━━ TOMMY DOESN'T TAKE HIS CHANCES.

He makes a run for it. "Tubbo, where are you?" He shouts, squinting and glancing around for him. He doesn't hear a reply, and his heart starts beating first. "Rockabye Tubbster, in the snow top. Where the fuck are you?" Tommy shouts. "Definitely crying cause I killed your whole family, haha!" He's circled the whole room, hiding behind the vines, and makes it back to the door. "Tubbo? Did you leave me?"

Tommy sighs in defeat. Of course, he did. Great just great, now Tommy's gonna have to—

"Tommy."

Tommy nearly jumps out of his skin. "Hey, Bad..."

The said boy tilts his head to the side. Tommy takes a step back. He can't say what, but the gesture sent a chill down his spine. It was unnatural. "Tommy, you weren't gonna leave, were you?"

Tommy glances over Bad's shoulder to the staircase behind him. "No." He admits, defeatedly. He could only hope Tubbo was getting help. He's not sure if he can get himself out of this one.

Bad grabs Tommy's wrist. It's strangely cold. "Alright, c'mon. Over here."

"What would happen if I did leave? Hypothetically?" Tommy blurts, letting himself get dragged further and further away from his escape.

"No," Bad said simply. "In the box."

Tommy whips his head around to see a small obsidian box. "Really? Why?"

"I need to do an experiment. To see in time if you will come to love the egg."

Tommy raises a skeptical eyebrow at Bad before being gently encouraged to get in with a probe from his trident. Tommy turns to see Bad projecting an obsidian block. It settles into place, and Tommy frowns. He knows nothing gonna happen and that eventually, Bad will let him go. It would just be a long day. There's a little window for him, and Tommy rests his chin in his hands and stares past the vines.

Bad is whispering to Ant, occasionally gesturing around wildly.

Tommy just sighs loudly. What a friend Tubbo was. Now he was gonna have to spend the next day or week stuck in this cage all for Bad's "experiment." Honestly, Tommy thought, if anything, he'd resent the egg more after this. Something gold winks in the distance, and Tommy perks up.

"Sam?"

A figure steps out past the vines, glimmering trident in their hand. "I am Sam Nook. I shall be taking the children with me. They are under my protection."

Two more figures appear on either side of him.

Your hand cuts across the air, a sword materializing in your hands. "I would suggest you step back now before things get ugly."

Tubbo nods at Tommy, mouthing something to him. Tommy can't figure out what, but he assumes it's probably something along the lines of 'I didn't leave you, I swear.'

"Sam! (Y/N)! I kept my hat on, Sammy Nook!" Tommy shouts, sticking his head through the cage.

Bad blocks the window, shaking his head with a laugh. "You guys can't take him."

You raise your eyebrows at that, gripping your sword tighter. "Excuse me?"

"Wait, wait, wait, Bad. It's speaking to me!" Tommy said suddenly. Immediately, Bad turns around, a sick grin spreading across his face.

"Oh?"

"Oh, you're right. I just needed longer," Tommy mused. Out of the corner of his eye, he watches as Tubbo moves closer to him.

"What's it saying?" Bad asked, leaning in.

"Stand right next to me," Tommy orders. He pretends to think about it and takes a deep breath. "It said that Badboyhalo, in order to truly love the egg, needs to start swearing."

"I don't think it said that," Bad deadpanned.

"Tommy!" Tubbo shouts, tackling Bad to the ground.

"Tubbo!" Tommy cries out, mostly in his shock. The brunet stands up straight, right in front of Tommy's window.

"Hello, it's me!"

"Tubbo, move!" Tommy said, shoving him back. He needed to get out now. "Move!" He hurls a pearl, landing on a pile of vines. He quickly gets up, brushing them off. "Tubbo, Tubbo! Run!"

Bad picks himself up, a frown reaching across his face.

Tubbo laughs nervously and sprints toward the exit. You meet him halfway, sword clashing with Bad's trident as Sam Nook takes on Ant.

"What is wrong with you?" You seethe, pushing against Bad.

"Nothing," He answered, pulling back and striking again. You block it with ease.

"You're insane," You hiss, drawing your sword back and coming in again. You strike his trident between its prongs and toss it across the room.

At the same time, Sam Nook has Ant pinned to the ground with his sword.

"Sam Nook! (Y/N)!" Tommy shouts.

"Go, Tommy! We'll be right there!" You urge, but of course, he doesn't listen.

"Sam, we need to run."

"I am ready when you are."

Bad stares you down, daring you to make a move. And you do. You run to the stairway. Tommy, who had refused to leave, pushes you both past him before blocking the exit. He scrolls through his inventory, arming himself with a crossbow. The three of you rush up the stairs, arms scraping the walls. It was a tight fit.

Tubbo throws open the trapdoor, holding it for everyone else before covering it. You grab his elbow, helping him to catch up.

"Go, go, go!" Tommy shouts. "To the church!"

Tubbo and Tommy cut through Punz's base while you and Sam go around. You meet at the entrance, taking a few seconds to catch your breath.

"There!" Tommy points, the church of prime in the distance. He cuts between two hills when a flash of red appears in his vision. He shrieks as a trident flies over his head, and Bad and Ant cut him off. "Run!"

Tommy starts firing arrows, missing each time. You grab him by his shirt and dart towards the church of prime. He trips over his feet before adjusting and racing with you. Tubbo is far ahead, already behind the Holy Land. You and Tommy race across the property line, nearly crashing into Tubbo.

Bad and Ant remain on the other side, staring you down.

Tommy sticks his tongue out at them. Immature as always, and Tubbo starts L'ing them. They really never lost their youthful spunk.

Sam Nook stands guard at the main entrance, arms crossed over his chest as Bad and Ant try to get in from there. You leave Tommy and Tubbo inside the church and go to stand with Sam.

Nothing is said as you realize there was a new enemy on the horizon.

...

You drag your hand across your brow, grimacing at the sweat that comes with it. The sun beats down on you, showing no mercy. You let out a huff, twirling your sword in your hand and digging your heels into the ground. Your opponent stands on the other side of the field, wearing nothing but a black tank top and pants. Their hands have bandages wrapped around them, and their exposed shoulders are dotted with freckles.

You slowly meet their gaze, and their dazzling green eyes wink at you. You quickly dart your gaze back down to your feet, anywhere but Dream.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

The grip on your sword tightens as he runs at you. At the last minute, you pull it up in front of you and block him. You slowly slide the tip of your sword down his, locking it under the hilt and shoving it towards the right, and dunking so you don't get hit. Dream, however, is quicker, and he uses the momentum to make a huge arc and come crashing back onto you.

"Damn you," You huff. Your arms burn with the force of his sword on yours.

The corner of Dream's lips turns up slightly. You pull back and push forward again, getting blocked by Dream each time, but that's expected. Clashing metal echoes throughout the field as you push Dream closer to a tree. You couldn't beat him in a sword fight, but with nowhere to go, the odds might just be in your favor. Beating Dream wasn't a game of strength but smarts. You had to somehow out-think him — which was impossible itself. Dream had backup plans for his backup plans.

He hits the tree, a startled look on his face, and you grin. Still, he blocks each of your advances. In one motion, he uses his elbow to strike down on yours. You tumble forward, sword lodging itself in the tree. Your noses are practically touching, and your pupils are blown wide. You could count every single freckle on his tanned skin right now. You could kiss him right now.

Not that you would. That's absurd — you and Dream were friends. Not even that, actually. You were merely engaged in a contract. Just a contract.

Right?

Dream smirks at you, unaware of how hard your heart was hammering against your chest. Slowly, a hand creeps up your back, and you shiver.

But then, a sword is being pressed to the back of your neck.

"Gotcha," Dream breathes out.

"Fuck," You said.

"Me," Dream replies, cocky smile on his face. He slowly lowers his sword, and you yank yours out of the tree, ignoring his last comment. "C'mon, you almost had that."

"Almost," You scoff, pushing the hair out of your face.

"What happened?"

Your lips part, but no words come out. How do you say you got distracted by him? That you were so caught up in his eyes and the way he was looking at you that you forgot everything at that moment? "I don't know."

Dream hums. "One last time, then."

You groan. "You're killing me here, Dre."

"Better me than someone else," He said.

You don't have a reply to that. Instead, you use the bottom of your t-shirt to wipe the sweat from your face. You don't miss the way Dream's cheeks turn bright pink, and he looks away.

You drop your shirt, slashing at thin air with your sword. "Okay, I'm ready."

Dream nods. Again, you go at it. Swords clashing, teeth-gritting and sweat dripping. You knew this was supposed to make you stronger, but it was so hot. You felt like you were on fire, and your muscles ached— no, everything did.

In an effort to end the fight as fast as possible, you hook Dream behind the knee and yank him forward before stepping out of the way. It shouldn't have worked as well as it had. He tumbles to the ground, sword flying ahead and piercing the grass.

He coughs.

You laugh. "That did not just work!"

Dream mumble something into the grass, flipping himself over as he pants.

"There's no way," You said, gasping for breath. You weren't sure if it was because you were laughing so hard or because you were tired.

Dream rolls his eyes and grabs your arm, dragging you down with him. A cry leaves your lips as you fall on top of him.

"What the hell!"

Dream only laughs, making no move to push you off — not that you want to.

"You're a sore loser," You teased, rolling off him. He lets you, but his hand still rests on your waist as you both stare at the sky.

"I'm impressed," He said softly.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

You smile. "Good, I like impressing you."

"You do it more often than you think," He admits.

You turn to face him, but his eyes are closed, one arm resting behind his head as the other drums on your waist.

"Dream," You call out.

"Yes, Mellilla?"

"If something happens in the future, tomorrow, a week from now, or even years. Promise me something."

"I don't make promises."

"I know."

Dream turns to face you, eyebrow raised. "Go on, then."

"Promise me that you won't change. That tomorrow, or even ten years from now you'll still be like this. You'll be the person I feel safest with."

There's a moment of silence before Dream's hand finds yours. "I promise."

He broke that promise two weeks later.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
wc; 2K
song inspo: everywhere by niall horan
originally published: September 27, 2021 8:10pm

a/n: I promise I'm still alive guys I WILL FINISH THIS STORY IM DETERMINED
also fun fact: mellillia means little honey or sweetheart in Latin

as always, tysm for reading and have an amazing day!! <3