MagRaven Writes

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He slipped his hand in yours gently, carefully watching the anger in your eyes melt at his touch. He didn’t rush you or try to dissuade you; he simply waited, giving you time to reconsider your words with a deep breath and a clearer mind.

“It’s just,” you paused, closing your eyes against the pain that stung your eyes. “What if they try again, Dream? We can deal with the Evils, we can deal with Loki, but what’s to stop Desire from coming after you again?” You sighed, looking up at him.

“Let me speak with them,” he suggested, squeezing your hand lightly as he asked your permission. “Perhaps I can convince them to stay out of my affairs.”

“They’ve provoked you in the past before, though, Dream. And I’m sure you’ve told them off before,” you countered, unsure that such a light approach would work. “How do you know it’ll work this time?”

“They’ve never gone this far before. They’ve never pushed me to such limits before. And they assume I know not of their involvement.” he explained. “If I were to speak to them, tell them that I know what they’ve done, I would make them fear the course of my retaliation,” he vowed, and the light in the room receded.

“Alright,” you agreed, reluctantly. You stepped forward into him, laying your head against his chest and wrapping your arms around him. His arms closed in around you, melting you in his embrace. “I’m so relieved to be back home,” you sighed, against his chest. “To be back with you,” you hummed.

“I know, my darling,” he whispered, looking down at your contented form cradled in his arms. “Our realm was never whole without you. And neither was I,” he admitted.

You closed your eyes, breathing him in, and listening deeply to the beating of his unnecessary heart, as you let everything else fall away. And you smiled softly at how wrong you had been: those days preceding your leaving the realm weren’t your last with him. You were still able to hold him, to love him, to kiss him, you realized, as you craned your neck to gaze up at him through your lashes before leaning up to capture his lips in a slow, searing kiss.

His hand went to the base of your hair to tilt your head further back for him as he stood you before him properly. Your hands trailed down his chest, your fingers aching to slip beneath the waist of his pants, when he pulled away from you quickly. You looked up at him with a creased brow and a pout that tested his resolve.

“Darling, you must still be sore from earlier,” he countered gently, as his grip on your hair loosened. “Perhaps you should rest,” he suggested.

His concern was truly touching, especially considering the growing tightness of his pants. But you had gone two weeks without him: two weeks without seeing, tasting, touching, feeling him, and you needed desperately to make up for that.

“Dream, you’re always so careful not to hurt me as you have in the past,” you spoke softly, peering up at him with a kind smile and loving eyes, as your hand went to caress the side of his face. But then you used your hold to pull him down, whispering rough and low in his ear. “Had you not considered that maybe I’d like you to?”

One look at the coy smile playing on your lips coupled with the way your free hand slipped once again inside his pants, and he snatched your wrist away from his waist, pinning it behind you as he turned against the desk. Your hand that had caressed his face was now planted firmly against the desk now for support as he forced you roughly against the desk in a way that had the edge of it digging harshly into your hips and igniting sparks of lust deep inside you.

His left hand ran up your spine slowly before settling between your shoulder blades to press you flat against the surface of the desk, eliciting a soft gasp from you, as he released your wrist to grip your hip tightly. He felt your erratic breathing beneath the palm he had splayed on your back and he couldn’t help the concern that unnerved him.

“Are you alright, my darling?” He asked cautiously, his hold on you loosening as he turned his head to look over your face for any sign of discomfort or unease. “Is – is this alright?”

“Yes, Dream,” you smiled at his concern. “It’s perfect,” you sighed, before removing your clothes with a thought, leaving you bare and pressed between him and his desk.

He laid a soft kiss to the side of your face, before straightening up and parting your legs with his knee. He slid the joint upwards to press against your cunt from below, smirking at the way you instinctively began to grind down on it. A needy moan escaped your lips as he applied more pressure, both with his knee pressing harshly against your clit, and with his hand anchored at your hip, grinding you down even rougher onto him.

You were just getting somewhere, the coil in your belly tightening as his clothed knee rubbed against your clit with the perfect amount of friction, when he removed his leg. You would have whined your protest if his knee hadn’t been quickly replaced. Leaning forward until his chest was flush with your back, he pressed against you harder, and you moaned lowly as you felt his hardened length at your back.

“Is this more to your liking, wife?” He gritted into your ear. So overcome by the feeling of him pressed against you, his cock grinding deliciously against your backside, all you could do was press back into him with a needy whimper. He loved seeing you like this and you knew it: his sweet, bright-eyed little Elpis begging him to ruin you. “How deeply you must have missed being stuffed full of my cock, wife,” he wondered lowly, as his hand left your hip to delve between your folds. You moaned lowly at the contact as your walls stretched around his sudden intrusion. “I’ve only just had you and here you are: begging for it once again,” he noted, pulling his fingers from you to eye the release he had left in you not long ago.

You turned your cheek against the hard wooden surface, angling your neck as best you could to respond. “I think you’ve missed stuffing me full of your cock far more, husband,” you provoked with a smirk that only convinced him to tease you further, recalling how impatient you were with him earlier.

“We’ll find a better use for that mouth of yours,” he rasped, as he leaned down to place a chaste kiss to your cheek. Three fingers shot back into at that moment, eliciting a wide-eyed gasp from you. He smirked at the sound and wasted no time in pulling his hand from you to shove his glistening digits into your open mouth.

You moaned at the taste of your mingled arousals on your tongue. Your eyes fluttered closed at the sweet and salty taste and you licked his fingers clean, your artful tongue sliding between his lithe digits to pick up every drop. You rolled your hips harsher then, eager to earn some sort of friction from his still-clothed form. “Still so desperate for me, aren’t you?” He tsked. You whined unintelligibly in response, whatever words you were attempting to utter muffled by his fingers in your mouth. “What was that, darling?” He asked finally pulling his cleaned fingers from your mouth, and you would have fumed at his smug tone if you weren’t already so far gone.

“Yes, Dream, please,” you moaned, as you sucked in a breath. You tried to press back against him then, but he stepped just out of reach, unsatisfied with your response. “Please, Dream, I need you to fuck me, please,” you whined.

“Is that so?” He breathed, amused by your desperation. With his free hand, he undid his pants with an aching slowness that only increased your frustrations. The pop of the button, the winding sound of metal teeth parting open, the rustling of denim to expose him just enough to free his length; it all had you whining and squirming under his hold as you ached to feel him. His hold only tightened at the sight of your frustrations. “Patience, darling.”

“Dream, please,” you whined. “Hurry up,” you cried, and a soft moan of anticipation slipped from your lips as you felt the head of him tease along your folds. You tried to push back on him, forcing him to push into you, but he stepped back then, eager to see just how desperately you needed him.

“I thought you said I needed this far more than you did,” he smirked, and you let out a breath of frustration, as you sagged against the desk in defeat.

“Fine,” you groaned, impatiently. “I need you, Dream! I need you so much, and I – I’ve missed you so dearly, husband,” you breathed gently, the heartache and longing you felt during your separation returning anew you desperately sought for him to touch you.

“Not as dearly as I’ve missed you, wife,” he smiled softly, before entering you in one harsh thrust. The stretch was unbearable, with the way he pushed through your tight entrance and soreness. You bit your lip to keep from crying out at paradoxical mix of unadulterated pleasure and pain, but it wasn’t enough, and you cried out his name as he bottomed out within you. His heart skipped nervously at the sound and the possibility that the pain was too much for you, but your back arched against the desk as you urgently sought to pull him deeper within you.

He remained sheathed within you only for a moment, reveling shortly in the way your swollen flesh closed around him, before pulling out and slamming back into you.

“Oh gods, Morpheus!” You cried, as your hips made contact with the solid edge of the desk. As he withdrew, only the head of him still within you, his attentions were entirely fixed on the slick you coated his cock with. He watched his length glisten with a mix of your arousal and his previous release before pounding back and watching himself disappear within you.

A broken breath left you as the wooden edge dug into your hip and he pressed forcefully against you. His hands settled on your hips, pinning you against the desk as he slammed into you from behind. You struggled for purchase as he picked up a brutal pace, and your fingers managed to grasp the edge of the desk between his thrusts.

“Dream!” You cried out, as his hand left your hip to slide before you and toy with your clit.

“Yes?” he rasped, with a smirk, fully aware that you were far too preoccupied to respond. Your grip on the edge of the desk seemed to pull you too far from him, so he pried your hands away before pining them at your back. You made a noise between a strangled whimper and a pitiful whine that compelled him to ask softly, “Is this alright, darling?” You nodded quickly against the desk, rolling your hips against him, wordlessly begging him to pick up his pace. With one hand trapping both of yours at your back and his other anchored tightly at your hip, his thrusts resumed as he pistoned into you with a renewed lust.

With the way he was gripping tightly at your hips as he slammed into you, it wasn’t long before you came hard with a cry of his name of your lips. He shut his eyes against the glorious sound, basking in the sound of your pleasure with a pleased, open-mouthed smile, before releasing into you with a deep, contented groan. You fell limp against the desk as he filled you once more and whined weakly as he withdrew from you.

He released your wrists then, letting them fall to your sides before stepping back to take in the sight of you bent over his desk and filled so full you were dripping with him.

“You look so lovely filled up with my seed, wife,” he reflected, parting your folds to watch as a thick drop leaked to the floor with an obscene splash that had you wincing and blushing. He ran a lithe digit between the swollen flesh, earning a whimper from you, to collect the filthy combination of his release and your arousal. The digit appeared before you and your lips parted without further instruction before taking him into your mouth. Your tongue swirled around him, cleaning him off and taking every bit down your throat.

He pulled his hand slowly from your mouth to smooth your hair and stroke the side of your face lovingly. “Are you alright?” He asked with a small smile, as his eyes raked over your blissed-out expression. You could only manage to nod with a contented sigh and heavy lids. His hand rubbed soothingly up your back and a moment later, you were back in bed, lying on top of soft silk sheets and his chest.

You hummed contentedly as you rested your face in the crook of his neck and draped an arm over him. He held you tight against him with one hand across your lower back and his other sifting gently through your hair.

“Dream?” You asked softly, without opening your eyes. He hummed his acknowledgement as he watched your blissful form, and you continued. “Have I told you how much I missed you?” You wondered, as you nuzzled deeper into him and breathed in the scent of him.

“Yes, my darling,” he smiled, with a light breath of laughter. “You have,” he confirmed, as he rested his face against yours. Your smile deepened at the gentle caress and you sighed softly.

“Well, I’m going to tell you again, anyway,” you decided, before pulling away enough to look down lovingly at him. Your fingers traced over his sharp cheekbones, his chiseled jawline, his plush lips, all as you gazed over the silvery blue of his eyes. “I missed you so much, my Dream,” you breathed, before pressing your lips to his.

His hand tangled in your hair as he pulled you down against him. You had held him so delicately, so carefully, but he couldn’t help the urgent, impetuous need he held for you. So when you pulled away from his lips and moved to leave the bed, his arms tightened around you as he peered up at you with a frown.

“Dream, let go!” You laughed, as you placed your hands on his shoulders and attempted to push off of him.

“What is so important that you must leave me?” He wondered, and you bit your lip to keep from laughing any further at the way he refused to let go of you.

“Well, if you must know,” you began, melting back into his hold. “I need to take a bath,” you informed him, and his arms closed tightly over you. “I’m all kinds of sore and sticky, thanks to you,” you grumbled, and he took pride in your grievance, causing you to roll your eyes at his self-satisfaction. “So, if you’ll excuse me,” you sighed, before trying once again to remove yourself from him.

“I’ll come with you,” he offered, his grip on you remaining tight as ever.

You shook your head softly at him before pressing a kiss to his lips. “Alright,” you smiled, and his arms released you at your permission.

He was just as determined to hold on to you in the bathtub, as well. He kept you pressed against him with a determination that bordered on desperation. You had caught it in his eyes when he refused to let go of you in bed, and even though you couldn’t see it clearly with him behind you now, it showed in the way his fingertips pressed lightly into your skin. It was a grounding touch, a way for him to be sure that you were really home. You had really returned to him and he wouldn’t lose you again. At least for as long as he held onto you.

So when you rose from the tub and out of his arms, he watched with parted lips as you dried off and covered yourself with a robe before moving to summon Beryl. The second your hand touched the doorknob and you moved to exit the bathroom and his presence, he was out of the tub and following you to your dressing room.

He watched you frown at one dress before peering at another with a contemplative gaze. He was content to watch you decide, but your gaze connected with his in the mirror then as you placed the first one against your body. “Which one?” You asked as you switched to lay the second gown against you. But when you caught his adoring gaze as he leaned back to watch you, you knew he’d be no help.

“Well,” he began, rising from his seat then to appear behind you. “You don’t have to wear anything,” he suggested with a smirk that deepened as your eyes connected with his in the mirror and a blush spread across your features.

“Dream!” You chided, as you turned around to swat his chest lightly. “You know, if it was up to you, I bet you’d never let me leave that bed.”

“I have considered it,” he admitted, his hand moving to pull open the belt of your robe. But you swatted his hands away then, turning back to the mirror, and rolling your eyes at the pout he wore at your denial.

You glanced back at the gowns and pursed your lips for a moment before deciding to place the trapeze gown back in the closet, in favor of the satin dress that fell elegantly against your curves.

“I figure I’d better get the most out of these more form-fitting gowns before I’m far too big to wear them in a few months,” you sighed as you turned towards the mirror. You held the smooth material against you and pulled it taut against your belly, frowning as you imagined growing too large for the delicate dress.

“I’ll have every gown refit for you as you grow our child,” he promised. His arms wrapped around your waist, his fingers sliding over your midsection as you interlaced your fingers with his, and a smile spread across your face slowly.

“Dream, we’re going to have a baby,” you breathed, as you finally let the news sink in. He peered down at you in his arms as your realization began to set in, and he smiled softly at your excitement.

“We are,” he confirmed your excitement with a breath of laughter, before pressing a trail of kisses along your neck. But your eyes connected with a figure in the mirror and you gasped sharply before turning around and out of Dream’s hold.

“Beryl!” You squealed, shoving the gown in Dream’s arms as you rushed past him to embrace your lady’s maid.

“Oh, my lady!” She called out with a grin, before wrapping her arms around you. “It’s so good to have you back home,” she sighed, as her arms tightened around you. “How are you?” She rushed, pulling away from you to look over your form. “How’s –,” she interrupted herself mid-sentence as she glanced behind you at Morpheus. “Did you tell him?” She wondered quietly, out of earshot of him.

“Yeah,” you nodded, biting back a smile. “I told him.”

“Oh, congratulations, my lord!” She gushed, as her gaze turned to him.

“Thank you, Beryl,” he replied, peering over your shoulder at her. “But I do think I should have been the first to know,” he bristled lightly, as he moved beside you.

“Well, to be fair, Beryl and I have been friends for far longer than you and I have been together,” you countered as you watched him approach you, and Beryl nodded before turning back to him. “Now, get out,” you commanded him lightly, pushing him out of the room with both of your hands pressed at his back. “I have to get dressed,” you added, before returning to your dressing room to converse with Beryl.

“Alright, so good news first,” Johanna sighed. “I’ve located Loki and the Evils. Bad news is they’re looking all over for you. And if they don’t find you soon, they might think something’s up. Especially since Puck’s left them. And if they get suspicious and decide to go underground,” she paused to inhale sharply. “All the tracking spells in the world won’t help us find them.”

“Then we can’t go after them one-by-one,” you realized. “The Evils are so tightly knit that I’m sure if one of them is captured and doesn’t respond to the others, they’ll become suspicious and scatter.”

“Well, they’re all in Las Vegas, so picking them off at the same time shouldn’t be too difficult,” Johanna offered.

“But what about Loki?” You wondered. “If he’s working with them, I’m certain they’d have a similar check-in in place, and if he doesn’t respond, we’d have the same issue.”

“Then we should split up and capture them simultaneously,” Dream suggested, before turning to Johanna. “Where is Loki?”

“He’s in LA,” she explained, before glancing at you. “I guess they figured Europe was a bust, so they decided to look through America for you.”

“Alright,” you sighed. “Then I’ll take the Evils and Dream, you can take Loki,” you suggested, as you looked to him.

“No,” he decided. “I’ll see to Loki, while Johanna and the Corinthian take the Evils,” he countered. Your lips parted with a protest he anticipated, and he continued in a low voice. “I won’tlet you go after them, Elpis. Not in your condition,” he explained, as his gaze dipped to your midsection.

“Dream, the Evils are too much for a mortal and a nightmare to handle,” you began, as you reached for his hand. “No offense,” you added, with a glance over to Johanna.

“None taken,” she responded with a light breath. “Especially not after seeing what they did to him,” she added, with a nod to Dream.

“So what if I go after them with the Corinthian,” you suggested, as you brushed your thumb over his knuckles. “While you and Johanna go after Loki?”

“The new and improved Corinthian is quite the tracker and assistant,” Johanna offered, with a tilted head to support your bid.

But his eyes stayed trained on you, as he weighed your plan against the image of you wounded. “Are you certain, Hope?” He wondered, in a small voice, and you couldn’t help but smile at his concern.

“I am,” you nodded, as you peered up at him. “This is the best way,” you assured him, and he relented with a hesitant nod.

Johanna stepped forward and cleared her throat awkwardly before speaking. “Alright, so, where is everyone’s favorite ex-serial killer?”

You descended the stairway and you couldn’t help but smile at the sight of Dream.

“I was worried you were going to meet Johanna straight away,” you began, as you reached the final step and approached him. “That you weren’t going to see me off,” you smiled, as your hands pressed flat against his chest. You pushed off the ground, leaning up to kiss him when he gripped your wrists tightly and your smile faltered before you could taste him.

“Don’t go, Elpis,” he whispered, through his aching throat. “Please. I could go after the Evils while Constantine and the Corinthian capture Loki.”

He looked down at you with a desperation that broke your heart and as you watched his throat bob, you knew he was considering every way this could go wrong.

“This is the best way, Dream,” you assured him, as you pulled your hands from his grip to hold his properly. “I’ll be okay. And I’ll come back to you,” you vowed, with a comforting smile.

He wanted so desperately to believe you, but he couldn’t help but worry that such an outcome may be out of your control.

“Do you remember when you went to Olympus at Zeus’ invitation?” He wondered, and your brows knit together slightly. “Lucienne brought me the letter and when I read it, I wanted nothing more than to tear it to pieces before you ever saw it.”

You pursed your lips as you recalled receiving the letter with a broken seal from Lucienne, knowing full-well that he had read the invitation and intended for you to know of his interception. “But you let me have it. And you let me meet with him.”

“Only because Zeus would have simply sent more letters or messengers. With what he had in mind, his invitation would have found its way to you eventually,” he explained. “I didn’t how to tell you how devastating the loss of you would be. How shattered I would be if you hadn’t come back that night. I didn’t know how to tell you this then, so,” he paused, unsure if he should continue. He had kept this from you for millennia, even after your reconciliation, with how controlling he knew this information would make him seem. "So, I came to your chambers that evening to prevent you from leaving. To prevent you from meeting with him.”

You wanted to ask him how far he would have gone to prevent you from meeting with Zeus. What he would have done if you refused to stay in the realm. You tried to reassure yourself with his words from earlier – that he would never go so far as to imprison you within the pithos, but your mind seemed to linger on the possibility.

“Why are you telling me this?” You asked, with your eyes squeezed closed, desperate to shut away any tears that threatened to form at the lingering possibility.

“Because I need you to know how desperate I was to keep you here. To keep you safe, in our home, where I could protect you. If you had stayed in Olympus, I knew Zeus wouldn’t look after you, care for you the way I could,” He sighed, as he squeezed your hand in his. “Elpis, I waited all night for you to return. I sent Calliope and Orpheus away to Helicon, and demanded that I not be disturbed until you returned because,” he halted, as he recalled the panic that gripped him that night as he feared you may not return to him. “I didn’t want anyone to see what the mere thought of losing you did to me.”

“Morpheus,” you breathed, as you peered up at him. “I thought you were just being possessive,” you admitted, with a lowered gaze. “I – I didn’t think you actually cared.”

“Oh, my Hope,” he whispered, as his hand moved to you face and his thumb brushed your cheek. “Of course, I did. I’ve cared for you since the moment you stepped foot in my throne room,” he assured you with a soft smile. “And I would never stop you from leaving now, but,” a broken breath escaped him as those fears from that night returned to him anew. “I couldn’t bear to lose you then, and I couldn’t bear to lose you now, my darling. Please,” he pled softly. “I’ve spent two thousand years taking your presence in or realm for granted. And when you left, I couldn’t bear it. Please,” he begged softly. “Stay here,” he whispered, clutching your hands desperately in his. “I can’t risk losing you.”

And as you watched him break down, you pulled him into you without hesitation, tears of your own streaking down your face at how desperately he needed you.

On the night you returned from Olympus, you’d waited expectantly for him to tell you how he valued your presence in the realm or how grateful he was for your return. Now, two millennia later, you finally had those sentiments, but they had come in the wrong form, as the sight of his desperation only wounded you.

“Dream, you’re not going to lose me,” you assured him, through your aching throat. “And – and how do you think I’d feel if you didn’t come back? How do think I felt when you went to Hell and I was so scared that I’d lose you?” You countered, as you recalled how your roles had been reversed several weeks ago. “But I had faith in you, Dream. You promised me you’d come back and I believed you because I knew you’d stop at nothing to come home to me.” You paused to pull away enough to look at him with a light smile turning your lips. “Do you not have the same faith in me?”

“Of course, I do,” he responded, but you could still feel his apprehension. “But if they could manipulate me, they could do the same to you. And Moros has hurt you before, my darling.”

“And I’ve hurt him,” you countered. “Not too severely, because he was guest of the realm, but I sent him stumbling over his own feet before tossing him back down to the banquet,” you explained, and Dream seemed to relax with this new information. “I can take them, Dream. Back then in the pithos, maybe not. But now? After all the time I’ve spent here refining my abilities and crafting new additions to our realm? I can do this. I’m sure of it.”

His eyes searched yours as he considered the certainty of words. You were so sure, so certain of your abilities, that he allowed your certainty to erase any doubt he held for your return.

“Alright,” he agreed, before tilting your lips up to his for a chaste kiss that was interrupted by the Corinthian’s deliberate footsteps. “Corinthian,” he cleared his throat as he turned to the nightmare. “You shall escort Lady Hope to Las Vegas and assist her in capturing the Evils,” he explained before looking back at you. “Darling, I’m afraid I’ve left the pithos in my study,” he realized, supplying a thinly veiled excuse to speak privately with the Corinthian.

A knowing smile crossed your features as you moved past him in the direction of his study. “I’ll get it,” you shook your head lightly at him, and you let your hand graze his as you passed him. His breath hitched lightly at the passing contact and you smirked lightly at the effect you still had on him.

He waited for your footsteps to recede before commanding the nightmare in a low voice. “You are to protect her at all costs. If the situation becomes untenable, you are to return her to the realm immediately,” he paused to listen closely for any sign of your return. When none sounded, he continued. “If she refuses to retreat in the face of insurmountable danger, the pithos can be used to contain her and return her to the realm without further protest.”

“You want me to trap her in that jar so I can bring her back here without the kicking and screaming?”

“Only if you feel that she would be endangered by staying and she refuses to retreat,” he reiterated, pausing at the nightmare’s silence. “Do you take issue with that?”

“No,” he agreed, after a moment. “Just wanted to be clear on that part.”

“Matthew will follow you both from afar and report to me at the first sign of trouble,” Dream explained, and the Corinthian nodded as your footsteps approached.

“I’ll take that, my lady,” he offered, with an outstretched hand. You handed it to him hesitantly, but with pleasant surprise. Dream had told you how he had remade the Corinthian in your absence, and you were glad to hear it. All nightmares were meant to frighten, but most of them terrified dreamers as an obstacle, a device to help face one’s fears within the safety of the Dreaming. The original Corinthian, however, seemed to lack that quality. He was a sadist, relishing in the suffering of dreamers with no greater goal of self-improvement or development.

“Thank you,” you smiled, after a moment, before turning to Dream. “We should be off,” you sighed, before leaning up to him, with your hands pressed against his chest. “You’d better clear off the desk in your study, husband, because I want you to take me like that again when I return,” you whispered roughly against the shell of his ear before leaving a soft kiss to his lips and leaning back down. “Goodbye, Morpheus,” you smiled innocently, at his parted lips and the deep scarlet staining his pale cheeks. “Shall we go?” You asked the Corinthian, pretending to be oblivious to the quiet shock on his creator’s face.

“Right, well,” Johanna sighed, as she returned to Dream in the hotel entrance. “I’m out 200 dollars, but according to that bellboy, Loki’s in the penthouse suite.” She explained with a nod in the direction of a young man who was hastily shoving her cash in his pocket. “Could’ve guessed that one on my own, to be honest,” she muttered, before heading towards the elevator. She watched Morpheus stare vacantly at the hotel doors and frowned as she held the elevator doors open. “You coming? Or do I have to get the God of Chaos and Fire by myself?”

“My apologies,” he murmured, before joining her. “I was checking with Matthew on Hope’s condition,” he explained as she pressed the button.

“She alright?” Jo wondered, as the doors closed and the elevator began to rise.

“Yes,” he confirmed, though she remained unconvinced by the way his hands twitched at his sides. “She and the Corinthian have arrived at the Evils’ location now.”

“I’m sure they’ll be fine,” Jo assured him. “She can take care of herself, you know,” she added, with a glance up at him.

“I do,” he agreed, slowly. “Yet I cannot help but worry,” he admitted, softly. “The thought of losing her once more,” he began in a low whisper, but the doors opened with a ding that stole his attentions. He cleared his throat as he exited and Johanna followed suit.

“Hey,” she called out, as his hand went to the suite door. “She’ll be fine.”

He accepted her assurances with a curt nod before opening the locked door easily under his magic.

“Dream,” you breathed, with a soft smile, as he entered the suite. “I’m so glad you’re here,” you added, as you rushed over to him.

Johanna’s brow furrowed slightly, but her eyes went wide as Dream gripped your throat in one hand.

“What the fuck are you doing?!” She cried out, as your hands scratched uselessly at Dream’s hand. You looked over to her with desperate eyes and she moved to aid you.

But Dream’s words stopped her. “It’s not her. It’s Loki,” he explained, his withering glare never straying from you.

“Dream,” you choked out, looking to him as the tears raced down your face. “Please,” yu managed to eke out.

His fingers tightened as his scowl deepened. “You think I could not tell the difference between my wife and the trickster who sought to have me kill her?”

Johanna looked from him to you; according to Matthew, you were safe with the Corinthian in Las Vegas. But what if he was mistaken? What if something had changed your mind and you had chosen to aid Dream instead?

“Are you sure about this?” Johanna checked, with a darting glance between you and him.

“I know my Hope,” he gritted out, as he placed a second hand around your throat.

“Dream,” you scraped out. “Our baby,” you whispered, as the tears dripped from your jaw to his constricting hands around your throat.

“Enough!” He roared, slamming you against the wall at his side. “Show yourself, Loki!”

Your lip quivered for a moment before stretching to a wide grin. Your form shifted and Dream’s hold loosened as Loki stood before him now.

“Can’t blame me for trying, can you?” He wondered with a smirk that only reignited Morpheus’ rage.

Loki eyes bulged as Dream pressed his fingertips into the side of his throat. “I should kill you for your schemes and this,” he paused to look over the trickster who dare take your form, “despicable imitation.”

“But that’s not the plan, remember?” Johanna chimed in, observing the fury in Dream’s eyes.

Dream’s sneer twitched to a scowl at her words and with a frustrated breath, he resigned himself to your wishes. And in his frustration, he failed to notice when Odin and Thor entered the suite behind him.

“Blood brother, Odin!” Loki cried out for them, and Dream turned sharply towards the pair. “Dream stole me from under the earth to learn your secrets, but I told him nothing!”

“Odin,” Dream acknowledged the Norse god, as his hands tightened around the trickster’s throat.

Odin sighed as he stepped forward, his staff clicking deeply as he approached them. “It was his servant who summoned me, Loki,” he explained. “With the worst mead I have ever tasted,” he scoffed lightly, with a glance to Johanna.

“Sorry about that,” Johanna murmured, before turning to Dream. “Right, is now a good time to let you know that I may have informed Odin of our search for Loki?” Dream’s jaw tensed as he narrowed his eyes at her, but she stepped closer to speak lowly to him. “I just thought if he was here, he could help me with Loki and you could go help Hope. We both know you want to,” she remarked with a knowing look.

His gaze softened and he looked to Odin with his hands still wrapped around Loki’s throat. “I assume you’re here for him,” Dream began. “To return him to his prison beneath the world?”

“If you do not seek punishment of your own for his crimes against you,” Odin countered.

“Return to his prison shall suffice,” Dream agreed, before stepping back and releasing Loki from his hold. With a nod from his father, Thor stepped forward and threw Loki over his shoulder, with a petulant complaint that he wasn’t allowed to kill his brother. The pair traded cutting remarks before Odin dismissed the two, eager to speak privately with Dream.

“Despite your freeing Loki, there is no grudge between us,” he announced. “Your servant informed me of his scheme against you, and I find that to be punishment enough for your freeing him.”

“I believe so, as well,” Dream admitted, considering your disapproval of his freeing Loki some time ago and the ensuing heartache the act had caused both of you. “However, should Loki ever seek to act against me or mine again, I shall end him without hesitation.”

“I would expect no less, Dream Lord,” Odin accepted. “But I shall ensure he never leaves his prison again.” He vowed. Odin departed with a reverent nod to Dream and a grateful glance to Johanna before following the path Thor had taken.

“Well, then,” Johanna sighed, as she turned to Dream with a quirked brow. “Don’t you have a wife to go check in on?”

A smile twitched at Dream’s lips, but it faltered when he heard Matthew’s voice in his mind.

“You might wanna get over here, Boss.”

And Morpheus watched through the raven’s eyes as the Corinthian turned the pithos in your direction. He swallowed thickly as you looked to the nightmare in confusion before disappearing within the jar. But silent fury tensed his body when he watched the Corinthian turn and hand the pithos to Moros.

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