Archive of Our Own ^beta

Dream woke up to the sound of someone knocking on his door. Tommy was still curled up in his arms, sleeping peacefully. He smiled, slowly letting go of the mer-child and setting him down on the bed, careful not to wake him up. He got up and swam to the cave entrance, rubbing sleep out of his eyes as he pushed back the lichen hanging between him and his visitor.

Sapnap and Tubbo were on the other side, both looking anxious. He vaguely wondered why, yawning and noticing how Tubbo was fidgeting with his fingers and how Sapnap was absentmindedly flicking his tail back and forth. “Hey Dream, is everything ok?” And then he realized why they looked so anxious.

Dream hadn’t told them that he found Tommy. He’d been too concerned about his son and hadn’t bothered to stop by and let them know. Knowing Sapnap, he’d probably stayed up all night worrying. “Yes, everything’s fine. Don’t worry, Tommy’s not hurt at all. He’s actually sleeping now.”

He could see Sapnap visibly relax at that. “Oh thank god. I was worried when you didn't come back! I thought maybe- well you know what I thought…” I thought Tommy died is what Sapnap doesn't say out loud. Dream winces at the thought. He doesn't know what he’d do if Tommy actually did die, and he doesn't want to find out.

“Yeah, sorry about that. Guess I got distracted after I found him and forgot to tell you guys that everything was ok.” He said apologetically. “So does that mean we can play tomorrow?” Tubbo finally spoke, eyes gazing up at Dream, seemingly on the verge of tears.

He hesitated for a moment. Part of him wanted to say no because of the trouble Tommy and Tubbo had gotten into yesterday. They should probably be grounded. But hadn't yesterday already been punishment enough?

He knew Tommy definitely wouldn't be going anywhere near the wasteland for the next few years. Plus, how could he say no to Tubbo when the poor kid looked like he was about to cry? “If Tommy wants to, then sure.” Tubbo’s face broke out into a grin, and the tears that had been welling up in his eyes seemed to disappear. “Yes! Thank you Mr. Dream!”

Sapnap chuckled, ruffling Tubbo’s hair. “Dream, I can't believe you fell for the guppy eyes. I thought Tommy said you were immune to them,” he teased. Dream fondly rolled his eyes. “Oh shut up. I’m immune to Tommy’s guppy eyes, not Tubbo’s.”

“Yeah yeah, whatever you say. Well, we have errands to run but we wanted to stop by and check up on you guys. Cya tomorrow!” Sapnap said, turning to swim away. Tubbo waved goodbye and followed him, leaving Dream smiling to himself. He really was lucky to have a friend like Sapnap.

He swam back inside, looking around at the absolute mess the main room was. Maybe he could finally clean up since Tommy was asleep. It would be nice to see the floor without all the toys covering it.

He could remember when his mom would wish for the same thing. “Dream, Sam, where did our floor go? I can't see it under this mess!” she’d say fondly. He always thought she was being dramatic. The floor was still visible under their toys, they couldn't fully cover it if they tried.

 Now that he was older and had a kid of his own, he understood what she meant. Maybe he'd offer to clean his parent's house soon so he could make up for all the messes he made. For now though, he needed to focus on cleaning his own home.

He started by making two piles. One for Tommy’s stuff, and one for his own. Most of it was his son’s, but there were quite a few things that were Dream’s. Like the painting he’d stolen from a human shipwreck once. He had no idea how thatended up on the floor. It was supposed to be hanging up on the wall!

He didn't question it as he started taking the toys back to Tommy’s room. He’d seen much weirder stuff in their cave before. Like the time Tommy tried to start a fire underwater because he “wanted to see if Mr. Sapnap’s tail actually is fire orange.” That had been a very interesting day.

He hummed to himself as he put everything away. It was rare for Dream to be in a cleaning mood, so he was pretty proud of himself. He managed to finish cleaning in forty-five minutes, standing back and admiring his work.

It was nice to see the home so clean, even though it would be a mess again tomorrow. Well, that’s life with an almost-8-year-old child. Speaking of Tommy… Dream looked up to see him coming out of his room. The mer-child was rubbing sleep out of his eyes and had the most horrendous bedhead he’d ever seen.

“Good morning, Sunshine,” he chuckled. Tommy glared at him and mumbled a quiet “shut up, dad.” Dream smiled, finally hanging that painting back up on the wall while Tommy fully woke up. “Your hair is a mess, can you go get your comb?” Tommy didn't say anything as he went into his room, returning with his comb in hand a few seconds later.

Dream went over to one of the large seashell chairs, picking Tommy up and putting him in his lap as he took the comb from the mer-child’s hand and began gently brushing out his hair. It was a peaceful start to the morning and a vast difference to yesterday's events.

He could see Tommy’s eyes closing with the rhythmic motions of the comb, and knew he would fall asleep again if Dream didn't talk to him. “Mr. Sapnap and Tubbo came by earlier and asked if you wanted to hang out tomorrow.” Tommy hummed, not saying anything. “So, do you feel like hanging out with Tubbo tomorrow?” He said, trying to prompt a conversation.

“Yeah, that sounds good. Surprised neither of us are grounded though.” He could hear the subtle question of am I grounded? In Tommy’s voice. “Yeah, I figured the shark was bad enough and it’d be kinda mean to punish you for it. Plus I know you won't go anywhere near the wasteland now.”

Tommy shrugged. “Yeah, that's true.” The two sank back into a comfortable silence as Dream finished brushing Tommy’s hair, turning the bed-head into a nice, neat pile of fluffy curls. The rest of the day was spent lazing around. They deserved a break after yesterday.

Plus, Dream would never pass up a free excuse to spend time with his son.

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Dream knocked on the doorframe in front of him, patiently waiting. Sapnap was watching Tommy and Tubbo, so he’d decided now would be a good time to see if his brother, Sam, could make a horn for Tommy.

He really should’ve done this sooner. Tommy’s birthday was in only four days. Would that even be enough time to make the horn? Oh god, what if Dream didn't have a gift to give Tommy on his birthday? He could almost picture the sad, disappointed look on his son's face when he realized his dad hadn't gotten him anything.

Before he could worry too much about it, Sam came out of his cave. “Oh hey Dream! It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, what’s up?” His older brother’s warm smile reached his welcoming eyes. In a way, Dream and Sam were both the same, and complete opposites.

They both had green eyes and a green tail, but Sam’s was darker in contrast to Dream’s lime green. It wasn't quite as dark as Tubbo’s, and still seemed to shine brighter than the sun. It was calming. Sam’s hair matched the green color of his tail, whereas Dream's was dirty blonde.

Personality wise they were both kind and caring, though Dream tended to be a bit louder than Sam. “Nothing much! I was just wondering if you could help me make something for Tommy’s birthday?” Sam had always been the more creative of the two. If anyone could help Dream with this, it would be him.

“Of course! Anything for that kid! Come on in,” Sam said, waving him inside. He followed his older brother into the cave, noting how Sam’s home was cluttered with tools and materials. Clearly, Sam was already working on a few projects. “So when you say a horn, what kind do you mean?”

Wait. There were different kinds of horns? “Uhh.. the kind you play? Like an instrument?” Sam chuckled at his younger brother's confusion. “So a narwhal horn. That's what I was thinking but I didn't know if Tommy was suddenly into collecting longhorn cowfish horns or something.”

Leave it to Sam to know a ridiculous amount about vague topics like horns. “Yeah… I don't think he knows what a longhorn cowfish is. Anyway, how easy is it to get a narwhal horn?” Sam shrugged. “If you know where to look, not hard at all. I actually might have some laying around.” He watched as his brother rummaged around through a pile of random items on the floor.

He didn't even know what half of the stuff was. Dream felt like a child in a museum. He couldn't recognize anything, but it was cool to look at. It took a few minutes but eventually Sam yelled “aha!” as he stood, holding a narwhal horn up in the air.

“So, I’m gonna mark where the holes will go, then you can draw on it and customize it in any way you want before I actually cut the holes out.” He nodded as Sam used a graphite stick to make various circles on the narwhal horn before handing it to Dream. “Paint is somewhere in my pile of stuff, go crazy.”

With that, his older brother grabbed something off the floor and began fiddling with it. It was probably another project he was working on. Dream didn’t bother him as he searched for the paint. He didn’t know how he wanted to paint the horn, but he’d figure it out. One thing was certain, it had to be red.

Red was Tommy’s favorite color after all. What kind of dad would he be if he didn’t paint it red? He finally found some paint and was able to get to work. He didn’t put too much thought into it as he started painting, just letting parental instincts take over. He painted seashells, which Tommy loved to collect. They had a bucket full of them in their home, and Tommy even had his favorites hung up in his room.

He painted starfish, Tommy’s favorite sea creature. He adored their vibrant colors and fun shape. They had been Tommy’s favorite since before he could even swim. No matter what, if he saw a starfish, the mer-child would always drop everything to admire it. Finally, Dream painted seahorses.

They were Tubbo’s favorite sea creature, but he thought it’d be nice to add them so that whenever Tommy looked at the horn, he’d think of his best friend in all the seas. When he was done painting, he held the horn up, examining his work. Dream was proud of how it turned out, and he knew his son would love it. “Sam, I’m done!”

His brother looked up from the thing he was working on, smiling softly when he saw the wide grin on Dream’s face. “It looks great! Tommy’s going to love it.” He couldn’t resist flapping his hands happily as Sam gently took the horn, grabbing a stone knife and carefully cutting holes in the horn.

The two brothers easily slipped into a conversation, asking about each other’s lives and telling stories. Sam told him about all the projects he’d been working on, like his new mask. Though that was more of a stylistic project than a practical project. He also showed Dream his trident, which was apparently great for catching fish.

In turn, Dream told him about all the things he’d done with Tommy, like teaching him how to catch fish. He talked about the vacation they took to the Carribean Sea with Sapnap and Tubbo for Sapnap’s birthday. They hardly noticed time slipping by as they talked and laughed with each other, glad to be hanging out again. “Well, I should probably get going if I’m going to pick Tommy up before it gets dark,” he said, getting up from where he was sitting and grabbing the horn.

“Yeah, I’ll see you later then. Are you going to King Eret’s festival this year? It’s going to be held here in the Sargasso Sea.” Dream had completely forgotten about the festival. Once a year, on the anniversary of King Eret’s coronation, there was a festival held in one of the seas. He’d only been once as a child when it had been held in the Carribean, but it had been one of the most fun days of his life.

He could probably talk Sapnap into going, and he knew Tommy would absolutely love the festival. So, he decided then and there, “Yeah, I think I’ll go.” Sam smiled. “Great! I guess I’ll see you there!” Dream nodded, giving his brother a hug. “See you there. And Tommy said he’d pray for Poseidon to smite you if you don't come to his birthday party.”

Sam laughed. “Oh that sounds pretty serious. It's in four days, right?” Dream nodded in confirmation. “Yeah, around lunch. Make sure you get there a little early if you can, it's a surprise party.” Admittedly, Dream didn't know how he was going to make this a surprise. Maybe he could get Tommy to have a sleepover with Tubbo the night before so he could set up.

“Sounds good! I’ll be there. Bye Dream!” He smiled and gave his brother one last wave before leaving, making a note to himself to hide the horn at home before he picked up Tommy. He wouldn't want to spoil the surprise after all.

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Dream woke up early, practically jumping out of bed. He only had a few hours to set up Tommy’s party, and he was going to make sure it was absolutely perfect. Sapnap had gotten decorations yesterday while Dream watched the kids, so all he had to do now was decorate the cave and catch some shrimp- Tommy’s favorite food.

He started with the banners Sapnap had stolen from a human shipwreck. Their red and yellow color looked faded, and they were torn in some places, but it looked pretty cool to Dream. He hung them up around the main room, using some of the rocks that jutted out of the wall to hold them up.

Sapnap had also bought some starfish-shaped rocks which he scattered neatly on the floor. Finally, he grabbed the horn from its hiding spot in his room, wrapped it up in seaweed, and placed it in the designated “present pile.”

It wasn't the most extravagant party, but he knew Tommy would love it. Honestly, he was pretty sure his son would be happy even if he just stuck a piece of expired seaweed somewhere on the ceiling. He had tried setting up a dramatic party once, and it hadn't gone very well. The party itself had been great, but the cleanup afterwards was awful.

He spent nearly four hours trying to get rid of the mess, end even then there had still been glitter everywhere. He could remember sitting down to take a break and waking up hours later to find the cave just slightly cleaner, and Tommy covered head to tail in glitter.

He could remember asking the newly turned four-year-old what he was doing and feeling his heart melt when Tommy said he wanted to surprise Dream by helping. They spent three days trying to get all the glitter out, but even now Dream swore he could still see little specks of shiny red sparkles.

He didn't try using glitter to decorate ever again. Instead, he just stuck to banners and any other non-messy decorations he could find. And after the parties, he would help Tommy turn them into capes so he could pretend to be a prince.

Dream smiled fondly at the memory, hanging up a few more banners just so Tommy could have more capes. Once he was out of banners, he looked around to make sure everything looked nice. By the time he was satisfied with his work, it was almost mid-morning. Dream needed to get a move on if he was going to have everything set up in time for the party.

He promptly swam out of the cave, heading towards the reef to get some shrimp. By now there were sea creatures everywhere, and schools of fish swam right past Dream as if he weren't a predator. Finding the little crawling creatures he was looking for wouldn't be hard at all.

Within five minutes he found a nice shoal of shrimp and quickly started grabbing the small animals, lightly pricking them with his claws. Just hard enough to kill them without damaging the food. A few managed to escape, leaving Dream with five shrimps in his hands.

He did a quick count in his mind of who would be coming (seven mer-folk in total) and determined that each mer would probably eat two shrimps. With that in mind he continued his hunt, swimming around the reef and attacking shoals of shrimp. He didn't stop until he had eighteen held precariously in his hands.

He slowly swam back to the cave, struggling to keep the shrimp from falling out of his hands. As soon as he was home, Dream dropped all of them onto the table, sighing gratefully since he hadn't dropped any. He was just in time too, because as soon as he got home he heard someone knocking at the door.

He quickly went to answer, pulling back the lichen to reveal his parents. Tommy’s “Grandma Puffy” and “Grandpa Callahan.” He had no idea why the mer-child insisted on calling them that instead of just grandma and grandpa. Every time he asked, Tommy said that it “sounded fancy.”

Funnily enough, he and Sam had been found as eggs like Tommy had been. His parents had found them in the coral reef, and had decided to raise them together since they were best friends and roommates. Dream smiled as he hugged both of them, welcoming them in to the cave. “Mom, dad, glad you could make it!”

“Of course! I wouldn't miss one of Tommy’s birthdays for the world!” His mom replied, placing a package in the gift pile. Dad wasn't a talkative person, but the warm smile and soft look in his eyes told Dream that he felt the same way.

Sam was the next person to arrive. Dream greeted him like he had his parents, and the four of them sat around, catching up with each other and talking about their lives. Apparently their parents had dug up a time capsule that they'd made when they were kids.

It had mostly contained old toys or vague references to inside jokes, but Dream found the stories enjoyable. It was nice to see people with a friendship as strong as his and Sapnap’s. Speaking of, Sapnap was supposed to arrive with Tommy and Tubbo soon. They should probably get into their hiding spots if they wanted to make this a surprise party.

Dream swam behind a box from a shipwreck that was near the door. The rest of his family caught on to what he was doing, and moved to hide behind the seashell chairs. As soon as everyone was hidden, he heard Tommy and Tubbo arguing about something. He lightly rolled his eyes, smiling fondly at the familiar sound.

The two were almost constantly arguing about something ridiculous. Most people would find it annoying, but Dream thought it was actually pretty endearing. The argument of the day seemed to be about whether red or yellow starfish were cooler. If Dream had to pick, he'd probably agree with his son and say the red starfish were cooler.

“I can't wait to hand you two off to Dream so he can deal with this,” Sapnap groaned, obviously trying not to spoil the surprise. Apparently Tommy had been suspicious all day and had been trying to get the information out of Sapnap. Luckily his friend hadn't cracked yet, so Tommy was completely shocked when he swam into the cave and heard his family yelling “Surprise!”

The mer-child’s face lit up and Dream swam forward to wrap him up in a hug. “Happy birthday!” He exclaimed, proud of himself for getting the party set up in time. He could tell that Tommy absolutely loved it, and that was all that mattered to him.

“I thought we were waiting to schedule my party so Uncle Sam could make it?” Tommy asked, surprise in his voice. “Well Dream told me you’d start praying for Poseidon to smite me if I didn't come, so I made sure to clear my schedule.” Sam said with a smile, a glint of humor shining in his eyes.

The mer-child giggled, “I may or may not have already started praying. Your days are limited, Uncle Sam.” Sam dramatically put a hand over his heart. “Oh no! I guess I better be careful then.” The rest of the birthday party was full of jokes and laughter. Dream’s cheeks hurt from how much he was smiling, but he couldn't help it.

Nothing felt better than getting to see Tommy so happy. Something about being around family felt so refreshing. Dream had always been a family guy. He’d do anything to keep the people he loved safe.

Everyone sat around talking and eating shrimp for about 2 hours. At one point Tommy almost impaled Tubbo with Sam’s trident because he was trying to do a trick. According to Tommy, he was a master with lots of experience. Someone probably should have told him that no, gently holding the trident with Sam’s supervision for ten minutes did not make him a “Trident Master.”

Thankfully Tubbo didn't actually get impaled, but it had still scared the fish sticks out of Sapnap when he’d looked up to see a trident flying in Tubbo’s direction. At that point Sam had taken his trident back and was now keeping a close eye on it as the two mer-children attempted a heist.

How Tommy had convinced Tubbo to join him he had no idea, but the two boys just kept coming back in hopes that they’d finally manage to steal it. Eventually Sam must have gotten tired of the constant theft attempts and resorted to distracting the two. “You know, you still haven’t opened your presents yet, Tommy. Maybe you should talk to your dad about that.” Tommy immediately aborted his mission for Sam’s trident, and rushed to where Dream was talking to his parents. “Dad! Dad! Dad I wanna open presents!”

Dream light heartedly glared at his brother, who was looking at him with a smug look on his face. “Alright, you can open them.” Tommy was already rushing towards the present pile and grabbing one, barely even looking to see who it was from before tearing it open. The first gift he opened was a little shield from Grandma Puffy and Grandpa Callahan, as well as some paint so Tommy could customize it however he wanted.

To Dream and Sapnap’s dismay, the next gift was a small trident from Sam. “Don’t worry, it’s only sharp enough to impale fish, not mer-people.” his brother assured. To top it all off, Sapnap had gotten Tommy a knight’s helmet. Dream groaned, “Why would you all arm him with weapons? I’m never going to sleep peacefully now.”

Everyone just laughed. “There’s no harm in him being able to pretend to be a knight. It’s better than you pretending to be an assassin.” His mother teased. Dream sheepishly looked down at the ground. “Ok, fair enough. You win that one.”

Tommy was now on the last gift in the pile. The one from Dream. He watched as his son opened it, his face breaking out into a huge grin when he saw the horn. “It looks so cool! Thanks dad!” Dream smiled warmly at the excited look in Tommy’s eyes. “We’re also going to King Eret’s festival with Sapnap and Tubbo this summer.”

Tommy’s smile only got bigger. “Really? Oh I’ve always wanted to go! I want to try all the snacks people sell! You’re the best!” Before he could respond, Tommy had launched himself into Dream’s arms, giving him a big hug.

Dream hugged him back, glad to have made this birthday such a good one, He might regret giving him the horn later, but it was worth it if it meant that his son was happy.

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Tommy woke up early, excited for today. It had been a few months since his birthday, and today was finally the day of the festival. He still couldn't believe his dad was taking him. It was like a dream come true!

He got out of bed and grabbed his horn, quietly swimming to his dad’s room. He was still sleeping when Tommy got there, snoring loudly like always. He tried not to giggle as he slowly moved closer, bringing the horn up to his lips.

As soon as he was close enough, he blew into the horn, making the loudest noise he possibly could. Dad almost fell out of the bed with how quickly he shot up. “Holy fuck-! Oh… oh hey Tommy.” He couldn't understand why his dad looked like he’d seen a ghost, but he still laughed at the reaction. The way he had jumped up had been so funny!

But there was a word dad said that he didn't know yet. Tommy wanted to know what it meant! Maybe it was a really funny word! “Dad, what does fuck mean?” The horror on his father's face only got worse. “Oh no no no, Tommy that’s a bad word. I shouldn't have said it, I’m sorry. Please never repeat that word again.”

“What does it mean?” He asked again. Dad pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “It’s kind of another way of saying ‘oh shoot’ or ‘oh crap.’ It’s another way of expressing annoyance when you mess something up, or something to say when you’re really surprised.” Tommy nodded, understanding what the word meant now.

“So could I say my surprise party fucking scared me?” Dad was silent for a minute, almost like he was rethinking his life choices. “Yes, but like I said, that’s a bad word that we shouldn't say.” Tommy again nodded his head. “Ok.” Little did dad know, Tommy would not stop using that word.

“Alright, I’m guessing your ready to go since you came in here with your horn?” Dad asked, stretching and rubbing sleep out his eyes. “Yeah! I want to leave now, can we go? Please?” Dad smiled, chuckling at Tommy’s excitement. “Yes, we can leave now. Don't forget we have to stop and meet up with Sapnap and Tubbo first though.”

Tommy didn't even acknowledge what dad said as he rushed out the cave, barely waiting for him to catch up as he made his way to Tubbo’s home. Dad caught up to him pretty easily, coming up to swim beside him. “Good grief Tommy at least let me wake up first.” Dad said light heartedly, still yawning and trying to fully wake up.

“Come on dad, we gotta get a move on! Don't be such a starfish!” Dad laughed in disbelief. “A starfish huh? Ok then.” The two were silent as Tommy silently giggled. Of course, it was only a minute before dad spoke again. “Last one there is a starfish!” He yelled before quickly darting away, leaving Tommy behind in the dust.

“Hey what-“ it only took him a second to speed up too, trying to catch up. “No fair! You’re cheating!” They kept passing each other back and forth as they raced. Tommy was old enough now to know that dad was taking it easy on him so he could keep an eye on his son, but that didn't stop him from having fun.

It only took them five minutes to make it to Mr. Sapnap’s house. Once it was in sight, Tommy had an idea. He swam a little closer to the ocean floor, grabbing a handful of sand before throwing it in his dad’s face. While he was rubbing sand out of his eyes, Tommy took the chance to get ahead of him and quickly swim inside. “See, I told you you’re a starfish!” He yelled.

“I call foul! My eyes hurt now!” Tommy felt a little bad. Getting sand in your eyes was no fun. “Are you ok?” Dad gave him a thumbs up. “I’m alright, don't worry. That was actually really smart. Just don't do it again.” Tommy smiled at the praise. “Whatever you say.”

Just then he felt something grab his shoulders and he shrieked. He could hear Mr. Sapnap laughing behind him as he quickly turned around to see what had grabbed him. “Oh you absolute blob fish!” Dad had finally managed to get the sand out of his eyes and was swimming towards them. “That's what you get for throwing sand in my face.” He said laughing loudly.

Mr. Sapnap was laughing too. “Blob fish? Where did you get that from?” Tommy grinned and pointed to his forehead. “I got it from all your wrinkles up there!” Dad only laughed harder as Mr. Sapnap gasped. “Hey, take that back! I do not have wrinkles!” Tubbo  came out of his room then, looking tired as if he’d just woken up from all the noise.

“Are you talking about my dad’s wrinkles?” At that point both Tommy and his dad fell to the floor laughing, tears springing up in their eyes. Mr. Sapnap just shook his head, lightly rolling his eyes. “Dream you’re so immature.” It took them almost three minutes to stop laughing and start heading towards the festival.

According to dad, it wasn't that far away, but it still felt like they were traveling across the whole ocean. Tommy couldn't wait to get there. He’d heard dad talk about going before, and after hearing the stories he decided that he wanted to go someday too.

After what felt like an eternity (but was really only fifteen minutes) they finally arrived, and it was better than Tommy had hoped. There were banners hanging everywhere and tons of popup shops full of cool knickknacks and trinkets. There were lanterns made of bioluminescent algae hanging around in all kinds of colors.

The best thing to Tommy though was the music. It was cheerful and easily filled the festival with a relaxing atmosphere. It had that feeling that only a good band could have. Each instrument complimented the others in a way that made the festival feel… complete.

Tommy couldn't stop staring in awe as they swam from stand to stand, looking at everything there was to buy. They all stayed close together in their group until something caught Tommy’s eye.

It was a booth selling something called a ‘cookie,’ which seemed to be dried seaweed topped with the hard shells of a crab, heated over a small patch of magma to make it nice and crunchy. Tommy grabbed Tubbo’s hand to get his attention and pointed at the cookie booth. “Look at that!” He said excitedly.

Tubbo looked to where he was pointing and immediately looked interested too. Wordlessly, the two agreed to go check out the booth together, both completely forgetting to tell their parents where they were going.

They waited in line for nearly five minutes, just chatting and telling jokes to make the time go by faster before it was their turn. They got their cookies and thanked the kind mer running the stand. As soon as Tommy bit into his, he was in love.

The cookie had the perfect amount of crunch, and the taste had his mouth watering for more. Tommy and Tubbo finished their cookies quickly and went off to keep exploring. Tommy’s personal favorite stand had to be the one that was teaching seahorses tricks. They barely even noticed time going by, both just happy to be spending the day together.

It took them almost two hours to remember their parents. “Uh, Tommy, where did our dads go?” Tubbo asked. Tommy pulled his eyes away from the seahorse stand. “Huh? What do you mean?” Tubbo was looking at the crowd of mer-folk, trying to spot the two adults they came with. “I mean I think we’re lost.”

“Oh. That's not good. What do we do?” Tommy started scanning the crowd too, feeling himself getting more anxious as he failed to find his dad in the crowd. “I don't know, I’ve never been lost before!” He could hear the slight panic in his friends voice. He wished he could help, but Tommy didn't know what to do either.

“Did I hear you say you’re lost?” A deep voice asked from behind them. Tommy turned around to see a mer-person with long brown hair, a purple tail like amethyst, sunglasses from a shipwreck covering their eyes, and most importantly- a crown and a long red cape. His jaw dropped as he immediately recognized who it was.

Right in front of them was King Eret, the most powerful mer in the world. And somehow they had just so happened to bump into him. “Yes your majesty, we haven't seen them since we went to get cookies.” Tubbo said, a hint of awe and disbelief on his face.

“Oh dear. Don't worry, I’m sure we can find them. Now, what do they look like?” King Eret asked with a warm smile gracing their lips. Noticing that Tubbo looked nervous, Tommy took over the conversation and told the king everything about his dad and Mr. Sapnap. “So we’re looking for a Mr. Dream and a Mr. Sapnap?” She asked. Tommy nodded his head in confirmation. “Yes, your majesty.”

“Alright, they should be easy to find! And please, just call me Eret.” Neither of the boys said anything as Eret offered their hand out for the children to hold. They each took a hand and stayed close to Eret as they swam around, looking for their parents.

Everyone moved out of their way when they saw Eret coming, and whispers filled the streets about the two children she had with her. Tommy, wanting to fill the silence that hung in the air, decided to ask a question and try to start a conversation. “King Eret, have you ever been fucking scared?”

Eret paused before bursting out laughing. “What?” Tommy grinned, proud of himself for making the king laugh. “You know, fucking scared. It's different from being normal scared. Normal scared is like ‘ah!’ but fucking scared is when you yell ‘oh fuck!’” Eret laughed a little more before responding.

“Yeah, I guess I have been. But where in Poseidon’s ocean did you learn that word?” Tubbo looked confused as he chimed in, “What word? ‘Fucking?’ Is it a bad word?” Tommy nodded his head. “My dad says it is. I learned it from him today! I scared him awake with my horn and he said it, then he panicked and told me to never repeat it.” He was still proud of himself for managing to scare his dad like that.

“Well, perhaps you should listen to your dad. It is funny when you say it, but it really isn't a very nice word.” Tommy nodded his head. “Ok, I won't say it anymore, right Tubbo?” Tubbo nodded too. “Yep! I promise to never say ‘fuck!’ Oh hey look, there's our dads!”

Tommy quickly looked to where Tubbo was pointing to see both of their parents standing by a fountain talking to each other. Eret guided the two to their fathers, who both looked relieved to see their kids. “Oh thank god you’re alright!” Dad exclaimed with a sigh of relief, immediately scooping Tommy up into a hug.

“We’re fine dad! I don't think we would've found you without Eret though.” Mr. Sapnap went to shake their hand. “Thank you so much your majesty, and we apologize for any trouble they may have caused.” Tommy could see how his dad’s eyes widened in shock upon recognizing the king.

“Don't worry about it, it happens. And they were very delightful to talk to. In fact Tommy was just telling me about how he ‘fucking scared’ you today.” They said, a glint of mischief written on their features.

Dad ducked his head in embarrassment. “That sounds like something he would do. Thank you again your majesty.” Eret smiled. “It’s no problem. I hope you enjoy the rest of the festival.” They waved goodbye to Tommy and Tubbo before going back through the crowd to do whatever they had been doing before they bumped into the two kids.

“Boys, promise us you’ll never run off like that again.” Mr. Sapnap said, looking at both of them sternly. There was no anger in his look, but it was one that conveyed how serious he was. “We won’t.” The two mer-children replied in unison.

That was a good enough promise for their dads. The rest of the day was spent looking around all together. They tried so much food and bought so much stuff that they had needed to buy a bag just to carry it all.

Then at the end of the day, the band struck up a more energetic tune that got everyone dancing. Everyone was spinning and waving their arms around with no regards for tomorrow, and no one held a grudge if someone accidentally bumped into them.

Time flew by in a blur as Tommy and Tubbo joined in, grabbing each other's hands and twirling around in what could only be called a ‘chaos tornado.’ It was the most fun he’d ever had, giggling and spending the day with the mers he loved.

Dad and Sapnap had joined in too, putting the two boys on their shoulders so they could see everything from above. Tommy could see as couples danced together, close and romantic. He could see as groups of friends made jokes and lightly pushed each other, laughing when one of them would occasionally fall.

All the beautifully colored tails shone in the rays of sunlight that peeked through the ocean. It looked like something straight out of a fairytale. It was just… magical. A day to remember and cherish for the rest of his life.

When they finally left, it was with warm smiles on their faces and the feeling that you could only feel when you were around your family.