Pairings: Dream x Reader
Warnings: Descriptions of death, blood, violence
Pronouns: They/them
——————————
The glimmer in (Y/n) eyes continued to flicker as they glanced down at the chains that engulfed their hands. Their breath was calm and steady, despite having multiple straps of metal clung onto them to keep them in place to stop them from moving anywhere apart from where they was sat.
There, on the podium, in front of the people of Dream's country, knelt (Y/n). The moment was supposed to be embarrassing for them, specifically created to humiliate their character. But they just couldn't help to hold back the grin that grew on their face. It bothered the rest of the people hoping to humiliate them as (Y/n) sat there with a cheeky grin on their face, as if to taunt them, but (Y/n) really couldn't control it. The situation was just funny to them.
The way they ended up in this situation was pretty simple, but it's necessary to turn back to just a few months before, back when Dream's life hadn't completely turned upside down. It's easier to understand when you look at all sides of the story. Well, your opinions on this probably wouldn't change after hearing all sides of the story, but it's good to listen anyway.
(Y/n) was a fairly neutral party, they always had been - At least, that's what they had always said. They mainly fought for themself, but if (Y/n) and another person was given a common goal, they wouldn't mind teaming with them. But whatever it was, (Y/n) loved to do things for the sake of it being done. Whether it was for money, power or just the fact that they thought it'd be funny - as long as they got what they wanted in the end, they were free to do whatever they pleased. And they didn't necessarily have a particular limit to what they would do either. (Y/n) was courageous.
What were they fighting for in this case? Well, (Y/n) was always a pleaser of the people. But they wouldn't mind having the power that Dream did. Imagine what they could do with the influence he had. They were a little power-hungry, they would admit; moving to the Dream SMP only itched them more to take a step closer to their goal.
They wanted to try to get ahead and the one way to do that was to get through Dream first.
And let me just say, it worked. Incredibly well. Dream played directly into the palm of their hand and he had no idea. (Y/n) was almost surprised how naive he seemed to be. He talked a lot of big game. Saying he was this 'strong man with a huge IQ', but really? To them, he was nothing. It was often baffling how gullible he always seemed to be whenever (Y/n) made an offering. Every play he made was laughable and he continued making these decisions.
(Y/n) played it off smoothly. They were the kind soul Dream would meet standing by the end of the docks. Doing regular things, like lighting up sticks of dynamite and throwing them into the lake just to watch it explode. You know, something they knew would attract his attention. Which it did. He didn't find a lot of people that he found as interest as them, which is why it had caught his attention when he saw someone as bold as they were.
From then on, (Y/n) got closer and closer to Dream. The one reason Dream liked them because he was under the impression that they were very alike. Which they were, just not the kind of alike he would've hoped. He saw them as this equally chaotic and immoral person, while they just shared the same amount of intellect and manipulation. They had a few of his traits, just not the ones that he had wished to share.
(Y/n) fit nicely into the crown, by his side. They knew, if they had just waited a little bit longer, perhaps they could've gotten further. But they got cocky. (Y/n) started to do things like ask for information and sneak it over to his rivalled factions, like L'manburg in the hopes that it would spark wars.
But Dream, unfortunately, wasn't as stupid as they thought he was. Soon after the information got out, Dream started to see right through their lies. He discovered that they had been reading through private documents and trades, stealing weaponry and reading in on information that could one-hundred percent be used as blackmail. That's when he discovered that (Y/n) wasn't the ally he had hoped they would be. (Y/n) was worse. Much, much worse.
There was no way to make them forget the information they had already memorised or give in the files that they had taken. Dream had been tricked, backstabbed, and quite possibly, bamboozled. There was no going back from him. To save him the humiliation she could bring upon his name, what could he do? Well. With a man with his power and fame, he knew exactly what he would do.
Dream wanted a public execution. He knew that they had planned to humiliate them while they took the title of the leader, so he planned to flip it on them to save himself the embarrassment.
On that day, the town stood around the stage to watch (Y/n) get slaughtered. It didn't take a lot to pique the interest of the people, it would seem. Every assembly among the podium that the country had was often crowded, but it had never been more crowded than it was on that day. A bunch of people all showed up to witness the happening, hoping to see the humiliation to point of laugh at the victim as they died. That's what the whole gathering was for.
This was actually really funny to them. Not because they were some sort of masochist, but because they found it amusing that The Dream had actually fallen for their tricks. Sure, it took months for it to play out the way it did, but it worked. And now Dream was stood beside one of the pillars, sharpening one of his arrows to prepare for (Y/n)'s death, which he would perform himself.
"I don't understand what's so funny, this is your funeral." Dream murmured to (Y/n) as he prepared. (Y/n) chuckled lightly and scratched the back of their palm before turning their head up to Dream.
"It's funny because I had the last laugh." They replied smugly.
"It doesn't look like you have. We're at your execution, you know. It's actually pretty funny for me."
"How so?"
"Because at the end of the day, this just proves that I still have the most power." He argued back through gritted teeth.
"Oh, come on now." They smiled, uttering in a gravelly tone as if to taunt him. "This just sounds like you throwing a hissy fit after your crush rejected you."
"Whatever." He grunted. "You're still below me. As it should be."
"No... No, I don't think so." (Y/n) winced, smiling. "I think this whole execution is just a whole overreaction to you accidentally opening yourself up to someone who turned out to be someone who never loved you at all." They flashed him an innocent smile, the kind you know that'd be hiding lies. His grip on the arrow tightened.
Dream stayed silent.
"Aww," she frowned. "Did 'wittle Dreamy actually believe that I loved him?" (Y/n) taunted, leaning forward. "Did you fall for me?" Their eyelashes fluttered.
"I don't fall." He grumbled.
"Well, that doesn't sound right." They smirked. "Because from what I've gathered, you let a stranger into the hands of information you wouldn't want getting out into the public."
Dream rolled his eyes, muttering to himself as he took the crossbow from the side and loaded the arrow into it.
"You're right." He cleared his throat. "I don't want that information getting out. Which is why I'm here to kill you."
"Are you sure it's not the love thing?" They teased as he made his way over to them. Dream's cheeks flushed a pink colour, but he quickly hid it by turning his mask over to cover his face, the large smile immediately being visible to everybody.
The crowd suddenly went silent when they saw that Dream began to hold up his crossbow to them, the smile on his mask looking as intimidating as ever. The wave of people just stopped talking to catch the event that was about to pass them by, a surf of shushes and bushes washed over them all to silence the entire party. Dream exhaled deeply.
"Where do you want the arrow?" His words muffled, the crossbow aimed directly at them. They could practically feel the stinging of the weapon that hadn't even touched their skin. From behind his mask, Dream's eyes were squinted so that he could stare through the crosshair of his weapon, ready to pull the trigger at any moment.
"In the heart." (Y/n) said in a mocking tone.
"You don't have one." He gritted his teeth, putting the arrow up right next to their neck and pushing them forward, causing their head to tip down to look towards their knees in their final seconds.
The final seconds that (Y/n) seemed to pass them by. They could even feel Dream's hand shaking against the crossbow as (Y/n) just giggled lowly. The silence built up between them before (Y/n) was able to finally mutter.
"Don't lose your head, Dream."
From that line alone, Dream just inhaled sharply and laid his index finger against the trigger, pulling it towards himself.
The arrow immediately shot out of the crossbow and drove right through (Y/n)'s neck. A loud gasp waved across the crowd as it happened. (Y/n)'s head shot forward as the arrow drove through them before it completely caught in their neck and cut off their airway. For five very short seconds, (Y/n) struggled to grasp for air, before they finally stumbled forward onto the stage, the blood seeping from the injury and onto the outfit that they had been wearing.
Dream looked down at them with a deadpan stare, the mask only making it look even more cold. They were right. He was foolish.