Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A rancid smell fabricated from nothing, making Tommy reel back in shock trying to suppress the bile that attempted to claw its way up his scratchy, dry throat. His back hit something hard as he tried to propel himself backwards to try to relieve his overwhelmed senses from the stench. He tried to open his eyes only to be met with more darkness which caused his breath to hitch. He shot his hands out behind him, confirming that there was a wall or something, for once there was something, not nothing. He lunged forward as he flailed his hands to try to comprehend where or what he was in. He didn’t want to breathe with the putrid odor causing his eyes to sting though his lungs kept gasping in air as if it was his first or last chance to ever take in oxygen. He panicked when he came to the realization that he was in a box filled with various other objects that seemed to drown him. He started to tremble as he disorientedly tried to violently throw himself at all the walls trying to scream out to anyone though his rasped voice barely made a sound. He felt tears fall rapidly down his face as he helplessly thrashed around. He suddenly whacked something that resembled what he remembered as a human. The unfamiliar touch made him violently whip his hand back to his heaving chest.

Many scenarios flew through his brain, and all of them resulted in him realizing this was his new hell. He was stuck in a box that seemed to be getting smaller every moment with a dead, probably dismembered body.

“What the fuck?!” A raspy voice broke through his ever-imaginative thoughts making him freeze. He knew that voice. It was the very same voice that configurated and carefully formulated every single syllable to every single word that traumatized him from beyond death and stayed with him in his eternal hell. Adrenaline and pure fear shot through his veins as he tried to run away. His legs fought to find a floor or platform to push himself anywhere away from the monster that resided beside him. He launched himself in a direction he thought was up and crashed into another wall of some sort though this one broke open to reveal a blinding light that overwhelmed him making him flinch, almost falling back. He frantically flung himself out of the box hearing an agitated protest. He rapidly blinked his eyes, wiping away the tears and trying to get used to the light as he stumbled away.

He stopped dead in his tracks as his eyes adjusted, he noticed he was between two tall towers or rather buildings hidden away with the box he had just escaped from along with more bags of what looked and smelled like trash. His head was spinning in confusion as he peered further ahead and saw large metal objects whip across on a path with ease as other people, which he had never seen before, casually walked beside them. He was about to bolt but seeing the unfamiliar and impossible scene in front of him, he hesitated.

He didn’t know what was going on, he looked down at his hands, he was alive. He was alive again, but this wasn’t… What he remembered. This didn’t make sense. His thoughts spiraled as he tried to breathe through his building panic.

“Tommy?” He whipped around and saw Dream, well he knew it was Dream, he had only seen what he looked like once, before everything went to hell, though it was just a blank face in his memories. Now he looked like a disheveled mess still in an orange prison jumpsuit though it was mostly darkened by dried blood, which he fucking deserves. His hair was all matted and had turned into a dirty white that was covered in dried blood and grime. His face was littered with scars and burn marks that seemed to create a mask on their own. His empty eyes were the same color that he always wore, a dark, sickly green that made his skin itch. It reminded him that the last time he saw this man was after he broke out of prison. Full of resentment and hatred, with the intent to… “What are you doing here Tommy?” He asked with a growing grin that contrasted the dead look in his eyes, his voice like gravel being forcefully shoved down his ears to scratch his brain.

“Fuck you.” Was all he could whisper out, his fists clenched at his sides, from pure anger yet also to stop his trembling hands. Dream erupted into laughter making Tommy flinch back though it sounded more like he was choking on glass. His laughing fit ended quickly when it transitioned to a violent cough, Tommy tensed up his mind racing. He covered his mouth with one of his hands, seeing his face partially hidden made Tommy want to throw up. Dream pulled the hand away that was now covered in blood and nonchalantly tried to flick it off with a blank look.

“Well, this is new.” Dream finally managed to say his vacant stare replaced with a smile. He sort of glanced around as if surveying the area.

“What did you do?!” He snapped, he felt dizzy, nothing here was familiar. He tried to maintain eye contact though the impulse to tear out his own eyes was almost too overbearing. Dream’s smile stayed on his face like he was frozen in time or rather didn’t give a shit about what Tommy had just said. “Answer me! What did you do?!” He repeated feeling a shred of newfound confidence. Dream’s face didn’t move until it shifted into a bored look.

“Yeah, I don’t feel like doing this today.” He sighed as he tried to climb out of the smelly box. Tommy was speechless as he flinched back at every movement Dream made. He clumsily fell out muttering a series of curses as he slowly stood up using the wall to steady himself.

“W-What?” Tommy sputtered as Dream moved or rather limped past him without a second glance. “Wait?! Y-You did this to me!” He exclaimed as he reached out and forcibly grabbed Dream’s arm. Dream ripped his arm away aggressively and stared at Tommy’s hovering hand which he retracted in alarm. He just stood there with an uninhabited gaze, suddenly he snapped out of it and glared at Tommy.

“Don’t touch me.” He grumbled as he turned, it took Tommy a moment to realize he actually was going to leave.

“You didn’t answer my question!” He called out as Dream continued to leave him alone, all by himself in a new place where he knew nothing. It would be the most beneficial to stay by the one thing he knew though it made him sick that he was even mulling it over. He knew him though, he knew his tricks, his slimy words and tactics to get his way. He could be careful and ditch him the instant it outweighed the pros, which honestly there weren’t many pros. He gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath as he hesitantly trailed after Dream though a considerable distance away so he would be able to react if he did anything.

“You didn't ask a question, you just accused me.” Dream corrected him as he peered out from their little crevice between buildings into the open expanse.

“Oh fuck off, you know what I mean, smartass.” Tommy chided as he tapped his foot to try to expel his nervous energy as he watched Dream’s every movement like a hawk. Dream looked back at him and glared which caused his blood to freeze for a moment before Dream went back to ignoring him again to analyze the situation. “Well?” He dared to choke out, his pulse quickening as he attempted to further gain answers.

“It’s not my fault, it’s yours.” He grumbled under his breath, the words causing a reaction of pure rage from Tommy.

“So your fucking manipulating me now too!” He fumed, the lack of effort in Dream’s responses somehow terrified him more than if had been acting how he usually does.

“This little funny scenario is already giving me a headache so maybe shut up for once in your life and let me just get this over with.” Dream sighed with growing irritation.

“Funny scenario?! Are you fucking out of your mind?!” Tommy scoffed, not believing the nonsense he was trying to get him to believe.

“Most likely.” Dream replied casually, still facing away from Tommy which made his temper fry. “See ya.” He called out, snapping Tommy out of his building anxiety and anger. Dream turned around and passed Tommy as he went further into the alleyway.

“Where the fuck are you going?!” Tommy shouted out as he scrambled after Dream who had a rather quick pace for someone who looked barely alive.

“If you looked anywhere except up your own ass you would notice that we don’t exactly fit in.” He grumbled as he coughed roughly into his hand, without any acknowledgment of the blood that speckled the palm of his hand. Tommy whipped around and glanced back at the many people moving past without a care in the world. He glanced back at Dream and begrudgingly caught up with him.

“Fuck you, you’re one to talk.” He shot back, lagging behind in case of a violent reaction though he was just ignored. He muttered curses at Dream under his breath before taking in the environment around him. They ventured further into the back ways of large buildings that were almost as tall as the towers he would always make. It was like a never-ending maze and Dream seemed to know all the ins and outs of it. The idea that Dream knew where he was going and was leading him somewhere desolate to… His pulse quickened as he slowed down his pace to let the distance between the two of them grow. “W-Where are we?” He asked clenching his fist in preparation for anything.

“Fuck it if I know.” Dream responded as he kept moving forward taking a random left turn.

“What do you mean you don’t know!!” Tommy accused him as his brain reeled in disbelief. “Where are you taking me?!”

“I’m not taking you anywhere, in fact, you’re the one who’s following me.” Dream retorted, turning around sharply to meet Tommy’s scowl with a harsh glare. Tommy flinched back, struggling to collect his frantic thoughts before Dream turned around and continued moving forward. Tommy muttered a curse as he begrudgingly trailed him again reminding himself that he had the ability to run if anything happened.

Tommy aimlessly followed Dream after lessening his value as an immediate threat, after what seemed like ages of nothing but walking. He glanced at the walls that hid them both from people he’d never met, which was apparently better according to Dream, though he always thought he was right. Why was he even listening to Dream? Tommy thought with a scowl. Dream always tried to separate and seclude him from people, messing with his mind. Those people could save him, he didn’t know! Though again he didn’t know… What if they were worse than Dream? If that was even possible… Tommy’s thoughts started to spiral as his eyes quickly flicked back to Dream, who still was ignoring him. He chewed his thumb’s fingernail, and a feeling of anxiousness gnawed at his stomach. He snapped his head up when he heard an incoherent hum with no particular rhyme from Dream that would randomly cut out sometimes from the state of his throat no doubt.

“What the fuck are you doing?” He exclaimed before he could control himself.

“Trying to find a way out, dumbass.” Dream answered irritatedly, his response made Tommy angrier, he didn’t like being treated like he was stupid.

“I mean your fucking dogshit humming.” He snapped back, every small thing was frying his nerves and making him irritated and furious beyond belief. He just happened to be directing it onto the one person who scared him shitless.

“I’m not humming.” Dream countered. His answer was so blatantly a lie it made Tommy want to scream and rip out his hair. Dream was silent for a moment before his awful humming started up again.

“Oh my fucking god!” Tommy exploded, causing Dream to jump slightly before recovering like nothing happened. “You’re doing it again!” He growled as Dream went quiet.

“No, I’m not.” Dream countered anger growing and intertwining within his raspy voice.

“It’s not even funny!” Tommy exclaimed frantically throwing his hands into the air, Dream tensed up and seemed to watch his hands flail.

“I’m not trying to be funny with you!” Dream spat out, crossing his arms to try to look more intimidating though it came across as more of a pitiful self-hug. “Whatever, just shut up.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you to do.” Tommy snapped, the only reaction he got however was rolled eyes.

“You’re so fucking annoying.” Dream grumbled under his breath though Tommy picked up the offhand comment. He was not about to be insulted by the single man who wrecked his life.

“You really are something huh?” He sneered, his mind was racing between two possibilities. He really really wanted Dream to do something, he wanted to push him over the edge, to get a satisfying, while also terrifying, reaction of pure anger. He wanted Dream to try and attack him first. He wanted to watch the man who called himself god cry before him like the feeble, fragile, disgusting mortal he is. He wanted to destroy and beat his boney corpse of a body until he was undeniably dead. While in contrast, the other side of him was screeching at him to stop, to comply for once in his fucking life. That this would actually benefit him, he didn’t have to sabotage himself for his never-ending burn for revenge. He didn’t want to be alone in this place he had just woken up in. Don’t do it. Stop stop stop stop stop stop stop.

Dream only stared at him, his expression void of any possible implications that he was experiencing an emotion of any sort. Then he moved on without any retort or snappy insult. Tommy's side of reason rejoiced while his revenge-seeking side was furious. He suddenly felt like a fool, why was he making such a large commotion while Dream barely reacted to anything? Why was he always so over the top with every single fucking thing he does? His breath hitched slightly as a sense of worthlessness crashed into him like a wave of freezing water. What was he even doing? No. This was all Dream's plan. It had to be because what else would explain all of this? He just had to hold out. How many times had he had to remind himself of this? He could feel himself slipping back into the same mindset that possessed him during exile. He had to stop and focus god could he even do that? He contemplated as his hand subconsciously drifted back to his mouth as he gnawed anxiously at his nails.

He found the newfound silence eerie instead of calming as only their footsteps echoed off the walls. He wouldn't admit that to any soul though, would rather be forced back into exile than prompt Dream to have a conversation with him or continue his shitty humming. His head snapped up when Dream let out a small sound of delight as they approached another bin-like box though this one seemed to be filled with what looked like clothes. Dream approached it with no precautions and started to dig through the fabric.

"What the fuck are you doing?" He finally asked, breaking the silence, he meant to sound intimidating though his voice wavered.

"What does it look like? Are you stupid or something?" Dream grumbled out while searching within the bin.

"I am not stupid!" Tommy exclaimed, flustered by the sudden verbal attack.

"I'm looking for clothing, you know the stuff you wear?" Dream continued on.

"I know that!" He snapped, crossing his arms in defiance. Dream finally pulled out what looked like a plain dark grey shirt and examined it briefly before throwing it onto the ground and continuing his search. Tommy suddenly felt the urge to take over and shove Dream aside to get his own stuff. He didn't want to get that close to Dream though, so he anxiously watched as he scavenged the metal box. It was barely a moment before Tommy threw his previous plan out the window since Dream was so fucking slow he realized and he didn't want him to get all the good stuff. Whatever that was… He marched over to the farthest part of the bin he could get from Dream and shot him a glare before digging through the clothes on his own.

Dream said nothing which caused him to glance up every now and then, paranoid he was about to attack him at any moment. He knew Dream, he knew how he acted, manipulated, and played with him like he was a little toy. Something was off though, it was unfamiliar, he didn't seem to be as… violent. He looked uninterested and like he was somewhere else, in a place only he existed in. It was fucking unsettling. They always highly contrasted one another because they were both loud and stubborn with different values and beliefs. Now that he was quiet except for the occasional snarky remarks, it felt wrong. It shouldn't feel wrong though, how they fought and screamed at each other was nothing but plain evil and only ended in pain. That's how it always was. Well except for the beginning though, it seemed more like a fabricated story written by someone with only hope for the human race. Didn't matter how he acted now, he knew that Dream was putting on a show to mess with him, as he always did.

He was pulled from his thoughts as his eyes caught a red material. He grabbed it and was pleased to see it was a red shirt that was going to be baggy on him but was around his size.

"Look what I found!" He bragged as he shoved it in Dream's face. Dream paused what he was doing to look at it annoyedly.

"So what?"

"Uhh, I have my signature color while you don't you fucking loser." He mocked with a laugh as Dream rolled his eyes as he continued to search. It might just all be an act, but his confidence was growing as Dream literally reacted to nothing.

"Might be red but you wanna walk around with the words Forever Mama's Little Boy on your shirt?" Dream replied, causing Tommy to whip the shirt around to examine it further himself.

"What the fuck!?" He shouted out as he read the words for himself. "I'll just find another one then." He growled as he threw the red shirt to the floor and searched again.

At the end of the scavenging he never did find another red shirt and begrudgingly took the one he had before because at least it was red. Dream found a thin jacket-looking thing along with his previous find. Tommy was proud to say he found pants while Dream didn't, though they only reached halfway to his calves. He held the bundle of clothes close to his chest not wanting Dream to get any ideas of taking his treasures.

“I'm gonna put these on, don't look." Dream suddenly spoke, causing Tommy to sputter out a response.

"Fuck you! The only time I would even look at your face is if I wanted to make myself vomit!" Tommy snapped as he turned sharply on his heel. He fought the urge to glance back and make sure Dream wasn't right behind him, though the rustling of fabric a ways away encouraged him to hesitantly change as well, not wanting to be left behind. It felt strangely nice to wear something somewhat new that he scavenged from the trash.

"Finished before you!" He shouted mockingly over his shoulder though he was only met with silence. "I'm gonna turn around now…" He added awkwardly after a shaky breath. Still nothing, the rustling stopped too. He whipped around to see Dream fiddling with the sleeves of his prison jumpsuit into a knot to work as a belt. "Why didn't you answer me?!" He exclaimed, agitation creeping into his tone.

"Hm?" Dream hummed as he finally looked up.

"Oh my god! Is this some new thing you're doing? Cause it's really fucking annoying!" He scoffed.

"What new thing?" Dream asked, sounding confused, more like acting confused actually. Tommy let out a frustrated groan and ran his hands through his hair in an attempt to calm himself down.

"Now you're acting like you never did anything, of course you are." He exclaimed with a forced smile. "Is this fun to you?!"

"Were you saying something?" Dream asked in his same confused tone. He did look genuinely confused, but that meant nothing, he was a manipulator. Though he's never seen him without his mask and how unnatural any portrayal of emotion was as it awkwardly splayed across his face.

"Yes, yes I fucking was you piece of shit." He chided.

"I didn't hear you then." He responded defensively, "And why do you care so much?" Dream added with a scowl.

"I don't!" Tommy growled as Dream rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, you look ridiculous by the way." Dream pointed out with a smirk. Tommy's mouth dropped in shock before morphing into a frown.

"Look in a mirror dipshit!" He retorted, suddenly he noticed how Dream looked kind of… tired. His skin, at least the few parts that weren’t covered in scars, looked clammy, and dark circles orbited his eyes. He looked like he was in constant pain, which the fucker deserved. The weird part was that Dream seemed practically unaware, which pissed him off. "What are we gonna do now?" He grumbled after once again not getting a response.

"We?" Dream repeated back with raised eyebrows.

"The moment I know what's going on you better believe I'm ditching your ass." He clarified as he glared at Dream.

"Okay well, I'm going to go and find the way out of here if one even exists, though I'll get out of here eventually either way." He grumbled as he turned to move to who knows where.

"The fuck you mean by that?!" Tommy exclaimed feeling slightly freaked out by his response. He continued to trail after Dream who, for someone who looked as frail as a beat-up twig, moved with consistent speed.

"Doesn't concern you Tommy." He replied blankly without elaborating further. Shivers ran down his spine as he tried to figure out what Dream was referencing.

“What do you mean, a way out?” Tommy pestered, ignoring Dream’s vague threat. He scratched behind at a tag that was still attached to his shirt near the nape of his neck which started to bother him.

“Do you ever actually listen? Genuinely asking here.” Dream scoffed, his answer made Tommy’s anger flare.

“I do, to people who fucking deserve it.” He seethed, quickly reminding himself who was standing in front of him.

“Then who? I don’t remember you ever listened to anyone, well, except for your own damn self.” Dream pointed out more like an observation rather than a directed insult. Tommy opened his mouth to fight back, his tongue sharp with ripostes, before shutting it slowly. He raced through his memories and interactions to try to find a definitive moment to shut Dream up. To show him that his toxic words were nothing more than meaningless syllables, a waste of air. Though he came up empty in the short time he recalled his past experiences.

“Says you.” Was the only thing he muttered as Dream let out a sharp laugh that sounded more like a painful cough that made Tommy flinch back.

“Yeah, says me.” He repeats back, his tone sounding almost reminiscent though the words were bitter and empty. Dream seemed to check out after that and Tommy gave up trying to get more information. He was trying to distract himself from the chemical smell in the air, constant somewhat fuzzy blaring sounds, and incoherent chatter from strangers. It was all too much, so instead, he retreated into his mind not wanting to take in any more of his surroundings.

His mind was barely better, he kept spiraling on everything he started to fixate on. The tag on his shirt was still driving him crazy. His legs were basically dragging and he was filthy and miserable. He had to be better than Dream though, if he was still walking, he sure as hell was going to keep walking. When was the last time he walked for this long? Felt like ages ago. He used to go on walks all the time to clear his mind from the guy in front of him actually. Full fucking circle huh.

Maybe he should be thinking of something useful like how he got here. Was it teleportation? Tommy had heard that was possible though it never had happened to him personally except from an ender pearl, but that was entirely different. The last thing he remembered though was void. Nothing. Because he was dead. So… How does that explain his current situation? He suddenly bumped into something and screamed out and scrambled back when he registered it was Dream. It seemed to startle Dream as well as he violently flinched away.

“Why the fuck did you stop!” Tommy snapped as he frantically tried to wipe off where they touched as if it was burning him.

“I told you not to fucking touch me!” Dream growled as he grabbed his forearms with his own hands which were trembling slightly.

“The only time I would touch you on purpose is to fucking kill you with my own two hands.” He seethed as they both held each other's glare. Tommy wasn’t going to back down no matter how much every part of his body was screaming at him to scratch his eyes out. Suddenly a small clicking sound became increasingly louder after a few moments. At first, he thought it was in his head before he noticed Dream’s face shift into confusion. He hesitantly turned around to see an animal emerge into the alleyway they resided in as the clicking noise came to a stop. “What the hell?” He exclaimed with a scowl.

The creature was kinda like a wolf though it was tan with traces of black rather than grey and had a very skinny build with a short coat. It looked nothing like an actual wolf but that was the closest thing he could compare it to.

“Are you seeing this?” He asked over his shoulder, he glanced back to see Dream still looking confused but rather uninterested. The kinda wolf stared at the two of them for a moment before raising its hackles with a deep snarl. “Oh fuck!” He shouted as the kinda wolf started to charge at them with a low bark. “I didn’t even hit you!” He yelped, his adrenaline now pumping through his veins made him forget how close he was to giving up and merging with the floor. He turned on his heel to run before crashing into Dream once again causing both of them to tumble to the ground.

“W-What the–?!” Dream sputtered out, coughing hard as he tried to take in a breath as Tommy scrambled back to his feet. As the strange wolf was closing in fast he made a decision that he never thought he would make and was disgusted by himself. Tommy grabbed Dream’s arm and yanked him up as he still coughed disorientedly. He shoved Dream forward before he eventually got the memo and the both of them started running with the odd dog right on their trail. He scanned everywhere around him as he was trying to gasp in as much air as he could as he spirited down the alleyway. He kept having to reach back and yank Dream forward, who was having a much harder time than he was, as he lagged behind.

His eyes landed on some sort of metal contraption hanging off the wall of one of the buildings that resembled a ladder. He felt like he was breathing in fire as his lungs struggled to keep up with his impromptu run. He shoved Dream to the ladder which was suspended a few feet into the air. The weird-looking wolf growled at Tommy and tried to snap at his ankle though he managed to jump out of the way just in time.

Why was he risking his ass for this piece of shit?! He didn’t know why, but when he was just about to ditch Dream he was suddenly so deeply convinced that he was leaving himself behind. That if he left Dream there it was basically like staying there himself. Was he that messed up by Dream that he thought of his abuser as himself?

The dog kept nipping at his ankles and he was losing energy fast. He glanced over and saw Dream was struggling to even get himself onto the ladder. He groaned in frustration as Dream’s frail arms finally hoisted him up onto the first rung. He took in a shaky breath and lunged over the dog and frantically jumped onto the ladder causing it to shake with his momentum.

“Move! Fucking move!” He shrieked as Dream frantically worked his way up shouting out curses before he finally stumbled onto the ledge. Tommy tried to pull himself out of reach but the dog jumped up and bit into his calf hard. He screamed in horror, also hearing Dream randomly yelp as he kicked the weird wolf off him as he clawed his way onto the ledge.

His vision was blurred as the only thing he could hear was his heart that was crashing against his chest as if it was trying to break its way out. He tried to focus on his breathing before he decided to assess his wound. It was bleeding a little and stung like a bitch, but it wasn’t anything bad he concluded as he gritted his teeth. He finally looked up and saw Dream cradling his own leg like a baby.

“The fuck you bitching about?” Tommy jeered with an annoyed scowl.

“It randomly started to hurt.” Dream answered slowly through gasps of air. He was rubbing the spot that supposedly hurt, which happened to be exactly where his injury was located.

“I’m the one that got hurt you bitch! You don’t even have the decency to fake a different spot too.” He accused, wincing as he felt pain flare up through his leg. He shouted out a couple of curses as Dream just flopped onto the small ledge; his chest was shaky as he tried to breathe in through unstable breaths. Tommy thought about screaming at Dream for taking up space and ultimately being a waste of air but his head was foggy and his body was exhausted. The fucked up wolf was barking at them still, each bark was like nails getting pounded into his skull. It kept jumping up and snapping its jaw at the ladder that was just out of its reach.

“Fuck you!” Tommy yelled out, he rested his head on the railing behind him as he tried to calm himself down. Everything was so different, how everything looked, smelled, acted, even fucking Dream. Though he was the closest thing to home, to familiarity. Which made him fucking repulsed that leaving Dream scared him. He would do it though, there wasn’t anything that could keep him beside this piece of shit. Why was everything like this? Tommy started to bite at his nails as he dove deeper into his spiraling thoughts.

“It’s getting dark.” Dream pointed out with his raspy voice sounding painfully dry. Tommy’s head snapped to glare at Dream who had his arm lying over his eyes. He forgot he was there for a moment even though he was the cause of his concerns. He glanced at the sky, a sense of dread washed over him as he noticed that it was transitioning into a deep blue.

“Well shit.” He muttered under his breath as he clambered to the edge of the railing causing Dream to flinch away shooting him an annoyed look which he ignored. “What do we do?” He asked warily as he scanned the ground for mobs though the only thing that occupied the space below them was that damned dog that growled at him.

“I’m staying here, the light levels here don’t seem too low.” Dream mumbled as he turned away from Tommy and curled into himself as if to try to get warm.

“So that’s it? You’re just going to fall asleep?!” He exclaimed after he finally tore his eyes from the ground.

“What do you want me to do?” Dream grumbled as he shifted in an awkward attempt to find a more comfortable spot which seemed impossible on the thin railing floor.

“Maybe, I don’t know, work to fix this?!” Tommy exclaimed, panic slipping into his voice.

“Oh my god.” Dream groaned as he finally turned to face Tommy. “You worry too much about things that don’t matter.”

“Things that don’t matter huh?! Shit, you’re right! Waking up in a place where nothing is the same is a good joke! Let’s get along like good old pals, right? Laugh about this all later together?” Tommy snapped, Dream just stared at him blankly and moved to turn away from him again. He wasn’t finished though. His stomach churned with hatred and without any thought he reached out and forcefully grabbed Dream’s wrist, pulling it back to stop him from ignoring him again. He cringed as he felt how thin Dream’s wrist was while also realizing that he had recklessly dug his own grave.

“Fucking let go of me!” Dream ordered, his raspy voice ran shrill. Tommy tightened his grip as he recognized something he’d never seen within Dream… Fear. It intrigued him, he wanted to make this emotion burn into his very being. He wanted him to make him know exactly how he felt anytime he was around Dream, what he felt now. He couldn’t help but let out the laugh that had been bubbling up inside his throat.

It was short-lived however as Dream ripped his wrist out of Tommy’s grip and grasped his shirt and forcibly shoved him onto the railing that he frantically grabbed at to keep himself from falling. He could only hear the pounding of his own heart as he remained suspended in the air the only thing really keeping him in place was Dream’s thin fucking stick arms. The railing dug into his back and his arms ached as they continued to be his mental safety net, though in actuality they would do nothing to hinder his fate.

“I thought I fucking told you not to touch me Tommy.” Dream rasped out, his tone was dangerous. He shut his eyes, terrified of what he would see in front of him. “You’re so fucking annoying, I swear I should just get rid of you now…” His breath hitched, and he opened his eyes to be met with Dream’s cold calculated eyes deciding his worth like he was a fucking god. He still thinks of himself as one from the looks of it, some things never do change. He felt dizzy as he thought of the fall, he wasn’t too far up but it surely would hurt like a bitch and leave him defenseless. He couldn’t make himself do anything to fight back, his body already dead exhausted.

“Heh, whatever.” Dream concluded as he loosened his grip on Tommy’s shirt allowing him to fall onto the safety of the ledge instead of the drop below them.

“W-What the fuck?!” He sputtered out as Dream sat back down acting like he hadn’t just threatened Tommy’s life. “What? What? What was that!?!” He shouted as he shakily latched onto the railed flooring.

“Eh, I don’t know? You just really remind me of Tommy.” Dream sighed with a shrug. His jaw dropped at the answer, he could barely register what Dream was even saying or rather implying.

“Bitch?! I’m fucking Tommy you fucking shitwad!” He screamed as Dream just lazily smiled.

“He would say something like that.” He stated matter-of-factly, almost like he was reminiscing. What the fuck?! This had to be another trick of his, though trying to convince him that he didn’t exist was a little too ambitious, even for Dream.

“What exactly do you think is going on?” He asked slowly while watching Dream for a reaction.

“I don’t feel like talking about it and it doesn’t even matter anyways.” He trailed off. Tommy scowled as Dream avoided an answer.

“Just fucking tell me!” He snapped, Dream looked at him for a little while which made his stomach twist uncomfortably into knots.

“Fine, you know what? I’ll tell you what’s going on here.” He started an almost maniac look seeped into his eyes, “This is all another fucking circle of hell, nothing is real anymore, everything is just a scheme for another fun new way of torture. I’ve been killed yet I always die and die and die. I can’t remember what it was like to even be alive. I can’t remember if I ever was alive or if it was just the last form of limbo I can recall.” He ran his hands through his hair as his breathing picked up. “It doesn’t matter because nothing in this situation is different, it ends in death, it ends with a new scenario with the same result.” Dream started to laugh as if he said the funniest thing though it sounded pained and bitter.

“...You don't think this is real?” Tommy asked, his voice wavering slightly.

“What does it fucking look like?” Dream scoffed, as he shot Tommy a harsh look. He stood there standing before someone convinced that even he wasn’t real. Tommy couldn’t help the ideas formed within a sense of giddiness. He could do so many things to take advantage of the simple confession. He tried to keep his facial expression neutral as this revelation hit him.

“Oh…” Was the only thing he muttered as he sat back down on the cramped ledge. He wanted to laugh, mock Dream, and berate him with hateful words. The possibility was there and for once he wasn’t going to exploit it right away. He was going to play the long game as much as the thought repulsed him. He wasn’t a planner, but rather someone who recklessly took action, but this would be worth it.

Dream started to hum again, unnatural sounds scraped and clawed their way out of his scarred vocal cords. He was about to yell at Dream before noticing he was zoned out again and decided to just save his breath. He rubbed his throat, he now noticed after all the panic how dry and scratchy his own voice was. Tommy didn’t want to fall asleep though his eyes drooped as he stared into the night sky. As he fretfully fell unconscious he couldn’t tell if this was better than The Void or worse.

Chapter Text

Tommy slowly peeled his eyes open wincing back with a scowl as light flooded his senses. He propped himself up as best he could with his aching arms that trembled pathetically underneath his weight. He fought through the fog in his mind and remembered his situation, he whipped around to face Dream who was already staring him dead in the eyes.

“What the fuck?!” Tommy exclaimed as he flinched back his heart slammed against his chest so hard that he thought it was going to just give up on him. Silence was the only reaction he was met with and on closer inspection, he noticed that now familiar far-away look. “You are so fucking creepy.” He muttered half expecting Dream to break out of his trace and scream at him though he was met with no response. It was increasingly apparent how awkward it was becoming so he decided to move every few moments to see if anything would happen. He wanted so badly to leave the cold uncomfortable railing that was digging into his ass. Not that he needed Dream’s permission or anything, it just was necessary for his plan. 

His patience and hesitance died off, however, he started to notice all the things making him irritated. The tag still on his shirt scratched his neck, his dry throat that made even thinking hard, how his stomach rumbled, and most of all how this little bitch in front of him was making these things a problem by not moving. Tommy slammed his hand harder than planned on the railed floor with a string of curses as Dream jumped high with a yelp. His eyes frantically flew around trying to gather as much information as possible that he was originally blocking out.  

“Rise and shine fuckface.” Tommy managed to grit out with an attempt at a smug smile while trying to minimize how much pain he put himself in. Dream cradled his hand close to his chest as he stared at him with wide eyes. His face morphed into a frown as he let out a pattern of shaky breaths. 

“Did you hit my hand?” Dream asked, his voice sounding rougher than it did yesterday.

“Ew, no, why would I put myself through the task of touching your ugly… any of you.” Tommy scowled the thought made him want to throw up, why was Dream always insisting that he touched him? Dream still had that same frown on his ugly stupid face.  

Tommy looked over the side of the platform to distract himself since the idea of looking at Dream for any longer than he had to made him want to throw up. It worked in his favor since he realized the weird wolf that put them in this situation was nowhere to be seen. He glanced back over his shoulder to see that Dream was staring off into space again with a concerned, maybe even manic, look etched into his face. 

He jumped up to his feet, stumbling a little as a dizzy spell reminded him of his aching body and empty stomach. Tommy felt a satisfying rush as Dream winced back a little in reaction, his eyes hardening into a glare. He walked over to the ledge, his senses perked in case Dream was planning on pushing him off, though nothing of the sort happened to his relief. He tested the first rung gently before scrambling down as quickly as he could with his muscles screaming at him to stop. He tried to hide the fact he was pathetically gasping for air from the short descent and glanced around cautiously for that weird animal or any possible lingering mobs. After pausing a moment, he spared a glance up as his acidic irritation started to bubble out.

“Hurry up you piece of shit!” He snapped impatiently as he saw Dream in the same spot through the railing of the platform.

“I don’t want to.” Dream rasped as Tommy was about to open his mouth again.

“Why the fuck not?!” He exclaimed, not liking how particularly desperate he was starting to sound.

“Why do you even care?” Dream sighed, an unfamiliar tone of defeat carried his words. “I think I’ll just lay here forever until I die again.” Tommy stood there in disbelief, his mouth hung open in pure shock. Why did he care? He won, he lasted the longest, and he is the one that was able to take all the shit and come out fine, or at least relatively fine. He still had a fighting will to survive and move on, so why not? Why not leave? Forget about this fucker that ruined his life as well as his death. There was no need for a long game now. There was something new that wasn’t tainted and decided for him from the beginning, but it was still uncertain. Isn’t that better than whatever this was though?

He took a small step away from the platform. Then another. Nothing happened. There was no one screaming at him, hitting him, guilt-tripping him to stay. Nothing was keeping him there. He broke out into a quick walk putting more space between them, each step feeling lighter than the last before suddenly stopping. That small voice once again reminded him that he could do whatever he wanted to Dream now. That fucker had no power. He doesn’t deserve to control how or when he dies, he should.

It was only fair. 

His heart was painfully striking his rib cage in anticipation as he turned on his heels, he found himself back where he started. Without another thought, he scrambled his way back up the ladder to face Dream who was lying across the metal flooring. 

“Hey fucker.” Tommy seethed making Dream glance over to him, his face staying impartial It reminded him this was right and justified. Because how dare he not care.

He marched over and kicked him hard in the gut, he barely heard the surprised pained yelp from Dream over the blood rushing in his ears. He grabbed Dream’s matted hair, the rage cloaking his disgust as he yanked his head up sharply. He stared into his wide eyes that were clouded in fear, an unfamiliar yet flattering look on the man he thought smugly. His grip tightened as he prepared his right hand to land a punch before Dream lunged at him, colliding their heads. Tommy saw stars flashing across his vision like some cheap advertisement as he came back to reality with a pounding headache. Suddenly Dream was on top of him with a crazed look in his eyes. He couldn’t find himself able to move as Dream fixed his hands over Tommy’s neck, his grip weak as his hands trembled uncontrollably. Dream was mumbling curses and swears with increasing volume which eventually snapped Tommy out of his trace as he moved his hands up to feebly slap and shove at his face, his limbs shaking from panic and exhaust. It only seemed to motivate Dream whose grip tightened as tears clouded Tommy’s vision, he changed his strategy as he let out a cry attempting to dig his nails into the more recent-looking scars littered all over Dream’s face. It freaked him out as he released him with a shriek to hide his face pulling all his knobby limbs into a tight ball rocking back and forth blabbering incomprehensible words and phrases. Tommy let out a sob as he clawed his way from Dream to his own corner fighting to supply his lungs with air. 

He should have just left. Why was he like this? Tommy stared up at the sky that was so far away with no energy left to cry, scream, curse, or escape. He should have just left. Everything hurts, everything aches. He let his head lull to the side to watch Dream who was still rocking back and forth in a rhythm that only made sense to him before stopping and snapping his head to face Tommy. His face conveyed his highly unstable emotional state as his features fought each other to find an emotion to settle on, finally deciding on rage. 

“Y-You–.” Dream started his voice wavering and failing within the small, simple word. Tommy numbly blinked as Dream’s facade crumbled again as the scar above his right eyebrow that was reopened during their struggle slowly oozed blood into his eye. Tommy felt disconnected, an outsider looking onto this horrendous scene. He quickly reconnected, however, when Dream’s hand grabbed his face forcefully, his nails agonizingly digging into his skin. “I hate you, you fucking… FUCK YOU!” He shouted as Tommy’s fight and flight responses slowly kicked back into his lead-filled limbs. He grabbed somewhere near Dream’s shoulders and twisted him with all his remaining strength to shove his back to the railing instead of his own. They unintentionally stumbled towards the opening where the ladder was. Dream scrambled with wide eyes before plummeting down to the ground. Tommy was about to spit out a retort, finally feeling more like himself before his breath was knocked out of him. He could’ve sworn he was the one who collided mercilessly with the ground. His brain was jolted and his back felt broken from high impact. He gasped and fought back tears. He couldn’t stand being suspended in the air any longer, scared of what just happened and desperately tripped down the ladder choking down his own sobs. He slipped off the last rung and fell onto the ground harshly with a yelp. He heard a pained sound from Dream who was already curled up on the ground shortly after. His head was spinning as he tried to make sense of it. Whatever was going on he wanted it to stop. 

“Dream?” He asked out shakily when he didn’t hear anything for a while. He used his arm to slowly push his aching body over to see Dream who was hovering over Tommy with an intense stare of calculated hatred. “Stop, don't do anything!” He cried out reflexively as his arms shot up sluggishly to protect his head. 

“I said–.” Dream started as he coughed out blood that speckled onto Tommy who winced and internally freaked out. “Don’t touch me.” His voice broke at the end as he slumped defeatedly, sounding more like a scared request than anything threatening. Tommy peeked through his arm covers and slowly made himself sit up under the watchful eye of Dream. 

“O-Okay.” He muttered, they sat there in silence on the dirty ground of who knows where. He chewed anxiously at his nails until all of them became too sensitive before sparing a glance at Dream who was just zoned out subconsciously irritating the scars on his arms by relentlessly picking at them. “What happened?” Tommy whispered finally when he guessed Dream broke out of his crazed state. 

“What?” He responded, sounding annoyed, so he was back to being a self-righteous prick. At least this was mostly predictable, he hadn’t expected Dream to react so erratically, now he knows and he can plan ahead. Though for what? His last plan was foiled by his incapability to move on. What was stopping it from failing the next one?

“You know what I’m talking about.” He responded, annoyance finding its way into his voice even when he was bone-tired. When Dream still didn’t reply he sighed frustratedly, “You need me to spell it out to you?”

“Are you talking about how you came back for no reason to attack me? Because yeah that’s something that would be cool to get into.” Dream snapped back causing Tommy to scowl. 

“I had my reasons.” He answered curtly, looking away from Dream.

“Would love to hear them.”

“Shut up! Fuck you! Everything about you, that’s my reason! Everything you did to me and to everyone else!” Tommy fumed as Dream stared at him silently before laughing hollowly.

“Why didn’t you just leave?” Dream garbled as he spit out more blood off to the side unphased. Tommy didn’t have an answer, he didn’t know. He just stared at the blood as it dried up on the dusty, dirty ground. “What makes you think you’re better than me?” The question surprised him, he snapped his vision up to meet Dream’s offended. 

“Because I am, I don’t torment people and hurt the ones I care for, I don’t relentlessly control others, I don’t think of myself as a god .” He seethed though Dream just looked amused. It was creepy how he just switched. One moment he was freaking out about a single touch and now he doesn’t care that he’s coughing up blood. He suppressed a shiver that chilled his body from the inside out. 

“Really? I think that people leave before you get the chance to do any of those things just because of how insufferable you are.” Dream whispered with a smile. “I mean you torment me, you see yourself as a god over me don’t you?”

“None of that is true.” Tommy gritted through his clenched teeth. 

“You feel like you have the power to decide my fate, don’t you? Entitled maybe? That’s why you came back.” He stated as if suddenly enlightened with the truth as Tommy chewed his bottom lip shaking his head violently.

“No!” He snapped though his heart dropped, there was no way he was the same. This was simply another manipulation tactic to mess with him. Dream was still smiling, his eyes holding no light, he doubted there ever was a time when they did. “Shut up, that’s not what I wanted to talk about.” He snarled, taking back command.

“Ah, yes, control the conversation.” Tommy scowled at the purposeful word choice but decided to ignore it.

“Shut the fuck up, anyways, the uh… Pain?” Tommy started awkwardly as Dream’s face shifted into confusion. “When you fell, it was like uh I fell… You know?”

“You mean, ‘I’m the one that got hurt you bitch!’ and ‘you don’t even have the decency to fake a different spot too’ kind of thing?” Dream stated bluntly reciting what Tommy screamed at him when he got bitten by the wolf thing. 

“Yeah whatever, how was I supposed to know?! You’re a conniving, manipulative little bitch!” Tommy replied defensively, after a beat of silence he added, “So what? Do we like… share pain?” He was disgusted by the idea but pretending it didn’t exist wasn’t going to make it go away as much as he wished it did. 

“Well, in some cases…” Dream responded thoughtfully.

“What the fuck does that mean?” Tommy asked eventually not wanting to be in the dark of this situation. Dream suddenly slapped his face and his hand flung up to block another attack that never came. “What the fuck!” He screeched as he cradled his face with his hand, rubbing it in an attempt to lessen the sting as he scrambled away. 

“It didn’t translate to me.” Was the only thing Dream vocalized as he seemed to go deep into thought. Tommy was tempted to slap him back but concluded it would be best not to since he couldn’t risk another freakout. If Dream was going to have more information on what was going on than he was, he could wait to learn it. 

“Well?” He finally interjected, causing Dream to glance at him annoyed. 

“I have a theory.” Dream responded, his voice scratchy enough to make him wince slightly.

“What is it?” Tommy asked hesitantly as he watched Dream turn to the brick wall that was holding up the platform they were previously on and punched it hard. “What the– FUCK!” Tommy yelled as his hand suddenly stung like it was forcibly slammed into the wall instead of Dream’s. He tried to shake out his hand to relieve the pain. Dream just inspected his own hand that was bloodied and then grabbed Tommy’s hand and examined it as Tommy tried to yank it away, fear gripping him. 

“Interesting. You have no wound, we just share pain that is inflicted externally.” Dream mumbled as he let go of Tommy’s hand and wiped his hands on the floor as if he was dirtier than the ground. He would have been fuming if he wasn’t so confused.

“Wait so we can hurt each other as long as we don’t use like weapons or stuff?” Tommy asked subconsciously wiping his own hand on his red shirt. 

“I believe so.” Dream nodded slowly before a smile slowly emerged, “How exciting huh?”

“I could kill you right now.” Tommy threatened his hands itching to take action.

“I mean sure, but if this is all messed up what else can be messed up? Maybe if I die you die? Isn’t that scary, not knowing? Or are you so angry that you don’t care what would happen? I’m interested to see what you will do since you are the essence of who Tommy was.” Dream rambled, his voice breaking at many points making it almost unbearable to even listen to. Right now he was just too tired to do anything. Suddenly Dream slowly climbed to his feet with the help of the wall.

“What are you doing?” Tommy found the strength to say, fear being his motivator as Dream tested both his legs' ability to hold his scrawny stature. 

“Leaving.” Dream whispered like it was a secret that Tommy would never fully understand, and maybe he never would. Tommy stumbled to his own feet wincing as the odd wolf bite throbbed though he pushed the pain aside as he trailed after Dream. 

The sounds from outside the walls that hid them from the rest of the world were starting to become louder Tommy noted as his fingers tapped against his thigh nervously. He was half expecting Dream to take a turn to continue their way through the maze though he headed to an exit where strangers briskly passed by the opening without even sparing them a glance. His stomach churned as he felt bile crawling its way up his scratchy throat. Dream paused before stepping out and merging in with the crowd as Tommy staggered after him. 

He gaped as he took in the limitless expanse of buildings that reached the sky, despite the fact they were built upward somehow it seemed to make the world smaller. It seemed like a larger layer of walls keeping them boxed within this strange place. And the people. Holy shit. They were everywhere closely compacted into a small pathway going in two directions at once. 

He didn’t think this many people could exist in one place at once, how did they live in harmony? It probably was because Dream wasn’t there to take over he thought bitterly to himself. The sudden mention of the guy made him shudder with disgust though made him realize he lost sight of Dream. He suddenly felt really small and his breath pitched. Someone checked his shoulder causing him to stumble, he snapped his head up to yell at Dream for sneaking up on him, fully ready to teach him a lesson, however, the lack of the fucker made the words on his tongue die. No one was there except strangers that filtered out only to be replaced with new ones in the blink of an eye. He briskly shoved himself out of the way while still on the uncharacteristically hard ground as people stepped over him until his back hit a wall. His eyes frantically scanned the faces of people who didn’t care about him, who glossed over him like he was just a familiar crack in the path. He tried to calm himself down as he chewed on his nub of a fingernail, the metallic taste keeping him from spiraling. He tried to think of something with his racing mind, the only thing he could think of was pain, pain, pain. He took his shaky now bloodied hand and forcefully slammed it into the wall like he saw Dream do before. The adrenaline numbed him from the pain as he heard a loud shriek from someone who hadn’t been so fortunate. He clawed his way to his feet, shoving people out of his way unable to process the distasteful insults, as he fought his way to where he heard Dream’s whiney shouts. They locked eyes, each filled with hate of unspeakable levels. 

“You fucking left me.” Tommy accused his voice low trying to cover the fear rattling his very being. He was scared. So terribly scared, he wanted to cry and fall asleep to wake up and find out that everything was okay.

“You little shit!” Dream cursed his voice breaking into a series of sharp coughs. Dream’s hands were fixed into fists though Tommy could see that it was in an attempt to stop the tremor that tormented his scarred hands rather than an intentionally aggressive manner. 

“Don’t do that again and I won’t do that again.” Tommy offered a momentary truce as the blood on his knuckles slowly dripped down his long boney fingers, the pain finally registering as a piercing throb that carried the pitiful melody of his heartbeat. They glared at each other for a moment as the world moved on around them. Dream’s right eyebrow twitched, cracking the dried track of blood from their previous altercation. 

“Fine.” Dream responded and Tommy grimly nodded back. Dream turned on his heels and clung to the wall purposefully avoiding people while mumbling incoherent things to himself. Tommy once again trailed behind feeling a deep unexplainable emptiness reverberating within the shell of who he used to be. Every now and then Dream threw back an annoyed glance over his shoulder to see Tommy before making his way forwards. He felt like a child being scowled at for running off, he knew he shouldn’t be taking this attack on his manhood, but the fantasy that someone cared made the pain a little more bearable. If he closed his eyes he could almost see it, the harsh frown on a face he couldn’t make out melted into a relieved smile that he was there and okay. Life wasn’t stressful, loud, or painful. He felt something grabbing his face, jolting him out of his trace with a shout. It quickly retracted and he blinked forcefully to see it was Dream’s hand. 

“Ew, what the fuck?!” Tommy started his voice building volume though barely made it past half his potential as the number of people around scared him off. He tried to wipe off his face making gagging sounds and cursing himself internally for letting his guard down. 

“Oh relax, would you?” Dream stated dryly “You were going to run into me.” Tommy frowned and opened his mouth to defend himself before Dream cut him off. “We need to get to that place over there.” Tommy hesitantly glanced over keeping Dream in his peripheral vision just in case he tried anything. When he allowed himself to look he saw a forest of some kind. It was something familiar and it brightened his spirits which he thought at this point was impossible.  

“How?” He asked, unable to filter himself with his building excitement. The strangers seemed to all avoid the larger pathway that closed weird-looking minecarts whizzed past at unbelievable speeds.

“I don’t know,” Dream answered, Tommy looked up at him in the corner of his eye and saw him calculatingly take in the situation, his face twitching randomly as Dream entered deeper into his thought process. They stuck to the wall like a cobweb, he was waiting for an answer or an opportunity, whichever came first Tommy supposed. He was frustrated with himself for relying on Dream so much, he should be able to figure this out of his own volition. Wasn’t it smarter to just use Dream? Why would he subject himself to more work that he could just pawn off to someone willing? He smiled to himself as he settled nicely into that explanation. “Now.” Dream spoke suddenly as he shuffled further down the pathway Tommy raced behind him to where a group of people crossed with minecart's pathway. It seemed like it was a protection thing of some sort to warn the minecarts not to come through since it would be a fifty-to-four fight. It was the only reasonable explanation Tommy could come up with as he took in the weird carts that somehow came to a full stop before them.

“What now?” He asked, finally peeling his eyes off the odd minecarts when they reached the other pathway. 

“Well we go to the fucking forest dumbass.” Dream shot back his tone, though scratchy, translated as more exhausted rather than irritated but that didn’t stop Tommy from taking it that way.

“Go to hell!” He grumbled crossing his arms defensively feeling his boney ribs jut out which triggered his repressed feeling of hunger to flare up again. 

“I’m already there.” Dream muttered Tommy just barely catching over the low rumble of the crowd. He was about to scream out a retort before it hit him that Dream revealed he did think he was still dead and kept his mouth shut. They shoved their way through a few more layers of strangers to the forest’s entrance, Tommy’s heart raced with uncharacteristic exhilaration as he felt the soft cushion of dirt and grass underneath his feet instead of the cracked, hard cement. A few people were following a path through the trees, these people really liked their paths. He looked over to the more barren grassy fields with a smile growing on his face without his knowledge. His eyes, however, fell onto a couple of people with more of those weird-looking dogs, he tensed up as memories from yesterday plagued his mind. Some of them looked more like tiny rat puppies than anything else, he shook his head disapprovingly and turned to crack a joke before snapping his jaw shut realizing that the only person there was Dream who was just staring at his feet zoned out. 

Tommy watched him for a while for some reason unknown to him. It was like staring into the eyes of a bug you detest from up close, more reasons to hate it come into mind like common sense. You wonder why it even existed, what was the purpose of such an ugly, useless, minuscule bug? Eventually trying to kill it under the weight of your hand, being the superior one, but it always slips away. The mock of faint buzzing as it chooses to stick around knowing that death is the only thing it deserves, but it doesn’t die. Against all odds it lives and makes your life a living hell. How does that work? 

The urge to punch Dream flooded his senses anger making his hand twitch into a fist. It wouldn’t hurt him if the slap across his face not too long ago meant anything, but in the long run it would the little rational part of him voiced. He thought that half of him died a long time ago but apparently not. He eventually tore his eyes away before he did anything rash, Dream still hadn’t moved throughout the whole time. Instead, Tommy’s eyes landed on a simple wooden bench. A pain cut deeper than anything he felt so far rattled him to his core.

Small faint memories from what felt like a lifetime ago glowed brightly lighting up the darkness of his mind. Memories of a best friend, when life was as perfect as it could get, music playing as the sun set softly behind the wide expanses of unknown land waiting to be explored. Memories of confidence and cheer, the feeling of acceptance in the uncertainties of life with a deep set belief that everything was going to be okay at the end of the day because tomorrow there would be another. He wanted to go back. In the moment revenge and rage didn’t seem worth it, why was he still wasting his life away to such painful limitations?

 His eyes blurred as he took in a shaky breath, he looked back at Dream who now was sitting on the ground picking at random grass blades. For someone looking like an inch from death he sure looked so serene and unaffected. Maybe the secret was not caring and thinking life was meaningless…

“Fuck!” Dream randomly cursed out scrambling up to his feet making Tommy jump.

“What the fuck was that for?!” Tommy exclaimed looking around frantically making sure they didn’t attract any unwanted attraction, whatever that was.

“Something was crawling on my foot!” Dream cried out as he started scratching at his arms with a crazed look desperately scanning through the grass. Tommy couldn’t believe just moments ago he believed this guy had it all in the bag.

“Well obviously it was just more damn grass!” He snapped harshly as Dream’s eyes shifted up to meet his warily. 

“No, it was something else.” He muttered under his breath crouching back down to look for who knows what.

“Fucking–.” He started before cutting himself off, shoving his hand into the grassy area Dream was scanning over anxiously. “Nothing is here but grass you big fucking baby.” He muttered as something twitched underneath his own hand causing him to snatch it back quickly. He looked closely and Dream also leaned in, still keeping his space, to see the longest, ugliest looking-thing he has ever seen, second to Dream. “EW I TOUCHED IT!” He screamed and started to wipe his hands on his pants as if his hand caught on fire. Dream started to freak out after he saw it as well, scratching more frantically all over his body as if the thing was crawling inside his veins. They both scrambled their way over to the bench and jumped onto it, their legs up off the ground wanting to not be in the same area they found the ugly thing in.

“What the fuck… Was that?” Tommy muttered as a shiver racked through his frail tired body. 

“It wasn’t fucking grass, I’ll tell you that for sure.” Dream grumbled staring ahead blankly, he seemed to settle on one scar on his arm to focus on. He picked relentlessly at the crusted scab as if reopening the wound would erase the sensation of disgust overflowing his sorry-excuse of a body. 

“Well shit… What do we do now?” He whispered under his breath, a deep sense of shame slowly burned within the pits of his stomach, embarrassed by his over the top reaction. He’s fought off things crazier and bigger than that thing before. He beat down the feeling reminding himself that Dream was sitting beside him on the bench as well. If he was scared then why couldn’t he be scared as well? He looked over to Dream, waiting for an answer with no avail. He cursed under his breath, frustration overwhelmed him much like everything else in this hellish reality. “I’m gonna get wood.” He decided aloud and shoved himself off the bench with a moment of bravery, washing out the image of that thing from his mind as much as possible. 

He stomped over to a tree without much thought because if he thought about it he might back down and that wasn’t an option. He threw back his arm and with as much force as he could muster slammed it into the base of the tree. He expected the buzzing sting of accomplishment as the tree weakened to eventually fall down but neither of those things happened. Instead a fiery snap of pain coursed through his hand causing him to crumple in on himself with a melody of curses. He felt dizzy with pain, his ears rung as if a firework exploded in his mind and reverberated it’s loud whistling ascent to the heavens within his skull for what seemed like forever until it subsided to a dull buzz. He was shaking as he gripped his rapidly bruising hand attempting to open and close but it refused to listen and instead sent a shockwave of pain through his arm. He didn’t even notice his eyes were closed before he pried them open to see Dream grab the collar of his oversized shirt and shove him against the tree with enough force that Tommy was sure he felt the pain of the impact as well. 

“Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you!” Dream kept muttering harshly under his breath, triggered out of his mental cage from the random burst of pain. Tommy told him he was going to get wood, it’s not his fault that he wasn’t listening. How did he know that this would happen anyways? Dream’s eyes that were usually vacant were widened and crazed. They were overcrowded and overwhelmed with untranslatable layers of hatred that he couldn’t format into sentences so instead he opted to just stumble through the same two words. 

Tommy could only hear the pain in his hand, as he stared at Dream unable to move. His eyes blurred as his mind became muddled, he felt lightheaded he tried to take in a shaky breath but it morphed into a choked sob. Before he knew what was happening tears carved thin rivers through the grime on his cheeks to fall pitifully down onto his red shirt as he continued to fight for air. Dream fell deathly silent, confusion clouding his face then a flash of anger. “Who said you could cry?” He whispered so quietly Tommy almost thought he hallucinated it, his words sounded like a threat on the surface-level though his voice broke off at the end leaving him to sound more like an insecure child. Dream’s eyes searched his as if desperate for an answer. Tommy, who usually could bark out an insult or comeback as easily as breathing, couldn’t find himself able to say anything. His lip quivered as he creased it into a frown after he coughed out another choked down sob while Dream continued to stare. “You don’t cry, why are you crying?” He spoke out again, his eyebrows pulled down in uncertainty as he blinked harshly, his grip on Tommy’s shirt loosened. 

“Leave me the fuck alone!” Tommy slurred as he twisted out of Dream’s grasp on his shirt sinking to the ground. He pulled himself into a ball, mortified at how he cried in front of Dream. Mortified at how he froze. Mortified at how he made himself into a fool. The damn pain in his hand wasn’t going away and everything hurt so bad. In the very least Dream didn’t think he was real so maybe he won’t associate embarrassing moment of his life with the ‘real him.’ He glanced over at Dream who was still standing in front of the tree with a confused but distant look. At least he was gone, maybe he could play it off and convince Dream it never happened somehow? Did he even care? God his hand hurt so badly! How was Dream able to just stand there like nothing happened? He was so inconsistent it scared him deeply to his bones. Sometimes he would freak out and other times he shut down, how was he supposed to prepare if there was no saying what would happen next?

“Excuse me?” Tommy whipped his head to the unfamiliar voice that tore him out of his spiraling thoughts. The first thing he did was go through the scene of what just happened from an outsider’s view and didn’t know how to possibly explain what happened. He quickly wiped his face off from spare tears smearing the dirt around on his face. Why did he want to cover this up? Shouldn’t he be screaming for help? He’s stuck with someone as stable as a fried string of twine under constant tension for god’s sake! But Dream could hurt him whenever he wanted, he could never really escape from what he already knew… fuck.

“Y-Yeah?” He mustered out feeling sick to stomach, he tried to smile but winced knowing it wouldn’t translate that way. He looked over quickly to Dream and he still wasn’t aware to what was going, fucking bastard. He stumbled up using the tree to support himself as his vision faded in and out. 

“Are you alright? You two look really messed up!” It was an old lady that was talking to them, stopped on the pathway peering at them with curiosity rather than concern. Tommy wasn’t sure how to answer this, Dream usually has the smartass replies but he was checked out. He tried to move his foot out to hit Dream’s to get him back to reality but he got no response.

“Oh! Yeah yeah, we are fine, it’s uh… pretend.” He cringed at his own explanation, it was so obviously a lie, what were the repercussions of lying here? He had no fucking clue, didn’t want to find out either. 

“Like a movie?” The old lady asked, her face suddenly lighting up at the idea. 

“Yeah! One of those!” He replied cheerfully hoping that this wasn’t a setup or something because what the fuck was a movie?

“How exciting! Are there cameras around? Or are you just practicing?” She seemed so invested with the mention of a movie, her eyes sparkled as she broke into a warm smile.

“Um… practicing.” He answered trying to sound confident, he glanced back at Dream, again nothing. He reached his foot out and bumped Dream again.

“What’s the movie?” She asked, Tommy didn’t know how much longer he could keep making things up and getting away with it.

“They didn’t pick one yet…” He started before a small frown graced her lips as her eyebrows tugged down in confusion. “I mean yeah of course they did that was a joke!” He added anxiously with a forced laugh as her expression brightened as she let out a chuckle. “It’s called uh… Dream wake up.” He stated with a bit more emphasis on the so-called name as he kicked him again finally causing him to whip his angered eyes to Tommy opening his mouth to say something before getting cut off by the lady. 

“I haven’t heard of that!” Dream whirled around and looked the lady up and down in confusion before looking back at Tommy with wide eyes. “Oh my! You have quite a lot of scars don’t you!” She exclaimed with a laugh, “Movies these days really do go over the top, they almost look real!” Tommy just nodded robotically with a smile plastered on his face. He nudged Dream who frowned at him slightly before nodding his head reluctantly as well. 

“Yeah, no totally.” Tommy answered, so a movie is fake? What the fuck is a movie?

“You two must be getting hungry. It's about lunchtime, let me give you something to buy food, it's the least I could do for you, sparing your time to chat with little old me!” She smiled as she dug into her bag and fetched out a smaller looking bag. In the little bag there seemed to be more unnecessary bags or pockets that she searched through before coming up with a green piece of paper. She walked over to Tommy and handed him the paper thing, he watched her put it gently into his hand before looking up to meet her eyes. She held dazzling lights within her soulful, thoughtful eyes. He almost felt like crying again even though he had no idea what the fuck the green thing meant, he could tell it meant a lot.

“Thank you.” He spoke out as she simply smiled again.

“What’s your name? I’ll look for you on the big screens!” She asked softly, her voice wrapped around him securely like a blanket. 

“Uh… Tommy.” He answered almost immediately. It was almost like she had him in a trance, was that how pathetic he was? The moment anyone was somewhat kind to him he would do anything they asked? He forced himself to look away frustrated with himself while she turned to Dream expecting an answer from him as well.

“Will.” He replied simply the hints of a smile within his scratchy voice, causing Tommy to whip his head to face Dream biting his tongue so harshly that he could taste the familiar iron taste of blood. His hand formed into a fist crumpling the green paper tucked into the palm of his hand. 

“How lovely! Have you two always been in the show business together?” Right now Tommy wanted her gone, he was full of rage, unable to take his eyes from Dream wishing to etch a permanent reminder into his brain that he could never be Will.

“Yeah.” Dream responded with a cough, his voice gravely. Out of the corner of his eye he could see her nodding thoughtfully. She’s blind, she doesn’t know who this monster is, he needs to protect her.

“It must be so nice to work with your brother!” She exclaimed looking between the both of them, he snapped his head to her so quickly he thought he broke his neck. Apparently, she was the enemy. How fucking dare she. He opened and closed his mouth in shock, his face contouring in disgust. He looked over at Dream who was just outright frowning.

“We aren’t brothers .” Tommy spit out the words like even speaking them caused him great physical anguish. 

“Oh! My honest mistake.” She chuckled, holding her hands up like she was guilty. “Well, I best be off, I know there is a grocery store a few blocks that way where you can pick out something to eat, good luck on your movie!” She waved as she turned to make her way to some unknown place that was her end destination. 

The moment she was out of view he turned to Dream and shoved him back forcefully. “You have no fucking right to call yourself Will!” He growled, instead of crumpling at the sudden touch he smirked and bubbled out a laugh that sounded more painful than joyful.

“It would make no fucking sense if I used my name cause you used it for the whatever it’s called name you idiot.” Dream rolled his eyes and Tommy fumed, his fists trembling by his sides.

“You could’ve chosen any name in the whole fucking world.” He shot back unwilling to acknowledge his own fault.

“It was the only one that came to mind.” Dream answered with a half shrug looking unamused. Tommy stared at him gritting his teeth as Dream stared back unwaveringly. He always did this, get into his head and blame him for overreacting, well fuck him.

“Fuck you.” He seethed as he turned away not wanting to look at his ugly fucking face any longer than he had to. He shifted his attention to the green paper in his fist. He uncrinkled it and examined it closely. It was a weirdly detailed rectangle, there was some random guy in the middle and the number ten in each of the corners and a bunch of other random things drawn on both of the sides. 

“What’s that?” Dream asked, breaking the silence after a while. Tommy shielded it from him before hesitantly showing it convincing himself over and over again that it was for his best interest. Dream just stared at it for a while before sighing.

“What do we do now?” He asked reluctantly.

“Go to that place that crazy lady was talking about and loot it.” Dream thought aloud. He looked out back to the busy crowds walking in lines as if they were programmed to with a slight frown.

“Gonna listen to that fucking loon? She thought we were related she’s obviously out of her mind.” Tommy grumbled under his breath, bitterness bubbling up inside him as he recalled the scene. Dream started off suddenly in the direction that the lady instructed as Tommy shuffled after him hesitantly. The wall of people made him want to sink back into the small strange forest of incredibly hard trees. He faltered as he was about to merge, looking quickly to Dream who just shoved his way in. He quickly scrambled after him, his heart jumping to his throat, the fear of getting swallowed up by the crowd almost coerced him to reach out and grip a piece of Dream’s sleeve for security. He forcefully shoved his hands down and held them grasped in front of him in revulsion. He just had to focus, he would never need Dream for anything. He was just at a weak point, that's all. Peering up he saw a sign that read out ‘Grocery Market’ he didn’t necessarily know what the word was just it looked like what the lady was talking about. “Is that it?” He yelled over the blaring sounds engulfing them. Dream glanced back before looking up to where he was pointing to nod hesitantly as he moved towards it as Tommy followed closely his stomach growling aggressively. 

They entered to be greeted with a fresh smell, something fresher than the forest though Tommy wasn’t sure how that was possible. Brightly colored things he had never seen before dazzled his eyes. It was smartly formatted breaking up categories in places to find them, it was basically a perfect storage room but massive. 

“How does this work?” He whispered taking in everything as he wandered off to a stand holding apples of so many different colors, there were even green ones! He grabbed a red apple and examined it closely, noticing so many small details. Grainy stripes flowed together riddled with specks of light and deeper reds, even some yellow. “Do we just eat it?” He asked looking back at Dream who hovered nearby examining everything as if it was a complex puzzle he was moments away from cracking. 

“Why would she give up a paper if you just ate it? It’s probably a trading system…” He trailed off blinking harshly a couple times as his face morphed into a confused frown.

“That’s stupid, why would they have all their shit here then?” Tommy scoffed, becoming impatient, he could feel the saliva pooling in his mouth as the sweet smell seduced him.

“Well I don’t fucking know, this isn’t real anyways, eat your fucking apples.” Dream grumbled, crossing his arms glancing around as if he was waiting for someone to meet him secretly. 

“Look, it has a little thingy on it.” He laughed as he turned the apple around in his hands to notice a little funky looking square with many black and white lines running down the small area. “It’s like little prison bars, it’s your little buddy, remember him in prison?” He mocked as he waved the apple around in Dream’s face like a character. “Wonder what he did? Is he like you? A fucking murderer?” He added as if he were innocently curious about the answer.

“Shut the fuck up.” Dream snapped, hitting the apple out of his hand making it forcefully hit the floor with a quiet thud. His eyes were widened displaying a conflicted inner monologue taking place in his mind as they fell to the apple that rolled slowly to a stop on the floor. Tommy watched his face with great morbid concentration, perplexed at how unnatural Dream was fundamentally. Suddenly Dream broke into a laugh though it sounded more like he was coughing up gravel that was stuck in his throat. “Fucking murder!” He manage to say as he looked to Tommy again with a large smile. “The apple is a fucking murderer!” Tommy took a step back subconsciously as Dream continued to cackle, a shiver ran through him almost making him lose his appetite but not quite.

“Stop laughing, it’s not funny.” He tried as he noticed someone glancing over at them with a frown. He turned to look back at Dream, his own frustration building. “Fucking stop!” He hissed under his breath as Dream ignored him. Instead he bent down and picked up the apple off the ground and held it out in front of Tommy. 

“We go waayyy back. He hates you too, did you know that?” Dream asked, his tone changing from humorous to more neurotic.  

“Just eat the apple you dick.” Tommy shot back his voice wavering slightly, trying to ignore the uneasy crying for his fight or flight response to activate. 

“Just like the potato, remember the potato?” He paused and looked at the fruit in his hand, “Or was it an apple?” Tommy tensed, his hands started to shake involuntarily with bone-deep terror. He felt as though someone doused him in icy water and held him under as he thrashed to escape with no avail. “Was it a rock? A book?” Dream continued to mutter under his breath, his outburst reduced to panicked ramblings. “Why can’t I remember?” Tommy just stared at him, unable to even breathe. Dream looked around frantically before landing on Tommy as if he just spawned in front of him. He gripped Tommy’s arms so tightly as if he was the only thing keeping him alive. Tommy swore he could already feel them bruising but at the same time nothing in his brain was being processed, not even fear. “What was it?” He asked desperately trying to find the answer in Tommy’s eyes.

“It was a fucking potato!” He cried out fighting his way out of Dream’s grip that dissolved as soon as he spoke. He was trembling as he stumbled away rubbing his arms ferociously as Dream blankly spaced out for a moment like he was replaying the memory in his head before smiling again slowly.

“Oh, yes of course!” Dream sighed satisfied as Tommy stared mortified. He wanted to leave, he felt so dirty. He was packed in grime and dirt but it was something deeper than that, something he wasn’t sure how to get rid of. He only knew he had to get rid of it. “You want the apple still?” Dream asked, seeming to resort back to his regular uninterested persona. Tommy shook his head, not wanting to use his voice knowing that it would betray him. He slowly shuffled back as he maintained eye contact, terrified of what might happen if he glanced away for even a moment. He bumped into something causing his eyes to snap behind him as his heart drowned in panic though it was just the stand for the apples jarring him out of his trace. Whirling back around he found Dream still standing where he was before looking… normal. The half-present look in his eyes along with the blank expression flickering to annoyance every once in a while seemed to calm Tommy in the very slightest. The storm is over for now he kept telling himself over and over again trying to get his hands to stop shaking. 

“Let’s go.” He muttered as he watched Dream from the corner of his eye as he turned his attention to what lay beyond the apple stands. Everything seemed to be organized through categories, while some made sense to him most didn’t. What the fuck where electronics? He hesitantly made his way to the assigned section and was taken aback by the sight of it all. There was nothing that he could deem as edible in sight. Instead there were large objects on the forefront that were like paintings but moving. His eyes widened as he turned to Dream who had trailed aimlessly behind him. Dream lazily noticed his expression and glanced over to the thing before the two of them. His eyebrows furrowed as he scanned over the image of random stripes of color shimmering and weaving closer before darting back. “How the hell?” Tommy whispered under his breath, mesmerized by the moving colors.

“It has to be an enchantment of some kind.” Dream offered as an explanation, breaking him out of his trance. Tommy slowly nodded his head then suddenly the colors faded to black and a painting of very realistic fish came on in its place.

“What the fuck?” Tommy exclaimed, he whipped his head around to see Dream just as baffled. “How did it do that?!” 

“Maybe there’s some redstone involved?” Even while saying it, Dream didn’t look convinced on his own theory. Tommy rolled his eyes, ignoring the irritation building within him and turned back to the fish. He noticed a fish move dangerously to the edge of the frame before completely leaving. He leaned to see the side which was impossibly thin, thinner than any canvas he’d ever seen.

“Holy fuck!” He wasn’t entirely sure what he was expecting, he couldn’t really find anything. “There’s like nothing back here.” He shouted out, flinched back when he turned to see Dream right beside him peering behind along with him. Tommy made a loud gagging noise as he dodged around Dream. His skin prickled, he was letting his guard down and it was becoming detrimental. Dream, however, looked even more lost as his eyes scanned over the nonexistent back end of the moving painting. 

“What could they have even done?” He was muttering quite loudly as he suppressed a cough that sounded dry and painful. The action brought his attention to his own dehydration, Tommy tried to hide his cringe. His tongue was like a dried out sponge making every swallow feel like death, a feeling he was disgustingly familiar with. The tag scratching the back of his neck reappeared along with the ache around the weird wolf bite. 

“Maybe it’s your fucking eyes failing you just like your stupid rules did.” He snapped, crossing his arms while fixing the back of Dream’s ugly head with a glare. Dream turned incredulously, his eyes danced around Tommy’s expression as if he was sizing him up, taking in all the information he could to gain an advantage in the situation. It made him feel disgusting and so small, did he always look at him like this through that stupid mask?  

“You saw it too dipshit,” Dream replied simply after a beat of silence. “If my eyes are failing yours are too, in fact you saw it first. So, what does that say about you, honestly?” Tommy’s mouth fell open.

“You fucking–,” He sputtered as Dream sidestepped around him. “You’re acting like a little bitch right now, you know that?!” He spun on his heels and trailed after Dream who was making his way to who knows where.

“That’s funny because I took an approach inspired by you.” Dream countered, his voice taking on a fake tone of thoughtfulness. Tommy gritted his teeth as he forced himself to exhale the breath he didn’t realize he had held. He decided to hold his tongue and be the bigger man, it seemed to be something Dream struggled with. He couldn’t help the couple of curses he muttered to himself. The god awful humming he thought he was saved from made a return. He chewed at one of nails as he tried with every ounce of effort to block out the entire existence of the horrible monster that was a few feet ahead of him.

He shifted his attention to the floor that looked like a very mellowed out granite. His face immediately dropped into a frown, an ugly choice, the rock didn’t even deserve to have him walk upon it. He was about to complain before he snapped his mouth shut. Dream didn’t deserve his thoughts and valuable opinions. With much gumption he moved his focus to the ceiling which had many lines that casted a bright almost yellow glow upon the area. He squinted his eyes as he saw tons of lines going everywhere, after almost tripping over his own feet, however, he decided to keep his eyes ahead. He would be forever grateful Dream hadn’t seen that.  

Once Tommy zoned back in he realized Dream had led them to some area with a bunch of clothes, instead of them being one large box they were all spread out. He immediately went forward to scavenge, his fingers itching to find something. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Dream poking through pants, with the bitch accounted for, he looked for red hoping to find a substitute for his current predicament… 

All the shirts were oddly suspended in the air but it did make it easier to flip through them so he wasn’t complaining. Most of the shirts in a row were the same so he started to wander around to view his options. His eyes lit up when he discovered a shirt with a big picture of a donkey with the words above it saying: Don’t be a. Forget being a bigger man! He heard footsteps behind him and almost rolled his eyes, this little trick of Dream’s was growing old. 

“Listen here you dick, I found the perfect shirt for–.” He quickly cut himself off as he turned to face a stranger who didn’t look very happy. He was a larger man whose arms were the size of his head. 

“What did you say to me?” The man’s voice was deep and Tommy’s heart plummeted. He wasn’t even taller than Tommy yet somehow he felt like he was being looked down upon. The man raised an eyebrow as if challenging Tommy to try and defend himself. His eyes caught movement and his mind registered that it was Dream pittering around like an idiot.

“I-I thought you were that guy,” The words rushed out of Tommy’s mouth and he had never been so grateful to see the bastard than in that moment. “He’s a bitch, I hate him.” He started to laugh though it sounded painfully forced even to his own ears. The guy offered a glance at Dream and his face morphed into a frown. Tommy looked frantically between the man and Dream. “Hey, Dream!” He called out, thanking Prime above that the loser actually looked over. “Fuck you!” He watched as Dream processed what he said and scowled.

“Fuck you.” He replied just loud enough for the two of them to hear. 

“That’s just the way we are, you know?” He wanted to cry, it felt like this singular man was judging his entire existence and for some reason it really mattered to Tommy. The guy just scoffed and slowly turned and left. Tommy could pass out as all the tension melted from his body.

“Who was that?” Dream asked, somehow in the time that guy left he snuck up from behind causing Tommy to jump out of his skin. “Was that a friend of yours?” He added with an amused smile as he looked in the direction the man walked away in.

“What? No, he's a fucking asshole.” Tommy responded trying to recover from the near-heart attack he almost had just then. 

“Oh… so a long lost relative.” Dream inquired as Tommy gritted his teeth. Dream’s eyes examined his face and his smile widened slightly as he watched Tommy’s eyes widen before shooting down into a fiery glare. 

“More like you in ten years, asshole .” He spat, putting all the rage he felt into the simple sentence.

“So you're saying I'll outlive you?” The question made him freeze, it was unnerving to hear Dream talk about death.

“How the fuck did you come to that conclusion?!” Tommy guffawed, this was the Dream he remembered. The one who spoke like he always knew a devastating secret and toyed with the idea of just when , not if, to reveal it. Waiting patiently to find the moment that would make the words not just painful but also lethal.

“You really think you'd live longer than me? Hypothetically of course, since we're both dead.” Dream’s voice took on a bored tone as his eyes wandered around to take in his surroundings rather than meet Tommy’s eyes. Right, he still doesn't think this is real or whatever. Might as well fuel the delusion.

“I obviously would live longer hypothetically or whatever, I'm decades younger than you! What are you like 62? I'm in my fucking prime!” Tommy exclaimed as Dream scoffed.

“You think I'm 62 ?! I'm in my twenties,” Dream’s attention snapped back to Tommy, a wild look in his eyes.

“No, you have white hair old man at least it would be if you fucking washed it!” Tommy fought back, his voice slowly getting louder.

“Sorry they don't have baths in prison Tommy,” Dream spat out his name like it was poison. “It's not exactly a cute little house where you can get whatever you need whenever.” 

“ YOU FUCKING MADE IT THAT WAY!” Tommy exploded, he noticed how Dream flinched back at his outbreak though quickly recovered.

“I made it because I had to, to-to stop you, Tommy, someone who has no respect for simple rules.” He started to laugh as it slowly turned more manic. Dream took a staggering step forward, only inches away from Tommy’s face. He couldn’t back down, despite every thought in his frantic mind screamed at him to resign in silence.

“Your rules are dogshit.” He whispered barely able to keep the tremble off the few words. Dream’s laugh dried out and died in his mouth. 

“Fuck you Tommy,” He scoffed taking a step back, though Tommy didn’t allow himself to let his guard down. Once again, Dream’s venomous glare scoured over his face, before something almost seemed to have switched off. “Your hair is also white.” 

“No it’s not.” He scowled as he caught a smirk as Dream turned away from him. 

“The years have not been kind to you, I would place you in your forties, late-thirties if I’m being generous.” 

“IF you’re being generous you’d shut up and stop spreading lies!” Tommy shouted, suddenly remembering the shirt in his hands. “By the way this reminded me of you.” He threw the flimsy fabric at Dream harshly and smiled as he jumped from the sudden impact. His eyebrows raised, unimpressed with the message. 

“Very funny, Mama’s boy .” Dream remarked a smile growing on his face as he messily threw the shirt on the nearest random clothes holder. 

“Wha-?!” Tommy sputtered out as he glanced down at his shirt, he was almost sure he was as red as the incriminating piece of clothing he was wearing. He was hoping the bastard had forgotten. “Whatever.” He was shooting Dream daggers with his eyes as he simply shrugged with a knowing smile and left to go further explore. Tommy flipped him off once he’d turn around. He hesitantly moved to follow, when he was absolutely sure Dream wasn’t looking, he tried to tug at strands of his hair attempting to see the color before hastily giving up.

He was distracted by the many bright colors, contrasting smells, a few he recognized but couldn't name for the life of him. This place was like a fever dream, an organizational masterpiece and an overwhelmed man’s nightmare. It seemed like everything had a place and sometimes it found a new place, his pocket. He shoved quite a few small things that looked cool into a pocket, his pants had a lot of them. He picked up what looked like a comically small book for writing, something called a sink strainer, a small cylinder of chapstick, and a small keychain flashlight. The last one intrigued him on a more practical level because if it did make a light of some kind it could prove to be quite useful, then he’d have another thing that makes him better than Dream. The shock of the place was wearing away once more as they were in some aisle looking at a bunch of smelly blocks all different colors with wild labels. What in the world was Spring Rain, Spice Vanilla Apple, and Cucumber Mint? It was giving him a headache and made him want to rip his hair out. Dream was looking through every single one and Tommy was having none of it.

“Can we go find food, you know what we came here for?” He whined as Dream picked up one of the things, Island Nectar.

“Nothing is stopping you from going.” Dream replied as moved the weird glass bottle over to look at the back. “I think you’re supposed to light this one fire.” He added after a beat.

“That’s stupid, glass wouldn’t catch fire.” Tommy grumbled rolling his eyes as Dream shrugged and placed the stupid thing back. “Also it would barely give off any light.” 

“I think it’s more of a smell thing.” Dream countered thoughtfully as his eyes lingered on the writing. 

“Whatever.” Tommy grumbled and crossed his arms turning on his heel to find his way back to anything edible. He glanced out the corner of his eye and noticed Dream was trailing behind at his own leisure. What a piece of work. Tommy tried to keep his mind off of all the aches and scratches that were fighting to make themselves the center point of his attention. Before too long the sights and smells started to gravitate to being more mouthwatering and away from headache inducing. He went into the first row he could see that promised food.

There were so many things covered in an unappetizing crinkled wrapping that was transparent, taunting him as it showcased what was inside. He picked up something from a shelf that looked like bread but was cut up into so many unnecessary pieces. It also was hiding under the thin layer of material like a fish peering up at him from underwater. He was a little grateful that it wasn’t actually reflective, he didn’t really want to see himself.

The pieces of bread limply resided in his hands held together by the bag thing as he nudged it from side to side. He chewed his lip before attempting to rip it open from the side, surprised at how easily the material let up allowing him to tear through. Why even cage it if it’s so easy to break into? Wasn’t his problem now. 

He hurriedly snatched a slice of the bread into his mouth chewing it furiously as if someone would come by and claw the food out of his throat just out of spite. The thought reminded him of Dream. He glared around as his eyes landed on him further down the aisle looking with fake amusement at a random object. He lingered on him for a moment before focusing on the burst of flavors. For starters, it was soft instead of rock-hard chunks that required the assistance of water to choke down. It actually tasted…good, even great. It had a bit of an odd, almost unnatural aftertaste but it didn’t stop him. His dry mouth made it wad uncomfortably around his tongue, threatening to lodge his airway though it never committed to the act. He coughed a couple of times as his stomach growled for more as he swallowed the bread. A few people walked past and gave him an odd look which he returned with a glare before they moved on without saying a word. He demolished another slice before skittering over to where Dream was staring blankly at the same thing for way too long. 

“Try this.” He whispered excitedly as he shoved a slice into Dream’s face causing him to startle back with an irritated look. 

“What’s that?” Dream asked slowly as he accepted the square of bread with a confused look.

“It’s fucking bread, but like good!” Tommy answered not completely sure why he was so giddy to share this, but someone had to know. When Dream didn’t move to make a bite, Tommy grabbed one quickly and shoved it into his own mouth making Dream flinch slightly. “I didn’t poison it if that’s what you’re thinking.” He grumbled as breadcrumbs tumbled out of his mouthful. Dream glanced up at him blinking rapidly with a furrowed expression before finally taking a nibble off the corner. His face lit up almost immediately as he took another bite, this one bigger. Tommy felt a deep flare of pride and smugness since he was the one to discover something new and life-changing. 

“Are you going to pay for that?” Someone new asked, causing both of them to jump back. It was a guy shorter than both of them with a tired and slightly annoyed expression. He seemed to be looking between the two of them, however his eyes stuck to the floor after he noticed that it was littered with their footprints.

“Pay?” Tommy started hesitantly, venturing out into the unknown terrain. He seemed to be doing that a lot now.  

“Yeah pay, you ripped into that without buying it first.” The guy spoke out bluntly as he finally lifted his eyes to meet Tommy’s. 

“We pay with uh the green stuff.” He spoke out more as a statement rather than a question. The guy just rolled his eyes in response before actually giving a real answer.

“Yeah you use money, go to the check out over there and don’t open stuff until you buy it.” The guy sighed as he looked them over once more. “You got that?” It was sarcastic. Tommy bit his tongue to stop the bitter insult ready to fire away at any moment. 

“If we have a ten, we get ten right?” Dream interjected just in time to cut off Tommy from making the executive decision to curse him out. 

“Are you guys blazed?” The guy grumbled annoyedly though when neither of them answered he sighed again, “No, see the numbers below where you find the item, that’s the price. You can buy things that add up to ten or below, but you can’t go over. That make sense or do you need me to be your math teacher as well?” Tommy had no idea what a math teacher was but it seemed like the best choice would be to nod his head which he did.

“Is there a place to get water for no price?” Dream asked and the guy just responded by pointing over to a sign that read ‘Bathroom.’

“Over there is a water fountain.” Tommy perked up at the mention of the word water. “Don’t make more of a mess.” The guy called out as he walked away grumbling something about how he doesn’t get paid enough.

Tommy shoved the bread into pockets and was about to turn to Dream but he was already making his way to the water. He scrambled after him, unable to suppress the smile that emerged at the thought of relieving his parched throat. The bread will probably taste a lot better after drinking water. Cold, refreshing water seemed better than anything else in the world. They made it to the sign and saw a weird metal box hanging off the wall.

“The fuck is that?” Tommy muttered aloud, frustration growing as he didn’t see anything that looked like a ‘fountain.’ 

“I don’t know.” Dream barely whispered with distress. “I don’t know what any of this is!” He had that building frantic tone hiding in plain sight behind his words. Tommy frowned, Dream in a panic wasn’t good for him.

“Chill, we-we’ll figure it out, it’s fine.” He spoke as Dream looked at him with wide eyes shaking his head slightly.

“I can’t do this.” Dream whispered under his breath as he started to chew at the skin on his knuckle.

“Of course, you can, come on! It’s just an- uh way to keep you sharp!” He stumbled over his words as Dream looked at him like what he was going to say was the law even though it was random shit he was pulling out of his ass. 

“Sharp?” He repeated confusion overtaking the panic. Good. He just had to keep shitting his way through this.

“Yeah, you know! Make sure your brain is still in good condition.” Tommy forced a smile as Dream continued to stare at him like he grew another head. “Like problem solving and shit, you’ve already done it before. You got us here!” A part of him was dying inside as he listen to himself praise the worst fucking person in the whole universe. Instead of the cocky, standoffish response he was expecting, Dream seemed to deflate into himself like he was trying to disappear. 

“Being sharp isn’t going to help.” He muttered to mostly himself as his eyes grew distant once again. “It never helped.” He trailed off and an uncomfortable silence fell between them. “They weren’t lying when they said ignorance is bliss.” He spoke this time directly to Tommy, making him jump. Instead of going off to his own fucking mind palace he stared into Tommy’s eyes, searching them like he was able to see all his secrets if he looked long enough. 

“Ignorance gets you nowhere.” Tommy snapped, looking away quickly, a shiver running through him that he covered up with anger. Dream’s expression switched easily into a look of amusement.

“You would know that wouldn’t you.” Dream stated with a dry laugh that sounded pained. 

“Whatever, if you want to be a baby and do nothing but cry then that’s your problem, I’ll fucking do it.” He pivoted on his heel sharply and marched towards the metal box things hanging off the wall. His steps faltered slightly as uncertainty started to seep in, he could feel Dream’s eyes watching him unfazed. Sometimes he wished he didn’t talk so much shit. He faked confidence as he reached the mechanism. There was a thing about water bottles and eliminating plastic, whatever that was. It must be an evil thing if they want it dead, he pondered before dismissing the thought to assess what was in front of him. 

It was grey with a weird shape jutted out that was a different color from the rest of the contraption. He ignored the slight tremble of his hand as he reached out and tapped the odd tan thingy, ripping his hand back to his chest only for nothing to happen. He scowled, agitation replacing any fear. He closed his eyes trying to calm himself down, when he reopened his eyes Dream was standing right beside him peering at the thing.

“WHAT THE FUCK?!” Tommy screeched his heart dropped to his stomach as Dream simply ignored him, the faint rasp of humming filled the time it took for Tommy to recover from the scare. Holy shit. He had forgotten how slippery and slimy that little fucking rat could be. Just like his words he always found a way to catch him off his game. It was annoying and fucking humiliating. More people around the general area were giving them harsh looks and this time Tommy could only shrink into himself. 

“What? Do you think it's gonna hurt you?” Dream smirked, so he had seen Tommy’s reaction, shit. 

“I don’t see you trying anything.” Tommy challenged, his scowl twisted into something deeper to reflect the waves of rage that shook his body. Before he could even give Dream a chance he started smacking his hands over every part of the thing, a twisted feeling of satisfaction fueled him as he noticed Dream flinched. Through his chaotic process eventually a small perfect arch of water streamed out for a moment causing both of them to jump back in alarm. 

“What..?” Dream eventually broke the silence, ripping Tommy out of his shock. “What did you do?” In all truth, he didn’t really know what he did exactly. He eyed Dream through his peripheral, the bastard was still staring at the thing. He looked more confused rather than anything else. He hated the feeling of relief that washed over him because of it.

“I just did this.” Tommy announced and tried a few more hits praying to anything that the water would come out again. His prayers were answered as the small stream of water turned on once more and stayed on as he kept pressing a long thing in the front. “It’s a weird button but it does its job.” Tommy announced and Dream simply nodded though his blank expression conveyed that he wasn’t really listening. 

Wordlessly, Dream moved away from his side causing Tommy to instinctively throw himself in front of the water fountain. He wasn’t about to let Dream have his water after he worked so damn hard for it. Didn’t matter if the guy looked like a dead corpse. He should have taken better care of himself in prison. In the back of his mind he knew the thought was irrational but it would never change the fact he was right . 

Instead of trying to take his spot, Dream just went to the exact same thing that was beside his, only a little lower down. He suddenly felt very stupid all tensed up for no reason, he could feel his face start to heat up as he noticed some odd stares. Everyone in this world seemed to stare, never say anything, just stare. He turned back around quickly trying to ignore the feeling of being watched by people who didn’t even know him. They didn't even know how horrible the disgusting monster beside him was. In fact, they thought they were related. How fucking preposterous was that! Was that a shared belief now? Did that old lady somehow tell everyone? They corrected her quite strongly however, it would have been stupid of her to tell everyone. He didn’t know how all of this worked and it was making his head spin.

“Stop thinking, you’ll kill yourself.” Dream cut through his spiraling, causing him to snap his head to face the fucking dick. The shitbag wasn’t even looking at him though he had the small tug of a smile on his lips that made Tommy see red.

“WHY YOU–.” He started before kicking his foot into the wall as hard as he could without a second thought. Dream seemed to realize what he was planning to do far too late, his eyes widening as he watched Tommy’s foot connect to the very solid, brick wall. 

The pain that exploded in his foot was a thousand times worth the string of curses that Dream screamed out into the quiet bussing of the store. Tommy started to laugh and it evolved to sound maniacal, even to his own ears. 

“YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT. YOU FUCKING SWORE YOU BASTARD. I’LL KILL YOU AGAIN RIGHT HERE.” Tommy started to back up, hopping on his other foot to relieve the fiery pain that screamed at him anytime he put the slightest pressure on it. “GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!” Dream spit out lunging awkwardly at Tommy as a result of his newly acquired limp. He knew Dream wasn’t bluffing though he couldn't help the pure elation his rage brought him. He was suffering and Tommy was the one to cause it. 

Suddenly random people started to circle around almost like they were trying to trap them into place. Every one of them strangely was holding a rectangular instrument towards them rather than engaging. Some of the satisfaction of what he had accomplished in driving Dream crazy evaporated as a sense of unfamiliarity sank in. It was a simple yet powerful reminder that they knew nothing about this place they have found themselves in.

Dream was still shouting obscenities towards him though noticing Tommy’s sudden change glanced around with an annoyed scowl. Tommy was reminded once again why he decided to stick with this monster, he was the only thing he knew and vaguely understood. He hated Dream and he hated how he looked to him now that he was scared and didn’t know what to do. 

“What the fuck are you looking at?” Dream scoffed as he faced the crowd. Isn’t that the sort of thing that Tommy would say? Shouldn’t he be the one who doesn’t give a shit and tells the whole world to go fuck themselves? He didn’t want to be disliked though. Dream didn’t think any of this was real so he could take on that role Tommy decided quickly. Out of the two of them he could easily become the favorite when it comes down to it.

The circle broke as three people sharing the same uniform that resembled a guard of some kind entered the created space that Tommy and Dream resided in. He could see Dream beside him go rigid instantly as he saw them. He could hear the beginning of Dream’s breathing turning more sporadic and pained. He could tell he was attempting to control his breathing but it obviously wasn’t working since he was becoming louder. It took everything in Tommy to not snap at him to shut up.

“We are going to have to ask you to leave this establishment.” The tallest one who was about Tommy's height stated in a dull tone. Everyone’s rectangles shifted from the guy back to the two of them as if waiting to see their reaction. He glanced nervously at Dream who looked like he was about to heel over and die more than usual. Fuck. 

“Alrighty.” He answered instead for the two of them. “We will be leaving and uh… or for the establishment currently right away!” Tommy finished off with a smile that he hoped didn’t look as pained as it felt. He had no idea what he was saying and by the puzzled look of the guards in front of him it seemed they didn’t either. “This way, right?” He blurted out pointing in a random direction hoping that it would take their minds off of what he had just said. 

“We’ll walk you to the doors.” A different guard, this one shorter with a meaner look, butted in as they closed around the both of them. Dream kept flinching and shrank into himself like the pussy he is while Tommy took the chance to stand a little straighter. Dream was muttering nonsense under his breath as his eyes frantically scanned the surrounding area. It took everything in Tommy not to whack him in the back of the head. This bastard only chose the most inconvenient times to get into his little fits . Maybe not just a simple little whack. He deserved to be strangled and choked out, gasping and begging for his life as it slowly escapes his pitiful excuse of a body. The only problem with that was that he would have to use his hands and he didn't want to touch the fucker.

“I don’t want to go back there,” Dream suddenly squawked out, making Tommy and the guards look at him. “I don’t, please no…” He was increasing his volume making more of a scene. 

“Shut the fuck up.” Tommy hissed, this bitch was getting on his fucking nerves. The guards seemed to tense more sharing glances with one another that he could only interpret into nothing good for the two of them. “He’s just blazed.” Tommy instead turned his efforts towards the people who were consciously aware of what was going on in reality, remembering what the guy before called them. They seemed to understand that as their expressions shifted from realization to annoyance. 

“Again, please exit this establishment.” The tall one stated rather firmly as he gestured to the doors that they entered through. It was starting to piss Tommy off with how these pricks seemed to get off treating him so rudely.

“Okay, okay, we’ll go, just piss off–.” He started to grit out before Dream interrupted him by leaning forward and throwing up his guts. “EW GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!” Tommy shrieked and he tried to move away, forgetting about his injured foot which reminded him of its presence quite effectively through sharp stabs of pain. The guards also were taken aback as a couple of them threw out curses as the puke splashed up everywhere. For someone who looked like a twig he somehow found a fucking way to barf a waterfall. “Ew, ew, ew, ew, ewww!” Tommy whined as he spotted a part of his pants that were infected with Dream puke.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry. I’m sorry, that wasn’t supposed to happen.” Dream stammered through an apology. He stared directly into the throw up as if it was the thing he was begging forgiveness from. He lifted his hands slowly to cover his face, the very movement causing Tommy to tense. The continued, now muffled string of repeated phrases, seemed to only be listened to by Tommy who stared at the shaky mess before him while the rest of the world worked to fix what happened. Did Dream ever say those same exact words when he was alone rotting in the place of his own making? Did he ever bother to reflect on his actions or did he just sit there cursing? Cursing everything. Cursing Tommy, like Tommy cursed him. Despising the being who ruined everything, hating anything that could serve as a reminder. Did red make Dream’s blood boil like how green had become a representative of all things toxic and poison? Did he even care? He hated to think it but Tommy did care, he cared too much. He decided to stand for everything, never backing down no matter the cost. Sure the costs ended up being everything but nobody could ever claim he never cared . So Dream had to have cared. Otherwise he would have never hated Tommy so adamantly. He wouldn’t hate Tommy in the same way Tommy hated him if he didn’t.

He did something he didn’t expect, though he usually did that. He reached out and grabbed Dream’s boney arm and ripped it down, trying not to note the way his skin seemingly burned into his hand. Instantaneously, Dream snapped his head to Tommy and that familiar, deep flame of hatred bore through the panicked storm his dead eyes conveyed. The only thing alive within Dream. For a moment, the muttering pathetic apologetic mess returned to the disgusting monster that haunted Tommy’s existence. 

He hesitated. Tommy wanted to claim the pause was a result of self-preservation, a moment of clarity. Though it was nothing more than unbridled fear. A feeling so essential to his being when Dream was around that Tommy almost couldn’t recognize it. He had to remind himself that the look of hatred in Dream’s eyes were drowned under waves of panic and fear. Tommy had only seen the hate because he was programmed to, he knows it, he lives it. He was in control. 

“Fucking pull yourself together.” Tommy spoke only loud enough for Dream to hear him. His voice sounded calm and collected which shocked him more than he would ever like to admit. He hoped his eyes matched the story his words told because the only thing he could feel was the pounding of his heart as it shook his skull to its quickening tune. 

Dream’s brows furrowed hastily as his mouth twisted into a scowl. A sharp movement from the mean looking guard trying to wipe barf off his sleeve crumpled Dream’s resolve and the hatred was shrouded once again by fear. Tommy cursed under his breath as he frantically tried to figure out a solution. 

“Um,” Strong fucking start. “We have to go.” He started slowly, if anyone he knew saw him talking this way towards this bastard his career would be over. He shook his head trying to rid the unhelpful thoughts. “Hey, we have to go.” He repeated, his tone taking on a more stern sound. It worked in making Dream finally glance back to him. The idea struck him like lightning and he had to stop the sinister smile that wanted to creep on his face. This was his chance to boss Dream around, the guy was practically begging for it. “They ordered us to go, if you don’t they’ll uh… beat you up.” He cringed a little at the delivery though from Dream’s reaction he ought to win some sort of award for it by the way his eyes nearly popped out of his head. “You don’t want that, do ya?”

“No!” Dream yelped flinching away from everything, if he doesn’t listen Tommy will give him something real to flinch from. He honestly didn't know the rules of how far these people would go so it would be best to do what they say anyway to stray on the side of safety. 

“Follow me then.” He commanded and a surge of accomplishment filled him as Dream did just that. trembling and wide-eyed like an animal aware it’s being led to the slaughter. Maybe someday, but not today. It was almost comical how no one spared a glance in their direction. Too absorbed in their own world as soon as it became affected negatively through the splash and stench of Dream’s puke. Maybe he should throw up more often.

Chapter Text

Wishing further illness upon Dream had been a mistake because apparently the one-time Tommy’s wishes get answered are when it’s most inconvenient towards him. They weren’t able to make it very far before the bastard decided it would be a good idea to once again spew his non-existent insides so the whole world could see them. No one was more upset than Tommy.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” He grumbled out, gnawing relentlessly at the nail of his pointer finger. He wanted to slam his hands over his ears to block out all the stupid barf noises but the idea of blocking another one of his senses willingly would be pure idiocy. He was already turned away because even though he loved seeing Dream get what he deserves, there was no way he was going to subject himself to vomit. This left him stuck and sticking it out as he wished death on the guy throwing up his guts a couple feet behind him. 

“I don’t feel good.” A weak voice finally broke through all the puke business. 

“Well of fucking course you don’t feel good you observant dick.” Tommy scoffed, the gall of some people. He was met with silence and a shiver ran through his spine as he whipped around.

“I feel bad.” Dream rasped out as Tommy finally got a good look at him and bursted out laughing.

“You look it too!” He managed to get out before doubling over. Dream’s grimace shifted quickly into an irritated frown. The bitch was pathetically holding himself up on the wall over his own mess. He wasn’t making any effort to examine Dream, it was only due to the paleness of his pasty-ass face that he could see a bunch of red splotches that stood out on the few places of skin that weren’t scarred in some way. He looked so stupid and in pain which filled Tommy with immense joy. 

“I don’t like it.” Dream mumbled more to himself as his breathing took on more of a hitch. Tommy rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

“No one likes being sick, dipshit. Just tough it out, make sure you're done with all that and let’s go.” He snapped, pointing a finger and gesturing towards what Dream was standing over. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. He was completely in control and everything felt as it should. A thrum of adrenaline shot through him, numbing his pain and almost making him dizzy. Instead of meeting his command with vigor and ease, Dream sank and slid down the wall narrowly missing the barf to wallow in his own world. His eye twitched as Dream further crawled into himself and flopped down rather harshly onto the hard ground. 

Something snapped inside of him. A screw rusted to shit broke loose making everything held so intricately together fall apart. An animal kicked one too many times. Why was he even waiting around? He didn’t need Dream. For once he wasn’t the one holding everyone down. Dream didn’t know what to do with the wolf, how to improvise with the old lady, or guards, and he sure as hell didn’t figure out the water. He was a burden, Dream was a burden. Tommy had always known this and now it was obvious to anyone. A smirk grew on his face as the revelation adorned him.

“You know what?” He paused for dramatic effect, half expecting an annoyed response but charged ahead anyways when all he got was silence. “I don’t have to fucking be here. I don’t need you . In fact, you fucking need me . You’re a worthless piece of shit who doesn’t even deserve to be in the same space as me, yet here you fucking are. Now I know why you went around hiding behind a mask, I don’t ever want to see your ugly, disgusting sack of shit face ever again you bitch!” He was out of breath at the end, his rant slowly picked up volume as the words tumbled out of his mouth. Dream didn’t even spare him a glance, through gritted teeth he decided to be the bigger man. As a final ‘fuck you’ he was going to show mercy and leave. Sure their pain was somehow connected but he had as much control in the matter as Dream did so naturally they would cancel out. 

He turned his back and took his first step. His heart was beating loudly as a smile started to form on his dirtied face. While there was so much he didn’t know, there sure as hell was more he could learn without a thorn in his side. He was going to be free . Each step got a little long and the farther he got the more light he felt. It was almost like he finally found which way was up after drowning and thrashing for so long. He reached the edge of the little nook they found themselves in. A deep gnawing in his gut was screaming at him to look back, but he knew that if he did he would inexplicably find his way back there. So he didn't, he marched ahead into the crowd of people, this time, however, it wasn’t suffocating because he wasn’t lost. He wasn’t looking for some ass, he was on his own. He eagerly pushed his way through, while many people glared he couldn’t be bothered to care. Think of the consequences later. Think of the consequences later. Think of the consequences later. 

It started as a small feeling, he almost didn’t notice it through the high of accomplishment surging through every part of his being. As he fought his way through, it was almost from out of nowhere that he was hit with a skull crushing headache that made him falter in his escape. His skin started to buzz, feeling like it was simultaneously being peeled off and stitched back together. Tommy stumbled and found himself latched to a wall. Every inch of his body seemed to be sweating while also becoming insensate. It was as if he was covered in frostbite, numb to all other senses except for the feeling of excruciating pain. He wanted to scream but it felt like his teeth fell to line his throat, cutting up any attempts of the words he tried to release. It was almost like every part of him was fighting with him . He could only see an outline of something that seemed to glow like a beacon, dancing through the darkness threatening to overtake his vision. His mind, a mess of pain and hurt, focused onto the only thing his body was allowing him to see. He stumbled towards the outline, unable to even process what was around him, it was reminiscent of the void he had spent so long in alone. The jarring reminder made him want to sob as he blindly dragged his legs that refused to move. 

He was back underwater. He didn’t even know how he possibly could have found his way up. His direction instantly thrown off kilter. It felt like he never would know up. Because he was spinning and spinning and spinning. He was thrashing against nothing, it wouldn’t even matter what direction he was facing because despite his best efforts he couldn't move. The only thing he could reference was the small outline. He was desperate for anything real. It was like a lighthouse leading him to land and he needed something solid to stand on. 

The closer he got, the more anguished he became. It took forever as he crawled his way to the outline that stayed steadfast in its spot. He couldn’t help but think that death had been more merciful than whatever was happening to him now. Maybe he was dying. Who knows how long it’s been since he’d experienced death. He plunged his hand blindly out in front of him to drag his deadweight closer inch by inch. Every movement felt intentionally designed to create a new form of suffering. His only chance at salvation was the light at the end of his vision. It was laughable how ironic it was. Every part of his body screamed at his mind to move forward, that if his skin could fall under the light of the glow he would be able to see again. Like a torch in the darkest depths of an unknown cave. 

The closer he clawed his way, the more he saw form in the light. It wasn’t as soft as he had imagined from afar. It sparked and snapped like lightning, caustic in nature. Tommy froze in place, to touch it would be to burn yet everything shrieked at him to do it anyways. It didn’t seem to matter what he thought since the sporadic light shot towards him at a speed he couldn’t register in his sluggish mind. The light reached out in the shape of a hand and, mesmerized, Tommy could do nothing but watch as the moment it touched him. He didn’t know what he was expecting. Maybe the release of pain along with a flawless transition back to the void he miraculously escaped from. Maybe nothing, he would finally be nothing, the weight of existing lifted from his tired, worn shoulders. Instead the world, at once, returned to him with such ferocity he realized he would have rather simply died. 

His light and salvation was Dream . The thing he dragged his exhausted body back to was Dream . The one gripping his wrist with a shaky grasp, disfigured fingers digging sharply into and breaking his skin, was Dream . The glowing outline who was now shouting indiscernible curses through gasping sobs with his cracking voice was Dream . It always ended with Dream. Tommy’s ears were ringing as he watched his crazed eyes. The venomous green shifted to a pale and diluted panic with feverish distraught.

He became keenly aware of the tears sliding down his in correspondence to his hyperventilation. He couldn't get away even if he tried. All the glorified fantasies he held about him having control of the situation crumpled along with his composure. 

It was almost like the world melted away. What use was it anyways if he was nothing but an animal on a leash? What was the point of it all? In absence of mind crushing pain he felt fuzzy, like his insides were miraculously replaced by wool. Instead of being soft and warm, he could feel every fiber scratching and swelling underneath his skin which started to feel too tight. 

His vision drifted numbly to where Dream was still latched onto his wrist. His hand was a chaotic mess of flesh. The skin of his hand was mutilated, layers of scarring from cuts and burns clashed and morphed together to create an ugly collage. The tactile sensation his mind decided to process informed him of a deeply rough and bumpy texture that sent chills down his spine. His fingers twisted unnaturally as he held onto Tommy, in ways they shouldn't. Some of his nails were half grown, re-emerging in misguided directions. Tommy's eyes moved slowly to Dream who was still speaking, though his frantic words never made it to his ears. His face was equally as disturbing as his hand was. It seemed like everything got broken and no one bothered to put anything back in its place. It was crosshatched, lines running along every possible surface, some more elegantly carved out than others but all done with the intent to deform. The only things that gave him depth were the deep sunken eye bags hanging off his poison green eyes like an immortal shadow and the sharpness of his cheekbones and jawline, contoured by the hollowness of starvation that clung to him like a wet cloth. Was this how he died? Once more in the hands of the one he hated most?

He might prefer it.

“A-Are… you going to, to kill me?” He croaked out, his voice sounded more pathetic than he expected it to be. He watched Dream's blabbering mouth pause briefly, staring Tommy straight in his eyes. 

“I should.” He watched the words silently form across his lips. He squeezed his eyes shut and fought a sob that was clawing its way up his throat. He sucked in a breath before forcing himself to pry open his eyes. He wanted to face him, make Dream remember his cold glare. He was met with Dream looking at him, watching him intently as if he was a weak defenseless animal. “You,” This time Tommy could hear him, the ringing in his ears harmonized with his words. “Shouldn't have d-done that.” 

“I-I didn't know.” Tommy whispered out, tears he couldn't control fell down his face. His resolve was crumpling, unable to fight the sobs that tore through his chest. 

“Y-You don't cry.” Dream gritted out his grip tightening making Tommy fail to suppress a wince. “Tommy doesn't cry.” He repeated under his breath. “You're a pathetic copy of a pathetic person.” Dream's other hand shot out and grabbed Tommy’s jaw harshly, he winced back in a feeble attempt to create distance between them but failed miserably. Dream pulled Tommy forward until he was only mere inches away from him. His eyes dragged over every part of his face, a scowl deepened and twisted as he kept looking, almost searching. Tommy was frozen. If it wasn't for the tremble that held his body hostage, he could have been mistaken for a statute. 

He couldn't take it anymore, he was always known as the fighter. It was what had always gotten him into trouble. Tommy's mind was racing though he was bone tired so he did the only thing he could think of. He spit into Dream's face hoping it was filled with all the venom he felt. He couldn't even enjoy his reaction since the moment he did it, his head was tipped back and slammed into the ground. He could see stars dancing across his vision, when was the last time he looked for the stars? 

The pressure crushing his jaw increased and his free hand moved sluggishly to shove at the harsh grip. The hold on his wrist was released as his arm dropped to the ground like dead weight. His hand prickled and shot uncomfortable waves of tingling throughout his arm making him rely on his other one which wasn't accomplishing much.

“Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck YOU!” Dream shouted as Tommy tried to escape to no avail. 

“Let-Let go of me!” Tommy shrieked as Dream paused before breaking out into a maniacal bout of laughter. The sound brought back the sluggish fall and popping of lava to mind. 

“And why should I do that ?” Dream scoffed, “You don't really show much use. Do you?”   Tommy's eyes widened at the accusation, all the reasons he thought of to justify his leaving were cleared from his mind and he was left with nothing.  

“Y-You don't know what might happen, if-if you try and kill me.” He stammered over his words as one of Dream’s eyebrows raised.

“Ah, the only reason you think you should live is because of a simple technicality?” Dream assessed with a laugh as Tommy shrank into himself. “What if I'm bored though?” He inquired as if he cared and was trying to look out for Tommy. “What if I don't care anymore and just kill you anyways?” A smile crept onto his face as his eyes shine with undisguised intrigue. 

“You’d be a-a fucking idiot then.” Tommy bit out as Dream's smile grew wider at his response. 

“How interesting. You're the most irrational person I know, you truly are entertaining Tommy.” Dream loosened his grip on his jaw and Tommy shoved him off the moment he could, trying to take deep breaths to calm his racing mind. He instantly attempted to crawl away but the all too familiar start of a headache forced him to stop. Tommy glared back at Dream whose scrunched expression signified that the feeling of pain was mutual. 

“Fuck.” He gritted out running a hand through his hair. The universe would never give him a break. Despite his better judgment, he shoved himself back further. Dream winced as Tommy felt a sharp pain pierce through his head. 

“Stop doing that.” Dream demanded as Tommy kicked himself away, gravel digging into his back, the distance was minimal, but the pain was blinding. “I SAID STOP.” The only thing in Tommy’s mind was go go go. His heart was slamming against his chest as he kept moving, he had to. He was jarred out of his escape as something grabbed his ankle. In an instant all the hurt was gone. Shocked, he looked down and saw it was Dream grasping his ankle, looking back at him with wide eyes. Dream retracted his hand as if he got burned and both of them flinched as a wave of pain tore through their heads. 

“What the fuck?” Tommy faltered as Dream’s hands moved to cradle his own head. He tried to recall what had happened only moments before shaking his head slowly when it dawned on him. The only time the pain left was when they were somehow touching on another. It didn’t make sense beyond the present context. He didn’t have to cling onto Dream from the start. Only when he tried to escape. He could never escape. He thought he would have screamed his voice hoarse or tackled Dream and tried to beat him to death. Who cared about what might happen? Yet he didn’t move, he didn’t do anything. The pain beat harmoniously with his heart as he could only stare at his ankle. The bite mark still ingrained into his skin, bruised in an array of colors. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Dream precariously poke his leg, causing the pain to be gone once more, cementing Tommy’s theory. 

“Very interesting…” Dream mumbled as he took away his finger causing Tommy to wince. 

“Stop doing that you dick!” He snapped causing Dream to jump up slightly before a frown rested on his face. Tommy heaved out a sigh, “Let’s just stop okay?” He glanced at the sky realizing how the blue shifted into something darker. Time moved faster than he had realized. 

“And how do you suggest we go about doing that?” Dream challenged, his tone flat and sounding almost lifeless.

“Just… I don’t know! Get away as far as possible but somehow, you know…” He grimaced at his delivery. Out of nowhere a burst of pain signified him that Dream left contact. “You prick–.” He bit out before something flopped on his ankle. He scrambled to prop himself up with his elbows and looked down to see Dream’s leg carelessly flung on top of him, while the rest of him sprawled out like a corpse. Tommy scowled before deciding to not say anything and fall back down to the ground. 

He tried his best, when he squeezed his eyes shut, not to think about the coarse material of Dream’s prison jumpsuit scratching his skin. Dream started to hum the wrong notes to a song that existed only in his mind as Tommy pulled his arms gingerly to his chest. He paused and examined the harsh bruising on his wrist that already bloomed across his skin. With his other hand he traced the outline of the reddening purple, his mind becoming hazier. He subconsciously raised his fingertips to graze his jaw, flinching slightly as a dull throb of pain manifested into a weak headache. He was definitely going to have a mark and wasn’t that humiliating? Vaguely he could hear the bustling life of people he didn’t know and probably would never know. He curled into his side, not daring to move his leg that was connected to Dream. Because even now, he didn’t have the strength to fight and win. He would always be the one who knew Dream’s fist far more than anyone else had. He turned his head to face the stars that were faintly dusted across the night sky and held himself since no one else would.  

Chapter Text

Tommy was staring at the dull red bricks that made up the wall in front of him. Sometime through the night, he must have woken up, yet he didn’t remember the action. For a moment it was peaceful, he could have stared at that wall forever, with its bricks lined up in a never changing order, standing steadfast through the passing of time. He blinked sluggishly as the familiar ache of pain welcomed him as he slowly made the cruel trip back to full consciousness. Everything hurt, it hurt in such a way that he was scared he might never be healed. He closed his eyes and took in a shuddering breath. Being a baby wasn’t going to fix anything, he needs to man up. Keep moving forward no matter what. 

He forced his eyes open, ignoring how difficult it was to do something so simple. On instinct he brought his hands up to his face to rub the sleep from his eyes, wincing as the blood in his arms prickled uncomfortably in retaliation to being slept on at an odd angle. The unexpected spike of feeling made Tommy undershoot his movement and he came into contact with the bruising on his jaw. A sharp sting notified him of his already known mistake as he bit out a string of curses under his breath. The pain from the injury reminded him of the bastard who did it and he became keenly aware of the weight resting on his leg. 

He dug his elbows into the ground and propped himself up, blinking away the dark spots that danced around his vision. Dream had moved from being laid out, with his limbs thrown everywhere like he owned the fucking place, into a tightly curled ball somehow throughout the course of the night. The only part of him excluded from the huddle was his leg which looked like it hadn’t moved a single bit. Tommy scowled as he hesitated, waiting for Dream to poke his head out and insult him or talk about stupid shit like… Well, basically anything he would say. The only response he received was silence, his eyes twitched. If this was another attempt at trying to make him look idiotic it wasn’t going to work.

“Dream...?” He half-whispered, pausing once more for anything. Upon getting nothing, he watched skeptically as Dream’s only movement was the slow rattled uptake of his side and just when Tommy thought he could be dead, his side would shakily collapse back down. 

He averted his eyes, not wanting to look at the dickwad any longer than he had to. He glanced up at the sky that was no longer deep enough of a shade to display the stars. It was still early, very early morning. Tommy subconsciously chewed the inside of his cheek as he tried to figure out what to do. He beat down the overwhelming, soul-crushing aspect that whatever he was going to plan it had to involve Dream. The heartless, egotistical maniac that has taken his life and has made it extremely clear he wouldn’t mind doing it again. His eyebrows furrowed and he shook his head as he tried to dismiss the thought. He needed a defense, something that could keep him safe. The only thing he’s noticed that seems to piss off Dream (besides Tommy, of course) is pain. More specifically, if he is the one that hurts Dream. 

The taste of iron flooded his mouth, he tensed as his stomach twisted. For a moment he feared he would end up like Dream, barfing his guts everywhere, before the feeling passed quickly into something more sustainable. The blood lingered in his mouth and every time he tried to swallow the dryness of his throat made him want to simply die. Why didn’t he drink the water when he had the chance? The missed opportunity made him want to rip his hair out and cry, but he probably wouldn’t be able to do that either unless he could cry blood. Tommy’s face scrunched into a frown at the idea, he needs to stay focused. 

He could take Dream on in a fight; however, recent events made that idea unappealing in the very least. Tommy would have to recover for that to have a chance at working and in that same time Dream is also healing. He could attack him when he least expected it, like… now. The thought made him pause. He heard Dream’s ragged exhale and Tommy imagined it was the last breath he would ever take. He could make it a reality. Silence dragged on before an uneven inhale tainted the sacred moment of what could have been. He lay there, unable to move anything more than his thumb that dug into the rough skin around his nails. What if he did kill Dream, would he be in that excruciating pain he’d experienced yesterday forever? Just thinking about it made him shudder, he couldn’t afford to take that chance, no matter how tempting it might be. He let out a frustrated sigh as he shifted, feeling restless with nervous energy as he came to the conclusion. What else was there? As he squirmed in place he felt something poke into him, catching him off-guard. 

Tommy’s hand darted to the area as panic flooded his hazy mind. He made contact with his pants pocket, as he slowly pieced together what had happened. He somehow rolled on something in his pocket, because he put stuff in them. His eyes widened instantly as a small smile grew on his lips. He glanced over once more at Dream before gradually moving himself as steadily as possible to not wake up the bastard. After a demeaningly long amount of time, he managed to painfully prop himself up in a sitting position against the wall closest to them.

The first thing he recovered from his pocket was a crumpled, hardened piece of bread. Tommy perked up as he bit into it without a second thought. He almost choked on the dry wad of food, narrowly avoiding what would have been a humiliating display of his poor life choices. The odd taste of the bread was more noticeable than it was yesterday, but it was nothing Tommy would turn down. He pulled out the chapstick thing next, examining the thing that was covered with words that didn’t make sense. What the hell was lip balm or skin protectant? His face twisted into a frown, he obviously knew what lips and skin were, but the second words attached to them made him hesitate. He flipped the small very thick paper contraption, his eyebrows shot up as he was met with what seemed like millions of little words. His eyes lagged on a section boxed off labeled as Drug Facts . Tommy sputtered as he whipped the thing back around to gape at the small cylinder that was about the size of his pinkie finger. This was a drug?!  

He eyed Dream’s unconscious form before ripping into the outer layer preventing him from getting his hands on what was apparently a drug. He threw the unnecessary stuff off to the side already forgetting about it as he held the chapstick before his eyes. There was a white part on top that contrasted the rest of the thing. He tentatively moved the object to his nose, and he sniffed it before pulling it back with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. It didn’t smell like anything really, was it supposed to be eaten?  He moved it to his mouth and bit down on the white tip. His teeth clattered and slid off the smooth, glossy material and he ripped it away in shock. A spike of irritation bubbled in his gut; he closed his eyes in an attempt to calm himself down. He was able to figure out the water fountain, he can do this as well. 

He attempted to push and pull anything that he could, startling when the small white part popped off separating itself from the chapstick. A small off-white circle was underneath, he brought the new discovery to his nose and sniffed it curiously. He couldn’t describe how it smelled; it was definitely weird. Tommy hesitated before licking the circle and reeled back with a grimace. He dragged the back of his hand across his tongue vigorously to wipe the taste that was assaulting his senses. It didn’t taste like it was made out of anything he knew, nothing real. What did it even say it did again? He racked his mind before the words lip balm and skin protectant came forward. So… Is it something he equipped? 

Tommy was starting to get a headache as he held the chapstick in front of him. He moved the thing to hover above his lips and smacked it into them harshly. When nothing happened, he dragged it messily to the other corner of his lip, bringing his fingertips over the area, his eyes widening because something was there. It was short of being sticky and almost felt like thicker slime. It left an odd feeling on where it was equipped, almost like it was bringing back life to his cracked lips. He smiled as he smeared it over his mouth, why stop there? He moved the smooth circle over his face, it did say it was skin protectant. Maybe it was some sort of enchantment? Soon the chapstick started to scratch his face and he pulled it away with a slight frown. He shrugged slightly and shoved the cap back on and pushed it into his pocket, satisfied that he had figured it out.

He grabbed the small book that was about the size of his palm next and looked it over quickly. It had a black cover and when he flipped it over, he noticed the first page had lines all over it. Tommy’s frown deepened; how did he pick a book that was messed up? He rolled his eyes as he turned the page only to be met with even more lines. He gawked as he hastily looked at every page, each with perfectly straight lines striping the page. Who even had the time to do that?! He cursed under his breath as he harshly shoved it in his pocket to move on to the next and hopefully better thing. 

He patted his pockets before finding one that wasn’t empty and pulled out the one that was called a sink strainer. He got this one mainly because it looked cool, it didn’t look particularly useful or anything. He traced his fingertips over the ridges of the object analyzing all of its grooves and edges before placing it back into his pocket. 

Tommy couldn’t remember if he took anything else as he continued to search, his hand paused as he felt another item in a pocket. He gingerly took it out and peered at the words keychain flashlight written on the thick paper behind it. Flipping it over, he glanced at the words before ripping it away from the object and threw it off to the side. The reason why there were so much extra materials slapped onto literally everything he had seen so far baffled him. The flashlight was small and easily fit into his palm, it had a weird tail that held an iron circle for whatever reason. He pulled on the circle, and nothing happened, so he moved on. The thing was a deep red and was cool to the touch, Tommy blinked when he realized it was also made of iron. He had never attempted to try and dye metal, but he should have because it was fucking sick. He pictured himself with all red armor and a small smile grew on his face. He shook the thought out of his head and turned to focus back on the flashlight, ignoring how the movement made him slightly dizzy. One end of it looked like it was made out of glass while the other was a smooth slightly elevated material that looked like a button. Tommy was staring at the glass end peering into the area that had weird stuff on the inside as his other hand subconsciously pressed down on the button. Tommy shrieked as white blinded him; he dropped the flashlight as both of his hands retreated to his eyes. Even with his eyelids squeezed shut as tightly as he could, a circle followed him in the darkness, burned into his mind. 

“WHAT THE FUCK?!” Tommy shrilled out in panic as the circle wouldn’t leave. He opened and shut his eyes frantically as the image stayed, jumping slightly with every blink. He felt the leg on top of his flinch though he couldn’t even think about what that might mean. Did he just fuck his vision forever? Tommy’s breathing picked up as he dug his knuckles into his eye sockets harshly as if he could erase it himself. 

“What?” He vaguely heard Dream’s groggy voice laced with alarm. Tommy froze and snapped his head up to stare directly at the wall, dull red bricks the same as when he first saw them. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dream jump at the quick movement though he focused on the circle in his vision. The circle that was slowly fading, growing smaller before it was gone. Tommy blinked hesitantly allowing his hands that were hovering by his face to drop, almost collapsing with relief. “What is happening?!” Dream spoke out once more, his voice wavering taking on a frantic twinge.

“None of your fucking business,” Tommy grumbled as he refused to look over at Dream. Instead, his eyes wandered to a faint glowing circular section of the wall. He followed the line of light to the source and found where the flashlight had fallen, discarded and forgotten. He ignored Dream’s irritated senseless complainings and strained to reach the object, gritting his teeth as his body cried out in retaliation. He managed to reach his fingertips to the ring connected to the flashlight, he briskly dragged the thing towards him. As soon as he did, Dream went dead silent. Tommy picked up the flashlight, the glowing circle mirroring his movements.

“The fuck is that?” Dream asked oddly, Tommy turned, and the light moved with him to illuminate Dream’s ugly face. His wide eyes snapped shut as he flung his arms out to shield himself from the onslaught of light. “WHAT THE FUCK TOMMY?!” He screamed out as a smile grew on Tommy’s lips. Dream scrambled away, turning his back to him, crying out with scrambled curses Tommy didn’t bother trying to decipher. 

“Relax bitch boy, it’ll go away eventually,” Tommy remarked with an amused laugh, shoving away the memory of his own breakdown. He got bored of casting the light on Dream’s motionless back and moved it to the wall in front of him, making it go as high as it could go, and frantically shook it around, watching as it followed him perfectly. He clicked the soft button once again and as he suspected the light turned off; he turned it back on with a grin. What a nifty trick! He couldn’t help but feel pride towards his new little trinket. It was super effective on Dream and in turn, didn’t hurt him. His grip tightened slightly around the flashlight; this is how he can protect himself. He also had that chapstick which apparently was protective? And everyone said stealing was bad he thought with a smirk. 

Tommy beamed, turning back to look at where Dream was sulking. His eyes faltered as he saw Dream’s stupid leg was no longer thrown on top of his. It must have happened when Tommy shone the light in his face. He glanced up to Dream’s pathetic form pressed against the wall muttering nonsensical words as his brows furrowed. Could he… go? 

Tommy attempted to move his leg closer to his body and winced as it protested quite vehemently. He used his hands to slowly scoot himself farther from the madman beside him. He barely made any distance before a familiar pang of a headache shot through his skull making him flinch. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” A shaky voice intertwined with rage asked as Tommy cursed under his breath. Dream turned to face him, his face twisted into a livid display of hatred, twitchy hysteria breaking through the cracks of his mask. 

“I wasn’t.” Tommy gritted out forcing himself to make eye contact. Dream stared at him; his face suddenly devoid of any emotion as he loomed over him. Tommy fought the urge to look away as he suppressed a shiver. It was silent and Tommy’s hand tightened around the flashlight, steeling himself for anything Dream might try to do. What he wasn’t expecting was Dream to burst out into laughter, his hand twitched yet stayed in place as he watched the man with caution. 

“Oh, of course you weren’t Tommy!” He exclaimed, “Because you can’t!” Tommy’s eyes morphed into a glare, anger prickling up from deep inside him. Dream was still laughing although it carried more of an edge to it than before. Tommy was about to open his mouth, his tongue sharp with insults before Dream continued. “We’re fucking stuck together! How hilarious is that!?” He paused at the remark. He couldn’t recall a time when Dream acknowledged their situation with anything more than an interesting observation. Sure, they only just found out they were unable to leave one another but the new world and shared pain thing didn’t bother him. Tommy blinked, his anger dissipating as he registered that Dream was slowly losing his nerve despite the nonchalant front he played whether he recognized it or not. 

“Yeah, how hilarious is it that you can’t fucking do anything about it.” He interjected over Dream’s laughter that slowly died around his comment. “Pretty sucky feeling when you’re out of control, huh?” Tommy spat out as he watched Dream’s eye twitch, his face taunt with a forced smile. 

“You’re in the exact same position I am in Tommy.” Dream countered barking out a laugh, Tommy scoffed at the insinuation. 

“I thought I wasn’t real.” Tommy objected, watching as Dream reeled back at his comment. His face couldn’t pick a single emotion to stay on and instead projected all the conflicting feelings that he usually hid from the world. Tommy hadn’t seen Dream so utterly confused and lost before and it was riveting.

“Y-You’re not.” Dream declared weakly, his hands moved to grip his own face harshly as he shook his head frantically. “I am not alive! ” He shouted out, switching from panic to anger in an instant. 

“I never said you were.” Tommy insisted as Dream stared at him before his eyes dropped to the ground as he fell silent. He numbly turned and sat himself by where Tommy was, leaving as much space between them as possible. Tommy watched him hesitantly before moving so the wall once again supported his back since leaving obviously wasn’t a choice anymore. He noticed his flashlight was still on and moved it so it was back on the wall across from them. Dream flinched at first before simply watching as the circle darted around the area.

“It’s a flashlight,” Tommy spoke up after a few beats in an attempt to fill the crushing silence that fell over the two of them. He cringed inwardly wanting to beat himself up for being physically unable to shut his fucking mouth before he heard a tired hum. “It’s like a torch but it turns on and off.” He explained, taking Dream’s small response as a gesture of resignation. He couldn’t push down the bubbling feeling to share his findings, not actually share though, just to ruthlessly brag. 

“When did you get that?” Dream whispered, sounding distant. Tommy spared him a glance and saw him blankly watching the flashlight in his hand.

“At the grocery place obviously.” Tommy boasted, poorly trying to disguise his pride with indifference which caused Dream to roll his eyes. Apparently some of the bastard was still there despite how distant and detached he acted. “I also found a drug that protects me.” Tommy added, causing Dream’s face to twitch in disgust before settling back into a neutral expression. 

“Yeah?” Dream asked unconvinced, the tone of his voice flat and bored, his eyes turned to watch the light dance around the wall. 

“Yeah,” Tommy repeated with more force. “It said it was skin protectant and that sounds like a very fucking protecting thing if I’ve ever heard of one.” He watched as Dream looked back at him, his eyebrows slightly furrowed. Tommy suppressed a laugh at how readable Dream was and closed his eyes while shrugging confidently. “Definitely enchanted, so whatever you try, know it won’t wor–.” He was cut off as a small, sharp pain burst across his cheek. He tore his eyes open and snapped his head over to see Dream had leaned close enough to close the gap between them, his hand still raised by his face. “DID YOU JUST FUCKING FLICK ME?!” Tommy accused in disbelief, his hand flying up to the spot, the sting already fading.

“Guess that confirms that.” Dream answered casually as he withdrew from Tommy’s space to go back to his original area. He had a newfound glint of amusement in his eyes as Tommy tried to process what had just fucking happened.

“WHAT?” He squawked, humiliation flooding through his blood as he realized what Dream did or rather what it meant.

“Wouldn’t rely on that to protect you, Tommy.” Dream insisted as if he were simply looking out for a friend. Tommy’s face heated up in shame, he hurriedly scrubbed his hands all over his face to try and rub the stupid chapstick off.

“Well, maybe not, but this might!” He snapped as he directed the light right into Dream’s eyes causing him to wince back and let out a startled noise.

“Fucking stop it!” Dream cursed out, flinging out his hand to try and swat the flashlight away. Tommy dodged Dream’s weak attempts to stop him as a smirk grew on his face, it was almost too easy. Spotting an opening, he dipped down to shine the light up under Dream’s arm guards still hit at the air. Tommy bursted out laughing as Dream shot back in alarm. His joys were cut short, however, as a jagged pain erupted through his skull and all of a sudden everything in his lungs was nothing, making it impossible to breathe. 

“Fucking hell!” Tommy swore, dropping the flashlight as his hands fumbled to the back of his head. He curled into himself blinking away tears that flooded in on instinct which was stupid because he didn’t even do it himself. He squeezed his eyes so tight that random colors sloshed around the back of his eyelids making him feel nauseous. He forced himself to glare at Dream who was also withering, dramatically spouting strangled curses. Tommy closed his eyes again, listening to Dream’s movements as he tried to ride out the pain. He just had to compose himself, his eye twitched as he ignored the voice in his head that insisted that was impossible. 

It seemed like forever until the stinging quieted down to become another ache he would try to pretend he didn’t feel. Tommy peeled open his eyes, wincing as the world was noticeably brighter than it had been before, the sun must be rising. He tenderly ventured a hand to the back of his head, wincing at the disgusting texture of his hair though thankfully the pain didn’t flare up. He wasn’t sure if it would and it turns out for once he was lucky. He blinked as he spotted his flashlight, he picked it up and clicked it off, the excitement it held now tainted from Dream’s stupid actions. The bitch couldn’t seem to let him win at anything he thought bitterly .  

“Are you done sulking yet?” Tommy sneered as he glared at the Dream’s back. His whole body was fully turned away from Tommy and it was starting to piss him off. “You’re a fucking baby.” He spat out, fighting down the rage that was attempting to hijack his mind and beat Dream to death. 

“How wonderful! We’ll finally be able to have a conversation now that we’re the same fucking age.” The bastard snapped back, his voice injected with mock sincerity. Tommy laughed incredulously, how was he supposed to do anything with this absolute piece of shit. His hands were clenched into fists, his knuckles white, if he didn’t always chew his nails to death he was sure there would’ve been blood. 

“Very mature for someone who smacked their own head on a wall.” Tommy pointed out, crossing his arms to appear as casual as he could as Dream whipped around his expression livid.

“Because of you , Tommy. Because you are so FUCKING–.” Dream cut himself off with a frustrated scream that made Tommy flinch back in alarm letting his arms fall back to his side. “Nothing you do is ever wrong, right? ” Dream continued to ramble on as if nothing had happened, he wore a smile that was too wide and unnatural. Tommy fought the urge to shrink into himself from where he sat. 

“I don’t know what you mean.” He spoke softly, if he spoke any louder he was sure his voice would waver. Dream watched him and laughed, it oddly almost sounded depressed, Tommy’s eyes narrowed.

“Of course you don’t know,” Dream exasperated, making his face contort into a mask of devestation. Tommy chewed on the inside of his cheek, the taste of blood he’d forgotten flooded back to him. “Now, you don’t know this Tommy and you never truly will, but you’re a bad person.”

“Fuck off!” He shouted, his voice running shrill, all of his limbs impossibly frozen.

“Somehow, along the line, you’ve come to think of yourself as some kind of, I don’t know, some kind of saint! ” Dream remarked, laughing maniacally as if it was the most ridiculous idea he had ever heard. 

“You’re a manipulative bastard.” Tommy bit out as Dream continued to cackle over him, running his hands down his face slowly. His mangled fingertips failing to grab traction due to his skin being a thin veil covering his skull. Tommy tensed but kept his glare in place, he preferred the Dream when he was a pathetic shitbag instead of this one who spouted insane nonsense. 

“Everyone is a manipulative bastard in your eyes.” Dream replied as he burst into another fit of laughter. “It’s not a hard title to get, all you have to do is say something you can’t handle hearing!” Tommy grinded his teeth together. “You need me Tommy,” His heart dropped as Dream’s voice lost all levity. “Because without me to compare your sins to, you’ll have to witness your own humanity like I have and see just how disgusting of a person you really are.” His eyes widened and he slowly shook his head, his gaze drifting off to stare at the ground. 

“Are you done?” Tommy asked, his voice flat. Nothing he says is true feverishly repeated inside his hazy mind. Dream let out a small laugh and once again a suffocating silence draped over them. “ I hate you. ” He gritted out, resentment came to him as easy as breathing, almost like it was his destiny chosen for him before he was even alive.

“I know.” Dream replied, his tone giving no indication of what he was feeling. Tommy would be damned if he was going to look at that bitch. Instead, he burned a hole into the dull, red bricks with his glare. This wasn’t productive, nothing that ever involved the two of them was productive. He wanted to rip his hair out and scream until he choked and died on the blood from his shredded throat. He had to stop letting Dream’s slimy words slide into his mind to muck up and restructure his beliefs to fit his narrative. “It doesn’t matter though since you’re not real and I’m not alive.” Dream spoke up, once again attempting to confirm his fake reality.

“I know.” Tommy lied.

Chapter Text

“Why not?” Tommy scoffed as Dream shook his head rather quickly. To no one’s surprise, trying to work with Dream was literally pure torture. At this point he would gladly take getting waterboarded or burned alive over this. “It’s fucking bread, why don’t you want it?!” He groaned as Dream’s face scrunched into a deep frown. 

“It made me sick.” Dream finally responded, his eyes drifting to where he had spewed his guts out just yesterday. Tommy followed his line of sight and cringed at the all too recent memory.

“That could have been anything.” He dismissed with a wave of his hand, the movement made Dream’s attention snap back to him. The guy wasn’t looking any better and his face didn’t do him any favors either. His once sharp, green eyes were now further dulled and sunk into his eyebags that more so resembled bruises. A frown was permanently etched into his face making his feelings on the current matter quite transparent.

“No, it was the bread.” He insisted as Tommy rolled his eyes, shoving the piece of bread back into his pocket. It was so fucking stupid. He graciously offered Dream some food only for him to be such an annoying, stuck-up prick about it. 

“Didn’t make me sick.” Tommy grumbled earning him a sharp glare as he worked to pat off the spare crumbs that had fallen from the rejected piece of bread.

“Well, last time I checked we aren’t the same person.” Dream shot back, his tone growing louder with each word. 

“No shit,” Tommy snapped. “If I were you, I’d fucking kill myself.” He watched Dream’s eyes widen slightly before hardening once again. Well that wasn’t very helpful he reflected as Dream didn’t respond. It wasn’t his fault the bastard was so insufferable. He crossed his arms indignantly trying to think of a way to save himself from falling into the grave he so eagerly jumped to make for himself. He opened his mouth a few times though no words came out.

“We should leave.” Dream suddenly pointed out as if it were common sense, which it was, but Tommy was supposed to propose the idea. He startled as Dream started to stand, stumbling like a fool and using the wall as leverage. 

“W-Where?” Tommy asked as he quickly moved to stand, staggering slightly as dizziness clung to his mind like a thick fog. He blinked hastily as his aching body settled into itself, protesting and screaming at him to sit back down. Subconsciously his hand reached out for support though he ripped it away like he had been burned when he noticed. He was eyeing Dream who was practically putting all his weight onto the wall, hazily staring at a spot on the ground.

“Maybe another forest, one that is bigger.” Dream hummed softly; his eyes still set to nothing Tommy could see. Tommy chewed on his bottom lip as he thought it over. It wasn’t a half bad plan, better than sitting around on their asses forever. He took in a shuddering breath as he nodded, the motion caused Dream to drag his eyes to Tommy.

“Okay, yeah.” He agreed awkwardly, bringing a hand to run through his hair, cringing as he felt the texture and aborted the action. Dream blinked as he stared at him for what seemed like forever before also nodding slowly. He pushed himself off the wall and moved to take the lead, stumbling heavily before gaining some composure. Tommy trailing relatively close behind, unwilling to test the limits of the space they could travel away from one another once again.

Leaving their pocket away from the overwhelming expanse of the world, Tommy found it wasn’t as bad as before. Sure, there was an unbelievable amount of people everywhere, but they weren’t crowding the pathways or shoving into him. He glanced at where the sun was in the sky, it was early, they had tons of time to make progress. The idea made him feel slightly ill, but he shoved it aside in an attempt to dismiss the thought altogether. Thinking about the future when he doesn’t really have one is depressing. He moved his attention to the skyline that was riddled with grey and glass. How far was a real forest going to be? Tommy was dragging his feet, trying to alleviate the weight off his ankle, that fucking wolf bite was starting to flare up again. Was there even anything… left? Beyond the stone ground and buildings that shot to the sky, he was beginning to doubt the existence of a true forest in this place. World? He didn’t fucking know. 

He kept his eyes trained on the ground watching as one foot kept pushing forward in front of the other. They had barely started, and Tommy was ready to call it a day. The damages they were inflecting on one another were really starting to add up though it wasn’t like he began in perfect condition. Dream made a noise which caused his attention to snap up to his back only for him to start rumbling out random scrapy notes. Tommy rolled his eyes, too tired to pick a fight even though it would be ‘in-character’ for him. He was moving his arms to cross them, but his left arm was weakly resisting. Annoyed, he turned to look and almost jumped out of his skin when he saw a person. 

The person was a girl, she was maybe around his age or at least what age he technically was before he was killed. She had long brown hair that fell over her shoulders and a freckled face overwhelmed with concern. Her hazel eyes were on the brink of tears as they moved across his face, lingering on his jaw. She had an iron necklace that held a singular charm that looked like a lowercase ‘t’ that she loosely held onto with her other hand. Tommy blinked frantically as he realized she was real and was actually seeing him. It still disturbed him how anyone could talk to him instead of just ignoring his presence like everyone else. 

“Are you alright?” She asked, her voice wavering slightly. Tommy opened and closed his mouth, frozen in place. He winced as a sharp pang reverberated in his head, that answers his question on if Dream had noticed he stopped. 

“Um… I guess.” He mustered out as the pain slowly started to reside; he wanted to look for where Dream was, but he couldn’t look away from her. It seemed like she would cease to exist if he looked away. His response seemed to be the wrong one because her lips twitched downward.

“I, uh, attend the church right here and if you need something I can bring you in and help,” she pointed to a building a small ways behind them that held more of an older feeling and instead of grey it was made of brick. He remembers building a church once a long time ago, it was more of a joke than anything serious like this girl was acting. 

“What church?” He asked hesitantly, did other people know about Prime? 

“It’s a Christian church but we’d help no matter what you believe,” she insisted as Tommy nodded slowly. “It’s what Jesus would want.” She added with a small smile.  

“Tommy, what are you doing?” An irritated voice ripped him out of his trance, and he turned to see Dream staring at him with a forced smile. He frowned and was about to tell him off before the girl cut him off. 

“Ah sorry!” Her eyes widened slightly as she looked at Dream’s mangled face and her expression took on more concern than Tommy thought was possible. “I didn’t realize you two were together, I was just telling him the church is open if he needed help, the offer extends to you as well.” Dream’s eyes glance down at her before turning to face her with a smile growing on his face. Tommy felt an urge to jump in front of her to save her from being under his perceiving eyes, but he simply watched as she smiled warmly oblivious to the sinister undertone hidden in his grin.

“That would be wonderful, wouldn’t it Tommy?” Dream spoke out with fake delight, he winced as the sentiment came out flat, but the girl just clapped her hands together looking ecstatic. “What’s your name?” He asked as she turned to lead them to the entrance. Tommy startled and shoved Dream back slightly, positioning himself in between the two. He flashed a warning look that Dream laughed at but stayed behind him.

“Oh my, I’m so rude! My name is Kim, but I go by Kimmy,” she replied as she reached for her necklace again, her voice light and rushed, apparently embarrassed for forgetting to introduce herself. “What’s yours?” She asked shyly with a small grin.  

“Tommy.” He answered as she nodded her head, it wasn’t much of a revelation since someone said it a million times. 

“This is going to sound so crazy, but my name is actually Jesus!” Dream remarked with a loud laugh, Tommy shot him a glare as Kimmy’s eyes widened.

“No way, that is crazy!” She exclaimed thoughtfully as she turned to open the door. 

“What the fuck ?!” Tommy hissed under his breath as soon as her back faced them, elbowing Dream’s arm which caused his smile to drop in an instant, replaced by a burning glare. 

“Don’t touch me.” He replied in a carefully controlled tone.

“Why would you lie about that? You don’t need to change your name like last time.” He whispered frantically as Dream rolled his eyes.

“Why not?” Was the only response he got paired with a smirk. He was about to unleash all the reasons ‘why’ but Kimmy turned towards them, holding the door open with a smile. He gave a small nod as he went through. It was a bit deceiving; the inside was much larger than what he had expected by just looking at the building. It was mostly contrived of warm colors and there were lots of large words and numbers written on the walls. It had a weirdly familiar smell to it, it smelled like the passage of time. A place that has stood strong through many days and nights, one that was reminiscent of Phil. He glanced down at the ground that was covered in brown carpet, he almost wanted to reach down and touch it just to feel something soft but didn’t. Light fell through the many panes of glass built into the ceiling and along the walls. It was almost mesmerizing.

“This way,” Kimmy said as she slipped in front and walked down a hallway. Tommy quickly followed while Dream lagged behind taking his sweet fucking time to do whatever. “I’m sure there’s a med kit here somewhere.” She muttered under her breath as Tommy walked into the room she was in. She was opening and closing odd looking chests that were handing off the wall before she paused and let out a small sound of triumph. She turned to him with a white box that had a red plus on it. He blinked as she beamed at him.

“Is that what the potions are in?” He asked hesitantly causing her eyebrows to twitch downwards. Did he say something wrong? 

“Oh!” She exclaimed with a soft laugh. “Do you mean medicine?” 

“Yeah.” He coughed out awkwardly, what the fuck is medicine? Did they change the name of potions to medicine? Why would they do that? 

“No, there’s just the basics like bandages and what not.” Kimmy added as she motioned him to follow her out. They made it back the short distance from the small room to the larger one they entered. Dream was standing in front of a painting and looking at it with a twisted expression. “Do you like paintings?” She asked which caused him to glance over to her. 

“I suppose, anything’s better than a blank wall.” He replied distantly as he looked back at the picture. Tommy rounded the corner to see what all the fuss was about and saw there was a small lamb next to an animal he’d never seen before. It was huge and looked like it could be a monster cat of some kind. 

“It’s the lion and the lamb,” she supplied the information quietly. “We can set up over here.” Kimmy decided as she moved to another room.

“A lion?” Tommy repeated, “I know for sure I don’t want to go face to face with one anytime soon.” He shuddered as he looked at the large teeth. 

“You couldn’t survive a lion.” Dream scoffed as Tommy shot him an offended glare.

“You don’t know that.” He argued, ignoring the fear the picture initially struck within him.

“I think I do.” Dream shrugged with a smirk as Tommy sputtered at the accusation. 

“Your boney ass couldn’t either.” He grumbled, he didn’t have time to run in never-ending circles. 

Tommy went after Kimmy and this time Dream, annoyingly, decided to follow. They entered a room that had quite a few tables and wandered over to the one she was setting up her med kit, as she called it. In the little box was a lot of things, nothing he recognized immediately. A spike of fear shot through him, would the healing methods in this place (world?) work on them? They didn’t know how anything worked. He turned to look at Dream about to share his concerns before Dream shouted out like a fucking idiot.

“Do you think Tommy could survive a lion?” Tommy’s mouth dropped open as Kimmy blinked.

“No,” She replied, tilting her head slightly in confusion as Dream turned to face Tommy with an amused look glittering in his eyes. 

“WHAT?!” He cried out, his face heating up in humiliation as Dream’s grating laughter rang in his ears. 

“W-Well no one would survive a lion in the wild.” Kimmy offers as a condolence, confused as she looks between the two. “Except for Jesus.” 

“Yes, I would survive.” Dream smiled as Tommy shot him a fiery glare while Kimmy giggled.

“Oh fuck off.” He bit through his teeth as he fought down the urge to throw a fist at Dream’s face who seemed to be waiting to see what Tommy would do next. 

“No offence, but I wasn’t talking about you,” she grinned, not recognizing the tension in the room. “You guys can just sit down here for a second,” she motioned to the chairs by her as she stood up to pick up other things around the room. He hesitated not knowing what she meant by a second though he shrugged it off when she turned her back to them. Tommy shifted his attention and scowled as his eyes traveled over Dream’s face that held lazy amusement. He shoved past him and threw himself into one of the chairs, slouching down and crossing his arms. His leg bouncing rapidly up and down in an attempt to burn all the rage coursing through his body. He said nothing as Dream slid into the chair next to him, propping his head on one of his hands and wordlessly gazing out at a window. “Here, these are some leftovers from after service if you’re hungry.” Kimmy brought over a small see-through chest that had a bunch of tan and brown circles. 

“What are those?” He asked, sitting up as his curiosity overtook his desire to sulk. 

“Donut holes,” she answered as she placed a couple more items down on the table before sitting down. “Eat as many as you’d like.” He nodded as he grabbed a brown one and hesitantly brought it to his nose to sniff it when she wasn’t looking. He perked up when he recognized the smell of chocolate and popped it into his mouth. His mouth was dry as a desert but the chocolate, less bitter and far more sweet than he remembered, reminded him how little he had eaten since who knew how long. 

“These are pretty fucking good,” Tommy marveled as he ate a tan one, it mostly tasted like sugar but a sugar on drugs and he wasn’t complaining. “Try one.” He insisted as he shoved a tan donut hole towards Dream who gave him a peeved look. He pushed Tommy’s hand aside and grabbed one from the small box. Dream held the chocolate donut hole inquisitively before him before taking a small bite, his face shifted through multiple expressions before falling neutral as he took another nibble.

Suddenly the door behind them opened and both of them flinched, Tommy whipped around, his heart beating out of his chest. He should have known not to trust anyone. No one had ever been this kind to him before without wanting something back. It was an older man, who was tall and seemed to loom over them from how low they were sitting. Kimmy quickly got up and rushed out an apology and walked up to the man. They spoke in hushed tones and even as he strained his ears, he couldn’t hear anything. The man was now nodding his head with a small smile and they both turned towards Tommy and Dream. The man raised his hand as a greeting and Tommy winced slightly before hesitantly raising his own hand in reciprocation. The two both turned back to each other and spoke for a little longer before he left. 

“Sorry about that little spook, don’t worry he’s also a part of the church,” Kimmy apologized with a strained smile. “His name is Scott; I asked him if he could get you guys something better to eat than just sugar.” She laughed at her own comment, when she was met with silence she looked down at her hands as her laughter trailed off.

“Oh, thank you.” Tommy sputtered out and she raised her head and smiled softly. 

“No worries, alright, I’m no expert at this but I believe washing the dirt off will be a good first step,” Kimmy hummed as she started to stand up, making Tommy stumble up from his seat as well. “Sorry for all the back and forth!” 

“We don’t mind, t-thank you for helping.” He stammered as she beamed at him. 

“Of course.” She chirped as she started moving towards another place. He turned around and aggressively gestured for Dream to move his sorry ass. He rolled his eyes as he dragged himself out of his chair to trail behind. “Here’s the bathroom, there’s the sinks in there and here are some washcloths that can help to scrub the dirt off,” she said quickly, "Oh! And the soap is just on the far left of the sink, it’s a silly design, I know.” Tommy nodded knowing only about half of the words being spoken to him. “I’ll be out here, let me know if you need anything.” She finished with a nod and Tommy gave her a small smile as he accepted the washcloths and headed into the bathroom shoving the washcloths into a random pocket with Dream close behind. The door latched shut which caused Dream to jump slightly while Tommy took in the expanse of the room he realized it was a million times fancier place to shit than he had ever seen in his life. 

“Woah,” He muttered under his breath and he looked into the two boxed off areas. “Beats shitting a hole!” He exclaimed as Dream moved to see what he was looking at. It was a white contraption that had a hole filled with water.

“What even is that?” Dream though aloud as he approached it closer with caution. 

“Hell if I know,” Tommy rolled his eyes. “I’m guessing that’s where you shit though.” Dream glared at him before slowly turning back, leaning to peer over the top. 

“It’s very clean for that.” He pointed out as he crouched down, trying to look around the sides. 

“It’s got its own door.” Tommy mumbled to himself as as he swung it shut, he noticed a small circle with a line sticking out. He grabbed it and tried to push and pull it. He was about to give up before it started sliding down to be horizontal as it let out a small click sound. He was about to move it back up but was interrupted by Dream.

“There’s a lever.” He turned around to see what Dream was talking about. There was a small silver lever on the side that stood out against the pristine white.

“What do you think it–” Was all he was able to get out before Dream pulled it down and the peaceful waters inside the white bowl thing in an instant turned into a raging storm. Both of them jumped back in surprise and Tommy moved frantically to the door to try and swing it open only to bang into it. Fear spiked through him as he attempted to push it free to no avail. Dream stumbled backwards and fell, banging his head on the door. Tommy winced through the shared sharp burst of pain to the back of his head, fighting through his building panic, the circle on the door caught his eye. He reached and flipped it up and the door swung open as he stumbled out. With nothing to hold him up, Dream fell to the ground clumsily barking out a shout of distress. Tommy scrambled away his hands slightly shaking as he peered cautiously at the silencing contraption until it became still again. Neither of them moved as the silence became unbearable until a soft knock made the both of them jump. 

“Are you guys alright in there? Did someone fall over?” Kimmy’s muffled voice called out. Tommy shook his head to try and get his fried nerves under control. She had to have heard the outrageously loud sound and since she wasn’t commenting on that, it had to be normal, right?

“Um, we’re good, just starting to wash off now.” He called out, hearing Kimmy chirp back a short pleased response. Tommy slowly turned, fighting the part of him screaming at him to keep the white, prissy shitter in sight. His hands found a slightly off-white slab platform that held three brighter colored dipped down holes that each had a silver stub sticking out to hover above. On both sides there were what looked like small, slender levers, one with a small circling of red by the base and the other had a blue. He tentatively moved his hand to investigate the new item in front of him before movement caught the corner of his eye. He instinctively glanced up and was caught offguard as a person was standing before him. “Oh, s-sorry.” He stumbled out hastily looking away, his eyes snapped to Dream who was still sprawled out on the floor and he kicked him quickly. He croached down quickly, using the slab as cover.

“Don’t touch me,” Dream grumbled out flinching away, his face twisted into a scowl as he glared up at Tommy. 

“There are other people here.” He hissed out quickly under his breath as his heartrate started to pick up. Dream lazily glanced around before pointedly starting back at him.

“Where?” His voice was dull and bored which made Tommy want to scream and rip his hair out. He peeked around as subtle as he could before realizing no one else was present. 

“I swear someone was up there,” he reiterated as Dream rolled his eyes. “Just look.” He urged as a flash of irritation shot through him like lightning manifesting in the twitch of his eye. Dream lolled his head back as he let out a pained grunt before moving himself off the ground in staggered movements. He glanced at the person Tommy could almost feel standing a ways beside him before his eyes dragged back to his. 

“It’s just you, dumbass.” Dream replied with a scoff as he rubbed at the back of his head, the same area Tommy felt a dull aching. He gave Dream an incredious look before hesitantly glancing at the person before him. It was a person who was covered in grime with tracks cutting through to the skin from rivers of old tears. Blue eyes that looked hollow and haunted, especially vibrant due to the deep bags hung below them. The faded memory of blond hair was caked with dirt that draped down to poke at puffy eyelids. In areas that escaped whatever filth covered the person before him it almost appeared white. His eyes fell upon a deep bruise along the sharp of the jaw, a mark he remembered acquiring vividly. He turned and leaned in subconsciously as he watched the face shift to hold an expression that matched his overwhelming storm of emotions. The image before him copied his smallest movements and Tommy felt the most seen he ever had standing before a mere projection of his own body and it was horrifying. He never pictured himself looking so pathetically weak. The only idea of what he looked like was formulated through what he had seen in calm waters and warped reflections in glass bottles that he didn’t pay mind to. It was never something he thought about before yet seeing himself now he regretted he never did. Had this always been him? He watched the face mourn silently for him through the tears in his eyes he fought to keep in. He tore his eyes away and looked at Dream’s reflection that captured every part of him perfectly. 

“Aren’t you gonna look?” Tommy asked slowly as Dream continued to stare at him. 

“Why would I?” He scoffed, sliding his eyes to look back at the white shitter. Tommy’s eyes narrowed, the tone of his voice held an edge to it he almost missed. 

“Are you scared?” He inquired as he watched Dream tense. 

“No.” Tommy continued to stare at him, a small part of him was screaming at him to continue on this possible fear, to keep pushing, but he ignored it as he remembered Kimmy standing outside waiting for them to finish. He shrugged his shoulders, slightly startled when his reflection followed in suit. He shook his head as he remembered the washcloths in his pocket. He pulled them out and threw them on the platform as he analyized the situation before him.

“This must be a sink.” He spoke aloud to himself. He perked up after fully processing the name and started to dig into his pockets. Tommy pulled out his sink strainer and frowned slightly as he couldn’t figure out how in the world it was supposed to be used. 

He first tried the stub in the middle, it seemed to be unmovable so he shifted his focus to the sides that were identical to one another. It didn’t take much pressure for the lever to slide towards him, instantly water started to flood out of the middle one. He hesitantly moved his hand under the running water and found it to be far off from freezing but cold. He allowed his hand to become covered, it reminded him of the many times he’d dip his legs into a lake, goosebumps running up his whole body. He missed it, the careless thought he had put into living back then, it hadn’t mattered, not like it does now. Tommy watched as the stubborn dirt slowly relieved the flesh of his hand underneath. He snapped out of his trance and started to rub mercilessly at the grim.

“Aren’t you gonna clean off?” He said, finally breaking the silence between them. Dream slowly moved his eyes back to Tommy’s, he stared down to look at the sink as the once clear water spun down the hole dark with filth. “Pull the lever,” he instructed as Dream didn’t move any figure. “It’s not gonna be loud.” He added on with a scoff as Dream shot him a glare. Tommy watched as an interal battle seemed to wage within Dream’s mind before he begrudgingly moved to the sink beside him. Without hesitation he yanked the lever towards himself though before puting his hand in he paused. 

“Is it hot?” Dream’s voice cracked slightly at the question, Tommy blinked at him.

“My reflection? Yeah, I’d say so,” He answered with inflated confidence wiggling his eyebrows as he stared at himself, fighting down the uneasy feeling it brought upon as Dream scowled. 

“No dipshit, the water,” Dream clarified as his gaze moved back to the stream running before him. 

“Nah,” Tommy shrugged off the insult as he turned his attention back onto washing his own hands, losing the added flare of dramatics as soon as they had come. Dream didn’t respond and in the corner of his eye he saw him shove his hand under the water before immediately snapping it away. The quick movement caused Tommy to flinch back on instinct before he registered the intense burning sensation that manifested in his right hand despite it being almost numb from the cold. 

“You lied to me!” Dream would have shrieked if it wasn’t for the nonexistent volume behind the accusation, his eyes were unbelievably wide and Tommy swore he saw fear before they cut into dangerous slits. “You lied,” He repeated shaikly, his tone holding more venom, as his breathing started to become more uneven. Tommy froze where he stood, unable to look away and for a moment unable to say anything.

“I-I didn’t lie!” He retorted, but did he lie? It wouldn’t be something he’d put past himself for doing. An instinct to be untruthful to Dream. But his hand was still tingling and cold to the touch. “I didn’t lie to you!” He said again, more confidence behind his words. “Feel it, it’s not hot! ” He insisted as Dream’s shaking hands tangled into his matted hair as he muttered out incoherent ramblings. Tommy cursed under his breath as Dream sank to the ground holding himself pathetically into a tight ball. 

Did this mean that Dream trusted him? Or at least he used to at some capacity. Fuck. He messed it up. How did he mess it up?! Tommy reached over to the sink Dream used and he could feel the heat radiating off of the water. Well that didn’t make any sense. Why was his water cold? Was it random? He could feel his own chest start to tighten as Dream’s sporadic breathing was the only other sound in the room. A room that seemed a little too small… He slapped himself, wincing as it brought back the ache of an old bruise. He needed to focus. His eyes rapidly shifted between the two sinks. Something wasn’t right. It was the other lever. Dream pulled the lever on the right, the red one, Tommy pulled the lever on the left, the blue one. He would’ve laughed about how fundamentally different at the core if he didn’t feel like dying. He pushed the lever back making the water disappear and pulled the one on the left, feeling the cold with his own hand.

“It’s fine, I fixed it,” Tommy awkwardly explained to the huddle of boney limbs beside him. He waited for a beat as nothing happened and the familiar scalding flames of frustration grew deep within the pit of his stomach. He begrudgingly swallowed the string of curses fighting to be released as they slammed against his clenched teeth. Why did he have to be the adult? Why did Dream get to throw a fit at every fucking thing? Without a second thought he dunked his hands under the water allowing it to pool in his palms before dumping it over the bastard. “IT’S COLD, COLD, COLD!”  He shouted as Dream’s head snapped up looking very disoriented as his breathing pitched once again. 

“Are the faucets not working?” A soft voice interrupted before Tommy could do anymore damage. Oh right. Kimmy. 

“Um… I– Maybe?” He called out, forgetting about Dream who was touching the places the water splashed him with confusion. Tommy glanced at the two streams of water that seemed to go on forever. 

“If you both are comfortable with it I can come in and check.” Kimmy suggested her voice muffled by the door. Tommy cursed quietly under his breath as he wiped his hands on his shirt, mildly startled when he caught another glance of his reflection. What if they did something stupid? Somehow she’d find out they didn’t belong here, he didn’t know what a fucking faucet was until just now and he still isn’t totally sure what it is. Though she mentioned soap and what the fuck? Maybe it’s worth the risk…

“Y-Yeah,” Tommy called out, the door softly opened and Kimmy popped her head in. Her eyes widened at the sight of Dream on the floor.

“Is he okay?” She asked as she slowly entered the room. She gave him space as she moved to be in front of where he sat. Tommy rolled his eyes and scoffed.

“Yeah, he does this a lot,” he didn’t like how she looked at him like the statement harmed her. Even when he was unaware, Dream still managed to hurt people. Tommy frowned as she crouched down to his level and poured her attention into him.  

“Do you know what triggered it?” She spoke up again, her hands fidgeting, it almost seemed like she wanted to reach out to him though she never did. Good thing too, who knows what the fucker would do. He warily watched her hands letting out a breath he subconsciously held as they fell back to her lap.

“Oh… he just burned his hand or whatever,” he muttered, her long hair rose and fell as she nodded her head absentmindly. How was her hair so straight? He glanced back at his reflection, he was almost repulsed at how dirty and disgusting his hair was in comparison and quickly looked away.

“Jesus,” She spoke out suddenly, “Jesus,” she repeated after a pause with a slightly louder tone. 

“Why are you saying that?” Tommy interjected, his annoyance bubbling over. 

“Sometimes it helps if you say their name,” Kimmy responded as he rolled his eyes, he had forgotten Dream stole the name of her god or whatever. Typical, and now she was basically worshiping him. 

“Just leave him alone, he’s fine,” he scoffed as she shifted to look up at him instead, her eyes held almost a disappointment. He stifftened at the emotion, a bitter anger wanted him to explain how horrible the crying manchild in front of her was. How he was a murderous, manipulative tyrant with a god-complex that deserved to be miserable and rot forever. If she knew she wouldn’t baby him, she wouldn’t look at him like he was a fragile sheet of glass, she'd see him for the blood-soaked shard he really was. But that wasn’t helpful . She might throw them both out, screaming obscenities at them as they ran away. He chewed on the inside of his cheek as he tore his eyes away from her stare. “He just needs space or whatever.” He gritted out the words like they hurt to say. He could feel her gaze shift to one of understanding and he hated it. Was he really just a coward? It’s not like she could help him get away from Dream and that was if she even believed him. People never really believed him when there was a choice. He tasted blood.

“How did he get burned?” Kimmy asked as she slowly pushed herself off the ground and wiped her hands on her pants. Tommy’s gaze drifted back to Dream who was obsessively picking at and prodding the spot of skin that had been burned. He didn’t seem to be panicking anymore though he definitely wasn’t in reality with them.

“The water,” he said lamely, jerking his head over to the two streams of water which seemed to really catch her attention. “I fixed it though, it’s not hot anymore.” He added quickly as she moved to turn off both of the faucets(?) and inspected the area. Her face scrunched slightly as she eyed his sink strainer. 

“Was that there before?” She asked as she turned to him.

“Oh no, that’s mine, I uh… found it.” Tommy settled on, his shoulders tense as her expression relaxed once again.

“Ah, I was wondering why a sink strainer would be here,” she exclaimed softly with a small laugh.

“Did he pull the hot one all the way?” She questioned bringing the conversation once again back to Dream. This time though he wasn’t too upset about it, he didn’t think there was anything else he could say about his sink strainer without revealing he had no idea what it actually did or what it was used for. He nodded his head as she grimaced. “Yeah, no wonder he got burned, the water heater here doesn’t mess around.” She added, her light tone had a slight waver to it. “I’m sorry, I should have told you guys about that.”

“It’s fine,” Tommy dismissed, he couldn’t care less honestly, he was trying to figure out what a water heater was. Was there a small fire inside the lever? It didn’t feel hot when he touched it… Was it inside the middle one? That would make more sense, maybe the hot lever or faucet, whatever it was called, turned on a fire? But if the water was going through there it would just put the fire out. Maybe the fire was below the water? The whole thing was starting to give him a headache.

“Here,” Kimmy prompted, pulling him out of his thoughts. She lightly pulled the two faucets at the same time somewhere in the middle of their range which made the water fall more calmly. “That should be a good temperature.” She stepped out of the way as Tommy hesitantly took her place. He had no idea what temperature was but she made it sound like a good thing. He moved his hands under the stream and immediately retracted them which made Kimmy’s eyes widen. “Oh! Is it too hot still?” She startled, taking on a guilty look once again.

“No,” Tommy denied as he put his hands back under, “This is really nice, it’s like warm!” He exclaimed, it was almost the same feeling he’d get when he and Tubbo would bundle up in their woolen blankets, lying in the tall grass under the stars and talk about the future before drifting off to sleep but wet. His lips tugged down at the memory; things didn’t really turn out like they’d hoped. He shoved away the weird feeling that came along with the memory, ignoring the soft sting in his eyes as he tried to shift his focus on the present, at least one of them had to be there. “I didn’t know you could mix the waters like that!” He chirped, even to him his voice sounded funny, but Kimmy didn’t comment on it and instead let out a light laugh, it didn’t sound mean though he still felt like he said something stupid. 

“I guess I’ve never thought about it like that, but yeah you can mix them to get a temperature you like!” She replied, Tommy nodded his head as he moved his hands through the stream, it was really nice, almost calming.

“I like this temperature.” He agreed, proud of himself for using the word she’d unknowingly taught him. He was going to learn so much and humiliate Dream later, the thought made him smile. 

“Here you can use the soap too,” Kimmy pointed out to a dark box hanging off the wall within arm’s length. Tommy hesitated, hoping she would demonstrate how to work the soap, but she just turned around to focus on Dream once again. At least she wasn’t watching, he thought with a grimace as he tried to figure out the soap on his own. There was a small picture of hands held together as if they were trying to hold the raindrop above them. He copied the picture feeling ridiculously stupid, thank fuck Dream is not breathing over his shoulder right now. He slowly moved his hands under the device and to his surprise a small sound was produced, and a bubbly froth was squeezed out into his palms.

“Ew! What the fuck?!” He sputtered out as he pulled away from the box, it looked almost like a million bubbles shoved together and not underwater. Nothing made sense here. It didn’t weigh anything and if he thought about it too hard it almost felt like it was melting into him. 

“What?” Kimmy startled, whipping back around scanning him over feverously. “What’s wrong?!”

“I don’t want it on me!” Tommy exclaimed; he was shaking as it started to feel more watery. 

“The soap?” She asked, confusion clouding her face before it snapped to worry. “Are you allergic? Oh! Wash it off, wash it off quickly!” She instructed as she grabbed his wrists and pulled his hands back under the water and instantly it dissolved into nothing. Silence fell over the whole room except for the sound of the water pounding into the bottom of the sink. “I’m so so sorry, oh my goodness.” The words stumbled out of her mouth as she retracted her grip from his wrists.

“It’s fine,” Tommy croaked out, trying to calm himself down as subtly as possible. Apparently, the white stuff was soap, and everyone was okay with how fucking disgusting it was. 

“I-I should have known to ask before if you had any allergies,” Kimmy muttered to herself, her eyes downcast. Once again, he had no fucking clue what an allergy is but he didn’t want her to keep beating herself up.

“Do a lot of people have allergies to soap?” He asked after clearing his throat which made her look back up at him. 

“Yeah, well, maybe not a ton of people are allergic to soaps, but there’s so many things' people can be allergic to,” she rambled on. “Are you allergic?” Tommy blinked, if he had to guess… being allergic meant not liking something? 

“Yeah, I’m allergic to soap,” he said slowly as he watched horror cramp into her expression of worry. 

“I’m so sorry!” She exclaimed once again; he’d never had anyone apologize so freely about anything really and he wasn’t really sure what to do.

“It’s not a big deal,” he stated awkwardly as she started to shake her head.

“It is, do you or Jesus have any other allergies?” She asked her eyes wide as she waited eagerly for his response. 

“Uh… I mean I guess,” he started slowly feeling like he was stepping into something he shouldn’t. “Jesus is allergic to potatoes.” He added, biting down the laugh that threatened to break free. Maybe you should be present fucker, then your precious little secrets wouldn’t be leaked. Kimmy only nodded as if taking note of the new information. 

“Here just wash off with the water then,” she suggested as she grabbed a washcloth and let it soak up the water and rung it out before handing it to him. He grabbed it and started to rub the cloth along his arm, smiling as it revealed more of his skin through the grime layer he was covered in. Kimmy wetted the other one and laid it on the slab. “I’ll pop out and go check on something, I’ll be back really quick. If I’m not outside the door you guys can go back to the room or wait here.” She explained quickly before offering a small smile and a sad glance at Dream before scampering out the room. 

Tommy blinked a small part of him relieved to be left alone once again. Well… basically alone. He shot a glare towards Dream who was sort of staring at the floor at somewhere that didn’t exist, though at least his breathing wasn’t annoyingly loud anymore. He looked away, shifting his focus to cleaning himself off more, something actually productive. 

He decided to sit down on the ground because his ankle was starting to throb again, keeping a good distance away from Dream. Before he got back to work, dragging the washcloth across his arm, marveling at the sight of his own skin. It was a lot more pale than he remembered, old scars were harder to make out than they used to be. It wasn’t that big of a deal but for some reason he had to blink away the stinging feeling in his eyes. He missed being in an actual forest where he knew how to live, whatever this place is, it’s too much. He groaned as he shoved the cloth on his face, he rubbed aggressively, these thoughts aren’t helpful. Why is he being such a crybaby?  

Once his cheeks felt almost like they were burning, and his eyes weren’t threatening to cry he slowly lowered his hands that tightly gripped the washcloth to his lap. He let out a haggard sigh before he was knocked over, all the air leaving him in an instant. His mind made up for the lack of air, letting a sharp panic flood his whole body. 

He was on his back now though he couldn’t remember how and Dream was over him, suffocating him. He was holding fistfuls of Tommy’s shirt, shoving them down into his neck, making each breath almost impossible. It was only thanks to his instincts that his hands moved to defend himself. He felt sluggish, he seemed to be moving too slowly, or rather Dream was moving too fast. He pushed weakly at Dream’s chest to no avail. The fear was mounting as he stared into his crazed eyes full of pure hatred.

“Don’t fucking kill the cat,” Dream spat out into his face, his voice laced with venom as he shoved his fists down harder making Tommy cough weakly. 

“What fucking cat?!” Tommy choked out painfully, changing his tactics to target Dream’s face. Through the dark spotting of his vision, he could see how the man flinched away, repulsed by the touch. The pressure on his neck lifted slightly and Tommy greedily gulped down as much air as he could, using it as fuel to shove Dream off of him towards the slabs of sinks. He desperately grabbed at the ground for traction, dragging himself away as he tried to take deep breaths when every part of his body screamed at him to hyperventilate. Try to think it through, something isn’t adding up. A cat? They hadn’t seen any cats, at least Tommy hadn’t. What cat?! Did this place always feel this small? Tommy tried to shake away the thought, it’s not helpful, nothing is being helpful . 

“Don’t kill the cat- you KILLED THE CAT!!” Dream screamed, making Tommy flinch at the volume. He sounded off, like he’s not thinking in reality. He’s probably thinking about prison… and fuck … that cat. He winced at the memory as Dream basically sobbed, he needed to resolve this before his anger kicked in.

“We aren’t there anymore,” Tommy called out trying to sound calming, but his voice was wavering as he turned to see Dream who had curled into himself under the slab, rocking himself back and forth. “Remember, the crowded place, the store thing, Kimmy?” He offered out, as Dream’s eyes snapped onto his, the intensity of his stare almost made Tommy want to shrink down into nothing, but he didn’t look away. 

“Not there anymore…” Dream repeated slowly as Tommy hesitantly nodded, scared the movement would start another freak out. Dream pulled his eyes off of Tommy’s and started to look around the room as if it was the first time he was seeing it. “Oh…” The crazed look of hatred dissolved into a confused expression as Dream blinked repeatedly. 

“Yeah…” Tommy whispered his heart beating rapidly, filling the soul crushing silence. Dream started to nod absentmindedly as a laugh bubbled out of his mouth. It was a grating sound, slowly picking up speed and volume. He took his own hands and slapped them harshly against the sides of his head, the sharp sound made Tommy flinch back. 

“It’s all fucking blending together!” He exclaimed before another high bout of laughter shoved its way out of his throat. The sound was deranged, Tommy wanted nothing more than to escape but his legs wouldn’t move, it was almost like he was hit with a weakness effect. “FUCK!” Dream shouted, making Tommy’s arms jolt out in front of himself as a lame excuse for a shield. His eyes were clenched shut and a buzzing sound seemed to fill his ears. He peeled one eye open, peeking through his eyelashes and shaking arms to see Dream right in front of him. He recoiled, thrusting his head back into the flimsy door of the weird shitter that somehow had gotten behind him. “Hurry up, I don’t want to be here anymore.” 

Tommy blinked as he stared into Dream’s now face that harbored mild annoyance, a far cry from the intense breakdown or whatever fucking thing he did. His expression twisted into a scowl as Tommy didn’t move. Dream turned away from him and poked at the washcloth splayed out on the floor Tommy had dropped when Dream fucking attacked him.

“You um… Have to wash yourself off with it.” He stumbled out trying to calm himself down. It’s over now, he had to readjust. It was fucking aggravating, but he had to work on Dream’s batshit crazy mood swings. He had to. He had to. He had to. If he was going to get anything fucking done. Dream threw him a lazy side glance, before looking back at the cloth. 

“Why?” He muttered out like a dumbass. 

“Because we have to for our fucking wounds you stupid dickshit fuckwad!” Tommy snapped as he shoved his shaky hands down on the ground to leverage himself upright. Not his best moment of trying to accommodate Dream's batshit fantasy world. He’s honestly surprised it took him this long to say something the bastard deserves to hear. Dream just glared at him before picking up the washcloth and started to gently swipe it across his arm. He kept twitching at the contact making the whole thing look really fucking weird. Tommy shook his head aggressively, digging his hands into his own mess of hair. This was a big fucking mess that he has been thrusted into. He let out a frustrated groan and ignored the way it made Dream jump. He feigned confidence as he walked to the slab on wobbly legs, he acted like were solid and snatched the other washcloth on the slab and sat himself downright next to the door. He glared at Dream’s back before he begrudgingly started to rub the dirt off his legs, stopping a little higher than where his pants ended.

He was quickly done and stared at Dream who was still hunched over himself, randomly flinching and shuddering and it was making Tommy pissed. His fingers subconsciously grazed at the sore mark on his neck, a new addition to the many injures he’s collected from the fucker just in this world or whatever it was. And now he was acting like some fucking pussy, scared of loud noises and whiney about everything. If the roles were reversed Tommy would die on the hill that Dream would never treat Tommy this sparingly. He picked at the piece of raw skin on the nail bed of his thumb. It was so fucking aggravating and so fucking exhausting. 

“I’m finished.” Dream spoke out finally, looking up like he expected Tommy to be there before he almost frantically scanned the room to find him sitting behind. Tommy rolled his eyes before his gaze fell onto Dream and broke out into laughter. 

“You look even more fucking ugly!” He barked out as Dream recoiled from his reaction in disgust. His face looked even more mangled now that it wasn’t hidden under a sheet of dirt. Scars took up more of his face than actual skin and now it was strikingly evident. The thick scar tissue ran over him like artificial veins making him look like a pathetic attempt of a person. There was nothing more to hide under and no wonder Dream tried to hide his face when he had the chance. 

“Fuck you!” Dream snapped his hands reaching up to his face on instinct. “You’re one to talk!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” He scowled, “I’ll have you know I have roguishly good looks!” He bit back as Dream let out a mocking laugh.

“You’re definitely roguish.” He scoffed as Tommy blinked at the response.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He demanded as Dream just shrugged with a sinister smirk that made his blood start to boil.

“Why don’t you go ask that girl?” Dream offered his tone light with an evident undertone of fucking evil. 

“It’s Kimmy, she’s got a name bitch,” Tommy retorted as Dream acted unbothered, fucker. Should he ask…? It was something he learned from Will though he didn’t know what it really meant. Was it a trick? The way Dream put it sure made it sound like one and in what world would Dream willingly compliment him? He knew there was no world he’s do it to Dream. He’d probably look stupid again like the fucking lion thing. “Fuck you.” He repeated for good measure as he scrambled to get up, ignoring the way his body ached at the sudden harsh movement. He marched over to the sink and snatched his sink strainer, shoving it deep into one of his pockets and turned heel to the door. “We have to go back to the room,” he stated, shifting the conversation. “Bring the washcloth too.” 

“What room?” Dream questioned slowly, dragging his ass as always. 

“You don’t remember how to get there?” Tommy asked incrediously as he whipped around to face Dream who flinched back with a frown.

“No, why would I?” Dream shot back defensivly as Tommy just gaped at him in disbelief. 

“You’re like a fucking tracker or whatever, you’re supposed to remember that shit!” Tommy remarked as Dream blinked at him, his face contouring into confusion. 

“If you couldn’t tell I haven’t been doing that ‘tracker shit’ for a long fucking time Tommy, I don’t know, since after you and everyone put me in FUCKING PRISON!” Dream snapped, his confusion quickly shifting to well practiced anger. “My favorite way to pass time was tracking what piece of obsidian fell from where, SOOOO thrilling! Keeps the mind VERY sharp if you can’t fucking tell!” Dream continued, his voice taking a manic tone 

“Sounds boring.” Tommy shrugged as Dream’s expression fell blank before he barked out a high pitched laugh. Tommy held his ground, refusing to give into the shudder that was threatening to take over his body.

“Yes! It was boring, very fucking boring…” He agreed, his voice falling quiet as he stared at a darker spot on the floor. 

“Next time just say you can’t,” Tommy muttered under his breath. “That means we have to wait here then.” He sighed as he leaned his back against the white wall across from the door of the bathroom,

“I don’t want to do that.” Dream declared after a beat of silence as he took off in a random direction.

“Wait, what?! You can’t– stop!” He called out, he cursed before hesitantly trailing after Dream.