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It had been a weird day.Literal God was sitting in Foolish’s house, watching his children with glazed over curiosity. Their human form looked identical to Dream, which was unnerving sometimes and nice on others. Being able to pretend they were his brother helped when he was building and needed to wind down was comforting occasionally. Finley and Junior started wrestling and he stopped pacing, inhaling sharply. “Hey! Junior, quit riling up your sister!”“She started it!” Junior snapped back. XD looked between them, blinking and tilting his head. Foolish waved awkwardly at him in apology, although XD wasn’t very good at picking up on human cues and just appeared more bemused. Junior shoved his sister off of him with a frustrated grunt. Foolish glanced at Finley, who grinned up at him, her small shark tail wagging. He patted her on the head gently.“Finley.” Foolish lectured half-heartedly. Finley nodded and Foolish flashed her a grateful smile. Junior looked like he was about to cry out in protest but Foolish had already turned to XD. After a lot of pestering he’d finally allowed (or rather, been coerced into) introducing XD to the children. As expected, they had ignored them after he’d exchanged names between them, going back to playing with the small blocks he’d made for them. He wasn’t exactly disappointed; He’d anticipated it– but was still slightly put off by their manners.“They’re totems, Foolish. Isn’t this the developmental age they learn to start fighting?” XD pointed out, materialising a sword into their hand as if to make their point. Foolish’s heart jumped a bit and he snatched it from XD, much to their distaste, cracking the sword in half and tossing the pieces behind him. He could see the anger building in XD’s eyes, the way the light died from them instantly, and he laughed nervously.“Uh– Sorry– No.” Foolish brushed his claws off on his trousers, shrugging sheepishly. Luckily, XD seemed to be in a good mood and so he relaxed, going back to studying the children with limited understanding. Dream had never been the most childlike, for lack of a better word, child. He didn’t understand the point of fun and games for the sake of it. Foolish risked placing a hand on its shoulder, smiling. XD didn’t react, surprisingly, besides a small wing flutter. “Not these two, at least.”“Hmph.” XD huffed lowly. They shifted (teleported?) beside his daughter and tilted Finley’s chin up with one finger. Foolish couldn’t help but tense a bit. XD wasn’t the most gentle thing in the world, to put it lightly. She bared her teeth at them and they mimicked her with a raspy laugh-like sound and let her go. She scrambled behind Foolish and stuck her tongue out at it. “I like this one. ‘Children’, isn’t that what you said? They’re funny things.”“I’m not funny, you are!” Finley growled. XD’s eyes narrowed at her, head tilting slowly. Foolish grabbed her, trying to quiet her. She squirmed, scrunching up her nose in frustration. Junior buried his face in his hands a few metres away. For a moment he thought he had her under control but she pushed him away and shouted. “You look weird and smell weirder! Like burnt meat and sadness!”“Finley, manners–” Foolish yelped. XD’s wings flared out and his voice dropped. Finley shrank back in surprise, ears flattening and eyes going wide. Foolish winced. That was exactly what he had hoped to avoid.“If you value your life I highly recommend you rephrase that statement.” XD demanded, using one hand to open their commands panel while the other stayed in a clenched fist. Their eyes had become abyss’, neck cracked sideways at an unnatural angle. Foolish laughed, shoving Finley over to Junior, motioning for him to get her out before she could make more problems. Junior hesitated then obeyed, spotting the severity of the situation with a grimace.“She didn’t mean it– She’s just a kid!” Foolish attempted to calm him. XD glared at him and Foolish instantly gathered he’d made it worse, stepping back nervously. He prayed Junior was smart enough to hurry. The sky went dark and Foolish covered his ears as XD’s volume increased to shattering levels. The pillars around them shook violently.“Teach your children some respect or they won’t get the chance to learn it themselves.” XD hissed. Then he stopped abruptly and sighed, crossing his arms indignantly and pursing his lips. The world stilled once more and the wings folded. XD sat down calmly, humming to himself in satisfaction. “Anyways, is this all you wanted to show me?”“Uh, y-yeah, sort of. But we can, I don’t know, eat dinner or something… if… if that’s something you do?” Foolish suggested hopefully. Honestly, he had nothing planned, but usually XD required a sacrifice after they got frustrated or they'd curse them or something. They already seemed to have lost their former interest in the statue. XD hesitated, then smiled slightly.“That isn’t the exact pay-back for using my powers I’d hoped for.” XD purred. Foolish glanced away. He’d been trying to avoid the topic all day; He wasn’t exactly prepared to kill anymore people in cold blood, even if it wasn’t taking a life. XD ran his fingers through Foolish’s hair as he passed, disappearing towards the little chiminea that he had been smoking fish in. He clasped his hands behind his back, trying to remain on the God’s good side as he continued. “But it’s a start.”XD had a very flippant personality. One minute they were shouting and killing people mercilessly and the next they were joking and messing around. Foolish would be understating it if he said he was walking on eggshells. Nails, maybe. Lava felt more accurate, or maybe a minefield. Yeah, he decided, that fits. He retrieved the fish he had been cooking and dished it out on a plate. XD didn’t touch theirs, just poking it disinterestedly.“Not hungry?” Foolish wondered half jestingly. XD had mentioned before he didn’t need to eat, which made sense, but he had accepted the proposal of food and so Foolish had expected something. XD made a face at him, crossing his arms and looking away. He ground his teeth together in the way Dream did when he wanted them to change the subject, turning to his wings and plucking a feather from it with a low rumble of a growl forming in his throat.“Excuse me if I’m being impolite, but something about the human digestive system isn’t an experience I’d enjoy going through willingly.” XD scoffed, twirling the feather in his hands then flicking it away. Foolish shrugged, yanking the plate towards himself. More for him, he supposed, biting off the head of his food. Surprisingly, that comment didn’t ruin his appetite at all.“So I’m guessing you didn’t like the kids?” Foolish swallowed, picking out tiny bones from in his teeth. XD shut his eyes, brushing their cloak off like they could ruffle off the previous bit of conversation. They grimaced as Foolish nearly choked on one, coughing and hitting his chest so he could cough it back up into his palm. XD cleared their throat.“No, they were fine. I’m just starting to remember why all of your kind are long extinct or bound to some illager in the woods.” XD’s words lacked resentment, and if anything, seemed amused, but they still hurt a bit. Foolish nervously chuckled, but XD went on. “Honestly, even the children were sold off in the end. The years you were still around were hell on earth, but damn, they were fun to watch.”Foolish nodded weakly, not having the strength to argue with them at all. All he would receive for his effort was a threat or XD’s disappearance, which he was stuck between wanting and fearing. He didn’t want to be alone, and XD was the only company he had. XD noted he wasn’t eating the fish anymore and pointed to it. “You’re wasting your food a bit, Foolish, don’t you think?”“Hah, you’re sort of right about the whole food digesting thing or whatever, I’m not all that hungry anymore.” Foolish lied. XD narrowed his eyes and guilt tugged at Foolish’s stomach. XD could probably tell he was lying. Puffy usually could, and this was god himself. He tried to smile but received a confused eyebrow raise that wiped it from his expression instantly.“Well, your daughter seems to have potential, if that helps your mood at all.” XD offered. Foolish wondered briefly about the conversations they’d had about emotions and sympathy, but then turned right back to what XD was saying. Finley was a kid. She wasn’t some- some horse to evaluate. That hadn’t been why he’d let XD meet her or Junior. He cursed himself quietly for thinking he could ever find anything more in them than a god with an ego issue, anger issues, and a lifetime of therapy ahead of them. “She’s more totem than you and the other one combined, isn’t she?”“No, she’s just a six year old with a lot of pent up energy.” Foolish grumbled. XD tensed and he lowered his gaze, grunting in frustration. Clearly he had wanted Foolish to no longer be upset, but he was only making it worse. Foolish started picking apart the fish in his hands. That wasn’t his problem. XD might’ve had control over a lot, but his emotions were his own. “She’ll mature eventually.”“Did Dream?” XD growled. Foolish froze and XD groaned, throwing their hands in the air. They turned on Foolish, gesturing to his face with a huff. “Seriously? Why can’t you just stop doing that stupid thing with your face? Yeah! That- You do that weird smile where you’re trying to look happy but you're not. Cut it out, or I’ll, I don’t know, something. Blow up your summer home, I don't care.”“You can’t threaten people into being happy, XD. That’s only going to make it worse.” Foolish snapped. XD grabbed him, light dying from his expression instantly. Foolish flinched as he was shaken angrily. If he reacted too much XD would probably throw him, or break something, so he tried to stay as calm as possible, but it was hard when nails were digging into his skin.“Well then what do you want me to do?!” XD boomed. Their voice was so loud Foolish shut his eyes, yelping in shock. XD let him go in surprise, studying him in confusion. They were looking for physical pain, some way they’d broken Foolish besides just startling him. They clearly didn’t find any, because their perplexion remained. Foolish lifted his head.“I don’t know! Stop being so insensitive, for one? Maybe not yell at people because they inch one toe out of line, out of your weirdly specific standards?” He snarled. He yapped, cowering behind a pillar as XD’s form shifted and his familiarity and vague sense of humanism disappeared with a flash of light. He didn't have the strength or confidence to grow to his full height as XD towered over him, at least two heads above, cornering him and jabbing him in the chest.“Well, maybe you should try being god for once, Foolish! It’s not exactly a walk in the park!” XD’s voice broke, making them even louder. They grabbed Foolish’s chin, forcing him to look up at them. Foolish’s expression was a mix between terror and unbridled rage. Although he rarely let himself get this angry, or even had provocation to do so, his chest felt like it was on fire.“Maybe you shouldn’t have given us free-will if you hated it so badly!” Foolish cried, swatting the god away and covering his face with his hands. This wouldn’t be the first time that he had been hit by him, whether by accident or not was up for interpretation, Foolish could never tell. But despite how far he’d pushed his limit on mercy with him that afternoon, instead of a sharp blow there was a slight pause.“You don’t want free-will?” XD asked at last. Foolish blanked at him, then let out a tired, broken laugh, rubbing his eyes and sinking to the floor, curling his tail around himself miserably. XD looked startled, form flickering between human and godly, until they seemed to cave and drifted lightly back to the ground, eyes tracing the figure of the totem-shark.“…no…that is not what I said.” Foolish sighed, grabbing at the strands of his hair anxiously. XD shifted uncomfortably, seeming unsure as to whether he should say anything or not. Foolish laughed hollowly. “I’m sorry I snapped at you- I just- You get so frustrated over these little things sometimes and then it gets to me and– and then I get upset and I’m not trying to I just… Ugh.”“You mortals are so needlessly complicated.” XD huffed, crossing their arms. Foolish nodded, starting a bit in surprise when a hand touched him on the head, patting him gently. “I guess I made you, so I shouldn’t be surprised. I forgive you, but don’t expect me to be so calm in the future. You might be my pet-friend, but even you still have to respect me.”“I’m not… okay. Whatever.” Foolish lifted his head from his lap, only to find XD had disappeared, leaving him alone in the pyramid.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Dream sighed, shutting his book and tossing it aside with a groan. He didn’t know how long he’d been trying to sit still and finish writing the notes from their previous experiment, but he simply hadn’t been able to. It was driving him crazy. He drummed his fingers on his arm, leaning against the wall and studying the clock. It was midnight. Jesus Christ, He rubbed his face tiredly. His brain felt like soup, heavy and fairly useless. He fought the temptation to shut his eyes and listened to the clock’s ticking.“Dream, please don’t tell me you’re still awake.” Punz’s voice forced him out of his thoughts, causing him to straighten up in surprise. He glanced at them, meeting disappointed eyes. He grinned weakly as Punz leaned against the wall beside the bench with a sigh, blowing a strand of dirty blonde hair from their face. They slipped next to him on the seat with a laugh. “We can finish this tomorrow, you know. I doubt we’ll forget the consequences of overdose too quickly.”“You don’t know that. I’m not going through it again; it sucked.” Dream huffed, rubbing sleep from his eyes. Punz shook their head and curled an arm around Dream’s shoulders, pulling him close, so his cheek rested against the soft fabric of Punz’s sweatshirt. His breathing stifled, and he shifted a little in surprise. They’d been through a lot of shit together since they started experimenting on themselves, a little physical affection shouldn’t have been much, but he still found his head spinning like he’d been slapped. Either that, or he was still recovering from the seventeen regen potions he’d chugged two hours ago.“Fine. If in the unlikely case, we forget what happened, I’ll do it. Now come on, if you go without sleep too long, you hallucinate, don’t be an idiot,” Punz lectured softly. Dream nodded numbly, but neither of them made any point of moving. Dream didn’t know why; It was stupid; they’d talked about this before, the pointless affection shared between people that led only to pain. Dream knew that better than anyone, but they still stayed.“You’re an idiot.” Dream scoffed with a laugh, shutting his eyes. Their breathing fell in sync, and Dream found himself relaxing. Two hawks, two sides of a blade or a coin, and Dream knew when the world was gone, when the server was gone, there was only one option left. They would be at each other’s throats until one of them died. Sleep deprivation from the past few days was catching up to him, but he was too tired to realise. Punz smiled down at him as Dream whispered, “Me and you, huh?”“Yeah. Until the world burns, I guess.” Punz replied. Dream studied the small purse of their lips, the tightening of their grip on their trouser leg. Regret. Of course, it was regret. They were logical; they knew the exact same things Dream did. They still didn’t move.“Did you feel bad?” Dream asked at last, breaking their small silence and letting his head slip into Punz’s lap. Punz blinked, stunned. Dream grabbed their hand, bringing it to his chest with a sigh and a smile. If Punz was going to be forward, so would he. What did it matter, anyways? They’d probably forget by tomorrow. Dream clarified, “When they arrested me, when Tommy was taking my lives. Were you upset? Did you miss me?”“No,” Punz responded simply. Dream nodded, running his thumb along Punz’s calloused knuckles. They had a scar from their wrist up to the joint of their pinkie; Dream didn’t have to look to remember that. It was too long ago when scars like that happened when they were only using axes for chopping trees, and no one had to think about how they’d be better at slitting throats than swords. Punz laughed a little. “Did you want me to?”“Pff– I just wondered.” Dream wheezed a little, and it died off in an awkward cough. He listened to the bubbling of the lava from inside the walls, the chug of Redstone keeping it functioning, and the slow, careful, even breaths Punz was taking. Too controlled, too restrained. Dream wondered how his breathing sounded to them. He swallowed, suddenly painfully conscious of how they were breathing. He chewed on his lip. “...do you trust me?”“I have to trust you a little, don’t I? You could just kill me and never bring me back.” Punz pointed out. It was a fair point. He supposed the two of them trusted each other enough for what they were accomplishing. They fell silent, and then Punz let out a low chuckle, adding, “I feel like I shouldn’t, sometimes.”“Do you feel like that right now?” Dream pressed, something stirring in his stomach. A slightly nauseous, fluttery feeling, like the adrenaline pump when in a chase. You don’t care, Dream reminded himself, So why do you feel like this? Lessons he’d taught himself came flooding back, and Punz’s hand suddenly felt like a blade hovered above his sternum. He dropped it like it had burned him, locking gazes with them.
Punz said nothing.
Dream quickly sat up, pulling away with a sharp inhale, his fingers curling around the fabric of his hoodie by his heart. Do not reminisce on what you have lost, for it will weigh you down– never fully trust anyone– He cleared his throat and stood up almost too hastily. Punz was still staring off at their hand (Is their hand shaking?). Dream laughed, grabbing his book and waving. “You’re right. I should get some sleep.”
“Yeah… Goodnight, Dream.”
“Goodnight.”