Archive of Our Own

    Finding Kinoko was easy. After the fear he’d seen in Sapnap’s eyes it wasn’t hard for Dream to track the direction he’d glanced to find the kingdom that was so cherished by the person he once called brother.

    The person he would still call brother if it wouldn’t fall into deaf ears filled with the static lies of manipulation. 

    Dream’s heart ached.

    He let it. 

    Kinoko was beautiful. He would give them that. The buildings, the roads, it was gorgeous. 

    It would look better bathed in fire and smoke. 

    Careful not to be caught, Dream moved farther down into the city. He’d staked out the terrain for a while now. He knew his way around. He knew that sunset was the nation’s quiet time. He knew that most of its citizens were safe in their homes. 

    They were targets. They would die for something that wasn’t their fault. He couldn’t do that. He didn’t want to do that. He just needed to use the threat. He didn’t want to hurt anyone. He just didn’t want to die. He didn’t want to die. Not when there was a chance of having something to live for. 

    His steps were soundless. The cloak over his shoulders hid the shine of his armor. It hid the blade of his axe strapped to his back. Dream moved with practiced ease that he hadn’t felt capable of in the prison. He ended up at the door far too soon. He knocked far too slow. 

    He waited.

    What if no one answered? What if he was turned away? What if he was abandoned for a second time?

    He waited. 

    This was stupid. He was going to get caught. He should just steal his armor and be done. He should leave. He shouldn’t be here.

    He knocked again.

    Sapnap would kill him if he found him here. If any citizen caught him they would sound the alarm and as much as Dream knew he could talk a big game he also knew that he wouldn’t be able to handle a fight against an entire army right now. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to win a one on one fight against Sapnap alone. 

    The prison had left him too wounded to do that. 

    He waited.

    This was stupid.

    He turned to leave.

    The door opened behind him.

“Hello?”

    The voice was tired. It was rough and disgruntled but it was a voice Dream would know anywhere. Slowly, so slowly, he turned back to the door. 

    Light was pouring through the opening. He could see past the person standing there to see a cream colored wall with shelves. There was a doorway leading into what looked like a kitchen. It looked cozy inside. Warm, safe, comfortable. 

    At least he’d been alright. 

    All Dream had ever wanted was for him to be alright.

“George.”

    Suddenly it felt like all the words he’d planned to say in his head for months at this moment were gone. Everything he thought he could say. Everything he thought he could tell him. He’d rehearsed it time and time again in the suffocating walls of Pandora but now that he was here his mouth ran dry after the breaking of his name. 

    He watched the person who once held his world in his hands realize who it was that was in front of him. He watched George take in his appearance and take half a step back. It made Dream’s heart lurch into his throat. 

    George didn’t want him. George was scared of him. George hated him. Sapnap hadn’t lied. George hadn’t thought of him since he was gone. George probably celebrated. He hated him. He hated him just like everyone else. Just like everyone said. 

    He took a step back of his own. 

“I’m sorry.”

    His voice felt so much weaker now than it had just moments before. He felt like his heart was breaking in his chest. George wasn’t moving. He was just staring at him. He didn’t want him.

“I shouldn’t have come.”

    He forced his boots off the ground. His entire body ached. He forced a shiver down when his soul shattering left him feeling colder than he had that day on the snowy shore after he’d escaped. 

    A hand grazed his arm. He felt it brush the cloak despite the armor plates covering his bicep. He froze the moment he was touched. Other than that first hug from Punz when they met on the beach he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been touched without the intent to harm. 

“Dream?”

    He thought he heard hope in his voice. He felt glued to his spot in the doorway. He couldn’t breathe in fear of shattering whatever it was that George would say. 

    Old jokes about him being whipped surfaced through his mind. He pushed them back down. It wasn’t the time. He had to be focused. That was the past. He’d broken their past. 

“You’re supposed to be in prison.”

    He felt his heart crumple. 

“I got out.”

    It sounded weak even to his own ears. 

“You escaped.”

    George was certain. He was right of course. He had every reason to be certain. Every reason when Dream’s sentence had been forever. George hadn’t been there the night he was wrapped in chains and thrown into the vault. He wasn’t there when he was denied a trial and sent to execution. He wasn’t there when the torture happened and he didn’t know about it. 

    That’s what he told himself. 

“I did.”

    He was scared. He was the monster of the server and he was scared of the person he used to love more than anything else in the world. He was the server’s fallen angel and here he was standing afraid of the person he fell for. 

    George was just staring at him. He looked like he didn’t know what to believe. He could feel his eyes taking him in. The armor that didn’t fit exactly right. The prison uniform he still wore underneath it because he hadn’t quite felt right enough to put his own clothes back on. He still felt like more of a prisoner than he did his own person. The taunts from Sam and Quackity were so far burned into his mind that he wasn’t sure he’d be able to let go even with Punz helping him from the shadows. 

“Dream?”

    His eyes snapped back to meet Georges. He hadn’t realized he’d been taking in the other as well. He watched him take a step closer. He looked unsure but he didn’t look afraid.

“Sapnap told me he’d kill you.”

    His mouth felt dry. He remembered his brother’s oath to him. He remembered it more than he cared to admit. He let his voice break the last of his hope that he was still loved. 

“Do you want him to?”

    The question was asked before he ever thought about it. He felt guilt and terror wash up his throat like bile. What if George said yes? What if he agreed? What if he called him a monster and he had to face the cold reality of everything being shattered from his touch. 

    Quackity was right when he called him poison. Sam was right when he told him he was worthless. He should have let Sapnap kill him the moment he got out. He shouldn’t have let Punz treat his wounds. He should have—

    George was touching him. He was grabbing his arms. He looked horrified but there was something in his eyes that told Dream that the horror wasn’t of him. It was for him.

“Dream?”

    George was searching him for something. He was staring at his mask but he was looking like he could find something behind it. A year ago he would have believed that without question. Now he was wondering if it was still possible for anyone to see him. 

“Forget I asked—”

    He tried to turn away again but he felt George pull him closer instead. He stumbled. George was pulling him into the house and turning to put himself between Dream and the door. The whole time he never let go of his arms and held him firm. It was still gentle. He was making sure he was secure but he wasn’t hurting him.

    Why wasn’t he hurting him?

    He should be hurting him.

    He felt like he was frozen. What was George doing? He watched him as he let go. George turned away from him after making sure he was standing and looked out the door. He was scanning in the same way Dream recognized as him checking for enemies when they used to scout together years ago. 

    Soon enough the door was closing and locking and the curtains were being drawn. George was making sure they were alone. He was making sure he wasn’t seen. 

    He refused to give himself false hope. 

“Dream?”

    His name came out as a request. George’s tone was soft, concerned. It was full of emotion he wasn’t sure he knew how to identify. 

“What happened to you?”

    If he hadn’t been paying attention he would have missed it. The soft tones of his voice. The way George was staring at him like he was a wounded animal. It made his pride want to lash out and fight but it made the broken part of him want to crumble into his arms. 

    Part was the monster he paraded as. Part was the human he was. 

“What do you mean?”

    George stepped closer. He was hesitating. Dream stayed where he was. 

“You sound scared. You’re shaking. You…You asked if I wanted you dead.”

    His mind was reeling. He didn’t know how to respond. He didn’t know what was right. 

“I just…” If he gave the wrong answer would he lose him forever? “I just needed to check.”

    He watched George’s heart break. He took another step forward but Dream felt himself back up before he could stop it. 

“I’m sorry—”

“Don’t apologize.”

    His mouth snapped shut on instinct. George looked gutted. 

“I knew you were in prison.” His voice carried pain. “I knew about Sapnap’s promise.” Dream felt his world fall apart. “I never agreed with any of it, Dream.”

    What?

    The confusion must have shown on his face because George was looking more desperate for him to understand. He moved to step closer before thinking better of it and staying where he was. 

“When Sapnap told me that you’d been arrested I demanded your release. When he told me you’d been killed I—” There were too many emotions in his eyes for him to understand. “I wanted to kill Tommy.” 

    He sounded guilty of the words. He had no idea how it made Dream’s heart soar to hear. 

“I tried to break you out.”

    He felt dizzy just imagining it. Sapnap had told him that George never cared. Sapnap had told him George never thought about him. That day in Tubbo’s vault his brother had told him no one cared for him. He’d told him about the torture and Sapnap hadn’t cared. But George would care. George hadn’t left him. George cared still, right?

“I wanted to visit you but I felt too guilty for failing every time and I—”

    This time George’s thoughts won. He took a small step forward. He waited for Dream to pull away but he couldn’t bring himself to. He was just staring at the last person he had left.

“You look thinner, you look hurt, you’re shivering even though I know how warm your armor is. I should have tried harder. I should have—”

“You still want me?”

    Once again the words spilt from his lips before he could think them through. George had that effect on him. He made him move before he thought. He turned him into actions. George was his heart in a fight. George was his passion. George was his everything. 

    George looked like he melted.

“I have always wanted you.”

    Dream wanted so badly to believe it. He wanted to move into his arms and close the distance between them. He wanted to crumble and break against his love like their secret vows all that time ago promised him he could. 

“I thought you hated me.”

    He remembered their fight too vividly. He remembered how they’d argued with each other and how Sapnap had demanded that he never cared for them. He remembered the betrayal in George’s eyes when he told him to tell him he hated him. He remembered holding his heart in his hands as he explained what he did only for the people he loved most to call it a lie. 

    He looked in George’s eyes and found regret. 

“I was upset.” Here it was. “But I never hated you, Dream.”

    He took another step closer. Dream didn’t move. 

“I never hated you. I was hurting and confused and I wasn’t ready to listen but when I was, I found out you were in prison and I just never—”

    He watched his eyes take in his body again. He watched him swallow his words. 

“What did they do to you?”

    He asked it like he wasn’t expecting an answer. Dream watched the emotions in his eyes for another moment. He thought about telling him the truth. He thought about brushing it away like he had with Punz. 

“It was hell.”

    His voice scratched his throat on its way out. George only waited for him to continue. He took a step closer. George didn’t move. He let him take control.

“I was starved.” 

    He was testing the waters, he knew that. The others in his server would have told him immediately right then that he was lying. They would have told him that Sam was too good to starve a helpless prisoner. But George didn’t do that. George was listening to him. George was letting him speak without judgment. 

“I was beaten.”

    He could see his old love looking over what he could see of his body. His cloak was filthy and the armor gave him more bulk but neither of them fit him correctly anymore. Both of them were too large for him now.

“Sam let,” George was friends with Quackity. He remembered multiple sessions where that point was bragged and hung above his head as a taunt. Everyone had known that George was his weakness. Everyone had known George was the way to his heart. None of that had stopped after the confrontation with the crowns. “Sam let Quackity in. Everyday.”

    He saw the confusion paint George’s features.

“Sam told me there weren't any visitors.”

“There weren’t.”

“Quackity wasn’t a guard—”

“Sam was letting him in to torture me.”

    The silence felt suffocating and freeing all at once. He wasn’t sure what he expected but seeing the horror and misery in George’s eyes brought him a sort of peace. He cared. He actually cared. He believed him. He wasn’t calling him a liar and he wasn’t calling him a monster. 

    George cared.

“What?”

“I killed Tommy, in the cell.”

    George had already confessed to wanting to kill the boy. He wasn’t worried about the backlash from that. 

“I revived him after but Quackity still came. They wanted the revival book. They tried to make me give it to them.”

    He watched George hesitate.

“And did you?”

    He couldn’t help the fond smile on his lips. An echo of the confidence he once freely held. 

“I am the book, Georgie.”

    The understanding clicked instantly. 

    When they had met George had been making codes for servers to help Admins and selling them in the lobbies of public worlds. He’d caught his attention by calling out for ‘the Masked Idiot’ who looked like they needed some help. Dream had been watching him for a while but never thought to go talk. Not until then. They’d bantered with each other back and forth a bit before Dream had asked him for the code.

“I am the code, Dreamie. You get to take me on your team or you don’t get the program.”

    George was staring at him now. He was beginning to worry how he would take it but then he was laughing and smiling and shifting oh so slightly closer to him. 

“You’re an idiot.”

“But I’m your idiot, right?”

    The laughter stopped. He hadn’t meant to question it but he couldn’t help it. 

    George had joined his team. He’d introduced him to Sapnap and the three of them went everywhere together. He’d created this world for them. He’d built it to be their home. He’d had his fling with Fundy when George left him but then low and behold on the day of the wedding George had stolen him away. They’d run to Church Prime. Both of them panting and laughing and maybe a little hysterical from the rollercoaster of emotions. They’d confessed far more than they planned on that day. They’d held each other and swore oaths that when sunrise came that day had been meant for other people. 

    They’d promised themselves for each other. 

    They’d sworn vows to seal it. 

    They’d kissed to ensure it. 

    Now Dream was looking at him through a cracked and filthy mask after confessing his torture asking if those promises held true. If George still loved him enough to consider him his. He watched George think. He saw his eyes running over the mask before he settled on his choice.

    He took a step closer. He waited for a reaction and then took another. George sealed their gap. He stood in front of him in a place where most people in this world would have fainted or been killed and yet he showed no sign of fear. Dream looked in his eyes and he only saw the same things he had the day they made their vows. 

“Dream..”

    He lifted his hands slowly. Pausing when he heard the hitch of his breathing but Dream didn’t allow himself to pull away. He let George’s hands cup his cheeks behind the mask. He felt the cool touch of his skin. He felt him pause when his fingers brushed scars that hadn’t been there the last time they saw each other. He felt his thumb brush over his skin in the way he used to do when he was stressed and needed help calming down. 

“You will always be my idiot.”

    His voice was soft. Like the words he spoke were a secret to the world that could never be shared to anyone but him. It made heat swell through his chest and affection flood through his heart. Dream couldn’t stop the wet laugh that pulled through his throat. 

    Without thinking he reached forward to pull George against him. He felt him go willingly. Felt him move his arms to hook around his neck and hold him just as close despite the armor keeping them apart. 

    They stayed like that for a moment. Each of them had time to make up for that they couldn’t keep the other in their arms. Dream let himself breathe in the smell of cotton and cornflowers that had always reminded him of George. He let himself close his eyes and cling to the fact that he hadn’t lost it all. That the taunts from the hell of Pandora’s Vault had only been taunts and nothing more. That Sapnap had been wrong. That he’d lost almost everything but he hadn’t lost George. 

    He couldn’t lose George. 

    Kinoko could burn by morning. 

    He felt his heart strangle his throat before he pulled away slightly. He needed to look at George. He needed him to understand. Reaching a hand to his mask he pushed it out of the way. He didn’t miss how George’s eyes had locked on the tremor he hadn’t quite managed to get rid of yet from the Prison. 

“George,” His voice dropped the seriousness of his question. He could see his love frown in preparation. “Sapnap—”

“I won’t tell him about you—”

“No, that’s not it.”

    He took George’s hands in his own. His fingertips brushed the skin of George’s wrists while the leather coating his palms creaked. 

“Sapnap has all of my armor, my weapons. He has the Nightmare set.”

    George’s eyes darkened. He felt him try to pull away but he tightened his hands. 

“That’s not why I’m here.”

    George was looking at his face. He was taking in the new marks on him. He was staring at his eyes like something in them had changed. Maybe they had. He was too scared to look. 

“We fought with each other. We argued and I threatened Kinoko for my items.”

“Dream—”

“Join me.”

    Everything in the room paused.

“Join you?”

“Yes.” 

    He let his heart jump for the chance to be with him again. To bring George to Punz and the three of them finish the plan to unite the family he’d lost. A path that left him with one of his own still intact. 

“What,” George hesitated. “What was your threat?”

    Honesty was what George needed. If he tried to make this seem better than it was he would only hurt himself in the end.

“I told him I would burn Kinoko to the ground. That I would destroy it and everything inside unless he gave me what was mine.”

“Why?”

    He had to be honest.

“Because Sapnap loves Kinoko more than me.” The words hurt him to say. “It was the one thing I could threaten to stay alive.”

“Dream…”

“He would have killed me. You said it yourself I don’t look the same. It was worse right after I escaped. I—”

“Do you want to destroy Kinoko?”

    He paused.

“What?”

“Did you want to destroy Kinoko?”

“I would if—”

“No. Dream.” He sounded exasperated. “Do you actually want to burn this all to the ground or did you say it so that you lived?”

    George could still read him. George still knew him. 

“Did you want to kill everyone inside? Did you want it ruined? Did you want me dead?”

    He felt his eyes widen at what George was asking. He’d done all of this for him. He’d done it all to make a world where he was safe. His dethronement was purely for his safety while Dream worked to reunite the server that Wilbur and Tommy had split apart. 

“What if I did?”

    He had to know. He needed to know how George would react. He needed to appease his paranoia with the comfort that another perceived betrayal wouldn’t have him alone and in shambles. 

    George didn’t look convinced.

“If you did then why are you here? Why did you come to ask me to come with you? Why would you risk your life just to ask me a question if you wanted to see it all burn down?”

    He was lost in George’s face. In the kindness in his eyes and the understanding from his lips. George looked at him like he was mending his wings. He looked at him like he was fallen but loved. Like he was still the angel he was before despite being muddied in the earth. 

“I didn’t want to.”

“Do you now?”

“No.”

“Would you have harmed it if I was inside?”

    He didn’t even have to think.

“No.” It was never a question. “I would have made sure you were safe.”

    It was the truth. Through everything he’d done he’d ensured George’s safety and survival. He’d hurt Tommy because Tommy hurt George. He’d slaughtered because George was a target. He’d manipulated because George was threatened. He didn’t regret a single moment of it. 

    Hands once again found his face. He let George run his thumb over the scar along his jaw. He let him map the freckles with the new lines that sliced into his skin from the times Quackity wanted to see how deep he could cut before his body gave out and fell through the respawn mechanics of the vault. 

“Will you listen to me? Take my input on all of our decisions, talk to me?”

“I will.”

“If I join you, will we be partners?”

    He felt his soul ache to soar.

“We can be anything you want us to.”

“Don’t shut me out again.”

“I won’t. Never. I’ll give you anything.”

    One moment they were staring at one another and the next they had their lips crashed together with enough longing to make tears slip down both their cheeks. It was a reunion. It was a promise being held after so long apart. It was a vow that was returned after ages of being broken. Their kiss was an apology and ‘I love you’ wrapped into the same moment. Same action. It was sorrow and relief. It was pain and it was joy. 

    It was the missing shard of Dream’s long broken heart. 

    And then explosions rattled the house. The ground shook beneath them and screams echoed through the air. Out of instinct Dream wrapped his arms around George closer. His fingers itched to reach for his axe but he waited. George went tense against him. He was staring at the door. His breathing had turned measured like it used to when they were still actively doing fights for money and notoriety. 

“What was that?”

    His voice whispered. Dream matched him.

“I don’t know.”

“I thought you said you didn’t—”

“That wasn’t me. I didn’t do that.”

    It stung that the thought crossed George’s mind but he also understood it. They had spent so long apart and had far too much to talk about. He would take George away after this. Bring him into the woods and meet with Punz at their hidden base. He would tell them both everything about the prison. He would explain in full what his plan was. He would hide nothing from George again. 

“Oh Dream!”

    The singsong tone of the call was violent in comparison to the memories of its use in their old games. He could tell by the sharp breath that George felt him tense under his hands. Both of them knew the sound of Quackity’s voice. Both of them knew what was coming. 

“Dream—”

“I have to face him.”

“We could leave—”

“Not if he’s hunting you to get to me.”

    He tried to show his need for this in his eyes. He tried to tell George without words that this was what needed to happen. That there was no way around this. That it would only stop if he showed up. 

“Dream! I know you’re here! I know you watch your explosions!”

    Sapnap.

    Dream felt his heart freeze in his chest. Sapnap was here. Sapnap was standing by Quackity’s side. He hadn’t set the bombs. He hadn’t detonated anything. If Sapnap thought it was him then it must have been Quackity. 

    His torturer stole his best friend from him. He stole all of Sapnap’s faith in him. He was using him as a weapon to fight him. 

    At least Quackity was still scared to fight him when he was able to stand and had a blade of his own. At least the duck still knew he would never win if they were on even ground. 

    Dream hadn’t been broken yet. 

“George..”

    He begged him to understand. He saw in his eyes that he did. 

“I’ll be right behind you.”

    He let out his breath as he stepped away. It pained his heart to do it but it was necessary. One hand lifted to put his mask back into place as the other reached for the handle of his blade. It wasn’t as heavy as he was used to with Nightmare but for the muscle mass he’d lost in the prison the weapon was good. It suited him for now. 

    His cloak made him look dangerous. It fit for his needs. Appearance was half the battle. With his mask in place no one saw the fear in his eyes. With his gloves and the shadows no one saw his hands shake. With the cloak no one saw the ill fit of his armor. No one saw the scars and the damage. No one saw the pallor of his skin while he still struggled to recover from all that had been done to him. 

    George pulled a blade for himself from one of his walls. His home had looked harmless and welcoming when he first came in. He was glad that George hadn’t lost the habits that kept him safe for years. 

    Turning around and settling himself into the act he was going to need to pull, Dream stepped back through the doorway and into the night air of Kinoko. 

    Fires were raging from buildings on the outskirts. He saw the one he’d marked as the armory rising in a column of smoke and flames. He knew that it was a frame. He knew that Quackity had planned this. That he wanted to use him and flay the honor of his name that had been shattered by obsidian and blackstone stains. 

    He watched the moment both of them saw him. He saw the axe in Quackity’s hands. He saw how poor his grip was despite having no wounds. He saw the fury in Sapnap's expression. The anger in how he held his sword. They had been brothers but still they were resorted to this. 

    The wood creaked in the doorway and Dream watched the realization in their eyes as they saw George step behind him. 

“George, get away from him.”

“No.”

    There was a layer of protectiveness in his rejection that made fire light its way through Dream’s core. All of this was for George. Every second of it. Every moment of his agony had been in defense of his name. 

    He watched them settle back onto him. He continued to stalk forward. Neither of them moved. The fires were screaming. The people were running. Dream locked his eyes on his opponents. 

“It doesn’t have to be like this Sapnap.”

    He mimicked the tone he’d used back in Tubbo’s vault. He matched the energy they’d brought to him first. He saw Sapnap’s eyes darken. He saw Quackity’s nerves turn. 

“It does. I have a promise to keep.”

    He heard George ready his blade behind him. He saw the confusion in Sapnap’s eyes but Quackity was the one who spoke next. He kept adjusting his stance. He was scared. 

“What did you do to him?”

    He felt the fire in his heart sharpen to rage. 

“George, whatever he has on you—”

“He has nothing.”

    George’s anger was a weapon few experienced. Standing behind it while it fought in his defense only settled his resolve. 

“You’re cocky, Quackity. To come here and set bombs to frame me. What if Sapnap knew it was you?”

    He emphasized his name for the reaction. Quackity had beaten a set of rules into him time and time again in the cell. He’d ordered him only to ever call him ‘Sir’ so many times it had become second nature in favor of survival. But this wasn’t that time anymore. He didn’t need to beg for his life. 

    He would make Quackity beg instead. 

“I was with him—”

    George cut off all of Sapnap’s response. 

“And I was with Dream. He was here. Both of us know Dream’s smarter than to detonate a nation he was standing in, Sapnap.”

    He moved to stand beside him rather than behind him. Dream hadn’t moved. He kept his eyes watching them both. He was waiting for the falter. 

    He saw it in Sapnap first while he processed George’s words. 

“Why are you with him?”

    Sapnap wasn’t looking at him. He was looking at George. He treated it like Dream was just a pet that he didn’t want to keep. Like he was an unwanted stranger rather than the person he used to call family. 

“He told me what happened.”

    Dream tightened his grip on his axe. He watched both of them take a second before they looked at each other. He saw Quackity straighten and laugh. He saw Sapnap glance at him with nothing but pure disappointment. 

“George, Dream is lying.”

“No I’m not.”

    He took another step forward. He heard Quackity’s laugh stop instantly. Fear, good. That was what he wanted. 

“I was tortured. Everyday. You didn’t believe me and sided right along with him but did you ever ask him? Sapnap? I’m sure Quackity would be more than happy to brag about how he made me bleed.”

    His voice spat venom. His rage rolled off his tongue like acid. He let it coo the call of coming death.

“Or is it that you were scared.” He forced a grin under his mask. He wanted to solidify his stance. He let his arrogance carry him closer regardless of how Sapnap shifted to strike. “Scared that you would need to realize that your fiance isn’t as good as you thought. Scared to admit that I was a victim too.”

    His eyes shifted to Quackity. The mask turned to follow. 

“Go ahead. Tell him.” He leaned down oh so slightly. Just enough to make a mocking bow before he leveled them both with a poisoned stare. “Confess your crime to the one you love, Sir. Beg him for forgiveness, Sir. Remember our rules? Beg me for forgiveness or I will slaughter you where you stand.”

    Sapnap moved in the same moment George did. Sapnap’s sword lifted and he stepped in front of Quackity. George grabbed his arm and pulled him a half step back. 

“Dream. Stop.”

    His anger was boiling over but he stayed calm in George’s hands. He swore he would listen. The fear in Quackity’s eyes would be enough for now even though he saw it swirling back into anger. He thought he had it sold. He thought it was determined for his favor. He didn’t see Sapnaps contemplation. He didn’t see him trying to size Dream beneath the cloak. 

“Prove it.”

    Quackity froze where he stood behind him. The fire light was flickering over them all in the silence of their argument. Dream lowered his axe and lifted a hand to his collar. He hooked his fingers under the fabric of his cloak and the top lip of the chestplate before he pulled them both down. The air was sharp against the scar but he held still regardless. He let them take it in. George as a painful presentation. Sapnap as proof. Quackity as a reminder. 

    The brand of Quackity’s smile sat scarred into the flesh above his collar bone. Ragged and raw from the burning iron that had pressed in and the knives that recarved it every chance it tried to heal. 

“Every, single, day.”

    Quackity faltered. He readjusted his grip on the axe. 

“You fucking deserved it.”

    The admittance was the nail in the coffin. He saw all of it click in Sapnap’s eyes. He felt the tug of his arm as George pulled him another step back. Dream left his eyes on Sapnap. Sapnap hadn’t stopped staring at the scar. 

“He came everyday, Sapnap.”

    Another step. His voice got softer. 

“And you didn’t believe me.”

    George pulled him again and Dream let the cloth go. He allowed his arm to fall and pull George closer to him. With a final look at the two opponents he turned his back to them. He let George pull him away with shouts from Quackity demanding a chase echoing in his ears. 

    He didn’t hear steps. He heard Sapnap’s seething anger turn to someone new. 

    Dream felt himself breathe. Despite the smoke and the smell of burning flesh and wood he breathed. George was leading him hand in hand. Sapnap believed him. 

    He hadn’t lost it all. 

    He still had something left. 

    He saw Sapnap’s anger shift when he saw the scar. He saw the realizations click. 

    Maybe he could get a little more back too. 

    Maybe Dream could still have a family. Maybe he could still have his home. 

    Maybe.