A knock at his door was all that managed to pull him from his thoughts as he made sure the letters were hidden and he got up to check the door. When he did he was surprised to be met with an irritated dream.
"Hey- puffy said she saw you run down the hall- everything ok?" Dream asked as he peeked over his shoulder into his room
"Yea Yea in fine- I was just excited- I got a package from one of the towns I had to patrol-" he said as he held up his hands to show him the jewelry.
Dream hummed softly "it..looks nice... just try not to do it again you freaked me out "anyway...I want you at dinner tonight if your not busy" Sapnap simply nodded and watched him leave.
When dinner rolled around Sapnap was surprised to find that it was only him and about five of the men who had been invited to the castle along with Dream and George. He was happy to see Thomson there though as he sat in his place.
"So, as much as I'd like to have everyone I thought just talking with some of you at a meal would be nice?" Dream said to the men there. Thomson seemed to smile a bit and two of the other men thanked him softly but the last two seemed to just nod as they sat there one out of respect obvious by his weary gaze and the other seemed bored as he fiddled with his fork. Dream was a tiny bit irked but simply continued as he gave a small toast and the dinner started.
"So why don't we catch everyone up? Tell us what you've been up to outside of war?" Dream said not looking away from his meal but he could feel the room's mood shift into a more easy one.
Some of the men seemed happy to talk about their family and where they were power wise, most of them had talked and even gotten George or Sapnap to peep in but thomson was quiet as he ate and listened to them.
Dream had taken quick notice of this and he hummed softly. "What about you? I haven't heard a thing all evening" he smiled at him a bit
"Oh...well I don't know... I moved as far as I could..and I have four kids?" he seemed a bit hesitant to speak. The others at the table had gone quiet to hear him. "I'm currently a farmer and I love my community" he said as he fiddled with his hands
"Really? What about a wife? How old are your kids?" Dream seemed genuinely interested in him and his life
"Well, never wanted a significant other..my four are all adopted actually. Well I have three rowdy teens and a young father" he said and ran his hand through his hair "one piece of advice, don't let your son travel before he's older" he said and received a few laughs from them.
"Really? What about a daughter?" dream said as he laughed a bit. Thomson joined in but he felt fear spike up a bit.
"Well she's my little dove i don't think I'll be letting her out until she's able to fend for herself" not the complete truth but if it kept him away from his daughter then he'd tell him whatever
"Don't worry- I have my eye on my own princess if it makes you feel any better," Dream said and he laughed softly as he saw Thomson calm a bit not noticing the spiteful look from Sapnap.
The rest of the night was filled with pleasant conversation until they went to their quarters but on his way to his room Thomson was stopped by sapnap who gently tugged at his hand and thomson gently grabbed his hand and looked at him worried as if he was one of his kids
"Is everything ok?" he said as he let go of his hand and looked him over a bit as if scanning for wounds
"I...well i was wondering if i could... if you'd be ok if i went to your home? With you here and guards swarming it won't be safe right now but I'm supposed to leave anyway to go on some kind of short holiday but I really do care and... I'd be honored to learn from you when you got back?" he just seemed like a sweet guy who wanted to help him out and it obviously touched his heart as thomson smiled warmly
"That would be wonderful...tell me when you plan to leave I can give you a map and a letter for my kids" he seemed so happy but sapnap was even happier that he was making good progress with him and he'd be able to see Y/n soon.
"Thank you i think i'll leave tomorrow after breakfast so i can bet there before the second wave of soldiers even get done with training" he said as he thought it over and smiled at thomson who ruffled his hair gently
"Then I'll be sure to get it ready for you tonight and get it to you tomorrow" he smiled more and he headed to bed finally and Sapnap made his way to his room a smile on his face as he felt his heart start to beat. He was going to see her and see her home and get to be close with her. He started to gather his items in excitement.
As he was he heard a small knock at his door which made him jump before he went to answer his excitement visible. Dream was at the door no mask or crown and he looked a bit sleepy almost
"Hey- oh... am i disturbing something?" he peeked over sapnap to see his vacation bag out and such
"No no- im just packing for my trip, I decided Id leave tomorrow morning rather then afternoon. You can come in if you want to chat a bit?" he said a bit awkward but he stepped aside to let him in. dream looked at him a bit weary but he didn;t say anything about it as he sat on a chair and stretched out as sapnap closed his door and went back to his bags.
"So where might you be going? I might come get you so you actually come home" dream said a bit playfully as he looked up to him a little
Sapnap went a bit tense "oh um im gonna head out and travel a bit? I'll probably be on the plans side of the kingdom though if that helps?" he said not looking at him in fear his flustered face would give him away or he'd stutter.
Dream just hummed softly "oh...well be ready for when we come to get you then ok?" He smiled at him
"Well- I decided to clock in some out of castle training too...I'll come in to check in after vacation but then I was gonna go a few kingdoms out to do some training and shit?" Sapnap said as he managed to finish packing and he seemed proud of how compact it was. He had made sure to bring lots of things to show Y/n and he tried to find things to help him get on better terms with Tommy and tubbo. Although he had no idea how he'd do anything with Wilbur.
"Oh...well...you can skip the check in I guess... How long do you think you'll be gone all together? Vacations only a week? And I don't really know his much out of castle time you have.." Dream was visibly getting more upset at the idea of one of his few genuine friends leaving for a long period of time.
"Well I have nearly a year worth but I'll probably only stay out for like a month maybe? I'll send you letters to update you though ok?" Sapnap turned to him with a smile hoping it convinced him that it would all be ok so he could leave without feeling guilty.
Dream just pouted at him "saaaaaapppnaaapp- what are we s'posed to do here without you then? Your not gonna be here to save me from all the weird old guys-" Dream seemed to pout more as he spoke
"Well- you'll have George- and puffy said she'd come stop by to say hi? And not all of them are that bad- like Thomson-" he smiled a bit
Dream shot him a confused look "Thomson? I mean yea he's nice but he's not really a good replacement for you ya know-" he said as he looked him over a bit.
"Well- he's probably the best out of them- in my opinion at least-" he shrugged a bit trying to just keep his cover a bit.
"Just because Bads a bad dad now as days doesn't mean you can randomly pick a new dad sap" Dream teased a bit making Sapnap blush brightly at the thought of Thomson becoming his father in law if he married Y/n.
"Shut it- anyway Bads my adoptive father anyway I don't think he'd be too bothered by me and Thomson becoming buddies" Sapnap said and he flicked Dream on the forehead before he flopped down on his bed and stretched out
"Ewww take off your boots you actual barbarian!" Dream hissed as he watched Sapnap lay in bed with his clothes from the day.
"You've slept with full armor I think I'm perfectly fine Dreamy poo" Sapnap said as he sat up and took off his boots.
Dream shook his head and got up "well- whatever, anyway I guess I'll have to sit around here and wait for you huh? But it means you can't bother Sam for a while so it's a win win yea?" He said as he stretched out his back a bit.
"Yea, what's Sam doing anyway? I thought you were still pissed that he didn't tell you about him and Wilbur being friends?" Sapnap raised his brow
"It's whatever but he's helping me with something special, I'll show you when it's done I promise. But he can probably give us some intel- you know how Sam is, just have to have the right price and he'll crack" he shrugged and turned to leave
"Oh um...ok well night dream I'll see you at the table tomorrow" Sapnap said with a smile but he felt a small spike of anxiety as he watched Dream wave and leave.
A few gears in his mind started to turn and it worried him, if Wilbur was Y/n's brother then they were family friends as well, Sam could recognize Thomson and that meant if Sam spilled about anything he'd have more access to Y/n and that made Sapnaps stomach churn as he got up and slipped on his boots rushed as he looked for Thomson's room. When he found it he knocked as calmly as he could but it came out panicked.
Thomson was quick to the door and he swung it open quickly looking to the antsy teen before him.
"I'm sorry to bother you but I really need to talk to you" Sapnap was paranoid as he looked over his shoulder every so often.
Thomson simply stepped aside and motioned to walk in. Thomson was just in some baggy pajama pants and a tank top leaving his shoulders and most of his neck exposed, deep and dark scars covered even just what Sapnap could see but he didn't focus on that as he walked in thanking him.
"What's wrong kid? You look more scared then most of the men I've had to look over" Thomson said as he closed the door and he made Sapnap sit as he got him some water from the bathroom sink and he handed it to him
"Thank you- and I didn't think of this before but Sam frequents the castle and Dream said he'd be here, Wilbur said something about family friends and I didn't want you to be caught off guests or- if you need to leave I can help you get out" Sapnap said as he looked to the older man with worry
Thomson took a deep breath "oh god I thought it was gonna be worse- thank you and thank you again but I'll be fine, he knows the cover don't worry. Thank you for worrying about me but I'll be fine, Sams a smart guy it'll be fine" he said as he relaxed a bit and he smiled at Sapnap who was incredibly embarrassed now
Thomson laughed softly as he noticed how red his face had gotten "don't worry- you're just trying to help, I'm an old man I understand you and my kids just think you need to protect me... thank you." He smiled and as sapnap stood he gently gave him a one armed hug "thank you...thank you for trying to keep me and my family safe" he let him go and waved him off to his own room.
When Sapnap was gone we went to sit at his desk and he sighed softly. He couldn't help but smile as he gathered a few things to give Sapnap the next morning for his travels.
(AHHHHH I am so very sorry for my recent inactivity! I hadn't realized just how much time had passed until i got comments asking if i was discontinuing the book! that is not the case i have too many pages pre-written to do that for a while! but anyway have some more Sapnap focused stuff for a bit but don't worry it's probably only for a few more chapters for those of you who aren't the biggest fans of the nether boy)