Luminescent Alliums.

chapter 23 - lowering a match

Tommy looked between the smiling mask and the deadpanned face of Dream and Ranboo.

"What did you do?" he ground out again, anxiety pitted in his stomach. "Ranboo" he pleaded, Ranboo's now violet eyes turned on him coldly.

"Easy Ranboo," Dream said, there was no reaction from the ender hybrid. He just continued to stare coldly at Tommy for a few moments more before his gaze went to the floor. Tommy watched his tall friend, his eyes a mix of fear and concern.

"To answer your question, I didn't do anything to him. He did it to himself" Dream said. He was now examining an axe, a diamond one, he ran his finger along the sharpened edge. Dream must have recently made this, there wasn't a scratch on it.

"Do you like it?" the masked man asked, Tommy's eyes never left the axe. Dream handed it to him. Tommy looked up at him confused as the other continued to offer him the diamond axe.

Tommy snatched the axe away, examining the lethal weapon before his gaze locked with Dreams.

"How do you know I won't kill you where you stand?" he asked, tracing his finger along the edge much like Dream had. Dream shrugged,

"You just won't," he said. Tommy raised an eyebrow. "Besides, you wouldn't get very far" he gestured to Ranboo who was, again, silently staring at Tommy waiting for him to make a wrong move. Tommy shifted his weight while still holding the axe.

"You can keep it" Dream said, Tommy narrowed his eyes, before putting the axe into his inventory.

"Why are you doing this?" Tommy asked,

"What? Ranboo or giving you the axe?" Dream asked in response, Tommy thought for a moment.

"Both '' he answered, Dream motioned for Tommy and Ranboo to walk with him, Ranboo obeyed silently, while Tommy hesitated, contemplating whether or not to follow. After Dream realised that only one of the two were following him he stopped.

"Go get him" he ordered the hybrid beside him. Ranboo walked back to Tommy. The blonde stumbled away as the taller got closer. Ranboo grabbed onto Tommy's arm to prevent him from falling, Tommy flinched when Ranboo leaned down

"I would follow him, he has answers that you'd never think you'd need" Ranboo said quietly.

"Is that what he told you?" Tommy shot back frustratedly. "What did he do to you?" he asked again.

"Nothing" Ranboo replied, before forcefully dragging the struggling blonde back to Dream. The masked man just sighed, as he continued to walk. Tommy wrenched his wrist from Ranboo's grasp.

"I can fucking walk by myself" he scowled, Ranboo glared at him, Tommy glared back. Dream signalled for Ranboo to stand by him, why the fuck? How?

Tommy's hatred for Dream grew.

"Do you remember when I was in prison Tommy?" Dream asked.

"'Course I fuckin do" Tommy muttered

"Do remember how when you were visiting you said something along the lines of when I'm around you my brain feels as if it's condition to be your friend" Dream quoted

"But also when I have a knife I just want to plunge it into your heart" Tommy spat back.

"What if I told you, that it was true"

"What?"

"That you were in fact condition to be my friend" Dream said, Tommy snorted

"I'd say you stupid, psycho and manipulative" he said, ticking each word of with his fingers. Dream laughed looking at Ranboo who didn't really seem present, he was there but just had this far away look as if remembering something else. Dream clicked twice grabbing his attention.

"Don't think about him" Dream murmured quietly to Ranboo. "You'll hurt yourself more". Tommy did not like that. He clenched his fist seeing red for a brief second.

"You leave him alone" he spat out, Dream's head tilted to the side cockily.

"Oh? Since when could you help him?" he asked mockingly. Tommy didn't get a word in as Dream turned to Ranboo,

"How do you feel?" he asked.

"Fine" Ranboo answered shortly.

"What did Tubbo do to you?" Dream asked, suddenly Ranboo's whole demeanor changed. He went from calm to agitated in seconds. He was necessarily anxious, but his eyes began to flick around. Tommy felt his heart break, he had changed just by the mention of his best friends name, their best friends name.

"What the fuck did you do!?" he yelled.

"Nothing, Tommy I did nothing. How about you ask him what Tubbo did to him" Dream shot back, he had the air of victory around him, Tommy hated it, but he had to know.

His voice shook as he asked; "Ranboo, what did Tubbo do"

Ranboo began to mutter angrily,

"He left, he left and blamed me. I thought he was happy. I thought so I let him go. He left me alone with Michael and I took care of him but then Micheal missed him and then I went looking for you with him and he hurt me. He took Micheal" Ranboo paused his maniac rant.

"He took everything away"

Tommy inhaled sharply,

"Did you hear that Tommy? He went looking for you and you. Weren't. There." Dream said quietly.

The silence hung in the air, Tommy processed everything.

"Dream" he said quietly, he clenched and unclenched his fist, tears welling up in his eyes, Dream cautiously approached the blonde, noticing the defeated body language and the tears threatening to stream down Tommy's face. He gently slung an arm around the blonde.

"Dream" Tommy said, sounding weak. Finally it took Dream so fucking long to get the younger right where he needed him.

"Yes Tommy?" he responded, sounding soft and caring. Tommy looked up and things went in slow motion for Dream, a second too late. He had noticed everything a second too late, Tommy was brought up with Wilbur, a man who could slay an army with his silver tongue if he tried. How could Dream have been so stupid not to think that Tommy, couldn't act to get himself the upperhand- the body language was fake, all acting and those tears weren't of desperation, sadness or frustration. They were angry, furious even, yet his eyes remained proud. Tommy was swinging the axe Dream had just given him. A second too late Dream moved, the axe scraping his mask. Luckily Ranboo has perfect timing disarming Tommy and restraining him to stop any further harm to anyone. Dream let out a laugh, Tommy couldn't tell if it was surprised or impressed. He didn't care, he couldn't move, the more he struggled the tighter Ranboo's grip got.

"Tommy Tommy Tommy, did I just witness you manipulate someone, to get the advantage of a situation?" Dream jokingly asked. That fucker was impressed. Tommy gave a dark smirk, uncharacteristic to his normal demeanor.

"Well, I learnt from the best," he shot back instantly. Tommy froze as the sentence settled in. He shook his head. "You, You don't make me a good person" he said, the phrase resonating in the air.

'Listen when I'm around you, I feel fucking conditioned to be your friend, but also if I had a knife I want to just plunge it into your heart.'

"I don't make you a good person?" Dream asked, he snickered. Before removing his hood and unfastening a mask.

"Well maybe Tommy" the buckles clicked undone

"Just maybe" he lowered the mask, Tommy suddenly had no air.

"You were never a good person to begin with"