#ds drue

Blue’s head was pounding.

Mere moments- hours ago he was simply on a walk. His bird was resting, he had just finished cleaning his house and found himself staring up at the ceiling, mind blank with nothing to do. He didn’t have anywhere in mind to go to, nor was there really anyone he found himself tempted to b̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ speak to, the silence was irritating but talking to himself felt stupider than he’d like.

After more contemplation, the man decided going for a breath of fresh air wouldn’t hurt anyone, he’d get to go out and walk around, entertaining himself and getting enough of a distraction to shut his brain up temporarily.

The park was oddly empty, much to his dismay, but it wasn’t something he could fix. The sounds of people talking could always be replaced with music, so that was exactly what he did.

What Blue failed to consider was the significance of that emptiness. He didn’t pay as much attention to the shadows moving around as he should have, the rustling of the bushes brushed off simply as just wind.H̶e̶ k̶n̶e̶w̶ b̶e̶t̶t̶e̶r̶ t̶h̶a̶n̶ t̶h̶i̶s̶, h̶e̶ s̶h̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ h̶a̶v̶e̶ l̶i̶s̶t̶e̶n̶e̶d̶.

Lurking, following him not long behind were some old..familiar faces.

Ones he never planned to cross again for sure, but it seemed like life had different plans.

If it didn’t, he would’ve never found himself in this situation at all. Perhaps it was the music in his ears masking the footsteps, o̶r̶ t̶h̶e̶ d̶i̶s̶a̶s̶s̶o̶c̶i̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ h̶e̶ f̶o̶u̶n̶d̶ h̶i̶m̶s̶e̶l̶f̶ d̶e̶a̶l̶i̶n̶g̶ w̶i̶t̶h̶ r̶e̶c̶e̶n̶t̶l̶y̶, but it was too late to do anything by the time he realized who was on his trail.

The moment they noticed he caught onto their plans, they seemed to stop bothering to hide. Blue did little to stop what he knew was soon to follow.

The men were from a gang he had an..unfortunate encounter with some time ago.

That recklessness was mainly what led him to his current predicament, tied to a chair, watched like a prey waiting to be devoured. To say he didn’t know the reason he was there would be a lie, but his body hurt too much to care. They probably drugged him to loosen his tongue again didn’t they?

The brunette didn’t have too much time to ponder about that, his head was clear enough to process the click of the door. The blond in front of him was exactly who he’d expected, it wasn’t much of a surprise he’d rather make a ‘dramatic entrance’ than simply wait for him to wake up, though.

Despite the pain all over him, he noted that was still relatively unharmed. Probably part of the other one’s orders, their deal never truly ended after all.

Neither of them spoke a word as Colton looked into his eyes, all others previously standing around hung left the moment he stepped into the room. Whether they were dismissed or if it was also another part of his orders, Blue didn’t care enough to think about the answer nor did he listen enough to really tell.

Despite not being the leader of this gang, Colton still held power over everyone. As the son of the boss, his words were not to be refused. The members trusted him, those who didn’t faced consequences. It was simply how things worked. It didn’t matter what they thought or wanted, the final say was his.

Nobody was foolish enough to disobey or look for loopholes, until Blue came along, that was. Up until then, he was in ultimate control. The original reason they crossed paths to begin with was quite clear, but in classic fashion, Blue found himself a multitude of loopholes. Unlike most others, he didn’t hesitate in exploiting them, gaining himself complete freedom and safety in exchange for information.

It was a good deal they had, he wouldn’t need to participate in anything and Colton would ensure his safety as long as the other man got the information he wanted. It may have sounded unfair, seeing Blue got protection and had no real ties to the gang. His hands were left clean, c̶l̶e̶a̶n̶ a̶s̶ t̶h̶e̶y̶ c̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ b̶e̶ f̶o̶r̶ s̶o̶m̶e̶o̶n̶e̶ w̶h̶o̶ p̶u̶s̶h̶e̶d̶ h̶i̶s̶ b̶r̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ t̶o̶ h̶i̶s̶ d̶e̶a̶t̶h̶, and he got complete freedom only in exchange for some intel! Easy for someone like him.

O̶r̶, i̶t̶ w̶a̶s̶ g̶o̶o̶d̶ u̶p̶ u̶n̶t̶i̶l̶ t̶h̶e̶ d̶a̶y̶ B̶l̶u̶e̶ s̶t̶o̶p̶p̶e̶d̶ r̶e̶s̶p̶o̶n̶d̶i̶n̶g̶, a̶t̶ l̶e̶a̶s̶t̶. S̶i̶n̶c̶e̶ t̶h̶e̶n̶, t̶h̶e̶y̶'v̶e̶ k̶e̶p̶t̶ t̶a̶b̶s̶ o̶n̶ h̶i̶m̶. H̶e̶ s̶a̶w̶ t̶h̶e̶ w̶a̶y̶ p̶e̶o̶p̶l̶e̶ w̶e̶r̶e̶ s̶e̶n̶t̶ t̶o̶ w̶a̶t̶c̶h̶ h̶i̶m̶, k̶e̶e̶p̶ t̶r̶a̶c̶k̶ o̶f̶ h̶i̶s̶ a̶c̶t̶i̶v̶i̶t̶y̶, r̶e̶a̶d̶y̶ t̶o̶ s̶t̶r̶i̶k̶e̶ i̶f̶ t̶h̶e̶y̶ d̶e̶t̶e̶r̶m̶i̶n̶e̶d̶ h̶e̶ w̶a̶s̶ d̶o̶i̶n̶g̶ a̶n̶y̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ t̶h̶a̶t̶ c̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ e̶n̶d̶a̶n̶g̶e̶r̶ t̶h̶e̶m̶.

Their breaths being the only sound in the room made his ears ring, though fortunately it seemed like Colton planned to change that soon. Backing away from him, the other straightened his back without cutting off eye contact, it looked like he still wanted to try uncovering all it was that made up Blue. He always found it funny, the way the other would try to intimidate him by trying to make himself look like an equal, like he could read him similar to a book when they both knew that was something that would never work.

“So” he began, “do you know why you’re here, or do you need someone to spell it out for you?” If the man sounded irritated with him before, it paled in comparison to his current attitude.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to elaborate? It’s been a long time since we met you know, I’m in an awful lot of pain and your lakeys weren’t gentle with me either” Blue drew out. They both knew that was a lie, but it was a natural part of the game they’ve long since known to play.

“Recently, one of our most important spies was discovered,” the blond answered. “She was ambushed by a soldier sent by the Justice Reigns minutes after we had her go out”

“And that links with me how? Did you just want to see me agai-”

Teasing the other in hopes of distracting him was a bad choice, Blue was aware of that. The sounds of a gun being loaded graced his ears, though fear remained dormant. This was merely another intimidation tactic, he was too important to simply kill and it would get too much attention if he disappeared at random, especially now of all times.

“Cut the shit. You are the only person who could have known she was there at all, so tell me, what have you been telling that new boyfriend of yours?” he spat.

Blue raised a brow, feigning confusion before it ‘clicked’ in his head. Colton was only getting angrier as time passed.

“Ah, Dream! No no, you misunderstand really. I didn’t know she was there at all, this is all news to me he must have simply sensed her presence and sent someone, Ink is good at following trails after all” he winked.

“I never told you who it was”

“Even a toddler could make a guess and get it right, there are only two people he would trust with something like this and only a spy can take out another without drawing attention don’t you think?”

With that, Colton went silent, seemingly considering something new. Whenever they spoke, he tended to do this if he felt cornered. When Blue disproved everything he suspected in seconds, all of his defenses fell knowing this was someone he couldn’t play to his will.

Not like others, where simple words got to their heads, made them believe he held them truly dear, that he gave a single damn about them in any form. It was entertaining, an addicting play for the man, but despite how beneficial it was for him, how easy it was the first time, he could never replicate it on Blue.

A shame, he’d have been just as, if not more useful if making him stay was just that easy. Colton didn’t doubt that they’d have gotten along if they both agreed to stay, extraordinary talents simply tend to gravitate to each other eventually.

I̶f̶ t̶h̶e̶ o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ o̶n̶e̶ l̶e̶f̶t̶ w̶h̶e̶n̶ h̶e̶ g̶o̶t̶ t̶h̶e̶ c̶h̶a̶n̶c̶e̶, w̶h̶a̶t̶ w̶a̶s̶ B̶l̶u̶e̶ p̶l̶o̶t̶t̶i̶n̶g̶?̶ w̶h̶a̶t̶ w̶a̶s̶ h̶e̶ p̶l̶a̶n̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ t̶h̶a̶t̶ m̶a̶d̶e̶ h̶i̶m̶ s̶t̶a̶y̶?̶ h̶e̶ c̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ h̶a̶v̶e̶ l̶e̶f̶t̶ f̶a̶r̶ s̶o̶o̶n̶e̶r̶, h̶e̶ w̶a̶s̶ m̶o̶r̶e̶ t̶h̶a̶n̶ c̶a̶p̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ o̶f̶ e̶n̶d̶i̶n̶g̶ e̶v̶e̶r̶y̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ f̶o̶r̶ t̶h̶e̶m̶ i̶n̶ a̶ m̶o̶m̶e̶n̶t̶, b̶u̶t̶ s̶o̶ w̶e̶r̶e̶ t̶h̶e̶y̶ a̶b̶l̶e̶ t̶o̶ t̶a̶k̶e̶ h̶i̶s̶ l̶i̶f̶e̶ a̶n̶d̶ s̶i̶l̶e̶n̶c̶e̶ h̶i̶m̶ f̶o̶r̶e̶v̶e̶r̶. A̶ s̶h̶a̶m̶e̶ h̶e̶ s̶e̶e̶m̶e̶d̶ t̶o̶ a̶l̶r̶e̶a̶d̶y̶ a̶c̶c̶o̶u̶n̶t̶ f̶o̶r̶ t̶h̶a̶t̶, i̶n̶v̶o̶l̶v̶i̶n̶g̶ h̶i̶m̶s̶e̶l̶f̶ w̶i̶t̶h̶ t̶h̶e̶ m̶o̶s̶t̶ i̶m̶p̶o̶r̶t̶a̶n̶t̶ f̶i̶g̶u̶r̶e̶ i̶n̶ t̶h̶e̶ m̶u̶l̶t̶i̶v̶e̶r̶s̶e̶.

“If not you, then who? what are you planning”

Simple, straight forward, plain.

Everything Blue expected from him.

“I’m not planning on anything? Why would I do that?” He shrugged. Well, as much as one could when bound down by ropes.

“The only reason I have kept you alive is because you’re useful, it’s just as easy to find someone else who could do the exact same things you do even better so lying and playing this stupid game of yours is a bad idea. I’ve warned you before and this is the last ti-”

“Except you won’t.”

At being cut off, Colton only paused and glared daggers into the other, seemingly daring him to continue.

“You won’t kill me because you know that it’s not that simple, you know that my death is too inconvenient for you now, too hard to fake”

Silence.

Saying that Blue didn’t enjoy the way the other looked when out of options would be a lie, when control was stripped from him and manipulation failed. Without his two most important defenses, his shield fell apart like a house of cards.

For someone meant to be scary, Blue had grown to find him closer to funny.

He was smart, he’d give him that much, but people weren’t his strong suit. W̶h̶a̶t̶ h̶y̶p̶o̶c̶r̶i̶s̶y̶, i̶t̶ t̶a̶k̶e̶s̶ o̶n̶e̶ t̶o̶ k̶n̶o̶w̶ o̶n̶e̶. Growing up in a gang, pressure to be like this from your only parent to prove yourself worthy enough to take his place does that to a man. Not much to dwell on, though, it was his own fault he succumbed to this. If not, then his sister must have been a saint to not fall to the same fate.

That sweet child- Blue had only crossed Camille twice, but it was enough for him to know this was not the place for her. Well, not like it was fit for any kid her age- but that wasn’t something in his control. She’ll get herself out with some assistance, but he wasn’t needed there.

He wasn't really surprised by the way this encounter transpired, seeing the real head of the group wasn't present made things a lot easier for him. For all he puts up, the one in front of him was quite easy to get to. Although that may just be because of how simple it was to get past his walls, a jaded man but not like those types ever posed any issues.

Blue may have been the first person that came to his mind when trying to discern what gave them away, but it was just as likely he wouldn’t be the last.

They had many enemies who wanted to run them into the ground no matter the cost, anyway.

“If the point of this entire show you’ve put up was to blame me for ratting you out, I’m afraid you worked this hard for nothing. I’m sure you’ve figured I want nothing to do with you anymore?”

The blond’s gaze burned holes into his head once again, but Blue ignored him as he had every other time before.

“If you suspect someone to have done so, you and I both know where you should be looking instead” he carried on, “or maybe, it wasn’t an outer source at all”

“Continue.”

Colton’s voice was demanding, threatening, impatient. If it were anyone else, this conversation would have been long over, but unfortunately it still was not.

“You know, I’ve been hearing things”

The other tapped his foot.

“She could have done that herself. At least, that's what a fool may think. The ones you send to watch me are not as discreet as you want them to be, they are not as dedicated as they want you to believe”

“What are you insinuating”

Another way to say ‘choose your next words carefully before I run your head into the ground’, lovely.

“I simply mean that the one who caused this may be closer to you than you think.”

“Something- someone, has infiltrated us?”

Ah, he didn’t consider that, did he? Blue could laugh if not for the increasing tension.

“All I have to add is instead of accusing me of getting her killed, you should be worrying about whether or not I am next”

Bringing attention to his previous involvement with them was unwise, it put both their lives on the line. The brunette relished watching how the other’s expression fell as he desperately tried to piece together a plan, thinking of every possible suspect. That kind of thing was always left to him, the shorter unable to do that kind of thing very well, hard to blame him when all he knew was to dispose of people on the spot and then think, but oh well.

The distraction finally allowed him to untie the knot positioned right above his hands. Terrible craftsmanship, he must say.

His wrists burned by this point, adding to just how uncomfortable he felt in his body at that moment though for a different reason than usual, for once.

He dug his own grave getting involved with this group of individuals, but he will not let them take him to it.

--

Blue stood behind the cameras, exhaling softly. He stared quietly at the decor he would be filmed in for the next hour with a lot of apprehension, if the subtle tremble of his body was anything to go by.

Stage fright was never a problem he had to face.

On the contrary, he craved the feeling of eyes on him. He craved the feeling of being gazed upon with admiration. He craved the eventual applause of the public, satisfied with his performance.

When he started filming, there was no more audience to immediately react to his work, but movie reviews were quite pleasant as they were not bound to a particular moment.

Filming an interview with a journalist was hardly any different, feeling wise. Many of them had tried to set him up before, but he always did his best to not give that satisfaction to whoever it was.

Yet, he now found himself trembling.

Why?

Honestly, he knew the reason why. It had nothing to do with who would be interviewing him, it had nothing to do with the cameras rolling, it had nothing to do with the worry of looking like a fool.

No, it had to do with the subject of the interview itself.

The first thing that a young actor such as himself learns, most times the hard way, is to put on a mask, even if you are not filming. You always must play a role, no matter where you are or with whom you are.

The public and journalists will grasp any straws to get your attention and above all, they will pick out any flaws, any part of your personality that they do not like and pick at it, desperate to make you break.

The more of your real self you put out there, the more it will hurt when backlash comes to hit you in the face.

That is, after all, the fate of any public figure.

Yet, here he was, about to talk about the person he had carefully buried deep inside his soul and hidden with a mask. He was about to throw out the window everything he had come to learn to protect himself.

He already had the feeling that he was about to bitterly regret doing this.

But he could not back down, not if his testimony could help someone struggling with the same things he did... has.

His breathing started to go funny again but before it could escalate into anything, soft fingertips brushed his knuckles, giving him something to focus on as that fleeting sensation quickly turned into a proper touch, a familiar hand covering his own.

He lifted his head, meeting golden eyes in which concern glistened like diamonds.

“Are you alright?” Dream whispered, his thumb stroking Blue’s palm.

He hesitated for a moment, before nodding, using his free hand to cover Dream’s. “I am now.”

He scooted closer to him, their legs touching before he rested his head on top of Dream’s shoulder, closing his eyes. “Thank you for being here.” He muttered, hoping that his whisper was enough to convey just how grateful he was to him.

Although, he had the feeling that Dream was going to misinterpret his words as thanking him solely for being here with him on that day when really, he was thanking him for being here with him since day one.

But that was okay, he would have plenty of time left to thank him again, properly this time.

Dream’s lips twitched upward in a gentle smile. “No need, it is only natural.”

It was not, not to him.

“Mr. Blue?” A member of the staff, so recognizable by their uniform, suddenly called out to him, putting an end to his conversation with his husband.

“Yes?” He quickly responded, already dreading whatever the crew member was about to say. “Is something the matter?”

However, the person quickly shook their head, much to his relief. “Not quite, I was just sent to warn you that the cameras will start rolling soon since you looked quite...” They glanced at Dream, stifling a chuckle. “... Distracted.”

Dream chose to ignore that last comment as Blue thanked them for the warning.

“If you need a break, tell me, okay?” That must have been the sixth time in the last hour that the actor heard that request from the other, but oddly enough, he did not mind the repetition. If anything, it reassured him.

“I will.” He squeezed his hand, hoping it would give him enough strength to fulfill the mission he was meant to complete by coming here. “Thank you.”

They fell silent as the lights went out and the decor lit up, the presenter finally welcoming the audience warmly as they gave a summary of who the guests were and the program for the day.

As the presenter turned to him, professional smile stretching their face, Blue took a deep breath. This sight was familiar to him, such charade having taken place for longer than he could recall.

“I am glad that you were able to make it today, Mr. Blue!” They then turned to Dream. “The same goes for you, Mr. Von Licht!”

Dream waved the comment away with the back of his hand. “Oh please, no need to mention it. You can ignore my presence for now as I am only here to support my husband.”

The presenter feigned a chuckle, making a comment on how heartwarming that gesture was, before ultimately focusing on Blue. He straightened his back, putting on the same smile the public adored and worshipped since he was a child.

“Your fans have a lot of inquiries for you and most specifically about your mental health journey.” They began, bending to the right as they took a hat that Blue did not even notice its presence and put it on their knees, revealing the small cards discarded inside of it. “Would it bother you to pick one of those cards?”

Blue nodded as an answer, clutching onto Dream’s hand for dear life as his free hand reached for the hat that the presenter put on top of the coffee table in front of them.

He fumbled around the papers for a few seconds with a shaking hand before he finally caught one between his index and middle finger, pulling his hand back and opening the card.

“What does it say?” The presenter asked, as Blue could feel Dream leaning toward him and reading the contents of the card behind his shoulder.

Blue bit his lip as he read the card silently before risking opening his mouth, hoping on all deities out there that his voice would not quiver so early on. “Do you or did you believe that starving yourself made you more beautiful?”

The gentle rubbing of Dream’s hand on his shoulders made him almost want to cry but he quickly regained his composure. “... Quite honestly, yes. I still have a lot of issues regarding dissociating my appearance to my diet and do feel more appealing when I go on about my day on an empty stomach.”

Each word he uttered out loud felt like a stab in the chest, but he pushed himself to continue, thinking of all the other people who could be in the same situation as he is.

He turned toward Dream, who smiled encouragingly at him, which ended up making him crack a smile as well.

“Luckily for me though, I have an amazing husband who would still find me attractive no matter what I look like.” He paused as his smile faded. “I doubt that my relationship with my body or food will ever improve, but I have at least come to accept that my looks aren’t all there is to appreciate about me and am doing my best to try and put my health first.”

“Thank you for your answer.” The presenter finally said, after making sure that Blue was done talking. They eyed him for a few seconds, without malice, before talking again. “It is a priority for our guests to be feeling as comfortable as possible so how would you like to speak about a more usual topic?”

Blue tilted his head on the side, his curiosity piqued. Even if it was, he probably would have latched onto that opportunity either way, considering the dull pain in his stomach had been worsening ever since he started speaking or did it just feel this way because he wanted to do it again and he knew his last words were a blatant lie?.

“Not at all, what do you want to ask me about?” They were most likely referring to questions regarding his career, but perhaps they could be able to surprise him this time?

“I think many of us had dreamed of becoming an actor or play in a theatre at least once in our life,” She started, giving right to Blue’s intuition. “We all have our weaknesses when it comes to acting but, as a professional actor, what is, for you, the most difficult emotion to fake?”

Well, that was certainly an unusual question. Blue tapped his chin in thought, trying to recall any moment he had any difficulty entering his role.

He glanced at Dream for a moment, the latter flashing him with one of his confused smiles that never failed to make his heart flutter. He had his answer now.

“Many people would think it would be despair, especially with how hard it is for most people to cry for a role.” He shook his head.

“However, I firmly believe it is one of the easiest. No matter what degree, we have all felt desperate. Whether it be regarding an absence of support, an inability to connect with other people, mistreatment, financial problems, the death of a loved one... We have all been in that dark place that some of us are still not able to claw their way out. Tears are not the only form this despair takes as well.”

Despair could take the form of letting a trusted one do whatever they want, what you wanted be damned, your comfort be damned, as long as they stayed with you.

It could take the form of a blade that you would drag on your skin and silence whatever storm was brewing in your head before tempting you for more hurt, for more blood to stop the hurt you felt inside.

It could take the form of vomiting the little food you had managed to shove down your throat, heaving and gasping for breath as you could feel your throat and stomach burning like they were attacked by the embers of hell.

It could also take the form of standing in the middle of the crowd and feeling just as alone and unseen as if you had been thrown into the void itself.

He looked toward the camera, the people behind it eyeing him with attention. “The hardest emotion to fake is happiness, true happiness.”

At the raised eyebrow he received, he continued his explanation. “We have all felt despair, but only a few of us know happiness. I am not talking about those fleeting moments of satisfaction or relief, I am referring to a safe happiness, that euphoria you can always go back to no matter where you find yourself.”

“You could be having the roughest day of your life, but the memory of that happiness would not make you resentful, more miserable, or bitter, it would make you happy. That happiness of course would not prevent you from feeling miserable, far from, but it would, it will be there for you when you do.”

The presenter stayed without talking for a few seconds before speaking again. “And did you find yours?”

Blue beamed at Dream, planting a kiss on his cheek. Startled, the latter’s cheeks turned rose as he stared at Blue in bewilderment. He squeezed his hand once more as his smile widened. “Yes, yes I did.”

He turned back to the presenter, this time, genuinely confident he would get through that interview unscathed.

He could fall as many times as he wanted, he could break as many times as he needed as well, it all did not matter.

He was out of that dark place, despair could try to drag him back there, it could tempt him all he wanted with that cursed picture in his mirror or those sharp blades, he would not stay there any longer.

Even if he fell once more, he would do anything in his power to claw his way back up.

He was damaged, that much was obvious.

Number One: The way he would cling to him

Dream may complain about Blue being too close to him often, but he would only really complain when they would be in public or if the former had something important to do which required the other to let go of him.

Otherwise, he would welcome him with open arms, no complaints on his lips.

Though, as much as he loved Blue, he would never admit to his face that he found his habit of clinging to him adorable.

He most likely already knew about his feelings on the matter and that was enough to make him want to die inside a little bit, there was no need for him to kick his pride further into the hole.

Although, his boyfriend did not seem to agree with him on that.

Dream had been sat on the couch for approximately five miserable seconds before he heard their bedroom’s door swing open, hurried footsteps heading straight toward him.

The next moment, Blue had sat down on his lap, his legs resting on the empty seats next to him while he was latched onto his left arm, head leaning on his shoulder.

“What are we watching?” He asked, not even bothering to greet him or ask how his day had gone anymore. Dream was not planning to watch anything that day but since the other was feeling up to it, he picked up the remote and turned on the TV.

“Whatever you want to watch.” The moment his sentence came out, Blue was looking at him with the most serious face he had ever seen him wear.

“Hamilton.” Dream laughed but complied either way.

“Hamilton it is.” He nodded, before staring at Blue, hoping he would get the message.

The other stared back, a smirk drawing along his lips as his eyes shone with mischief. He blinked innocently at him as he tightened his grip on him. Dream sighed but did not comment further, it would be pointless anyway.

***

As he sat down on the couch, Dream felt like something was missing. He frowned, trying to think if any furniture was missing. He turned his gaze toward the room, scanning every object in the room. Everything seemed normal. So why did he feel so weird all of a sudden?

That is when he realized that he was feeling lighter, and not in a good way.

His cheeks flushed red as he groaned, putting his face in his hands as he cursed. The fact he had gotten so used to having the other latched onto him to the point where he felt weird not to feel the weight of an additional person on him was a really bad sign.

He shook his head.

He had more important things to do as of now. After all, Blue always ran up to him once he heard the other come back home and it is not like he had been any more discreet today than any other day. Could Blue be sick?

He got up from the couch and walked toward their shared room, the usually comforting silence starting to grow more hostile by the second. By the time he had reached the room, his eyes were narrowed and a voice at the back of his head was already telling him to draw his sword, just in case.

He twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open, letting the light of the corridor illuminate the otherwise dark room.

A figure was wrapped in the blanket.

He approached the bed and as he did so, a part of his brain suddenly seemed to remember that scene from a horror movie he had watched with the children of the orphanage where a character found the corpse of their loved one wrapped in the blanket like the current situation.

He shook his head to get rid of the mental image, telling himself that it was just the paranoia that came of a horror movie, it did not even smell of blood.

Death does not always have to involve bloodshed, he reminded himself as he extended his arm toward the figure.

When his fingertips brushed the blanket, a hand suddenly emerged from it and took a hold of his wrist. Dream’s eyes widened as he was suddenly pulled down, yelping.

The bed creaked a bit when Dream’s body crashed on top of the mattress, his head against the pillows. Before he could recover from the shock, he was startled by a wild Blue straddling his waist and laying his head on his chest, giggling as he did so.

“You--” Dream started before finally giving up, just letting the other do as he wished to.

Though, even if he did not finish his sentence, it seemed like Blue was able to understand him just fine anyway. He stuck his tongue out to him. “That is for making me wait so long! I was so bored; you could not possibly imagine the extent of my suffering!” He whined, slumping down against the other’s chest again.

Dream sighed, feeling normal again as he patted Blue’s head, absently apologizing for being late.

***

Number Two: The way his pupils changed shape when he is happy

The first time it happened, Dream had to pinch himself to assert that whatever he was seeing was real and not a consequence of his lack of sleep. If he recalled correctly, it was before they had gotten together, a few weeks after they had met.

Somehow, Blue had started to snake his way into his inner circle despite his best efforts to keep him out of there. He had sneaked inside of his office as usual, sitting in the corner of his desk with his legs crossed on Dream’s left side.

As usual, his order to get off and let him work in peace was ignored with a smile as he kept on rambling about his day.

He had sighed at his irresponsiveness as he picked up his pen and started to get back on completing his massive amount of paperwork. He would have rather died than admit it to his face, but he did find what he told him extremely entertaining. Plus, it made perfect background noise for him not to fall asleep mid-work, so he supposed that his presence was not that much of a nuisance.

“(…) And then she had the audacity to tell me she was both a lesbian and a homophobe! Can you believe that?” He continued his story, pairing his dramatic tone with equally extravagant facial expressions and movements. “Then I took my revenge by befriending her mother--”

He had been holding his laughter this entire time, not wanting to give him the proof that he was listening but that seemed to be his breaking point, a chuckle leaving him before it spiraled into full-blown laughter.

It was not even that funny, he could not even understand why he had laughed exactly but he did.

He noticed that the other had completely stopped talking, the other’s figure not moving a single inch from what Dream’s peripheral vision could tell him. He looked up, psychologically preparing for the most likely mockery that was going to follow...

… Mockery that never did quite arrive.

He froze as he met his widened eyes, cheeks flushed red, and lips slightly parted because of awe. Dream was quite positive that he never saw the other looking so expressive as of now.

They stayed staring at each other in silence for a few more seconds before it was finally broken by the shorter one who got down from the desk and stood at Dream’s level instead.

“You’re beautiful.” Those words came out in a breathless tone as Blue cupped his cheek, brushing his thumb over his skin. Dream frowned in an attempt to hide his own state of embarrassment.

He looked away. “You should not throw those words around so easily.” Was all he said.

Blue let out a chuckle, attracting Dream’s attention once again.

That is when he saw them.

Shining brightly in his azure eyes, two stars had replaced his pupils, glinting, and rotating ever so slightly every time he moved his eyes. Dream found himself unable to tear his eyes off them, amazed at what he was seeing.

***

The next time he had seen them, they were celebrating their first anniversary.

Dream had made sure everything would go perfectly. Months in advance, he had made sure to make it clear that the famous ‘sea of stars’ (name given to a beach in the following universe because of the way the water of the sea perfectly replicated the stars above) of Outertale was to be left alone on that day.

It never rained in Outertale but just in case, he had a plan B, inside of a building this time, to make sure that even if the famous location was unable to provide them with the view he had expected, they would still be able to enjoy their day. He also did not need to have journalists running after them during their date.

He knew that Blue liked the attention but there was only so much his thin (non-existent) patience could take.

That day, he had also made sure not to wear his usual jacket as Blue often qualified it as ‘horrendous’. Though he was never able to tell why exactly, to him it looked perfectly fine.

He played with his fingers as he anxiously looked at his watch, worried his plan had not been polished enough and something was going to go wrong. He had accounted for the rain, but what if there was a storm instead? And the waves? Maybe he had placed the napkin too close to the waters- Oh wait, could Blue swim? Well, he had assumed he could but if he could not then--

His overthinking was put to an end as he felt arms snake their way around his neck, someone’s head resting on his own. “Happy anniversary, Angel.” Came Blue’s sing-song voice, happiness evident in his tone.

“Happy anniversary to you too.” He replied, turning around, and planting a kiss on his cheek, which made the other giggle.

He rotated completely before scooping the other in his arms like a princess in a fairy tale. Blue yelped before laughing wholeheartedly as he found himself sitting on Dream’s lap this time.

They exchanged a few sentences as Blue took Dream’s hand, turning his gaze to the exquisite sight before him.

Nature was incredibly beautiful.

Blue hated silence with passion, the lack of noise always announcing dreadful things to come but as he sat there with Dream, looking at the stars and their reflection in the light waves as he felt Dream’s thumb drawing small circles on the back of his hand, he felt at peace.

He sighed in content as he leaned back on Dream’s chest, looking up toward said man.

The other smiled at him fondly, Blue’s pupils waving before taking the form of stars once again.

Dream’s smile widened. “You really are an enigma, Blue. How do your eyes do this?”

“Do what? Attract you?” He teased, unaware of his star-shaped pupils’ existence. “I do that with the strength of my love for you.”

“Dork.” Dream grinned, playfully headbutting him.

***

Number Three: Their little discussions on the phone

Dream was this close to feeding someone his work paper.

Why in the name of everything that is good and sweet did it never lower?

Why did the piles of paper always reach his ceiling somehow?

He was so tired, maybe he could ask someone else to do it this time or do it another day?

God, doing nothing sounded like heaven right now...

Not to mention, his wrist was burning. He was quite certain that if he were to continue writing, it might just snap off.

But then again, procrastinating had never been something he could afford to do now that he had become a prominent figure in the multiverse.

He picked up a sheet of paper, scanning its contents tiredly.

It was a report about the recent casualties in a nearby universe, suddenly hit by a cyclone. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the number of deaths, missing people and injured.

Somehow, his fatigue only doubled.

He quickly sent more instructions to his men to dispatch more teams to aid with the rescue mission, adding a note about supply lines.

It was the third time he had done this in the last five minutes.

Why were so many disasters hitting now?

He felt drained just thinking of all the human lives lost.

Suddenly, his phone let out a rather loud beep, making him flinch. That beep was followed by many others, making Dream raise an eyebrow as he reached for the device in his pocket, feeling it vibrate against his tight every second.

He unlocked it, finding himself in the text app.

On top, the name Blue appeared.

‘Angel, you will not believe what happened to me today!’ The long series of messages started three fading dots at the bottom left-hand corner screen signaling that Blue was still typing.

‘I was feeding Alora and then--’ A rain of little anecdotes about his day assaulted the phone’s notification system, making Dream laugh a bit as he read over the text.

He glanced at the paperwork still waiting for him, but he shook his head, deciding that there was no harm in taking a little break.

On the rare days when Dream found himself unable to work or unable to read a single additional sheet of paperwork without going insane, there was one thing that he always liked to do without feeling like he was slacking off: working out.

It helped him to stay fit for upcoming raids and fights, was beneficial for his health and most importantly, was grounding and a change of pace. He quite enjoyed it.

Though lately, he has discovered that perhaps someone enjoyed it even more than he did, or at least, enjoyed watching him do it more than he took pleasure in doing the activity.

Of course, he’s talking about Blue.

Whenever Dream found himself walking toward the training room, the latter would somehow appear right there and then, no matter if he was supposed to be working at that time or not. He would always be here, no exception recorded to this date.

He had long since stopped trying to understand how the younger one was always aware of such information and frankly, he had learned not to mind his presence while he was just doing his own thing.

However, that acceptance only seemed to work against him as Blue, usually only watching him had started to ‘participate’ in his session.

In his own way.

“Blue, can I ask what in the world you are doing?” Dream, who had been doing pushups peacefully for a few minutes, suddenly asked, interrupted by his boyfriend suddenly sitting up on his lower back.

His rhythm was slightly interrupted, but he kept going up and down, only at a slower pace. The additional weight was not making the exercise that much more difficult, to his surprise.

That, or his performance was just enhanced by his magic itself being fueled by the odd amusement Blue took in doing this.

“I’m just helping you get stronger, Darling~” He responded in a sing-song voice, getting himself comfortable and swinging one of his legs on the other side of Dream’s body. Now, he was more or less straddling him. “This has become far too easy for you, it’s not a bad thing to test ourselves once in a while!”

Dream was unable to see him yet, he could perfectly picture the wide grin that was most likely stretching his lips as he spoke. “It’s a warm-up Blue, it’s not supposed to be difficult.” He retorted, yet not showing any signs of discomfort or even attempting to get Blue off of him.

The latter certainly noticed, his grin stretching even wider. “You don’t sound that much bothered though, angel. Does it really matter then?”

Dream avoided answering, preferring to continue his pushups like the latter wasn’t there.

Dream closed his eyes and started to focus again.

154... 155... 156...

His eyebrow twitched when he felt the other suddenly laying the weight of his entire upper body onto his back, his face right next to Dream’s ear.

“Let me guess, that’s another way to make this trickier for me?” A hum close to his ear answered him.

“You learn fast.” Blue chuckled, making Dream go even slower. He cursed as he realized he had completely forgotten how many he had done so far.

Again, Blue seemed to read his mind and chuckled again. “You’re at 164 pushups, darling. Am I distracting you?” He tilted his head innocently.

“No, of course not.” He frowned, his pride halting the idea of admitting the truth to Blue, even if he knew the other was definitely aware of his thoughts. The latter seemed to take even more pleasure in staying here than he did initially, enjoying Dream’s reactions way more now that he was starting to get tired.

“Is that so?” Blue purred, tracing a little heart on Dream’s nape. “I don’t really think you mean that Angel.”

Dream’s eyebrow twitched, of course he would start teasing him! “I am perfectly capable of keeping track of that, thank you very much.”

“Then how many have you done so far?”

Dream opened his mouth only to close it once he realized he really did not have an answer to that. He had been too distracted by their conversation to really focus on what he was doing.

“...” If Blue’s amused giggle was anything to go by, he probably knew that the other was unable to answer his question.

“Well?” He arched his eyebrow, trying to keep his grin as discreet as possible. Though, that was obviously a failure as the corners of his lips twitched upward. Dream was, however, far too embarrassed to really comment on that.

Or to speak at all for that matter, he had not uttered a single word yet.

“Are you not even going to give me the pleasure of hearing your voice?” He purred in his ear, his finger tracing down his shoulder blade, trying to get a reaction out of him.

Dream eventually just sighed and stabilized in the air, twisting his neck to look at Blue. “You can get off now, I’m going to do something else.”

The other almost looked disappointed it was over but complied anyway, standing up as Dream got more into a kneeling position. He stood up pretty quickly, wanting to dodge a potential flirty joke Blue could throw his way.

They were still in the training room , and anyone could catch them talking. It was already bad enough that he let Blue do as he pleased like that. He really should make sure not to let the other indulge in too many guilty pleasures like that (even if Dream was certain his boyfriend did not, in fact, feel any guilt in enjoying those things.)

Though, as much as he told himself things like that, as much as he promised himself never to let Blue get away with things like this again, he knew that he would never do anything to really stop him.

Blue knew that too of course, which is why he did not even bother trying to stop enjoying himself, even and especially if it could potentially embarrass his boyfriend.

Blue walked back to the bench, where he was in the beginning of the session, and sat down there while Dream headed toward the weights in the other corner of the room.

The other followed the older one with his eyes, a grin still tugging at the corner of his lips. His mood was light, and nothing seemed to ruin it.

That theory only seemed to be proven by how Dream started shedding his jacket (his vision must have healed by at least 2 points) and picked up a weight, moving it up and down and damn the sight of those arms flexing was a blessing.

He was shamelessly looking at Dream, and the other, while looking up once or twice in his direction, did not say anything to him.

After an hour of this, without anyone stepping into the training room and interrupting whatever moment Dream and Blue were having in there, Dream finally deemed the exercise enough and joined Blue, breathless.

He found the latter smiling, waiting for him with his arm raised, already handing him a bottle of water.

The winged man thanked him quietly, popping the bottle open and tilting his head backward as he drank, moving the front of his shirt away from his body feeling way too warm for comfort.

Blue used to laugh at the cliché scene in movies and anime where the main love interest would be done exercising and be depicted as ethereal as they hydrated, with a pink background with hearts and everything.

Well, would you look at who is laughing now?

Blue was not making it hard for Dream to guess that he quite liked what he was seeing, his pupils seconds away from being hearts as he stared at him.

Dream almost wanted to laugh but he did not act on it, preferring to end this scene and throw the bottle away, having drunk its whole contents.

Blue pouted but was quick to stand up again, standing by his side.

He made a move to cling to his arm as he usually did but this time, Dream clicked his tongue and put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him and sticking him in place. Blue made a betrayed noise as he looked up, staring at the taller man’s eyes with both confusion and hurt shining on the surface of his blue eyes.

“Trust me, you don’t want to be touching me right now.” Blue pouted even more, crossing his arms around his chest, and turning away from his boyfriend, muttering something along the lines of “Said who?” He made a mental note to text Hacker about this later.

Dream sighed at his reaction, nudging his knuckles with his fingertips. “I never said we couldn’t hold hands.”

How in the world...

“Angeeeeel~” Blue’s singsong voice echoed through the hallway, coming closer as footsteps made their way toward Dream. Those sounds were followed closely by the rattling of a piece of metal.

The latter gulped, gripping the ends of the armchairs his wrist was handcuffed to. Soon, his boyfriend came to view with an eerie euphoric smile, looking the other up and down with a strange glee.

“I hope you didn’t wait for me for too long!” He continued happily, reaching for Dream’s free hand. Once his fingertips brushed his skin, he grabbed his hand and tugged it toward him, approaching another pair of handcuffs to his wrist much to Dream’s dismay.

“It took me much longer to find this one, you should really tidy up your office, we have lost so much time already!” He lamented as the click of the handcuffs echoed in Dream’s head, like it was the beginning of his downfall. Which it might as well have been since he was not going to come out of this ‘session’ in one piece.

A beep indicated the anti-magic barrier had been activated on this pair as well.

Once he let his hand fall again, a wide grin stretched across Blue’s face as he leaned toward the other, tilting said one’s head so he would be looking into his blue eyes. “So, should we get started?”

… did he get himself into this situation?!

***

Half an hour earlier...

“I’m home!” Dream shouted as he opened the door, hanging his coat near the entrance. As he started to make his way toward the couch in the living room, a wild Blue with crossed arms and a pouting face appeared and blocked his way.

Dream sighed, patting his head. “I apologize, I was not expecting to have to intervene in another peace talk today.”

“You are going to have to make it up to me, you know?” Blue pouted again. “I am very upset by this unexpected betrayal.”

“Well, it is not like I did that on purpose. We can spend some time together later if you want, right now I just want to take a bath.” He slightly pushed Blue away, earning a noise of protest from said man. “By the way, I left your gifts back in that storage space in the backyard.”

“This time, you did not buy enough gifts that you had to mobilize multiple cars to deliver it here, did you?”

“...” Blue sighed, still looking displeased.

“Agh, whatever just go take a shower, I will make you something while waiting for you.” Dream opened his mouth to protest but was quickly shut down. Blue gave him an upset glare. “Angel, if you do not let me do this, I will go insane. You are not about to tell me you are going to go to sleep already, are you?”

Curse his sad puppy eyes!

Dream gave in, nodding. “Very well, I will be back soon.”

He turned around and once his back was facing him, Blue’s lips stretched in a huge Cheshire Cat grin.

Oh, this was going to be so good.

***

“You’re back!” Blue cheerfully welcomed him back, lacking the unhappiness from before. Dream sighed in relief at that before smiling back to him.

“I am,” he confirmed. “What are you making?” He questioned, Blue grabbing his hand and leading him to the table. He raised his eyebrows as he noticed that the chair he usually sat on had armrests now, though, he did not question it further.

“You will see!” Was it him or did his tone change just the slightest bit just now? “Take a seat for now, I will take it out soon!”

Dream nodded as he made his way toward one of the regular chairs...

… and immediately Blue’s expression dropped.

Noticing that, Dream heaved in another sigh as he put the chair back to place before plopping down on the unusual chair. Blue brightened up again.

He could not quite understand the reason behind that yet, but he supposed that a chair was a chair anyway, it was not changing anything major.

Blue disappeared into the kitchen again and Dream closed his eyes, allowing himself to doze off for a bit. While his guard was down, Blue went back into the room by the backdoor, a pair of handcuffs in hand.

Dream jumped up as he heard the click and beep of the handcuffs. “Wha-” he stared in shock at his restrained hand as Blue leaned in, next to his ear.

“That is for making me wait for so long, Dear.” He chuckled.

***

Dream gulped as Blue retracted his hand to his side, backing way into the shadows once again. When he came back, he was holding a tray in hand whose contents were hidden by a lid. The winged man stared at the object warily.

“What is inside?” he asked, earning an even wider grin.

“I am so glad you asked!” Blue lifted the lid, revealing an imposing piece of ham with slices of pineapple covering its top. Grapes were pinned to the slices of pineapple by plastic Christmas trees decorated with flashing LED lights.

“What...” Dream started in shock, stuttering. “What is this abomination?”

“It is called ‘Ham Pineapple’!” Blue chimed in, cutting a piece of said dish slowly as Dream watched in horror his every movement. “It is a Christmas specialty that comes from the United States, Hacker showed it to me a while ago and I thought I was finally going to make someone taste my own version of it. Really, thank you for agreeing to this!”

“I didn’t agree with anything, I am being held hosta--”

“Anyway!” Blue cut him off, raising the fork to Dream’s mouth level. “Say ‘ah’ “

The older one’s eyes were fixed on the piece Blue cut, his frightened state more than obvious with his facial expression. “Blue, listen. I profusely apologize for the wait, I really do. Please, do not do this.”

Though, the other remained deaf to his prayer, keeping on smiling. “Don’t forget to chew, I would hate for you to choke on this.”

Realizing there was no escape possible for him, Dream opened his mouth reluctantly, already imagining the Grim Reaper looking down on him in pity, raising its scythe early to shorten his suffering.

Blue pushed the meat and its cursed companions into Dream mouth. The latter’s teeth sank into the food and the juices of the pineapple, and the grapes started flooding his mouth, their flavor mixing along with the taste of the cold ham.

Dream wanted to throw up.

Blue chuckled at the sight of Dream’s pained expression, pushing the plate in a corner of the table. “I will get the next one!” He cheerfully announced as Dream’s face dropped off a few shades again.

THERE’S MORE???

***

“This one is a Christmas delicacy from Ethiopia!” He introduced, revealing a sort of pie on which pieces of meat and various local vegetables laid together happily. “I believe it is called Injera, it is pretty good if I do say so myself!”

Dream eyed the plate suspiciously, still not healed from the unpleasant and foreign taste on his tongue. “Do you really have to do this?”

His question was ignored as Blue scooped up a part of the pie before bringing it to Dream’s mouth again, smiling as he knew the other had no choice but to do as he asked if he wanted to escape.

Really, he only had himself to blame for having constructed such an intricate tool that could even nullify his own magic!

“Open wide!” Dream wanted to die.

He started chewing... only to have his eyes blown wide open as he started to move uncontrollably, the skin of his wrist turning red from being stopped by the cuffs for too long. He could feel tears threatening to fall as he felt his palate being teared off.

“Oh my!” Blue faked a shocked look as he brought his hand to his mouth. “My apologies, it looks like I forgot to warn you that some of those components are a bit spicy.”

A bit spicy? HIS THROAT WAS ON FIRE.

If Dream had any doubt of Blue trying to kill him, he had none now.

This was a murder attempt.

The worst part? It was working, Dream could literally feel his soul leaving his body.

He jolted as he felt his mouth being forced open as Blue shoved another spoonful of the dish inside.

Oh, that actually tasted good...

NEVERMIND IT WAS STILL AS SPICY--

Dream was going to die; he was sure of it.

“I hope you are still a bit hungry.” Blue smiled again, cupping his cheek lovingly. “I quite overestimated your appetite, but you will finish it all, will you not? I know you hate wasting food very much...”

YEAH WELL, HIS STOMACH COULD ONLY TAKE SO MUCH.

Was what Dream wanted to answer but he found himself unable to, the spice having stripped him of his ability to speak.

***

The next day...

“Boss is taking the day off?” Ink raised an eyebrow, perplexed.

Finch nodded. “He sent me a text this morning that claimed this at least, I wonder what happened.”

“Yeah, me too, Dream would rather kiss a bird than skip work.” Ink then proceeded to shrug. “Oh well, guess I actually have assistant work to do for once.”

***

It was a Saturday evening when Blue and Nightmare ran into each other at the hospital where Dream was being treated. Well, perhaps ‘ran into each other’ might not actually be entirely accurate. They just found themselves in Dream’s room at the same time.

Neither of them seemed surprised at the other’s presence, despite never having seen each other until now, they knew they were both extremely worried about Dream’s prolonged absence and have been visiting him as often as they could.

Both of their attention turned toward the bed as fast as it was diverted. Today again, the heart of their concern was still lying completely motionless on the piece of furniture, eyes closed and breathing calm as his heartbeat was being drawn in real time by the green machine standing proudly next to him.

It has officially been ten months since Dream had been shot, both of them starting to lose hope on the man ever waking up.

Blue’s heart seemed to screech in his chest at the thought, hitting the cage of bones it was trapped in with as much force as possible. The latter tried to make the thought disappear by shaking his head, reminding himself that Dream hadn’t been planning to die and wouldn’t let himself be dragged into the underworld so easily.

Perhaps, it was a silly reason to believe he would open his eyes but who was going to judge him?

He began to lightly scratch at his arms, ignoring how it reopened some wounds in the process as he stared at Dream’s face with intensity, looking for any twitch, any change in expression.

There was none, Blue fought back the urge to bang his head against the wall.

As he was busy controlling his frustration and despair, Nightmare had moved closer to the bed and replaced a few strands of Dream’s hair that fell onto his face due to the open window from his side. His fingertips grazed at his forehead, his eyes narrowing.

He could hide it all he wanted, he really missed Dream and there was no changing that until he would wake up. “Don’t forget that you promised we wouldn’t ever leave each other.” He let out in a hushed tone, as if speaking to his friend only. He didn’t quite know what pushed him to mention such a vague memory of their younger selves pinky promising such a silly thing but it felt… right, comforting he might dare even say.

He didn’t know if Dream could hear him but as he always said, innocent until proven guilty. He would keep believing he could as long as nobody was able to present him with arguments that it was false.

He reluctantly brought his hand back to his body, letting the limb fall back on his sides. He glanced at the setting sun from the window, briefly admiring how its light faded into an orange hue before leaving for the impatient night. Already, the moon was showing its nose as a faded figure in the distance.

When he first got into the room, the sun had been looking down on the nation high up in the sky, had he been standing there all this time? If so, it was no wonder he felt so rooted to the ground. His gaze turned toward the clock on the wall.

“Visiting hours are almost over.” He remarked aloud, startling Blue. Once the words were processed, Blue looked up toward the clock as well and nodded, confirming what he just said.

“Time sure passes fast.” His eyes returned to gluing themselves on Dream’s figure. “I don’t want to leave.”

Nightmare sighed, dropping back onto the chair he had been sitting on for the past while. Unlike Blue, he decided to divert his gaze, knowing that if he were to look at him just a second more then he would be unable to leave. “I don’t want to either.”

Silence fell into the room.

Blue suddenly froze, letting out a surprised squeak that startled Nightmare so bad he flinched. The latter raised an eyebrow at him, Blue vaguely hearing him asking what was wrong.

However, he couldn’t get himself to look back at him, his widened eyes even more glued to Dream than they were before.

A twitch.

He saw his eyebrow twitch.

He held his breath, refusing to even blink as he analyzed every single one of his features in search for another anomaly, a sign to tell him he didn’t just hallucinate that and a proof that he wasn’t absolutely losing his mind.

Even Nightmare seemed freaked out by his silence, repeating his question slightly louder, wondering if he should call a nurse in.

Just as Blue was about to conclude he was in fact losing it for good, Dream’s whole face changed expression before a muted groan escaped him. That was definitely not a hallucination, Nightmare having reacted to the noise as well and breaking his vow not to look at him anymore.

“Dream?” Nightmare called with a higher pitch than his usual voice, sounding close to tears. And he was, if the burning at the side of his eyes were anything to go by.

Said one’s hand twitched at the name, his golden eyes appearing into view as his eyelids opened for the first time in ten mouths. His eyes were still half-lidded and his entire being showing how dazed he was but neither really cared about that, more focusing on the fact that he was finally awake.

“Hhh?” A noise left him as his gaze met Blue’s, then Nightmare’s. “What…?”

He blinked a few times before yelping as both of them almost launched themselves at him, however they did not have the opportunity to do much else as a nurse suddenly barged into the room, eyes icy as she told them visiting hours were over.

Dream looked as confused as ever as both men refused to go categorically. It went to the point where the nurse had to go get security to force the two out, much to their anger and dismay.

However, waiting until tomorrow to see Dream was in none of the two’s plans.

It just so happened that this decision ended up saving his life.

***

“I don’t suppose I should be surprised to see you here.” Nightmare rolled his eyes at Blue after the comment left his mouth, scoffing.

“Well duh, I haven’t seen Dream in ages. I'm not going to wait an entire night because a terrifyingly dense nurse didn’t want me to stay.” He crossed one of his arms around himself, letting his arm carrying his broken wrist rest on his side. “But why are you here? I didn’t take you for the type to break rules.”

It was Blue’s turn to cross his arms, glancing at the nearby areas to see if anybody was coming. The coast was clear, he hadn't seen any security guard for a while, which was weird. Where were they all? “For the same reason as you are.” He replied, staring up at the window behind which their reason to be here so late at night was most probably resting.

“But you do have a point, I usually do not like concentrating negative attention by breaking rules and the like.” He turned back to look at the lavender eyes that have been studying him in quiet judgment. “However, I’m not above trespassing some rules if I deem it necessary.”

“I see… Well, you’re free to come with me then.” Nightmare began to turn away, or well, that was until movement at the window was caught by the corner of his eyes. “What the hell?” He hissed, squinting into the darkness. “Who the hell is this? You can’t tell me that’s a doctor.”

Blue looked up to the window and spotted a person hunched over Dream’s bed. Nightmare was right, they did not look like a doctor in the slightest. First, they were lacking the usual coat people of this career usually wore. To make matters worse, the feeling of deja vu that Blue was experiencing couldn’t be a good sign.

Like Nightmare he squinted, trying to determine any relevant features that could help him recognize the person. Dark hair, green eyes, light spot near the eye? Oh, that was a scar.

Wait.

Blue froze, the colors draining from his face as his breath hitched.

Of course, he looked familiar, how could he forget the face of the one who got Dream in coma in the first place? He turned toward the other in panic…

“Nightmare, that’s–” … Only to find an empty spot where Nightmare’s silhouette used to loom over. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion before he looked up to the window once again, just in time to see the short man yanking the stalker back by the elbow.

***

The moment Nightmare spotted him, his entire being has been sending the alarms to get the adrenaline going. Even if he didn’t have any clue on who the fuck that person was, something at the back of his mind had warned him that whatever they were up to, couldn’t be a good thing.

Besides, he had just gotten his best friend back, he was going to lose him again because a fucker had decided that for one reason or another they needed to get rid of him for good.

When he had stepped into the room, he made sure to be as silent as possible to avoid scaring off that person before he could have a chance at making him talk. He was faced with their back.

As he walked closer, he could hear their voice muttering curses under their breath, seemingly blaming Dream for ‘ruining’ something. Nightmare briefly thanked whichever part of him decided to follow that gut feeling that this guy wasn’t up to anything good.

He gazed over at the bed and his eyes widened at the sight of a syringe.

Poison.

Unable to stay still anymore, Nightmare stepped even closer than before, grabbing their elbow with his intact hand and pulling them back. “WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?” He yelled at them as he pushed them toward the window, their back colliding with the glass wall loudly. His scream and the noise startled Dream awake, the latter blinking in confusion as his gaze swept over the room.

Seeing that the target had been woken up, the unknown person sent a death glare at Nightmare, shouting that it was none of his business. Then they sprinted toward him, their hand curled into a fist as they tried to swing at the man.

Unluckily for them, Nightmare’s strength that only works once every decade decided to trigger itself, giving him the opportunity to dodge the punch… and shove them out of the open window.

The mysterious attacker’s eyes widened as they fell, the distance between them and the ground decreasing with every moment that passed. The wind howled around them, their mouth opening wide to let out the most chilling scream of terror that most would have heard in their lifetimes.

A loud thud was heard as their body crashed into the ground.

Nightmare’s own facial features were expressing his bewilderment and confusion, pupils locked onto the open window. Since when was it open?

He turned around, only to see Blue’s own shocked expression. Though, it quickly morphed into a nervous smile as he met Nightmare’s gaze. “Oops?” Ah, Blue must have climbed into the room by the window and was too focused on getting away from the fight scene to remember to close the window shut.

Well, it actually wasn’t that bad in his opinion. He was planning to throw that person out of the window once they were knocked out after all, he guessed that the inevitable just happened sooner than expected.

“W…What…” He froze. Ah shit, he completely forgot that Dream had woken up and had probably seen them fall. Unlike him, Dream was bound not to approve of that turn of events. He turned toward him with the most innocent face he could muster, lavender eyes locking onto trembling golden ones. “is goiNG ON?”