Chapter Text
The wind was strong enough that it rattled the windows and made the chimney whistle. Techno was used to it. There was something comforting in the strength of the wind and the way the snow made everything new in the morning. Besides, the cold meant it was perfect for piling on the blankets and snuggling down all day in bed, with the excuse it was too cold to get up.
But the rabbit wasn’t used to it.
Each time the wind caused the window frame to thud loudly, the rabbit would jump, hopping to a new spot on the bed, ears perking up or pressed flat depending on which direction it was facing at the moment and which window had made the noise.
It had jumped on Techno’s arm, waking him up, and now he watched it stand up on its hind legs, sniffing the air as the chimney howled.
“Seriously, man? It’s a storm,” said Techno, rolling over. “Don’t tell me you’ve never experienced a storm. Just lay down, alright. I’m tryin’ to sleep here.”
The rabbit made a half jump towards him, front paws on his arm as it laid down flat. Then it bit the blanket, tugging it towards itself.
“You’re a pain in the behind, I hope you know this.” Techno ran his hand over the rabbit’s head. “It’s fine, alright. Everything’s fine, I promise.”
Carefully, he took part of the blanket and it tucked it around the rabbit and pulled it closer. Techno could feel its whiskers on his cheek, all different lengths, and he wondered which had been cut and which had been burned. The thought made him uncomfortable and he fluffed up his pillow.
“See? What’d I tell you? Sounds like it’s already dyin’ down out there,” he said. “How about you try to get some sleep, I know you’ve got to be tired.”
As if in agreement, the rabbit yawned, right in his face.
“Ugh, your breath stinks. You need a bunny toothbrush or somethin’.”
Techno woke because there was a weight on his arm that was heavier than the rabbit was but not heavy enough to be one of the dogs. Slowly, he opened one eye. It was still dark, the sort of yellow gray light in the room of early morning that came before the sun had crested the horizon. He could see the shapes of the clutter of the room, the grindstone and the bell, the emerald block catching some of the light both from outside and the low burning lantern.
And there was an unfamiliar lump in the bed next to him.
At first Techno didn’t realize that something was different; he could see the tattered ears of the rabbit and almost closed his eyes again until he realized that the ears were larger and attached to a human shaped head.
With a sigh, he carefully pulled his arm out from beneath Dream. His hand had already gone numb despite the fact the man weighed next to nothing and he wondered how long he had been like this. He moved the blanket that was covering Dream’s face, just a little.
There were dried tear tracks on his face and a bit of blood on his bottom lip and Techno wondered how he had managed to sleep through whatever nightmare had been haunting him.
But then he had seen the way the rabbit sometimes twitched and heaved in its sleep and realized that he wouldn’t have noticed, not in that case.
Techno laid back down on his side.
He would have to get up soon enough. The sun would rise and shine off the snow and it would be impossible to stay asleep with all the things he needed to get done. But for right now, he didn’t need to move. He tucked the blanket back around Dream and draped his arm over his side, hand pressed against his shoulder.
Under his palm he could feel the same fur that the rabbit had and the knotted flesh that spoke of scarring. If it hadn’t been the rabbit, Techno wasn’t sure that he would let Dream sleep next to him like this, something that had always been reserved for Phil. But he had fed the rabbit and treated its wounds and it didn’t matter that it was Dream.
Next to him, Dream gave a shuddering breath, hands and ears twitching.