Rivalry or? [dreamnoblade]

Chapter 9: Aftercare

     Dream weakly blinked open his eyes, seeing the sky above him blur and trees on the sides whizz past. He knew he had lost a lot of blood, he recognized the feeling. The last thing he remembered was Techno's face, shocked and on the verge of tears, it was the most expressive he had ever seen him. The people around him were yelling orders he couldn't hear over the ringing in his ears. He forced himself to stay awake, worried the damage was worse than he thought, as he was carried into a building. Someone took off his mask as he was laid onto a table.
     Dream could feel everything that happened. He could feel the pulling on his loose skin, the hot, burning sensation of steel, the needle going in and out of his flesh. Luckily, it wasn't long until it was over and soft bandages were wrapped around his arm and chest. If it wasn't safe to rest now, it never would be. He slept soundly.
     Dream woke to the sound of the birds. His arm still hurt, but not as much as earlier. To his left he noticed a tuft of pinkish hair. He smiled, running his good hand through it. The tuft perked up and Dream came eye to eye with the tear soaked face of Techno.
     Techno lit up, rejoicing, "You're awake!" Before looking around for a nurse to share the good news with.
     Dream was too much in pain for sarcasm or teasing. "Yup. Thanks for being here."
     Techno looked like he would cry again. He gingerly moved forward, extra careful of the bandaged bits as he drew Dream into a hug. It was warm and comforting, almost made Dream forget about the pain. He was glad he woke up to this.
     Unfortunately, a nurse interrupted them. She treated his wound and replaced some bandages, making much of the pain subside. Soon after that, he was greeted with another surprise.
     "Dream!" Both of his friends shouted in unison, bursting into his room. Dream beamed as he greeted them and they exchanged heartfelt words. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Techno squirm a bit, suddenly uncomfortable with the virtual strangers that had arrived.
     "Ah, I guess this is your first official meeting. George, Sapnap, this is Technoblade. Techno, George and Sapnap."
     "Hello." Techno said awkwardly.
     "This isn't the time for introductions, Dream. What happened!" Yelled George.
     Dream's smiled faded as he remembered what happened. "I was a fool. An overconfident fool."
     "He dropped the sword he was carrying while trying to show off." Techno clarified, obviously upset as he thought back to it. "The medics say he'll live but he won't be able to move his arm very well for a while." Unidentifiable emotion spread across his face. "He's lucky to be alive."
     Dream was shocked. He wasn't able to move his arm right now, but he thought it would be back to normal by the end of the day. All thanks to his careless mistake. How would he do anything without his right arm? How would he continue the Dream Team.
     "We can do the shows by ourselves." Sapnap seemed to read his thoughts as he put a hand on his shoulder.
     "Yeah, we can handle it, just get better soon." Reaffirmed George.
     Dream smiled. His friends were capable and amazing, of course they would be able to handle it.
     As the day went by, Dream's chest was feeling normal, and his arm only hurt most of the time. George and Sapnap had left to plan their next show, and Techno had stayed, reassuring Dream that he had nothing going on today. Eventually, he was able to help Dream home once he was released.
     "Ugh." Dream complained as they made their way down the street. "My arm hurts when it's straight and it hurts when I use my muscles to keep it bent. I can't wait to get back home."
     "Can't you just hold it with your other hand?" Techno suggested.
     After a while of doing that, Dream was feeling a lot better, but he couldn't hold his arm forever.
     Techno seemed to notice his thought process and mentioned, "If only you could hold it with something else."
     Dream got inspired and started brainstorming. When they got to his house, which Techno helped to unlock, he noticed one of his pairs of pants that he left on the ground. "Wait, I have an idea, could you grab my pants for me?"
     Techno was confused, but did it anyway. Dream then led him through the steps to make a small sling of sorts for his arm. It turned out great, his arm didn't hurt and his other hand was free to do whatever. As he was spinning around and trying it out, he noticed Techno, smiling at him on a chair. It made Dream smile back, the house a whole mess of positive feelings.