Dream had given Tubbo three days to exile Tommy.

Despite my attempts at proving it was an accident in court, Dream still blamed the boy.

My failed attempts only made Dream angry with me. It made me look like I was taking Tommy's side, and I knew that made him upset.

But I wasn't just going to let Tommy get blamed for an accident, even if it meant making Dream mad.

For the rest of the day, Dream had disappeared. After the court came to a decision of three days of probation, he had simply stormed out and not shown up since. He was probably cooling off somewhere.

I decided to just go home, where Sapnap and Karl were hanging out. George had told me that he wasn't upset with me, so that solved one problem.

The other reason I wanted to go home was that I could feel the tension between Tommy and Tubbo. They needed to sort things out on their own, or at least try to.

But when I entered my home, Sapnap and Karl were deep in conversation. Based on the emotion showing on the first's face, it was private.

Their heads snapped to George and I, making their conversation pause. I started to back out of the door, "Sorry, we can leave. I didn't mean to interrupt."

Sapnap stood from the couch, "No, wait." He looked at his feet, "Can we talk?"

I gave a concerned, questioning look to Karl, "Sure. Want to go up to the roof?"

He nodded, making his way towards the stairs. I followed him up to the roof, where we dangled our legs over the side. There was a balmy breeze brushing past, making the temperature more comfortable.

The sun was beginning its descent after the long day, giving Sapnap's white bandana a warmer hue. I turned slightly to face him, "So, what's up?"

He twiddled his thumbs, hesitant to answer. When he looked back up at me, there was sadness on his face, "It's about Dream."

"Oh. What about him?"

"Don't get me wrong, he's been great the past few days. But every now and then in moments or like a week ago, somethings been different with him."

So I wasn't the only one to notice the change in our friend.

I wasn't surprised Sapnap had noticed. He was always so observant when it came to his friends, being able to notice the slightest change in emotions.

I sighed, "Yeah, I've noticed it too." I tilted my knuckles upwards slightly, the redness still lingering there.

Sapnap noticed where I was looking, "Did he do that?"

I gave him a small nod, "But he didn't mean to. He was just mad."

"But he still hurt you."

The anger and sadness intertwined in Sapnap's voice, making me look at him. There was raw emotion clear on his face at the thought of his best friend hurting me.

"Y/n, do you have any idea what's going on with him?"

A thought struck me then. We hadn't told our friends about Dream's new spot amongst the gods.

And in that moment, I knew I needed to tell Sapnap, even if it only made Dream madder.

So that's what I did, explaining to Sapnap the deal our best friend had made and the risks that would come with it. He listened contently, surprisingly not upset that I hadn't told him sooner.

"I'm not saying that because he's who he is now is the reason for his attitude, but it could be something to consider."

Sapnap nodded, looking out at the colorful sky. It reminded me of the other sunsets I had watched with our whole group. A longing feeling filled me for those simpler days.

My friend chuckled then, but it was a sad sound, "God of Chaos, huh? Suits him."

I nodded in agreement. He had always loved chaos, but now it was consuming him. Dragging him down to where not even I could reach him.

I could feel the string between us thinning, coming close to snapping.

I leaned my head onto Sapnap's shoulder, and he wrapped his arm around my shoulders. Sapnap had always been the friend to give the best hugs and cuddles. His hugs felt like warmth that wrapped around my heart.

So as we sat there, trying to figure out how to save our best friend, I savored the warmth.

-

Dream didn't return till the next day, but he still avoided me. He continued to talk to Karl and George, also not really connecting with Sapnap.

Time was ticking down towards the day when the decision had to be made about Tommy. I sent a plea up to Noemi, whoever would listen, that they would keep Tommy here.

So when everyone fell asleep that night, I pulled on a dark, but thin cloak. It was more like a poncho, not having sleeves instead resting on my shoulders. It was becoming too hot for long sleeves, yet I still wore my navy hoodie.

I tugged my hood over my head as I silently crept out of the house with Ghost at my side. The wolf was just happy to be with me, not caring where we went.

I had two stops to make that night, two people I had to talk to.

The warm air was nipped with the scent of the coming rain. A thunderstorm was on the horizon as I walked to L'manberg. It wouldn't be here anytime soon, but faint thunder rumbled in the distance.

The sound reminded me of the night I decided to join Dream. The night that my life had taken a turn but I hadn't known in the moment. I was too caught up in my love and electricity to think it through.

However, Dream was different from the man I had shaken hands with that night.

I came up to the large black walls that encased L'manberg, stepping through the small doorway into the nation. Despite the walls, they had continued to build their new homes above the crystal water.

The walls made the shadows from the night in the nation larger and darker. They almost blocked out the moon with their height.

Even in the dark, I could see a lone figure dangling his legs over the edge of a platform, his feet inches from the still water. The few bits of coral that glowed illuminated his soft face.

Not wanting to scare him, I made an effort to not take silent steps. I had gotten so used to my unheard movements that it was strange to hear my own steps.

Tubbo's head turned to mine as I took a seat next to him, crossing my legs. If I put my legs over, my boots would touch the water so instead I kept them up. Ghost settled on the other side of Tubbo.

"Hey, y/n." His voice was soft in the night. I could hear the distress and sadness in his tone.

"Hey, Tubbo. How are you doing?"

"Not the best."

I nodded, looking out at the glowing water. The light gave the fish a shimmering effect against their scales.

I waited for Tubbo to continue, not wanting to push him.

After a few moments of silence, he said, "I don't know what to do. Tommy's my best friend and I don't want to lose him." He trailed off, stopping himself.

"But?"

"But, I don't want to cause problems with Dream." He gave me a sideways look, cautiously waiting for my response.

"It's alright, you can continue. I know how Dream has been recently."

"Then you understand why I have to at least consider exiling Tommy. It's the last option, but it's still there."

I could see the tears forming in the boy's eyes as he talked about his best friend. If the tears didn't signify his pain, the ripples that came off of him surely did.

I wrapped my arm around him, drawing him into my side. He gladly leaned into me as I said, "This really sucks. And as the president, it comes down to what you say, Tubbo. I know my voice doesn't matter much in this situation, but what happened truly was an accident."

He glanced up at me, "You were actually there?"

I nodded, staring out at the water, "Yeah, I was," I sighed, "But Dream won't believe that so you may have to make a hard decision, unfortunately."

It was the hard truth. Dream would never stand for anything less than Tommy being exiled. I knew that deep down, but it was still hard to admit.

Tubbo sniffled, resting his head against my shoulder. We sat in silence for a few moments before I rested my head against the boy's. But what I felt made me lean back slightly.

"Tubbo, let me see your head."

The boy angled his head down, allowing me to see the small horns that were beginning to poke through his brown hair. They were nothing more than nubs but they meant so much more than that.

With his head still angled down, he mumbled, "I know, I have horns."

Conflict rose up in me. It wasn't my place to tell Tubbo about who his father was. But who would if I didn't?

I angled Tubbo's head facing mine with the tips of my fingers under his chin. The sadness now shone brighter, however there was also something else.

Understanding.

"You already suspected it, didn't you?"

He nodded, a few more tears slipping down his face, dropping onto his dark suit. The break in his voice made my heart crack, "I don't want to become him, y/n."

I pulled the boy into a hug, a few tears pricking my eyes at the genuine fear and tenderness in his voice. Ghost rested his muzzle on the boy's knee, trying to comfort him.

He mumbled into my cloak, "I mean, it makes sense. I was left with Phil when I was young but I never knew who my father was. But when I felt the horns appear, there was only one other who I knew that had horns."

Of course he figured it out, Tubbo wasn't stupid. I placed my chin on his head, wrapping my arms tighter around him.

I forced the truth to come out of my mouth, "It may be hard to believe, but before the darkness and his greed, he was a good guy. Quackity said so."

I pulled the boy back a little to look into his eyes. Tears lined his dark eyes, some running down his pale face. I continued, my own voice sounding sad at the lost memories of the good Schlatt, "He loved you, Tubbo. He didn't want to give you up, but he wanted you to be happy."

He nodded, trying to keep it together. It had to be strange to try and imagine Schlatt as a good guy, after he had tried to kill not only his best friend, but Tubbo too.

I placed both my hands on his shoulders, looking him in the eye, "You won't be like him, Tubbo. You have a big heart. And you're not an evil, power-driven person."

A small smile hinted at his lips, despite the tears, "Thanks, y/n."

I pulled him back into a side hug, resting my cheek against his hair. We were silent then, watching the glow through the blue water.

When the moon was almost in the middle of the sky, I heard Tubbo's breathing even out. I nudged him lightly, waking him to send him off to bed. He gave me a sleepy smile before walking into one of the half-built houses.

I stood, wiping my eyes before walking towards my second stop. I doubted it would be the last time I had to wipe my eyes that night.

-

As I suspected, Tommy was at his bench. No disc was playing, only silence.

I came around the corner of the oak tree, placing a hand on the worn bench. Tommy had his head leaned against a low branch but his eyes were open, watching the horizon. There was no emotion on his face.

I quietly sat next to him, looking out where he looked. He knew I was here, but when Tommy was in real pain, he was silent.

So we sat in silence until he was ready to speak. It was a comfortable quiet, no tension or awkwardness lingering between us. But I could feel the same pain that Tubbo felt, wrapped around him.

I glanced sideways at him, something catching my eye.

In his hand, was the small green cloth that had been wrapped around his wrist. It looked like the same color and material as Tubbo's old shirt.

He sighed, not looking at me when he spoke. But his voice was soft, "I messed up."

It wasn't normal for Tommy to admit to his mistakes, so I knew he was really hurting.

I kept my voice gentle, "Maybe you shouldn't have been playing with fire, yes. But what happened was an accident. I know it was, I was there. And I think deep down, Tubbo knows that too."

He looked over at me for a moment but then looked away, "I know what happened was my fault, but thank you for trying to defend me in court yesterday."

I nodded, angling my body more towards the boy. The pain coming off of him was undeniable. Even my magic slowed at the emotion.

He stared at the bandana in his hands, some emotion appearing on his face from within. Tommy rarely cried, but now, a tear slipped down his face, "I don't want to lose my home. I just got it back."

I was right earlier, that wasn't the last time I would cry. Tears gathered in my eyes when I heard the sorrow in his words.

"Tommy, you know L'manberg isn't your only home?"

He looked up at me with silver-lined eyes as I continued, "Home can be found in your friends, like Tubbo. Home is where you choose for it to be, it doesn't have to be a physical place."

His eyes softened with my words and the hand I placed on his shoulder for comfort, "But, L'manberg is one of your homes. And I know it hurts, but keep your head up. There's a big chance you won't get exiled."

He hung his head, but when he lifted it there was some hope in his eyes.

Deep down, both of us knew that the chance of him not being exiled was small. But instead of focusing on it, Tommy focused on the bright side. It was better than focusing on the sadness and destruction exile would cause.

And I hoped with my entire heart that he wouldn't get exiled.

I realized then, sitting on the bench in the warm summer night, that this truly only was the beginning.

My relationship with Dream was changing, not in a good way, but changing. If Dream exiled Tommy, forcing him away from his home and best friends, things would only get worse.

As much as it destroyed my heart, I would deal with it. I would stand up to Dream, for Tommy, for Tubbo. Because when love failed, it could be found in so many other places.

Tommy was one of my best friends and I knew he didn't deserve to be thrown out. Not after all he had gone through, fighting in wars since he was so young for a home, for safety.

Tommy pulled me out of my thoughts when he spoke, "You know what, y/n?"

"What?"

A small smile was on his face, "Tubbo isn't the only friend I consider home. I consider you it too."

My heart bloomed at his words. I smiled brightly, pulling the teen into a tight hug. Friendship was wrapped around us like a warm blanket, keeping out the chill of the evil world.

"You are to me too, Tommy."

-

For the rest of the night, I sat with Tommy talking about anything and everything. We laughed about the good memories from before the wars, talking about Tommy's awful rapping skills and my obsession with pumpkin pie.

When the first raindrops fell, Tommy and I parted ways. He wanted to go talk to Tubbo and I needed some sleep.

Despite not wanting to go home to my fracturing friendship with Dream, I forced my feet to walk away from the bench, hoping it wasn't the last time I would sit there with Tommy.

I went straight into my room with Ghost, crashing when my head hit the pillow. I welcomed sleep with open arms. I didn't want to stare at my dark ceiling for the rest of the night, trying to sort through the heartache and confusion.

When I woke up, the sun was streaming through my window, bathing the room in a warm glow. I hadn't slept in late, but it was late enough for the sun to have risen above the horizon. The storm had likely passed.

I thought everyone was still asleep, the house was silent and still.

However, when I went downstairs, Dream's ax that normally hung beside the door was missing.

My magic jumped into motion, urging me out the door. I wasn't sure why it was so frantic, Dream tended to disappear sometimes so this wasn't worrying.

Still, it guided my feet, pulling me forwards.

When I realized where it was trying to take me, my anxiety spiked. I didn't need my magic to burst into a sprint towards L'manberg.

As I neared the country, I saw three figures standing on top of the walls, staring out towards the North wall, where the dark thunder clouds had moved. Rain blurred the horizon in the direction.

Dread filled me when I noticed that the fourth person was missing. If Dream and Tommy were both missing... there was only one possibility.

I denied it to myself. Tommy still had one more day before the decision.

When I climbed up the stairs to the group, their faces were grave.

Tubbo faced away from me, while Fundy and Quackity turned to look at me. My heart was racing at the emotion on their faces, "What happened?"

Quackity glanced back at Tubbo's back before continuing hesitantly, "Dream moved up the date for the decision."

I shook my head slightly, trying to deny the truth. No, Tommy was still here, probably inside one of the buildings. They were trying to mess with me.

This was just a joke, it had to be. Right?

But when Tubbo turned his tear-stained face to me, I knew that it was the truth.

His voice was barely a whisper from the pain and anger,

"I'm sorry, I had to. Tommy's been exiled."

~~~~

noooo poor tommy and tubbo :(

AND THATS A WRAP LADIES AND GENTS

final words will be posted right after this, but if you don't want to read those, thank you very much for reading!

Next book will be out on Thursday!