Chapter Text
Dream was happy with the progress he made with Tommy. The once insolent child who hated everything about him now viewed him as his only friend. That is if you exclude Wilbur, but Wilbur was a ghost.
Of course Dream wasn’t about to let his guard down. Tommy was a stubborn kid, and actually quite smart. Most people couldn’t see it with his immature demeanor, but he was good with problems, with seeing things outside the box, and had good instincts when it came to people. He was not easy to manipulate, and if Dream didn’t know what he was doing there's no way Tommy would believe a word he said.
It was hard at first, and Dream worried he might have taken things too far in the nether, but he managed to get things back on track, cheering Tommy up, giving him hope, before tearing it all away.
Then Ranboo came to visit, and Tommy told him about the party. The party no one showed up to. The party Dream sabotaged. And Dream started to get nervous. If Ranboo told anyone else, if the story spread, someone might connect the dots. Of course it would be hard to convince Tommy that it was a mistake, but if enough people say something, if even a single seed of doubt is planted… Well Dream’s gotten this far with less, and he wasn’t willing to lose his progress.
So he did what he always did; he planned. He found a snowy tundra far south of the world, a place no one else had ever explored before. It was devoid of any life, and perfect for Dream. Tommy wouldn’t just feel isolated, he’d be isolated, alone with only Dream.
He built a cozy one story house, large and comfortable with anything that either him or Tommy could need. It was warm and spacious, with fire pits in every room and large windows that gave a nice view of the outside. Far nicer than Tommy’s little tent. He even made a room especially for Tommy, with a soft bed and a bookshelf, along with a few pictures. Nothing that reminded him of L’manburg of course, but it was lovely nonetheless.
The house was far, far away, so Dream set up two nether portals. One at the snowy tundra, one at Tommy’s camp.
Then finally when Ghostbur was away Dream approached Tommy, who was sulking. He was sitting on the floor by his bed, his arms wrapped around himself like a hug. It was pathetic, but it was also Dream's fault so he didn’t judge. “Hey Tommy, are you up to anything?” He asked. Tommy didn’t even look up, merely shook his head in response. Dream smiled, but he was sure not to let him see. He was so close to being broken, so very close.
“You’re still bumbed from the party right?” Dream said, matter of factly. “I have something that might cheer you up.” Tommy looked up with wet eyes, and this time he let Tommy see his smile.
“I don’t want anyone's pity gift.” Tommy mumbled, holding himself tightly.
“Oh please, like I would do that. I have something else in mind.” Dream said in a scheming voice that got Tommy’s attention.
“What is it?” He asked softly, lacking any of his usual enthusiasm.
“Well I was thinking how cruel it was for everyone to keep visiting you, but they don’t even show up to your party.” Completely dreams fault “I think it’s because they know you can’t leave, so they don’t see your time as valuable. They just come to visit when they feel guilty or they need something.”
“Way to make me feel better Dream.” Tommy mumbled, looking away.
“I’m not finished” Dream said “I’m starting to wonder how long it would take for them to miss you when they can’t just hop through a portal and see you.”
Tommy looked up at him. Confused. “But I can’t leave here?” He mumbled, sounding unsure.
Dream shook his head and smiled “Ah, well, I have somewhere we can go to a short portal trip away. It’s something I set up long ago in case of emergencies that I thought could be useful. We can go there and stay until they start to actually miss you.” He smiled wickedly.
Tommy snorted “what, is me being sad an emergency?”
Dream frowned “of course it is. You’re my friend after all.”
Tommy blinked in surprise “oh. Thanks.” He mumbled “but I don’t know. What if I start to miss them?” He asked.
Dream shrugged “it won’t be long.” He reassured “it was just an idea after all, I’m not going to force you or anything. I just thought when you returned the others would be so happy that even Tubbo might visit. Still, if you don’t want to leave…” Dream shrugged as he trailed off.
Tommy looked up in shock “do you really think Tubbo would visit?” He asked, hope creeping into his voice.
“Well right now he doesn’t think he’ll ever lose you. Perhaps if you vanish for a week he’ll realize that he can’t just cast you aside and expect you to be in the same spot when he decides he wants to see you again.” Of course this wasn’t what was really going on, but Tommy didn’t need to know that.
Tommy looked up “what if they don’t care?” He said in a soft and fearful voice. “What if they don’t even notice?” He started to cry.
“Oh I’m sure they will.” Dream reassured, while in reality he was taking note of Tommy’s fears and planning how to exploit them. “I’d certainly notice if you just vanished.”
Tommy smiled sadly “thank you Dream, you really are a friend.”
Dream smirked as he sat down next to Tommy “So? What do you think?”
Tommy looked hesitant, then nodded. “Sure, I’ll go with you.” He finally said, earning a mischievous smile that he only thought was friendly.