~No POV~

"I need you to help me find Clay." Y/N was very calm about the statement, acting as though it wasn't a near death sentence to go anywhere near Dream.

"Are you sure about that? He's been... unstable recently. I don't want you to get hurt." Techno usually wouldn't care less about another person, throwing them out to the wolves if need be. Although for some reason he felt the need to protect Y/N, keep her close and safe.

"He wouldn't hurt me. I don't think he would at least. He might be a total dick but he's still my brother."

Techno didn't like the idea, not one bit. It was far safer to send Dream a message or leave a chest outside the community house for him. Actually going to find him was a whole different story.

"Only if you let me go with you."

Y/N laughed and gave him a smile. "Well duh, you thought I was just gonna leave you behind? Of course not, silly! So, when can we leave?"

Techno rolled his eyes at her remark, a faint smile spreading over his face. "Whenever you want, princess."

The nickname was simply meant to be a joke, but both of them took it as more than that. The voices began getting louder, and a bright pink blush spread over Y/N's cheeks. For a few seconds the two people had met each others gaze, but Techno quickly looked away and over at Tommy, who was now sound asleep.

The blond boy was looking healthier by the second, which was easing Techno's stress as he watched the colour return to Tommy's face.

"Thank you again for helping him. Everybody was starting to get really worried."

Y/N nodded her head, feeling a bit bad for Techno. She could tell how stressed out he'd been with Tommy, and there was definitely some other stuff going on that he hadn't told her about. Not that she blamed him, they'd only known each other a few days. He had no reason to trust her with any of his personal life, and the same applied in reverse.

"So you need help finding Dream then?"

Y/N nodded in response to the pink haired mans words, knowing that she wanted to get moving as soon as possible. She knew Dream could get a bit reckless when he was annoyed, and that usually didn't end well for anyone.

"Yeah, and hopefully sooner rather than later. Seriously, before dark would be ideal."

Techno thought about it for a moment before heading over the the enderchest, still sat outside the van. "Do you have armour? Just as a backup incase something goes wrong."

Y/N pulled her iron armour out of the enderchest, showing it to Techno. "This is the best I have, but I'm sure it'll be fine."

She seemed fairly certain that nothing would go wrong, but Techno couldn't shake the feeling of danger that followed the idea of seeing Dream. "Not good enough. I have a spare set of netherite that you can have. It'll be big on you, but it's safer than iron."

He handed the girl the midnight coloured armour. It was far heavier than the iron set she'd been holding before, and she grumbled a bit at the weight. Due to the same factor, it was rather difficult to get the metal onto her body. Techno noticed her struggle, easily lifting the netherite armour and helping the smaller girl get it fixed around her body. As he did so his hand gently brushed her waist and the small sliver of skin that had been exposed there.

"Uh- Sorry." Techno sounded rushed as he spoke, pulling his hand away within seconds of the action.

It wouldn't have been such a big deal if Y/N hadn't turned bright red and Techno's voices hadn't started yelling. Something as simple as a touch had both of the two flustered and a bit confused.

"No worries, you were just helping me." Y/N stumbled over the words slightly, although she had been trying to make it sound smooth and casual.

She's blushing... Pretty... Get moving... She wanted to see Dream before dark...

Techno blinked firmly to bring himself back to reality and quiet the voices, looking back at the girl in front of him. "Now that you've got that armour we can go. You tell me the second something happens, okay?"

He sounded oddly defensive which, although Techno was usually extremely loyal, wasn't quite normal for somebody he'd only recently met. Then again, he'd practically risked his life for this girl, and she was the reason Tommy was getting better.

Techno gave her a smile before the two of them began the long walk to wherever Dream was likely to be. Techno had mentioned that it was probably easier to let Dream go to them, but then again that added an entire new aspect of risk and potential danger to their hunt.

The two of them walked up to a decently sized building which stood in the center of a lake, the floor covered in crafting tables. Y/N knew the place well, it was the reason behind her departure from the SMP.

She looked around the inner room, remembering a few of the happy memories her and Dream had before she'd left. Even a few glimpses of Sapnap and George crossed her mind, although she quickly shoved them away.

~

"Come on Y/N! Hurry up!" The blond boy had called back to her from the community house, where the four friends would often spend their time.

"I'm trying, but you're making me carry all your stupid stuff!" Y/N whined as she dragged her brothers heavy golden sword, a gift from one of their moms friends.

Of course it wasn't very strong, and had been dulled down so that none of the children got hurt. Even so, an entire blade made out of solid gold was heavy as hell, especially to a 7 year old. As Y/N finally caught up to her brother, he easily took the sword from her hands and went running off into the community house, leaving her to chase behind him.

~

Sapnap had gotten injured during a playful duel, and it was fairly serious. Y/N had tripped over a loose floorboard, which caused her sword to be thrown out of her hands. Sapnap, who'd had his back turned, happened to be in the line of fire. The blade was dug deep into his side, and the dark haired boy was letting out small, pained whimpers.

Finally Y/N and Dreams mom, whom most people called Puffy, came running in to help. She gently moved Y/N to the side, comforting Sapnap while she got him fixed up.

Dream was pretty mad at Y/N after that, and even though Sapnap had forgiven her, Dream wouldn't let them anywhere near each other. Of course it wasn't fair, but Dream was a kid and overreacted a lot to his friends injury.

"I already said I was sorry Clay!" Y/N had tears in her eyes as she pleaded with her brother, just wanting to be able to run around and explore with him like they'd always done.

"I don't care! You could've killed him! You're the worst sister ever!"

His words struck deep, cutting wounds into the heart of the twelve year old girl. Her and Dream had been inseparable their entire lives, and now he was just throwing her aside like a piece of garbage.

"Well if that's what you think then fine! I'll go hang out with George instead!"

"He's mad at you too, Y/N! Everybody hates you, so just go away!"

With tears in her eyes the young girl ran away, trying to keep herself even remotely composed as she ran down the wooden path. She needed a getaway, somewhere safe to let her guard down.

~

Tommy and Y/N had gotten closer after he'd found her four years before, becoming extremely close friends. She was found crying in a small cave after Dream had tossed her away, and Tommy was the only person who'd actually been nice to her since then. Most people had forgiven her by now, but Dream was always one to hold a grudge.

Y/N couldn't lie and say she wasn't a bit shocked when she got a note from Dream asking her to meet him at the community house. The siblings hadn't spoken since the incident with Sapnap, and Dream certainly hadn't reached out to his sister up until that point.

When she got there she was shocked to see almost the entire SMP crowded into the building, Dream standing in the front.

"Y/N what the hell were you thinking?!"

The girl in question had flinched slightly at the sudden yelling, looking up at the one who'd spoken. Dream.

"What? What did I do?"

Dream simply rolled his eyes and a few of the people behind him tightened their holds on their weapons. "You stole Tommy's discs! You know how much he cares about those!"

It was a lie, of course. Y/N would never take anything from Tommy, why would she?

"That's not true, I never stole anything! I promise I didn't!"

"You've messed up one too many times, Y/N. First you almost kill Sapnap, and now you're stealing? You need to leave. For good."

Y/N felt her eyes go wide as realisation finally set in. She'd watched an exile before, and the person came back dead. How was she meant to survive out in the middle of nowhere?

"No, Clay, you can't be serious... Pandas, please don't let him!" Y/N turned to her only other friend, her eyes pleading with him. Sapnap simply shook his head and avoided her gaze.

Tears stung the teenagers eyes as she sobbed, hoping that at least one of her friends would help her. Instead she was ignored, and Dream approached her with a drawn bow.

"Start walking, Y/N"

~

Y/N had spaced out, remembering everything that had happened in the building. In fact, she hadn't even noticed the tears slowly running down her cheeks, or Techno trying to snap her out of her daze. The man looked confused, concerned, even slightly afraid.

"Sorry, I'm fine. Just remembering some things..." She avoided his eyes as she spoke, afraid that he would see her hurt.

"Are you sure? We can go back if you need to, just-"

"I said I'm fine, okay?" She didn't mean to snap, but it just kind of happened.

Y/N was about to apologise when a third person spoke from behind her.

"Welcome back Y/N. So how about that deal?"

~

This chapter was mostly meant for a bit of background, but also a little bit more relationship development between Y/N and Techno. I'm super excited to keep going with this story, and I hope you're all enjoying reading it just as much as I am enjoying writing it.

1811 Words