LOSING GAME ➳ dreamwastaken

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦

The downpour of rain masked the heavy waterfall of tears that was streaming down Reverie's face. Despite the fact that she had won, she was staring at the ashes of all of her pain and all of her problems, she wondered if it was truly worth the cost.

It had never truly registered with her until that very moment that Wilbur was gone, and he was never coming back.

Tubbo stumbled across the field, his feet sinking into the marshy ground, engaged in a desperate scramble to reach his sister. She hurried down the slope on which he was stood to meet him and Tubbo halted, his chest heaving, clutching a stitch in his side.

"You—you're alive," he stammered breathlessly. "Technoblade told me he got you out and I—I had to come see you because I didn't want our last memories of each other to be—"

Reverie put both of her hands on Tubbo's shoulders and offered him a gentle smile as, simultaneously, tears sprang to their identical eyes.

"I know you're not a villain, Rev," Tubbo continued. "I know that you didn't destroy L'Manberg out of spite—you had your reasons. I don't fault you for doing what you thought was right. After all, we're all the villain in someone else's story, aren't we?"

Reverie's head was pounding, which was quite understandable. She had lost what should have been a lethal amount of blood and, after the excessive amounts of tears she had cried, she was sure to be left with a bad headache.

"But you're still a criminal, Rev," Tubbo sighed out, his bottom lip quivering. Reverie felt her heartbeat begin to quicken as she predicted exactly what Tubbo's next words would be. "They won't let you away with this, not even if I clear your name. You're top of their hitlist now and there's nothing I can do about it."

Reverie was somehow at peace with this. Whatever happened next, she had fulfilled what she believed to be her destiny, she had secured her legacy, and she had tied up any loose ends she had with Wilbur and Tubbo.

"So, what now?" she asked, her gaze constantly jumping between the ruined nation and her broken brother.

"I mean, realistically, I should have you locked up or, you know, executed," Tubbo answered with a heavy heart.

An uncomfortable shiver ran down Reverie's spine as flashes of Technoblade's attempted execution invaded her mind.

"But you know," Tubbo went on, speaking slowly, choosing his words very carefully as he took a step closer to his sister. "If you start running now, I might accidently lose track of you."

A small yet grateful smile curled Reverie's lips and, despite the dire situation, she let out a sigh of contentment as her shoulders untensed. Perhaps she and Techno could do what he had suggested before—run away into the mountains, disappear, start new lives as not The Blade and Reverie, but as Techno and Rev.

Wordlessly, Reverie embraced Tubbo and she realised then just how much agony her entire body was in. Although her blood that she had drunk was healing her, it was a tedious process and every bone in her body was still frail and limp. Still, she tried not to lean too much of her weight on her brother.

Reverie could feel her heart breaking in her chest. She clung to Tubbo as though her life depended on it, willing the embrace to last forever. Reverie did not think she had it in her to say her final goodbyes to both Wilbur and Tubbo in the same day, but that was exactly what she had to do.

They did not say anything as they stepped away from one another, their grip on each other's arms lingering just a little longer. Reverie's heart ached as it never had before as she accepted the truth that this was it. She was never going to see her brother again.