on temporizing || Dream SMP Timeloop Fic

Chapter 7

31. (inspired by Purplewitchii)

"Shit shit shit shit shit--"

"What the fuck did you put in those potions?!"

"I don't-- I was just experimenting!"

"Well your 'experimenting' fucked everything up. Fix it. Now."

"Dream, I need-- I need access to the drug van to do that."

A pause on the other end of the call. Tommy glanced nervously at his communicator.

"You need access to the drug van," Dream repeated. "Could I steal the potion supplies and take them to you?"

Tommy shook his head, then remembered that Dream couldn't see him. "I-- no, Wilbur'll ask questions. He's already suspicious of me as it is, if you--"

A knock on the door cut him off.

"Oh shit," he muttered, shoving the communicator under the pillow and scrambling to his feet.

"Dream?" Sapnap called. "You in there?"

"Uh--" Tommy cleared his throat, hurrying over to a chest and shoving the lid up. "Y-yeah! I'm getting my weapons."

"Okay," Sapnap said slowly. ". . . you sound kinda off, is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine, big man." Tommy realized his mistake a second too late.

"Big man?" Sapnap repeated. ". . . Dream, I'm coming in."

"Uh-- no, you don't--" but it was already too late. Sapnap shoved the door open.

He stared at Tommy. Tommy stared back, then grimaced and ducked his head like he'd seen Dream do several times.

"I might be picking up Tommy's speech patterns," he admitted.

Sapnap snorted. "Fraternizing with the enemy, Dream?"

"Hell no." Tommy scowled. "I'm fine, see? Now get out of my house."

Sapnap rolled his eyes, but obligingly turned and left. The moment he was gone, Tommy dove for the bed, yanking the communicator out from under his pillow.

"Shit that was close," he hissed.

A loud huff. "What materials do you need?"

"Dream, we've been over this, you can't steal stuff from the drug van."

"Watch me. What. Materials?"

". . . I actually don't know."

A pause. Then: "WHAT?!"

Tommy winced and pulled the comm away from his ear. "I don't know, okay?! I don't remember what I put in the potions last night!"

"So what you're saying," Dream said slowly, "is that you have no idea how to undo this."

"Pretty much, yeah."

"And we're going to be stuck in each others' bodies for the rest of this loop."

"Uh-huh."

There was a long moment of silence.

"Look at the window."

Tommy slowly turned around. His own face stared at him through the window, a communicator pressed to his ear.

"I'm going to give you a fifteen minute head start, Tommy," Dream said.

"W-wait, Big D--"

Dream raised a gleaming netherite axe. "Make that ten minutes."

Tommy hung up, shoved whatever useful stuff he could find from the chests into his inventory, and ran like hell.