Archive of Our Own

Springtime in Sleepy finally sprang upon its residents. The entire clearing that housed the town was still, the only movement being a brisk breeze that swept through the gathering of houses that made up the entirety of Sleepy. A bird joined in on the movement as it flew between two of the houses and landed on top of the well, chirping at the morning sun as it appeared above the horizon, getting back to work at melting all the snow that blanketed the entirety of Sleepy and even the larger Justin City to the north.

The appearance of the sun was enough to bring out the first of Sleepy’s residents. Puffy nearly stumbled out of her door, holding a mug of coffee in her hand as she looked over the remains of what used to be her garden before winter hit. She smiled as she set the mug down and she kneeled, ready to get to work at uncovering what would be the new sprouts from the old seeds–ready to see the world.

Above, Phil flew; not too quickly, just fast enough for the wind to whip his hair and ruffle his feathers. He had to hold onto his hat so it wouldn’t blow away as he soared through the air. The morning air felt refreshing on his face, and the quiet was something that Phil had to cherish before all the kids woke up and the whole town would be brought to life.

In fact, Phil had much less time than he expected as he noticed movement in Bad and Skeppy’s house. He slowed down, taking a bit closer of a look, though he didn’t want to pry too much. He could see little Sapnap jumping out of bed and excitedly looking out the window, his face pushed up against the glass. His breath instantly fogged it up, but he peered out anyway, waving excitedly to Phil, who laughed and waved in response. He didn’t stay long as he flew off again.

Sapnap turned from the window, not caring that he was letting light into the room. He looked at the Dream and George’s beds. Dream was curled on his side, his blanket pulled over his head and hiding his face. If Sapnap didn’t know any better, he wouldn’t have even guessed that Dream was there. George, on the other hand, was sprawled across his bed, his blanket tangled around his feet and a spot of drool dried onto his cheek.

So, Sapnap left the room, not really bothering to try to be quiet as he hurried down the stairs. He could smell pancakes in the kitchen, and as he descended the stairs, he could hear Bad humming quietly to himself as he cooked. Sapnap turned the corner to see his father as he was still cooking the pancakes on the stove. He watched his tail for a moment as it swayed and flicked with happiness.

"Hey, Dad," Sapnap said.

Bad turned his head, a smile on his face as he flipped the pancake onto a plate. "Good morning, Pandas," Bad said, not watching his son's face twist with annoyance. He giggled as he went back to cooking. He scooped another serving of batter and poured it onto the hot pan. "How'd you sleep, little flame?"

"Good. Is breakfast almost ready?" Sapnap asked, trying to peer around Bad to see what was left to cook.

Bad looked over at the batter he still had to make; it was enough to make a few more. He hummed as he thought about it. "Almost done, you should go wake up the others.”

With a huge smile, Sapnap turned on his heels and turned around. He ran up the stairs, not really caring about how loud he was, considering the fact he was going up to go wake everyone up anyway. The first would be his uncle. He barged in on Skeppy’s room, which was usually a mess and filled with blankets and clothes. Today was no different, as Sapnap spotted Skeppy sleeping face down in his bed, plenty of blankets on top of him.

Sapnap crept up to Skeppy’s bed, and he immediately started pulling on Skeppy’s arm. “C’mon, Uncle Skeppy, get up.”

“I’m sleeping, Sapnap,” Skeppy said, though he didn’t bother to exactly do anything to stop Sapnap. He just groaned and let Sapnap pull at his arm. He wasn't ready to get out of bed yet anyway.

‘C’mon,” Sapnap whined. “Dad has pancakes and they’re almost ready.”

“Geeze, kid, calm down,” Skeppy said, opening his eyes. He looked at Sapnap for a moment before he let out a yawn.

“Are you coming?”

“Yeah, go on, I’ll be down in a minute,” Skeppy said as he rolled over so he could sit up.

“Promise?” Sapnap had wide eyes, almost like a puppy. Those were the eyes that Skeppy could never say no to.

“Yeah, I promise. I’ll be down in a minute, little man.” Skeppy finally freed his hand from Sapnap, only so he could ruffle his hair, which Sapnap quickly swatted at.

Sapnap stepped away, watching as Skeppy sat up and stretched his shoulders. He watched for only a moment longer before he was sure that Skeppy was actually getting up. Satisfied, he turned and went to hurry into the other room now. Before he could even get in, he was stopped in his tracks with someone grabbing onto the back of his shirt.

He squealed in shock as he was brought to a sudden halt. He could feel whoever was holding him was trying to drag him back which made Sapnap immediately try to break free. The grip was too strong, he knew he couldn't pull free. So he did the only thing he could think of; he lifted his arms and he dropped to the floor, swifty shimmying out of the shirt. He rolled out of the way, just in case a foot was coming to kick him. When he looked up to see who was his attacker, and all he could see was Dream standing completely still, holding Sapnap’s shirt, and his mouth agape in surprise.

It barely took a moment before Dream started laughing, doubling over as he wheezed. He wiped a tear off of his eye from under his mask. “You’re so stupid.”

Sapnap huffed from the floor. He crossed his arms. “I think it was very effective.” He stood up, holding out his hand to take his shirt back.

“That will never come up in a real fight, or anything for that matter,” Dream said, cackling at Sapnap.

Sapnap stood up, trying to reach the shirt that Dream was holding just out of reach, curse his superior height. “Just you wait,” Sapnap said as he suddenly hooked his foot behind Dream’s knee and kicked it forward, making Dream stumble forward just enough for Sapnap to grab his shirt. “There,” he said happily. “Is George awake?”

Dream had to take a moment to recover from the stumble. “Is he ever awake at a decent time?”

“I guess not, but can you go wake him up? Dad made pancakes,” Sapnap glanced back to their room before he turned back to Dream.

“Why don’t you go wake him up?” Dream said.

“Because George is scary when he gets woken up."

“Oh, come on now,” Dream said. “You’re just being a baby.” Dream smirked as he walked passed Sapnap.

He was frozen for a moment as he watched Dream walk by, but he soon regained control of his body. He fumbled to get his shirt back on as he followed Dream. “I am not!”

The two boys entered the room, where George was, to no surprise, still sleeping. Dream looked back at Sapnap for a moment before he walked over to his own bed and grabbed his hoodie. Sapnap adjusted his headband as he approached the bed. He slowly reached forward, grabbing George’s arm and tried to shake him awake.

George groaned, mumbling something that Sapnap couldn’t understand, but already, Sapnap was stepping away, afraid of what George would do. Dream laughed as quietly as he could as he gestured for Sapnap to try again, but Sapnap shook his head as he walked away.

So, Dream rolled his eyes as he had to take charge. He stood over George’s bed at first, then he put a hand on George’s shoulder. “George, time to get up,” Dream said assertively.

Finally, George opened his eyes, squinting at Dream. He grimaced. “Nah, not yet,” George said as he rolled over, fully ready to ignore Dream now.

“There’s pancakes,” Sapnap said.

George was still for a moment before he rolled back over. He looked over at Sapnap now. “Don’t lie to me.”

“Dude, I’m not lying, Dad made pancakes.”

George sat up, and although he looked motivated to get out of bed, he still looked tired, which made sense since he was just woken up. He grabbed his glasses and put them on, blinking a few times as he adjusted to them. Then, his attention fell onto Dream, and despite the smile Dream had on his face, he could tell something was off. He stared for a while. Dream stared back at George for a moment, before he looked at Sapnap instead. “Go on, we’ll be down in a second,” Dream said.

“Alright, but you better not be late.” Sapnap shrugged. He left, and he ran down the stairs. Both Dream and George could hear him as he ran down.

“Sleep well?” Dream asked.

George shrugged as he untangled his feet from the blanket. “It was alright.” He looked back up to Dream now, and he just wished he could see Dream’s eyes for once. He was always hiding his face away like he was some kind of monster, or perhaps so no one could tell what he was really thinking, but George knew Dream better than that. He knew what he was thinking, and George didn’t want to admit that he knew what Dream was thinking. Dream was tense, he had been tense ever since they moved into Bad’s house officially, and it was only made worse when Bad had adopted George. The only times Dream didn’t look tense was when they were running around the woods, feeling like they were free. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Dream didn’t want to be there.

“Good, because I thought I heard you being a bit restless last night,” Dream said. He helped George to pull the blanket away.

George laughed as he pushed himself up from the bed. He looked up to Dream. “I was probably just moving, you know people do that when they sleep.”

“Yeah, but…” Dream didn’t finish his sentence as he stuttered through a few more sounds, though none of them actually formed a word. Instead, he gave up on his sentence and turned away. Eventually he cleared his throat. “Are you hungry?"

George shrugged. "What about you?"

Dream scoffed as he looked back at George as he was stepping into his shoes. "What are you trying to get at?"

"I just wanted to know if you're hungry, because Bad's pancakes are the best, and if you weren’t hungry, then I would eat yours too.” George snickered with delight.

Dream shook his head as he started to walk to the door. “Of course I’m hungry, you idiot. Come on, they’re waiting on us,” Dream said. George had to hurry to catch up to Dream as he was already descending the stairs. They looked around the corner into the kitchen to see Bad, Skeppy, and Sapnap already eating.

Bad smiled and waved them over, showing them that he had already set out plates of pancakes for the two of them. “Good morning, boys,” Bad said. He stood, and he grabbed two glasses from the cabinet and then a jug of milk from the fridge.

“Morning, Bad,” Dream said as he watched George take his place, who mumbled his greeting before he started to eat the pancakes.

“So, what are the plans, Sap? You and your brothers doing anything special?” Bad sat back down.

Dream immediately looked up, then to Sapnap with a mischievous grin. “I’m not his brother.” He snickered.

George perked up. "I definitely don't want to be his brother, like, have you seen him? Disgusting," George said, sticking his tongue out in fake disgust.

"Guys, come on," Sapnap said, turning his nose up. "I'm way cooler than the two of you combined. I couldn't possibly be your brother."

“Says the guy who once ate a handful of dirt because Wilbur told you that it would give you the power to make plants grow.” Dream’s laughter once again turned into wheezes. It was made only worse when he saw Skeppy’s worried look towards Bad.

“Well, Dad and I have fire powers! It wasn’t so much of a stretch.”

“Oh, Sappy,” Bad said. While it was clear he was trying to hold in a laugh, he still managed to have a compassionate look on his face. “Our fire magic is part of our family, it’s in our blood to be able to do that.”

“Yeah,” Sapnap said, shoving a quite large bit of pancakes into his mouth. He chewed for a moment before he continued, mouth still somewhat full. “I know that now.”

“I still can’t believe you swallowed that dirt,” George said, earning an angry look from Sapnap.

Sapnap stood up quickly, pointing his fork at George, earning a snicker from Skeppy, which was quickly cut off but Bad’s elbow being dug into Skeppy’s side. “You’re lucky you have those glasses or I’d poke your eye out.”

“Okay, boys, let’s get along now. Remember, you’re all my little muffins.” Bad smiled, eyes closed, because he didn’t even need to see to know about the embarrassment he had caused in all three of the boys, especially Sapnap, who had smacked his face against the table. George had sunk into his chair, almost disappearing under the table–if it weren’t for the pancakes, he would have been fully under the table. Even Dream’s face was red, and it was clear, despite the fact he was hiding it behind his mask.

Skeppy cleared his throat before he took a drink. “You boys sure do fight like brothers.”

“Exactly,” Bad sang. "So what are my little muffins planning today?"

"Dad." Sapnap whined. He looked to Skeppy too, knowing he wasn't innocent in this matter either. "Uncle Skeppy." He whined his name too.

"Yup, that's us. So, what are you little muffins going to do today?" Bad asked, still smiling.

Sapnap looked over to Dream and George. "We're going to the stream, right? It's the best place to play hide and seek."

"I don’t know anything about this,” Dream said with a shrug.

“Yeah! We have a lot of games that we can play, and I want to play as many games as we can.” Sapnap was practically shaking in his chair from excitement.

Bad giggled as he got up. “If that’s the case, I’ll pack you boys some lunch, then all you have to do is come home for dinner, alright?”

“You boys know to go get an adult if something happens,” Skeppy said, waving a hand.

“Nothing’s gonna happen,” George said.

“Thanks, Dad!”

“If you boys are done, you should go get changed. It’s still cold, you know,” Bad said.

Skeppy reached over the table and collected the dishes while the boys got up and started to run up the stairs. Skeppy laughed as he brought the dishes over to the sink and stood next to Bad as he was preparing some sandwiches and other snacks for the boys. As Skeppy started filling the sink with soapy water, he felt Bad’s tail wrap around his leg. Bad was humming softly, and Skeppy liked listening to Bad’s made up songs that he hummed.

“I’ll never let them hear, but I’m glad the boys are leaving the house today. They’ve been cooped up with us far too long.” Bad looked over to Skeppy for a moment before he had to take his attention back to the food he was preparing. They only had so much time before the boys would be done with changing and getting ready to go out.

“Yeah, winter sucked,” Skeppy said. Bad laughed as he released Skeppy’s leg so he could get some food from the fridge. “But at least the snow is finally melting, and it’s a nice day outside, maybe we should go for a walk?”

“Are you sure? It’s still pretty cold,” Bad said. He turned back to Skeppy.

Skeppy thought about it for a moment. Sure, it hasn’t rained for a while, so the only wetness was from the melting snow, and the sun was out, there wasn’t much that he could find to complain about. “Hmm, maybe not.”

Bad giggled again as his tail wrapped around Skeppy’s leg. “Then maybe we can sit by the fire, or go visit Puffy or Sam or someone.”

“Yeah, we’ll figure something out,” Bad said. He packed all the food into a bag for the boys, just in time for them to hear the boys hurry back down the stairs. Sapnap and George were already running out, but Dream stayed behind for a moment.

He hurried into the kitchen and Bad threw the bag of snacks at him. “Thanks, Bad,” Dream said. He slung the bag over his shoulder and he was off, chasing after Geroge and Sapnap, yelling at them to wait up.

Skeppy watched them run off through a window. He could only imagine what kind of antics they would get into that day. He turned back to Bad, watching him for a moment as he cleaned up the rest of the food he had pulled out. Ever since they had moved to Sleepy, Skeppy had noticed a change in Bad. He was happier, and it wasn’t that Skeppy wanted Bad to be sad, but he also felt guilty that he alone couldn’t make Bad happy anymore.

He quickly shook the thought from his mind, he didn’t want to upset Bad. Skeppy smiled, and he walked back over to Bad. “Do you want to play a game?” Skeppy asked.

“Oh! That sounds fun,” Bad said. “Wanna play cards? I can make us some coffee.”

“Sure, I’ll go get the cards." Skeppy nodded as he walked into the living room. He pulled the coffee table up to the couch, and then he grabbed the deck of cards from the cabinet. He sat down and started shuffling the cards. He could hear Bad making the coffee in the kitchen. It would be ready soon, especially when he heard Bad stirring the sugar into his coffee.

Bad came in a moment later, holding two mugs of coffee and sat down next to Skeppy. His tail was immediately wrapped around Skeppy’s leg as he passed over the mug. Skeppy took a drink, and it was perfectly sweetened to just how Skeppy liked it.

“So, what are we playing?” Bad asked.

“What about slap?” Skeppy asked.

“Okay, you want to deal us out?”

“Sure.” Skeppy started to deal the cards out between the two of them, going as quickly as he could. They started to play, at first not really talking, just letting it be quiet between the two for a little bit. However, as the game went on, they got more chatty.

“So, I just wanted to let you know that I’m going to go over by Ant’s today,” Bad said.

“Oh, you are?” Skeppy asked. He looked over to Bad for a moment, but he brought his eyes right back onto the game, trying to watch for doubles or the face cards.

“Yeah,” Bad said. He laid down a double, Skeppy slapped it and scooped up the pile. “He needs to go to the Nether and I promised I would help him out.”

“Oh,” Skeppy said. He laid down an ace, and Bad laid down three cards before he laid down a king. The competition was on, Skeppy quickly laid down more cards, but he didn’t lay down another face card, and Bad took the pile. “So, you’re gonna be gone all day?”

“Yeah, probably. Ant needs to find some nether wart and some other things, so it might take us a while.” Another double was laid down. Bad noticed it and slapped it right before Skeppy could notice it and Bad took the pile again.

Skeppy frowned, but he continued playing the game. He chewed on his lip. He didn’t know what to say. Quickly, he changed his tune again. “I’ll just go hang out with Puffy, maybe.” There was another double. Skeppy slapped it quickly, harder than he expected to have hit it, but he scooped it up anyway.

“Skeppy?” Bad stopped playing for a moment, but he remembered to keep playing when Skeppy motioned for him to keep going. “Are you mad at me?”

“Why would I be mad at you?” Skeppy won the pile again, and he slapped it quite hard as he pulled it into his deck.

"Well, it just seems you're mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you, Bad. I just thought we…" Skeppy stopped himself. "When are you going to Ant's?"

"Soon, like, after this game?"

Skeppy slammed his card down on the table as he stood up. "Then you shouldn't waste time, I won anyway." Skeppy looked to Bad's deck. One card left, and when he flipped it over, it was the eight of hearts.

"Skeppy, we can talk first," Bad said, abandoning the pile of cards.

"Bad, I don't want to fight. We're alright. I just wish you told me that you were going to be with Ant all day before."

"Skeppy, I'm sorry. I've been busy helping people out, and it slipped my mind."

"It's okay, I'm just going to visit with Puffy. Be safe, alright?" Skeppy grabbed his scarf and his hat and put them on while he turned back to Bad.

Bad took in a deep breath first before he nodded. "I will."

That was good enough for Skeppy as he turned and he left through the front door. He made sure it was shut behind him. He knew Bad would have to take a moment to gather himself before he gathered his materials and tools before he would be off to meet up with Ant. Skeppy wanted to be busy doing something else by then.

~~~~~~~~~~

A stone skipped across the river, making the fish scatter until it reached the other side. Sapnap looked over to Dream, who looked overly proud of himself for such a feat, making Sapnap glare at him instead. Dream looked so smug, so happy of what he had done, and George hadn’t even noticed anything happening as he was lounging back against a tree.

“You cheated,” Sapnap said.

“How can I cheat at skipping stones?” Dream laughed.

Sapnap had to think about it. He couldn't exactly think of how Dream could have cheated at skipping stones, but he was still sure that Dream had cheated. “Forget it,” Sapnap said. “Let’s play something else instead.”

“Finally,” George said, finally sitting back up. “What do you want to do?”

“Let’s play hide and seek!”

“We always play that,” George said.

“Yeah, but it’s more fun in the woods. Besides, if we get bored, we can switch to tag or something else.” Sapnap looked to Dream for some backup.

“I mean, we’ve been playing it in the house. C’mon George, let’s play for a little while, if we’re not having fun, we can always switch.” Dream held out a hand to pull George up to his feet.

“Alright, but Sapnap seeks first since he was the one to say we play hide and seek,” George said.

“Okay, I’ll count to twenty.”

“Twenty? Do a hundred,” Dream said.

“But we always do twenty at home.”

“C’mon, it’s gonna take us a bit longer to find a good place.” Dream crossed his arms, which was apparently enough to convince Sapnap as he sighed and covered his eyes with his bandana. He started counting, going somewhat quickly, but not too quickly to have Dream and George call him out. Dream gave George a nod and they were both off.

Dream immediately took to the trees, he could move a bit better up there. Plus, he could keep an eye on George a little bit. Even though George was a lot better at navigating the woods than he was last year, Dream still wanted to make sure George wasn’t getting himself into any danger.

Despite his watchful eye, he still realized that he had lost track of George, and he knew Sapnap would be nearing his count to one hundred by now. He didn’t want to waste any time; he still wanted to win the game. He descended, finding a tree that was partially ripped out of the ground a few feet away. He walked over to it, ducking down as he got ready to crawl into it. Feet made him stop moving.

“This is my spot, jerk,” George said, lightly kicking Dream.

Dream was about to leave the hiding spot, when he heard crunching leaves. Instead, he climbed back in, folding himself in such a way that he could maneuver his body into the space despite George’s protests. He covered George’s mouth as they heard Sapnap walking nearby, calling out to them. They stayed quiet until they could no longer hear Sapnap’s footsteps.

“That was close,” Dream said. He laughed quietly.

“Yeah, now go find your own spot,” George said, trying to push Dream out.

“No, I’m not risking Sapnap finding us, let’s just hide together.” Dream had to adjust himself to get in a more comfortable position.

George rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, accidentally digging his elbow into Dream’s side, not that either of them moved. Dream’s gaze fell on watching the exit, and he started pulling at his fingers. He was never very good at sitting still for long periods of time, and George knew that it would get them found, but honestly, George was thankful that Dream just so happened to end up in the same tree as he was.

“Hey, Dream?” George said, he kept his voice low.

“Yeah?”

“You don’t want to be here, do you?”

“What? This tree?” Dream looked over to George, ready to make fun of him depending on his response.

“Uh, no, I mean Sleepy,” George said. He stared into Dream’s mask. He could imagine Dream’s face twisted with conflict, especially since Dream was humming softly.

“You like it here, and I’m happy to stay where you are,” Dream said.

George smiled. He was happy to hear that Dream wanted to stay, although the euphoria quickly left. He knew that Dream was lying to him. Ever since they had showed up to Sleepy, Dream had been wanting to leave, and as much as Dream said he didn’t want to leave, it was clear to George. He pushed up his glasses, but then he lowered them just a bit and he looked outside. It didn’t last long as it was so bright, and it was painful to look at, so he brought his eyes to Dream instead. He looked like he always did; confident and sure of himself, with just a tinge of sadness that he always tried to hide, and sitting on his shoulder was a little, white figure that was slouching over. George pushed his glasses back up, and he punched Dream in the shoulder as hard as he could.

“Ow! What was that for?” Dream pulled away from George as he rubbed the spot where he was punched.

"You're gonna get us caught, Dream." George crossed his arms and tried to pull away from Dream as much as possible, not that he could get too far in the cramped space they were in.

"You punched me, what do you mean?"

"Eugh, why do you have to lie to me? Don't you know I can tell when you're lying?"

Dream couldn't believe his ears. He stared at George for a moment before he sputtered out a vague response at first. He cleared his throat before he got ready to talk again. "What in the world could I be lying about, you idiot?"

"If you want to leave us, just say so."

Dream laughed. It was such an irrational response,but there was no other proper response he could fathom. "You're here, and so is Sapnap and everyone else I care about. Why would I want to leave?"

"I dunno, maybe you should tell me that."

Dream wanted to make fun of George for believing himself without even hearing Dream out, but the truth was that he had been lying to George. "Okay, do you want the truth?"

"Of course I do, I'm old enough to understand."

"The truth is that even though you all tell me that you want me to stay, and that it's nice that I'm with you, I really don't think I should. No one knows what I really am, and if they did then…"

"I know what you are."

Dream felt his whole body tense, but then he looked at George's glasses. He remembered what they were for. "Right, you can see that part of me."

"Yeah, and I like that part of you."

"C'mon now. You don't count. If other people knew, everyone would hate me too."

"That's not true. I don't hate you, and neither does Sapnap. Maybe you should take off the mask.”

Dream laughed; a short, nervous chuckle. "That's a lot, George." Not even George knew the real reason why Dream hid his face. People always assumed it was because of his scars, and that was an easy enough excuse for Dream. He didn't want people to relate to him–to grow attached to him–but still, people ended up caring about him. So, now he wore the mask so no one would worry about it--barring George from that count.

"Okay, well, don't then," George said with a shrug. “But I’m still gonna be your friend.”

Dream smiled. “Thanks, George.” Without warning, George leaned back over and hugged Dream, holding him as tight as he could to show how much he cared about his friend.

“Ew, why are you guys hugging?” Sapnap said, peeking under the tree.

George pulled away quickly. “Hey! Not fair, Dream got us caught because he decided to hide with me and then was talking to me!”

“Well, thanks Dream, you helped me find you. This would have been a perfect hiding place, but I guess that means it’s Dream’s turn to seek.” Sapnap said. He stepped away, giving Dream and George the space they needed to actually climb out.

“Okay yeah, that’s fair,” Dream said.

“Make sure you’re actually closing your eyes under that mask,” George said as he was getting out.

Dream sighed as he pulled his hoodie up and over his mask where his eyes would be. He pulled the string to close it up. He then started counting, and George and Sapnap shared a quick look before they ran in opposite directions.

Sapnap had an idea on where to go. He saw the spot earlier and made a note of it to return to later. He knew he had plenty of time to get to it, and even if he didn’t, he would just have to keep moving and hope that Dream wouldn’t search for him first. It was up in a tree, and if it wasn’t Dream, he wouldn’t have climbed up into this spot. It wouldn’t be fair, but with Dream chasing him…

He climbed the tree, nestling himself in the mass of budding leaves and branches, and from the ground, it would be quite difficult to see him, so he was more than happy to just relax and wait for Dream to find him. It was a nice day anyway, he wasn’t going to complain about it. Although, he did have to admit, he was getting hungry.

He ignored it, as he ended up closing his eyes and just listening for when George and Dream would be approaching–and he was sure it was going to be the both of them. There was no doubt that Dream would go look for George first. He was always worried about George, but he knew that Sapnap could take care of himself.

So, when he heard the two sets of footsteps, he made extra sure to hide as best as possible. He hoped that George would completely miss him, and he hoped that Dream would be distracted by George doing something stupid. His hopes were for naught as he heard Dream starting to climb the tree. Sapnap scrambled to his feet as he was ready to take flight.

“Sapnap! I see you!” Dream yelled.

“Then come catch me, green boy!” Sapnap jumped into the next tree, catching himself by a branch. He didn’t have time to think, he had to keep moving, since he knew Dream was much faster than he was in the trees, but if he kept moving, then he might be able to dodge Dream for at least a little while. Feeling the wind in his hair was his favorite part of playing in the trees. He knew this was dangerous, he would never forget the pain of breaking his leg from falling from a tree with Wilbur, nor the weeks he was forced to stay inside after.

He took a moment to turn around, and Dream was right behind him. He screamed as he took a leap of faith, just barely catching himself on the next tree.

“C’mere, Sapnap!” Dream yelled.

Sapnap could hear George laughing from the ground, proving to him that Goerge was following along. For some reason, that made Sapnap even more inspired to keep going. He was staying away from Dream a lot longer than he had expected to. He was careful to avoid the nests as he saw them, he definitely didn’t want to bother any bird nests. He saw a couple, and a good amount of them were filled with little chicks waiting on their mothers.

And then there was one that was standing on the edge of its nest, and the mere sight of it made Sapnap stop for a moment, despite knowing that Dream was right behind him. Then he saw the bird starting to slip out of the nest, and he heard Dream right on his tail. He wasn’t thinking. He jumped out of the tree, headed straight for the bird.

~~~~~~~~~~

Bad stretched out his body as he stepped through the portal, nearly forgetting about his added height as he knocked the top of his horns against the portal. Ant turned around as he saw Bad tilting his head down and reached up to rub his horns, making sure he didn’t accidentally chip them.

“You okay, Bad?” Ant asked. His tail waved gently as he looked up to Bad.

Bad nodded. He bent down so he wouldn’t seem so tall next to Ant, and he even recognized how ridiculous it must have looked for Bad to be standing next to Ant, who’s ears and tail didn’t fit in his armor, so they stuck out in a silly way. Meanwhile, Bad had no armor on, he didn’t even have a sword. They were too small to actually work for him in the Nether, so he would have to use some magic, which Skeppy would feel all the way in the Overworld. Of course, he didn’t need much effort, he would just summon a sword and be done with it. He didn’t want to bother Skeppy with it unless he had to.

“Still have my horns,” Bad said.

Ant chuckled as he shifted his armor around, trying to get it to stop pulling on his fur. “We should hurry up before this armor tears all my fur out. Remind me to get a new gambeson.”

“Are you sure you don’t just want me to go?”

“Absolutely not. I’m not going to make you do my errands, though I do appreciate the help. I was never one for the Nether, you know. Always end up with singed fur.” Ant laughed. He, along with Bad, started to walk deeper into the Nether. They knew they would have to go for a bit before they would find the things that Ant needed. He mostly needed nether wart for potions, and for the same reason he needed to find some ghast tears, and he had brought some gold to trade with piglins.

So, they began their long walk together, stopping from time to time for them to shoot some ghasts and collect the tears that they dropped. The nether wart they found around, and they gathered enough over time until Ant figured it would be plenty for his needs. Now all they needed was to find some piglins that would be willing to trade with them.

Bad wasn’t a fan of trying to find piglins. He always knew they would be weary of him considering he was a minor demon. Sure, they may not know who he is, but his height would give him away immediately. He made sure to have his sword summoned, just in case. Luckily, they found a bastion that wasn’t abandoned, and Bad and Ant took a few moments before they approached.

“Do you have the gold helmet?” Bad asked.

Ant dug through his bag until he pulled it out, swapping his fancy diamond one, for a less fancy gold one. “I wouldn’t forget it, but I never understood the point of wearing gold around piglins.”

“It’s a sign of respect,” Bad said. He pulled out a golden pendant from his pocket. It had a long enough chain to fit him properly at this size. “And wealth too. It’s part of their culture to flaunt their wealth. So, with us wearing gold, it shows them that we recognize their traditions, and that we have enough gold to spare that we can wear it.”

“Hmm, makes sense.” Ant nodded as he let Bad take the lead. “I’m glad you’re here to help with this, thank you.”

“No problem, I don’t mind helping out my friends.”

“I know you don’t like coming here, that’s why I usually ask Phil or Techno if he’s around, but Phil’s been so busy with Tommy and Tubbo.”

“It’s alright, Ant, I really don’t mind.” Bad fixed his cloak as he got ready to approach the bastion. No doubt, the pack inside was already aware of their presence, and they were likely afraid of Bad, considering they sent out no piglins to deal with them. They would just have to knock at the door. When Bad did, he wasn’t surprised to see a brute greeting them.

Bad cleared his throat as he prepared to speak in Demonic. “Hello! My name is Bad Boy Halo, this is my friend, Ant Frost.” Bad made sure to bend down again so he wouldn’t seem as tall. It never worked, but it meant something to at least make an effort.

The brute looked between Bad and Ant, a skeptical look in her eyes. “And you want to…trade?”

“We would love to, we have gold.”Bad tried to make himself look as friendly as possible.

“You said your name was Bad Boy Halo?” she asked. Bad nodded. “Weird. I have never heard of a demon by that name trying to keep tabs on my pack.”

"I'm not with the demons, ma'am. I live in the Overworld. Like I said, this is my friend, we just want to trade. I'm only here to translate since he doesn't speakDemonic." Bad looked over to Ant, who was staring at him worriedly. He held up a hand to him briefly, letting him know he just needed a moment longer.

Still, the brute stared at Bad. "Okay, but we'll be watching you."

"I expect nothing less."Bad looked at Ant, switching back to English now. "She said we can go in, but we should hurry."

"Tell her I said thank you," Ant said. He was already making his way in.

"He is grateful for your aid."

The brute just snorted as she let Bad and Ant pass. They got their supplies quickly, finding a good deal with a few of the piglins, and they left, bidding them goodbye without a second thought.

"Thanks again, Bad, for your help," Ant said once they were well away from the bastion.

Bad smiled as he gently pat Ant's back, not wanting to tip him over. "Of course, Ant. Plus, it was nice spending time with you."

"We sure did luck out having you stumble upon Sleepy. You and Skeppy both are so helpful."

"Yeah," Bad said. He found himself walking more slowly. He found himself staring off into the misty distance. He closed his eyes for a moment. He hadn't thought about Skeppy for the last few hours, perhaps for the best, since he knew that Skeppy was mad at him.

"Bad?" Ant's voice lulled Bad out of his trance.

Bad looked down at Ant, having to blink a few times before he realized where he was. "Sorry."

"Are you okay?"

Bad chewed his lip. He needed just a moment to figure out what he wanted to say. He took a deep breath. "Ant, can I talk to you about something?"

"Of course, what's going on?"

"Well, you see, Skeppy and I have been through a lot, and I thought Sleepy would be our brand new start after I...well I left him and came back with Sapnap, and now I feel like those old wounds opened back up because Skeppy's mad at me again." Bad felt tears welling up in his eyes, and for once, he didn't fear them, because it wasn't like he was going to grow any taller, he was already as tall as he was going to get. "I don't even know if Skeppy and I are friends anymore. He was so mad at me for so long because of what happened, and it's all my fault. He's my best friend, and I would never hurt him intentionally. Am I losing my best friend?" Bad's voice was breaking, and his whole body was shaking.

Ant had to think quickly. With Bad being this tall, he knew it would be hard to comfort him, so Ant took just a step back so he could get a running start, and he leapt up to reach Bad's shoulder. He clung to Bad's cloak with his claws, and he rubbed his face against Bad's. Then he let himself dangle over Bad's shoulder. "Even the best of people make mistakes. You're still a good person despite those mistakes."

Bad pressed his face against Ant. He was purring, and it was calming, but it wasn't quite enough. "What if he never wants to talk to me again?"

"That's ridiculous, Bad. He's your best friend, he'll come around."

"What if he doesn't?"

"That's an 'if', you have no proof it will happen. Just take a deep breath, and try to clear your mind."

Bad did as he was told. He closed his eyes, and took a long breath in through the nose. He listened to Ant purring beside his ear. He listened to the lava crackling nearby. He listened to the very distant sound of a ghast. He exhaled. To Ant's credit, he did feel better.

"The only way to stop feeling like this is to talk to him. Maybe not today, but eventually."

"You're right."

Ant hummed quietly. He stayed quiet for a moment while Bad started walking again. "Mind if I stay up here, it's oddly comfortable."

"Sure, you're not that heavy." Bad adjusted Ant just a bit so he was sure he wasn't going to fall.

"You know, there was one time I scared Sam so badly that he almost exploded."

Bad turned his head towards Ant, raising an eyebrow at him. "I thought he had his gunpowder glands removed?"

"He did once we got to Sleepy," Ant said, sitting up a bit. "This was shortly after we first met. He was terrified of me, since you know, I'm a cat and creepers aren't particularly fond of cats, but he was working through his fear because at the time, all we had was each other. I was lost and separated from my loved ones, and Sam was...well no one likes mob hybrids, especially creeper hybrids. But anyway, the story is that one night, Sam was tending the fire, and I went and got us some food. It took me a bit, and I guess he wasn't paying attention, and I guess I was a bit too quiet, but I came back with some fish for the two of us, and I scared Sam so bad he was hissing and nearly exploded, and it took a while to get him to calm down. He was so mad at me about that for such a long time, and I was mad at him for being mad at me, but it wasn't like we could separate. Neither one of us would have survived being alone. We stuck it out, and eventually, it went back to normal, like it never even happened, the only difference being our friendship was stronger than ever. Now we can look back on it and laugh."

Bad kicked at the ground for a moment before he finally chuckled. "Thank you, Ant, I needed to hear that."

"Of course," Ant said. He slid down Bad's back, and he landed on his feet. He gave Bad's side a good pat as he started walking beside him again. "Now, let's get back home. This was enough adventure and excitement for one day."

Bad chuckled as he took a moment to scan the horizon. The portal wasn't far from here, in fact, they were already almost at it. Bad didn't realize they had been walking so long nor so fast. "The portal's right over there." And with that, they were off to the portal, ending their little adventure in the Nether.

~~~~~~~~~~

Puffy served Skeppy another cup of coffee, and Skeppy wondered how many cups he could drink in one day before overdoing it. He stirred in some sugar as he watched Puffy sit down at the table with him. She had her own cup of coffee and she dutifully added some cream and sugar. She looked at Skeppy, and she could see it in his face that something was bothering him.

“So, I think it’s pretty weird that you want to spend the day with me–not that I’m complaining, but what’s up?” Puffy peered at Skeppy, trying to get a read on him.

Skeppy sat up and blinked at Puffy. "Why would something be wrong?"

"I mean, you've been helping me all day fix up that roof, and you've been usually quiet. Normally you're cracking jokes and being well…all Skeppy," Puffy said. She crossed her arms over her chest, looking at Skeppy with a stern, yet caring look. "Skeppy, I swear, don't be difficult with me." Puffy waved her spoon accusingly at him.

Skeppy snickered. "I thought I was being Skeppy with you."

Puffy tried not to laugh, she made as much of an effort as she could to not laugh, but still, a laugh escaped her lips. Though, she quickly contained it again by taking a drink of coffee. Skeppy snickered from his own cup of coffee. "Smartass."

"Yeah, lots of people call me that," Skeppy said. The hot coffee was nice. It warmed up his hands and body nicely.

As Sleepy took another sip of coffee he smelled something off. He looked into his coffee, wondering if it had somehow gone through a change and it was fundamentally different now. No, he just had to look behind him to see Schlatt walking down the stairs. The smell was of cigarettes coming from Schlatt, though it was partially covered up with cologne.

"Oh, Skeppy," Schlatt said. For probably one of the first times Skeppy had ever seen, Schlatt wasn't drunk, or if he was, he was holding it back quite well. "I didn't know you were here."

"He's been helping me with the roof since you bailed," Puffy said.

Schlatt's eyes widened. "Shoot that was today?"

"Yeah, I told you yesterday."

"I know, I forgot. Okay, look, Skeppy, you can go home, I'll help Puffy finish up," Schlatt said. He put on an old coat.

"It's alright, we're already done," Skeppy said.

Schlatt looked at Puffy with wide eyes, and she shrugged. "Don't worry about it, you can make it up to me later," she said.

Schlatt breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm headed to Connor's. Message me whatever you need me to bring back."

"I'll let you know if I think of something," Puffy said. Schlatt gave one last nod before he left the house. Puffy laughed as she looked back at Skeppy. "Anyway, we were talking about you. You know, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but please know that I'm here if you need to talk."

Skeppy chuckled. He didn't mean to, it just sort of just fell out. "I don't really have much to complain about, you know. I've been quite fortunate, and I know that. I have a best friend who would die for me, I have amazing nephews, I live in a wonderful town with great friends, even the weather has been nice, as long as we don’t include how cold the winters are."

Puffy watched Skeppy quietly. She didn't want to interrupt. She just wanted to let him get whatever he needed off of his chest.

"But I'm still afraid," Skeppy said. He had to look away from Puffy, as if the thought of it was much too embarrassing to admit to her. He gripped tightly onto his hoodie. "I'm afraid that Bad doesn't want me anymore. I'm afraid he'll take his core back and leave me alone again.”

“Skeppy, he loves you, he’s not gonna up and leave.”

“Why not? He’s done it before. Who’s to say he won’t do it again? Oh god, what if he leaves Sapnap and the boys with me? I may be an awesome uncle, but I’m not cut out to be a father, and Phil already has three boys of his own.”

“Skeppy, look at me, Bad isn’t going anywhere, and even if he does, then you won’t be alone,” Puffy said.

Skeppy sighed as he stood. “I should get back home just in case the boys need me,” Skeppy said.

“Well, thanks for your help, Skeppy,” Puffy said as she watched Skeppy leaving, he hadn't even made it to lunch. She quietly gathered the dishes as she made a mental note to check up on him a bit more often.

~~~~~~~~~~

Sapnap tumbled to the ground, making sure to tuck himself into a roll. To be as safe as he possibly could. Still, he got caught up in the branches and twigs on the ground, which cut into his skin, but he was fine. He sat up, sitting on his legs as he looked into his hands. There, the tiny black and white chick stared up at him, as if it were in shock too. Sapnap's heart still raced as he had realized what he had just done, but it made it better knowing that he succeeded. The chick was alive, a bit shaken up, but it was alive.

“Sapnap!” Dream yelled from the tree. Sapnap could hear him scrambling down, but in the meantime, George was the first to get to Sapnap.

“Are you okay?” he asked. Sapnap nodded. He couldn’t quite stand yet, he was still shaken too.

“Sapnap! What the hell was that?” Dream yelled as he landed on the ground.

“I rolled, and look,” Sapnap said. He turned so he could show Dream and George what he had.

They both stared in awe at the little chick Sapnap was cradling in his hands. “What is that?” George asked.

“It’s a baby bird,” Dream said. “You jumped out of a tree for a baby bird?”

“Well, yeah, look how cute it is,” Sapnap said.

“Is it shaking?” George asked.

“Uh, I don’t know, should I warm it up?” Sapnap asked, he looked down at the baby bird, staring at it as it stared back. It was shaking, and it did feel pretty cold in his hands.

“Yeah, but be careful,” Dream said.

Sapnap started to heat up his hands, being extra careful with it so he wouldn’t burn the bird, just warm it up so it didn’t have to keep shaking. At first, it started chirping, panicked and confused, but then it slowly started to realize what was going on, and it cuddled into Sapnap's hands.

"Do you think we should take it to Ant? Doesn't he know how to help animals?" George asked.

Dream perked up. He nodded quickly. "Yeah, come on, guys, Ant should know something."

Sapnap got to his feet, making sure not to shake up the bird too much. Dream waited until Sapnap was ready to go before he started to lead them to Ant's house, which thankfully he was with them, considering Dream was the only one who could navigate these woods with ease, so it only took them a few minutes until they reached the cabin and they started knocking.

To their surprise, Ant didn't answer. In fact, it was unusually quiet inside the cabin. It was silent. Dream walked around to one of the windows, and he peered in, trying to see if Ant had any lanterns on, or if he could potentially see anything. There was nothing, not even a hint that he was home. His suspicion was confirmed when he checked the next window. He returned Sapnap and George after, knowing that looking in each and every window in Ant's cottage would have been useless.

"Well?" Sapnap said.

"Well he isn't home." Dream crossed his arms.

George looked at the door again. "He's always home, though."

"Guess not today," Dream said. "We should take the bird home. Maybe Bad or Skeppy will know something."

"What if we take it to Phil? Phil's like a bird, right?" George looked to Dream hopefully.

Dream laughed as he shook his head. “He has wings, that doesn’t make him a bird.”

“What about Doctor Ponk?” George asked.

“Yeah, he might be able to do something.” Sapnap bounced up on his toes.

Dream shrugged. “Guess it doesn’t hurt.” Dream motioned for them to follow. Sapnap had to take a moment to make sure the bird was comfortable, as it was starting to move around a bit. Sapnap made a little nest out of his hands, trying to keep the bird comfortable.

For the first time ever to Dream’s knowledge, the door to the hospital was locked. He nearly ran into the door since he expected it to be open. He just barely recovered from the shock when he noticed a piece of paper taped to the wall. "What the hell? 'Don't get hurt, gone to a doctor's convention, be back on Monday'?" Dream found himself breathless for a moment, before he turned back to Sapnap and George. "He's gone too? What, is everyone in Sleepy who could help us conveniently gone?"

George stifled a laugh behind his hand. "Maybe we do go to Phil? Oh, what about Sam?"

"Sam is an inventor, what is he gonna do?"

George had to really think about it, and he struggled to even come up with one answer

"Guys," Sapnap said. "The bird isn't looking good." He held out the bird to show them. While, before it had it's head up and was chirping, now it was laying in Sapnap's palms, it's body resting in an unnatural way.

"Let's just go home, at the very least we can make the bird comfortable," Dream said. He started walking off again without even waiting for an answer. He just led them down the path back to their home. He walked quickly, and he expected the others to keep up, and to their credit, they certainly did.

He was half expecting the door to be locked, but to his surprise, the door was open, and he entered quickly, though he noticed it was surprisingly quiet.

"Dad! Uncle Skeppy!" Sapnap called out.

They heard a chair scraping against the floor from the kitchen, and moments later, Skeppy had poked his head out from the doorway. "You're back early."

"Uncle Skeppy. Look." Sapnap held the bird up to Skeppy so he could get a better look.

Skeppy looked over the bird carefully. He leaned closer to it before he gasped, realizing exactly what Sapnap had. "Sap, that's a magpie chick. Where in the world did you get a magpie chick?"

"I uh, was jumping through the trees with Dream, and then I saw it fall, so I jumped out of the tree and caught it."

Skeppy looked to Dream with wide eyes, hoping he would say that Sapnap was making it up, but Dream nodded. Skeppy looked back to Sapnap and the magpie. "You jumped out of a tree?"

Sapnap nodded proudly. "It was to save the bird."

Skeppy shook his head. He looked at George now. "George, run upstairs and get a towel, one of the crappy ones. Dream, go downstairs and get a little box, Sapnap, keep the bird warm."

George and Dream ran off to get the things that Skeppy asked them to get. He kneeled down next to Sapnap, looking at the bird. It was so small, and it looked sick, possibly a little injured. It made Skeppy's hear tache, knowing such a young, little bird was in such poor shape. But when George brought the towel, and Dream, the box, Skeppy made a little nest, warmed by Sapnap's fire, and now he could focus on Sapnap.

"You didn't hurt yourself, did you?" he asked.

Sapnap shook his head. He finally took the moment to fix his disheveled hair and pat down his shirt. He smiled confidently. "Not a bit."

"Well, we can keep that part of the story out when you tell your father," Skeppy said. He looked over at the bird again, wishing he better knew how to help it.

"Does that mean we're keeping it?" Dream asked. He sounded excited at the idea of having a pet.

"I doubt Bad would want to get rid of it, so we'll keep it here, at least until it's back on its feet," Skeppy said. He checked the time at first, seeing it was about lunchtime now. When he turned back, he saw that the boys were sitting all over the living room eating their lunch that Bad had packed for them.

Skeppy took this chance to move into the kitchen and he pulled out his communicator. He first checked to see if Bad had messaged him. WHen he saw there was nothing, he pulled up the chat with Bad, and he quickly typed up a message. “Call me when you get back to the Overworld.”

He set it aside and he took a peek into the living room again, the boys were gathered around the box now, still eating, but also watching the bird. He heard his communicator buzz with a message. He first found one of Bad’s muffins and then he sat down at the table, pulling up the message from Bad.

“OwO” was all it said.

Skeppy shook his head as he typed out a message. “Stop sending that.”

“:(“ A few moments later, Skeppy’s messenger started ringing with a call. He answered.

“Hey, Skeppy,” Bad said.

“Bad, are you still with Ant?” Skeppy asked immediately.

Bad was silent for a moment before he hummed. “Yeah, we’re just about to reach his cabin, why?”

“The boys found a magpie. Can you bring Ant over? Maybe a potion or something? I think it’s injured,” Skeppy said.

Bad was quiet for a moment. Skeppy knew that Bad was looking at Ant. He heard Bad turn away from his communicator and talk to Ant for a moment. “Okay, yeah, we’ll be there in a bit. We’re just now getting to Ant’s, we’ll head over as soon as possible.”

“Alright, I’ll see you in a minute,” Skeppy said.

“Hey, Ant said to run over to Puffy’s and get some fabric,” Bad said quickly before Skeppy could hang up the call.

“How much?”

“Just ask her for her scraps.”

“Alright.” Now they hung up, and Skeppy got ready to run over to Puffy’s. He stopped to let the boys know that he was heading out, and then he didn’t waste any time. He ran out, and immediately knocked on Puffy’s door. She was shocked to see Skeppy so soon.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, I just need your fabric scraps,” Skeppy said.

“Oh, usually I give those to Ant.”

“He sent me to get them.”

Puffy shrugged as she turned back into the house. Skeppy followed her, watching as she gathered her scraps of fabric from the living room. "So, why did Ant send you for these?"

"Oh, he's on his way to our house with Bad. The boys found a baby magpie in the woods."

"Huh, that's sweet of them," Puffy said. She shoved them all into a bag, and she walked over to Skeppy. He held out his hand to take it, but Puffy still held it close to her, not letting Skeppy take it. She stared him down wearily.

"Come on, Puffy," Skeppy said.

Puffy even stepped back, shaking her head. "No can do, Skeppy, until you answer what the hell is going on with you."

"Puffy, you're being ridiculous."

"Am I now? So, there's nothing going on between you and Bad?"

Skeppy stared at Puffy, almost dumbfounded for a moment. Then he shook the thought from his head, but when he made eye contact with her again, he felt his heart drop down to his stomach. He took a deep breath. "Okay, fine." He sighed. "Bad has always been my best friend, and seeing him being friends with other people kinda hurts. I know it's selfish of me, but that's what I think. Last time he made friends with someone else, he disappeared for two hundred and twenty one days and came back at our door with an infant."

"Oh, Skeppy," Puffy said.

"Yeah, I know I'm a terrible friend, just say it and get it over with."

"Relax, I don't think you're a terrible friend, I think that what you're thinking is normal. When traumatic shit happens to people, it can change the way they think and react in some situations. You should really talk to Bad.”

Skeppy looked at the bag of fabric, and he knew that Bad and Ant would be arriving soon and he was wasting time with Puffy insisting on his staying. “Can I have those scraps now?”

Puffy held them out to him. “Yeah, message me to let me know how that bird fares.”

“Will do.” Skeppy grabbed the scraps, and he gave a nod to Puffy before he left her house and he hurried back home. He could see Bad waiting for him outside of the house. He looked a little worried, Skeppy expected that. He knew Bad would be worried about the magpie.

“There you are,” Bad said. He smiled at Skeppy as he turned around. “Ant’s looking at the bird, he sounded hopeful.”

“Oh, that’s good.” Skeppy followed Bad inside, where the three boys were lined up in the doorway to the living room, George and Sapnap in front, and Dream behind. He had a hand on each of his friend’s shoulders, as if to keep them from running in, or perhaps to hold himself accountable since he was nervously chewing his lip and bouncing his leg. Either way, Bad joined them, wrapping his tail around Sapnap and making sure to leave enough space for Skeppy to pass.

He gave the scraps to Ant, who took them graciously and turned his attention back to the bird. Skeppy took his spot next to the rest of his family. He crossed his arms, not wanting to show that he, too, was worried. After a few moments, he felt Bad grab his arm, and hold on to it tightly.

Skeppy watched as Ant worked, everyone did. Sure, they all had only known the bird for such a short period of time, but everyone felt that it was important to make sure that this bird was alright, and that it would survive. For the first time in a while, it felt like everyone was on the same page here. Skeppy looked at Bad, seeing that he was tearing up, and he knew that it was because of the very real possibility that Ant would say the bird might not make it. All any of them could do was wait.

They watched as Ant fed the bird just a bit of a regeneration potion, and then listened as it chirped for a moment. Then Ant turned to them and smiled, and it felt like the entire world had gone still for the moment it took before Any spoke. "She's going to be alright, but she's going to need a lot of help while she grows up."

"But we can help her with that, right?" Sapnap asked.

Ant nodded. “I don’t see why not, there’s just gonna be some extra help that she needs. Bad, Skeppy, I can talk to you two about it in the next room. You boys can keep her company.” Ant smiled as he walked past the boys, and he looked at Bad and Skeppy.

"We'll be right back," Skeppy said as he ushered Bad and Ant into the next room.

Meanwhile, the boys stared and watched as they all left the room, and as soon as they heard the door to the kitchen close, they all looked at each other, and then turned to rum to the bird, almost tripping over each other as they all wanted to be the first to reach the bird. When they reached the box, they slowed down, not wanting to scare the magpie. It looked up at them, and for a moment, it looked each one in the eyes.

"It's so cute," George said.

"Look, I think it likes us," Sapnap said.

Dream reached his hand in, and the bird walked up to it, nibbling playfully on his fingers. "She's a she, guys. That's what Ant said."

"Right, so what do we name her?" Sapnap asked.

Dream hummed as he looked at her, trying to come up with a name. "Flappy?"

"No, that's dumb," Sapnap said.

"Shut up, Pandas," Dream said. He laughed as Sapnap glared at him.

"You guys are stupid," George said, watching as the bird waddled her way over to him now.

"What, you got a better idea?"

"How about Margarita?"

Dream and Sapnap became completely still, then they looked to George with curiosity. "What's that?" Sapnap asked.

"I don't know. I heard Captain Puffy talking about them, some kind of drink she had on the ocean? I like how it sounds," George said. He looked down to the bird, wondering if the name fit her.

"Okay, Margarita it is," Sapnap said.

"Excuse me?" Bad gasped. The boys turned to him, seeing Bad and Skeppy at the door to the living room, and they could see Ant poking his head around curiously.

"We named her Margarita!" George said proudly.

Bad cleared his throat, and Skeppy had to turn away so he could cover up his chuckling. "How about we call her Maggie for short?"

George looked back at her, before he nodded. "Sounds good." He pet the top of her head gently. "Hi, Maggie."

Maggie chirped back, seemingly approving of her new name. Then, she wobbled over to Sapnap, giving him big eyes and a mighty, yet tiny, chirp. Sapnap reached in and scratched the back of her head, and it was clear she was enjoying it. It was from that moment that everyone knew that Maggie was going to be something bigger than herself–even as a tiny chick, they knew.

As the days and weeks passed, Maggie grew, and became more independent. She could make her way around the house, though the stairs proved to be a challenge that was always overcome by someone carrying her up or down. She slept in the boys’ room, and the little bed of blankets that she chose to sleep at was dependent on who was the nicest to her that day, although she had a bias towards Dream. Something about him drew her to him.

It took all five of them working in harmony with one another to help Maggie with her day-to-day needs. Bad helped with making sure she was eating enough, Skeppy was helping to make sure she had her own space, though more often than not she was not interested in living in her own place. They boys were in charge of playing with her and keeping her company, and it felt like she was just as present in the group as the rest of them.

While it was true, Sapnap, George, and Dream all already spent a lot of time together, having Maggie brought purpose to their time together, rather than just to play games; although, they still played plenty. Their time, they figured, was more meaningful, or something like that. One day, they were all resting after a long session of playing tag, Dream had laid down in the sun, with Maggie laying on his chest, and George and Sapnap were sitting up, picking at the grass.

"So, what should we do when Dream wakes up?" Sapnap asked, he kept his voice down, not wanting to wake neither Dream nor Maggie.

"I dunno," George said. He shrugged as he squinted at Sapnap. "I do know that he won't want to see your ugly face, though."

"Very funny," Sapnap said, crossing his arms.

George giggled as he watched Sapnap trying to hold the truth back, he indeed did find the joke funny.

“You do realize I’m awake, right?” Dream said.

“But you’re laying down.” Sapnap leaned forward, trying to see if he could get a better angle on Dream and see briefly below his mask.

“Doesn’t mean I’m asleep.” Dream laughed. “Maggie just needs a little break.” She picked her head up and she chirped quickly in Dream’s face as if she was agreeing with Dream. “Plus she has her first flying lessons with Phil soon, are you excited, Maggie?”

She jumped up on Dream’s chest, and she opened up her wings as wide as she could get them. She looked like she was finally fitting her wings as she flapped them excitedly. She jumped, and she eventually made her way up to Dream’s face and nibbled on his mask. Dream pushed her up onto his shoulder as he sat up.

“Is that really today?” George asked.

Dream nodded. “Yeah, Bad told me because he knew you two would forget,” Dream said as he was pulling George to his feet.

“Hey! That’s…” Sapnap had to think about it for a moment. “That’s fair.” He nodded. He stood up.

They walked over to Phil’s house, where Phil’s boys were playing outside, at least Tommy and Tubbo were, Wilbur was sort of watching them while he was playing on his guitar. Phil was out back, stretching his wings while he was pinning his hat to his hair.

He only briefly greeted the boys before sending them to sit down while he worked with Maggie one on one, showing her how to fly. It was fascinating to watch, and while she didn't get the hang of it right away, she certainly made an effort. She tried to mimic Phil's actions, but it wasn't the easiest thing in the world, especially since their wings were on different parts of their bodies.

It wasn't until about two hours in, that Phil had an idea. He bent forward, mimicking the way that Maggie stood, then he pressed his arms against his wings, and then he started flapping. He pulled his legs up, like Maggie should while flying, and while it looked incredibly uncomfortable for him, he took off, only hovering above the ground. Maggie copied, and finally, she got off the ground.

That was a cause for celebration. The boys ran up to her, picking her up and giving her head scratches and kisses, praising her for her progress. After that lesson with Phil, it seemed like her growth was getting faster. She was getting to be fully grown, and she was getting better and better at flying, and the better she got, the faster time seemed to fly by, and before anyone was ready, Maggie was fully grown.

She still stuck around, as she learned to find food for herself, and she learned how to make a nest, everything that a magpie needed to learn how to do. Two months Maggie stayed with them, and she reached her full height, a grand twenty inches or so. She would stand proud on her perch while she watched the family do their things, but she also looked out the window often.

One morning, she was standing in the window looking out, and Bad was standing across the room watching her. He chewed on his lip, knowing that they wouldn’t be able to keep her there forever. He was trying to figure out a way to tell the boys. He nearly screamed when he felt Skeppy tap his shoulder.

“You scared me,” Bad said.

Skeppy stepped next to him as he was chuckling. “I called your name like three times.”

“You did?” Bad asked. Skeppy nodded as he hummed affirmatively. “Oh, sorry.”

“It’s fine, are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m just thinking about how we need to set Maggie free,” Bad said. Maggie turned her head after hearing her name. She squawked at them before she flew over, landing on Bad’s shoulder. She pulled at his hood, a way she showed her affection.

“Yeah, I was expecting this day. How do you think we should tell the kids? They all love her very much,” Skeppy said. He scratched the back of her head.

“My parents always told me that you don’t get everything you want,” Bad said.

“Well, that’s a bit too harsh, my parents liked saying ‘if you love something let it go’.”

Bad hummed as he nodded. “Yeah that works.” He looked at Skeppy, watching as he was smiling at Maggie as she got herself ready to fly off of Bad’s shoulder. She jumped off and she flew back to her perch.

“Hey, Skeppy, I’ve been wanting to ask,” Bad said.

Skeppy turned back to Bad, raising an eyebrow. “What’s up?”

“Well, I’ve noticed that you’ve been down lately, and I can’t help but to feel like I did something wrong. Is it about Sapnap? I thought we healed from that, but sometimes it feels like we don’t even get along anymore."

Skeppy looked into Bad's eyes, hoping that it would buy him just a little bit more time to come up with an answer. He chewed on his lip for a moment. He thought about the conversation he had with Puffy. He sighed. "I forgave you a long time ago, Bad," Skeppy said. He crossed his arms across his chest. "I wish you would do the same."

Bad felt like his breath had been stolen from his chest for a moment. He rubbed his eye, making sure it didn't start crying on him. "I have, Skeppy."

"Then why won't you let it go?"

"Because I care about you, and what I did was really awful."

"Yeah, it was, but that was years ago now, and look where it got us. We have Sapnap, George, and Dream, and while yeah, I hate how it happened, yes, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love the outcome. What I’m scared about is losing you because you can’t get over it. You care so much, Bad, that it blinds you sometimes. I’m alright, are you?”

Bad looked away from Skeppy. He saw that Maggie was still on her perch and looking out of the window. Skeppy was right. Bad did care way too much sometimes, but he couldn’t help it. It’s just what he did, how he had always been. So when he hurt Skeppy… “You’re right,” Bad said, turning back to Skeppy. “We should spend more time together, do you want to go for those walks we used to go on again?”

Skeppy smiled as he nodded. He lightly punched Bad’s shoulder. “I would like that.”

Bad hugged Skeppy tightly, wrapping his tail around Skeppy’s leg. Finally, they heard someone coming down the stairs, and they turned to see who it was. Dream was adjusting his mask as he lazily walked down.

“Morning,” he said as he was already making his way into the kitchen.

“Hey Dream,” Bad said as he stepped away from Skeppy. “Are George and Sapnap awake?” Bad followed Dream into the kitchen.

Dream nodded as he drank some water. He put the glass down before he turned to Bad and Skeppy. “Why?”

“I’ll go get them.” Skeppy turned to get up the stairs.

Meanwhile, Bad led Dream into the living room. Dream sat down as Maggie flew up to him, landing on his shoulder. “Bad, what’s going on?”

“Uh, let’s wait for Sapnap and George,” Bad said.

Dream stared at Bad for a moment before he decided to bring his attention to Maggie. She chirped in his face while they listened to the others come down the stairs. Skeppy was the first to come into the living room, he stood at the door while he ushered Sapnap and George passed into the room. George was rubbing his eyes and getting his glasses on as he walked in. He immediately sat down next to Dream.

“Okay, boys, we need to all talk,” Bad said. Everyone looked at him curiously. Although, Bad was beginning to get an idea that they already knew why they were there, especially when they looked at Maggie. “Okay, so, uh, Maggie is old enough now to take care of herself, right?”

Dream stiffened as he slid Maggie closer to him. His heart was racing, and Bad had a feeling that Dream’s eyes had gone wide under that mask. “So?”

“So, Dream,” Skeppy said. “We can’t keep Maggie here forever. She’s going to have to go out on her own, and she’ll be alright.”

Dream looked into Maggie’s eyes. He scratched the back of her head, just in the exact spot that she loved. He sniffled, despite the fact he was trying to hide it. “Why, though?”

“Sometimes when you love something, you have to let it go,” Bad said. He crouched down in front of him, putting his hand on his knee. Dream looked up to George and Sapnap for a moment before he looked at Bad. “I think I can say this for all of us, but Maggie means a lot to all of us.” Bad thought back on how much closer he had grown to his family; how before, sure they were close, but now with Maggie, things were so much different, especially since they all had to work together to raise her to the point she was at now.

Dream nodded as Maggie jumped off of him and flew over to Sapnap, landing on his head and pulled at his headband, knowing that it would annoy him. However, Dream slid away from Bad as he stood up. “But isn’t she still really young?”

“Well, birds grow up faster, Dream,” Skeppy said. “Besides, she’s smart, she’ll come back to us, I bet.”

Maggie stopped messing with Sapnap just long enough to squawk at Skeppy as if she was agreeing with him.

“So, we let her go?” George asked.

Bad nodded somberly. “Let’s wait just a little bit, okay? Spend just a little bit more time with her, then we’ll let her free.”

No one knew exactly what to do, it felt like anything they would do would be forced and fake, but when Maggie flew over to her little nest that she had made for herself in the window sill. She grabbed one of her balls, and she dropped it in between the group of them, and they started playing a little game of fetch with her. George sat off to the side, preferring to watch from the side. Everyone was laughing and having fun, and George was enjoying it in his own right.

He slid his glasses down. He blinked away the brightness for a moment before he started looking at the others. First, he looked at Bad. He could see the faint image of Bad’s true form. It looked silly inside the house since the ceilings weren’t tall enough to fit Bad’s full height, so his head was cut off by the ceiling above him. He could imagine Bad’s head poking through the floor above, but George could still tell that Bad was enjoying himself, happy to see everyone having fun with Maggie for what could be the last time.

Next, he looked over at Skeppy, who was always a little hard for George to look at. He was confusing. He could still see Skeppy’s skin as the crystals that they were, but it was odd, because like an illusion, he could also see Skeppy’s real skin and hair. George always assumed that it was how he looked before his curse. Skeppy looked relaxed. He stole a glance at Bad, and he smiled

Then it was Sapnap. He had face planted on the floor after tripping over the leg of a chair. Sapnap was the only one who looked normal, well, at least mostly. Shimmering on top of his head were horns that were similar to Bad’s, over his eyes was a white haze, and over his whole body was a dark aura that George recognized to be indicative of his parentage. However, George also knew that this wasn’t Sapnap’s true form or whatever, George knew it existed because of the fact that Sapnap was a half-demon. He looked up, glaring at Dream for laughing at him for his fall. George couldn’t help but to chuckle too.

Then, the room went completely still as Dream took off his mask and set it aside. He was smiling, and George knew it was a genuine smile. The little white figure on his shoulder was standing tall and smiling too, it even looked like it was laughing. The motion in the room returned as they collectively decided to ignore the fact that Dream was maskless. If he was comfortable enough to take it off, they didn’t want to risk him putting it back on.

Then something happened that George had never seen, and George was stunned. Dream was covered completely in a confusing haze, it danced and moved in a way that George would have never imagined on his own. George had to close his eyes, it was giving him a headache to watch it, but when he opened his eyes again, no one was moving. He looked at Dream, and Dream himself was like a haze, and floating in front of him was the little figure. George pulled his glasses back up, and Dream disappeared, only the little floating figure. It looked at the others, and then George realized.

“Dream!” George stood up and he hurried to get to Dream and hold him in his hands.

“Dream?” Skeppy asked.

“So, that’s the kind of demon you are!” Bad said.

Dream looked over at Bad and nodded. “I was afraid to show you guys.” Dream’s voice sounded like it came from the little blob doll, but it’s mouth didn’t move. Suddenly, the Dream blob disappeared in George’s hands, and then the real Dream appeared beside him, just in time for Maggie to fly up and land on Dream’s shoulder.

“Can I do that?” Sapnap asked.

Bad shook his head. “Sorry, Sappy, we can’t do that. But Dream, you don’t have to be afraid to show us who you are.”

“Yeah, that’s really cool!” Sapnap said, punching Dream’s arm.

Dream felt his face go red with embarrassment, but then he realized he didn’t have his mask on, so he knew everyone could see him, which made the whole situation worse somehow. He cleared his throat as he reached for his mask. “Yeah, well, maybe we should let Maggie go, right?”

“Yeah, come on,” Bad said.

Everyone went outside, gathered to the side of their house, and they had gathered around in a semi-circle. Sapnap was holding onto Maggie at first, as they all bid their goodbyes to Maggie, and once they were ready, Sapnap set Maggie down. She looked at each of them and she opened her wings, almost challenging them to play again, but when none of them moved, she turned away from them, and she unfurled her wings, and she took off into the sky. She flew up high, and she circled around them, squawking at them from above before she flew off, heading towards the woods.

They waited–a couple minutes, an hour, maybe a few hours, and that’s how long it took for them to realize that Maggie wasn’t coming back. She understood what she was meant to do, and she was off doing it. They sat in the grass together as they came to terms with what they all knew. Maggie changed something. Bad looked to his family, to his best friend, to his son, to his adopted and tentatively adopted sons, and he smiled. He almost couldn’t believe he got to share everything with them.