WORSHIP ( ❥ ) DREAMNOBLADE [Reupload]

03. | LETTER

"Techno!" Tommy beamed as he ran up to his brother-not brother by blood, but his brother nonetheless.

"Hey, Tommy," Dave greeted, not moving an inch when Tommy jumped onto him for a hug.

Phil followed close behind, shortly waving to the pink-headed man from the steps leading up to his grand home.

"Not gonna be too tough on him while you're training, right?" Phil asked.

Dave shook his head, returning Tommy's hug and patting the smaller boy's upper back, "No, of course not. Where's Wil?"

"He's working on his new album," Phil laughed.

Tommy hmph'ed, "Instead of making time for us."

Dave quietly chuckled.

"I need to talk to you real quick, though," Phil said as they walked inside.

Tommy ran off to go and get everything that he needed to train while Phil and Dave waited at the door.

"What is it?"

"Dave—and I know you hate it when we call you that, but I need you to know that I'm being very fucking serious right now—please be careful when you train Tommy."

"I know, he's just a kid—I never go too hard on him-"

"That's not what I mean," Phil said quickly.

Dave narrowed his gaze, "Go on."

"Be careful about what you say to him. Don't... don't make a copy of yourself. Please, Dave. That boy has no idea about you."

"And I wholly intend to keep it that way. He won't turn out like me and you have my word on that," Dave spoke with authority.

Phil pulled the man in for a short hug, quietly thanking him as Tommy came back with his armor and their Rapiers.

"C'mon, hurry up!" Tommy said hurriedly, tugging Dave along to the back garden by his cape.

"H-Hey! Careful, don't rip it!" Dave murmured.

Phil went into the second—smaller—dining room, perching himself up in the chair closest to the large window at the end of the room to watch. He'd sit outside for a better view, but it often put too much pressure on Tommy.

"I'm finally gonna beat you this time!" Tommy asserted, holding up his Rapier as he adjusted the stance of his legs.

Dave chuckled, "Looks like you've been studyin'."

They silently counted to three together as they slowly walked in a circle, facing one another. After the count was up, Tommy took the first swing, missing when Dave took a long step back. He was big, and easier to hit, but he could move farther because of his size, so it evened out. Dave retaliated by swiping at Tommy's chest, barely scratching the surface of his armor plating for a split second before Tommy fully moved out of the pig's reach. Tommy swiftly ducked under another incoming swing, thrusting his sword up towards Dave's stomach, landing a single cut across his abdomen.

Dave leaped to the side, abandoning his cape as it would only slow him down. The sudden wardrobe change caught both Tommy and Phil by surprise; it wasn't something he did often, especially for simply training exercise with Tommy. Tommy's hands started to shake as they continued running at each other and jumping away, barely avoiding injury. Blood seeped through Dave's fine, white, cotton shirt, slowly turning darker as the seconds turned to minutes. Tommy stumbled over the seam between sections of cement, the heel of his boot tripping him while he tried to step away from another one of Dave's attacks.

Tommy fell forwards and caught himself just in time, springing back up as he simultaneously turned around to swing at Dave. Sweat ran across his brow bone, dripping onto his temples and down the rest of his red face. Tommy and Dave both panted, having a short stand-off. Dave held his stomach, posture straight, stiff, and unwavering. He looked just as commanding and intimidating as ever—without the blood, Tommy would've never guessed he was injured.