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He rarely let himself lay down on the couch, it was meant for sitting after all, but after the day he’d had he was making an exception. Error had finished off a world Nightmare had been tormenting, and even Ink had failed to stop he who was usually considered his equal in strength and capabilities. One on one, sure, they could fight endlessly and come to a stalemate nearly every time. But this time, not only had Nightmare and his gang been there, but they had chosen to target Blue - the only mortal on Dream’s team.
Blue was smart, strong and durable, Dream knew that to be so, but he could be killed. Killer, Dust, and Horror had LV high enough to give Dream a run for his money when they were working in sync. Between the gang being on the same page, Error wreaking havoc, and Blue reaching a point where his reaction time was slowing, Dream knew he had to call it. But it was never easy to lose an AU. It was never easy to see his brother’s smug grin as he retreated.
“You look like you’re going through a solar eclipse, Sunshine.”
Ink’s voice was always a soothing balm to his troubled mind. Comments like that were just a bonus, bringing forth the smallest twitch of a smile.
Dream tilted his head up and opened his sockets to look at the artist leaning over the back of the couch, seeing eye lights that were simple shapes with gentle hues. His red had worn off, that was a good thing. It was rare, but there were times after a failed mission when Ink would still have enough red to rant and ramble about how unfair Error was being and take that frustration out on Dream and Blue. It wasn’t because he blamed them, but they were simply the closest ones Ink could lash out at.
“Very clever.” Dream said, relaxing as Ink folded his arms across the back of the couch and rested his skull on his forearms. There was a moment of silence as they stared at each other, both waiting for the other to speak first. It was always so awkward after days like this.
“Are you alright?” Dream finally asked, to which Ink made a soft, rumbling hum of displeasure. There was another long, slightly more uneasy pause.
“I understand your choice to retreat because of Blue…” Ink trailed off, and immediately Dream sat up, squinting - not quite glaring - as if that would deter Ink from saying what he suspected he was about to say. It didn’t work.
“But you should have just sent him home and kept fighting with me.” Ink’s words caused the guardian to tense, irritation bubbling deep in his belly. Not this again, not so soon, not when his emotions were still freshly stirred up.
“Ink, can we not talk about this right now? It’s barely been an hour.” Dream tried to temper his voice, leaning more into his exhaustion than irritability. Ink’s gaze flicked up to meet Dream’s, his right eyelight an upside-down red triangle. That shape and color was a reminder to Dream that, while Ink’s excess red had filtered out, there was still his regular dose in there starting to poke through.
Great, exactly what he wanted right now, another fight. Fights with Ink were awful, even worse than a crushing defeat from Nightmare. Not because they were particularly explosive, and they never got violent, but it was just so emotionally draining to argue with your partner. It didn’t help that this had always been a point of contention between them. The AUs, or the people in them.
“An hour’s long enough.” Ink grumbled, looking away to try and ignore the irritated look on Dream’s face. He hated being the cause of anything but a smile on his pretty face, but this was something that he literally existed for!
“What could I have done, Ink?” Dream sat up, turning so he could face his partner and have this conversation like two adults. “I couldn’t have sent Blue home alone, there wasn’t time. What was I supposed to say? Time out, I need to send Blue home and tend to his wounds before we continue?”
“I mean, Error would never let Blue-”
“Error isn’t on anyone’s side, Ink.” Dream interrupted, his squint turning into a scowl. “No one is special to him.” There was a bitterness to his voice that caused Ink to wince, and quickly his eyelights took on softer, less stable shapes as he lost his conviction.
“What if it had been me?” Dream’s question startled Ink. He gripped the back of the couch and leaned backwards, staring owlishly with an exclamation point in both eyelights as he processed the question. “What if I had been in Blue’s position? What would you have done?” Dream asked to hammer home his point.
If Dream had been the one wounded and tired. Ink’s paints churned in his marrow as he considered it, and he hated that there was a pause. Why was he hesitating? The answer was obvious!
…wasn’t it?
Dream’s anger slowly faded to confusion and perhaps hurt the longer the silence lingered. “Ink?” Dream asked, uneasy.
“I would have-” Ink trailed off at first, but managed to finish the sentence. “I would have moved you somewhere safe. If it was bad, of course I would have done the same. But-!”
“That’s enough.” Dream rose from the couch in a swift, sharp movement. Ink flinched at the suddenness, eyes following Dream as he moved towards the front door. “Dream, wait-”
“If your honest response would have been to ask “is it bad enough” before deciding-” Dream clenched his fists, stopping at the front door. “We may be immortal to time, Ink… you may be immortal even against death… but I’m not. I can die.”
Dream looked over his shoulder at Ink, speaking quietly as he turned the doorknob. “I’m going to check on Blue and make sure he's recovering well. You can come find me when you can answer this question: If I were to die in order for you to save an AU, is that a choice you could live with?”
Without waiting for an answer, the door was slammed shut. Ink groaned, rolling over the back of the couch to flop onto the cushions, slapping his hands over his face and letting out a muffled yell of frustration. After he had a moment to re-center himself, he lowered his hands and stared at the ceiling. Well, he hoped he was looking at the Creators beyond the ceiling, or or that they were at least looking down at him.
“Please… don’t ever make me make that choice.”
Because he knew the answer. And it terrified him.