Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Sapnap smacked his phone off of the table before it even rung twice. He didn’t know what time it was, and frankly, he didn’t care. He’d been deep in the throes of sleep and the sun was long gone, whoever was calling better have done so with a gun pointed at their head or he was gonna take them off his emergency numbers.

Ugh. Shit, it had to be something important. Karl and Quackity were in the other room, hogging the bed and forcing Sapnap to sleep on the couch in his own apartment, so it wasn’t either of them. Dream was up north so it was a bit earlier for him, and George—

Sapnap quickly sobered at the thought. He was tired, but not tired enough to mistake his dead friend for possibly crawling out of his urn and picking up a phone.

With a grunt, Sapnap hoisted himself forward and onto the carpeted ground between the couch and the far too close coffee table, grabbing his phone from where it’d fallen. He didn’t even check the number before answering, pressing the cold brick to his face as he lay bent over.

“Hello?” He mumbled, rubbing his eyes with one hand.

“Hey, Sapnap, hey!” Dream replied in a shout, far too loud for… whenever it was. It was too late or early for him to sound so awake. “Thank god you answered.”

“What do you want?”

“Do you—uh, are you still living in Montana?”

Dream was calling in the middle of the night to ask where he lived. Okay.

“Yeah,” Sapnap answered, slowly drawing himself up back onto the couch. “Why?”

"Can I—I need…" Dream sighed. "I need somewhere to crash for the night."

Sapnap paused, eyes idly staring forward at his dark wall, large curtains over the living room window keeping everything but the glow of his phone darker than the night sky.

Dream needed to stay at his place. That wasn’t that weird, it made sense that if Dream needed to go somewhere he would turn to Sapnap, but Dream lived hours away. And he had his own house.

Desperately, Sapnap hoped that this call wouldn’t reveal that Dream had burnt down his home and all his assets and was now begging Sapnap for help.

“M‘kay. Uh, Karl and Quackity are here right now, but you can sleep on the floor.” He chuckled.

Dream only hummed nervously in response, a dead silence taking hold of the conversation for more than a few moments.

That caught Sapnap’s attention to just how serious things may have been. 

Dream was never really one to jump between quiet and yelling, also stuck to one for a while, even if he had realized how late it was. Sapnap could recall hundreds of times where Dream had messed up and called him, ranting about how things were going. He was loud when he was annoyed, a complainer. He wasn’t one to hum and keep quiet.

Sapnap blinked, rubbing his eyes with one hand as he yawned. “Dream?”

“Yeah?”

“What’s going on?”

There was a loud pause, the crackle of the call’s static ringing in Sapnap’s ear. Dream sighed, a new tiredness in his words.

“I fucked up.”

Obviously. Obviously, or he wouldn’t have been calling Sapnap at an hour like this.

Sapnap groaned and leaned forward, going to speak before Dream beat him to it.

“Sapnap, I… I need you not to get mad at me until I’m done.”

Oh, so Dream had fucked up, fucked up. Just how bad was it that he thought Sapnap would get mad?

Sure, Sapnap didn’t think he was the calmest person, he had a tendency to be irascible if tired enough, but he wasn’t sure he could bring himself to be angry if Dream had gotten himself into a bad situation. Dream would probably have to confess to murder to get a real fury out of him.

“I won’t get mad,” Sapnap promised. “Just—what’s going on, man?”

“I…” Dream groaned, rushing into his words. ”I adopted a kid.”

Another pause, once more filled with static.

Sapnap misheard. Sapnap was exhausted, still half asleep, and his brain subbed in words. He must have been mistaken.

A beat. Then two.

Dream clicked his tongue. “Sapnap?”

Sapnap laughed sharply, starkly realizing he had very much heard those words come out of his friend’s mouth. “Hold on, what?”

“I adopted two kids, and it’s—I’ve been lying to you for… a few years.”

Years?

Years?

In just moments Sapnap had formed a brief idea of the situation, Dream panically adopting two kids, but as quick as it came, the idea was thrown right out the window. 

Dream had adopted kids. And it’d been years.

“You—what—when, when?”

Dream hesitated, choking on his words. “Well, I started the process not long before… George, and I got approved after! They’re brothers and they needed a home—”

“—Since the car crash?!”

“I meant to tell you!”

“Meant to?!” Sapnap shouted, flinching back at his own voice.

Sapnap was beginning to understand why Dream had tried to preface this story with a request for understanding. If this had been an ongoing lie for years, then Dream had had just how many chances to tell him?

What the fuck?

Sapnap was not ready for this. He’d been expecting… well, he didn’t know what he’d been expecting, but this wasn’t it!

“Look—please, I’ll explain everything soon, I just need a ride. I’m in a shitty motel with the younger kid and my car is fucked, and I can’t go home, and…” Dream stuttered over his words, his frustration and panic dripping down into something that sounded a lot like sadness, a cutting whine that Sapnap had only heard in Dream’s weakest moments. “I lost one of them, okay?”

Sapnap held his cheek in his hand, brushing against stubble as he ran his hand up to his dark hair dangling over his face. “Then find him.”

“No, no, I… he’s gone. He’s—fuck, he’s dead.”

Oh.

Dream had very much fucked up.

“I didn’t think he would…” Dream sighed. “Please. I just need you to pick me up and I need a place for the night, I’ll tell you everything.”

Sapnap should have said no. He should have demanded answers.

There had been a period of time, for four months after George’s death, where Dream had flat out disappeared. He’d visibly been at his lowest after the loss of their friend, and no matter who reached out after the funeral, Dream hadn’t replied. When he finally did get back to all of them with apologies for the ghosting and half-baked answers as to where he was, everyone had let it slide. All of their mutual friends had come to the conclusion that Dream was going through it the worst of them all, even more so than Sapnap. They were all just happy to have Dream back even if he now lived hours away.

Sapnap had been okay with the lack of answers, but knowing now that Dream had been, what, adopting kids? Sapnap had every right to ask for more information. Dream was at his mercy.

And yet, all he did was sigh, ever loyal to his friend.

“Where are you?”

Sitting in the back of Sapnap’s pickup was a very small kid. Tommy, as Dream had called him, was apparently six, though by his size Sapnap had thought much younger. He didn’t know much about kids though.

Tommy’s clothes were baggy and big in general, dirtied just enough to match his blond ratty hair. He was pale and his cheeks were sunken, and his eyes had bags Sapnap had never seen on a kid younger than fourteen. This six year old looked like he’d been up for days and been without food a lot longer. Kid looked like hell, and that wasn’t even taking into account the splint around his leg.

When Sapnap had first seen the state Tommy was in, he’d given Dream a rather sullen look, but he’d retracted it when he saw Dream didn’t look much better. His hair was a mess and grown out to his shoulders, his familiar eyes were cold and dim. Standing outside that motel in the glow of the neon vacancy sign, shoes muddied yet covered in snow, he looked pretty pathetic. 

When Dream had carried Tommy into the backseat of the truck, his hands had shaken like he was scared. Nervous and tense. 

It’d been too long since they’d met in person, maybe two years by this point, but this didn’t look like Sapnap’s friend. He sounded like him, but he didn’t move like him. He was withdrawn and quiet. Too quiet; he hadn’t explained a thing. 

Sapnap started driving and tried to keep the air comfortable by turning the radio on and keeping it low, but he noticed how Dream was staring ahead at the mostly empty roads like prey waiting to be pounced upon. 

He looked like knew exactly what Sapnap wanted to say. Sapnap wasn’t even sure he had anything to say besides a myriad of questions.

“So,” Sapnap began tiredly, sparing a glance at his rearview mirror. Tommy had fallen asleep in the back seat, his splinted leg up on the seat beside him. “You didn’t have a car seat?”

Dream paused. Sapnap looked at him as they pulled to a stop, watching the stoplight at the street corner in this random town in Idaho go from red to yellow to green as it shone on Dream’s face.

“No.”

“Okay—uh, do you have clothes?”

Another pause. “I didn’t pack.”

“Oh.”

This was weird. Even if Sapnap ignored how strange it was Dream suddenly had one kid and another dead one, it was weird that he was hours and a state away from where he lived, looking like hell.

"So, you gonna explain," Sapnap gestured with his hand, unsure what he should even point at. "This?"

Dream shifted slowly. "It's a lot."

"We have two hours, Dream, and I think I've earned an answer." Sapnap bit back.

"Okay, okay. I… I wanted to help people. I thought I'd be able to help some kids, y'know? Find them a home. After George, I just wanted to help."

Sapnap drummed his fingers against the wheel, listening intently. "I thought you filed to foster before."

"What?"

"You said you filed before George died."

Sapnap caught out of the corner of his eye how Dream knit his brow. "No—no, I didn't say that."

The car hummed as Sapnap tiredly turned the wheel, driving onto a small backroad highway. "I know you said that."

"No, I didn't."

"Dream, I have had two hours to think about the only things you told me, I know you—"

"I know what I said." Dream stressed. "You were delirious, you probably misheard."

Sapnap had been tired, but he had not been delirious. Why was Dream fighting him on this?

It was weird. Dream had no reason to lie. If he was already coming clean about years worth of lies, this was such a minute detail. 

Maybe Dream had misspoken or maybe Sapnap really had misheard.

It wasn't worth arguing, especially as Sapnap watched the clock click to five am.

"Fine, just—" Sapnap groaned. "Explain."

Dream nodded, taking a deep breath as he set his hands out on his lap. “Techno and Tommy came to me a few months after George died. I got approved quickly, I dunno. They were brothers and were coming from a really bad situation.”

Sapnap felt a twinge of anxiety in his stomach, eyes once more panning up to see the kid in his back seat. “How bad?”

“Abuse. More than enough for CPS. More than enough for… anyone, I guess. It wasn’t pretty.”

Sapnap had never really thought much about kids. He didn’t have any major plans to have any, but he’d once or twice entertained the idea. Of course, Karl and Quackity would have to have a say, and it would have to be once they were finally married and actually had a place together that fit with their jobs, so it was a ways away.

He knew that if he did have any, they’d become his whole world.

The pit growing in his stomach grew heavier as he thought about how someone could see their own child and turn against them.

“That’s shit.” He mumbled.

Dream nodded, continuing with a little hint of frustration lacing his words. “And Tommy was… well, not okay, but he was better. But it was Techno that was the problem.”

“What do you mean?” Sapnap flicked his blinker on.

“He was older, he threw fits and put ideas in Tommy’s head. Absolutely hated me, refused to believe I wanted what was best for him since he had to be taken from his parents to be somewhere safer.”

“He was a teenager?” Sapnap wasn’t sure he wanted to know the specifics of this kid’s death, but he was curious and it would be best if he knew. It would at least spare Dream from having to recount it to Karl and Quackity by the time they were back, though he knew neither of them would be satisfied without a full story.

Dream silently shook his head, his voice faltering as he clasped his hands together. “He was eight when I got him and… he died two weeks back. He killed himself.”

Sapnap was struck silent, the rumble of the car flooding his senses as he drove. In just one moment, the music seemed so much louder and the air so much colder.

Eight years old, and Dream had gotten him not long after George’s death, that would’ve made him twelve.

Sapnap’s throat tightened.

Twelve.

“I know I just said he was a bit of a problem, but I think he was really just suffering.” Dream spoke quickly, staring out at the darkness around them. “Whatever. We buried him but it was never gonna work out. Tommy hated being at home, and he refused to go anywhere since he’s terrified of cars—since that’s how—Techno grabbed the wheel and crashed the car when we went out one day, that’s how he… cut his own string.”

Sapnap just nodded, still in disbelief.

“Next thing I know, Tommy’s gone and thrown himself out of a tree and broken his leg!” Dream waved his hands out with an exasperated sigh.

This felt a little more familiar to Sapnap, the motions of his friend rambling about how life was always seemingly pointed against him. It helped him regain his composure, the shock of hearing that a twelve year old had been pushed to the point of suicide surpassing.

Dream let his head fall back against the headrest, his hair fluttering as he opened the window slightly and let air rush in.

Sapnap chewed at his lip, unsure what to say. They’d both lost a friend to a car accident but this death—it was anything but an accident.

“Man, I’m sorry, that’s awful, but… what are you doing out here?”

Sapnap waited as Dream stayed silent, watching a distant glowing city on the horizon pass by, the highway bringing them closer and closer to the border.

“Dream?”

Dream snapped up quickly, glancing back at Sapnap. “Sorry, what?”

Sapnap sighed, tensing and untensing his hands around the wheel. He recognized that dazed tone in Dream’s voice, nothing short of disassociation. Sapnap loved his friend, he would call Dream a brother, but damn if he wasn’t stupid at times. 

This was no different to the post-funeral level of stupidity. In fact, it added to that. Even repeating what had happened over to himself again, Sapnap felt… almost angry.

Dream had disappeared, ghosted everyone to the point where Sapnap had wondered if he had lost two friends that day, then suddenly reappeared with an apology but no explanation other than that he’d been ‘figuring things out’. And now Sapnap was to just accept that he’d been adopting kids?

It still felt weird. Sapnap knew that Dream was an idiot when it came to reaching out for help, but this was a lot. He could name a thousand reasons why he thought it was so strange, yet at the same time, Sapnap couldn’t think of an exact one.

He hated how skinny the kid in his backseat looked.

“I asked what you’re doing here.”

Dream shifted in his seat. “My house burned down. I have nothing and no car, I just got bus rides all day and crashed at that motel.”

“Your—” Sapnap slammed down on the breaks, the wheels screeching as the truck bucked to a stop.

“Sapnap!” Dream shouted in shock.

“Your house burned down?!”

“There could have been someone behind us!”

Sapnap slammed his hands down on the dashboard, a frustrated shout escaping him. “At five in the morning on a road in the middle of nowhere, really?!”

Dream struggled for a moment, his words falling flat as he grit his teeth.

“Dude, Dream, you don’t adopt kids, lose one of them, and then lose your house and all your possessions and not tell anyone! What the fuck, man?”

“I—really meant to tell you, but… I didn’t know how, I’d been lying for too long to come clean, but at the motel I just started having a panic attack and I didn’t know what else to do. You’re my friend, Sapnap, I thought you’d be a bit more accepting.”

“I am your friend, dude! You’ve just completely fucked me up with this. It’s weird and it’s not like you.” Sapnap furrowed his brow, a desperate panic behind his confusion and anger.

His words hung heavy in the quiet car, and he tried to speak and demand more answers to questions Dream had already given shitty ones to, but a whining hum from somewhere else in the car cut him off.

Sapnap and Dream both snapped their eyes to the backseat, where Tommy was now very much awake. Even in the darkness of a barely dawning sky, Sapnap could see the dashboard’s lights reflecting off the wet rims of the kid’s eyes. He was whining softly as he looked between Sapnap and Dream, drawing his good leg up to his chest.

Awkwardly, Dream’s face twisted into a smile, something unpracticed and unsure.

“Hey, Tommy. It’s okay, nothing’s wrong. We’re just having a little loud talk.”

Sapnap gave a tightlipped smile, nodding along. If there was one thing worse than dealing with Dream right now, it would be dealing with a crying kid.

“Yeah, yeah, we’re fine!” Sapnap said, waving his hand with the hope that that would come across as friendly.

Tommy’s lip quivered as he stopped looking between them, settling for staring at Dream.

Sapnap lowered his voice, gently bumping Dream with his shoulder. “There’s no cars, just go hop in the back with him.”

“What?” Dream whispered back, turning his head.

“You should sit with him, I dunno. It might make him feel better.”

Dream paused, looking between Sapnap and Tommy for just a few moments before he nodded and stepped out of the car. 

Tensely, Sapnap watched Dream slide in beside the kid. Tommy almost looked more upset as Dream buckled himself in, but he stayed quiet as he was laid against Dream’s side. Dream raised a hand and pressed it into his ratty hair, whispering words that Sapnap couldn’t hear to him but seemed to keep Tommy calm.

Sapnap looked back at the road, pressing down on the gas and tolerating the rest of the silent ride back to his apartment. The radio kept playing the whole way.

Despite his attempts to fall asleep as soon as they got back to his place, Sapnap couldn’t keep his eyes closed. There was a large window in the only other closed room in the apartment, where Sapnap had set up a bed for himself—a pillow and a blanket—and the bright dawn sun was enough to keep him awake. He never did understand how people could nap during the day.

By the time he dragged himself into the living room, one arm held up to block the sunlight shining in, he knew he wasn’t getting much more sleep.

He scanned the large open room quickly, from the hall he’d just walked out of to the front door at the far end to the kitchen right beside him to the living room just ahead. By the tufts of blond hair he could see peeking over the back of the couch, Tommy was probably still wrapped up in a blanket with his leg sticking out as he slept. Strangely, as he walked over to check on the kid, Dream wasn’t there.

Sapnap didn’t think much of it, figuring Dream was in the bathroom or something, and he marched back across the carpeted room over to the small kitchen and began to brew himself a pot of coffee.

With his bare feet on the cold tiled floor, his hands pressed against the counter, and the scent of burning beans to accompany him, Sapnap could safely say this was one of the weirdest mornings he’d ever had. He’d never had a barely-older-than-a-toddler kid sleep on his couch before.

Slowly, the coffee brewed and quietly beeped. Sapnap grabbed a mug and set it down with a clink, reaching back for the pot.

A door creaked open and Sapnap leaned back, glancing down the diagonal hall and spotting his beloved fiance tiredly marching towards him, his pyjamas just a bit too big as he always liked them.

“Morning,” Sapnap smiled, taking a sip from his mug.

Karl grumbled quietly, his eyes still half shut as he walked into the kitchen. He blinked and ran a hand over his face, lighting up when he saw Sapnap. “Oh, there’s the love of my life.”

Sapnap couldn’t fight the blush spreading across his cheeks, a burning feeling of affection in his chest. Karl moved closer, always touchy and huggy in the mornings, and Sapnap shifted his arm out to let Karl curl up at his side.

Karl grabbed the coffee pot and sighed contently, lifting it up to his face as he side-stepped Sapnap. “Hmm…”

Ah. The love of his life. The coffee.

“Oh, hey Sapnap.”

Sapnap greeted him back slowly, watching the little playful smirk on Karl’s face grow larger as he took a sip directly from the pot. Karl cringed after just one sip, pulling it away from his lips with a gag.

“Ugh, it’s so sour.”

“It’s dark.” Sapnap chuckled. Karl just shook his head and reached up to the cupboards, pulling out the sugar and beginning to pour it in scoop by scoop. “Save some for Quackity.”

Karl rolled his eyes. “He kicked me too many times for coffee.”

Sapnap laughed once more as Karl carried his pot of sugar laced with coffee away, marching over to the fridge and opening it.

“You don’t have any sweetener?”

“I like coffee for the taste, not the caffeine.” Sapnap gave Karl a tired look, watching as his fiance frowned knowingly and closed the fridge door.

Sapnap leaned against the counter as Karl yawned, stretching one arm up as he made his way over to the couch. Maybe it was a little sappy, but Sapnap found himself endeared by the sight.

Watching sleepily from behind the kitchen island as the man he loved went about his morning, deep brown hair shining against the soft and bright rising sun, his eyes nearly glowing golden in the light. 

In most cases, Sapnap never liked how open his apartment was, one big living room with a couch and tables and a TV and far too many things to name, the kitchen with only an island separating it from the rest, and the halls at either end leading to the bedroom, bathroom, and guest room that was basically empty. The floor to ceiling windows in the living room always brought in too much light, but now, Sapnap couldn’t find himself caring.

This could be his life. It would be his life in just a few years, whenever he and Quackity and Karl finally settled in a house and sorted out Sapnap’s stupid job requiring he lived within five miles of the nearest office. It would be a life he had never really dreamed of, always thinking he’d spend his life with his friends as a football star, but Sapnap loved it. And he was with friends, lovers, fiances. Karl and Quackity were his everything, really.

Karl sighed, breathing deep as he closed his eyes and sat down on the couch. Then, with a scream, he shot right up and jumped back, nearly tripping over his own feet and tossing the pot of coffee into Sapnap’s TV as he scampered back.

“What?” Sapnap snapped into action, setting his mug down on the island as he ran across the room.

“I just—there’s—I sat on—there’s a kid!” Karl shouted, pointing at the sofa.

Sure enough, Sapnap realized that Karl wasn’t the only one making panicked whines. He had completely and utterly blanked and forgotten that there was a kid on his couch despite seeing him minutes ago.

Sapnap hurried around the couch, sucking a breath through his teeth as he made eye contact with Tommy, face scrunched into a scowl as he held his good leg against his chest like before.

Sapnap forced a smile, gently raising his hands. He didn’t know how kids worked but they had to appreciate calmness, right?

“Hey, Tommy.” Sapnap awkwardly drew his words out, watching as Karl slowly turned to look at him.

“Sapnap, do you know this kid?”

“Uh—well—yeah! He’s… Dream’s kid. And Dream is also here, somewhere.”

Based on the way Karl’s face dropped to an expression Sapnap could only describe as being between disbelief and a loud shout of ‘what the fuck?’, Sapnap had a guess that his explanation was not the best.

“Wh—Dream has a kid?!”

“He’s not my dad!” Tommy shouted, getting both Karl and Sapnap’s attention. Those were probably the first proper words the kid had spoken since they’d met hours ago. 

Tommy’s face was red as he tightly gripped the blanket over his upper body, eyes shining like he was on the verge of tears once more. He still looked like the same exhausted kid, but as he stomped his foot down on the couch, he definitely felt more alive.

Sapnap looked between Karl and Tommy for more than a few seconds before he chuckled awkwardly.

“Uh—one second, Tommy.” Sapnap reached over and grabbed Karl by the arm, dragging him across the room and into the kitchen. Of course, with no real separation, there was no way Tommy couldn’t hear them at least a little, so Sapnap tried to keep his voice low.

Karl bent in as Sapnap made a huddle-esque shape with the two of them, his brow furrowed as he started at Sapnap.

“Dude—”

“—Dream called me a few hours ago, he needed a ride. It’s fucking weird but he adopted a kid and he lost his house and he needs a place to stay.” Sapnap explained, omitting several details that admittedly weren't that important for the time being.

Karl followed Sapnap’s lead of a more hushed tone, though it was clear he was at a loss. “So he just—hang on, he adopted? When?!”

“A few years ago.” Sapnap said stiltedly.

Karl gaped silently, words crackling in the back of his throat as Sapnap just nodded in understanding. This was a lot to learn, and it was too much to learn before eight in the morning.

“Yeah, uh. That’s a thing. And Tommy is very jumpy and I think Dream said he’s a flight risk or whatever, so we have to keep him calm.”

“Where is Dream?” Karl questioned, snapping his head around the room.

“Uh, I think… he’s probably in the bathroom. ‘Cause he slept out here with Tommy, so… yeah, he’s gotta be in there.”

Quickly turning towards the hall past the living room, Karl began to march off, muttering under his breath about how this was Dream’s kid, and therefore his problem.

Sapnap sighed as he stood up straight, cracking his knuckles. He knew Dream had an explanation for this, but with every passing minute and especially having to explain it to someone else, he was starting to feel like things were far more weird than he was making them out to be.

Sapnap trusted his friend, he knew Dream. He’d known him since they were kids barely coming up to their parents’ hips. He, George, and Dream; they’d been brothers a long time and friends a lot longer. And sure there were additions to their friend group like Karl and Quackity and Charlie and however many others—mostly just people Sapnap branched out to, actually—but at the end of the day, Dream and Sapnap were connected.

It wasn’t like Dream to lie and especially not about something of this calibre, something involving kids' lives.

So maybe Dream was withholding a few details but Sapnap was going to let it slide.

Hesitantly, Sapnap walked back over to his coffee, now chilled, and downed the rest of it. He had a feeling he was either going to crash at any moment or that this day was never going to end, so better safe than sorry. 

If he were more focused on himself in that moment, Sapnap was sure he’d be able to feel a pounding in his skull. Fortunately, as a voice called out from behind him, Sapnap was able to turn away from his impending headache.

“What are you guys yelling about?” Quackity yawned, his dark slippers slapping against the floor as he walked into the kitchen and over to the island.

Sapnap couldn’t even manage a sigh, simply turning to face Quackity and setting his mug back down. His fiance looked even more exhausted than he did, his dark hair a mess and his eyes barely staying open long enough for him to glare at Sapnap as he noticed the lack of a coffee pot. It was still… wherever Karl had put it down.

“Long story,” Sapnap chuckled. “Dream has a kid and now he and the kid are here.”

Much like Karl, Quackity’s face dropped as he appeared stunned silent for a moment. Before he too could get his turn at shouting out questions, Karl ran back across the apartment in a panic.

“Guys, there's a bit of a problem.” Karl’s words fell out in a rush. “Dream’s not here.”

“What?” Sapnap held back a shout.

Dream wasn’t in the apartment? What the hell was going on? There was no way he’d take off, especially not after Sapnap picked him up and offered him this much hospitality for something he needed to explain in a lot more detail. 

Sapnap took a deep breath, settling his worries as he looked over at his fiances. Dream probably was just getting something to eat and didn’t want to take Sapnap’s stuff or he was shopping—considering his house burnt down and he lost all his possessions, it would make a bit of sense, but he couldn’t have waited until Sapnap could have driven him around to stores? 

Unfortunately, Sapnap couldn’t relay his ideas to his fiances as from across the room, Tommy’s squeaky voice broke the silence.

“He’s not here?” Tommy asked softly, almost unsurely as he kneeled on the couch and stared over the back.

Sapnap started to walk towards Tommy and offer some comfort and reassurance that he was in no danger and that his dad would be back soon, but Tommy immediately lit up. 

“He’s gone! And I’m with people! Okay, uh—there’s stuff I’m… supposed to tell you.”

“Did Dream tell you where he was going?” Quackity asked, following Sapnap over to the living room.

Tommy shook his head. “No, it’s what Techno always tells me to say, that—uh… I was kidnapped! And so was he, and… um, the green guy is, like, super mean. Like he hurts us! He’s a dick!”

Tommy continued despite the awkward stares he was getting, slowly but surely listing off any detail he could—his full name, his brother’s full name, his birthday. It was a bit strange, but the sheer confusion fogging Sapnap’s brain was enough to block his mind from the fact that as Tommy did his best to rattle off a phone number, the kid seemed to be growing quieter. His pauses were growing more frequent.

“And we live… in… a city. Somewhere that starts with, like, an L.” As it became clear that the name was lost on Tommy, the boy’s eyes drifted down. Slightly, just slightly, Sapnap noticed the way his lip was starting to twitch as he couldn’t say what he wanted to.

Sapnap could deal with a kid, he could even deal with a crying kid with Karl and Quackity’s help—but he could not deal with a crying kid without said kid’s guardian around.

“Tommy—”

“—I’ll get it!” Tommy shouted, drawing his shoulders up. “I know it! Techno made sure I know it, ‘cause I can’t forget ‘cause I need to tell it to people… so that they can take us away from him.”

As Tommy continued to stumble over himself with a shake in his voice, it was clear to Sapnap that Tommy wasn’t going to do anything but upset himself; he wasn’t going to remember whatever he was trying to say.

Sapnap sat on the couch, watching as Tommy tapped his hands together but failed to find his words. Karl and Quackity sat on Tommy’s left slowly, also following along as Tommy stalled. His words faltered into nothing, and annoyingly enough, his groans of frustration turned into quiet sniffles. 

“I’m supposed to remember.” He whined. “Techno always made me remember!”

Sapnap glanced at his fiances in the hopes that they’d have something of an idea on what to do. All Karl did was shrug as Quackity mouthed “who’s Techno?”, a question that Sapnap didn’t really want to answer considering Tommy was already in tears.

Not sure what else to do, Sapnap shyly reached out his hand and set it on Tommy’s shoulder. “Hey, hey, buddy. Dream’ll be back soon, okay? Maybe he remembers what Techno wanted to say.”

Techno had wanted Tommy to say they were kidnapped—that Dream hurt them; Tommy had communicated that easily.

Sapnap was choosing to ignore that for the time being. The implications—or more rather the flat out meaning—were a bit too much.  Not to mention, if Sapnap’s hazy memories of a few hours ago served him, Dream had said that Techno had hated him and had made Tommy hate him in turn. This was probably just Tommy following Techno’s example of acting out.

Poor kid. It was a damn shame that some adults had decided that these two kids should have a fucked up future just because they wanted to hurt them. And though he couldn’t blame a twelve year old abuse victim, it was frustrating that Techno’s lack of trust in Dream carried through to his brother.

Despite Sapnap’s words of comfort which Karl was now echoing too, moving closer to the kid, Tommy almost appeared to be growing worse. Tears dripped from his eyes as he gripped his calf tightly, pressing his forehead against his knee.

“I’m supposed to remember…”

“You’re gonna be fine, buddy. When Dream—”

Tommy snapped his head back up, red faced as he glared at Sapnap. “—I don’t want Dream back! Make him stay away!”

Tommy’s voice cracked and Sapnap’s heart begged to crack in turn. He wasn’t a softie, he wasn’t some guy who got pushed around by a kid, but damn him if he didn’t feel bad when someone so small was crying for his help.

"He's gonna help you," Sapnap said after a moment, looking up once more at Karl and Quackity for help. Karl returned his nervous look as he awkwardly repeated Sapnap's reassurances once more, but Tommy let out a loud sob at the words and the group fell silent. Every effort to calm this kid down only made it worse. Tommy let go of his leg, now furiously rubbing the tears from his cheeks.

Quackity took a deep breath as he slid off the couch, settling down on his knees in front of Tommy. He glanced at the cast around the boy’s leg for a moment, a clear flicker of worry passing through his expression, but he didn't say anything about it as he reached his hands out slowly to grab Tommy’s.

"Tommy, kiddo, what's got you so upset?"

Tommy sobbed loudly, still holding his head down. He was quiet, enough so that Sapnap thought he wasn’t going to speak, but after a while, he did.

"I miss Techno, and—and—and he would know what to do. And I just wanna go home and now… and he always watches the nature show with me but now he's gone and we can't do that anymore!"

Tommy yanked his hands back from Quackity and pressed his palms into his eyes with a whine.

Sapnap was an only kid, but he understood Tommy's grief of losing someone so close. Sapnap had barely been able to look at his car for a week after George's accident, his mind wandering to his friend.

Thing was, Sapnap was an adult. George dying had been awful, probably the worst experience of his life, but he'd had time to process, a safety net in the form of his friends and professional help. Sometimes accidents happened and Sapnap was learning to live with it.

Tommy was a lonely foster kid with a dead brother, no close family, and no trusted relationships. 

Sapnap's heart burned at the fact that some dumb fuck adult had ever even thought about laying a hand on this kid. Just how bad had it been to drive to other kid to suicide? Had Tommy ever gotten to be happy with his brother while with Dream, or had the trauma carried through and ruined any chance at having a good childhood?

Oh, Sapnap had a long list of people he would beat the shit out if if it weren't illegal, and Tommy's parents were rising. With every sad look on the kid’s face, those dicks grew closer to beating out the drunk driver who'd hit George for the top spot.

After a moment, Sapnap realized just how quickly he’d been endeared. It was a bit ridiculous, but given the circumstances, Sapnap was okay with it. 

Quackity glanced up at Sapnap, offering a confused look.

"Techno?" He mouthed.

"Brother." Sapnap mouthed back. "Dead."

Quackity winced silently at the answer, looking back at Tommy. After a moment, he seemed to figure out his approach. Sapnap was pretty sure he knew what Quackity was doing, trying to detect the kid's attention elsewhere.

"You said you two watched a show?"

"Every Saturday at eight." Tommy mumbled.

"Well, that's soon! Like, in a few minutes. We could watch it together, huh?"

Tommy raised his eyes slowly, staring down Quackity as he did seem to consider it for a few moments.

After this consideration, Tommy furrowed his brow.

"You're not cool like Techno."

Quackity quickly feigned offence, raising his hand up to his chest as gasped.

"Not cool?" Quackity leaned closer to Tommy, narrowing his eyes as he pointed at his face. "You see this scar, Tommy? I got it fighting a tiger."

That seemed to get Tommy's attention. The boy kept his eyes forward, scanning over Quackity's scar.

"Really?" He asked after a moment, his voice meek, almost impressed.

"Yeah, yeah, c'mon—" Quackity stood and waved his hand, pushing Sapnap gently as he shoved himself into the space between him and Tommy. "Oh, this is one hell of a story, lemme tell you. It all started when I was a young boy, no older than you, and I was living in with a circus troupe."

Sapnap smiled against his will, always charmed by Quackity's fast wit, especially with twisting things to be far more dramatic. He'd heard the story of Quackity’s cat Tiger scratching his face when he was four too many times to even entertain this telling of the story, but he did anyway just for a minute, watching Tommy’s expression grow more interested. 

As Karl took Tommy's calmer state as a sign of their victory, he stood and Sapnap followed after him as they returned to the kitchen, letting Quackity take control of the situation.

"We should call Dream." Karl said after a minute, fiddling with the now empty coffee pot. When on earth had he drunk the rest of it?

"Yeah, tell him to get his ass here." Sapnap muttered. Karl sighed and stepped away, likely going to grab his phone and make the call.

Not sure what else to do without Dream around, Sapnap looked up at his cupboards and sighed. Hesitantly, he started making breakfast.

A lion leapt through the tall grass of the Sahara, dashing across the dry landscape towards its unsuspecting prey. In just one second, a gazelle was sprinting, but it was no match for the lion's lead.

"Ew! Gross!" Tommy shouted as blood splattered across the screen, though it sounded much more like a cheer.

From where he stood behind the couch, Sapnap chuckled at the sight of the six year old covered in a blanket, holding a bowl of cereal in his hands as he leaned towards the TV with such excitement, watching an animal die.

He laughed a little less when guts, torn and bloodied and half eaten, appeared centre screen.

"Eh—is this appropriate?"

Karl shrugged, humming an “I don’t know,” through a mouthful of eggs.

“It’s fine, it’s nature. It can’t be inappropriate.” Quackity waved his hand. “Real stuff like this happens all the time.”

Tommy’s expression faltered at that, and he quickly turned to look at Quackity with a pensive stare.

“Wait, this is real? Those are real animals?”

"Well, yeah. It's just recorded stuff from—wherever this is." Quackity replied.

"But—but, then that antle-lope really died."

Sapnap paled quickly, shooting a glance at Quackity. Quackity too looked struck with fear.

"No, no!" Quackity reassured, an apprehensive smile crossing his face. "The—the animals are animated when they… fight. They're recorded when they're just playing around and stuff, so, no real animals are dead..." 

Tommy thankfully seemed to believe Quackity's white lie, going back to watching the show and shoving spoonfuls of cheerios into his mouth.

After a minute, Tommy spoke once more. "You guys are really cool. I'm never allowed to eat on the couch!"

"I wasn't either as a kid." Sapnap yawned, walking around to the front of the couch and slotting himself between his fiances.

"Spill on my couch again and you won't be allowed to as an adult either." Karl mumbled, his voice light but a sharp edge to it.

Sapnap rolled his eyes, finding himself too tired to repeat the familiar and playful argument of how he only spilled twice and how they were currently at Sapnap's apartment so there was no threat to Karl's precious furniture.

Tommy continued loudly, his good leg swinging absently. "It's cool that you guys eat on the couch too. Uh—Dream?—Dream never eats anywhere but the table 'cause he's a daft bitch. Doesn't see the genius of sitting at a couch. It's so much better!"

With a snort, Quackity slapped a hand over his mouth and turned his head away. Sapnap wanted to give him a little shove and tell him to stop encouraging the kid, but he had a feeling if he tried to speak he'd laugh too. Either Dream needed to get a filter or somebody needed to supervise Tommy's TV usage.

Eventually Sapnap breathed his laugh out, raising his hand and giving Tommy a pat on the head over Quackity’s shoulder.

"It's 'cause we're awesome. We're like your cool uncles."

"Ugh, don't call us that." Quackity groaned.

"Why not?"

"It makes us sound… I don't know, old. We're more—we're his godfathers! Yeah, we're like godfathers, 'cause, y'know, the Mafia and all that. We're cool."

Sapnap rolled his eyes, setting his plate down in his lap. "Yeah, sure. We're your self appointed godfathers."

Tommy glanced up at Sapnap and smiled. He had such a bright look on his face, the sunlight shining on his golden hair, and Sapnap couldn't help but return the smile. The kid was nice, nothing like how he was hours ago. He looked a lot less sickly in the natural light.

Slowly, the minutes ticked by. Karl slumped back more and more until he was completely pressed up against Sapnap, using him for support to stay upright. Quackity quickly followed Karl’s lead, though to a less extreme extent. 

Sapnap simply sighed and put his arms around his fiances, enjoying the moment. Really, it wasn't all that different to a slower morning for the trio. They were sitting on the couch as they watched a show, eating scrambled eggs and waffles, leaning up against each other. The animals chasing each other on the TV and the six year old resting against Quackity were new, but it was still nice.

Eventually, as the credits started to play, Sapnap turned his head just in time to see Quackity, clearly despite himself, coo.

"Guys, he fell asleep." He whispered softly. 

Sapnap followed Quackity’s eyes to where Tommy was, eyes closed and a peaceful expression on his face as he laid against Quackity's side.

Sapnap smiled softly, reaching out to take Tommy's empty bowl from him.

“Yeah, yeah, he’s a kid ‘n all,” Karl muttered, waving one hand dismissively. “But when is Dream getting back? Also, where is he?”

“Didn’t he pick up when you called?” Sapnap asked, to which Karl shook his head. 

“He’s got his phone turned off or something.” He sighed, pausing for a moment as Quackity grabbed the remote from the back of the couch and flicked the TV off. “Guys, Dream wouldn’t just stick us with his kid and disappear, right?”

“No way.” Quackity laughed, keeping his voice uncharacteristically quiet. “That’d be fucking insane.”

“Yeah, he’s probably just getting some food or something.”

Karl paused once more. “For, like, an hour and a half? I mean, we don’t even know when he left.”

Sapnap shrugged. “If he’s walking, maybe it’s a far away place. He’ll be back guys, just wait.”

Karl and Quackity seemed to share a glance, but Sapnap ignored it in favour of taking their dishes to the sink. He knew Dream more than anyone, Dream would never dump a kid on them and take off. Firstly, that would just be a dumb move on his part, and that just wasn’t a thing Dream would do. Sure, he’d spent the last four years lying to them about a lot of shit, but Sapnap knew Dream; he trusted him and Dream had earned that trust after years and years of bonding and friendship.

Sapnap set the plates and bowl down with a sigh. He glanced at the microwave, staring at the time.

Dream would be back soon.

True to Sapnap’s belief, the door handle flicked back and forth for a moment before it creaked open and Dream returned long after noon. He was holding several bags and somehow looked significantly more tired than he had before, if that was even possible.

Dream closed the door behind him with his foot and slid out of his shoes, moving towards the counter with his bags.

“Afternoon,” Sapnap greeted, finding a bit of joy in how Dream jumped. Had he not seen him sitting at the island?

“God—don’t do that, you’re gonna kill me.”

"Hey Dream." Quackity spoke up from across the apartment where he was sitting on the couch, raising one arm and waving his hand back. Karl, at his side, waved as well. "We're showing Tommy Glee, I think he likes it."

Karl laughed. "He hasn't let us get up."

Tommy didn't say anything, but Sapnap shrugged it off. The kid was a bit weird and clearly had a pretty bad view of Dream. He was sweet to Sapnap and Karl and Quackity, but he clearly didn't exactly trust Dream. It must've been whatever his brother ingrained in him.

Dream's face softened from the stiff expression Sapnap hadn't even noticed. Come to think of it, he looked exhausted in so many different ways—physically, mentally. He had looked exhausted before, but it was clear he was worse now. Walking around all day could do that to you.

Dream lifted his bags up and carried them over to the island, setting them down next to Sapnap as he grabbed a stool. Sapnap turned away from his notebook of scribbled tax calculations and looked at his friend with a half glare, half knowing stare. Dream just pursed his lips, once more waiting for whatever Sapnap had to say.

Sapnap didn’t give Dream the peace of getting a minute to settle. "Dude, where have you been all day?"

Dream sighed, quickly collecting himself and his answer. "I'm sorry, really. I didn't mean to be out that long. I just wanted to buy some stuff—and I got lost and I thought there'd be, like, no one because it's morning but there were people and I got stuck behind this one dude—I swear I meant to get back, I just needed clothes and—and everything! I mean, I don't own a single item to my name! And—and…" Dream groaned, letting his head fall forward and onto Sapnap's shoulder.

Sapnap’s expression fell, feeling Dream’s hair brushing against his shirt. “Dream, it’s okay. I just wish you would’ve told me, I could’ve driven you.”

“No, no—because you were going to sleep, and I didn’t—I already bothered you.”

“I didn’t even end up sleeping, man, you could’ve…” Sapnap sighed heavily, tossing an arm up and over Dream’s shoulder, giving him a little pat on the back. “It’s okay, I’m not, like, pissed but it would’ve been nice if you told us you were going out. I mean, what if Tommy has an allergy or something and we fed him something he can’t eat?”

Dream sunk further into Sapnap’s shoulder, a short huff escaping him. “I’m really sorry, Sapnap. My mind’s been all… I haven’t been thinking right lately. It’s all been a lot… god, it’s starting to be too much.”

Sapnap wasn’t angry really, just a bit frustrated, but he lost that little hint of a flame at the sorrow dripping off of Dream’s voice.

He couldn’t imagine the haze in Dream’s head. Losing a kid, having to take care of the other one while the boy suffered through the loss of his only close family, and then just losing everything else, plus how exhausted he must have been all the time—Dream was never very good at reaching out for help, it was a bit of a miracle that he did more than complain to Sapnap.

Slowly, Sapnap scooted his stool closer, pulling Dream properly into his arms. It felt good to feel him breathe gently. Truly, the two never were together enough for Sapnap’s liking, though Karl was enough to fulfil Dream’s clingy tendencies twice over.

“I’m sorry about all of this, dude. Techno and everything, it… it’s a lot of serious shit.” 

Dream didn’t say anything but he didn’t pull away, resting for just a moment. 

Sapnap continued slowly, a bit more cautiously. “And, uh… I know you’re in a tough spot but Karl and Quackity and I are all still kinda waiting for an explanation of, like, a lot of this.”

At that Dream, raised his head and sat back up hesitantly, giving a little nod. Sapnap smiled, patting his friend on the shoulder and turning to call over his fiances.

“So where are you going to go?” Quackity asked, biting into his sandwich as he leaned a bit forward, resting his elbow on the table.

Dream shrugged. He kept his gaze low, staring down at his plate of his ordered lunch of Chinese takeout. He spun his noodles around with his fork, as if unsure what to do. “I was thinking about getting a motel for a few nights, but… there’s no long term plan.”

Sapnap paid Dream’s uncertainty no mind, enjoying the meal. He wasn’t one for ordering in but no one had exactly wanted to cook anything and it would have been annoying to make sandwiches with four cooks. Quackity was nice enough to make one for himself, the others fine with takeout, and he made one for Tommy too, who took it and immediately returned to his Glee watching-spree on the couch.

Sapnap was glad, Tommy didn’t seem to want to be around Dream right now, preferring his new favourite show. It made it a lot easier for Dream to explain the adoption, the death, the fire, and the mess that was the past four years of his life without one of the kids directly involved hovering around. Granted Sapnap could see Tommy’s hair over the back of the couch, but Dream was soft with his words. He did really seem to care that Tommy wasn’t forced to hear this stuff over and over again.

“Y’know,” Karl began, leaning back in his seat. “Quackity and I are moving to that little town in Idaho and there are a lot of houses for sale there. They don’t cost all that much.”

Quackity nodded excitedly. “Yeah, and you and Tommy lived pretty far from town, right? ‘Cause the firefighters took a long time. It’s pretty rural, he might feel more at home there.”

Dream hummed softly, glancing up. “Is there much out there?” 

“It’s small but it’s a nice place.” Sapnap mumbled. He really did like the town, the people seemed nice and though it was probably smaller than anywhere he’d ever lived, he liked the vibe. If luck served Sapnap, he’d be able to move out there sooner rather than later. He hated that just to see each other, either he or Karl and Quackity would have to drive for hours.

After a moment, Dream smiled, setting his fork down.

“Yeah,” he mumbled. “Rural sounds nice. Private.” 

Sapnap smiled back, glad to hear that maybe he’d be able to see his friend more often.

And hell, maybe Tommy would turn out to be a bonus. Sapnap sorta liked the kid.