Glade walks briskly for a minute or two in silence, and I listen comfortably to the clicking sound his boots make when they hit the cobblestone street. It sounds almost like the ticking of a clock, and sends me into a daze where time has no meaning, and the only things I know are the clicking of Glade's shoes, and the feeling of holding Glade. 

Another tink breaks me out of my trance, and I feel Glade scaling a set of stairs, then opening a door. His steps slow, and he turns around and crouched down. I take the cue and slide off, landing with a bounce on a surprisingly good quality bed. 

I blink my eyes open, and am immediately met with the sight of a crouching Glade pushing the skull mask to the side so he can see me better, worry lacing his expression. My eyes start burning again as memories from the prison surface one after the other. Techno looked at me exactly like this that first day he was locked in. It's all correct, down to his outfit and posture. The only things that are wrong is that he doesn't have a cape, and that this is Glade. Not Techno. 

"Hey, hey. What's wrong Dream? What's wrong?" I want to shut my eyes as tight as I can so I don't have to be reminded of him, but another part of me wants to look at this recreation forever and ever. 

Glade leans in like he wants to hug me, but I raise my hand, stopping him. 

"Please... Don't.." My voice sounds rough and scratchy, but it's the only thing I can force out. Glade sits back on his haunches, the look of worry only increasing. I feel guilty, but I really can't bring myself to touch Glade right now. Before it was reassuring, but now, I feel like throwing up whenever I think of touching him, knowing that his skin won't be radiating heat like the sun, knowing that at any moment, my hand could go right through him.

"It's about him, isn't it. Alive me." Clenching the sheets of the bed like my life depended on it, I nodded, dropping my gaze to the floor like a pouting child. Glade was silent for a while, then he reached his shaking hand out, moving it slowly towards me. I squeezed my eyes shut, but didn't stop him this time. 

His cool fingers grazed against the skin of cheek, and I flinched violently. He didn't stop though, and cupped my entire cheek in his palm, his touch gentle. Starting to tremble, I tried to clear my mind, but the memories just kept coming, one after the other. Each shared smile, each triumphant laugh, each plan formulated in the dead of night, each secret signal, everything that I had tried to forget about, tried to be indifferent to, they flooded my brain followed closely by a surge of emotions.  

With a gentle movement, Glade used his thumb to wipe away a tear I didn't realize had fallen. Startled, my eyes snapped open.

"It's okay to cry you know. I may not be him, but I can listen like him. I can be here for you like he was." Those words combined with the soft expression he was wearing broke through all the defenses I had built up with ease. That first tear was quickly followed by several more. 

"I-" I breathed out, choking silently on all the words I needed to say, yet couldn't. Glade's encouraging smile helping only slightly. "He was alive.." Every word exchanged from the day we first met all the way up til the day he died, those were real. Every night he stayed up so I could get a restful night of sleep, those were real. Every spar, every battle planning meeting, every walk, every note exchanged, those were all real, and until I got my book back, they would never again have the chance to happen. 

"He was alive, and now he's not. You are here, but you are not him." Glade nods, that smile never once leaving his face, despite the fact that his hand is getting drenched in my tears. 

"Tommy called him The Blade, because he saw Techno as a weapon, I called him Techno because I saw him as the person who held the weapon. I saw him as a man with a dark sense of humor who loved his weapons for sure, but loved his potatoes more. And I can't-" The lump in my throat reappears and I fall silent, trying and failing to swallow it.

Glade leans in for a hug again, and I don't hesitate to fall into his embrace, snaking my arms around his torso and squeezing him like he's a teddy bear. He starts rubbing my back with one hand, and tangling his fingers in my hair with the other. Both actions are surprisingly comforting, and the lump slowly recedes, allowing me to talk once more. 

"It's just.." I mumble into his chest, voice slightly nasally from how hard I'm pressing my face against him. "I can't accept that he won't be waiting just downstairs, or around the corner, for me to walk by so he can tease me." I have to stop talking to take in a big gulp of air before continuing, "I can't make myself believe that even if for only a little while, there will be a world without Technoblade." With that, I bury my face into Glade's shirt, squeezing him even harder. Glade keeps rubbing my back and playing with my hair for who knows how long, then he asks in a low voice,

"Want to go to sleep?" And it hits me just how tired I am. I nod into his shirt like earlier, and he picks me up gently and places me on the bed. I refuse to relinquish my grasp on his shirt, so he has no choice but to lay down beside me. 

Hugging Glade, I am asleep in moments.

~•~

One longer chapter, one short chapter XD

Now It's late, so I'm gonna sleep now.

Probably won't get around to updating for a week at the least

Have a nice day!