I let Dream carry me for a good ten minutes in comfortable silence before deciding enough is enough. I've allowed him to have his way under the pretence that I was too emotionally exhausted to care what he did. A dumb excuse, I know, and I can't believe it's taken me a full ten minutes to realise it.

I gave up too easily.

Twisting under Dream's grip, I manage to gain a little height by pushing up on his shoulder. And then before he can question my wiggling, I throw myself forward as hard as I can.

The momentum has him fold backwards, buckling with a yelp.

I raise my arms, protecting my face as I prepare to eat dirt for my poorly executed plan.

Dream isn't able to regain his balance in time, but he does manage to twist his torso, landing uncomfortably on his side instead of squishing me.

A thoughtful but unnecessary action. I'm no stranger to pain.

"What are you-" I don't let him finish, bringing up an elbow and ramming it a little harder than necessary into his mask.

He splutters and reels away, shoving his hands up under his mask.

He drops my trident and it comes zipping into my hand as I call for it.

In a matter of seconds I've managed to turn the tides. I'm the one who stands over him now as he groans in pain.

"What is it with you and my mask?!" He exclaims, more annoyed than angry as he sits upright in the dirt. His round mask sits wonkily on his face, a portion of his cheek and lips viewable as a steady stream of red dribbles down from his nose. His hands have blood splotched across them in his attempt to stunt the flow.

I open my mouth to respond, but then shut it. I've wasted enough time humouring this man. I need to return to Manburg. Schlatt might need me. I can't believe I let him distract me with ideas of a date? Who in their right mind goes on a date right after a breakup?! It's an insult to my relationship with Fundy.

"Oy, hold on a minute."

I don't turn back, continuing to walk away with my trident gripped tightly in a hand.

"You could at least thank me, y'know? You looked like you needed to hit something. Though I'm surprised it took you this long to retaliate, honestly. I thought I'd be walking in circles for hours-"

Dream bites his tongue as I swing around, my expression tight. He hasn't bothered to fix his mask, and when he smirks I actually see his lips move, creased with blood.

"...What?" I utter, unsure if I'm hearing right.

He shrugs nonchalantly. He's still sat in the dirt and doesn't look like he plans on standing any time soon.

"Did you really not notice? I've been walking the same path for the last ten minutes, waiting for you to perk up."

"So that talk about a date was just to rile me up?"

"Well I don't know about that. Haven't you ever heard of a walking date?"

I roll my eyes.

"Very funny. You do know that toying with the emotions of others is deplorable, right?"

Dream actually laughs. "Oh, like you're one to talk. Dating that fox when you're clearly into me."

"I told you that that was a mistake," I mutter, my gaze dropping to my feet. I should be angry. I know I should. But I just can't bring myself to feel that emotion right now. "It's not like it matters anymore. We broke up. Turns out we didn't really understand each other."

For the first time ever, Dream is quiet. No snarky quip or remark. He just stares up at me, a slight tilt to his head.

Taking a breath, I rub at my eyes with my forefinger and thumb. I feel stupid for being so vulnerable in front of him. It's like I'm forgetting who I am. Who I'm supposed to be.

"I'm...going to go now. Being with you is messing me up. I never know if I should fight or humour you. And right now I don't feel like doing either of those things. So can you just...leave me alone for a bit? Please?"

"I told you before, didn't I?" He says, standing and fixing his mask, leaving bloody fingerprints on the white plastic. "I have no intention of leaving you alone. I really have been thinking about you. And don't roll your eyes at me, because I'm not joking."

I glance away nervously. What's with his tone? Is he being serious right now?

"I don't have time for this," I mutter.

"You never have time for anything." Dream affirms, closing the distance between us easily. He plants one hand over my own--the one gripping the trident--and places the other on my neck, where Techno's scar glints white. "You need to stop worrying about what others think. About Schlatt, Fundy, Wilbur and Tommy. They're all just background characters to your life. You need to listen to yourself. Your emotions. Scream once in a while, will ya? Or maybe cry a little? You're a person with needs too. And you need to start paying attention to them. Fuck everyone else. Right here, right now, act on your emotions. Be it stabbing me or swearing at the sky. For God's sake do some-"

I shut him up with a clumsy kiss to the mouth, hitching his mask up with a hasty shove of my hand. It's hot and sweet and tinged with the taste of blood.

"You want to know what I feel?" I mutter a moment later, breaking the kiss, my lips hovering over his so that our breaths mingle. "I feel unbearably attracted to you. And I hate myself for it. Because it betrays everything I've spent the last two years trying to become."

"And what's that?" He whispers, his breaths growing quicker by the second as his grip on my neck tightens.

"A perfect bodyguard. A loyal friend. A better person. Someone worthy to stand by Schlatt's side. And I've been doing a pretty good job of it till I met you."

"Excuses, excuses." He murmurs, amused.

A ghost of a smile crosses my lips.

"Maybe so. But have you ever died and been brought back to life? If not for Schlatt, I wouldn't even be here right now. In body and partial soul."

This manages to wake Dream from his lust-filled haze, and I imagine him blinking rapidly behind his mask.

His lips pull down into a frown.

"What?"

I don't respond. Instead I sigh deeply and sink into his chest, surrendering my trident to him.

"You have no idea how nice it is to finally explain to someone why I'm so absurdly indebted to Schlatt."

"No, hey, go back a moment. What do you mean you died?" He drops my trident, raising his hands to cup my cheeks, forcing me to look at him. "That's not possible. Not even a totem can bring the already dead back to life."

"Schlatt has a book. A book that resurrects." I hum. I've slipped into a sort of daze myself. It's like a valve has been opened in my brain and all my thoughts are finally spilling out. I was never this honest when I was dating Fundy. Probably because I knew it would be too much for him. But Dream is different. I know he can understand me, because we're just as messed up as each other. "He used it to save me." I continue. "He said he felt sorry for me, and told me I had so much more potential. He wanted me to live. But everything I had to live for had already been extinguished. So he gave me new meaning as Ares. A protector. His protector. And I will protect him."

My expression hardens as I gaze directly at Dream, no longer lost in my mind's fog.

"Because no matter what I feel for you, Dream, it will never be able to overcome the debt I wish to repay to Schlatt. Every good thing that's happened to me since I was resurrected has been thanks to him. So if it ever comes down to you or him, I will always choose him. That is what I need you to understand."

The masked man says nothing. He doesn't have to. Because instead he hugs me, and that answers every insecurity I could have about him.

"I didn't think it possible, Bean Sprout, but you might actually be more messed up than me."

I smile into his jacket, enjoying the small, shared warmth of this moment.

"Naturally. And Dream?"

"Yeah?"

"Even though I'm attracted to you, I still can't be with you, not the way you probably want. Does that make sense? I don't know if it does. Because even if being with you feels right. Righter than how I've ever felt with anyone else, I can't allow myself to be completely yours."

There's a pause, and then Dream sighs, squishing me further into his chest.

"No, I understand. You're in a unique position right now, stuck between a rock and a hard place." He snakes an arm free to push back my fringe and plant a kiss on my hairline. It's sticky and warm with saliva and blood. "But don't think that's going to stop me from vying for your affections."

I hum, "I expected as much. But to be honest, I think it would be good for me to start giving into my emotions more--like you said, I need to pay more attention to my needs."

Tipping my head back, I catch his lips and plant a long, firm kiss on them.

For the first time since being brought back, I feel full again.

--------------

So...yeah. This chapter was a bit intense, wasn't it? It's funny really. I was originally going to have Dream take Ares on a date to the beach for her to work out her tension. But then I started writing this chapter and realised 'huh, I see another direction I could take this' and here we are. This chapter may be edited depending on how confused it leaves everyone. But for now this is it.

:D

#technosupport