Chapter Text
When it had gotten to this point he wasn’t sure he would ever know. When the look in Sapnap’s eyes went from being kind and loyal to furious and filled with seething hatred. When George’s goggles moved to cover his eyes at almost all times to hide his cold and hard glare. When he had lost the two people he thought would be at his side for forever.
The sky above them seemed to get heavier every moment the broken trio squared off like this. Sapnap with George slightly behind him and Dream stood alone. Alone like he was never meant to be. The smile mask obscuring his face did its job of hiding the pain flooding his eyes. It did well to cover his hurt and the several feelings that flit across his expression with each and every sharp word Sapnap called to him.
“We’ve had enough Dream!”
Enough of what? Enough of the situation? Enough of the world? Of each other? Or just him. Stupid. It was always just you.
“No more lies!”
What lies? He’s never lied to them. Not really. Little things here and there, things that would never matter to them. Things like who ate who’s breakfast. Where one of them was when planning surprises. So what lies? Did he think the “I love you”s were lies? Of course he did. Why wouldn’t he?
“No more manipulation!”
He’d never manipulated them. He’d never made them do anything. He never crossed their lines. The worst crime he’s committed has been pulling them back from going too far. He never used their bonds. He cherished them both far too much to ever do that.
George’s cold voice threw him for a new loop entirely.
“We’re done with your games.”
What games? They all liked the manhunts. They all liked the challenges. He remembered both of them laughing. He remembered all of them cheering and celebrating the wins and training together after the losses. They didn’t play any other games. He didn’t play malicious games. He never-
“You’re disgusting.”
The sky rumbled dangerously above them. Fat raindrops dropping into the ground around them. Filling the space between them. Space that felt so cold and so far. Like it was something unreachable, something he could never touch. Once upon a time he could have lifted a hand and they would have been there. Right at his side and eager for contact. All three of them were like that. They cared for each other. They loved each other.
“You’re a monster.”
They were the Dream Team. They always stuck together. Nothing could ever break them apart. They stood against dragons together, stood against entire armies just the three of them and they won. They were forces of nature, unstoppable, unbreakable.
“It’s over, Dream.”
He felt like he couldn’t breathe. Talking felt like an impossible task. His tongue glued to the roof of his mouth. His body worked on autopilot to keep him from falling to his knees. His heart was racing, his mind was spinning. What happened? How did they get here? Why was any of this happening? What did he do? What had he done wrong?
“Well?”
Sapnap’s fury was clear. Steam was rising around him as he clenched and unclenched his fist. He wanted to grab his sword. He wanted to grab his sword and he wanted to point it at Dream . Dream just stood there. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t think. This couldn’t be happening.
“Don’t you have anything to say?!”
He did. He just couldn’t say it. His heart felt like it was trying to claw out of his chest. His body was only standing because it was on autopilot. His chest felt too tight. Was this heartbreak? Or was he having a heart attack? Is this what Schlatt felt all that time ago?
“Or do you just really not care!?”
Dream felt like his world was collapsing. The raindrops were falling. Sapnap was furious, George was standing still just behind him. Both of them were watching him closely. They wanted a reaction. They deserved a reaction. But Dream couldn’t give them one. He couldn’t move his own body. He couldn’t look past their expressions. Couldn’t think past their ringing words. What had he done? What had he done? Where did it all go wrong.
“Pathetic.”
The word felt like a knife. Dream couldn’t understand, was his vision blurring from the rain or was he crying? His lungs felt like they were made of stone. Solid and unmoving. Black spots danced across his vision for a second before he forced himself to inhale. Neither of them noticed.
“I never want to see you again.”
He did. He wanted to see them. He wanted to run to them, to tell them he loved them and beg them for forgiveness from whatever he’d done. But he couldn’t.
“ We never want to see you again.”
What Dream wanted didn’t matter. It had never mattered. He never mattered.
“Stay away from us. Stay away from all of us Dream. No one wants you.”
He couldn’t focus past the blurring in his eyes. Could barely hear the words over the rushing in his ears. None of this was supposed to happen. Ever. He couldn’t stop himself when they turned their backs on him though. He couldn’t stop the desperate clawing that ripped through him and parted his lips before he ever gave it permission or thought.
“ I love you. ”
It made them pause. Dream couldn’t move. He couldn’t speak again. He couldn’t concentrate. But he saw George hang his head and continue to walk towards the trees. He watched him leave. It felt like all the air in his lungs left with him. He watched Sapnap look over his shoulder. Watched his glare fill with fire and hate.
“It’s far too late for that Dream.”
His words dripped in malice. The fireborn gripping to the hell he was raised in and bringing it right to Dream.
“No one can love a monster like you.”
And then he was gone. Between one blink and the next Sapnap was gone. So was George. Dream was left standing alone in the field, soaking slowly with rain and unable to process. He simply stood. His mind far away from where he physically was. The gray sky rumbled again, a storm to match the emotions he was feeling. Almost like the world was weeping over the loss of the team that had always been and would never be again.
Dream couldn’t feel. He felt numb. His body moved without his knowledge to navigate carefully through the trees in the woods. He passed by foxes, berry bushes. A month ago, even a week ago. He would have stopped to pick some. The sweet berries had always been one of his favorite snacks. He remembered Sapnap complaining to him about it when they were younger. Remembered wiping his hands on him just to watch him squeal and bat him away. He also remembered the shared nights that the three of them would spend under the stars after a manhunt. When he would pull out a little pouch of berries and they would all munch on them together until they fell asleep.
He walked over small creeks and streams. Stepped around swimming fish and tiny mounds of clay. He remembered when they first got Mars and Beckerson. How the three of them would play in the water while they built the community house. He remembered how they would throw wet sand and clay at each other and make little fights out of it. How they had played war together in the peace times.
What he would give to go back to those times. Back before everyone was scared of him. Before everyone hated him. He wanted to go back, he wanted to go back,
he wanted to go back
.
But he couldn’t. Not here. Not now. He found himself on the ledge of a ravine. If it had been a manhunt he would have pulled his water bucket from his inventory and made the jump easily. But now it had another appeal. Instead of pulling out from his inventory he put in. All of his netherite gone without a trace in the blink of an eye. Creating a crafting table and using its magic to make a chest was easy. He emptied his items into it. One by one, piece by piece. All his armor, all his equipment. He was lucky he’d made a trip to the library before going to meet George and Sapnap. He had all the supplies to write them a note.
“Dear Sapnap, dear George,
I know you don’t want me here. I know you don’t want my items. I know that you hate me and everything that has to do with me. I know you never want to see me again. So you won’t. I promise. I don’t know what I did to make you think I hated you. I don’t know what I did wrong for you to find me disgusting, or a monster. I know no one can love me now. I know you left. I know I did something. I’m sorry. Whatever it was, I'm sorry. I never wanted to hurt either of you. I never lied to you. I never played games with you or manipulated you. I was just happy to have a home with you. I know there’s nothing left, nothing but one last gift. To try to make it up to you. I’m sorry.
I love you both. I always have. I always will. I’m so sorry. :)”
He steeled himself. Tucking away the little book into the crook of his chestplate, right where it guarded his heart. It wasn’t good enough, it never would be, but it was all he had. He smiled at his little chest. Smiled at the raindrops that poured ever faster over it. With a simple move his mask rested on top of it like a marker. A grave marker. And then he smiled at the stone a hundred blocks beneath him. His nearly empty berry pouch hung on his hip still and carefully he untied it. Pulling it from his belt and putting one last berry into his mouth. It too got tucked into the chest to be safe. Maybe they’d eat them and think of him. Maybe that was selfish too. He let his eyes close, tilted forward, felt the wind. He smiled.
[Dream fell from a high place]
[
Dream
joined the game]