Receeding Tides (mcyt)

Chapter 14

Dream drove off the highway and down to the long-abandoned pier. Before he could turn off the car, Tommy had already eagerly hopped out of the car and was busy marveling at the water. Sure he'd seen water countless times before in rivers, streams, showers, and oceans, but no other water marked the best thing that would ever happen to him.

"Just beyond that water..." Tommy's voice faded to his inner thoughts.

That's where they are. Just across all that water. We're so close.

Dream leaned heavily on the open car door propping himself upright with just his arms, even they were beginning to give out too. Smiling to himself, Dream let Tommy gawk at the English Channel for a little while longer. The boy needed this hope to get to the other side. He bounded up the slanted streets exposing his braced smile. In late afternoon light, his blue eyes shone, and he practically glowed with newfound energy and elation. Dream couldn't help but smile too. Tommy slammed his hands on the hood of the car almost denting the metal.

"Dream! Dream! Dream! Dream! Dream! Dream! When's the ferry coming? How long is the ride? When will we get there?"

"According to the man I spoke with, around sundown this evening," Dream replied getting cut off before he could answer Tommy's other questions.

"That's so soon!"

Dream nodded leeching off of the boy's energy more than he'd admit. Tommy cheered the same way TommyInnit did. An octave higher with identical wheezes between cackles. Now this was the Tommy Dream knew best. This is the Tommy Dream wanted to protect. He wanted Tommy to remember this side of himself. The still-a-child and still-a-child-willingly side of him.

Granted, this Tommy was more akin to an internet persona, but Dream nonetheless had grown to love every side of Tommy. His spite and energy and weakness. He finally knew how Wilbur felt, and damn, Dream couldn't say it was a bad feeling. He smiled at the boy's optimism and glee and pointed to the one dock left still standing in the distance.

"Let's get down to the pier and wait there."

Tommy nodded and took off sprinting downhill to the docks. Remembering Dream's physical state, he doubled back for his friend. Tommy hooked Dream's useless arm over his shoulder and grinned dragging him down the streets.

"C'mon Big D, we're almost there!"

Dream chucked not mentioning his uncomfort with the name, and he stumbled to keep up with Tommy's movable legs on his own half-numb legs. On the SMP, "Big D" felt more like a mocking slight dirty innuendo, but in this moment, several years after anyone could access the SMP, the nickname came off annoyingly endearing. Like brotherly banter. Dream's stomach did giddy flips.

"It's been a while since I've been 'Big D.'"

Tommy smiled. In his glee, Tommy too forgot Dream's discomfort with the name.

"C'mon, c'mon! Why do you weight so much you burning pile of fucking bones or some shit?"

"Do I burn you?"

Tommy groaned, "Wrong British boy. I thought we went over this."

Dream wheezed, "I guess I mel-"

"If you finish that fucking sentence, I'm gonna start stabbing shit."

Dream wheezed again as Tommy hauled him through the streets of Dover. It took them a few tries to get to the beach thanks to Tommy's nonexistent sense of direction. When Dream finally felt the sand, it was gone in an instant and replaced by moist wood.

At the edge of the dock, Tommy helped Dream sit against a post and sat beside him with his legs dangling off the dock's edge. He laid back on the warm wood letting the sun warm his skin. Both were covered in cuts and bruises from head to toe, and the Ash had started affecting Tommy's left arm. The sleeves of his iconic red-and-white shirt sported dozens of holes, and its hems were torn in several places. If he'd shown up to college in such an outfit, he would've been dress coded.