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Dream's body was a comforting warmth beside him.
It was different than the cruel, pulsing heat of the lava wall, more grounding. Technoblade could feel the expansion of Dream's chest whenever he breathed in. Could feel the way Dream's body seemingly melted into Techno's own.
He did his best to ignore the fluffy, sandy blonde hair that tickled his nose. Or the way Dream's shaved-down horns nudged at his cheek. Instead, Techno studied the sleeping man. It wasn't often that he saw the man in such a vulnerable state. In fact, as Techno thought back on it, he couldn't ever recall seeing the man sleep before.
Despite having spent weeks in prison together, Technoblade was unused to seeing Dream's bare face. Unused to the humanity that confronted him whenever he saw the man unmasked.
Dream was pale, almost unnaturally so after eight months in prison, and there was a small smattering of freckles across his nose bridge. A small, pink scar carved up his cheek, away from his jawline. His lips, slightly parted as he slept, looked deceptively soft.
For a moment, Techno pondered the idea of reaching over and brushing his thumb against them.
He shook the idea from his head. He didn't dare wake the blonde, Techno wasn't cruel enough to refuse the clearly exhausted man his much needed rest.
Instead, he left his hands by his side, eyes trained to the smaller's face.
//
Even out of prison, Dream's sleeping habits didn't improve.
It was a common occurrence for Dream awake before Techno, down in the living room and curled up by the fire. It didn't take a genius to realize that Dream hadn't slept at all that night. However, when he did manage to fall asleep, Techno was often awoken in the night to the sound of screaming, the whole house being filled with the sound of Dream's distress.
Technoblade was always quick to rush into Dream's room and attempt to comfort the man, as he had done many times in that tiny, awful cell.
Which was where Techno was now, standing at the foot of Dream's bed in nothing but his boxers.
The man in front of him was writhing in imaginary pain, fingers curled into his hair and face slick with sweat. The cream colored covers had been kicked off the mattress and were lying in a heap on the floor, next to a knocked over stack of books.
"Dream..." Techno said, taking a hesitant step towards the bed. Dream showed no signs that he had noticed him. It pained Techno to see his ally like this. A man who had once been so alert, so unstoppable that it took an entire server to take him down, reduced to a nightmare-ridded fool.
The old Dream would've hated what he had become.
But Techno didn't have time for that hatred, his friend was in front of him, hurting, and it was his responsibility to do something about it.
"Dream," he repeated, more forcefully this time. Slowly, he reached out a placed a hand on Dream's shoulder.
Dream jerked back violently, hitting his head against the wooded headboard of his bed. Techno winced in sympathy, but didn't release his grip.
Instead, he pulled Dream closer to him, crushing the other against his warm, bare chest. Dream struggled for a moment, but after a few tense seconds of resistance, he melted into Techno's hold. A soft sigh slipped unbidden past his lips as his brown, fluffy ears flickered with pleasure.
"Dream?" Techno asked again, but the man didn't respond. Presumably, he was still asleep.
Techno's chest heaved in fond exasperation, falling back onto the plush mattress and pulling Dream down with him. It was odd that the blonde never seemed to be able to get a good night's sleep without Techno there to hold him, but the pink haired man never commented on it. In fact, Techno didn't even think that Dream knew that he only ever fell asleep while cuddling Techno.
Technoblade always made sure he was gentle when extracting himself from Dream's limbs, careful not to wake the sleeping man. And because he was never there in the morning, Techno assumed that Dream assumed he got through his nightmares alone, however false that might be.
Running his fingers through Dream's soft golden locks, Techno let his eyes flutter shut and he sank into unconsciousness.
//
Hours later, Techno carefully extracted himself from Dream's hold. During the night, Dream had buried his face in Techno's bare chest and now had him in a vice grip. Carefully prying the scared fingers from his skin, taking a moment to admire the way the warm light of the sun peeking over the horizon illuminated Dream's face.
Brushing a thumb affectionately against Dream's bare cheek, he pulled away, soft footsteps padding out of the room and down the stairs. It was time to make breakfast.
With his back turned, Techno failed to see the way a singular green eye fluttered open in annoyance. Moodily, Dream watched Techno walk away.
//
It was happening again.
Dream wasn't screaming this time, no please for help, but Techno had been living with the man long enough to know when he was having a nightmare. A small crash echoed through the house as something toppled off of Dream's nightstand.
Techno winced and hurried up the steps.
The door creaked as it opened and Techno was greeted with the sight of the blonde writhing beneath his bedsheets, expression twisted into a pained grimace.
Techno cursed his empathy. He hated seeing Dream like this, he hated seeing him in pain.
He much preferred the kind, open expression that overtook Dream's features whenever he was sleeping. The way his eyelashes brushed against his skin and his chest heaved up and down as he breathed.
He moved forward and slid his hand down Dream's arm. Dream stilled almost instantly, relaxing into the touch. Techno smiled a little at that, it was nice to know that Dream's trust in him had increased by that much, even subconsciously.
Still, though, Techno knew Dream's nightmare would start back up again if he left the blonde alone, so he pulled back the covers and slipped under them. A small smile formed on Dream's unconscious face as he burrowed into Techno's hold.
Techno smiled back just as fondly, leaning into the soft pillow behind him.
//
Techno awoke to the light of the sun peeking through blinds. Blinds that were not his own.
Uh oh.
Usually, when Techno slept in Dream's room, he was quick to leave. He didn't want to embarrass the man after all. Today, however, it seemed that he hadn't woken up in time. He was so late, in fact, that the sun was already up.
Techno's movement stilled as he registered the warmth of another body beside him. Dream still hadn't gotten up yet. Perhaps if he was extremely careful with his movement, he'd be able to leave the bed without him noticing. Still, it was rather nice having Dream curled against him like he was.
Reluctantly, Techno began to detangle his limbs from the other. The moment he did, though, Dream's arms (which had been lazily draped over him) tightened into a vice grip.
Techno glanced down in surprise, his red eyes locking with Dream's green ones. He cleared his throat awkwardly, "Uhm, this isn't what it looks li-"
Dream glared sleepily at him, "I don't care what it looks like, you're warm, so if you want out of this bed unless you'll have to kill me."
"Uh," Techno said, heat rising to his cheeks as Dream cuddled back into him. It felt very different than when Dream was asleep, more intimate somehow.
"Oh c'mon," Dream groaned, "You can't seriously think you were being that sneaky with the whole 'sleeping in my bed thing.'" Dream rolled his eyes, "So go back to bed and we'll talk about this when it isn't literally five in the morning."
Shocked into compliance, Techno leaned back into the plush mattress and wrapped his arms back around Dream's shoulders. Face aflame and pleased smile on his face, he fell back asleep.