#dream x swap | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

asukamood · 9 months

Text

Rooftop (Dreamberry)

Warnings: Suicidal ideation, suicide attempt?, exhaustion, overworking and Blue angst

Synopsis: Soon after, his smile disappeared.

His pupils went from staring at the ocean of stars above him to glancing at the darkness below. His grip on the edge of the building loosened.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he leaned forward to drink more of the sight of the abyss underneath him. He hadn’t thought about it. Or at least he tried not to think about it. But sometimes, he would catch himself thinking that it maybe would have been easier if he could just disappear.

***

Blue felt like he was dying.

His body ached terribly as he desperately tried to swing his blade at the training dummies in front of him, the joints involved not even having enough energy to scream in agony. His lungs felt like they had been set on fire as he heaved for air, sucking only the bare minimum of oxygen he could before anyone could consider him being hyperventilating.

His eyes twitched in exhaustion and burning like a wildfire, begging to just close and stay that way for a while. His heavy head, which had been swaying uncomfortably on his neck the entire time, seemed to strongly agree with the suggestion, going as far as to suggest going to sleep.

It was 5 am.

Blue shook all these thoughts away as he smacked the training dummy once more, the poor wooden man crumbling and falling to pieces because of the impact before its remains loudly collided against the floor.

The soldier tried to suck in another deep breath as sweat rolled down his face. He wiped them with the back of his hand, noticing absently that his throat was sore. Amidst all that chaos, he had also forgotten to hydrate.

His body also seemed to lack nutrients and sleep but he stubbornly refused to acknowledge any of these issues to keep training. He had thought about stopping a couple of times but every time he did so, the image of an arguing Dream and Ink came to mind, followed closely by Ink leaving through a portal.

The AU’s keeper had left the Star Sanses after numerous fights with its leader which meant that now, only Blue was able to help Dream.

Said one had never been particularly useful, in his opinion, for the team. Sure, he could take on a fight and was pretty skilled compared to the average monsters but he couldn’t even dream (Blue snickered sarcastically to himself for that accidental pun) of being on par with Dream and Ink.

He knew that Dream had faith in his ability, which is why he had invited him to join his team in the first place but being squished between the guardian of positivity and the keeper of the AUs, he felt like nothing. Like a parasite, like a nuance. Just what was he doing next to people like them, near gods? He never quite fully believed that he belonged to the team, despite Dream’s best attempt to make him think otherwise.

There was also that nagging fear at the back of his mind that he would one day be replaced.

As clueless as people picture him to be, Blue was no idiot. He knew that there were countless copies of him all around the multiverse that could even be stronger than he was, thus making them even more appropriate members of the team than him.

He remembered that this fear was once just a little concern, nothing serious, just one of those thoughts that you get while letting a new person into your life. But then, he overheard a conversation that Dream and Ink had that made his blood run backwards.

“That other Swap was crazy strong!” Ink had exclaimed in the kitchen after a mission, probably thinking that Blue wasn’t in the house. After all, his memory had always been downright awful.

Hearing those words, he stuck to the wall separating him and the other two, making himself as discreet as possible. He did still stick out part of his face to be able to look at what was happening on the other side. Like this, he saw Dream smiling softly and nodding. “It’s true that his technique had been well polished.”

Ink had started to draw in his sketchbook, his pupils constantly shifting in colors and shapes. It seemed like he wasn’t even paying attention to what the other was saying. “Don’t you think we should replace Blue with him?”

There it was.

Blue had been expecting that question to come up eventually but even if he was braving himself for it, it didn’t make it sting any less. He gripped his shirt in the area where his soul would be, as if the remark had hit him physically.

After a deep inhale, he managed to focus back on the scene, noticing Dream softly shaking his head. “While this Swap’s technique was good, I do believe Blue’s suits our team more. Besides, Blue attacks faster than he does and he often has to fend off multiple opponents at once, making speed a crucial asset.”

The soldier had felt a tiny wave of relief wash over him at hearing Dream’s cool voice defend him. However, how long was he going to be taking his defense like that? To avoid being replaced, he had to put even more effort into his training than he already was, that much was certain.

He had never wanted to disappoint Dream in the first place but now, he was even more fired up to do so. He couldn’t let him down, he had to step up his game.

That last thought intensified after the fallout. Dream was overworking as is, after all, it has been several nights since he hadn’t gone back to their headquarters which had allowed Blue to train in the first place. Blue had to help somehow.

What better way than to make up for the loss of a teammate.

He knew that he could never surpass Ink or even truly replace him but he could get stronger to try and make up for the loss they had endured with his departure.

When he voiced that thought to Dream, the latter had been categoric about him not needing to do such a thing. He had reassured him about that, saying that he was already perfect for the team as of right now. Next, he had warned him about over practicing.

Blue had been unable to follow Dream’s advice. Despite his attempts, he had failed to truly convince Blue that he didn’t have to make up for Ink’s departure. At first, he had tried but it only ended up the same, he was unable to sleep the entire while, assaulted by all thoughts about having to get stronger and not disappoint his friend.

Well, ‘friend’.

Once he realized what topic he was driving to, Blue quickly shook his head to get rid of it before it could be phrased properly. He shouldn’t get distracted like that.

***

It’s only when his hands have begun trembling so much that he couldn’t even hold his weapon up anymore that Blue finally decided to take a break. He was obviously not going to sleep, no, that would be wasting too much time.

He decided to stargaze instead.

In a flick of his wrist, the area around him changed from a spacious and illuminated room filled with both broken and intact training dummies alike to the deserted cold ground of the rooftop with the sky of the night gazing down at it.

The cold air caressed his cheek, a pleased hum escaping him as he sat down on the edge of the building, his legs dangling down in the near void. Back in the training room, the air had been suffocating and unbearably hot so this change of pace was really appreciated by both his body and mind. It almost made him question why he waited so long before going out.

Soon after, his smile disappeared.

His pupils went from staring at the ocean of stars above him to glancing at the darkness below. His grip on the edge of the building loosened.

No more enduring the resets, no more dying in his universe, no more need to train, no more need to fear. It sounded heavenly. He leaned forward a little more.

“It’s tempting, isn’t it?” The sudden remark had Blue jumped back, his neck twisting so fast it might have snapped if he had been even less careful than he already was. He had recognized the voice but it’s only now that he was seeing Dream standing right behind him with his long ponytail flowing behind his figure that he processed the fact he was actually here.

The guardian merely smiled at Blue’s bewildered expression, moving closer before plopping down next to the other in the same position. They were so close that Blue could feel the tip of his fingers brushing his knuckles and their shoulders touching.

“... What is?” Blue asked, noticing that the other wasn’t planning on expanding on the question.

With the same small smile, Dream gazed upward at the clouds. Like Blue, the bags under his bags testified of his exhaustion. “Death.” He whispered, turning his attention back to the other. “You were trying to let yourself fall, weren’t you?”

“...” Blue didn’t know what he was supposed to say but he guessed that perhaps, telling the truth this time wouldn’t hurt. “... Yeah.” His voice shook at the simple word, making him curse inwardly.

Dream nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer. “I can’t blame you for that, I do that often too.” He finally let his gaze wander below. “It’s like the ground is calling you, isn’t it?”

Blue hummed as an answer, not trusting himself to say anything else. He really didn’t wanna talk about it, not right now.

The empath must have felt his reticence to answer as he quickly wrapped the subject up. “It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about it now, but do keep in mind that I’m here if you need anyone to talk to, okay?” Dream waited for his partner to confirm before continuing. “If you ever feel like doing this again, come find me.” He smiled sweetly at him and Blue’s soul skipped a beat.

“On another subject, I see that you haven’t listened to me last time.” He rose up from his seat slowly, extending his hand toward Blue once he was on his feet. “Therefore, I’m afraid that you will not only go to sleep right now…”

Blue took his hand and got up as well, liking the way his skin felt against his. “... but you must also be banned from training.”

His eyes widened as a protest immediately began forming in his mouth, his thoughts from earlier coming back at full force. Before he had the time to unload them though, Dream quickly shut him up by putting his index on his lips.

“The Pride parade begins tomorrow.” He calmly stated, his finger retreating back to where it came from. “It would be a shame to miss it, wouldn’t it?”

Oh.

He had completely forgotten about that.

Dream chuckled at his dumbfounded expression before taking his hand and leading him away from the darkness. “Don’t worry, we still have plenty of time to think of what we will do then. For now, it’s sleeping time for you mister!” Blue grinned slightly, squeezing Dream’s hand.

“Only if you do so too, you honestly look like a panda right now.”

“How rude!” Maybe Blue would have believed he was genuinely offended if Dream wasn’t wearing such a huge grin on his face as he led them both to their respective rooms.

#angst #ship #fluff #dreamberry #dream sans #swap sans #dream x blue #dream x swap #hurt/comfort

34 notes · View notes