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There was a hand carding through Tommy's hair, clearly that was what had woken him. It probably should have struck him as odd; no one really came into his shack nowadays, not unless he invited them and certainly none of them were so... Affectionate. Maybe Wilbur, but he also hadn't seen Wilbur in what was probably months by now. Still, despite how strange it was, despite the little voice buried deep in the back of his sleep-addled mind that was screaming that something was wrong , he still leaned into the touch.
He could hear a soft chuckle just a little over his head, then the hand pulled away and Tommy absolutely did not whine at the loss of contact. There was a quiet rustle of fabric, and then Tommy felt the mattress dip and creak with a new weight.
Clearly, this person didn't want Tommy to stay asleep, because suddenly he felt arms wrapping around his middle and pulling him up and into a sitting position against their chest. Tommy grumbled, upset at being jostled and let his eyes flicker open.
"Aww, there you are." A terrifyingly familiar voice cooed and Tommy froze, his eyes snapping open wider as he struggled to move, to get away. But the arms already wrapped around him tightened, keeping him in place and a hand clamped over his mouth before he could even think to scream.
"Shhh, It's okay," Dream soothed, but the words were anything but comforting, if anything, they only served to make Tommy even more panicked. "I'm not here to hurt you, not this time at least. Just wanted to spend some time with you, that's all."
It didn't matter how soft and sweet Dreams made his words, or how unusually gentle he held Tommy, Tommy still couldn't feel anything but surging panic at his mere presence. Tommy wanted to scream and cry and fight and run away, he wanted to be nowhere near Dream, not now, not ever.
Dream scooted back until he could lean against the wall, pulling Tommy along with him and leaning back.
"You know, it's funny, Tommy," There was a hand carding through his hair yet again, but somehow he was still being held tight enough that he couldn't get away. "I always want to run my sword through your stomach or cleave your head off with an ax and just watch it topple to the floor. I wanna hit you and break your bones and leave you so covered in bruises that no one would ever even be able to r ecognize you-!"
Dream threw his head back with a laugh and Tommy could hear it hit the wall. His heart was pounding so fast he could feel the blood rushing in his ears just as much as he could hear it.
"But..." Dream started again, going back to lazily combing through Tommy's hair. "There's another part of me that just wants to hold you, hide you away and keep you safe from the world and everything in it and just have you all to myself forever. I remember how you looked at me, back in exile. Like I was your- your savior! Like I was the only person you would ever need, like I was the only thing that mattered to you anymore. Why can't you be like that again?"
Tommy couldn't answer that, even if he wanted to, even if he had an answer. His throat was far too choked up to get any words out, not to mention the hand still pressed over his mouth.
"Why can't I just... Have exactly what I want? Why can't I just have all of it?" Dream sighed, leaning his head forward to press his face into Tommy's hair.
They both sat like that for the next few minutes. The beating of Tommy's heart had slowed down a lot, but the fear was still there, hitting him in waves each time he reminded himself of what exactly the kind of situation he was in was.
Dream perked up suddenly, and Tommy could hear the manic smile in his voice. "Maybe I can... I could- I'll go somewhere, somewhere really far away, and then I'll build a nice little home with everything we could ever need and I'll make sure that you won't be able to run away again! Then I'll come back, and I can bring you home- Wouldn't that be nice, Tommy? To have a home again?"
Tommy shook his head as much as he could. No. No he didn't want to go anywhere , especially not with Dream.
"Aw, that's okay. You don't have to like it right now, but I'm sure you'll be happy when you realize just how good it'll be."
“I won’t,” Tommy’s voice was hardly even a whisper, and he was shocked that he was even able to speak. “I won’t, I’ll hate it.”
Dream hummed, squeezing Tommy to his chest. He really was just being treated like a glorified teddy bear. “You’ll learn.”
“I wish I could just take you there now,” Dream mused. “But I can’t yet, since it doesn’t exist. It will soon though, and then I can bring you there and everything will be perfect.”
Tommy didn’t bother answering, instead he just twisted around, trying to get as comfortable as possible. Sue him, he was tired and scared, but that didn’t mean he’d put physically uncomfortable on top of all that when he didn’t have to. So that’s how he ended up with his shoulder and cheek pressed against Dream’s chest.
“I missed this, you know.” Dream said. He was still speaking fairly loud, but his voice was soft. “When I was stuck in the prison, it was hard to sleep, not just because it was uncomfortable, but… I couldn’t come check on you, make sure you were okay. I’d have to spend every single fucking day having no clue if you were alive or not.”
If Tommy was being completely and totally honest with himself, he could somewhat understand.
It was something he couldn’t quite remember the beginning of, but at some point after he’d joined the server, Dream started watching him. Every other night, the man would show up, usually he’d just sit, staring silently. Tommy tried a few times early on, to ask why, but he never got a straight answer- well, hearing Dream now, he probably did. He’d remembered one of the excuses he got was that his house was a shitty form of shelter and that mobs would probably find a way in at night.
It lasted all the way until Dream had been put in pandora’s vault. He only knew it happened in exile because some nights he’d wake up, peeling an eye open, and he’d see Dream’s back to him as the man sat in the opening of the tent, hilt on his sword as he watched, vigilant into the night. And one might think it would have ended when he’d ran to Techno’s cabin, which it did, for a little while. After L’Manberg was destroyed though, it was back to the way it always had been.
So yes, maybe Tommy did find some sort of sick sense of comfort in the ritual. But it had been like that for forever! He rarely ever felt safe, but in those moments, where someone stayed awake and by his side through the night while he slept, all so he wouldn’t get hurt… It did hold something to be desired.
Tommy knew it wouldn’t just be moments like that- like this, though. Dream admitted readily, so, so many times that he’d wanted nothing more than to hurt Tommy, to make him suffer. He already had.
But that didn’t mean he couldn’t pretend in the moment.