Mending Mistakes and Patching Broken Hearts

Chapter 6

When Dream awoke, he was confused as to why he could sense someone sleeping beside him. There were also arms wrapped around his torso and legs entangled with his own. Then he remembered Fundy, and their very tearful reunion the night before. Dream smiled at the other man's soft snores, and carefully removed himself from the cuddle as to not wake the sleeping fox.

He placed a gentle kiss to Fundy's forehead and padded across the oak floor, bare feet hardly making a sound against the planks. Opening and closing the door quietly was rather difficult, seeing as the hinges squeaked slightly. But Dream managed, and stumbled tiredly down the stairs to make breakfast.

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Grease. The smell of greasy, wonderful deliciousness was what woke Fundy. His nose twitched, and he lifted his head and opened his eyes. Dream no longer lay beside him, but his spot was slightly warm so he couldn't have left too long before.

The intoxicating scent drove Fundy out of bed and downstairs, where he could see Dream with his back turned to the stairs. Dream hummed softly as he worked, delivering sizzling strips of meat from the stove onto two plates.

Bacon. It had been so long since Fundy had last eaten bacon. When he was young it was hardly ever made, as he and his father had been living with Technoblade and the pig man did not approve of the consumption of his 'cousins'.

Now though, there was no terrifying uncle figure to stop him. So Fundy bounded down the last few steps into the kitchen, where he wrapped his arms around Dream's middle. The taller man jumped, then chuckled.

"You scared me, Funds." he said, smiling.

"Sorryyyyy. Bacon smell woke me up, then you weren't there and I wanted hugs, so here we are."

His fiancé laughed again. "I am very much willing to forgive you for scaring me...if you can repay me."

"Oh?" Fundy raised an eyebrow. "And how should I do that?"

Dream smirked. "Kiss." he pointed to his lips, "right there."

"Well, who am I to turn down such an adorable face?" Fundy grinned and pecked Dream on the lips, short and sweet.

They both giggled slightly, faces tinted pink, then had to separate so Dream could set the table.

"Could you get Connor and bring him down? He's bound to be hungry." Dream said as he placed two plates at the table, then a smaller one between them.

"Of course." Fundy made his way back up the stairs and into Connor's room. Much to his surprise, the baby was still asleep.

"Hey Dream?" Fundy called as he stepped off the stairs, holding conner to his chest. Connor was now very much awake and hungry, squirming in Fundy's arms in a futile attempt to reach the food faster.

"Yeah?"

"Aren't babies supposed to be more, I dunno, fussy? I mean, as far as I know Connor didn't wake up once during the night. Shouldn't he have woken up a few times hungry or needing a diaper change?" Connor looked up at Fundy at the mention of his name, then over to his other dad. 

"You're right, they are. But Connor's always been different. After the first couple weeks he never woke up at night, and didn't need changing or feeding as much as I would have expected. Maybe he's just weird."

"So," Fundy smiled deviously, "...hE's NoT LiKe OtHeR gIrLs."

Dream threw a piece of bacon at his forehead.

~~~~~

The three settled down to eat, Dream placing Connor in a handmade highchair. The baby received tiny bits of bacon to shove in his toothless mouth, while the adults ate bacon, scrambled eggs, and toast. Once he was finished Dream picked Connor up to bottle feed him.

Halfway through the bottle, Dream handed Connor to Fundy.

"Um...I don't know if I should be handling him...I mean I've never had to take care of a baby before, I don't want to do something wrong-" Dream cut off his fiancé's rambling with a kiss on the cheek.

"You'll be fine. He can mostly hold the bottle himself, just needs a little help sometimes. Just don't drop him and nothing will go wrong." Dream reassured.

True to his word, Connor soon finished the bottle without a metaphorical hiccup. To prevent any literal hiccups and possible vomiting, Dream showed Fundy how to burp a baby.

~~~~~

Over the next few days, the small family fell into a sort of rhythm. After the first day most meals were cooked by Fundy; Dream's cooking wasn't bad but they both agreed there was much to be desired. Kisses and cuddles were a common occurrence, and Dream and Fundy wouldn't deny the claim that they may have made out a few times. Only when Connor wasn't around though, they didn't want to traumatize the child any more than he probably already was.

Days were spent outside, Dream soaking up the sunlight and fresh air he had so dearly missed. They expanded the farm, filled with carrots, beets, wheat, and of course, potatoes, along with other miscellaneous crops. More detail was added to the house, the day they spent decorating was full of spilled paint and wood splinters. 

Nights were spent inside, often with the three of them cuddling on the couch and doing literally nothing. Connor continued to be non-disruptive while sleeping, and the adults continued to entangle in each other's arms. 

Despite the mundane routine, both men found themselves neither wanting nor willing to change a single thing. They were content to care for each other and their child.

Of course, things could not stay peaceful forever. For instance, Fundy witnessed one of Dream's nightmares for the first time. He wished it would never happen again, but knew that hope was futile. Trauma doesn't just disappear.

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Small whimpers woke Fundy at 1 a.m. on the fourth night. Concerned, he raised his head to look at his partner. Dream was twitching and whining in his sleep, but as Fundy. watched they transformed into thrashing and cries of pain. Panicking, Fundy grasped Dream by the shoulders and shook him slightly.

"Dream!" He whisper yelled. Nothing, but Dream did seem to be trying to tug away from Fundy's touch.

"Dream!" He said, louder this time. Now the man woke. He sat up and jerked away from Fundy, curling into a ball on top of the sheets.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry." he muttered, "Please, no more. I don't have it anymore, I'm sorry." Fundy could hear his heart shattering a little more with every word, the pain and fear held in each sentence breaking him.

"Hey," he said softly, his hand hovering over Dream's shoulder but not quite touching it. "hey, you're alright. You're safe. No one's gonna hurt you, I'll protect you. You're safe here with me."

Slowly Dream's shaking calmed enough for him to sit up. "Sorry." he mumbled, looking down at his lap.

"I'm not even going to ask what you're apologizing for, because I know it's something that's not your fault in any way, shape, or form."

Dream was silent.

"Hey, Dreamy, come on. You don't have to talk about it, but you were obviously having a nightmare. If you don't want to talk, we can just sit. Cuddle, if you want. You don't need to do anything. I'm here. I've got you."

Finally, Dream's emerald eyes rose up to meet Fundy's hazel. "Can we just...cuddle and go back to sleep? I don't really want to talk about it."

The fox smiled sadly, "Of course. C'mere." He lifted his arm and the taller man laid down underneath it. Dropping his arm, Fundy then wrapped both around his love. Their bodies pressed together, Dream's face tucked into Fundy's chest.

Fundy ran his fingers through Dream's hair in a calming sort of way, untangling and brushing it out. After a moment, he felt one of the other's hands gently petting his ears.

Both fell asleep soon after, and in the morning Fundy promised Dream that if he wanted to talk to him, he always could. Dream admitted that he wasn't quite ready to tell the story, and Funny assured him that it was fine. Anytime he wanted to talk was fine. And Dream remembered that later, when he told Fundy the story of the prison.

But that didn't happen until the fourth week of living together and Dream's 12th nightmare/flashback. So we're not there quite yet. Have patience, readers.