#arywrites

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Morpheus is not often distracted, certainly not when his negligence might result in the damnation of his realm and his creations, and after a century of imprisonment in a glass orb with no room for breathing, neither in the waking world.

Yet, somehow, between one sentence and another, he finds he can no longer discern what Hob Gadling had been saying. Although, his lover is not to blame. Even now that their meetings have become weekly (sometimes, daily) appointments, he's remained just as intrigued with Hob's fascination for the world he's spent the last six centuries in as he was when his 'project' had just begun.

In truth, he could not explain when his attention drifted away, but one moment he's staring at the display of the cellphone Hob is presenting to him, bright, colorful figures and a myriad of possibilities ("It's like holding a bloody computer in the palm of your hand!") and the next his mind has brought... certain details into sharp focus.

Such as the callouses on the hand Hob is holding the device with, acquired from years brandishing a sword into battle. Or the manner in which his other hand gestures at every word he says, waving and drawing patterns in the air as if to keep Morpheus entertained. Perhaps, it did too much of a good job.

Alas, the Lord of the Dreaming must have forgotten to pretend he was listening, because, suddenly, he feels a strong pull towards Hob and had he been human, his heart would have leaped in his chest at the motion.

Belatedly, he realizes the 'pull' was actually his lover's hand on the small of his back, drawing him closer. Even after the distance between them has been reduced to a hairs breadth, Hob's arms encircle his waist in a firm hold, but still loose enough that he can escape the embrace if he so wishes. He does not.

Hob grins, victoriously, as he does on any occasion where Morpheus allows physical contact. This time, however, he does not let go after the silence stretches on. If anything, his smile widens, and he begins to sway his body side to side slowly, step by step, leading Morpheus into what can only be a makeshift waltz.

Except, there's something missing.

"Hob?" Morpheus finds his voice, at last.

Hob doesn't miss a beat, "Yes, love?" The endearment is spoken so casually it threatens to distract him again, but Morpheus cannot afford to make a fool of himself with a dancing partner.

And so, he points out, "There is no music playing."

Hob snorts, amused, "I'm aware, Morpheus." Then, he steps back, takes Morpheus' hand in his and twirls him to the left. For once, Morpheus follows his lead.

Still, "Then, what is the purpose of this?"

A pause. Hob stops swaying and blinks at him, baffled. There is indeed no music playing but you could hear a pin drop in Hob's living room. An Endless should not be familiar with feelings such as anxiety and dread, so Morpheus catalogues the different emotions in the brown of Hob's eyes whilst he waits. They're his favorite part of his beloved; young in appearence but aged by the passage of time and all the beauty and horrors they've witnessed.

He tenses up when Hob sighs, but relaxes at the gentleness in his gaze. It is a familiar look, the one Hob gets whenever Morpheus dares to question something so simple and so mundane: equally fond and exasperated.

"My dear, sweet Dream, here's another lesson on humanity," Hob resumes their waltz, unbothered. "We don't always need a reason, a purpose, to do something. Sometimes, we do it just because."

Morpheus blinks, slow and cat-like. "Just because?" He demands a better explanation.

Hob is laughing now, but not at him. "That's right! Things like having a glass of wine even though we're not thirsty, or falling asleep even when we're not tired, or dancing with a lover when there's no music playing." He gestures at the two of them. "These are some of the simple pleasures of life."

Simple pleasures, that sounds like something his sibling, Desire, would appreciate to hear. Morpheus cannot find it in himself to complain, though. He understands it. "I see." A small, not so rare smile follows his answer.

Hob's eyebrows climb up to his hairline. "You do?" He spins Morpheus in his arms again, but his eyes never leave his lover, even as they part and reunite in their dance.

Morpheus hums, "Is it not similar to when I prepared a meal for you in your kitchen, even though I do not require food?"

The mention of the occurrence seems to surprise Hob. He sputters, choking a little. "Yeah, that- that definitely counts, love. Oh, don't go pouting at me now, I did enjoy it! It lacked salt and you probably forgot a few ingredients, but I imagine you haven't cooked for anyone in a while."

He hadn't, but Hob had taken it as his mission to feed Morpheus whenever he visited him in the waking world. It was only fair he returned the favor, especially when food is one of the wonders of life Hob never seems to tire of.

However, he's too prideful to admit to it just yet. "What use does it have for one such as I? I rule the dreams of men, assembling a feast should be no problem. I require only the will and creativity of my dreamers."

Hob shakes his head, as if he's heard it all before. He concedes, "Never said you couldn't, darling, but don't think I'm an ungrateful bugger! It was perfect for me. Did I not eat everything you prepared?"

Morpheus takes that into consideration, though he doesn't need to. Hob is daydreaming about the day his lover welcomed him home with dinner and, more importantly, his presence at the table.

He smiles, bashful, and compromises. "Apologies, I shall try again soon, for my beloved."

Hob marvels at the proposition. "You don't have to... But would you really, for me?" In spite of his refusal, his face lights up.

Morpheus doesn't say, I would overthrow kingdoms for you, condemn your enemies to eternal sleep and haunt their nightmares religiously. I would lay waste to the waking world if you asked and risk Destiny's wrath. There is very little I would not sacrifice.

Instead, he raises Hob's hand to his lips and places a chaste kiss on the back. A promise, an oath sworn by the King of Dreams. He is not unfamiliar with devotion, after all.

He says, "Perhaps, my sister could advise me on the matter. She has excellent taste in food."

"Perhaps." Hob agrees.

-Two Minds-

By: Ary

Eventually, Reader is caught and brought into Argall's Fortress by two guards, fully expecting to be executed. Instead, Thragg surprisingly, almost shockingly, takes a liking to their antics.

Rather than ordering their immediate death, he gives them a warning, telling them to stop their rebellious acts or the consequences will be far more severe the next time.

Reader is then released, but of course, after lying low for a while, they go right back to causing chaos. This continues for years, from Reader's late teens all the way until their eighteenth birthday.

Once again, they're dragged back into Argall's Fortress, and seeing that nothing has changed, along with the fact that they have yet to undergo the traditional ceremony performed when a Viltrumite turns eighteen, Thragg decides against their expected punishment of execution.

Instead, he sends some of his strongest and most respected warriors to personally intoxicate reader with the Viltrum Empire.

Day and night, they're relentlessly pounded by Thragg himself, General Kregg, Conquest, Nolan, and several others, with the intention of pounding Viltrum's strength, superiority, and ideals into them until they finally submit to the Empire.

Kara held onto Ana's neck, her hands wrapped around their best friend. Yet even though there was the danger of falling face first into God knows where and dropping to her death below them.

Kara was not holding onto her fully, trying to keep a distance between her arms and hands and making as little contact with Ana's body as possible, even though Ana had a pretty solid hold on Kara's body as they both flew across the clouds.

Causing Kara to cough, well, more like bark, earning a glance from Ana that lasted as fast as it came. It wasn't the most unnatural thing Kara had going for herself as a Viltrumite.

This wasn't the worst she had seen. Not like she would freak out about it. At most she'd raise an eyebrow if it was something that made Ana internally rethink, "Why did I become acquaintances with her again?"

But all that aside, Kara was babbling on about some human customs of Earth, meanwhile Ana had her gaze focused on the location they were headed toward.

A childish gasp escaped Kara as she pointed upward somewhere above them. There wasn't anything there, but the sound was.

"It's probably an airplane! I recognize their sound perfectly! Come on, let's go there! Fly! Fly!"

She thrust her body up and down, jumping like a baby in excitement while being held in Ana's hands.

Ana only responded with her ever unbreaking face. Her response was already obvious to both Kara and herself. Kara could already read her face like a professional. Yet she brought herself to say it out loud anyway.

"No."

She stated it without leaving any room to argue, though she knew Kara wasn't the type of person to back down from these things, even though her voice clearly stated that she didn't want to deal with any of this shit. Especially Kara's.

Her request beforehand that led them to this was already something she didn't want to do. She had planned training, some sparring, and combat for the day.

But again, here they were. Flying in the hot summer sky. Not like it was a problem for Ana as a Viltrumite. Hell, if someone were to throw her into the sun, she would probably only break one sweat and wipe her forehead once if she stayed there for a day.

"Oh, come on. You're such a party pooper."

Kara whined, suddenly hitting her head against Ana's shoulder, which immediately backfired as she held her head, earning only more sounds of pathetic suffering from her mouth.

Ana only let out a sigh, which seemed to immediately catch Kara's attention and cut her suffering short. A small glimmer of hope appeared in her eyes as she slowly revealed her hidden face from being buried into Ana's shoulder.

The glimmer seemed to glow more as Kara heard the familiar sound of an airplane getting closer. Waiting for her mouth to let out the sentence, or word. Since in action she just kept flying, but at a slower pace, before slowly coming to a stop.

"No."

Her previous words repeated, her stare still focused on anywhere but Kara. Before she finally did.

"And keep your suffering and whining at a lower volume."

Suddenly, she felt a rough shove as two feet met her stomach. It didn't hurt. It just got a surprised reaction out of her as Kara flew off into the sky above, hitting clouds along the way and leaving holes within them.

This is when she wants to use her powers? Yet doesn't even bother sparring or using them for actually useful things like combat training. This woman...

With a heavily held back sigh and a slight tilt of her head backward, closing her eyes, Ana stayed there. Arms crossed, floating in the same spot where she stopped, unmoving. Only her cape moved every so often because of the wind.

She heard the loud giggles and laughter coming from above, the booming voice of her acquaintance. She really couldn't believe that human, girl, was also half Viltrumite.

"THIS SHIT IS SO AWESOME! AHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!"

She really, REALLY couldn't believe that she was half Viltrumite.

The throne room had finally begun to settle after the chaos. The flames still burned around the massive chamber, casting their orange glow across the dark metal walls. Most would have expected a discussion of war, strategy, or the future of the Empire.

Instead, Thragg found himself watching something far more confusing.

Ana picked up Kaitlyn with ease, carrying them in a bridal style as Thragg remained standing in front of his throne, watching it happen. He simply stared, not really knowing himself if what had just happened was real.

His daughter, Ana, was becoming.. soft. For some human, who was a half Viltrumite. Even while he had accepted Mark as a Viltrumite despite being a half-breed as well, he could not do the same for...

He was caught out of his thoughts as the half Viltrumite got themselves over Ana's shoulder, their head hanging behind her back.

Their arms wrapped around her as they made an "O" shape with their fingers and a straight line with the other, quickly pushing the finger in and out of the hole while grinning with an expression he had only ever seen on one other person's face. Conquest, while he was conquering and slaughtering planets.

At that point, Thragg simply gave an unimpressed look, raising a brow at the very least as the two disappeared further and further from his view.

As he was left alone with his thoughts amidst the chaos of his throne room, General Kregg slowly and carefully made his way beside the Grand Regent, his hands behind his back. The burning irritated his nostrils ever so slightly at times, but at that moment he could only think of one thing after reconsidering what that half Viltrumite human had been gesturing.

"How would that even work?"

"Sir?" Kregg finally spoke up after hesitating over what had gone down in a matter of minutes, glancing over at his emperor.

"How would they mate?" he repeated.

Kregg's face briefly shifted into an expression he quickly tried to hide. Even after hearing things such as being commanded to dispose of the bodies of the dead Viltrumites affected by the Scourge Virus, this was... something else, even for him.

Still, he kept his expression composed, his attention on Thragg as he waited for him to continue, if he even intended to.

"That girl," he continued. "My daughter's 'friend,' as she calls them. Their hand motions did not make sense."

His voice remained as calm and unbothered as ever, yet even now genuine confusion slipped through, surprising both Kregg and Thragg himself.

"I am unaware of my daughter sharing the same biological genitalia as me."

Okay, so first of all, happy new year! I don't know if it's already January 1st where you are but as I'm posting this it's 10 P.M. so let it be said that I finished it before 2021 and will be calling this my last fic of 2020!

This is also the second fic I write for this fandom, so if you're coming from Be My Husband, thank you so much for your support! It means a lot and I hope you like this one as well!

At first, it's not a big deal. Lan Wangji couldn't describe the situation as anything but boring. 

He wasn't naive. He knew wandering through Cloud Recesses past curfew and bringing alcohol were not the only rules Wei Wuxian would break. He could tell by the look in his eyes back when they first met. Though, Lan Wangji did give him the benefit of the doubt and assumed he'd wait at least a week to resume his shenanigans. 

He was proven wrong and realized there was no limit to that thick faced guy when he caught him drinking with his brother and his friend. He had to keep an eye on him, or the next months would result in more headaches. It was bad enough he had to punish himself after letting his guard down around Wei Wuxian, the first cultivator who seemed to be on his level.

(He would never admit it out loud, but it's true, and maybe part of the reason why he remained tolerant)