«☆Dream angst oneshots☆» (Slow Updates)

✧☆Hanging by a thread☆✧

Summary:
(not based on the real people!)

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Work Text:
There was so much going on right now that Dream barely found the time to eat and sleep and he certainly didn’t have time to socialise and go outside to touch grass or do normal people things. Time was a precious commodity nowadays, and free time was rated as the same worth as a precious gem to him with how rare it was. He felt like he was all over the place all the time.

A lot of his time was dedicated to school because he was worried about not doing well enough and falling down the ranks of the best students. He knew Techno would tease him and he didn’t know if he could take that, because while he knew deep down it was all light-hearted and Techno would never be genuinely mean to him, his brain didn’t think so on some occasions and he didn’t want to experience that, so, that meant he couldn’t allow himself to fall off the leaderboards for anything.

He wasn’t only worried about Techno; he was worried about disappointing his parents. His parents who had such high expectations for him, expectations that he pushed himself (maybe too hard) to meet every single day. He spent so much time studying and doing his homework weeks in advance so that he wouldn’t forget about it. it was even more nowadays because of finals coming up and he was almost never seen out of his room, not that his parents gave a shit anyways.

He wasn’t only dedicating time to school, but also a lot of his time went to his sister. It was no secret that his parents weren’t the most present and that meant he also had the task of practically raising his sister. He cooked every meal for her, and he helped her with her homework and picked out her clothes for school and did her hair every morning and drove her to her school and it almost felt like he was the parent and not the older brother. Dream loved his sister with his entire heart, but it was exhausting. Although, seeing her smile and succeed made it all worth it.

Other than those two, the rest of his time went into work. Dream worked at a vet and that met he was often called at late hours if an animal was brought in and it was an emergency, so when he did get free time or time to sleep, it wasn’t uncommon that it was interrupted by his job. But he just sucked it up because those animals needed him and what kind of a person would he be if he refused to come into work when he was called to.

It was another one of those days… just another normal day for Dream at this point. He hadn’t slept in more than twenty four hours, the last meal he had eaten was breakfast yesterday and it was currently past lunch time the next day. His parents weren’t in town, away on another business trip and he had dropped his sister off at a friend’s house for the weekend so he was home alone and there was no one to remind him to eat. At least when his sister was here, he would eat when he cooked for her but now there was no one to cook for and so it just slipped his mind that he needed food (and sleep) to function as a human.

The curtains were all drawn in the living room, which was where he had taken refuse, enjoying the comfort of the sofa much more than his desk chair. There was a blanket draped over his head and shoulders and the air conditioning was on full blast as he sat huddled up with his laptop on his lap, the screen being the only light and various notebooks and textbooks scattered around him. He had decided to forgo the headphones solely because he felt a headache brewing and he didn’t want to spur it on.

The doorbell stirred Dream from the daze he had been in, unable to concentrate on his work and his eyes had glazed over but with the ringing, he jolted up. He trudged to the door with the blanket still on his head and shoulders and opened his door, squinting in the bright sunlight that hit his eyes. “Sam?” Dream’s voice was quiet and slightly hoarse from lack of use.

Sam was standing outside, with a bag over his shoulder and an expression of concern painted onto his face. “Afternoon.”

“Oh, is it?” Dream hummed, a contemplative look crossing his face before he furrowed his eyebrows. “What’s up?”

“Can I come in?” Sam asked, gesturing inside with his head and Dream nodded, moving out of the way, and shutting the door behind him. “Dark in here.”

“Yeah, I turned the lights off because my eyes hurt.” Dream admitted. “Although that might be because I’ve been staring at a computer screen for too long, I couldn’t tell you.”

“Uh huh.” Sam hummed, putting his bag down on the sofa and turning back to Dream. “Do you know why I’m here?”

“Uh… no?” Dream’s blanket slid off his head and rested only on his shoulders, exposing his messy hair. “Should I?”

“I suppose not.” Sam sighed. “I’m here because you’re my friend and I’m worried about you.”

“I’m okay.” Dream said quickly and then winced internally at how quick he had responded.

Sam didn’t look convinced. “I don’t think you are, buddy. I haven’t seen you outside of school in ages. You always seem so tired and none of our friends have heard from you. Are you – are you doing okay?”

No one had asked Dream if he was okay in a long time and he released a shaky breath at the question. “I’m totally okay, Sam!” Dream’s voice wavered a little and he inhaled sharply, plastering a big smile on his face. “I – just school stuff you know? Finals are coming up and I don’t want to disappoint anyone so I gotta study and beat Techno.” He forced a laugh and Sam frowned.

“Dream…”

“My sister’s also got exams so you know, been helping her while our parents work. And don’t forget those animals, can’t forget the animals. I barely have time to sleep nowadays.” He laughed again, making a joke of it. “But how important is sleep really? Y’know? Come to think of it, I haven’t eaten since – huh. Guess when you’re not cooking for someone else, it slips your mind. I guess that’s a positive from cooking for my sister, from – from being basically her parents. Devoting all of my free time to helping her.

“And – and it’s okay! Because I love her and she means the world to me, and I want to see her happy. So I don’t mind cooking for her and helping her with her homework and – and doing her hair every morning and driving her to school – “ Dream broke off, taking a deep breath after rambling, his eyes starting to shine with tears that began slipping down his cheeks. Sam opened his mouth to say something but Dream kept talking.

“I – I’ve just been revising all the time because I don’t want to disappoint my parents and – and make them leave more than they already do. Because surely if I do good, they’ll stick around more, right? And then my sister will see her parents more because she deserves that! If I do better, they’ll stay, right? Right, Sam?” Dream looked up at Sam with wide, desperate eyes and a pleading, cracked voice.

“Oh buddy.” Sam said in such a soft voice and enveloped Dream in his arms. That was all it took for Dream to burst into tears, sobs wracking his body as he clutched Sam’s shirt tightly, hiding his head in the crook of the taller man’s neck. “I’m sorry you have to deal with this all on you own. You deserve better. And you’ve done so good, taking care of your sister. I’m so proud of you and I know she will never forget what you do for her. You’re a wonderful brother to her, the best brother in fact.”

Dream laughed in between the sobs, tightening his grip on Sam, who in turn tightened his grip too and kissed Dream’s forehead. “Your parents don’t deserve you, Dream. None of us do, you’re too good for this world.”

Notes:
hope you enjoy :)

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This stressed dream story was made by @ithildin_23 so yea go check them out on ao3 hope you enjoyed as much as I did! :D

Link:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/42580542
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