Chapter Text
"Gods I wish I still had a strange mind-controlled Ranboo", thought Dream. He was the perfect babysitter Dream had access to. Well, really the only one. Ever since Ranboo ran back home to L’manburg and forgot about Dream hated leaving Tommy by himself so often, but the child had grown into quite the character by the age of 7, and that character needed lots of supplies. He didn’t just need necessities like food and general supplies, but Tommy was always getting interested in new things. Last month it was sheep and wool-work. So Dream spent a few days gathering sheep into a pen and teaching Tommy to shear them. Dream wasn’t the best at wool-work but Tommy somehow got the hang of it and became better at it than Dream. Once Tommy mastered that, he moved on to the next thing that captured his attention span: enchantments. This required a lot more. They needed sugar cane so they could have a reliable source for paper. They needed leather in leaps and bounds to make books. They would need a good chunk of lapis lazuli as well.
Dream had started to take notice that the resources in their latest area had begun dwindling. He didn’t pay too much mind to it until he barely managed to find enough food for Tommy and himself one day. Dream went to the village nearby but they were starving and suffering as well. It was a tundra biome they all shared that stretched out for miles in any given and this season was the driest any of them had ever seen. There was no snow for miles. There wasn’t enough humidity to rain or snow a single drop or fleck of anything. This was more than just concerning. He couldn’t get what Tommy needed, let alone what he wanted. There has to be a way to get all the supplies, and not just for the two of them. Having a village nearby was too helpful to let it just die away. They wouldn’t have this problem if they were on good terms with-
Oh no.
“Tommy, I’m home!” Dad yelled as he came through the door of their latest cottage. Tommy had done a nice job of keeping the furnaces going today. They were using furnaces to heat the building because an open fireplace would make their dry conditions even worse, not to mention the possibility of setting the place on fire. “Daaaad!” Tommy practically leapt into the air from the stairs he ran down to lunge at Dad with a mighty hug. “Dad! Did you get the stuff? When can I start enchanting? Is it really ashardtodoasyousaidIdon’tthinkitwillbe…” Tommy rambled on for a moment longer before Dad sighed, exhausted and disappointed. “There wasn’t enough of anything out there Toms. The village is struggling too. This season has left us all in a pickle”
Tommy pondered for a moment, and then said “That.. I can wait on cool enchanting things Dad. But… will the village be ok? WIll… will we be ok?” “...Yeah Toms. We will all be just fine. We just need a plan. And I think I have one in mind, but I don’t really like it.” Tommy’s eyes lit up “Well what is it? You always come up with the best plans”
“We have to go to the city of the angry people. They have an abundance of all resources at all times. They could easily provide us wit-” “NOOOO. They don’t like us! They’d fight us!” “...I know…. I know… but they have everything we need and more. We could go for business only. We own plenty of rarer valuables that could be used to trade and buy their goods. We aren’t poor after all. We could technically be careful and just keep our identities secret while there…”
Tommy looked like he wanted to pout and yell and jump around at the same time, but then he decompressed. “Would that really work? Everytime they see one of us, they stop acting like nice, normal people. I watched them from afar with village children before, and they can actually be decent people, but that changes in front of us. Can’t we ask a villager to go buy it with our stuff?” Dream shook his head with a slight chuckle “Villagers don’t leave their village unless they are travelling merchants. And they don’t do anything for any particular reason. They aimlessly wander and listen to absolutely no one. This is our best bet Tommy. We would have needed to talk to them at some point anyway. Now we just have more of a reason to.”
They both stay silent for the next few hours. They cook and eat a meal together in comfortable yet eerie silence. Then they have a talk Dream had been dreading ever since he took in the blond child:
Tommy?
Yeah Dad?
Come over here. I got some important grown-up stuff to share with you.
Yeah! Because I’m a big man now, right Dad?
That’s right Toms. Now listen closely. You remember those mad people from a few days ago?
Yeah…
Well, they are always so mad, because they don’t like me at all. They want to take you away from me. They don’t like that I have such a pog man with me to make me happy.
What?? But why? We haven’t done anything to them or anything wrong! We just wanna stick together, right?
That’s exactly right Tommy. If they get their hands on you, they’ll try to make you hate me.
I could never hate you Dad
...
That means the world to me Toms. So, if that situation ever happens, which I will do all I can to keep from happening, you will stay strong for me until I come save you, right?
Of course! They could bribe me with the bestest cookies or punch me so hard I die. I’ll neer stop lovin’ my Dad!
…
That’s my Toms :)
They departed for the place Tommy learned of as L’manburg. Stupid name in Tommy’s opinion but he doesn’t care much beyond that. Dad got them all packed up for the trip and they soon left the cabin, said their goodbyes to the villagers, and headed in the proper direction.
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Once they got close enough to see it, Dream had another talk with Tommy. They’d both been unusually quiet most of the journey. Dream could only imagine how anxious Tommy was. He’d only ever seen these people in a bad light. And while that’s good to keep him away from them and closer to himself, it would make this encounter more difficult. He just wanted to get this over with so he and Tommy could go back to their mostly independent lifestyle. Gods knew this would most likely not end in his favor though. So Dream spoke to Tommy:
Hey Tommy
Yeah Dad?
… Stay close to me, ok? Right beside me. I refuse to take any chances today.
Oh.. Ok Dad. I can do that.
Thanks Toms… You… You can decide for yourself if you want your mask on for this.
I’ll keep it on for now. It’s comfy.
They reached the very edges of L’manburg, a rough looking obsidian frame for a wall still present, when Tubbo showed up and his eyes practically ignited with soul fire as he saw Dream.
YOU! What the HELL are YOU doing he- T-Tommy?
Hello Tubbo. We just came to do some business. We don’t have access to a few different resources you have.
Oh yeah! Sure! You are ABSOLUTELY welcome and given our permission to take what you need and then walts back away with Tommy in tow! WHAT THE HELL DREAM??
Stop it!!!
… …
Don’t yell at him, please. We just want a few things if you're willing to spare them. Resources in our area are dwindling. Even our local village is suffering and we’re here to help them too. We have valuables and good items to trade, so please. Just put aside your… Whatever this is and let us get what we came here for.
Tommy… I… *sigh* What is it you came here for?
We need a stack or two of seeds/crops, a stack of leather, a few stacks of coal, and at least half a stack of sugar cane.
What’s the sugarcane for? It’s not essential.
Tommy wants to start studying enchantments. Hard to do that without paper or books.
Yeah! I’m gonna invent sooo many enchantments! They are gonna help everyone! Right Dad??
Yeah Toms..
.. I’ll help you get these things, but on one condition, Dream. Me and you need a nice long chat. No weapons, no violence. Just answers.
*sigh* Deal. But Tommy stays out of the room.
Fine. Ranboo can watch him.
Boo? Boo is here?
Sometimes he’s here. Sometimes he’s other places, like our house. He tends to stay here actually. Just make sure you don’t wander off with him alright? I’ll leave you both in a room or house and you stay there ok?
Ok!
Tubbo gave Dream a hard stare at the mention of his husband in that way, and he decided to save the questions for his talk with Dream.
Any onlookers would see the currently strangest sight of an ex-president leading a highly wanted prison escapee into L'manburg with a small green Dream-child in toe. Most onlookers would think they must be seeing wrong and go back to their lives and ignore the highly irregular scene. Most...