Sleepy Buddies [REWRITE] //Dreambur

Chapter 26- Bitter Friend Old Enemy

Word Count- 948

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Dream's first night in prison was surprisingly uneventful and quiet. The guards had left him alone to suffer, and the lights had gone out soon after they left. His ankle was swollen and very broken, as was his nose and possibly even his jaw. He kept running his tongue through the gummy material where his teeth used to be, annoyed about losing them.

He stayed up as late as he could that night, silently hoping for the others to come. But hope was a volatile thing and it eventually grew bored of the silence and flew away from him. When it became obvious that they weren't coming, he allowed himself to slip off into the sweet realm of nothingness.

He had no dreams that night, nothing but warm darkness that he savored. He was rudely awakened by the sound of his door opening. Light flooded in and Dream picked his head up groggily, yawning. His jaw smarted and he closed his mouth. A figure stood outlined by fluorescent lights in the doorway, ears perked up and tail swishing. Oh right, he was still in prison.

"Hello Antfrost," Dream muttered, trying to shield his eyes from the lights. Disappointment cleaved through his mind, he wasn't being rescued. "Come to patch me up?"

"And here I was thinking you'd recognize me," the hybrid replied, a familiar accent woven into his words. Dream shot upright and swore loudly, his body screaming with pain. His side was burning and the scab on his forearm broke open and spilled blood all over the sheets. His throat ached with every word he spat. Fundy hurried in, pushing on his chest and forcing him to lay flat.

"You never knew when to stay down," Fundy muttered in exasperation, his hands pressed against Dream's chest. His shiny golden eyes raked over his body, examining him and taking account of his visible injuries. There was nothing sensual about the actions, thank the gods. Dream knew that look so fucking well, and it broke his heart that it was directed at him and not a page of homework or an office.

"You're lucky Schlatt didn't break ribs." Fundy poked his sternum, making Dream jump. He then moved down to Dream's legs, smooth fingers tracing scars and scabs.

"Why are you here," Dream growled, shaking himself. No time to reminisce. "Where's the doctor?" Fundy snorted, actually snorted, shaking his head as his ears flattened back into his hair.

"Schlatt decided I was a worthy replacement since you didn't 'deserve' a professional," Fundy replied, gingerly testing Dream's bad ankle. He hissed with pain, biting on the inside of his cheek and drawing blood. The tang took him back to Schlatt's room and his thoughts dissolved into a panicked whirlwind. Fundy casually held him down as he thrashed, continuing his thoughts. "'A friendly face before an eternity of pain,' is how he put it."

Dream's breathing caught in his chest, disgust coiling around his thoughts as he calmed back down. No doctor? What were they going to do to him?

"I'm going to need to set your ankle so you can walk."

"Fantastic."

Fundy moved a little, his hands gently resting on Dream's skin. His warm fingers skimmed across the ankle before he found where he wanted. It was almost ticklish.

"This is going to hurt," he warned. Dream nodded and clamped his jaw shut so he wouldn't bite his tongue. He grabbed onto the railings of the cot and looked at Fundy expectantly. The other nodded, grabbed his ankle, and shifted it back into place with a loud crack. Dream screamed between his teeth, his vision going white and hazy. Red sparks twined with bolts of lightning, streaking across his vision like rogue comets. His body arched off the cot, the. Slammed back down.

He came back to Fundy lightly slapping his cheek, looking worried. He blinked a few times, when had the guards gotten here? And when had Fundy had time to bandage up his arm?

"It's time," Fundy muttered, offering Dream his hand. "I'd say stay off your ankle, but that doesn't seem to be an option."

"Time for what," Dream asked, accepting his hand with a wince. Fundy started to redo the shackles, his deft fingers twisting the keys easily. Dream smiled sadly, he was surprisingly good at locking him up.

"To move." Fundy straightened up, standing close to him and offering his shoulder to lean on. Dream smiled bitterly at him and used his shoulder, wrapping his arm around the other.

"They're moving you to the top security ward," he muttered into Dream's ear, his breath tickling Dream's skin. "And there's speculation of torturing you just for the hell of it. I don't know how long you have, just stay strong."

Dream felt his heart stop and he nearly did as well if it weren't for Fundy dragging him along. The world was at a standstill until the female guard grabbed him and dragged him towards her. Fundy watched him go, his face unreadable as the hallway lights sharpened the angles of his jawbone and eyes. Dream opened his mouth to say something, anything, but Fundy shook his head. They left one another in stony silence, an ocean of grief stretched between them.

//

Damn this got angstier from when I last edited it.  I suggest reading it with a bittersweet song playing behind it.  Oh well, a little bit of reprieve before everything goes to shit.  I'm too excited to leave this in my drafts lmao.

Headcanon- the god's plan worked.  They created a way to judge mortals and possibly save some good souls while destroying the morally corrupt.  Once the system was distributed, humans almost made it a competition to get their hands on such things.  Supply was limited after all.