LOSING GAME ➳ dreamwastaken

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐲𝐚𝐝

The first light of day broke through the treetops, making the carpet of snow twinkle mystically beneath Reverie's feet. Her breath condensed before her in small clouds. The frosted tundra began to unfurl before her as the trees grew more sparse. As the sun emerged from behind the caps of the mountains in the distance, the Strays that wandered the snowy plains started to burst into flames one by one.

Watching the far off monsters erupt into ashes, Reverie felt relief flood her body. She had run into one too many Skeletons and large flesh-eating spiders in the shadowed woods on her journey back to Technoblade's cabin, and she did not think she had the strength nor the energy to fend off another swarm.

As she approached the cabin, Reverie was perplexed to find that Carl was strung to a fencepost by the cabin's steps, rather than comfortably lounging in his stable. The window shutters were ajar, allowing sunlight to seep inside the small house. Surely Techno would not have been awake at this hour of the morning; it was barely dawn.

Shivering from the cold, Reverie approached Carl and traced her rigid fingers across his muzzle. He whinnied happily and Reverie smiled at the horse.

"What's Techno playing at, leaving you outside in the cold, huh?" she tittered gently.

The cabin door was thrown open so quickly that it was almost knocked right off its hinges. Techno appeared outside, casting his panicked gaze across the landscape. When his eyes found Reverie, he let out a cry of relief and tore down the steps towards her. A sense of anxiety was bubbling up inside Reverie's stomach as Techno drew nearer.

"Where the hell have you been?" Techno demanded. He grabbed either side of Reverie's face in his hands, which took her off guard, because that was most definitely the only intimate touch she had ever received from Techno. "I was out looking for you all night!"

Reverie tripped over her words. "I—I was just visiting Tommy and Dream, I—"

At the mention of Dream's name, Technoblade let out a shout of exasperation and threw his arms in the air dramatically. Reverie eyed him sceptically, her brows furrowed in bewilderment. Maybe she was mistaken, but from what she could tell, Technoblade was expressing concern for Reverie, which was an extremely foreign occurrence.

"So you walked right into the hands of your most dangerous enemy?" he chastised, his voice laced with distress. "How very clever of you, Reverie."

"Well, I wasn't thinking about it like that—"

"You weren't thinking at all!" Techno cried. "That's your problem, Rev. You don't think, you just do."

"Hey!" Reverie said defensively. "I do think—"

Her sentence was cut short when—she had to pause for a moment to ensure that she wasn't hallucinating—Techno flung his arms around her, engulfing her in a hug. As she was too shocked to even process coherent thoughts, never mind consciously move, Reverie's arms remained firmly planted to her side as she stared straight ahead over Techno's shoulders, her mind churning with a hundred thoughts and questions.

"Uh—Techno?" she said, her statement sounding awfully like a question.

Techno did not respond.

"Techno, you're—you're hugging me."

Loudly clearing his throat, Technoblade released Reverie and took three steps backwards, focusing his eyes anywhere but her face.

"I was worried about you, Rev," he admitted, cringing in distaste as he heard his own words.

Ignoring the warm feeling that was bubbling up inside her stomach, Reverie painted a smug smirk on her face and stared at Techno, her eyes glinting mischievously.