Separation || A Different Twist On Exile

-chapter twenty-

Technos house was far from the exile area, but it had to of been the closest. Tommy wouldn't have the nerve to try and go back to L'manburg. Despite knowing Dream was lying, he still would believe some of it. He didn't know that the invitations weren't sent out. He didn't know that the people were specifically waiting for Dreams go before visiting. No, no, Tommy would still think they were bad people.

So at least Dream had that.

When he found out that Tommy had ran away and not just jumped, he was pissed. He thought his plans went to ruins, and everyone would know what he did to Tommy and turn on him.

But he had already figured out Tommy's brain, how he thought. So he knew well enough Tommy still believed some of what he said. It was engraved in his head. He was infected, corrupt by Dream's word, and that's exactly what he wanted.

Plus, any threat would scare the boy into hiding. All he needed to do was come up with another simple plan to either get him back, or find a way to separate Tommy and Tubbo again.

And it was pretty clear exactly what he would do.

Dream had his speculations about the tower, but as he was there for the majority of Tommy's exile, it was obvious what Tommy tried.

That was really the thing that shocked him the most from his time there, how open he was about those feelings. It was odd how he just stared down at the lava, but when he actually admited it, Dream didn't know what to do. Of course, this would be helpful to him in the long run of manipulating him, but it caught him off guard.

Dream drove Tommy to the point he wanted to end it.

Either way, it would be helpful if he was going to make Tubbo feel guilty. That was his goal with him all along anyway, to make him feel like it was his fault for not visiting and for exiling him.

It seemed to be working, too.

Ranboo was a problem, sure, but it was easy enough to get him to shut his mouth. He wouldn't be of good assistance, but he couldn't be killed off just yet.

So Dream went first to Tubbos house, where he started his plan.

--

"Dream? What..what are you doing here? This isn't a place of work. If you want something, please give me a minute, I'm quite busy-"

"It's about Tommy."

"What?"

Dream gulped back, trying to look visibly distressed. Tubbo was confused, worried. It was working perfectly.

"I don't know how to tell you this.." He started, taking a deep breath. "Tommy..is dead. He..killed himself."

There was a pause between the two, Tubbo processing what he heard. Dream looked away from his eyes, not wanting to see his reaction.

"What..?" His voice broke, his muscles tensing up as he tried to stand up straighter.

"I'm so sorry, Tubbo." Dream comforted, biting the inside of his lip. The boy took a deep breath.

"I- could you excuse me for a minute?"

Dream nodded, backing away as Tubbo went inside and shut the door. He waited off to the side, giving him time.

Tubbo struggled not to just burst into tears. He tried to hold himself together, but it wasn't working. This was his best friend. Tommy was like a brother to him.

He put his hand up to his mouth, biting on his finger. He muffled his sobs, freely letting his tears flow down. He stayed as quiet as he could, trying not be seen like this. He was lucky no one else was in the house, and Dream was nice enough to stay outside.