Chapter Text
It was Techno’s turn to fall asleep in the chair though he did it with the grace of someone who had fallen asleep in plenty of worse places and just generally liked sleeping, regardless of the where, when, or how of it. Next to him, the cup was empty and on the floor, curled up in the basket was Dream.
Phil had been watching him and Dream had kept one eye open the entire time, at first tense and shaking but now relaxed, breathing even. Then Dream stretched one paw out of the basket, eye still on Phil. When nothing happened besides Phil raising an eyebrow, Dream put his other paw onto the floor.
“You going somewhere, mate?” he asked, voice low as to not wake Techno.
Dream stopped, ears twitching, and stared at Phil.
“Right, you can’t answer like this. Well, go on with it,” he said.
With a shake, Dream hopped out of the basket, slipping a little before he regained his balance, and then disappeared into the other room. Phil considered following after him to make sure he was alright but there was no way that would end well; best to give him some space.
Phil waited.
He waited long enough that worried had bubbled up and he was already half out of the chair when a thud and the sound of wood scraping against wood. Biting back the urge to call out, Phil stood and poked his head around into the kitchen.
Dream was sitting on one of the chairs, pale and sweating. The borrowed shirt he was wearing was inside out.
“How are you doing there?”
Looking up, Dream shrugged. His gaze was intense and Phil hated that he was uncomfortable beneath it. It was the sort of uncomfortableness that came from a change in opinion that Phil hadn’t quite come to terms with yet. He moved to lean on the counter near Dream.
“Yeah,” he said. “Well, good to see you’re—you. Anything I can do?”
The movement of Dream’s head made Phil think he was going to say no. It would track with everything that he knew of him. Dream flicked an ear.
“The—The tea went cold.”
Phil blinked and straightened.
“Do you want me to make some more?”
He had been the one to bring up the tea but despite that, Dream looked surprised at the offer. Shifting on the chair, he scratched at his leg.
“I mean—You don’t have—”
Phil waved his hand.
“I’m making you the damn tea.” He grabbed the kettle and filled it, muttering under his breath about how many stubborn idiots he was surrounded by. Lighting the stove, he placed the kettle down before turning to Dream. “Anything else you want? Maybe some food?”
Tilting his head, Dream swallowed, glancing around, eyes sliding over Phil without lingering. He twisted his hands together.
“Could you bring me a book?”
A dozen questions ran through Phil’s head before he settled on the most important one: what would Techno do? The answer was clear. He sighed.
“Do need some ink and a quill, too, or are you planning on eating it?”
“What!?” Dream’s voice cracked. “I’m not going—I’m not going to eat it.”
“I’ll get you the ink and quill then,” said Phil.
In the other room, Techno was still asleep, snoring lightly, and Phil was careful to be quiet as he dug around the chests to find what he was looking for. When he returned, Dream straightened, wiping at his face and schooling his expression into something close to apathetic. Phil pretended not to notice and set the book, inkwell, and quill down on the table in front of him.
Dream turned to face the table, the leg missing a foot hanging down awkwardly.
The kettle began a low whistle and Phil hovered his hand over it, snatching it off the stove the moment it was ready.
“You want cream and sugar?” Phil asked.
Looking up from the book, Dream stared at him silently. He blinked, nose twitching.
“You’re getting cream and sugar.”
Phil set the mug down on the table and then took a seat. As much as he wanted to ask questions, needle Dream about his plans, about why, but he was beginning to think that it didn’t matter, not anymore. His hands were shaking as he tried to write, the missing finger making it harder. Even from a distance it was clear he was clenching his jaw.
Pulling out his handkerchief from his pocket, Phil folded it until was small, thick rectangle.
“Lift your hand, the one you’re writing with,” he said.
He had expected Dream to argue but there was nothing other than a blank expression and a compliance with Phil’s words that left a heavy feeling in his stomach. He placed the folded cloth beneath Dream’s wrist.
“See how that works.”
Dream didn’t answer but after a moment he began writing again, brow furrowed, only pausing to take a few sips of the tea. Phil had to resist the urge to crane his neck to see what he was writing. It wasn’t until Dream set the quill down and took another small sip that Phil spoke.
“Are you going to share with the class?”
Dream slid the book across to Phil.
“It’s—” His mouth worked like he had tasted something sour. “The revive book. You put blood on the runes and burn it. Fire or lava or whatever.”
A lot of things lately had taken Phil by surprise but he doubted anything could top this. He didn’t reach out to take the book.
“Fuck. You’re giving this to me and not Techno?”
Glancing towards the other room, Dream shrugged.
“Well, to be fair, Techno’s probably going to do something stupid so if you have it…” He trailed off, point made. “And Punz—Punz already knows.”
“I can’t even argue that,” said Phil, an undercurrent of laughter in the words as he reached for the book. It was short lived; the thought that had been hovering at the edge of his mind pushed forward. He pulled his hand back. “But this is what they tortured you for, right, mate? You’re just fucking giving it to me?”
“You didn’t torture me.”
The response felt so absurd that Phil didn’t know what to say.
“I mean, if—If you don’t want it…”
“I’ll take the damn book,” said Phil, grabbing it, flipping it open to examine the runes. They were painstakingly written. “But for the record, not torturing you is the fucking bare minimum.”
“Tell that to them,” Dream said and his voice was quiet, angry and hurt, and his hands shook worse than normal as he wrapped them around the mug. The blank look had returned, eyes unfocused.
Anything Phil could say would sound hollow so he said nothing, knowing that soon enough he would be able to make that point to Sam and Quackity and that was enough for him. He hoped it would be enough for Dream.
“Hey, man, can I sit?”
Techno stood by the kitchen table, arms straight at his side, doing the best not to fidget. Dream stopped staring into the half empty cup of tea and finally looked up. His expression was incredulous.
“It’s literally your house,” he signed, the ‘you idiot’ heavily implied.
“Look, I know, Dream, I know, but I’m tryin’ to be polite,” he said as he sat down in the chair Phil had occupied earlier. “You might want to try it sometime.”
“No.”
Techno snorted. Dream looked exhausted, haunted, and the numerous scars made him look broken down, but he was still cracking jokes. There was a flutter of hope in Techno’s chest that one day his friend would be back. For now, however, he had to break some bad news.
“Y’know, I don’t know what I expected.” He pulled the chair forward, leaning on the table. “Alright, so we’re gonna be leavin’ soon. Ranboo’s on their way over. You’re gonna stay with him.”
“I know,” said Dream. The annoyance was thick in his voice. “I heard you.”
Techno laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck, and immediately deciding to deflect.
“Haaa, so you were pretendin’ to be asleep.”
“No.” Dream shifted in his seat, rolling his eyes, remaining foot thumping against the floor. “You were just, like, loud.”
“Alright, alright. I was just makin’ sure you’re okay with that,” Techno said, waving a hand.
“I’m—I’m not but like, it doesn’t matter.”
“I mean, it does, Dream, but I just want you to be safe, man.” Reaching out, Techno placed his hand on Dream’s arm squeezed. “You stay here and we’ll take care of the rest, okay?”
There was no answer and Techno took Dream’s hand, wrapping his fingers around it and giving it a slight shake. Dream rolled his eyes again but the corner of his mouth twitched.
“Okay, Dream?”
“Yeah, okay,” he said. “God, you’re so annoying…”
“And you’re so sweet, Dream.”
A knock on the door sounded from the other room and Techno gave Dream’s hand one final squeeze before he got to his feet.
“Time to go bring down another empire.”