Archive of Our Own ^beta

            His legs were burning. He didn’t know how long it had been since he had actually gotten to sit down, let alone rest for more than 10 seconds. He could see the flashing of cameras all around him. The press wouldn't get off him their asses recently. If it wasn’t flocking them after an arrest, it was bothering them mid-battle just so they could get the best shot. The best story. It was reckless. It was stupid. Every time he had to save a reporter's ass because they were too idiot to get out of the way of an active crime scene, he cursed the media. This job was supposed to be about saving lives, not looking good in front of a camera. Not paying for other people’s bills by getting them recorded interactions while just trying to do his damn job. 

             Dream wiped his shoulder off where someone had just laid a hand on him. They were being swarmed. Him and Techno, Blade, being out on a mission together brought enough attention on its own. They didn’t need to be caught up in the middle of the press as well. Yet here they were. Dream pushed his mask closer to his face praying that none of the cameras had the angle to see behind it. He really hated this. 

              Techno was a bit to his left, but a swarm of reporters were between them. The other man looked just as irritated as he did about all of this, not that the public could tell. Dream could read the man from all the time they had spent together though. They were both done with this. 

“Smiler, what do you have to say about the jailbreak the other day,” One of the reporters shouted, shoving a microphone into his face. Dream took a step back, grimacing, 

“It’s being handled,” He answered, gritting his teeth. 

“Smiler over here!” More cameras flashed in his eyes. Dream squinted behind the mask. “What are your thoughts on the failed mission done by 404 and Blaze this Monday?” Dream closed his eyes in exasperation. He had already heard Sapnap and George complain about this all week. According to the other heroes, ‘failed’ was a big overstatement to what actually had happened. One of the villains they had been fighting got away. Just one. The press made it sound like they had lost the entire group that had been attacking and gotten their asses kicked. The two had been pissed about it the rest of the week, constantly complaining every time that Dream would switch on the news in their apartment. 

              It had started to annoy Dream after the 15th time they had complained when he was just trying to see what the news was saying about the lastest crime that had went down. There had been a bunch lately. It wasn’t necessarily a crime wave, but it was enough that Dream wasn’t getting enough rest between missions, meetings, and training younger recruits. 

             His leg was really starting to ache beneath him. He could feel it in his quad and all the way up to his hip. The muscle felt sore and overused, which made sense, he supposed. 

“Smiler!” Another camera flash, a small flinch back. “What are your thoughts on Warden's retirement?” Dream froze a bit. The news was still recent, even to him. He wasn’t ready to talk about it with his boyfriends, let alone the fucking news. 

“No comment,” Dream growled, trying to slip away from the reporters. He needed out. His body and mind were exhausted from the night of fighting. He could feel his veins throbbing from how much power he had focused through them. There were so many people around him now, swarming in every direction. Dream looked up again for Techno. The other man was still answering reporters' questions. He was jealous of the way that Techno was just able to tune out his thoughts when reporters swarmed him. The older man was more socially awkward than Dream himself was, yet he could still handle all of this better. 

            Dream felt his comm buzz in his pants. The feeling against his leg made him cringe. Yeah. He was getting entirely too overstimulated. He needed to go home and sleep. He needed to shower and not be touched by anything or anyone for the next ten years of his life. 

           He slid his fingers into the pocket of his pants, pulling out the small device. He quickly hooked the technology to his ear piece. It didn’t take him long to find the channel that had been pinging him. He could still hear the crowd around him calling out his name. He tried to tune it out. 

“Smiler. Report,” and not even a second later, “SMILER.” Dream cringed slightly, the loud noise making his head pound. 

“Copy,” He muttered back, trying to make space between him and the reporters. He reached down, rubbing his quad where it was aching. Gods, he really needed to lie down. 

“You have company.” The words were ominous and the last thing that he wanted to hear at that moment. Dream ran his hands over his eyes, trying to get more aware of what was going on. His entire body was pulsing from exhaustion however. 

“Companny?” Dream asked, trying to hold back the yawn that threatened to come out, “Who? Where?” There was. Loud scream and then the sound of gunshots. Dream’s hands immediately reached for the staff against his back.

”There,” The voice in his ear answered unhelpfully. Dream shut off the line. He couldn’t deal with whatever sarcastic moments the hero league was making at the moment. His head was already spinning enough without their bullshit on top of it. Dream looked around, searching for Blade and the source of the gunshots. People were swarming around him. Running and stampeding in a way that Dream just knew would bring casualties. 

            His eyes locked on the source of the gunshots. There were two men. He didn’t recognize either of them, but he could feel their powers in the air around him. Snapping and static. He grabbed the power neutralizer cuffs from his belt. He switched his comm back on.

”Blade you copy?” He hummed into the line, moving closer to the men, but trying to stay out of direct sight line. Getting shot right now would really not be optimal and he didn’t want to deal with the mess that would leave. 

“Loud and clear Smiles,” Techno’s voice was quiet. Dream could only hope he was closing down on the enemy as well. Dream waited or the men to turn their backs on him, which was a stupid mistake on their move, and lept in. He swung the staff hard. It snapped as it connected with the back of one of the man’s skulls. Weak ass wooden piece of shit, Dream cursed to himself, letting the piece fal to the floor. He supposed that’s what he deserved for being lazy and trying to take a staff for hand to hand combat. He wasn’t supposed to fight hand to hand. According to the hero league, it wasn’t the ‘look’ that they wanted. But he was too tired that morning to care. His powers were burning in his blood from that morning. He really had wanted to keep using them to a minimum, but the amount of fighting he had done today made that go south pretty quickly. 

             To Dream’s relief, the blow seemed to have knocked the man out. The second man whipped around to him, aiming the gun right at his chest. Dreamlunged downwards as the crack of a gun rang out. He waited for the pain that might come. It didn’t. He reached for the man’s ankle, pulling him off balance. The man stumbled and Dream locked eyes with the gun in his hands and kicked out, successfully disarming the weapon. The metal skidded across the floor. The man cursed, slamming a boot at his hand where it was against the floor. Dream bit his tongue as his fingers were smashed into the pavement. 

             He felt his veins flare in defense. The illusion was forming around them without his mind’s permission. His body was protecting itself and he was too tired to regulate it. Dream held back a scream as his veins burned. His magic would be the end of him. He knew that one day it would be. His powers were dangerous. They always had been. For others and for himself. The amount of times he had been told by the world around him that he would have made a dangerous villain was too many to count. 

             He wasn’t sure what illusion he was creating. He hid his own eyes, not wanting to get caught up in whatever horror his mind could be forming in self defense. The man’s boot moved away from his hand, and Dream instantly tucked it to hus chest, lifting his head up. The world was dark around him and the villain. He couldn’t see what was going on behind him, but the man in front of him was fixated on it. Dream tried to push his body up, but the illusion was too much for him. He could feel his eyes watering. He knew the glow that would be seen if the mask wasn’t covering his eyes. 

“Youre a monster.” The man was looking at him low. Dream tried not to flinch away from the words. His heart was pounding. His entire body felt like it was buzzing and burning. He didn’t want to look back. He didn’t want to see whatever horror he had created. 

              Dream clenched his fists, closing his eyes. His blood boiled as he fought the illusion down. His mouth tore open in a silent scream. He didn’t make a sound though. His blood was buzzing inside his body. His eyes were blown wide. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t do anything. 

              The man shook his head, trying to recover. He didn’t have a weapon. He couldn't do much, but Dream’s body forced him to his feet anyway, readying him in a fighting position. The man swung out at him with a fist. Dream caught it twisting his arm. The man cursed, kicking at his knees. Dream spun the man's arms behind his back, reaching for the cuffs on his belt. He couldn’t tell if the man had magic. His body was screaming though. There was static in the air that he didn’t recognize and he wasn’t going to take chances, not today. The man struggled against him.

”Fucking dipshit,” He hissed, “Using fucking power neutralizers. The only monster that needs those is you,” The man spat. Dream tried not to flinch at the harsh words. They dug deep, making his heart pound more than it already was. He needed to get out of here. He needed to go home. He needed-

“Smiles,” Dream whipped around, eyes glowing neon green. The world was blurring around him. Hands reached out for him and magic cracked through the air.  “Woah, hey, just me.” Dream blinked heavily, trying to focus his vision. It was Techno. He knew the man’s voice. He could feel his presence. Dream could feel his hands trembling. Techno looked worried. “Hey, it's over. You're okay.” Dream shook his head. He wasn’t okay. His hands were shaking. His heart was throbbing. His veins were buzzing. It was wrong. He was wrong. 

             There was movement around him. His vision was blurring gain. Light flashed into his eyes and Dream flinched back, hand moving in front of his face. A flash from the other direction. Voices . Too many voices. He could hear Techno saying something. He could hear worry and anger in his friend's tone. He couldn’t make out the words that he was saying. Dream squinted, trying to make sense of anything around him. More flashes. He jammed his eyes shut.

             He reached out for Techno, but his hand only found air. His heart was pounding in his chest like it was about to tear out. He couldn’t breathe right around the stress. Around the nerves. His ears were rushing. He couldn’t make out a single sound of what was going on around him. The air was crackling. His eyes were burning. Dream sucked in a choked breath. His legs were shaking beneath his weight. His quad was straining. He gasped at the pain. More flashes. More voices. His leg buckled beneath his weight, sending him crashing onto one knee. He gasped out. His veins pulled. Green buzzed inside of him, burning through his fingertips. 

             Suddenly, hands were on him. One on his back. Another on his arm. Another on his chest. It was too much. They were grabbing. Pulling. His body screamed. So did he. Static cracked through the air. Illusions buzzed through the air. He heard terror. The hands pulled away from him. His magic burned stronger in self defense. He needed people away from him. He needed to be safe. He couldn’t control it. His eyes were jammed shut. His hands reached into his hair, grabbing fistfuls of it. His blood was boiling. He couldn’t breathe. He screamed again, agony cracking through the air. 

             He could hear sobbing around him. He could hear terror from the people. The people. The public. The citizens. 

             Dream’s eyes shot open, pupils glowing green. He was staring t the floor. He was scaring the public. He tore his gaze away from the floor, trying to look around him. He could feel sweat dripping down his face. 

            There was darkness. There was blood. There were weapons and screams. He couldn’t tell what was real and what was his body trying to protect itself. Dream grit his teeth and dug his fingers into the pavement, trying to break the illusions. 

              A hand reached against his back. The illusions wailed. Dream whipped around. Techno. The man was crouched down beside him. The man’s mask was still on. He had his hand up in surrender. 

“You need to stop,” Techno gasped, “Smiles you need to stop.” Dream’s veins were screaming. His body was burning. 

“I can’t-“ He gasped out, pain seeping into his voice. The world felt like it was squeezing around him. His head felt like it was being stuffed with cotton. His limbs were shaking. There was sweat outing down his back. 

“You can,” Techno whispered, looking away from the illusions. Even he looked haunted. It must be bad then. “I know you can.” Dream shook his head, a sob bubbling past his lips. He could feel tears burning in his eyes. He was hugging. His entire body was hurting so much that he didn’t know how to regulate it. He didn’t know how to fix this. 

“Breathe. Breathe Dream,” His voice lowered, “I’m right here. You're safe.” Dream shook his head. He wasn’t safe. He was never safe. His quad throbbed, pain shooting into his knee, making him squirm against the floor. 

“Hurts,” Dream choked. Techno’s hands carefully gripped the sides of his face. 

“I know. I know you’re hurting so bad,” The man whispered, “But you need to stop. You're scaring them.” Dream sobbed. He didn’t want to scare people. He didn’t want to be the monster that half of the town already thought that he was. Techno’s hands fell from his face and pulled him into an embrace. “Pull them back.” Dream shook his head. His mind was screaming. Tehno’s arms felt like fire. It burned. It all burned. Dream screamed, trying to thrash out of the man’s arms. It was too much. The world was too much. He was too much. 

            He could hear more screaming around him. There were footsteps pounding against the floor coming way too close. He felt Techno tense. The man said something. Dream couldn’t make it out. His arms were being yanked backward. He screamed, the illusions screaming with him. 

             His wrists were pressed against his back. He felt something cuff around him and his body burned. His veins cracked. He gasped, eyes blowing wide. The illusions snapped away. Dream jerked against the floor. Techno’s hands gripped him tighter. 

“Shh. You're okay. It’s okay.” Dream shook. His blood was boiling. The world was spinning. There were voices behind him. His vision was swarming. 

“He’s neutralized. He’s down, He heard from behind him. It was splotchy. Dream gagged. Techno squeezed him closer. He couldn’t hold on. 

              Everything went black. 

“Don’t watch that,” George scolded, pulling the remote from his hands. Dream sighed, running his fingers through recently showered hair. 

“What? The news calling me a monster?” Dream huffed, “Could be worse.” Videos had gone viral. Videos of press members trembling and little kids screaming. Videos of the hero league rushing into the scene and holding him down and forcing power reducers around his wrists. 

“Theyre idiots,” Sapnap hissed, sliding down on the couch beside him. Dream instantly leaned into his boyfriend when Sapnap slung an arm around him. George scooted against his other side. Dream breathed. 

“Theyre right.” He sighed. The TV shut off as George set down the remote. The older man looked over at him.

”You don’t actually think that, do you?” The brunette asked, voice sad. Dream shrugged. He didn't like making his boyfriend upset, but come on. He was dangerous. He had always been dangerous. Incidents like this only proved that to the world. 

“Well it's wrong, “ Sapnap huffed, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “They can all shut the fuck up. And you can too.” He added. Dream shook his head, a sad smile playing on his lips. 

           George pushed closer into him. “You saved so many people. It is the leagues fault for bushing you past your limits.” George hummed. 

“I shouldn’t have limits.” Sapnap flicked him on the shoulder for that. 

“We all have limits.” He argued back. Dream opened his out and George quickly leaned forward, pressing his lips against Dream’s. Dream momentarily froze before returning the kiss. Their lips moved together slowly. 

“Don’t,” George whispered against his mouth, pressing another slow kiss into his lips. Dream couldn’t argue. He moved his mouth against George’s. He shivered when the shorter man’s hand slipped down to his hip. Sapnap carefully looped his arms around Dream’s chest from behind. He felt a kiss press behind his ear. Dream’s eyes slipped shut. Sapnap smirked against his neck, sucking gently. Dream squirmed away. 

“Okay! Okay. You guys win,“ He muttered, flushing down his neck. Both of them grinned. 

“Good. We’re always right.” George smirked. Dream rolled his eyes fondly. 

“Sure, sure,” He hummed, leaning closer into his boyfriends arms. It was warm. He was safe. He was okay.