"Dream?"
Technoblade stands in the doorway of the cottage, looking at me with wide eyes.
I look back down at my compass again in shock, then back at Techno.
"Technoblade?"
"Technoblade!" Ghostbur cheers, and Techno points to the other cottage behind us.
"Phil's in there," Techno replies, and Ghostbur rushes into the other house. Technoblade turns his attention back to me.
"You seem just as shocked as I am?" Technoblade stands awkwardly. "Did you not know I lived here?"
"Uh,"I clear my throat. "I didn't. Do you live out here alone? Or...?"
"Phil lives here with me," Techno drawls, and I nod. We stand in awkward silence.
"So Dream, where's your house?"
"Oh, it's a long ways away-" I explain.
"Wait, you don't have a house?" Technoblades usual frown breaks a little.
"I have a house!" I defend.
"Sure you do, Dream," Techno nods.
"I'm not having this conversation with you right now," I roll my eyes in annoyance. "Tommy and I were just passing through and we were wondering if we could stay here for just a night?"
"You wouldn't need to stay here if you had a house," Technoblade shrugs.
I take a breath before answering him.
"We just need to sleep here for one night, please?" I ask.
"Um, no..." Technoblade trails off.
I had put two and two together at this point, knowing that Phil was Nix's father and the fact that the compass says she's here made it obvious.
"Listen, Techno," I begin, talking in a more hushed voice. "I know that Nix is here, and I know she probably doesn't want to see me, so I'll leave. I just wanted to know where she was. Tommy's around here somewhere, so just tell him that I ended up going back home, and that he should stay here however long he wants".
Before Technoblade can say more, I turn and start to leave. I didn't want to stay here for long and run the risk of bumping into Nix.
And that's exactly when I bumped into Nix.
Only steps away, there she stood alongside Tommy, Ashes in his rightful place on her shoulder. The first thing I noticed was her eyes, deep brown and full of life, both of them focussed on me. She was wearing warm clothes fit for snowy weather, and her glossy ginger hair was flecked with little dots of white from the snow.
The sight of her made my adrenaline start spiking, and I fought the urge to run to her.
She stood there in silence, her eyes wide and so full of emotions that I could both see every one of them and yet none of them all at once. This was not how I wanted things to go.
"Oh," I breathed out, frozen.
"I found Nix," Tommy coughed out sheepishly.
No shit, Tommy.
Before I knew it, we were all piled into Techno's small cottage, with Phil attempting to make tea for all of us. The tension in the air was suffocating, and I tried as hard as possible to stay in my small corner of the cottage. Nix was on the opposite side, sandwiched in between Tommy and one of Techno's dogs. She hadn't let go of Tommy's hand, and avoided any eye contact with me. Despite as badly as my mind wanted me to, I made sure not to stare at her. Technoblade sat next to the fireplace, being there to stop Ghostbur from messing with furniture and decorations in the cottage.
"I have some chai tea going, it's a favorite around here," Phil smiles, turning back to face us.
Nix likes chai tea. Alyssa made it for her all the time.
Nix leans over and whispers something to Tommy, and Tommy whispers back. Her eyes shoot to mine, then look away again.
"So, what brings you to our cottage, Dream? I understand Tommy came with you?" Phil asks with a warm smile.
I don't even know how to respond.
"Well I made a deal with Big D to help me find Nix!" Tommy explains.
Phil cackles at the name Tommy gives me, and I see Technoblade face palm. Nix glares at me, and I look everywhere except in her direction.
"Well, you found me. Happy now?" Nix snaps in response to Tommy, but the venom is meant for me. Silence ensues.
"No," I mutter under my breath.
"Then why did you fucking come?" She sits forward.
I don't know.
"Tommy needed help-"
"Don't use Tommy as an excuse!" She yells, and Tommy yanks his hand away from her, letting out a grunt of pain as he looks down at his palm. He looks back up at Nix in confusion.
"Fine! I just wanted to make sure you were somewhere safe!" I throw my hands up in frustration.
"So that you could keep me close and find a way to use me again?" She seethes.
"Let's calm down," Phil interjects.
"Do you really fucking think that? You really think I have some elaborate scheme?" I yell back, ignoring Phil. How could she act like I'm some kind of heartless villain?
"Well why else have you not revived Wilbur? Why have you let this," She gestures to Ghostbur, "This fucking thing run around and act like it's Wilbur? You obviously want to use him as a bargaining chip or something".
"Are you seriously asking me why I haven't revived the same person that blew up a fucking nation?" I ask incredulously, "I'm so sorry that you lost someone you loved, Nix. But regardless of if he's your brother, he's a danger to everyone right now".
"Wait, revived?" Tommy cuts in.
"Don't act like I'm stupid, I know that he's done fucked up shit," Nix argues. "Do you always have to act like you know better than everyone else?"
"Well, I'm not wrong am I?"
That was the wrong thing to say.
"You know what? Fuck you," She takes her sword out from it's sheath on her back, pointing it at me.
"Oh come on," I laugh. She's not really going to fucking fight me.
"Now hold on," Phil puts his hands up in an attempt to calm us down.
"Take me seriously or you'll regret it," She warns.
"Try me, you never could beat me in a fight," I taunt, taking out my axe.
That was also not the right thing to say.
Nix's eyes flare, and fire fills them in a millisecond. Before I know it, she's coated in flames and charging at me. She's equally beautiful and terrifying in this state, and I feel genuine horror watching her move towards me.
All I can do is raise my axe and await the burning sensation.
"That's enough!" Phil yells, standing between us.
Nix barely stops herself from crashing into Phil, and moves her sword out of the way before it impales him.
"But it was just getting good," Technoblade sighs from his corner.
"Why is Nix on fucking fire?" Tommy screams, backing into the other corner.
"Please stop fighting!" Ghostbur asks politely from next to Techno.
"Phil, move aside," Nix warns, never taking her eyes off mine.
"If you want to fight him then it isn't my business, but not inside the house," Phil commands. "And you know this isn't a healthy and controlled Phoenix state. You're hurting yourself".
"I don't care about myself, I just want to hurt him," She looks back at me, and it feels like she really did stab me. "I just want to hurt him the way he hurt me".
Fuck, I've really messed up.
Tears stream from her face, and slowly the flames die down. Nix opens her eyes and they are back to their normal darkness. She must have improved since the last time I saw her, since she didn't faint at any point. Nix furiously wipes the tears away, then rushes out the door.
Everyone stares at me, all of them furious.
"I think you should leave, Dream," Phil turns to me with a frown. " I don't know what happened between you two, but I think we can all tell she doesn't want to see you right now".
I nod, and go to the door, opening it and leaving immediately.
I can hear Nix's cries from just around the corner of the cottage, and I turn to go along the other corner of the house.
"I know you're there, Dream".
Sighing, I slowly walk around the corner and see her sitting against the wall, her face red from crying. Even now, I wish I could take back every word I said and wipe her tears.
"I didn't mean for any of this to happen," I whisper.
"Take off the fucking mask. I can't stand it," She sniffles. "I'm here crying and I can't even see your face.
I do as she asks, pulling it off and throwing it into the snow nearby.
"That's fair," I walk over and sit next to her.
"I haven't forgiven you. I don't know if I can," Nix mutters.
"That's also fair. You don't need to forgive me, I don't deserve-"
"Don't you dare fucking say you don't deserve it. That's bullshit," she interrupts me.
"I'm sorry".
"And stop apologizing! It just makes me more upset," She complains.
I smile, just glad to be talking to her again.
"I'm just upset right now, give me a minute".
We sit in silence as she takes deep breaths, calming herself.
"Let me talk, and don't say anything, okay?" She waits until I nod before continuing.
"This is hard to say, especially now," She sighs. "But I fell for you. Like really hard. Everything was falling into place, I was finally feeling happy again, Niki and I had plans to stop Wilbur, and Alyssa didn't hate me. But the entire time, I had this nagging feeling, knowing that I was leaving Tommy alone, I was leaving L'Manberg alone, and I was leaving Wilbur alone. I felt like a traitor. And my only justification for being happy and okay with those things was you. I really loved you".
Loved. Past tense.
"And I think I still do. I think that's why this all hurts so much," She continues, and I felt like I could breathe again.
"And then there's this whole Phoenix thing, and with you not telling me, and manipulating me to stay? I just really felt like I fucked up. I fucked up not going back to L'Manberg, I felt like I fucked up falling in love with you".
If I thought this conversation hurt me already, her saying that was a different, more excruciating kind of pain.
"And then you come here after I told you not to follow me? You bring Tommy and the ghost of my dead brother? What the fuck?" She shakes her head in disbelief. "I just don't understand".
She looks at me, and gives me a pained grin.
"What the fuck are we doing, Dream?"
"Can I talk now?"
She punches my arm roughly.
"Don't be a smartass," She warns, "Go ahead".
"I want you to know that if I could take back everything I did, I would. Hiding stuff from you never felt good, and I should've realized that sooner. I hate that I manipulated you, I hate that I made you have to choose between your family and me, I hate that I made you feel any kind of sadness, and I hate that you feel like you fucked up with falling in love with me. The last one especially, because I love you too. I wish I could explain myself, but I can't. I wasn't justified in doing any of the stuff I did," I sigh, "But I don't regret following you after you said not to, because otherwise I wouldn't have gotten to listen to you. I wouldn't have been able to know how you've been feeling. I'm so sorry Nix. I will do anything and everything I can to fix this".
Nix sits in silence, watching me with a sad expression.
"And what if I say you can't fix this?" She asks quietly.
"Then I'll spend the rest of my life making sure you never feel this sad again," I respond honestly.
She shakes her head with a small laugh.
"You can't say things like that," She smiles, and god how I missed that smile. "I might not want to forgive you then".
"Well we can't have that," I agree, looking up at the night sky. "I'll just have to spend my life that way either way you answer".
"Stop, you're being too cheesy," She leans against me.
"I can be cheesier".
"If I had stabbed you earlier would you still be saying this stuff?"
"I'd be enchanted by you either way".
"Ugh. That's enough," She demands, and I look back down at her with a laugh.
"Can I hug you?" I ask, not wanting to rush things.
She looks back at me, and in an instant she presses her lips against mine, the softness turning quickly into fierce passion. I pull her towards me, and she allows it, eventually making her way onto my lap. The warmth of her kisses makes the chill of the winter air feel like nothing, and my hand travels from her waist to her hip, getting more physical with her than I ever have before.
This is pure bliss, and I almost think I'm dreaming before I'm harshly ripped from the moment.
"EW WHAT THE FUCK!"
Tommy's shrill voice causes Nix to pull away, and I try to hide my face as best I can.
"Phil! Nix and Dream are having sex outside!" Tommy screams, running back into the house.
Nix and I break out into laughter, and I hear a loud, "What?!" from Phil.
In seconds, Phil is outside, and Nix shoves her hands over my eyes and cheeks to try and hide my face.
"Phil, go away!" She shouts, her voice full of embarrassment.
"You're squishing my face," I barely got out, her hand partly covering my mouth.
"Oh my god," Phil rolls his eyes and goes back into the cottage. "Tommy, they were just kissing, leave them alone".
She removes her hands, and grabs my mask, wiping the snow from it. With one final kiss, she reattaches the mask properly, then kisses the black smile on the mask.
"That was the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to me," She smiles.
"I'm glad I got to be there for it," I responded.
She grabs a handful of snow and dumps it down my hoodie, starting a snowball fight that ensues.
Maybe forgiveness wasn't so far away.
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Author's Notes: AS PROMISED I POSTED TONIGHT LETS GOOOO! I'm not going to lie, I was listening to Goodnight n Go by Ariana Grande the entire time while writing this. I hope the cheesy-ness, and making out wasn't too much for anyone? I know this wasn't that bad but I always cringe a little writing make out stuff. Let me know! Have a Luminous day!