"You're getting flour everywhere"
Niki tried her best to keep a straight face as she looked over at Dream who was covered in more flour than the pastries themselves and tried his hardest to roll the dough he made to make some cookies.
His scarred and trembling hands cut the dough into messy shapes as he stuck his tongue out in concentration. She had offered him her cookie cutters so he wouldn't have to go through the trouble of shaping them himself but he turned them down saying that it was cheating, that this was a competition after all. He couldn't make the best cookies by taking the easiest route anyways. Looking at the lopsided shapes made her laugh at the thought.
Once upon a time she had feared him.
Back when she had first joined the server, all she had ever heard about him was that he was evil and cruel and manipulative. How the man with sandy blond hair and a bright green hoodie was somehow one of the most dangerous and feared people that she would ever have the misfortune of coming across in the smp. That he'd come in as silent as a mouse and weave sickly sweet words and always knew just how to get under your skin.
Back then, when L'manberg first began, she had given him the benefit of the doubt. Surely everyone's words were an exaggeration. The man who came into her bakery didn't quite fit that description. He was one that was goofy, who told jokes and messed around and got flustered when he got sweet berry jam on the front of his hoodie.
Over time the easy-going man she knew turned cold and closed off. She saw him less in his signature green outfit and more in the haunting purple glow of his armour shimmering with enchantments. The smooth jokes and small talk they once shared soon turned into venomous words that seemed to cut deeper than any sword ever could.
The day she helped put him behind bars was the day she had given up on the hope that her friend would return. Maybe someday in the future, they could look back and figure out where it went wrong and one day they could finally look past all his faults and find the man that they had all cared for.
Now when she looks at Dream she doesn't see the tyrant that terrified the server all those months ago, neither does she see the weak and frail man that came stumbling out of the prison with wide eyes and too many scars in armour that looked much too big for him. She looks at him and sees her friend. She sees the man that used to come to her bakery every week and chat with her over fresh bread and sweet berry jam and tea. This was the man that Techno had spoken so highly of in skill, who he gave the honour of being his one true rival and who Techno never failed to tease when he lost to him in a spar. He was the one she saw slowly warm up to Phil, trailing after the older man like his shadow across the commune and helping with chores no matter how many times the winged man said he didn't have to.
Some days Dream liked it quiet. On those days Niki learned to simply sit with him and exist. She'd brew some tea and sit by the fire with a book and a warm blanket as he dozed by the fire and some days his hands shook uncontrollably and he couldn't sit still. On days like those, he liked moving around, being useful and making himself busy. If he wasn't some sort of task then he'd help sort the chests, or walk around the house or play with the dogs in the snow. Even if she still didn't have all the details of what he went through inside that prison, she understood.
"Alright I think I'm done"
Dream stood over his creations with a proud grin, absentmindedly wiping his face and spreading flour over his nose and cheeks. Niki giggled at the sight and offered him a washcloth as she observed both their work. The shapes Deam tried to make were anything but smooth and straight but he put a lot of effort into them, even if the mobs they were based on looked nothing alike.
"They have… a lot of character" was all that Niki decide to offer, giving him a knowing look.
Dream nudged her with a huff, collecting the bowls and spoons and dropping them in the sink to wash as she put the cookies in the oven and set the timer. When she turned to face him again she was met with a face full of flour. She stared at him in shock as he shuffled around looking sheepish and not at all guilty.
"Oh you're on Dream" Niki grabbed a handful of flour and all but launched it at him turning the kitchen into a flour-coloured battlefield. By the end of their little game, the cookies were ready to be pulled out of the oven and they ever both covered head to toe in white dust and were laughing so hard their cheeks ached.
Right now, Niki liked to look at Dream and smile at how far he's come. He had flour dust in his hair and cookie crumbs on his cheeks and he looked happy. His hands still tremble when he tries to hold them still and he still sometimes flinches even at the slightest touch but slowly she could see the friend she always missed peaking out from the shadows.
And if it took them a thousand cookies to see that Dream again then she'd gladly help to bring him out. One step at a time.