Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“I believe that’s my win,” the man drawled smugly, one hand laying down the cards he hand held, showing the straight flush, on the worn felt of the table while his other moved to push the round white mask with an inhumanly perfect smile drawn on it in black, the mask just barely moved enough to the side for the slight glow from his eye to be visible, an almost hypnotizing lime color.

“Dream, Dream, Dream.. You’ve lost..” The man on the other side of the table chuckles darkly and drops his own cards on the table, a grin taking place on his face, tugging slightly at the scar that ran down the left side of his face, his dark eyes watching the shock in the lime eyes slowly turn to rage as his eyes stayed on the cards, a royal flush.

“Hand ‘em over.”

Dream’s attention snapped up to his face, the glow in his eye growing more as he pushed his mask back into place, gently lacing his fingers together as he stared at the man. “It will be here in the morning.”

He watched as Dream turned on his heel and left, a low chuckle leaving him, soon rising in pitch and turning into maniacal laughter upon the realization that he was going to gain yet another pawn to use in this game that most called life, a pawn that he knew would listen and behave.

Chapter Text

Nimble and slightly calloused fingers gently strum and pluck a soothing and calm yet upbeat song on the old guitar that was carefully balanced on one of their legs, the male holding the guitar perched on the edge of the counter in a bakery that he visited frequently, one leg hanging over the edge and the other crossed slightly, the hanging leg settled on the ankle of his other leg as he continued, watching the  movements as he got lost in the familiar and repetitive tune, a small smile pulling at his lips slightly. His wings shuffled as much as they could behind him considering the strong and thick metal braces binding them together harshly, the cloak draped around his shoulders shifting slightly.

“ I know a girl, Who likes to drink her coffee black, 'Cause sugar, no, she don't got time for that, Leaves her desires at the welcome mat, When she walks in, ” his voice easily rang out through the small bakery and out through the open door, those in the bakery smiling and glancing over at the male sat on the counter while a few that passed by the homely shop paused briefly, either then continuing on towards their destination or making their way inside and watching the boy.

“ And I know a boy, Who likes to keep his burner on, He's always running with no one to keep warm, It's like he's flirting with the smoke alarm, His fire's fading, ” his voice raised in pitch slightly as he sang the next verse, a small smile gracing his face, easily leaving his slightly pointed teeth visible, he took a deep breath before allowing all of his emotions to pour into his voice as he continued singing. “ But still we laugh, we cry, We fall, we get high, Just like we were kids, just like we were kids, And when I'm feeling small you get me through it all, Just like we were kids, just like we were kids again. ”

“ I know a girl, Who's never tried to settle down, She wears her loneliness just like a crown, But when she smiles all the kings will bow down, down, down, ” he continued, strumming just slightly harder as he continued, a familiar voice cutting him off as they sang the next verse, “ And I know a boy, Who's broken every vow he's made, Who's spoken every cowards phrase, But he can listen like a rainy day, And drown it out, ” he glared playfully at her, his eyes shining with amusement as she slipped past him, her hair a soft pink that when down just barely went past her shoulders, currently pulled up with a few strands gently framing her face.

“ But still we laugh, we cry, We fall, we get high, Just like we were kids, just like we were kids

And when I'm feeling small you get me through it all, Just like we were kids, just like we were kids again, Just like we were kids, just like we were kids again, Just like we were kids, Just like we were kids, Just like we were kids, ” they both sang in sinc, both of their voices easily floating through the air and causing small smiles to form on the faces of those listening, the two singing both having content and joy bright on their faces. “ And still we laugh, we cry, We fall, we get high, Just like we were kids, Just like we were kids, And when I'm feeling small you get me through it all, Just like we were kids, Just like we were kids, But still we laugh, We cry, We fall, We get high, Just like we were kids, just like we were kids, And when I'm feeling small you get me through it all, Just like we were kids, just like we were kids again, ”

“ Just like we were kids, Just like we were kids again, Just like we were kids, Just like we were kids, Just like we were kids again, Just like we were kids, Just like we were kids again, Just like we were kids, Just like we were kids, Just like we were kids again, ” they both allowed their voices to trail off as the boy played the last few notes of the song, the bakery falling into silence for a few moments before those inside started clapping, a few cheering loudly. The boy blushed and ducked his head slightly, his slightly elongated pointy ears pressing back against his head as he slightly nervously repositioned the guitar to hide a majority of his face, tilting his head just right for a few loose strands of hair to fall over his eyes.

The pink haired woman laughed at his reaction, grinning brightly at him as she made her way past him and back behind the counter as the bakery quieted down a bit, a few people making their way over and dropping a few coins or a few dollars into the tip jar that was sat near him, the only reason for him not saying anything about the money was the fact that that was Niki’s tip jar, all he had to remember was to dodge her when he decided to leave so she couldn’t give him any of the money. He gently slipped off of the counter, winding slightly at the uncomfortable tingling in his ankle and foot from the slight cut off of circulation along with having had pressure on it for a while.

He propped his guitar up against the counter as he stretched, gently lacing his fingers together above his head, huffing slightly as his back popped loudly as he did so, his scaled tail swaying gently behind him as he allowed his arms to fall to his sides before he gently grabbed the neck of the guitar and slipped behind the counter then back into the kitchen, easily making his way to the back of the room and returning the instrument back into its case, a calm and peaceful look on his face. He gently hummed the song that he had just finished singing and washed his hands thoroughly before taking a look at the small holographic screen set up on the wall next to the door that led out to the bakery.

“Hey, Niki. Is there anything specific that needs to be made or..?” he asked questioningly as she slipped past him with a mixing bowl full of batter, setting it on the stove before busying herself with looking for the proper tray to use. “Not in particular, is there something that you’d like to make specifically?” she asked, briefly glancing over at him curiously before focusing once again, making a triumphant noise when she found the correct baking pan and pulled it out, setting it next to the bowl before grabbing a nonstick spray and applying it evenly.

“Kinda..? I-i’ve never made them before but there is a somewhat makeshift recipe that I’d like, uh.. Like to try and make, i-if you don’t mind that is, I could alway just make one of the recipes that you have down in your book and try the recipe some other time, cuz I know that you’re running a bu-” his somewhat nervous rambling got cut off as Niki stopped right in front of him, gently placing her hands on his shoulders as she looked up at him, making sure to avoid eye contact, gently murmuring, “Deep breaths, Ran.. Make whatever you’d like, alright? We’ve talked about this before, with you playing here and drawing in more customers there is enough money, even if you didn’t pay each time you went to the store, plus what’s baking is not having a bit of trial and error with it, yeah..?”

Ranboo nodded his head quickly, wincing at the decently loud jingling and clinking that came from the clearly expensive and extravagantly wrapped chains that were littered with dangling jewels and bells that were wrapped and clipped around his sangria and onyx colored horns, a few morning glories settled in place due to the chains, the flowers being purple, magenta, and white. He let out a quiet sigh and ducked his head slightly, keeping his movements somewhat slow and visibly calculated, clearly having spent time figuring out how to be able to move his head without reminding himself of the decorations bedazzling him.

“Why do you keep your horns decorated if you don’t like it..?” he twitched slightly at the curious tone in Niki’s voice, the question one that he had heard hundreds of times causing him to gently wave off the question, like usual opting to not answer as he pulled away from her and making his way around the kitchen as he looked at what they had stocked up, a frown briefly pulling on his lips as his mind latched onto the question before he forcefully pushed the question from his attention. “I’m gonna make my way to the store and get the ingredients that I’ll need, is there anything that you want me to grab while I’m out?

His ears twitched slightly at the soft sigh he heard leaving Niki but didn’t bother addressing it, watching as she made her way over to him, pulling her wallet out and fishing out some money and holding it out to him. “If you wouldn’t mind, could you get some vanilla extract? And if they happen to have any could you also grab some strawberry extract?” He nodded as he eyed the money that she was holding out, clearly intending on him using that money to pay for the items that she was asking for, his ears flicking in an almost dismissive manner as he nodded again while clearing his throat and gently pushing the hand holding the money back towards her. “Of course, of course, I’ll be back soon, I’ve got it covered.”

He snickered slightly as he heard the frustrated groan leave the woman that he viewed as a sister as he slipped out the back door, gently leaping over the few steps that lead from the pavement to the slightly raised chunt of cement that was right below the back door, allowing the door to swing shut gently as he walked around to the front of the building before allowing himself to merge into the small amount of people walking down the sidewalk, getting a few weary glances followed by those people taking a step or two further from him if they could along with a few recognized smiles and waves which he awkwardly returned.

He hummed softly to himself as he quickly made his way down the street before easily pivoting and making his way through the automatic sliding doors of the nearest grocery shop and picking up one of the baskets that were just inside the door, his tail flicking slightly before loosely wrapping around his leg to help take up less space as he made his way towards the correct isles, making sure to grab the two items that Niki had wanted before going over the mental list he had made, chewing on the dead skin on his lip as he walked around, doing his best to remember what items there had already been at the shop.

He sighed and made quick work of gathering all of the items that he would need, frowning briefly as he barely caught sight of a familiar figure in the corner of his eye before shaking his head slightly and grabbing the last item that he needed and quickly making his way to the self checkout, quickly scanning the items and bagging them before paying, pausing with the card he had used in hand, all emotion leaving his face as he tilted it slightly, watching the small amounts of gold and silver details on the deep blue card glint in the dull lights of the shop before letting out a soft breath and putting back in his wallet and grabbing the bags before making his way out of the store, huffing slightly when he turned his head a tad too fast drawing noises from above him again.

He quickly made his way back to the shop, easily ignoring the presence that he could feel following him, them being just a few steps behind him and slightly to the side, he knew that she was aware of him purposefully ignoring her but she stayed silent as she followed, he would occasionally catch glimpses of her long and slightly wavy purple hair whenever she got a bit closer before falling back once again, not straying further than roughly two meters from him. He sighed and pulled open the back door to the shop and walked inside, not bothering to hold the door open as he walked further in, his eyes briefly flickering to meet the familiar soft purple eyes of the woman that had walked with him as she seemingly fazzed through the door.

“Niki, I got the items you wanted,” he said as he forced himself to look away, shoving away the slightly bubbling distress in his chest along with the faint sting of guilt as he ignored her, watching as Niki spun to face him, her gaze passing over where he knew the woman was standing and watching as she didn’t react in the slightest as she quickly made her way over, a grin on her face. He easily grabbed the two rectangular boxes from the bag and offered them to Niki, tensing briefly before laughing as she quickly gave him a hug and muttering a thank you before slipping out of the kitchen.

“Ranboo..” he flinched slightly at the soft and soothing voice that met him, clenching his jaw and squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to force himself to believe what had been almost forcefully ingrained in his mind, she wasn’t real, this was just his imagination, if he ignores her long enough she will go away, she is just a hallucination. He shook his head, wincing slightly at the jingling and clicking that came from the chains adorning his horns and let out an annoyed growl, huffing softly causing a small plume of smoke to leave his nose.

“Ranboo, I need you to listen to me, please,” the woman pleaded as she tried to move to stand in front of him but he pretended that he couldn’t see her, turning and moving to another area to work on different baking projects along with cleaning, anything to keep her from being in sight and allowing himself to focus on her because he had to believe that she wasn’t real, even if he knew the truth, even if he knew who she was, he had to ignore the truth. “Ran, please.. You have to listen to me, you need to leave, please.. I spoke with one of the others an-”

“S-stop.. You’re just a hallucination.. That’s it.. Just a hallucination,” he murmured as he squeezed his eyes shut, his heart aching painfully as the room fell silent, his hands balling up as he leaned against the counter as he listened to an almost distorted noise and when he looked over his shoulder she was gone, tears welling up slightly in his heterochromatic eyes before he turned so his back was towards the counter, tilting his head back and wiped his eyes harshly to get rid of the building tears, letting out a shaky breath before shaking his head and getting back to work on baking.

“It’s better this way.. Safer..” he murmured under his breath, “for all of us..”

Chapter Text

Ranboo jolted slightly as the alarm on his phone chimed through his room, carefully shifting so he was laying on his stomach with his elbows digging into his mattress to hold him up before grabbing his phone from where it was partially wedged under his pillow, having been right next to his ear when it had gone off. He quickly turned off the alarm before allowing the electronic to drop to his mattress before twisting himself around while pushing himself up so his legs were over the edge of his bed and he was sitting up.

He yawned and rubbed at his eyes while standing up, stumbling slightly at a sudden headrush, his wings flaring out and flapping slightly to help keep him from toppling over and landing on the floor, his tail flicking slightly as he took a few staggering steps while working on reigning his balance, loosely folding his wings against his back once he had before walking over to his wardrobe and reluctantly pulled out a set of his nicer clothes, his nose briefly scrunching up in annoyance at them before he quickly made his way to the bathroom and took a quick shower.

He got out as soon as he was positive that he was clean, shuddering uncomfortably from the feeling of water on him, taking slow deep breaths as he dried off and got dressed, scrubbing at his head vigorously with his towel to dry his hair as much as possible, not particularly caring if it would make his hair frizz up and stick up at odd angles by doing so. He set the towel on one of the hooks on the door and shook his head, carefully running his fingers through his damp hair to detangle it.

He stared at his reflection in the mirror and frowned slightly, pushing his hair back so he could get a better look at his eyes, staring at the vibrant green eye that almost looked like a newly formed young leaf before looking at the other eye which was a bright red, looking similar to the petals of a red rose. His eyes narrowed slightly and he couldn’t help but think that the comparisons no longer fit quite right,  the green now resembling poison ivy while the other looked similar to smeared blood.

He shuddered slightly as his mind briefly blanked before going back years, the heavy and cold weight in his hands, the warm splatters of blood on his exposed skin, the ringing in his ears, the ache in his joints and muscles, the adrenaline coursing through him, the lack of emotions, the stinging pain in his body, the light headedness, the searing pain in his side and warm patch of blood that just grew and grew, vision going dark, the hollow eyes o-

He gasped as he suddenly snapped back to the present, tears welling up in his eyes before he harshly wiped them away. He wouldn’t allow himself to be weak, because he knew first hand what happens when you’re weak. He swallowed thickly and did his best to ignore how his stomach twisted uncomfortably pushing himself away from the mirror and finished getting ready, allowing himself to go into autopilot.

He blinked a few times when he realized that he was on the stairs, slowly making his way down them, his wings loosely folded to allow the ever present ache in them to slowly dull, knowing that it would be increasing before he would be allowed to leave the house. The moment that he reached the bottom of the stairs he turned so he walked along the floor besides where the stairs went up, making his way deeper into the decent sized house, his ears twitching as he heard two voices from in front of him causing him to smile slightly.

He reached an arched doorway and stepped through it, quickly taking a step back as a scoop of oatmeal landed where he had paused mere seconds before, letting out a soft growl before huffing, a small cloud of smoke leaving him before he shook his head and took note of just what was happening in the kitchen.

Charlie was crouched on one of the counters with a bowl of oatmeal in one hand and a spoon in the other, clearly the one responsible for having almost hit Ranboo. Fundy was ducked on the other side of the island from the counter that Charlie was perched on in the main part of the kitchen while Foolish was sitting at the small table pushed near the doorway holding a steaming mug of coffee while watching the other two.

“Why..” Ranboo muttered, briefly stretching his wings out before folding them once more and making his way further into the room, returning a slight wave to Foolish as he passed, having to dodge another spoonful of oatmeal as he started searching for a bottle to fill with water, shooting the slime hybrid a small glare which earned him a sheepish smile while Fundy used the lanky hybrid as a living shield from the oatmeal that Charlie was trying to hit him with.

He shook his head fondly and allowed his wings to open just a tad more to help keep Fundy hidden as he filled up the water bottle that he had pulled out before making his way over to the fridge, frowning slightly when he saw that they were out of strawberries and snagged a package of raspberries before gently shutting the fridge, freezing when he felt something warm splat against his wing, glaring at the glob of oatmeal.

“Uh oh..” Charlie muttered, his eyes going wide as he set down the bowl and spoon, Foolish snickering slightly behind his mug of coffee as he watched the chaos unfold. Ranboo let out a small growl and Fundy peered over the edge of Ranboo’s wing and gave Charlie a shit eating grin. “You’d better start runnin’..”

Charlie quickly bolted out of the room, almost slamming into the wall as he scrambled down the hall, Ranboo letting out a soft chuff before quickly racing after him, his tail swinging around quickly along with him constantly readjusting his wings to help keep his balance, his nails getting slightly longer and sharper, digging slightly into the floor as he worked on catching up to Charlie.

He growled as he bounded off of the wall and launched himself at Charlie, the latter letting out a startled yelp as Ranboo slammed into his back, knocking both of them to the floor, Ranboo perching on the slime hybrids back, his tail wagging slightly and his wings raised, happy chuffs leaving him as he stared down at Charlie’s partially sprawled out form.

He looked up slightly and his eyes locked on one of the windows high up, his ears pressing back against his head, tilted down slightly as he stared through what he could see of the window at the bright blue sky, thin wispy clouds slowly moving along the blue backdrop of the sky, a soft chirp followed by a low warble left him before he moved so he was crouching next to Charlie instead of on his back.

“You alright man?” Charlie asked while pushing himself up, following the youngers gaze before frowning slightly and draping an arm over his shoulders, Ranboo curling against him slightly, hot allowing his gaze to leave the window as his wings trembled slightly as thoughts of soaring through the sky again filled his mind, forcing his gaze away and pressing his face against the slime hybrids shoulder, his clawed hands grabbing at his shirt as he took slow and deep breaths.

“Ranboo..” He tensed as an all too familiar voice filled his hears and he quickly shook his head while squeezing his eyes shut, twitching and forcing himself to shy away from the warm hand that gently cupped his cheek, a small part of his mind screaming at him for shying away instead of leaning into the touch like he was once able to, like he wished to do, to get that once familiar comfort.

“Sh-she’s back,” he choked out and held onto Charlie’s shirt tighter, tried to push back his urge to cry, his tail coiling around his waist and his wings cocooning himself and Charlie, his wings trembling when he felt the gentle pressure of someone leaning against them, clenching his jaw as he could feel the guilt, loss, and utter feeling of defeat from the being leaning against his wing, her emotions almost overwhelming his own.

“Who is?” Charlie asked, a slight hesitancy to his voice along with a slight edge of knowing, having been caught in similar situations before, gently placing a hand on Ranboo’s shoulder in a grounding attempt. He twitched slightly as he saw her sit down within the confines of his wings, her soft purple dress pooling around her as she watched both of them sadly while leaning against his wing once more.

“Sh-she’s not real.. I-i’m just going insane.. I want her to leave me alone,” he choked out, trying to fight back the slight burning feeling in the back of his throat, small wisps of smoke leaving his mouth as he spoke, his wings trembling with the familiar pressure, his nerves screaming from the familiar calming presence.

“Ranboo, you don’t have to believe that,” Fundy called causing both Ranboo and Charlie to jump slightly, having not been aware of the fox hybrids presence in the room, the dragon hybrid carefully shifting his wing so Fundy could be seen, tilting his head slightly as he watched Fundy’s eyes briefly lock onto where the purple haired lady was sat directly across from where he was stood but pushed the thought away.

“Sh-she’s no-” “Don’t say she’s not real, it’s clear that you’re seeing someone or something, you can safely acknowledge whoever ‘she’ is while here. You aren’t with Dream anymore and Quackity isn’t here. We won’t snitch,” Fundy said, easily cutting the younger off while crouching next to him, his fluffy ears twitching slightly as his tail gently swayed against the floor as he waited.

Ranboo opened his mouth to speak but paused as he was cut off. “Ran.. please, we need to talk, if you want me too then I will leave you be after but this is urgent,” The woman pleaded as she shuffled closer, no longer leaning against his wing causing it to twitch slightly. He ducked his head, not saying anything and doing his best to avoid looking at any of them, tensing slightly when he heard Foolish enter the room and make a startled noise.

“What is she doing here?” Ranboo jolted and looked at Foolish whose eyes were locked on the purple haired woman sitting next to Ranboo. Ranboo clenched his jaw then pulled away from all of them, shaking himself off in a dog-like manner before folding his wings close to his back and quickly racing back upstairs, ignoring the calls of the others behind him.

He slid into his room and shut the door, letting his head drop against it and allowing his eyes to slip shut, a pained noise leaving him as he did his best to ground himself, his hands trembling against the door as he did his best to fight back the tears attempting to spill from his eyes. His hands balled up against the door before he shoved himself away, making his way over to his desk and starting to dig through the drawers before his eyes locked on the glinting silver of the item he was looking for.

He snatched the item out of the drawer and stumbled over to his bed, landing heavily on the edge before making an annoyed noise and quickly snagged a tank top from his bed and changed into it, briefly looking at the scars that were months old that littered his upper arms before digging the blade into his skin and dragging it across it, his face void of emotions as he watched the skin split and allow blood to bubble out of the wound.

He silently continued, latching onto the painful stinging in his arm from the action, the magenta hued blood trailing down his arm as he continued, not noticing his door had opened till someone grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand away from his arm, forcing his fingers away from the blade tightly gripped in his hand and taking it away, faintly acknowledging the muffled talking around him as someone was clearly searching his room and another held onto his wrists just tight enough that he couldn’t pull away.

He twitched and leaned away as he felt something gently dab and wipe against the fresh cuts, cleaning up the still flowing blood before a familiar cooling effect washed over the wounds, his hands twitching at the odd feeling of the skin slowly stitching itself together again, his ears filled with a faint ringing and buzzing while his vision was mostly blurry, a small flicker of recognition of the hands gently holding his wrists as his eyes locked on the thick gold bracelets encrusted with emeralds on their wrist.

He chuffed softly and tried to grab one of the bracelets, his ears twitching as he hears a soft chuckle causing him to look up, his eyes locking on the person's eyes briefly, taking note of how they almost seemed to resemble the emeralds encrusted in the gold bracelets before looking away, blinking slowly as his hands twitched slightly, making a slightly confused noise when something was gently placed in one of his hands before his wrists were let go of.

He looked down at the item, tilting his head to the side slightly as he gently turned the item around in his hands, his nails gently clicking when they came in contact with the smooth polished surface of the item, cooing slightly as he stared at the purple and golden yellow blend of the orb in his hands, handling the item as if it were glass, his shoulders slowly dropping as he stared at it, humming slightly.

“Are you back with us..?” His ears twitched slightly at the voice, pressing his lips into a thin line and nodding slightly as he continued fiddling with the crystal orb, not bothering to look at who had spoken as he did his best to keep from drifting away again, exhaustion already tugging on him. “Do you want us to leave you alone so you can rest?”

Ranboo frowned at the question and shook his head slightly, turning the orb around in his hold as he did his best to listen to those in his room, his ears twitching slightly as he heard someone next to him make an understanding noise. He turned his head just enough to catch sight of the familiar ginger hair before carefully shuffling around and laying down, letting his head drop onto Fundy’s legs.

He blew out a small puff of smoke when he heard the slightly startled noise leave him as two different laughs echoed in his room, his eyes slipping shut after a moment as fingers gently carded through his hair, a low purr rumbling in his chest as he slowly allowed his exhaustion to take over and pull him into sleep.