Chapter Text
Dream sighed contently as he brought his mug up to his lips, taking a sip of the warm liquid. It was pretty early, the sun was still down and the sky still had it’s stars. He woke up half an hour ago from a dream he couldn’t remember fully. It wasn’t really a dream, more of a nightmare. He got them a lot, it was just natural to assume he was going to wake up way too early. He watched the sun peak over the mountains, he could see his warm breath in the cold air. The roof was always a nice place to relax after a nightmare. The open space along with just being outside was helpful. He heard the trap door open and he assumed Sapnap realized he’d gotten out of bed. Dream started getting into the habit of sleeping with his friends if he was having trouble sleeping or if he just wanted to. He only slept with Sapnap, very rarely George, Techno or sometimes Tommy. He only slept with Tommy if Tommy was the one having a nightmare which was pretty often. If he wasn’t there to help the boy, Tubbo or Wilbur would. Techno was fairly rare, it was only when Dream was having a nightmare and it was usually a very bad nightmare that would lead to a panic attack. George was by far the rarest. Dream was still uncomfortable with most physical contact. He just got used to George touching him again maybe a week or two ago. Sapnap was the one he went to the most. If he was having a nightmare he’d go to Techno or Sapnap but he also just got into bed with Sap because he wanted to. Sap also had nightmares, he was more open about it than Dream. They all knew Dream got them, sometimes they’d all wake up to screaming and crying and Techno or Sap would have to calm him down. It was hard to watch, many didn’t. Even though it had been a few months since it happened, nightmares were common. Everyone had them. Tommy would have one’s about his friends dying, his worse ones tended to be when Dream died as the boy still felt guilty about Dream nearly getting killed. Sapnap’s were about him dying, George dying, Dream dying. Wilbur, Techno, Skeppy, Bad, Tubbo, George, they all had them. Dream’s were about dying or everyone getting hurt, guilt basically. Those weren’t as bad because once Dream woke up he could usually figure out they aren’t real. The worst one was when he relieved certain points of the duel, like the murder. His worst one, the one he always woke up screaming to was when Slayer had basically tortured him or the moments before Tommy was nearly killed, when the sword cut his face and dug into his side and leg. He felt like he could feel the pain when he woke up, he could feel the sword bury itself in his leg, dragging him back. He could feel all the kicks to his torso. He felt like it was real and it horrified him. He sighed. He could hear the feet of someone approaching.
“Hey Dream,” said Sapnap. Dream hummed in acknowledgement.
“Hey Sap,” replied Dream. Dream was sitting on the ledge of the roof, feet dangling off the front. Sapnap hopped up onto the ledge, careful not to touch Dream.
“Nightmare?” asked Sap. Dream sighed and nodded. Sapnap noticed his mask sitting next to him. It was rare for Dream to take his mask off even though everyone knew what he looked like. It seemed to take up the role of ‘emotional support object’. Dream smiled.
“Wasn’t too bad though, it was better than normal,” reassured Dream when he saw Sapnap’s sad face. He smiled brightly at his friend, Sap looked at him and smiled in return.
“You sure you’re good? You could’ve woken me up,” said Sapnap. Dream shrugged.
“You stayed up pretty late, and it wasn’t bad so I didn’t think it was necessary to wake you up,” responded Dream. He took another sip of his drink and sat the empty mug behind him. The two started to chat about random things, making each other laugh. It was a routine honestly. Whenever someone was struggling they either wanted to talk about it or not talk about it. Dream never really spoke about his nightmares so just making Dream feel better was usually the goal. They learned not to push a while ago. Dream yawned.
“Wonder if the others are gonna get up soon,” said Sapnap. Dream shrugged.
“Who knows, probably soon though. Tommy can’t help causing chaos in the mornings,” answered Dream. And as if one cue, a loud crash came from downstairs followed by a loud string of curses that sounded like it was from Wilbur or Techno. Dream and Sapnap looked at each other before bursting out laughing. Dream stood up and stretched. He held out his hand to Sapnap who accepted. Dream placed his mask on his face.
“Wonder what they broke,” said Sapnap as the two made their way down the ladder. Dream smirked.
“Bet 5 diamonds that he broke at least 3 windows,” challenged Dream. Sapnap smirked at him.
“Oh your on, 5 windows,” responded Sapnap. They walked faster running into Bad on their way to the stairs.
“What’s going on?” asked a tired looking Bad.
“Tommy and his usual morning chaos it sounds like,” answered Dream. A thud was heard downstairs and this time they could hear Wilbur yelling and Tommy’s boisterous laughing. Bad groaned and grabbed a hoodie off the back of his door.
“Mind if I join you on the way downstairs? I don’t want to die like last time,” asked Bad. Sapnap and Dream chuckled. A few days ago Bad walked downstairs right when some TNT went off and well, died.
“Sure Bad, I still wonder why we built this house even further from spawn,” complained Sapnap.
“We really should’ve built it closer, it’s farther from spawn than our other house was,” said Dream. It was about a week after the duel when they figured out how to set the gamemode to normal. It took about 4 all - nighters from Dream, Techno, George, Tommy and Tubbo. Once they figured out how to do it they destroyed the only way to do it in hopes of preventing another Slayer incident. The house they built was still shared because after the few nights of nightmares from Dream and Tommy they all decided being together was a better idea. Dream liked living all together. It was nice to be this close to his friends, before everything that happened he would’ve gladly moved out and away because of their chaotic natures but now he wanted nothing more than to be near them all. Talk about trauma bringing people close together. The house they made was bigger than their original one. It had plenty of room for everyone. There were 4 floors, Dream, Sapnap and George shared the top floor. Techno, Tommy, Tubbo and Wilbur shared the 3rd floor, and Skeppy and Bad had the 2nd floor all to themselves since it was slightly smaller than the other floors, Tommy’s floor was the largest with the most rooms. The final floor was the common area that they all shared. They reached the stairs and walked down them, Dream and Sapnap were hyper, wanting to see who would win their silly bet. They reached the bottom of the stairs. Tommy had a bunch of sticks and was standing next to Tubbo who also had a bunch of sticks. Wilbur was standing in front of Tommy yelling. Techno was sitting on the couch calmly sipping his drink and reading a book. Skeppy was next to Techno poking his shoulder trying to get his attention. Dream didn’t even see George until he walked into the room towards Dream.
“God, please do something,” complained George as he walked to his friends. Dream smiled at his friend.
“BACK OFF BITCH I HAVE STICKS,” yelled Tommy as he waved the rather sharp stick close to WIlbur. Tubbo yelled a small ‘Yeah!‘ Next to the taller boy.
“TOMMY FOR FUCKS SAKE,” shouted Wilbur. Dream’s group watched the two go back and forth yelling insults and Tommy waving his wooden “stick” in the air. It was a literal spear but whatever. Dream chuckled and walked further into the living room.
“Good morning Dream,” greeted Techno, eyes still glued to the page of his book.
“Good morning to you as well, “ responded Dream.
“How did you sleep?” asked the pig hybrid. Dream shrugged and sat on the other end of the couch.
“Not that bad but still had one,” answered Dream. The yelling was beginning to escalate much to Dream’s surprise, he didn’t think it could get any louder.
“Morning Dream!” yelled Skeppy over the yelling.
“Morning! Can someone shut them up please!” asked Dream. Techno sighed and closed his book. The pig hybrid stood up and made his way over to them. He stopped near them and grabbed Tommy’s sticks out of his hand in one quick swipe.
“Stop. Yelling.” said Techno, voice deep. Tommy and Wilbur looked at him. Wilbur raised his hands in surrender.
“Yep.” said Wilbur quickly. Tommy crossed his arms.
“Oh come on big man! Why you gotta stop the fun!?” complained Tommy. Techno stared at him with a raised eyebrow before walking away and shoving all the sticks into a chest and sat back down next to Dream.
“Better?” asked Techno, picking up his book. Dream chuckled.
“Significantly,” said Dream. Tommy huffed and sat down in one of the other chairs. Tubbo had walked away when the yelling got really loud and was sitting next to Dream. Sapnap, Bad and George entered the room.
“God Tommy, can you just wake up and not cause chaos one morning?” asked George. Tommy rolled his eyes.
“Oh fuck off George, I can’t help it that I’m hyper in the mornings,” answered Tommy. Wilbur groaned next.
“Then go outside,” said Wilbur. Tommy only scowled at that and sunk further into his seat and mumbled a few curse words.
“Dream!” called Sapnap. Dream turned to his friend and was met with an open hand.
“Give, give,” said Sap.
“Excuse me?” asked Dream but then the memory of their bet came back and his head snapped towards the windows. Much to his dismay 5 windows were broken.
“Well fuck.” cursed Dream.
“Language Dream!” scolded Bad. Dream laughed.
“Sorry Bad,” said Dream reaching into his pocket and getting 5 diamonds. He tossed them to Sapnap who cheered when he caught them.
“Why’d you give him free diamonds?” asked Tubbo. Tommy laughed.
“Because he always gives out money, have you not seen how much he’s given George.” remarked Tommy. Dream huffed.
“Oh fuck off Tommy,” said Dream with no real malice.
“Me and Sap made a bet on how many windows you broke, I said 3, Sap said 5.” answered Dream.
“You only thought he broke 3 windows?” asked George. Dream rolled his eyes even though no one could see it.
“Well you see, I would’ve thought someone would’ve done something before he even broke one, but guess no one did,” remarked Dream as he looked at WIlbur.
“Instead we come downstairs and Wilbur and Tommy are in a screaming match,” finished Bad.
“When is there not a screaming match starting off the day?” added Skeppy. Techno hummed in agreement. George walked in the kitchen before turning around and poking his head out.
“Yo it’s my cooking day, what does everyone want?” asked George. The whole room erupted with voices all telling him what specific dish they wanted but George put his hand up stopping them.
“DECIDE ON ONE DISH YOU WILL ALL SHARE!” yelled George. The whole room groaned but they started talking. It took almost half an hour to agree on something because Tommy insisted on having pork despite Techno’s many death threats. They eventually decided on eggs, biscuits and sadly bacon. Techno was now on the couch next to Dream sulking. Dream laughed at his annoyed face and lightly punched his shoulder.
“Come on, chin up Techno,” said Dream. Tommy laughed loudly.
“I can’t believe I won an argument against the Blade!” cheered Tommy. Dream stared at him in amusement and had an idea.
“Yeah you may have won a verbal argument but can you beat him in a physical argument?” said Dream. The whole room looked at him, even George poked his head into the room.
“What?” asked Wilbur. He smiled brightly at his friends.
“I think we should go practice combat!” he said excitedly. Dream hadn’t touched or been near a weapon since the incident. Others handled hunting alongside Techno instead of Dream, others fought off mobs while building the house. He was horrified of the objects, of hurting someone with it like he did with Slayer. They also reminded him of everything that happened and well, he wasn’t a big fan of it. No one left their weapons out, they were never just laying on a table or by the door like they used to. Dream hadn’t practiced combat in a while either, not since the fight at least. What the others didn’t know was that Dream kept his diamond axe on the back of his door. He stared at it for hours, trying to get used to it again. A week ago he actually managed to pick it up, swinging it around on the roof. Someone had come onto the roof without him knowing and he accidentally threw it off the roof and into the snowy forest around their house. When the person left he laughed at his own stupidity and paranoia. Techno placed a hand on his shoulder.
“You sure?’ he asked. Dream turned to him and gave him a confident smile.
“Hell yeah,” responded Dream. The food was finished not long after the decision was made and they ate and retreated to their rooms to get ready. Dream got slightly annoyed at all the concerned glances he was getting. He knew they were just worried but he couldn’t help but feel offended. He wasn’t weak. Not by a long shot. He can handle picking up an axe and swinging it around. He could do this. That’s what he kept telling himself but he didn’t notice how he was shaking, small tremors going through his body. He walked to his door and put his hand on the knob. He shut it behind him and sunk to the floor, burying his head in his hands. He hated those glances, everyone knew it, they always made him feel so weak.
“No, Dream. You can do this. You’re not weak,” said Dream. He huffed and stood up. He went to his drawer and pulled out a pair of black tactical cargo pants and laid them on his bed. He removed his mask and long sleeve shirt and went to get another hoodie. On his way to his closet he caught a glimpse of himself. He stopped walking and stared at himself. He had a small scar directly above his hip, another small cut on his shoulder. A dozen smaller scars littered his chest from all the kicks to his torso since Salyer’s boots had metal on the front of them and they cut his skin. His arms had small cut scars on them as well. The one that really had his attention was the massive scar near his side from being stabbed. The sword had gone straight through him, coming out on the other side also leaving a large scar there. There were large scars on his leg to form the cuts Slayer gave him as well. His broken ribs had healed but there would be times where breathing was extremely painful, his lungs felt like they were on fire or sometimes he’d get winded easily if he was laughing too hard or choked on some food. His voice had gotten slightly more raspy after it too. His vocal cords were damaged by Slayer’s death grip on his neck. He shuddered thinking about it. He never talked about his torture, no one even knew about it, and he planned on keeping it that way. The only knowledge they had on it was that Slayer kicked the crap out of him but they didn’t know it had happened at least 10 or 15 times. He reached up and ran his fingers over the scar on his eye. His knuckles were damaged from his relentless tree punching before the battle and his fingertips were also covered in tiny scars from the screws when he escaped the cell. There was a scar on his lip and one fairly large scar on his cheek running down the side of his neck. It was from a gash Slayer had given him during the battle that he didn’t even really remember getting, it was fuzzy at some points. A knock on his door knocked him out of his head.
“Yes?” he called as he walked over to his closet and pulled out a black sleeve black turtleneck. He pulled it over his torso and threw a lime green hoodie over it. He pulled on the pants next and grabbed his combat boots from the closet.
“You almost done?” he heard George ask. Dream grabbed his fingerless gloves and slipped them onto his hands, covering his scarred knuckles and palms.
“Yeah, just putting on my shoes! Go ahead! I’ll be downstairs in a few,” he answered. He quickly pulled on his boots and tied the laces. He stood up and stopped in front of his mirror. His blond hair was a little messy so he fixed it with his fingers and took a deep breath, placing the mask on his face. He pulled up the green hood and made his way to his door. He stopped in front of it and stared at his diamond axe. He took a shaky breath and grabbed the handle, removing it from the door. He opened his door and thankfully the hallway was empty because he could tell his breathing was ragged. On his way down the stairs he took deep breaths, willing himself to calm down. It was hard to tell he was even stressed but observant people like Techno and Tommy would pick up on it. They would pity him and he didn’t want that shit. He stopped at the top of the last staircase and secured his axe to the back of the strap going across his chest. He took a final deep breath and walked down the stairs. He walked into a room full of people all looking at him. Anxiety slapped him in the face and he internally cursed at his friends. They were all dressed in warm clothing since it was winter and they built their new house in a snow taiga biome. Dream put his hands into his hoodie pocket and walked towards his friends.
“We going?” he asked, tired of the silence. Techno nodded and the group followed him to the training grounds. It was nothing special, they just chopped down the trees there to clear out the space. It hadn’t been used in a while so the snow on the ground was undisturbed and to Dream quite pretty.
“Who’s first?” asked Wilbur. Techno raised his weapon and Dream did everything he could not to flinch, thankfully succeeding.
“Let’s see how well one of you does against me,” said Techno as he walked to the center of the field.
“I’ll bite,” said Sapanp. They sat a bed down near the outskirts so dying wouldn’t cause a huge problem. Sapnap joined techno in the field. The others moved to the side, they started chatting amongst each other. Dream wasn’t listening to them, instead he studied the battle. He watched as Sapnap dodged and Techno swung his blade. He watched Sapnap go in for a hit but Techno dodged with ease. Dream predicted Techno was gonna win.
“Yo Dream, who do you think is going to win?” asked Skeppy.
“Techno, no doubt.” said Dream.
“Damn, no faith in Sap,” said Wilbur. Dream smiled at him.
“We all know who the better fighter between the two is, Sap may be good but he’s not on Techno’s level.” answered Dream. Almost as soon as he finished Sapnap appeared out of thin air next to the bed.
“Damn, that was a workout,” said Sapnap as he bent over trying to catch his breath. Drema looked towards Techno who was standing in the field, blood trickling down his blade. He gulped at the sight. Dream saw Tommy stand up and run over to Techno with his weapon. The battle didn’t even last 10 minutes. Tommy huffed when he respawned. Everyone in the group took turns going against Techno, some doing better than others. George and Spanap probably did the best but no one actually won. Dream knew it was his turn and he could hear his ragged breaths. Sapnap placed a hand on his shoulder.
“You good?” asked his friend. Dream shrugged off the hand and stood up.
“I’m fine,” answered Dream as he made his way to the middle of the field. Dream was fond on Techno when it came to his recovery. Techno stayed the same as he was before, he didn’t glance at Dream to see if he was okay, he wasn’t cautious when it came to talking to him about nightmares, he didn’t think Dream was fragile like the others did. And he loved it, it made something feel normal even if it was the only thing that was. Techno glanced at him.
“Finally, some real competition,” said Techno with a smirk. Dream gulped.
“Wouldn’t get too excited Techno, I haven't practiced in like 2 months,” said Dream. Techno shrugged and put his sword in front of him.
“Just because you haven’t been training doesn’t mean you’ve lost your instincts,” stated Techno. Dream smiled nervously at him. Dream ignored his trembling hands and took out his axe. Techno readied his shield and Dream did the same. The air was tense, all talking ceased when Dream had walked onto the field. Dream had thanked himself for learning to read the faces of others because he could tell Techno was planning on attacking first to get the upper hand. Dream closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Dream mentally decided Techno wasn’t going to get the first hit.
“Ready?” asked Techno. Dream nodded.
“Hell yeah,” said Dream. Techno immediately got ready to attack but Dream was quicker. He dashed towards Techno, surprising the other male. He raised his axe and brought it down on Techno’s shield. A flashback of him attacking Slayer crossed his mind but he ignored it and pulled his axe out of the wood when Techno swung his sword.
“Haha, I’m going to be completely honest when I say that I didn’t expect that,” said Techno with a smile. Dream chuckled.
“Figure you wouldn’t, that’s why I did it,” answered Dream.
“Smart play,” said Teachno as he rushed Dream. Dream ignored the next flashback and dodged the attack and techno’s surprise 2nd attack. The two went back and forth attacking each other, Dream dodging, Techno attacking and then the roles switched. It had been a good 15 minutes already. Dream decided he’d try something. The next time Techno swung his blade Dream grabbed it and twisted the weapon and Techno’s wrist along with it. The man hissed and retracted his hand, letting go of his weapon. Blood slid down Dream’s wrist from his now cut hand. Dream grinned and took the opportunity to strike. Much to his dismay Techno charged towards him despite not being armed. It confused Dream and another flashback crossed his vision. He shook his head and refocused but was a little late because Techno rammed into him full force with his shield, knocking the air out of his lungs. Dream gasped and another memory crossed his vision. He remembered being slammed to the ground by Slayer. He barely let go of his axe but Techno noticed and he attempted to yank the weapon out of Dream’s hand. Dream gripped the handle tightly when he realized what he was doing. Dream kicked Techno’s shin and jumped away from the pig hybrid. Techno didn’t waste any time charging again. Dream was confused as to why he was charging unarmed again. Another flashback came and he stumbled backwards. He clumsily blocked Techno’s impact with his shield, digging his heels into the snow. Techno went behind his back and pulled out a dagger. Dream felt panic spark in him and he immediately separated himself from the other male. Dream felt himself step on something and the next thing he knew he was falling. He landed on his back with a thud, the air in his lungs disappeared. He coughed and rolled onto his side. God he really hated ice. He heard footsteps in the snow and saw Techno standing above him, dagger in hand, as he sputtered and coughed. That painful burning sensation he would get sometimes was starting to kick in because of the cold air. He hated that he was standing over him, it reminded him too much of Slayer. He could feel his body start to shake, tremors running through it. He felt the strong need to run but the lack of air in his lungs kept him from doing so. He pushed himself away from Techno by digging his heels into the ground but he suddenly felt a hand on his back and saw Techno crouched next to him.
“Deep breaths,” said Techno. Dream looked at the male with wide eyes as he continued coughing.
“You’re fine,” said Techno. Techno reached behind his back and Dream’s eyes widened thinking he was going to finish him off.
“Take a sip,” said Techno. He was holding out his water bottle. Dream hacked and took the bottle out of his hands and took small sips, careful to not choke on it. He stopped coughing as the water soothed his burning throat.
“Fucking hell,” muttered Dream. Techno laughed and stood up offering a hand to Dream. Dream looked up and grabbed it. Techno hoisted him up.
“You did well considering you haven’t touched a weapon or practiced in 2 months,” complemented Techno. Dream shrugged.
“I could’ve done better if it wasn’t for that stupid ice,” grumbled Dream. They walked towards their friends.
“Dream!” yelled George. Dream looked up too see George grinning.
“You did so good! Awesome job!” congratulated George.
“I had no idea you were going to attack first!” added Tubbo. Dream smiled at them. They all said how good he was and he was eternally grateful that they didn’t mention him dying on the ground after slipping on fucking ICE. Tommy scoffed.
“He wasn’t that good,” said Tommy. Everyone looked at him with faces of annoyance.
“Yeah, I’d like to see you beat him,” said Wilbur.
“I probably could!” said Tommy and the group burst out laughing. Dream was wheezing and a few of them were almost on the ground. Even Techno was laughing. Wilbur straightened up and wiped a tear from his eyes.
“I think that’s enough for today unless Dream actually wants to duel Tommy,” said Wilbur. Dream was still laughing but he shook his head.
“N-not today, I wanna be merciful to his ego,” remarked Dream. The group erupted again. Tommy yelled a grand total of 12 ‘fuck yous’ throughout the whole thing but even he couldn’t completely hide his laughter. Eventually the group’s laughter died down and they all decided to return home. Dream trailed along the back of the group, watching the wildlife as he walked.
“You did well Dream, getting over something like this takes time and direct contact with the problem. What you did today was honestly impressive,” said Techno.
“It really was,” added Wilbur. Dream blushed and rubbed the back of his neck.
“You guys are acting like I overcame it all,” muttered Dream. Sapnap threw an arm around his shoulders.
“Baby steps Dream! A few weeks ago you couldn’t even look at a weapon! It’s called progress,” said Sapnap. Dream smiled.
“I guess so,” said Dream with a smile. They all chatted on the way back until Dream and Tommy got into a heated argument about something stupid. They reached the house and everyone collapsed onto a piece of furniture in the room. Dream sat at one end of the couch, and Sapnap sat in the middle as George sat next to Sap. Techno took one of the individual chairs stating he didn’t want to share with the gremlin earning laughs around the room. Tommy and Tubbo sat on the floor in front of the mini couch Wilbur laid down on and refused to share. Bad and Skeppy took the last two individual seats in the room. Dream enjoyed times like these the most, where everyone was happy. He looked around the room at his smiling friends. Tommy was laughing with a grin. Tubbo smiling brightly at his friend. Wilbur laughing at something stupid the boy said. Sapnap and George were talking to Bad and Skeppy about the cool idea Dream and George had come up with a few days ago. Techno joined into the conversations adding to them with his deadpan humor. Dream cackled loudly at one of his sentences. They stayed like that for a while, just talking to one another. Dream found it calming. He did something he hadn’t done in a while. He reached up and removed his mask. Techno raised an eyebrow at him, along with a few other people who noticed and gave him confused looks. He smiled at them.
“I just felt like today was a good day,” he said smiling brightly. All of them stared before smiling at him.
“God that was cheesy,” said Tommy. Dream grabbed a piece of cobble form his inventory and threw it at him, earring a fuck you and a loud, over exaggerated OW in response. He laughed. He knew things were never going to be the same. He would still have nightmares, Tommy would still have nightmares, Sap would too. They’d always be paranoid about leaving the house sometimes. It would never go back to the way it was and that was okay. It was time like these where Dream really questioned if Slayer had won because despite the guilt Dream constantly felt or the fear he’d feel waking up thinking his friends are dead or hugging Tommy as he cried into his shoulder because of a nightmare they still had these moments. These moments where Slayer was forgotten. And it made him so happy. He pulled up his chat and took a screenshot. He’d add it to his book later. He grinned and turned his attention towards them. Everything was okay right now, and that’s all that mattered. If they were happy, he was happy and that's how it'd always be.