Chapter Text
Lava bubbled nearby behind thin stone walls and the sound of running water trickled down the crevices in the smooth rocks. The dark ravine was lit generously with lanterns and despite the quite depressing location, it looked almost cozy.
“I’m surprised to find you,” Dream said, a genuineness in his voice. His brow cocked at the sight of Tommy. The young man had his arms tied tightly behind his back by Dream after their initial scuffle. Forced down into a kneeling position. The younger glared defiantly at his assailant despite Dream’s blade being pointed directly in his face.
Dream had been exploring the ravine when he’d stumbled across Tommy’s little homely nook. He’d received news that there had been someone spotted in the area, and had taken it upon himself to check the place out. He’d expected it to be a member of the Eggpyre, perhaps a spy even.
“I knew someone lived here when I saw the lanterns,” Dream noted as he took the opportunity to glance around at the little nuances of the place. “Didn’t think it’d be you of all people.”
Blankets littered the floor to protect from sharp edges of the ground. Larger stones had been moved aside and tucked away in corners. Shabby wooden walls were fixed together with rickety doors that groaned when a hint of a breeze passed through the steep cavern.
It was quite ‘Tommy’-like.
“Surprise, bitch,” Tommy bit out at him. His glare grew even sharper up at the man. Though his heart was pounding in his chest, fear ripped through him that Dream would find what he was really hiding down here. What he was protecting down in the ravine he called home.
“You’ve been missing for a long time,” Dream’s eyes landed on Tommy again.
Tommy couldn’t help when his eyes dodged away from Dream and he glanced toward a small carved out tunnel in the wall. One of three inside the little ‘home’. Each to their own respective areas. One in particular had his eyes dodging back and forth though.
“Four years?” Dream asked, uncertain himself how long it had been. “Everyone thinks you’re dead.”
“Then- then leave,” Tommy looked up at the smiling mask pointed down at him. He tried to keep his voice from turning into a plea, but in all honesty this was his worst nightmare come true. He’d been so safe for so long down here. They had been safe.
They’d moved around a few times, but this was the safest they’d been for the last two years. It was dark and reminded him a little too much of Pogtopia but it wasn’t so bad. It was comfortable, safe, and resourceful. It was the best they’d had for a long time.
“Leave?” Dream scoffed, followed by a laugh and Tommy looked at him fearfully. He tried to mask it but he couldn’t stop how terrified he was for-
“Dad?”
Dream and Tommy looked toward the sound of the small shaky voice that spoke so careful and uncertain. More timid than Tommy had ever heard her speak. She sounded scared. She could probably sense the danger that Tommy was in. She wasn’t a dumb kid by any means. Even if she was still just a toddler.
Dream was reasonably caught off guard but quickly sheathed his sword and walked over to the small girl.
“Hey, little one,” The masked man cooed to her softly and knelt down in front of her.
“D- don’t touch her,” Tommy felt his heart beating in his throat and his stomach rolled. He didn’t want to scare Clementine any more than she already was. Telling her to run would be futile, even if she escaped, then Dream would take Tommy and she’d be left here alone. He couldn’t allow for that.
“I won’t hurt her,” Dream said as if it were obvious. He rolled his eyes beneath the mask and lifted the girl up along with himself. She looked warily at him, and then over to Tommy who could do nothing more than remain in his position on his knees. Wrists bound to his ankles painfully tight.
“What’s your name, kiddo?” Dream asked her. She was hiding her face away from him shyly and he tutted with amusement at the small child.
Tommy had never seen her act this way. She was usually such a bubbly little kid with too much energy and a lot to say at all times. He had, however, never seen her interact with anyone other than himself either, he hadn’t expected how shy she was and it made his heart hurt seeing her behave so uncharacteristically.
“Dream,” Tommy swallowed down a lump of nervousness in his throat. “P- please give her to me.”
“Ah, ah,” Dream’s tone was teasing and he swayed her gently as he looked at Tommy. “She’s yours?”
“Y- yes,” Tommy answered quietly. Almost too quietly, as if there were another part of that confession he was hiding.
“What’s her name?”
“Clementine…”
“Clementine,” Dream chuckled softly as his attention turned back to the girl. Of course it was Clementine. How sweet. “She’s shy.”
“She’s- you’re scaring her…” Tommy told him with a sharp glare and Dream just smirked down at him, enjoying his position of power over the younger man.
“Weren’t you ever taught not to trust strangers, Clementine?” Dream chided the girl playfully. Her head peaked out from her arms when she turned away from his shoulder. Dream’s eyes went wide when he got a good look at her face.
Bright green eyes, cheeks decorated in honey coloured freckles, the blond mess of wavy hair.
She was the spitting image of Dream himself.
The man was silent for a long moment. He was looking the little girl over. Her dirty hands, face smudged with the same soot across her palms. The rather well hand sewn blue sweater she wore. Decorated at the bottom with some crudely cut out patches of fabric that looked like sheep sewn onto it. Her pants were hand sewn as well, the thick stitching made it obvious. He never knew Tommy was such a talented tailor. It was kind of cute.
“Clementine,” Dream spoke gently and cupped one of her soft cheeks in his hand. The girl had fear written across her face and eyes darted from the mask to Tommy. “We’re going to go somewhere nicer than here. Would you like that?”
“Dream, don’t take her! Please don’t take her!” Tommy’s heart was pounding in his ears as he struggled with the binds tying his arms together, shimmying against them.
Clementine began to struggle away from Dream in response to her father’s panic and the man sighed loudly.
“Clementine, stay still,” He ordered the girl with a stern and loud voice that made her too afraid to do anything other than comply.
“Don’t talk to her like that!” A growl escaped from Tommy as anger bubbled up in him faster than he could manage it. He’d have ran over to Dream by then and snatched his daughter up, but with the binds it was completely impossible.
“Calm down,” Dream rolled his eyes again with a huff of annoyance. “I’m not taking her.” Tommy relaxed a little at that, but he really didn’t believe the man. Dream was always up to something. Tommy wasn’t stupid enough to think that he’d changed at all in the last four years. At least not for the better. “Not without you anyway.”
“Dream just- just leave us alone. Please, we’re not doing anything- I don’t- I don’t even know what’s going on with the Greater SMP or any other part of the lands around it. Just let us live in peace. Please,” Tommy hated that he was literally on his knees begging the man. But he had no other option. There was nothing he could do. Especially not with the man in front of him holding his small child in his arms.
“Since you asked so nicely I probably would’ve said yes,” Dream hummed as he looked back down at the girl that he was now holding with both arms rather than one and swaying back and forth gently to calm her. She was still reasonably scared since being scolded. Tommy never spoke to her like that, even when things were serious.
“But…” Dream’s eyes were skimming her over again. He gently curled his fingers around her small hand and pulled it away from her face. Those green eyes told him everything he needed to know. “I can’t leave my daughter here to live in these disgusting conditions.”
Tommy’s heart skipped a beat. He felt his cheeks tint red with anger and fear. Both of them raging inside of him like a fire in his veins.
“She’s- she’s not your daughter! You weren’t here, you weren’t here for anything! You violated me in that fucking prison and I-! You-! You’re not her father, you’re just a fucking bastard!”
“Such filthy language in front of a child,” Dream shook his head disapprovingly with a light chuckle. His gaze went from Tommy down to Clementine. “Bet you have a dirty little mouth on you, don’t you?” He smiled with another little laugh. She didn’t reciprocate it, and her ever wary eyes darted to Tommy again. She looked uncomfortable and scared.
“So it was the prison, huh?” Dream looked back up at Tommy. “It’s not my fault you went into heat. You were practically begging for me, Tommy.”
“Shut up,” Tommy’s face flushed further. Anger still rising in his chest and up his throat. His heart tightened with the emotion as he tried to conceal it for Clementine’s sake. “I- I don’t want to talk about this in front of Clem.”
Dream nodded in agreement. Even he could concur that it was a little inappropriate for the child to be hearing them discuss.
“How old are you, Clementine?” Dream hummed to her. She did nothing more than look from Dream to Tommy again. She was silently begging her dad for some kind of reassurance or answer to what was going on. Who was this stranger holding her? Where had he come from? Why was he here and what did he want from them?
She’d learned to be wary of strangers from a young age but Tommy had always kept her so sheltered that when Dream approached her all she could do was freeze up in response.
“You don’t have to answer him, Clem,” Tommy told her reassuringly and she nodded to him.
“Ok,” Her voice was so soft and Tommy felt a pain in his chest. She must be so scared. It was so unlike her.
If she was any other child she’d have already begun crying. But Clementine almost never cried. Tommy was always met with a ‘no, I’m okay!’ and a bright smile when the girl fell or ran into something clumsily. Even when she burned her hand on a fire, she screamed but never shed a tear.
“That’s very rude, Clementine,” Dream told her. “You shouldn’t ignore your father.”
“Shut up, shut up- Don’t fucking call yourself that! You’re not her fucking father!” Tommy repeated. Dream turned away from him and began to walk to one of the back rooms. Tommy’s eyes grew wide and he shook with fear. He couldn’t do anything. He could only struggle against the ropes tying his wrists to his ankles, leaving him stuck on his knees.
“No! Nonono! Dream, please! Please don’t take her! Dream!” His voice was frantic and panicked, he wasn’t able to even attempt to mask his fear as he watched the man move out of sight with his child. “Dream! Please! Please don’t hurt her!”
“I won’t hurt her, don’t worry,” Dream told him simply before passing through one of the rickety doors. He entered what looked like a playroom. There were toys carved from wood, some better than others, showing their maker had improved over time. The floor was covered in more blankets and pillows. There was what looked like a mat in one of the corners and Dream assumed that must be where one of the two slept, if not both of them. Tommy seemed pretty attached to the girl.
“Clementine, I’m going to show you something, okay?” He talked to her in a soft and friendly voice, his smile carrying through. Clem looked uncertain but nodded anyway.
Dream placed her to the ground, noticing her bare feet and how dirty they were. He wondered how often she must get the opportunity to bathe.
Though the girl looked nervous, she stood and stared up at him with wonder in those big green eyes. They nearly glowed in the dim light of the stone room. Dream saw himself even more in the girl. He wondered what she must be like when she would eventually warm up to him. No doubt loud and boisterous like Tommy. Maybe she cursed like a sailor as well.
Dream sat on the floor with his legs crossed and reached his hand up to his polished bone mask. In one smooth motion he pulled it away from his face and when he opened his eyes Clementine was looking back into his.
“We have the same eyes,” Dream smiled at her and she smiled back. “We have the same freckles.” He noted next as he placed a finger against the girl’s cheek, swiping a smudge of soot away with the pad of his thumb.
“And the same nose,” He softly tapped his index fingers against the tip of her nose and she pulled back giving a shy giggle. “Tommy is your dad, yeah?”
“Yeah,” Clementine mumbled softly. Dream took her hand up and she curled her fingers around his.
“I’m your dad too,” Dream smiled at her and she gave him a confused look. “It takes two people to make a child,” Dream explained patiently and the girl gave a tentative nod. She knew that there were always two parents in the children’s books that Tommy would read her. “Tommy and I- we made you together.”
“Oh-” She looked thoughtful for a moment. A lot more thoughtful than Dream would think a child her age was capable of looking. “Okay…”
“You’re not happy to meet your other father?” Dream feigned a pout but she looked unimpressed by it.
“I don’t know you,” She told him plainly with a little furrowed brow, clearly untrusting of the strange man in front of her. He couldn’t help the sudden laugh that escaped him. He placed a hand on his chest, genuinely amused by the girl’s words. Yeah she had definitely been raised by Tommy.
Dream was pushing himself up off the floor as he composed himself and slid his mask back on his face.
“That’s okay. I’m going to take you and your dad back to my home, and you can live there. It’s a very nice place with a lot of sun and we have gardens and plenty of food,” Dream told her with a reassuring smile. He reached out to take her hand again but she declined him and instead ran around his legs quickly. She had already set out to Tommy and when she reached him, she threw her arms around his neck in a tight hug.
“Clementine,” Tommy let out an exhale of relief. “Let me see you, little bug.”
Clementine let go and took a step back. Tommy’s eyes scanned her over and he let out another sigh. She looked okay. That didn’t mean anything though, he may have still done something to her. Tommy was never certain what Dream was capable of.
“Did he hurt you?” Tommy asked quickly and she shook her head vigorously.
“No, no,” Her hands held around the bottom of her sweater, palms pressed against the little sheep. A nervous habit that she had. Her eyes connected with Tommy’s and her brows pinned together in worry. “Is he taking us?”
“I-...” Tommy looked up from his daughter to Dream who stood nearby patiently. Dream gave him a nod and Tommy hated that he couldn’t just tell Clementine ‘no’; this stranger that walked into their home and claimed he was her father wasn’t going to be taking them. But it wouldn’t be true, and he always made it a point to never lie to Clementine. Even if the truth was painful.
“Y- yes, he is, Clem,” Tommy swallowed and looked at her apologetically. “Go grab your favourite toy, okay? And- and your favourite blankie, you can only have one of each. Just like last time.”
“Okay,” She nodded and hurried away. She gave Dream a wary glance as she passed him, he returned the look with a friendly smile.
“She’s a cute kid,” Dream told Tommy once she was out of ear range.
“Don’t you ever fucking hurt her. I swear to fucking Gods Dream, I will kill you if you lay a finger on her. I’ll fucking kill you,” Tommy growled up from his position on the ground. All fangs and anger but nothing to back it up with.
“Calm down, she’s my child too. I’d never hurt her,” He rolled his eyes behind the mask and crossed his arms over his chest. “I can’t believe you’ve kept her hidden this entire time. Leaving her to grow up like a... a stray animal.” Dream grimaced.
“I didn’t want anyone to ever find us,” Tommy whispered under his breath. He resigned himself to sit against his legs and slouched forward. “Especially not you.”
“Good enough to fuck you but not good enough to help raise the child?”
“Shut up! Shut up! Shut the fuck up! ” Tommy squeezed his eyes shut and hunched forward as he screamed at the man. His voice fell into a whisper. He didn’t want Clementine to hear, she was far too young to have to think about any of this. “I never wanted that. I never- I would’ve never- you took advantage of me. You fucking violated me.”
Dream was closer than Tommy realised until the man was kneeling at his side and whispering in his ear.
“You got on top of me Tommy, you begged me. You slid down on my cock like a good little bitch in heat and moaned my name.”
Tommy jerked at the words. His jaw clenched and he swung his head, hard. The sound of his skull knocking against Dream’s made his teeth rattle but he couldn’t care less. Dream had jerked away so fast he landed on his ass and Tommy snarled up at him in the most animalistic way Dream had ever seen.
He’d be lying if he said it didn’t completely turn him on, but now wasn’t the time nor the place.
Clementine had come out of her playroom to see the man that claimed to be her father, sitting with his legs sprawled out and leaned against his palms, and her dad growling at him in the most terrifying way she’d ever seen.
She held her blankie up to her face and covered her mouth with it. It was a soft blue colour with misshapen red circles that looked like a poor attempt at ladybugs dyed across the fabric.
Tommy’s face immediately changed when he saw Clementine and he ushered her over. She ran in his direction without a second thought, but was stopped when a strong hand caught her upper arm. She let out a frightened noise before her eyes darted up to Dream who was back on his feet.
“D- dad?” She whined and looked toward Tommy for help.
“I’m- it’s okay, little bug,” He faked a smile when worry was so clearly written across his face. “He won’t hurt you, okay?” He hoped it was true.
“See? Your dad says you’re safe with me,” Dream crouched beside her and picked her up in his arms again. Tommy immediately regretted those words but hated to think of what Dream might do if she struggled too much. Protecting her was first priority over anything else.
The masked man approached her father kneeling on the floor, and slid a knife from it’s holster around his thigh. He sliced through the rope around Tommy's ankles easily but left his wrists bound. It was likely for the best.
“There are men waiting outside,” Dream told Tommy as he’d begun to walk away. He expected for Tommy to follow and the younger man stood to his feet as quickly as he could, walking right behind Dream. Clementine peaked over Dream’s shoulder at her dad and gave him a worried look.
Tommy stuck his tongue at her and crossed his eyes, making a silly face. She giggled softly, feeling a little more at ease but not by much.
“We’re going to head back to my castle in the DSMP Kingdom. You’ll know the location. It’s likely changed a lot since you’ve seen it. But it’s all centered around the Holy Land.”