Chapter Text
The Dreaming was in ruins.
A millennium of creations was gone.
Nothing but the dust that puffed up around Dream's shoes as he led Desire and Lucienne back to the palace.
Neither spoke as they trailed after Dream.
Lucienne walked with a type of lightness she had not felt in a century. Her home had crumbled around her, was still crumbling, but her lord had returned! Things would be made right, The Dreaming would be rebuilt and the lost Dreams and Nightmares would return.
But, that did not stop her worry. Lord Morpheus appeared to be hiding the years of torment he'd been through under a well-crafted mask, but Sovereign Desire appeared to be breaking at the seams.
They were pulling at the edges of Dream's cloak, and while their posture was straight, their shoulders were curled inward. They were trying to appear as they normally do but were failing.
Desire kept glancing around, the silence of the realm and the cold, dry wind was putting them on edge. It reminded them of the basement. They had to keep looking at the sky to remind themselves that there was no longer a stone ceiling above them.
Dream noticed his sibling's hesitant steps and weary eyes. He caught Lucienne's gaze, tilted his head and she nodded. His walk slowed to match Desire's as Lucienne's sped up so that she passed the two Endless siblings.
The two of them walked side by side through the ruins silently until Dream spoke up,
"I'm sorry, my sibling," Desire turned their head to look at Dream in confusion, unsure as to why their brother was apologizing,
"For what?"
"For being unable to call for aid," Desire frowned and kept their gaze glued to their brother's face,
"From my understanding, you were unable to because of the cage," They grimaced at their hoarse voice as Dream nodded, "Then why apologize? The fault would be Roderick Burgess'. And our sister delivered the news of his death to us,"
"And yet, I could not call for aid on your behalf. And you suffered for it," Dream said.
Desire frowned again, still not understanding why their brother was apologizing for something that was out of his control. If anything, Desire should have been groveling at their brother's feet.
They had been the one to come up with a plan!
They had convinced Despair to help them!
They had been the one to plant the seeds of desire in Roderick Burgess' mind!
It was because of them that their brother had been pulled into the circle and encased in glass!
And it was because of them that The Dreaming was in ruins!
Why was Dream apologizing?!
Desire rubbed the fabric of the cloak between their fingers as another question came to mind,
"Would you have? Called for aid?" Dream glanced back at Desire,
"Yes. I would have. But I cannot say the same if it had just been myself that Burgess managed to take," Desire rolled their eyes but managed to stop the scoff that tried to make its way out of their throat,
"Why not call for aid for yourself?" They asked, expecting the question to be ignored and not answered. Then again, Desire thought they knew the answer.
Their brother's pride.
But Dream surprised them,
"I called for aid before. And not one of you came," Desire's steps faltered, but Dream kept his stride.
Desire knew what Dream was talking about.
The two gods who had invaded The Dreaming and held their brother captive. He had managed to call for aid, and none of them answered.
Well, Desire had answered by creating Alianora instead. Dream had shared his displeasure, but Desire had made the terms clear: Alianora, or no help at all. So, Dream had reluctantly accepted her.
And while she had succeeded in freeing Dream, their relationship had crumbled further. Just as it had before with Killala and again after with Nada.
Desire worked up the courage to fall back into step with Dream, intending to at least apologies for not coming in person when their brother had called for aid during his last imprisonment. But they found their mouth going dry when they joined their brother's side.
It took them a moment to open their mouth,
"My brother, what happened with Alianora-" "I do not wish to speak of it, Desire," Dream's voice had a subtle sharpness to it that had Desire's jaw clicking shut and their shoulders drawing closer to their neck.
As they drew closer to the palace, the two siblings staring up at the stone guardians that stood cracked and motionless above the entrance, the small group saw a figure sitting on the stone steps. Her blood dripped from the gash she'd created on her hand with the hook on her finger and landed on the dusty stones beneath her feet and she peered at her siblings from behind a curtain of stringy and unwashed blond hair.
Something like relief passed across her face as she dug her hook deeper into her skin,
"My brother, my twin!"
Despite the reservations and questions they had about Despair's absence during their imprisonment, Desire found themselves immediately rushing to their beloved twin's side.
Their arms were around her shoulders and her uncut hand gripped their elbow.
The twins clung to each other on the steps of their brother's ruined palace.
Desire's face was pressed against his twin's unwashed hair.
Despair's tight grip on their arm was unwaveringly tight.
Dream's hand ghosted over Desire's shoulders before tucking some of Despair's hair behind her ear before slowly walking up the steps of the palace to give the twins some privacy for the two of them to reunite.
As he and Lucienne began entering the palace, Desire watched the two of them over their twin's shoulder. Unable to explain the sinking disappointment in their stomach as Dream disappeared behind the doors of the ruined castle,
"You're slipping farther into my realm, Desire," Despair whispered as they sat beside her as Dream's cloak flared out across the steps behind them. Their twin was looking over her shoulder as the doors shut and turned back to Desire, "He does care, Desire. More than you or I could ever imagine," She whispered as her twin rested their head on her shoulder,
"He has a funny way of showing it," Desire said, though their words held no real anger behind them as Desire picked at their twin's nails. They had no one but themselves to blame for their brother's coldness, "As do you,"
They felt Despair sigh as she rested her head against theirs, "I wish I could have been there with you, my twin. But from what I had seen, I would not have been able to crawl out of my realm again if I had seen everything,"
Desire shut their eyes at their twin's admission,
"I could only watch the reflections of our brother. How he reacted to the torment you were subjected to. I knew that nothing would stop me from falling into the darkest corners of my realm if I had joined you," Desire could not answer.
They understood their twin's reason to stay away. If the roles had been reversed and Despair had been subjected to the same tortures as Desire, they would not have been able to stay either.
Desire tried, for a small moment, to actually imagine if the roles had been reversed and found themselves curling tighter into Despair's side,
"I cannot blame you, my twin," They whispered while grabbing her hand, "I do not blame you,"
The palace behind them began to shake and the rocks, dust, and debris started to rise around the.
The twins watched as the palace started to rebuild around them, only for the pieces to hover in midair, not moving, but only shaking.
Before they came crashing to the ground,
"Our brother is not at full strength. He needs to rest before attempting to rebuild," Despair mused as she studied the area around them and Desire added,
"His tools were stolen from him. No matter how much rest he receives, he will not be at full power until they are returned," They murmured as the dust settled around them again,
"Even with his tools, he will need rest before rebuilding. As will you," Desire lifted their head from Despair's shoulder,
"The Threshold..." They trailed off as Despair nodded,
"It still stands, my twin, but it is in ruins. Your home has gone dark and cracks now line every surface,"
Desire swallowed thickly and shut their eyes at the image their twin painted,
"Oh," Despair's bloodied hand came and rested against their cheek,
"I'm sorry I cannot offer any uplifting news," Desire said nothing as they stared out at the ruins of their brother's home and whispered,
"It is not your fault, my twin,"
No fault but my own.