pulled him back so they were both leaning against the pillows, Ranboo curled into him with Enderchest in his arms. Enderpearl, Portal, and Bean curled up on his back. Meanwhile, Patches took up her usual residence on Dream’s chest, played with Ranboo’s hair. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Ranboo. Okay?”
“If I’d been different—”
“Love isn’t conditional, Ranboo. They chose to hurt you. Okay?” Sighing, Ranboo nodded, still crying. Running his fingers through his brother’s hair, wishing that there was more he could do, Dream looked back up at the ceiling. The sun was beginning to set, casting the patterns of the window on the wall. Pretty soon Purpled and Punz will be home. I can make dinner. He tousled some of Ranboo’s hair, thought for a moment. Both of them fell into a sort of comfortable silence. It wasn’t that Dream wasn’t doing what he could. Actually, the silence was better than anything else. Something they’d learned the hard way. “There’s nothing wrong with you, Ranboo. They made their choice.” Dream added.
“But what if I’d been different? What if I could have changed?” Squeezing Dream a little tighter, Ranboo whispered, “What if this is my fault? What if I could have been better?”
“Then you wouldn’t have Enderchest. Or Enderpearl. Portal. Bean.” Nudging Ranboo’s foot with his own, Dream added, “And Purpled wouldn’t have someone to tease him about all his frozen burritos. Punz wouldn’t have another brother to bother him in the back of my truck. Puffy wouldn’t have someone to sit with her and listen to her talk endlessly about the people she loved.”
“What about you?”
“Well, I wouldn’t have my annoying little brother who’s also the best person I’ve ever met.” Ranboo snorted at that. Nudging him in the side, Dream countered, “You’re a good person, Ranboo. You care about people. You put everything you have into what you do. You’re passionate, and empathetic, and smart.”
“I’m really not.” Quietly, almost like he was ashamed, Ranboo said, “They would have been proud of me if I were any of those.”
“Ranboo, you get straight As.”
“I’m ADHD.”
“So? I’m ADHD.”
“That’s…” Sighing, Ranboo looked away, stroked Enderchest’s ears. Or maybe that was Enderpearl, now that Dream looked. Or had it been Enderpearl originally? You would think I would know my little brother’s cats. “That’s different, Dream.”
“Oh, really? How?”
“You’re…you’re you. You’re awesome, you’re super cool. You do so many things, you’re strong and amazing. I’m just…” Pulling away, Ranboo left the cats behind and sat on the edge of the bed, rubbed at his arms. “I’m just me . I’m so pathetic my own parents didn’t even want me.”
Sitting up, Dream stared at his back for a minute. Then he moved over, sat down next to Ranboo again. Patches snuck into his lap, but for once he ignored her. “You’re not pathetic, Ranboo.”
“Dream, I’ve been crying for literal hours. I haven’t done any of my schoolwork. That sounds pretty pathetic.” Taking a breath, Dream looked at him. Then, he made a decision.
“Ranboo, what are your grades?”
“A couple Bs, mostly As. Why?”
“You’re taking a mental health day.” Head jerking up, Ranboo stared at him.
“I’m not sick.”
“Buh buh buh. You are staying home. Uh…we’ll get—ooh, actually, if you wanted, I’m sure Phil would let Tommy and Tubbo go for a day. I could take you guys to the arcade or something. Would you like that?” For a moment, Ranboo stared at him. “Ranboo? You kind of need to make a decision here, buddy.”
“Why? I just—I’m fine.” Dream arched an eyebrow. Looking away, Ranboo wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “Shut up. Leave me alone.”
Dream laughed lightly, with a slight wheeze. Then, he ruffled Ranboo’s hair. Yelling, the young man whacked at his hands. “Come on, bub. Let’s make some hot chocolate or something.”
“I don’t want to leave the room. My legs hurt.” Ranboo complained in the way that meant he didn’t want to move. Shrugging, Dream scooped him up. Ranboo flailed around. After all, most 6’6” teens did not get picked up bridal style. “Dream?”
“You said your legs hurt.” Walking over to the door, Dream pulled it open with the little thing at the bottom and then strode out to the living room. He settled Ranboo on the couch. “You stay there, I’ll get hot chocolate. Got a movie you want to watch?” For a moment, Ranboo still stared at him, still dumbfounded apparently by nice treatment. Then, he blinked, swallowed.
“Can we watch Big Hero 6?”
Nodding, Dream gave him a joking half-salute with two fingers and then ducked into the kitchen for the food.