we don’t talk about dream (dream x reader)

summary (slight!au for convenience, really) tommy grew up in fear of the man he never truly knew. but as he grew older and old secrets come into light during the development of l’manburg, tommy searches for answers about the name that many no longer say.

warning swearing, mentions of murder

a/n yes, this was totally to feed my simultaneous dream smp and encanto addictions. no further questions (it’s got a slow start but i promise it gets better!!!!)

gif cred belongs to @calamardo-sad

“send tommy to the basement, they said,” tommy mimicked, his voice high pitched in his muttering despite mocking his father’s words. he opened the loud door to the basement of his childhood home. “he can find it, they said.” he huffed out, flicking at the light switch. nothing happened. he flickered at it a few more times before groaning out. “you’re fucking kidding.”

he rubbed a hand down his face as he stared into the darkness of the basement, the wooden stairs the only thing visible to him at that angle. still, his chest filled with childish fear.

tommy sighed. “stupid technoblade and his stupid birthday..” he began down the stairs, still rambling angrily to himself. “why would he want to look through that stupid journal anyway? he probably couldn’t understand anything that’s written in there anyway..” he groaned again at the sea of boxes awaiting him. “im the best fucking brother ever for this.”

he weaved through the dusty boxes, squinting at the old sharpie to make out what was written on them while muttering about how wilbur owed him. it took him ten minutes before he finally made out a faint ‘technoblade’ on a pile of boxes. he sighed again heavily, dropping to his knees and getting to the real search.

it would have been a nice, nostalgic feeling going through them had it not been for the layers of dust that kicked into his face at every other thing he pulled out of the boxes. finally, after sneezing and coughing more than he had in his entire life, tommy found a box of old books and journals.

he grabbed out the journals–three small books with a child’s shorthand proclaiming ‘techno’ on the front of it. tommy smiled slightly, feeling a small weight lift off his shoulders. he was about to open one, take a look at young technoblade’s thoughts, when he heard something fall behind him.

his head immediately snapped over, eyes drawn to a shining object that caught the slight glint of light in the dark basement. he tucked the journals under his arm and cautiously headed over to the object.

kneeling down by it, tommy realized it was an old disc peeking out of its cover. he slipped it back in before picking up the casing. he nearly dropped it again when he saw what was written on.

‘FROM DREAM’

growing up, dream was a household name for tommy. from his brother’s scheming of rising up and breaking dream’s tyrannical foundation, to the fight for l’manburg itself, tommy grew to live in fear of the man he had only met twice; once, he was too young to remember, and again when the man threatened his life on his own doorstep. and yet, that was still years ago.

so why was a disc with his name on it in their basement?

tommy held it up to the light more, blood rushing loudly in his ears. when he saw what else was written, he actually did drop the disc, yelping as though it had burned him.

‘TO TOMMY’

tommy knelt down slowly, his breathing suddenly heavy with the fear that filled his chest. his hands were shaking as he went to grasp the disc, seeing it was anything like those he had collected. maybe it was one he had stolen from him.

but when he went to pull the disc from its casing, only a portion of it came out. tommy shook the case, and the rest of the broken pieces scattered onto the floor; at least eight different portions of the disc from a man who almost killed his entire family and country.

“shit.”

…

tommy sighed at the laid out pieces of the broken disc. “why is this here for me, dream?”

the loud creak of the front door opening made tommy flinch, quickly wheeling around and brushing the broken pieces further behind his back. karl stood in the doorway, looking curiously over at tommy with a box in hand.

“karl!” tommy exclaimed breathlessly. “jesus, man, you scared me.”

“sorry, sorry,” the man shrugged with a huff. “i was dropping off some things for philza when i, uh..” he placed down the box and looked over at tommy again. “heard the name we don’t speak.”

right. tommy had forgotten about the country’s superstition; never say dream’s name, for he has ears everywhere.

“right, uh, sorry,” tommy coughed. karl just turned away, probably going to get another box from outside. “but..” the brunette turned to him again. “if there were to be anything said about dream..”

“we don’t talk about dream,” karl reiterated, holding up his hands to stop tommy from pressing the topic. he already seemed stressed at just the thought of the man. 

“but-”

“tommy, i would drop it,” he shook his head, eyes shifting out the doorway.

tommy couldn’t help it–if anyone were to know anything, it would be karl. that guy seemed to have limitless information at his disposal. “but say that, in theory, d- he,” karl raised his eyebrows, but said nothing, “was out for you.. what would he do?”

before karl even had the chance to try to lecture him, sapnap burst through the door, another box in hand. “he was nightmare!”

“sap!” karl pleaded, tugging at his arm after he placed the box down.

“karl, he deserves to know,” sapnap brushed, beginning toward tommy. “he would make terrible promises, manipulate you until you didn’t know what was true, and then BOOM!” tommy flinched when sapnap lurched suddenly toward his face. “and there was nothing you could do.”

“sapnap, please!”

“what if you didn’t know whether or not he was coming after you?” tommy rushed out. “what would you do if you didn’t know where you stood with him?”

“well, you’d better figure it out,” sapnap warned, shaking his head. “because he was coming for you.” before tommy could ask anything else, karl wedged his way between them and pushed sapnap away.

“we don’t talk about dream!” he proclaimed, loud and adamant. “okay? not since..” karl sighed out. sapnap placed a hand on his husband’s shoulder as his head dropped. there was a moment of tense silence where guilt creeped at tommy’s heart before karl’s bright, passionate eyes turned to him again.

“i’ll talk about him just this once,” karl spoke seriously. “but then never again.” tommy nodded fervently, discreetly sweeping the broken vinyl pieces into one of the set out bowls as sapnap lead his husband to sit down. “it was our wedding day.. we were getting ready when it started raining.”

“it wasn’t ideal, but it was just a little rain,” sapnap cut in. karl sent him a light glare.

“right, we weren’t going to let that ruin our wedding,” karl continued. tommy nodded. he vaguely remembered their wedding; it had only been a few years ago.. but he didn’t remember anything about dream. “then dream happened. all we saw was a lightning strike-”

“the kind that can only happen from a trident summoning it,” sapnap clarified and karl hit his arm.

“are you telling this story, or am i?”

sapnap smiled at his husband, grabbing the hand that just hit him and pressed a kiss to his knuckles. tommy would’ve gagged had he not been so focused on the main point of the story. “im sorry, darlin’. go on.”

karl rolled his eyes with a smile, turning back to tommy. “well, whenever lightnings starts.. it doesn’t stop.” sapnap squeezed his husband’s hand. “one thing lead to another, the weather turned into a full-fledged storm by the time of the reception–practically a hurricane!”

“i do remember that,” tommy nodded. “the wedding moved into your house after that. phil had me and techno move all the tables inside.”

“it was still the most amazing day of our lives,” sapnap reaffirmed. “we didn’t let that idiot ruin it, but.. after that day we started living by the superstition.”

“we don’t talk about dream,” karl spoke as he stood from the table. “so whatever this new curiosity you have, tommy..” him and sapnap looked at him seriously. “i would drop it.”

…

he didn’t drop it.

“well, we all grew up fearing him,” tubbo shook his head. “but even now, he’s everywhere. always mumbling, planning.. i bet he practically lives in l’manburg.”

“you think?” tommy questioned. him, tubbo, and ranboo were sitting on the outskirts of the country, lounging in the shade of a large tree when tommy “casually” brought up the feared man again.

“there’s no way he just left us alone after all that’s happened,” tubbo continued. “it’s been nearly two years since the war ended, but it’s not over. not really. not as long as he’s out there.” tommy and ranboo shared an uneasy look. “i associate him with the sound of the shifting stone. every time we hear that loud shift, president soot always says it’s the wall settling, but i think it’s dream. he’s probably watching us from our very own wall.

“and he scares them all. leaves the president and the entire country fumbling at just the sound of his name. just the idea of him.” tubbo sat up straight. “one day, i’m going to be president. and i’m going to defeat dream once and for all.”

tommy thought for a moment. “why do you think they fear him so much?”

“he’s unpredictable,” tubbo shrugged. “he’s manipulative, he’s crazy.. he’s someone you can’t quite figure out. no one understands.” tubbo brushed some of his hair out of his wide eyes to look clearly at tommy. “do youunderstand?”

…

“he’s seven feet tall,” wilbur spoke ominously but strongly, voice taunting, “weapons strapped along his back..” he circled his younger brother like a vulture and tommy found himself wishing he had never come to visit. “remember that day, all those years ago, when he came to visit?” tommy didn’t get to answer before wil was back in front of him, speaking, “you say you only remember him saying your name before it all faded to black.

“he knows when you’re thinking about him,” wilbur continued, tone growing more ferocious as he walked forward. every step he took, tommy took one back. fear grew in his heart. “and i bet he practically feasts on the memory of your scream that day. treasures it like your disc.” tommy hit the wall with a small yelp in surprise.

“so stop. talking. about. him.” wilbur’s eyes were furious. “if i hear again that you’re asking around about dream, i’m bringing philza into it. and i’ll rethink the vice presidency thing we talked about.” then wilbur walked away, leaving tommy to gulp with fear. he called back one final, “we don’t talk about dream.”

…

“i don’t know much,” niki offered quietly, shifting her bread basket on her arm. “once he told me he’d kill my fox, and the next day it was dead.” she shook her head, continuing her walk that tommy had interrupted. “i wouldn’t go around asking about him, tommy. nothing good can come from it.”

tommy frowned.

…

“dream?” badboyhalo sounded, looking taken aback by the younger boy’s question. “i never really liked him.. we were okay, kind of, until a few rougher things happened..” bad shook his head, finally looking into tommy’s eyes. “last time i saw him, he said i would end up drunk and crazy with a beer gut if i continued to follow the egg. and i’ve already got body image issues, so..” bad shrugged with a wave. “wouldn’t trust him. that’s what i tell myself.”

tommy watched with wide, slightly-amused eyes as bad walked away.

…

“he told me that my sight would disappear,” eret spoke, deep voice sending a chill down tommy’s spine as he whipped off his sunglasses, “now look at my eyes!” tommy flinched with fear at the empty orbs stared at him. then eret laughed out, offering a charming smile. “just kidding. i was born like this.”

“jesus, man..,” tommy huffed. he was often understood and appreciated eret’s humor, but it could be annoying when tommy had a goal in mind. he wanted answers, not jokes.

“i wouldn’t go around asking about dream so freely, tommy,” eret shrugged, pushing his sunglasses back onto his nose. “you never know who you can trust these days because of him–anyone could be a spy. even me.” tommy tensed for a moment, furrowing his brow skeptically as eret walked past him. “im kidding, im kidding! ..kinda.” and the man walked away and laughed, leaving tommy more annoyed than before.

…

“why are you asking that?” george spoke slowly and unsurely.

“i..,” tommy began, trailing off. he didn’t know whether or not to be honest. “i don’t know. i think im at the age where i can finally understand and know a little about him. and i want to know.”

george just frowned, looking at the grass below them. he spoke slowly and quietly, “dream was.. he was strange with me. he was protective of me for the majority of our friendship, before i realized that his idea of “protection” was just plain manipulation.” he looked up and shrugged at tommy. “he would always tell me that everything i wanted was promised to me, and would someday be mine. i felt..” he shook his head with honest shame. tommy was listening intently at this rate; this was the most open he had ever seen george. “powerful. but i think my power only really grew when i was finally away from him.

“dream is complicated,” george continued, crossing his arms. “he does things only for his own benefit. whatever you’re asking around for, you’re only going to find the same answer; dream is a terrible man who did terrible things.” george picked up the bag he had laid on the ground. “that’s just the truth.” and he walked away without saying anything else.

tommy stood in the shade for a moment as he processed.

…

it was sunset when tommy finally reached your house. he took a deep breath before heading around back, where he knew you would be lounging by this time.

“tommy?”

you were reading a book on your lit up back porch, enjoying the cool evening breeze as the sun dipped below the horizon. your eyes were on him, brows raised curiously. he coughed out, “hey, y/n. how-”

“i know why you’re here,” you cut in. he silenced himself immediately, watching as you bookmarked your book before turning looking up at him again with a solemn smile. you waved a hand to the seat across from you. “let’s talk.”

tommy slowly sank into the comfortable chair, heart beginning to beat nervously. he began, “so..” but he didn’t know where to begin, and frankly was a little embarrassed that word of his curiosity had gotten back to you. he prayed it hadn’t found wilbur again. he shook his head–this was you. the most comfortable, kind person he knew. there was no reason to freeze up now. “.. where do i start?”

you offered him a short chuckle. “let me start.” tommy nodded, turning his body toward you. “george told me you were coming, by the way.” tommy pursed his lips. “and sapnap before that.” 

“yeah,” tommy coughed, rubbing his neck sheepishly. “just.. covering all of the bases, i guess.”

you nodded, not looking at him. “i don’t know what has you so curious, but..” you shrugged. “if anyone around here is going to silence that mind of yours.. it might just be me.” tommy raised his eyebrows in the slightest, but your gaze remained on the small table between your seats. “dream was the most honest with me. he, uh, told me loved me after all.”

“do you not believe it?” tommy cut in. when you looked up, he quickly added, “sorry.”

“no, you’re fine,” you assured, shaking your head at him. “i did, at one point, but.. i don’t know what i believe about him anymore.” you paused, hugging one of your knees to your chest as you spoke, “dream used to tell me that we were meant for each other. that he was the man i was supposed to be with, that i was the one of his dreams. and if i were to ever leave him..” you shook your head to yourself, busying your hands with brushing your hair out of your face. “if he ever were to be out of reach, i would realize that i could never love again.”

“he was in love with you,” tommy summarized and you pursed your lips. “but you don’t know whether it was truly love or.. i don’t know, mania?”

“yeah,” you affirmed. “i left him before sapnap and george parted. he-he wanted to lock me down, keep me caged. and i couldn’t bear it.” you stood from your seat, finally meeting eyes with tommy’s wary gaze. “i know you’ve heard it a thousand times before, but please, tommy..” your pleading gaze sent a chill down his spine. “we don’t talk about dream.”

tommy gulped and nodded. the distant bell of the hours changing broke your focus. you looked into the distant sky with a sigh, “i’ve got to get changed. i have to be at the white house in an hour.”

“the white house?” tommy questioned, rising from his own seat. “why?”

“technoblade’s coming for dinner,” you explained, heading toward your back door, “and i think wilbur’s taking it as a chance to finally set us up.” you paused in your doorway as tommy raised his eyebrows. “i’ll see you there?”

“yeah,” he nodded, voice quieter than he would have liked. you just nodded in return and disappeared inside your house.

as tommy walked away, pondering dream’s obsession for you, he couldn’t help but shiver at the feeling of being watched.

…

tommy’s mind was swirling with a million thoughts when he returned to his house. quickly, he drew out the bowl he had swept the vinyl pieces into a few days prior. he poured them out onto the table, nearly ten pieces to a puzzle he didn’t know if he was ready to piece together. but he had bought some epoxy a day prior to try.

he began to piece together the vinyl, keeping an eye on the kitchen clock. 

we don’t talk about dream.

he was a nightmare!

three pieces were cleanly fitted to each other.

wouldn’t trust him. that’s what i tell myself.

dream used to tell me we were meant for each other.

it felt as if the entire house was on edge.

… and the next day it was dead.

we don’t talk about dream.

his hands were shaking as he tried the last few pieces.

practically a hurricane!

weapons strapped along his back..

the second the record was laid out, altogether at last, tommy shakily poured the epoxy along the cracks. his heart was racing, and he raked a stressed hand through his hair as he checked the clock once more. he’d have to wait for the glue-like substance to settle before he could toss the record onto a player, but he didn’t have enough time to wait for it. then, the front door slammed open.

“hey, tommy! you better get your nice shirt on, ‘cause techno is com- ing…” tommy turned to philza in absolute fear, listening as phil’s words trailed off when he spotted the disc on the table. his eyes were locked directly on the small green ring that outlined the center, jaw dropping slowly as tommy’s veins filled with horror, weakly attempted to cover the pieced disc. but the damage had already been done.

“i-i..,” tommy sputtered before the dam holding him together finally broke, and he rushed out in nearly one breath, “you sent me to the basement for techno’s gift, and i found a disc with my name on it from dream, but i broke it!, and i tried to ask around for clues but wilbur yelled at me, and karl’s furious, and i think.. dream’s after me?” the last part wasn’t meant to be so much of a question, but tommy could barely think of the inflection of his words when philza’s usually fatherly blue eyes looked so mortified.

his father took a few slow steps forward, painfully loud in the silent house.

“phil?”

philza gently pushed tommy to the side to view the cracked disc in full. he practically watched as his father’s chest filled and released with air, the expression in his eyes changing every moment as his eyes swirled with a thousand thoughts. his feathers were both literally and metaphorically ruffled.

then, the town’s bell rang in the distance and philza seemed to resolve. he glanced back at the door before to the disc.

“here’s what we’re going to do,” phil began, clearing his throat. he rushed over to grasp a plate from the cabinet. “we shut our mouths. wilbur is using tonight as a chance to finally reconnect technoblade and y/n after so many years of being on opposing sides, and we are notruining that.” philza gently swept the drying disc onto the plate. “so for tonight, we are notthinking about dream, dream is notthinking about you, this disc does notexist, and we are one, big, happy, dream-less nation.” philza grasped lightly at tommy’s shoulders. tommy felt intensely guilty for the worry in his father’s composed orbs. “no one has to know. not as long as we keep quiet. no one has to know.” tommy nodded fearfully.

a noise at the door made them both jump in the slightest. they slowly turned their heads toward the creaking noise to see the silhouette of ranboo’s looming figure, mismatched eyes wide as he stared into the house. 

“i know.”