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Dream couldn’t think. Everything was so loud, it was too much, he couldn’t breathe. He wanted Sapnap and George but he couldn’t bother them. He would be too much and they would get tired of him again and leave him or send him back and he couldn’t do that again. He couldn’t.
His newly grown nails dug into his scalp as he tried to keep his breathing quiet. He was curled up in a corner of his room, by the dresser, where it was harder to see him and he felt a bit more protected. He couldn't be too loud, they might hear him and get annoyed. He would be good, he had to be good.
Anything, anything at all for them.
He sat there for who knows how long, trying to calm down. He needs to calm down, to be good enough for them. He has to be better.
“Dream? Dream, are you in there?” George, that’s George, sweet, beautiful George who deserves more than a useless mutt like him, who came into the prison like an angel and saw him at his lowest, but still somehow wanted him. Who screamed and screamed until Sapnap came and picked him up and carried him into the bright light. Who cleaned and stitched his wounds, who fed him, who held him when his brain showed him nothing but images of Sir and Warden when he slept.
“Yeah, yeah I'm- I’m here, sorry -I'm sorry, sorry,” Dream managed to choke out, before shuddering and closing his eyes. That was pathetic, get yourself together Dream. How are you supposed to protect them when you can’t even speak right?
“Hey, baby, it's okay. I'm going to go get Sapnap, okay?” No, no, he's going to burn me, I'm going to be too much and he's going to go back to Karl and Quackity and leave us and you’ll get mad at me and go back to sleep again. “I'll be right back Dream.”
Footsteps, footsteps walking away and leaving him again. Stupid, stupid, he has to be better. Dream tries to get up, to calm down, to do anything but lie on the floor next to a dresser, but he can’t. Worthless .
“Hey Dream? Can we come in?” Sapnap, strong, wonderful Sapnap, who protected him when Tommy came, who told him that his promise was null because he never escaped, who didn’t argue when Punz yelled at him and let Punz see Dream. Who broke up with Quackity when he found out what happened in prison, who told Karl to buzz off when he suggested that maybe Dream deserved some of it, even though Dream agreed with him. He did deserve it, at least a little bit.
“Please,” he sobbed, giving up. He can’t do it, not alone. Please, please don't leave me alone again. I'll be good.
He hears the door slowly open and another sob escapes him. There are two sets of footsteps coming towards him, gentle and slow. Dream peaks out between his arms as they lower themselves to the floor.
“Can we touch you baby?” George whispers, reaching his hand out halfway. Dream nods, closing his eyes as tears start to slip out.
George slowly pulls Dream’s hands away from his hair as Sapnap picks him up and settles him in his lap. Immediately, things don’t seem so big and loud, and Dream’s breathing starts to even out.
They just sit there for a few minutes, letting Dream cry as Sapnap holds him and pets his hair while George rubs his thumbs across Dream’s knuckles. Dream absorbs the comfort, some part of him screaming that it's a trick, but it's a small part, one that Dream has come to recognize is one borne from the prison. He can't always ignore it, but right now, in Sapnap’s arms, he can.
Eventually, Dream opens his eyes and sits up a little. Sapnap and George continue to hold him, letting him reorient himself back to reality.
“Sorry,” Dream whispers, not making eye contact. He needs to stop being so needy.
“It’s okay Dream, we’re here for you. I’m so sorry that we weren't in the past,” Sapnap whispers before kissing his shoulder while George nods along.
Dream wants so badly to believe them.
“Want to move to the couch and cuddle?” George offers gently.
Dream nods timidly.
“Okay, let’s go,” George helps Dream stand up and steadies him when he stumbles. He is still not as nimble as he once was, and part of him doubts he ever will be. But for some reason, neither of them seem to mind. Dream can almost be okay with it, as long as they are. Sapnap also stands up, helping guide Dream to the living room.
It takes longer than it should, Dream’s legs still weak from torture and starvation, his breakdown only making it worse. George and Sapnap didn’t complain though, simply helping him when he struggled.
They finally make it to the couch, where they cuddle up with Dream in the middle. Dream starts to melt into the affection, breathing heavily. He missed this so much in prison. He doesn’t regret the dethronement, but he does wish he would have done a better job explaining why that needed to happen.
Everything afterward is so hazy, Punz said he wasn’t fully present for weeks. He barely remembers Exile. That’s probably his biggest regret, though sometimes he wonders if it’s only because the punishment was so painful. Deserved, but painful.
“Hey, I know that look. You don’t deserve to be hurt. I shouldn’t have let Tommy kill you, I should have noticed how bad the prison cell was, and I should have seen how my fiance was changing for the worse.”
“Nope,” George lightly smacks Sapnap’s head. “I don’t need either of you diving into self-hate. We could have all done better, communicated better, but none of us deserve to be hurt. Please get that through your thick skulls, because otherwise, I will figure out how to do it through your dreams.”
Dream giggles a bit, cuddling into his boyfriends. He feels safe. So, so safe. Maybe he can close his eyes, just for a minute.
After all, they love him. And they apparently always have, they just thought he didn’t love them anymore. They cared for him and rescued him.
“I love you guys. So much,” Dream mumbles, giving in to the urge to fully relax.
“We love you too Dreamie,” Sapnap whispers back.
Punz walks into the house a couple of hours later to find them sleeping on the couch, for once undisturbed by nightmares. He sighs, before draping a blanket over them and going to guard the door. You never know who could show up randomly to try and get something out of Dream. He almost wishes Puffy would show up, so he could try to break off one of her horns.
After all, he refuses to let Dream get hurt again, and if George and Sapnap are slowly earning his forgiveness, that’s his business.