#cdreambur

[catgirl-qniki]

sorrey i hope im not breaking your like.... guidelines for your userboxes i literally didnt know where to find the rules BUT

can i get a userbox that says "This user drools over C!Dreambur" 😳😣😣😣

it’s fine lmao!! i basically don’t have any guidelines apart from i won’t do anything related to shubble or the vsmp, boundary breaking, proship/darkship, or radqueer stuff. or just anything i’m not comfortable with tbf

there!! :D sorry if its kinda shitty, im so tired rn

im gonna go make myself tea or hot chocolate

[krebble]

how we feel about cdreambur WIP comic chat

always been a personal cdreambur headcanon of mine that in Pogtopia era cwilbur drinks himself into a whole other plane of existence and walks out into the woods surrounding Pogtopia and gets his ass Lost As Fuck. so then he calls cdream to come pick him up. and this happens repeatedly like once a week minimum.

could he probably make his way home even without help? yeah. but why do that when you have a hot sexy seven foot tall warlord dictator on speed dial?? like maybe tonight will be the night cdream agrees to stay for cuddles and wine

and like cdream saysssss he hates it but then why does he keep showing up lol (said in cwilbur voice)

[bigq-kisser2000]

; I find comfort knowing that my two main c!wilbur ships are basically him being disgustingly attracted and obsessed with them.

; Tntduo? fucking obsessed. Made every possible move to see c!Quackity in Las Nevadas, to have his attention and be alongside him and couldnt fucking STAND that it didnt't work.

; Dreambur/MADshipping? A prophet and its god. Completely devoured by the idea that C!Dream saved him. That his revival was the best thing every and even excusing, pushing aside, and completely disregarding the truama and toxicity Dream had done to the server, to Tommy, to L'manburg, ect.

[supernovaa-remnant]

aksjhgdahsjkjdkjashjdslkdjsks I have a madduo/cdreambur au from august that I never shared omg

anyway,

au where wilbur runs away from the temple of death because he's "so tired of ruining everything he touches." he finds himself in an abandoned temple with all the inscriptions worn down from centuries of neglect. ivy climbs the crumbling walls, only shards of glass remain in the windows, and all the books have been destroyed due to exposure from the elements. it's not the warmest place to sleep, but it's the best shelter wilbur's come across, so he stays.

however, something compels wilbur to the altar. so, he gets down on his knees, and he prays. he's not quite sure who he's praying to, but he's lonely despite it being his decision to leave everyone he's ever known behind, and he thinks that maybe this forgotten god may be lonely as well.

upon waking the next morning, wilbur meets a stranger who introduces himself as dream. wilbur is wary, of course, but he figures that anyone who ends up at this temple in the middle of nowhere must be running from something, so he doesn't try to pry into dream's past.

they talk. they forage and hunt for food together. they sing songs around the fire (wilbur thinks it may be a bit disrespectful to have a campfire inside the temple, so he always makes sure to apologize at the altar. dream thinks it's cute and tells wilbur such, and wilbur sputters and tries to explain that it's not cute, it's being a decent person, but dream just laughs). it's nice. really nice.

sometimes dream disappears, and wilbur's not quite sure where he runs off to, but he doesn't pry. sure, dream's asked about wilbur's past, but he never pushes when wilbur decides not to say anything. and wilbur thinks he owes it to dream to let him have his secrets as well.

the heartache and guilt of leaving home eats at wilbur even though he knows it was better for everyone if he left (because he only ever left destruction and ruin in his wake), but he's a selfish person and a part of him wishes he could've just stayed even if it killed everyone around him. but dream.. dream makes it better. they stargaze and explore the forest around the temple and they walk along the nearby river, and wilbur feels lighter.

back home, people looked at wilbur with fear and apprehension, but here? here, dream just smiles at him like wilbur hung the moon and the stars. and wilbur's scared of hurting dream, but he's still so selfish and wants dream to stay.

dream stays.

sure, he'll leave sometimes, but he always comes back.

and when wilbur breaks down one night, incoherently sobbing about how he's a toxin, a parasite, a disease that only ever harms the things around him, dream just cups wilbur's face in his hands and tells him that he's wrong. that past mistakes don't define who a person is now.

and dream? well, when the god of creation heard a prayer, not from one of his lavish temples in any of the major cities, but rather from his first temple—now abandoned—from his days of early godhood, he decided to investigate. and when he found wilbur, so far from home and so haunted, dream couldn't bare to leave. so, he stayed. it was one of the best decision he ever made.

[sunshine-in-a-bottle]

Have the Prince Wilbur/Tactician Dream au. I spent all day writing this and have edited exactly zero, but fuck it.

-

It had been unwise, he knew that even as he collapsed into the grass. Anyone could have stumbled across him while he was sleeping. If he had been particularly unlucky he'd have woken up strapped to a table five minutes before he stopped being able to wake up at all, and then what would have this all been for? Wasted effort, wasted gain.

But he had been running nonstop for days, only stopping to shelter from the rain and eat. Sleep had been put on the backburner, and he was paying for it now; his steps were blistering with pain as his body shrieked its disapproval. He hadn't visited any village for fear they would recognize his face (foolish way to get caught, he'd have to craft a mask) so his supplies had been running dangerously thin by the time he had made it out of the desert and into the plains.

Dream did not know this country. He didn't know any country, really; letting your future world destroying sacrifice wander the world was considered highly impractical, after all. This country's border was simply the closest to him. It helped that they were supposedly enemies, and therefore the cultists were unlikely to follow him successfully.

 (This he knew, of course, because when you have a world destroying sacrifice, you should always inform it of which direction it should start its slaughter.)

Regardless, as soon as the grass began to reach his shoulders, he felt the fatigue he had pushed away over and over slamming into him like a wave. No more, his body begged, we can't go on anymore.

He was on his back now. The height of the grass would protect him, he justified in his exhaustion. He was deep enough into the plains that he wouldn't be found. It was night, a new moon in fact; too dark for anyone to see him. It would only be for a few hours. It would be fine.

The stars gathered above him in a glorious haze of light. Even if he was caught, it would be worth getting to see a sky unpolluted by light. Freedom was sweet.

He slept well into the dawn.

—-------

"Wilbur! Oi! I found some guy, I think he might be dead or something."

Tommy had such a way with words, Wilbur thought with dry amusement. He raised his hand at Techno, who was grumbling in the distance about something or another, and went to push through the wheat to where Tommy was kicking up a fuss.

 It was hardly befitting a prince to get their hands dirty with the more physical work. It was something more properly suited to the pawns on the board, a set of lesser knights. His brothers had always been very hands on rough and tumble types however, so Wilbur took it upon himself to join their border patrol escapades. They really needed someone looking out for them. What kind of brother would let his family go off so close to a threat without someone to guide them safely? A foolish one. Irresponsible. Maybe Tommy could get away with that, but Wilbur would never forgive himself.

"For someone so tall, you're sure bad at keeping up, Wilbur." A voice said behind him. Techno lightly bumped his shoulders as he passed, the force controlled so as not to bruise Wilbur against his armor. He began cutting down some of the grass with his sword.

"Not all of us are built like a charging bull, dear brother." Wilbur quipped. Techno rolled his eyes and cleared an easier path to travel. Wilbur happily followed in his wake, raising his hand to block out the light of the sunset.

"Took you both long enough," Tommy scowled as they approached. He crossed his arms. "I was about to start rooting through his pockets."

"You mean you haven't already? Shocker." Techno said. He held his sword loosely, but did not put it away. Tommy rolled his eyes. 

"He's breathing, which means he might be a witch, which means you're supposed to check him for traps first. You made a promise, so you have to!"

"You could just stop trying to loot things that are clearly not dead." 

"Don't be a pussy," Tommy replied, and swung his healing staff at Techno's face. Techno caught it easily.

"That's enough, Tommy," Wilbur said quickly before they could roughhouse. "You said you were going to show us this man."

A few feet behind Tommy there was a lump in a patch of disturbed wheat. Obviously the person Tommy had stumbled upon. Wilbur pushed away the grass and leaned forward to see what they were working with.

His breath caught in his chest.

The man before him felt like something out of a fairy story his mother used to tell. The wheat around them seemed a dull yellow compared to the threaded gold of his hair. His skin was sun-kissed, a little burned around his freckled cheeks, but thankfully he was mostly protected by a large green coat. Dirt flecked his cheekbones, expression soft in sleep. He could have been the son of Apollo.

A sleeping beauty, meant to be awoken by a prince. This was something close to fate.

"The fuck is doing passed out in this field, you think?"

Wilbur winced, and turned away from the gorgeous sprawl to hiss. "Keep your voice down."

"He should probably be woken up, his skin is going to peel at this rate." Techno noted. He made no movement to lean down, however, waiting for Wilburs decision. Rightfully.

"It's his own fault. There's a village right over there. He could've just made them take him in." Tommy said.

Techno frowned. "Not if he's trying to hide something." 

"And that's why you should let me look through his pockets."

"No, Tommy."

"Gentlemen," Wilbur spoke, drawing his brother's attention. "I think our sleeping beauty here must be awoken before we decide anything about him."

Techno snorted, and Tommy squawked at the word 'beauty,' but it was wholly irrelevant as a soft groan rose from the ground. He was awake.

His fairytale man blinked wearily, obviously still exhausted (the poor thing. Wilbur would make sure his next rest would be on silk sheets.) His eyes found Wilbur's first. A soft noise came from his throat, questioning.

"Hello there," Wilbur smiled gently. "I see you've woken up."

His eyes traced Wilburs face, and Wilbur felt the incredible urge to write poetry about the shades of green hidden within.

"Where…?" His fairytale spoke rough with sleep. 

"The hell are doing out on the border, man? Terrible place to sleep." Tommy leaned forward. Wilbur gave him a stern look, but his fairytale merely squinted. He attempted to push himself up.

"Please, allow me." Wilbur said. He offered his hand, and the man took it after a moment's hesitation. This hand was ungloved, he noted. An odd tattoo twisted patterns into its skin. It was as beautiful as the rest of him, and when Wilbur pulled him up he made sure to press a kiss to the large X on the back of it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, my good man." He hummed, ignoring Tommy's gagging and Techno's burning stare. "Might I have your name?"

His fairytale did not stutter or blush in embarrassment as he expected. Instead he tilted his head. "... Dream."

"A fitting name for someone as lovely as you." Truly, the gods had good humor. 

Dream raised his head to look at the darkening sky, his figure eclipsing the sun. He barely seemed to acknowledge them at all. "Thank you. I hadn't meant to sleep that long. I'll be out of your way, then."

"Wait!" Wilbur grasped his arm, alarmed. "My compatriot is right, it was strange to find someone asleep so close to the border. Are you perhaps in need of shelter? There's a village nearby, we can take you there."

"I think I'll be alright." Dream eyed his grip warily. "I hadn't meant for that to happen. It was a one time thing."

"What, are you homeless?" Techno spoke up. Dream froze. "Cause if you're walking around here and refuse to take shelter, it sounds a lot like you're homeless."

"I'm not homeless." Dream hissed, and tugged out of Wilburs' grasp. Wilbur turned and glared at Techno, but he looked unrepentant. 

"There's no shame if you are, man. I'm sure we can set you up with a house, something a lot better than an empty field with no roof."

"I have a house!" Dream said indignantly, looking more upset by the minute. Wilbur felt the strings escape his fingers, his sweet fairytale falling out of his reach.

"Then let us escort you to it." Techno said mildly. His face was impassive, but there was a familiar danger in his tone. He was suspicious of Dream, Wilbur realized. "It's not safe out here with the increasing border skirmishes, Dream. It'd be better for all of us if we took you home."

Dream raised himself to his full height. He was still shorter than both Wilbur and Techno. "I'm not going to let some strangers follow me home. I'm not an idiot."

"Oh really?" Techno raised an eyebrow. "Then I'd really like to hear how you managed to miss that you were talking to the prince of this kingdom."

Dream blanched. "What?!"

"You heard me. If you really had a house around here, you should be a kingdom citizen, or at the very least recognize the symbols on my armor. So you're not from our country." Techno nodded at him. "You wanna explain why a Plegian is sneaking into Ylisse when we're on the brink of war?"

"I never said my house was around here." Dream muttered. "And it's none of your business."

"Everything involving my family's lands is my business."

"Well I'm not gonna be here long. This was just the quickest way out of the country. I'll head north and be out of your lands soon."

Tommy spoke up, settling his staff on his shoulder. "What're you running from? Can't be that bad if you're one of them."

"Tommy," Wilbur scolded, feeling a prickle of distress as Dream's face shuttered. "That's not how it works. People run for a lot of reasons, and I suspect in a place with so much turmoil, Dream would have plenty of reasons to want to escape."

Tommy shrunk. Dream was silent for a moment. When he did speak, it was with obvious reluctance. "I was… a tactician, of sorts. Trained in strategy. Meant to serve at the capital."

Techno's grip tightened on his sword, but Dream didn't backpeddle. "They were going to use me. They wanted to use me to- to win the war. The future war. And I refused, because I don't agree with it. I don't want to be a warmonger. But that's not something you can ordinarily turn down, so I left."

They were going to kill me, he didn't say, underneath the tense air. I ran, I'm still running. From everything.

Wilburs heart ached. He indulged himself by reaching out to take Dream's hand.

 "I'm sorry," He said sincerely. He squeezed Dream's wrist. "I won't let them chase you here. I'm putting you under our protection."

"Wilbur-"

"It's best-" Wilbur glared at Techno, "for all of us if they don't find you. To keep you out of the enemy's hands will prevent them from gaining a valuable asset, or us from losing one."

That got Dreams' attention. "What? What are you talking about?"

Wilbur preened. "If you're so valuable that the other side is willing to hunt you down, then you must be quite the strategist. And since it's in both our interests that there be no war, why not use your skills for the good of Ylisse?"

"Wilbur, this could be a trap." Techno growled. "You could be leading the enemy further into our borders."

"I mean if he wanted to kill us he probably wouldn't be sleeping in a field." Tommy said. He poked Dream with the ball of his staff. Dream smacked it away.

"I'm not here to kill you. Well, I could kill you, but I'm not going to." Dream paused. "Unless you try to kill me first or make me set fire to an entire village. Then I would have to kill you."

"Did they make you set fire to a fucking village?!" 

"Well. They tried. It didn't work out for them."

Oh, that was beautiful. This man was something special, and there was no way Wilbur was letting him get away now.

"Then it's settled." Wilbur clapped his hands. "You come with us, and in exchange for our protection you lend us your aid. That seems perfectly fair to me."

"I don't agree to this." Techno said. "I want that on the record so I can say 'I told you so' later."

Tommy tugged at Dream's coat. "Well if he's coming along he's gotta empty out his pockets. For transparency and all that."

"Tommy."

"What?"

Dream looked back and forth at them somewhat helplessly.

"I guess that's fair." He said slowly. "For now at least."

Joy rose through Wilbur's figure, leaving him giddy. With necessary flourish he bowed before his new Tactician. "Then allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Wilbur Soot, second prince to the Ylissian throne."

Dream gave him a puzzled look. It was not the awe he hoped for, but Dream still nodded back. "It's good to meet you. Once again, I'm Dream."

"Just Dream?"

"Just Dream." He confirmed. Tommy stepped forward with an embarrassing swagger.

"And I'm the biggest man of them all-"

"He's Tommy," Wilbur interjected immediately, ignoring Tommy's outrage. Techno snickered. "Third prince of the Ylissian throne. The brute next to me is Technoblade, first prince to the throne."

"I'll remember that comment when your ass needs saving, Soot."

Dream chuckled. A small thing, but it was startling how soft it made him feel. Dandelion fluff fluttered in his stomach. 

"Alright, so if I'm following you, where are we going?" 

"There's a village nearby we were meant to check up on before heading back." Techno replied, pulling Wilbur out of his thoughts. "We'll want to restock there, as well."

"Lead the way then." Dream inclined his head. 

[supernovaa-remnant]

'The characters didn't do what I wanted' so true.

It makes me scratch my head that r!wil starts sort of worshipping r!dream without being aware of the fact that he is indeed, a deity.

How does it feel for dream? He can hear/feel prayers, we know that, but is it any different? Will he ever reveal his true self? Or more like, reveal who he is, I don't think it would be great for dream to show up one day in blinding light with thousand eyes.

Does their relationship affect anything or anyone else? For example, the world sensing one of its biggest lords is down, in the mortal part or maybe loyal worshippers / priests feeling different

aksljdgsjhkdlksjahghdjjslkdjhsks karo I am so glad you've asked about this au (this au is actually taking over my mind send help lmao)

also yeah I went into this thinking "yippee!! healthy dreambur dynamic!!" and then the dreambur in question cornered me in a dark alley and forced me to write unhealthy devotion and themes of obsession and possession.

r!wilbur worshipping r!dream without even knowing that they're residing in a temple dedicated to dream is soooo arkrjsghdkjshgdjhshdshdgs

it feels a bit, odd, for dream. in some ways, it feels like a rush of power. it's so much more intimate in a way that dream wasn't aware was possible. because, sure, he can hear prayers from just about anyone, but most of the big temples have smaller prayer areas in which the prayers go to some spirits/angels under dream's domain (they're blobs, btw, very important you should know this).

uhm, some background for the god system in this au. there's major gods and minor gods and spirits/angels. both major gods and minor gods have their own little spirits, but major gods can also have minor gods who are essentially in charge of a subsect of their domain (ex: foolish in this au is a minor god under dream's domain of creation).

so, the reason dream heard wilbur's initial prayer loud and clear is because he didn't have any spirits stationed to essentially intercept calls at the temple because it was long since abandoned.

anyway, when wilbur begins praying directly to dream rather than a nameless god, the prayers wash over dream in waves. it's almost overwhelming, the power it holds. it's so much more intimate when wilbur is praying to dream directly, and in some ways it feels as though their souls are actually brushing against each other. wilbur doesn't realize it, but dream can very very clearly feel the difference. eventually dream does reveal that he's a god, but I haven't thought super hard about it yet.

important thing to know about dream in this au: he was not born a god. he became a god by killing the previous god of creation. this greatly upset the balance of the world as it was the first time a major god had been killed, and it essentially set the world into a sort of "dark age." this happened ~ a millennia before dream meets wilbur.

so, dream is more accustomed to the mortal realm than some other gods may be (though it does greatly depend on the god). a god existing in the mortal realm doesn't really cause anything big, but the other gods do notice, especially when it's a major god. dream does disappear sometimes to take care of the bigger prayers or to deal with godly stuff, but he keeps coming back for wilbur, something almost baffling (and, depending on the individual, concerning) to the other gods.

as for the other worshipers, they feel a bit different, but they don't think it's out of the ordinary. the gods in general go through phases of being more or less attentive to their followers. it's pretty normal, but, of course, the worshipers are doing everything in their power to appease dream so that he becomes more attentive again lol. mortals are needy like that.

as for the other gods, they notice. kristin & philza keep an eye on it (they were there when dream killed the previous god of creation.. it was something that really shook the entire divine community). techno is concerned for dream, because techno was there for a lot of the aftermath of dream's past and is worried about him falling back into destructive habits.

so, yeah, I hope that answers your question <3

[supernovaa-remnant]

oops my hand slipped (madduo doodle in new sketchbook)

[supernovaa-remnant]

so I decided to write a """little""" snippet of my dreambur-centric university au but it ended up being 1.6k words, so it's going under the cut lol

uhh cw for panic attacks and mentioned pet death

Dream’s hand reaches blindly for his bedside table, searching through his haze of panic for his phone. His chest feels tight, and he feels like he can’t really get enough air in his lungs, and his stomach feels uneasy, and he feels vaguely like he’s going to be sick or pass out or maybe both. He feels like he’s a kid again, accidentally stumbling into a blackberry bush with the summer sun bearing witness, anxiety curling around him like the brambles of the bush, piercing and unrelenting. It’s an all too familiar feeling, and, though he knows the cause of it this time, it does nothing to alleviate it. 

He’s going back to university in a few days. And, it feels stupid to be worried about it because his first semester had, quite honestly, been amazing. There are friends he can’t wait to see and classes he’s excited to take, yet the anxiety persists all the same. Because he doesn’t want to leave. Because the thing about going to one’s hometown during a break is that it’s so easy to float in nostalgia and pretend like time is stretching infinitely and that nothing ever changed. He can fall into the same comforts he used to, and he can pretend he’s the same person he was months ago; he can pretend he’s an exception to change. 

But his childhood cat, Hope, died a year ago. And the holidays have only gotten harder the older he’s gotten. And he’s not the same kid picking blackberries with his parents in the summer. He’s outgrown his childhood home, and the ghosts haunt his every move, but he still doesn’t want to leave because he wants to pretend that nothing changed. He wants to close his eyes and open them to Hope laying on his chest and his friends waiting for him outside his house.

But Hope died a year ago. And he’s a university student and not a high schooler, but he wants to shut his eyes and pretend anyway. 

And he’s scared of going back. Because he loves his roommate, but sharing a room with another person can be so incredibly draining, and he just wants the space to exist alone. And a part of him thinks the whole “journey of self discovery” thing that’s supposed to happen at university isn’t quite worth it if it feels like his future has been torn out from under him. 

And Hope died a year ago, and the grief is hitting him in towering waves, and he really can’t deal with everything else on top of that. 

So, he’s fumbling for his phone, because even with all the dynamics amongst his childhood friends suddenly and almost abruptly shifting upon people’s departures to different universities, Bad has always helped him with his panic attacks. 

But it’s not Bad’s voice that greets him when he finally manages to call someone, and he curses himself for forgetting that Bad’s no longer the only contact saved under “B” in his phone. 

“Dream? Why the fuck are you calling me at 3 am?”

Dream doesn’t have the focus required to remind the groggy and annoyingly pretentious British voice that it’s 3 am in England, not Florida. 

“Dream?” 

The voice says again, more alert and laced with worry. 

“Sorry, I–” 

But Dream’s breath stutters, and he finds himself unable to continue his sentence, mouth filled only with the saltiness of his tears as he desperately tries to pull air into his lungs even as sobs keep interrupting his attempts. 

And, through the haze, he hears a calming sound. Slowly, oh so slowly, he finds the panic subsiding. The sound he hears isn’t counting—as he would’ve expected with Bad—but rather softly strummed notes on a guitar. 

“Sorry,” he says, ignoring how scratchy his voice is. 

“Don’t mention it,” Wilbur says, because of course Dream had to accidentally call Wilbur Soot of all people. “Why did you call me, anyway? I was under the impression that you didn’t quite like me,” Wilbur says teasingly, though a bit of genuineness shines through. 

“I don’t hate you,” Dream responds despite knowing that wasn’t what Wilbur asked at all. 

“I know,” Wilbur says, “but that doesn’t mean you like me either.” Something about his voice when he says it causes something in Dream’s chest to twist painfully, but before he has the chance to correct the Brit, Wilbur’s continuing. “Anyway, back to my question; why did you call me?” 

“I meant to call my friend Bad, but I guess I misclicked.” 

“Wait, what am I saved as in your phone? Because if my memory serves me correctly, the letters ‘B’ and ‘W’ are very far apart from each other.”

Dream mumbles a response, not really wanting Wilbur to hear the answer. Because Dream truly had meant to change the contact name after he’d actually gotten to know Wilbur a bit better, but he’d kept forgetting, and every time he did remember, he was in the middle of something else. 

“Pardon?” Wilbur asks, because of course he wouldn’t just take Dream’s muttered words as a response. 

“I have you saved as ‘British Cunt,’” Dream says louder, ignoring the way his face burns with embarrassment. 

For a moment, everything is silent. Then, Wilbur begins laughing, hearty and genuine, and something in Dream loosens. He’s not sure he’s ever heard Wilbur laugh so freely at something he said, and he finds himself with the inexplicable urge to make the other laugh again. 

“As hilarious as that is,” Wilbur says, “you wanna tell me why you were panicking?” 

Dream’s throat constricts at Wilbur’s words, the reminder of his anxiety causing it to flair up again. 

“You don’t have to tell me,” Wilbur’s quick to say upon Dream’s silence. “You can call someone else.” 

“No, it’s okay,” Dream manages to say, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. “I’m just nervous to go back to uni, I guess.” 

“Why?” There’s confusion in Wilbur’s voice when he asks, but there's a hint of curiosity, as well. 

Dream struggles to find the words. Where does he even begin? With his fear of change? With the anxiety about next semester’s courses? With the lack of a security blanket? It feels like there’s so much that he doesn’t even know how to articulate it. 

“I’m seventeen,” he settles on, whispering and choking on the words. “I’m seventeen,” he repeats, “and I graduated high school at sixteen, and I don’t think I was ready for this.” 

He hates how scared he sounds. He hates how vulnerable he’s being with Wilbur, of all people. Niki would have been a better person to have this discussion with, or even Techno. But Wilbur? Dream doesn’t know where he stands with the Brit, and he’s not sure he should be telling the other this at all. 

He hears a sharp exhale as Wilbur mutters something unintelligible. Then, Wilbur says, “maybe you weren't ready.” 

“It’s a big change,” Dream says, chuckling wetly. Change. He’d never really been good with that. 

“It is,” Wilbur agrees. “But you can’t go back. Regardless of whether or not you were ready, the change has happened, and nothing you do will make that any less true. Sure, you could drop out or take a gap year, but that won’t magically make things go back to how they were.” 

Dream makes a wounded sound, and he internally curses himself for doing such a thing when Wilbur would hear. A part of him wants to hang up. A part of him wants to hang up and cover his ears and pretend like this never happened. But, a bigger part of him, the part that admires Wilbur though he’d never admit it, is begging him to ask for advice.

“So what do I do?” He asks, voice sounding as unsure as he feels. 

“You move forward,” Wilbur responds bluntly. “But that doesn’t mean you have to be alone,” he adds more softly. “You have Techno and Niki and,” Wilbur pauses, hesitating for a moment, before continuing. “And you have me, if you want me.” 

And Dream thinks about it. He thinks about arguments and debates and biting words. He thinks about Wilbur’s pretentious attitude, and he thinks about everything about Wilbur that has gotten on his nerves during the past semester. He thinks about every conversation with subtle insults hidden under pretty words. 

And then, he thinks about everything else. He thinks about Wilbur and Niki sharing make-up tips. He thinks about Wilbur joking around with Techno and Tommy and Tubbo. He thinks about Wilbur helping Ranboo with the subjects Techno isn’t as strong in. He thinks about Wilbur feeding the local stray cats. 

He thinks about soft hands leading him out of a party and notes from a shared lecture given without ever having been asked for. He thinks about the soft strums of a guitar calming him from panic. 

“Thanks, Wil,” he says. “We should hang out more.” 

“I’m always up for hanging out with pretty boys,” Wilbur responds, grin audible in his tone. 

Dream scoffs and says, “get some sleep, idiot,” instead of responding to Wilbur’s playful flirting. 

“Yeah, you too,” Wilbur says with a yawn. “And Dream?” 

“Yeah?”

“Don’t hesitate to call if you need anything. I’ll always pick up.” 

Dream smiles. “I’ll keep that in mind. Goodnight.” 

“Goodnight. Sweet dreams.” 

“Oh my god, you’re so stupid. I’m hanging up now.” 

Wilbur’s giggles are abruptly cut off when Dream hangs up, but he can’t shake off the fond smile that has found its way to his face. And, most amazingly of all, he finds himself more excited to return to uni than dreading it. The anxiety is still there, of course, but he thinks that maybe he’ll be able to find ways to manage it, after all.