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"Dream?"
"Yes?" Dream looked up from his book.
"I know you told me that you're a Pyromaniac since you were three," Nightmare snorted, sipping his coffee. "But I do wonder how it worsened. After all, if Blue and Ink were keeping an eye on you for a couple of years, the tendencies would have lessened,"
Dream winced. "Ah... that," He hummed. "Are you sure you wanna know? It's not a pretty story,"
The statement made Nightmare frown, paired with the shift of emotions he felt from his twin. He set his coffee down. "That... only gives me concern,"
"Haha, it's not... that bad," Dream's words didn't match with his emotions, worsening Nightmare's concern as he watched his twin set the book down. "Just... not a story I thought I'd tell you, you know?"
"Dream..." Nightmare held his breath before sighing. "I don't... want to pressure you to tell me, but please..." He reached out to him. "I want to know,"
Dream gave a hum before nodding. "Okay... Okay. It... happened a few years ago..."
"Fantastic job, Dream." Core Frisk praised after the fire was put out. "Everyone is safe, and the kids are all reunited with their parents. All in all, this AU is saved,"
"Yeah, great job, Dream!" Ink cheered, wrapping an arm around Dream. "Sorry we were late! Blue and I didn't realize that there was a fire until we saw the news!"
"It's alright," Dream assured, even as he winced at the injuries on him. "I'm glad to have helped as much as I can,"
"Then you must rest." Core Frisk told him. "You are very injured."
"Yeah!" Ink agreed. "Come on, Blue! Let's take Dream home to heal!"
Blue said nothing, not even looking at Dream but he nodded. Dream's lips pursed, his gaze falling to the floor as the other turned around to open the portal. If Ink noticed, he never brought up anything, waving Core Frisk goodbye as they finally made it to the Star Sanses's home base.
The silence was thick as they set foot in the living room. Dream sat on the couch, hands on his lap and his eye lights are still glued to the floor as Blue reached for the first aid kit on a shelf. He grabbed a small chair to sit before he pulled on Dream's arm, ignoring the wince from the other, to fix up. Ink hummed and looked at the kitchen before coughing.
"Oh! Looks like we've got no dinner yet! I'll go order some pizza!"
Ink quickly left the room. Dream watched as the artist took his leave. His gaze finally landed on Blue. He took a breath.
"I'm so--"
"No."
Dream winced at the other's cold tone. He looked at the couch then at the floor. "Blue, I'm so--"
"I said no." Blue pulled on the bandages harshly, teeth gritting. "I'm not hearing nor am I accepting any apologies from you."
"..." Dream looked at the wall, murmuring. "The fire was an accident..."
"And you think that's BETTER!?" Blue finally let go of Dream, eye lights gleaming. Dream could feel his rage, causing a chill run down his spine. "What were you THINKING!?"
"I promise I didn't mean to burn the school!" Dream defended himself.
"I KNOW IT WAS AN ACCIDENT, DREAM!" Blue stood up, rubbing his forehead with a scowl. "You would never burn a school, especially not an innocent one, but that makes it so much worse!" He crossed his arms. "Tell me what you were planning to do."
Dream grimaced. "I don't... I wasn't..."
"TELL ME WHAT YOU WERE PLANNING TO DO WITH THE LIGHTER, DREAM!" The tears pricked his eyes, the rage bubbling in Blue as he gritted his teeth. "WHY DID YOU TAKE IT FROM THE SHELF!? WHAT WERE YOU PLANNING TO DO!?"
"I..." Dream hiccupped, his body trembling. His own tears were rolling down his cheeks as he hugged himself. "I'm sorry..."
Blue stared at the other, his own body shaking from the negative emotions swirling in his mind. His eye lights shrunk before he sat on the chair. "You said... You said you were doing better... You said that you'd STOP!" He shook his head. "Why didn't you tell us!? Why didn't you tell ME!?"
"I... I didn't know how..." Dream's breathing was heavy as he refused to look at the other. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." His tears flowed like a waterfall, pulling his knees to his chest. "I'm sorry, Blue..."
"..." Blue sighed. He reached out to grab his arm, pulling off the gloves. His eye lights vanished at the sight of the burn marks reaching from Dream's finger tips to the bones of his lower arm. "Dream...!" He pulled on his other glove, and the sight was the same, possibly even worse with parts of his bones darkened in near ashes. "Oh my god..."
Dream still couldn't meet his eyes. He winced when his hands were exposed, closing his eye sockets. "It... It felt good..."
"THIS isn't GOOD, DREAM!" Blue's own tears were streaming. "Some of these aren't even new! A lot of this are week-old burns!" He shook his head. "Where else did you burn yourself!? Show me! NOW!"
Dream began to cry, unable to speak, yet he removed his boots and pulled down his sleeves. Blue wanted to puke, seeing the burned marks and ashes where his teammate's bones should be. Some were so burned that it was a miracle they hadn't broken from the sockets. Blue hissed and grabbed the bandages, wrapping each burn as a temporary fix.
"There's so much...! Dream, why is there so much!? Doesn't it hurt you how much you've burned yourself!? What if your bones fell off!? What if we're in a battle, your arms or legs fell off because of the burns!? Dream, LOOK AT YOURSELF! YOU'RE INJURED SO MUCH, DREAM, PLEASE!" Blue almost stumbled as both him and Dream were balling their eye sockets. "PLEASE, PLEASE, TELL US WHAT'S WRONG! TELL ME WHAT'S WRONG! LET ME HELP...! Just... DON'T DO THIS TO YOURSELF!"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry...!" Dream could only shake his head, curling up. "I'm sorry, Blue, I'm sorry... I... I don't know..."
"You don't know WHAT!?"
"I DON'T KNOW WHY I LIKE BURNING MYSELF!" Dream was heaving, his voice shaky. "I don't know WHY, BLUE! I just... DO! I CAN'T HELP IT! I CAN'T STOP IT! I..." He fell off the couch and on his knees. "I don't know how to stop... I... I'm sorry, Blue..." His hands were on his face, trying to hide himself. "I'm s-sorry..."
Blue's gaze softened, his anger shifting into pity and guilt. "Dream..." He moved to pull the skeleton into a hug. "Please... if there's something wrong, please tell me at least..."
"..." Dream didn't reply, only closing his sockets as he continued to cry in the other's arms.
"..." Blue sighed and gently rubbed his head. He glanced at the floor for a moment before looking back at the other. "Did it feel good to burn the school?"
"...yes," Dream shakily nodded. "It felt... like an adrenaline rush, and I felt... distracted..."
"I see..." Blue hummed. He muttered under his breath. "I'm probably gonna regret this..." He shook his head. "Okay. How about this?" He held his hands with a gentle yet firm grip. "Let's have a deal,"
"Hm?" Dream tilted his head.
"I'll let you use the lighter to burn other things if you need or want to," Blue offered. "But. You shouldn't burn yourself. Burn anything else... anyone else..." He winced at his own words. "Just not yourself. Do we have a deal?"
Dream's eyes lit up. "R-Really?"
"Really," Blue nodded. "Therapy didn't work, and... I know you won't be able to tell me everything, so... I believe this is for the best," He chuckled and gently patted his head. "As long as you don't burn yourself, promise?"
"I promise, Blue!" Dream wrapped his arms around him. "Thank you so much!"
Blue gave a hum, gently rubbing his back. "You're welcome, Dream..."
"..."
Nightmare stared at his brother, eye light vanishing as he dropped his cup mid-listening. Dream only looked away, rubbing his arm.
"Yeah, so--"
"Show me your arms."
Dream winced. "What...?"
"Show me your arms, Dream."
Dream looked at the floor for a moment before raising his arms. Nightmare removed his sleeves, and his eye socket saddened at the sight of the burns. Most of them were old, but there some that he could tell were recent.
Recent...
...
"You broke your promise to Blue."
"..." Dream didn't speak, staring at the wall.
Nightmare hissed. "Why... what's going on with you, Dream?" He gently reached his tentacle to turn his twin's head back to him. "What happened?"
Dream stared at his brother for a long while before the tears began to fall. "I'm sorry..." He took back his arms, wrapping an arms around himself. "Everything that's happened... it was my fault... You eating the apple and turning into a corrupted being... that was all my fault. I wasn't... I wasn't strong enough to fight those bullies." He hissed, his hand subconsciously moving to rub his skull. "So I thought that maybe... maybe if I burn myself again and again... maybe I'll be strong enough! Maybe... Maybe you and the others don't need to protect me..." His body began to tremble, and the pain circled in his chest and mind. "Maybe... maybe I wouldn't be a burden to you and... and everyone else..."
"Dream..." Nightmare moved to wrap his arms around his twin, holding him as gentle yet as firm as he could. "You aren't a burden, Dream... You are strong..." He shook his head. "You're the strongest skeleton I've known since we were kids..."
"And yet I couldn't protect you!" Dream gritted his teeth. "I still got hurt because I was so weak!"
"No, Dream..." Nightmare shook his head. "We were kids. You were a kid. Those bullies... they were horrible." He scowled, tentacles protectively wrapping around his brother. "None of this is your fault..."
Dream didn't answer. He closed his eye sockets, curling up on his brother's hold. Nightmare sighed and fluttered his eye socket shut, no more words exchanged between the twins as they let the peaceful silence envelop them.