Chapter Text
“I have a surprise for you~ come here!” Dream’s tone was always too happy when he said things like that, it was sickening and sweet, but still Tommy knew better than not to listen.
Dream was standing near the nether portal. It was smashed but Tommy would still sit in the frame, the obsidian was nice. Heavy armour covered every part of Dream’s body. He had brought two horses with him today, one with red leather armour, the other in diamond. Tommy could guess which was his.
When Tommy had first seen the horses, he was confused. Dream didn’t usually bring him things to keep. He learnt later in the day that it was because they were going on a trip. It was around midday and they had spent most of the morning packing and preparing.
Tommy still didn’t know where they were going. Maybe he should pay attention more to what he says. It’s not like Tommy didn’t want to pay attention, his mind just seemed to wander or blur. Oftentimes he would stare at clouds in the sky for hours on end before Dream brought him back to reality. At least he no longer woke up in the middle of the ocean. That stopped a couple months into his exile. Or was it weeks?
The boy moved towards Dream. He felt the wind against his face, it was always windy in the afternoons, something about the ocean, he hadn’t paid attention when Dream explained it. His eyes were grey and dull. They had been for quite some time. He felt the sand beneath his feet, the only pair of shoes he did own were riddled with so many holes, there was no point in wearing them.
Tommy looked up at Dream, hopeful, but he didn’t smile. He never smiled anymore. Maybe that’s why Dream had decided to do this, the thoughts were going through his mind when Dream began to talk again, “this is for you kid,” There it was again, that patronising tone. Tommy was 15! He didn’t need to be spoken to like a child. Dream then shoved something into his hands. His behaviour was still light, but it was clear there was no debating this.
So Tommy looked down at what was in his hands. A mask. Quite similar to Dream’s, though his had a frown, not a smile. Tommy hummed, amused by the frown, reflecting his own face. He couldn’t remember the last time he smiled.
Dream had something else with him as well. Tommy slipped the mask onto his face, not letting it cover his mouth, mirroring Dream. The older man helped adjust it, so it sat more comfortably. Tommy didn’t say a word until he was sure the man was finished.
“Is that for me…?” His voice barely reached above a whisper as he gestured to the other thing that Dream was holding. Some sort of red cloth.
Tommy’s voice barely went above a whisper anymore. When it did, his voice would come out croaky and cracked. If he tried, Dream would just tell him his voice was annoying, and Tommy would go back to whispering.
Dream chuckled and Tommy got worried he was wrong. That it wasn’t for him and that he was going to be punished for thinking something so selfish, “yes this was the second part of my surprise Toms.”
Tommy let out a breath of relief. It never didn’t make his stomach flip when Dream called him Toms though. It was a name he preferred to be reserved for Wilbur. Dream had started using it some time near the start of exile. At first Tommy got angry and upset when he would do this. Slowly though, he got used to it, and he knew better now anyway.
Dream draped the strange cloth on top of Tommy’s arms. Tommy hugged it tight. It wasn’t often that he was given new pieces of clothing. The slight tilt of Dream’s head told Tommy he needed to put it on. So he held it out and saw what it was.
A cloak. The same as Dream’s, but red. The clip that held it together on the front had a small smile on it. Tommy noticed this immediately, he and Dream were allies now, so it made sense. Gold outline around the hood itself and the cloak. Not real gold surely. Dream wouldn’t waste real gold on him. The fabric was nice. Nicer than anything he’d ever owned. He carefully took off Wilbur’s jacket, and gently wrapped the cloak around himself. When he had finally clipped it together at the front and it was on properly, he looked back up at Dream.
The cloak only covered the top half of his body. It looked out of place with his ripped jeans and dirty feet, and it would look even more out of place if you could see his shirt. Ripped, dirty, barely salvageable. Even his face was dirty. His hands were dirty. He was dirty.
“One last surprise kid,” Dream smiled down at Tommy before walking away a bit.
The man reached for something in his horse's pack. He pulled out a box, and handed it to Tommy. Worriedly the boy opened it being careful not to damage anything inside. Inside was a new pair of pants, black, pockets on either side for potions; a skin tight black turtleneck, it was long sleeved, reaching his wrists; a pair of fingerless gloves; socks; and finally a pair of boots.
A new pair of shoes. Tommy felt his eyes begin to tear up as he tried to splurt out how he was feeling. Overwhelmed, overjoyed, excited, happy, or all of the above? He couldn’t articulate his mind, so instead he just let the tears fall and he looked up at Dream in shock.
Dream just smiled once more and ruffled the kid’s hair. Albeit roughly, Dream guided Tommy towards his tent. Tommy looked up at Dream once more, he had to make sure this was his. That he had new clothes. That he wouldn’t look so broken anymore.
“Go on. Get changed.” Dream chuckled as he managed to nudge Tommy inside the tent.
The moment Tommy was inside he collapsed onto the ground. Everything was so much. He picked himself up and scooped Will’s jacket up. He placed it carefully in his enderchest. Ranboo had given it to him. The enderchest, that is, the jacket, he took from the wreckage after the 16th.
He placed the new mask on his bed… blanket… the place where he slept. He rubbed his eyes and pinched himself, this wasn’t a dream. He chuckled a little at the idea, given Dream was the one who gave him the clothes.
He looked down at the new clothes that Dream had given him. He had entered this tent as Tommyinnit. The question was, was he going to leave as him too? This was the complete opposite of his style, everything was made for a purpose. Nothing was out of place, it was all so perfect. It was an exact reflection of Dream’s outfit, minus the armour of course.
Tommy took a deep breath and finally started getting changed. He took his shirt off and cleaned the wounds on his chest first though, he didn’t want them getting infected while he was on this trip with Dream. It would slow them down. Then Dream would get upset and then no one would have a good time.
He pulled the shirt over his chest, and quickly changed his pants. He slipped the fingerless gloves over his hands. They didn’t cover all his scars. Dream wouldn’t be happy that they weren’t hidden. Once he was mainly dressed, he slipped the red cloak back on. The mask he left on the bed for a few more minutes as he stared down at his feet.
Socks. That’s what you put on first when you’re putting on shoes. He rolled his pant legs up and slipped the socks onto his feet. It felt weird to have something covering them. He hadn’t had that for a while. Tommy was shaking as he picked up the first boot, he undid the laces and slipped it onto his foot. Perfect size. Dream really did know everything about him.
He bunnylooped the laces and tied them together, the shoe snug on his foot. He then repeated the procedure with the other shoe and grabbed his mask as he exited the tent.
Dream was no longer immediately outside the tent, but was now preparing the horses a little while away. The man smiled the moment he saw Tommy, sure he wasn’t wearing his mask, but the rest of him was perfect.
Tommy stepped towards Dream and the horses. He was still getting the feel of his new shoes. They were quite comfortable. Practical but comfortable. Tommy was never given nice things like this. What was going on? Had Dream had a stroke or something?
He took a deep breath as he finally reached Dream and the horses. Dream smiled brightly as Tommy held his hand up to hold his horse’s face. He knew it wasn’t ‘his’ but it would be for the trip, and that was good enough.
The red leather armour that covered the horse finally made sense. It matched his clothes now, the red on his old t-shirt faded out months ago. It was more of a dust colour now. The horse whinnied at Tommy’s touch and Tommy swore he almost smiled.
Dreamed cleared his throat a bit and Tommy immediately came to attention, still holding the horse's face in one hand, the other tightly clutching his mask. Dream gestured at the mask and Tommy realised what the man wanted him to do.
Quickly in a single movement Tommy placed the mask on his face. He was getting better at putting it on. It secured tightly, but like the boots it was still comfortable. Dream absolutely beamed when the mask was on Tommy’s face. He ruffled the boy's hair and pulled up the hood on Tommy’s cloak, hiding the back of his head, and most of his hair.
“Dream…” Tommy whispered, usually he wasn’t one to start a conversation, but this was important, “Why did you give me this stuff?”
Dream chuckled a little as he started to secure the bags on both his and Tommy’s horses, “Because of our trip of course,” the man stopped and raised an eyebrow, of course no one could see this as the mask was on his face, but the sentiment was still there, “Have you still not figured out where we’re going?” Tommy shook his head and dream laughed again, at this point Tommy couldn’t tell if the man was making fun of him or just had a case of the giggles, “we’re going to see Techno.”
Tommy froze. Techno… his brother. Wow, he hadn’t seen the man in so long. Not since he blew up L’manberg. Of course Dream talked about him every now and then, given they were allies, but he hadn’t expected to see Techno again, so recently after the 16th.
Was it recent? Tommy didn’t know any more. His sense of time had been thrown off for what felt like years. He knew it wasn’t though. He’d only had one winter in exile… or was it two, his memory seemed to fail him a lot of the time.
It didn’t matter anyway, Tommy was allies with Dream, and Dream was allies with techno. That means that Tommy has to be allies with Techno. So his personal thoughts and feelings don’t matter.
When did they in the first place.
Dream smiled, he knew this would throw the boy off. He hadn’t seen his brother for a while. The man quickly mounted his horse, and Tommy followed. He let Dream take the lead as they headed towards the Arctic.
Just before they exited the plains beach, and into the forest, Dream turned back to Tommy and started to speak, “and by the way, red suits you.”
Red huh?