Hideaway: A Dream SMP AU

3

Anger pounded through Tommy's veins as he stared at the ruins of the Community House.

I didn't do this, Tubbo! Tommy longed to shout. I didn't!

"Tommy blew up the Community House," Dream lied.

Tommy had never hated Dream as much as he did in that moment. Names for the admin raced through his head, so insulting and awful he'd never dare say them aloud.

"We were this close to peace! We were this close!" Dream shouted, every inch the indignant, betrayed ally.

He was an amazing actor, Tommy admitted to himself grudgingly. But what scared Tommy was that he didn't know how the act ended. Where was this going?

"I trusted you guys for once!" Dream continued. Tubbo stepped forward, his eyes ablaze with frost-blue fire. "We had nothing to do with this," he insisted, his voice steely with anger.

As the cabinet continued to shout their dissent, Techno gripped Tommy's forearm in an iron grasp. "TommyInnit, did you blow it up?" he asked in a low voice. Tommy couldn't tell if he sounded impressed or aghast.

But now Tommy had a solid answer. "No." He hadn't done this.

But Dream was doing a hell of a job making it seem as if he had.

You homeless, egotistical, psychopathic bastard, Dream.

"Tubbo! Tubbo, listen! You still have his disc," Dream pointed out.

"Yeah? What about it?" Tubbo's tone turned uneasy.

Dream continued, "That means you're affiliated! No matter what, that is his most prized possession! If I don't have the disc, or he doesn't have the disc, then guess what? You are affiliated! You have the disc!"

Tommy frowned. What was Dream's endgame here? It still made no sense.

Stand up to him, Tubbo. You are the president of New L'Manburg.

You didn't stand up for me.

But you have to stand up for yourself.

To Tommy's horror, Tubbo's composure faltered. "I don't... I don't..." His voice shook with uncertainty.

As Tommy watched, Tubbo's calm, collected mask slid clean off, replaced with fear and indecision.

For all his bravado, for his new confidence and self-assured stride, Tubbo was still the same scared boy he'd always been, too afraid to defend himself against authority.

Except this time, Tommy wasn't about to jump in and do it for him.

Dream saw the change in Tubbo, too; Tommy knew he did, because Dream's already infinite confidence seemed to grow. "Look what Tommy did! This was the oldest building on the server!"

"It's not our fault! He was exiled!" Fundy shouted indignantly when Tubbo stayed silent.

"Yes! And he came back! And do you know who knew he came back?" Dream's gaze rested pointedly on Tubbo, and he took a threatening step towards the president.

Get away from him before I make you, Tommy thought instinctively, before remembering where he stood. He wasn't Tubbo's self-appointed unofficial bodyguard anymore. Either Tubbo had to grow up and stand up for himself for once, or he'd let Dream trample over him, as always.

Unfortunately, the latter seemed much more likely.

"We didn't know!" Quackity blurted when Tubbo still made no sound.