Predator (DWT x OC)

5

It's the first time he's seen Wilbur cry, on his doorstep in the early hours of the morning, the entirety of l'manburg behind him. Well, except for one. George lets them inside, Wilbur too choked up to talk, Niki's face red and blotchy, Tommy's contorted into a homicidal rage and Tubbo's wide eyed in fear. And Dream realises that he's suddenly very scared.

"Where's Rosie?" He whispers from where he leans against the bench, axe resting on its head at his feet as he spins the handle. No one answers, and that's when he knows something is very wrong.

"Where's Rosie?!" He yells, and they all flinch, except Wilbur, who sits frozen on the couch, hands folded and elbows resting on his knees. Wilbur clears his throat.

"We don't know." He murmurs. Niki buries her face in her hands, overcome with a wave of emotion. Dream feels ice cold shards of fear lodge themselves into his spine. His mask hides his true emotions, but the way he stands far too stiffly, fists clenched tightly just gives him away. 

"And where is Fundy?" He grits out, fear and anger mixing in his stomach. 

"We don't know." Wilbur says loudly, raising his head. Dream knows that's not good enough. 

"He's your son, is he not? You had one fucking job! One goddamn job and you managed to screw it up! If you think for one second, when we find Rosie, that I'm letting you anywhere near her-" Dream starts.

"Letting me near her? Are we forgetting that the first person to kidnap Rosemary, was in fact you? I know all about the nightmares, and that room you put her in, you, you egotistical prick!" Wilbur thunders, and Dream wants to bury his axe into his skull, because he's right, and he's also the son of a bitch that let this happen to Rosie. 

"And yet, you still handed her back to me." He snarls in return. Wilbur's eyes harden.

"When we find Rose, she's coming back to l'manburg. I don't want you anywhere near her."

"Oh yeah? Do you really think that's going to happen? I'd like to see you fucking try." Dream smirks, but there's no amusement in his eyes, or his tone. Because he would, he really would like to see them try, and give him an excuse to finally wipe them out. 

"You dumb bitc-" Tommy yells.

"EVERYBODY STOP!" Niki interrupts, standing up. Her face is a splotchy patchwork of red and pale skin, her eyes bloodshot, blonde hair wild and frizzy. "You are all arguing like children, and Fundy still has Rosemary! We shouldn't be focusing on whatever childish squabbles you are having, we should be finding her." Dream leans back against the counter, surveying Niki through his mask. He underestimated Niki, her softly spoken personality often shielding her fierceness. He had begun to respect that fierceness now. 

"She's right." Eret steps forward. Dream notices the visible recoil from the l'manburgians, the way that friendship between them was so irrevocably damaged they don't even trust him to say the truth. "We need to put everything aside, Ro is all we should care about." He's right of course, Dream knows, but war isn't a little thing you can just erase. Hatred runs deep, carved into their skin, and their walls, a permanent feature in their lives now. But he can shut his mouth, and grit his teeth long enough to find Rosie, and that'll be enough.

------

Wilbur has never seen Dream cry. Well, he'd never even seen the man's face, let alone a public display of emotion, but the sentiments the same. Dream looks bad now, hollow cheekbones and deathly pale skin, dark purple bags sagging below his red rimmed eyes. His unkempt hair is tousled from constantly running his fingers through it, but it's either that or nervously tapping his axe, so Wilbur doesn't mention it. 

It's been a week, and they don't know where Rose is. He turns the last conversation they had together over in his head, and all the things he wishes he said. Why didn't I say I love you? He thinks, again and again and again. It doesn't change the past though, the things he didn't say, and hindsight was always a bitch. 

They pretty much had to drag Niki out of her house, Sapnap on one arm, Wilbur on the other. She'd started screaming, clawing wildly as they pulled her from the door frame, glaring daggers as she curled up in the med bay. He left her alone for a while, and then she came and sat next to him in the van, and silently they formed an understanding. 

We deal with it after we find Rose.

That seemed to be the mantra holding everything together right now. No fighting, no arguing, no losing it now. You can do it after, after we find Rose and we end this. But now's not the time. They're knowingly filling a pressure cooker up with steam, and praying that they can open the lid before it blows up in their faces. But what can you do?

He misses her even more than he thought he would, and he knows everyone does. He never really knew how much of his life centred around one little person, until they're snatched from his grasp in an instant. There's too much spare time now, and too many feelings that you can't distract yourself from forever.

It stings that it's Rose. It stings even more that it's Fundy. Yeah, Wilbur knows his son was harbouring hatred and anger that nobody, except maybe Dream, deserved, but he's still his son. Maybe he'd hoped that Fundy would snap out of it, calm down after the war and realise. But this, this showed Wilbur that he wasn't teetering on the edge of the cliff, but rather had swan dived off the edge of it. 

Dream mopes, then he yells, then he breaks things. It's a cycle, yelling, punching, sniffly sobs that Wilbur occasionally catches when he strains hard enough in the dead of night. It's always someone's fault. Wilbur's, for not monitoring Fundy, Niki's for not realising someone broke into their house, Tommy's for not being there. Tommy swears back in his face, and Wilbur tries not to punch him, but Niki just lets him be. She told Wilbur, as they sat by the fire, that she only sees a desperate man trying to hold himself together. He stops getting offended after that.

He doesn't know why Fundy has Rose, or where they are. He doesn't know if Rose is hurt, or scared, or even still alive. He doesn't know if Rose is even going to come back. 

What he does know however, is that the whole world is falling apart without her. 

----------

A/N A different perspective! I really adored writing this chapter, I just think it's nice and poetic and a change from the usual format, which allows me to convey everyone's reactions and some plot information in a creative way. Yeah I'm actually kind of in love with this chapter, which is quite rare for me!

We come back to Rosie next chapter, from the beginning, all through the week up until this moment we just had with Wilbur. 

Thank you all so much for your support!

I really hope you enjoyed this one,

Oopsies x