Chapter Text
Dream wants to go home. Which is odd, considering that he is in the dreaming. He is in his own palace, but with all these fey around it doesn’t feel too much like home. Hob is about somewhere, chatting and ‘networking’ as he calls is. Dream feels uneasy letting his lover loose around so many creatures of seduction. Even if he knows Hob has eyes for nobody but Dream.
The lord of dreams is standing near his throne, he looks a bit pouty. He surveys the crowd. There is a whole host of creatures attending tonight. Dream is looking for anyone he knows, but he only finds a handful of fey he’s not particularly keen on talking to. He decides he’d like to go home, that the party could live on without him, so he scans the room for Hob.
From across the room he catches Hob's eye. With a vague gesture of his head Hob is weaving through the crowd to reach him. He approaches Dream, punch in hand, with a soft smile.
“Yes duck?”
Dream scowls at the nickname, though he doesn’t particularly mind it. He has a reputation to maintain among the dreaming.
“Are you quite ready to return to the waking yet?”
Hob laughs. He leans against Dream, wrapping their arms together. Dream looks affronted. “Dream love, we’ve only been here an hour.”
Dream sighs.
“The party will go on without us.” He only barely refrains from rolling his eyes.
From his place next to him Hob leans forward to whisper to Dream. His voice is low and his lips brush against the shell of Dream’s ear.
“Behave yourself for the rest of the evening, and I’ll make it up to you later.” His voice rasps. Dream nods, not quite looking Hob in the eye.
He stares at Hob. If he were more expressive his mouth would be agape. Instead he has this wide eyed expression about him. He glances around to make sure nobody had heard what Hob said, and then turned back to his lover.
Hob, for his part, has a very self satisfied grin on his face. When he catches Dream’s eye he gives him the sweetest smile he can muster, and Dream doesn’t have it in him to tell Hob off. They’d been at this event forever. Dream would much rather be back in Hob’s apartment, holding each other, kissing, and maybe-
Dream cuts off his own line of thought. It’s a dangerous path to go down while in a room of gods and Fae. Somewhere around he’s sure Desire is lurking about, never one to miss a party even in the Dreaming.
Dream gives Hob a very intense look. He is trying his very best to convey his dissatisfaction with Hob without saying anything at all. He storms off into the crowd, nearly tripping over a few tails as he scans the edges of the room for his sister.
Off to the side of the party, Death stands, sipping on punch. Dream comes to stand next to her, but he has nothing of importance to say, so he doesn’t speak. Death has a bitter sweet smile as she stares at one of the pajama-clad servants who is having the oddest dream.
Dream follows her gaze, and when his eyes land on the girl he saddens a little bit.
“You will take her?” Death hums noncommittally. She doesn’t enjoy taking such young people, but it’s part of her job.
She hears the silent question in Dreams voice. He has always been curious by nature. It’s a trait not shared among his older siblings. Death decides to answer him.
“ After the party. She will have an aneurism.”
Death can feel the concerned look Dream casts her without looking. He rarely likes the answer to the questions he asks Death, though it’s never deterred him from asking. He sounds oddly hopeful when he next speaks.
“Painlessly, I hope.” Death nods, and Dream opens his mouth to speak again. He’s stopped by Abel approaching the two endless.
He looks nervous to interrupt them, but Dream gives him a passive look.
“Lord Morpheus-”
He seems to remember Death is present too, he gives her a curt nod.
“There is a problem in the foyer.”
Dream responds with a heavy sigh. He gives Death a helpless look, but she shakes her head. He turns back to Abel;
“Right, thank you Abel. I’ll be there shortly.” His voice is heavy with annoyance, and Abel scampers off.
Death smirks at her younger brother, reaching up to ruffle Dream’s hair.
“Never a dull moment in the dreaming, huh?”
Dream shakes is head. “Enjoy the party sister. Hopefully I return shortly.”
Then with a nod he is off to deal with whatever issues one of his dreams has undoubtedly started with the Fae. Cain had stepped on a Faery’s tail, and then threatened to gut them. By the time Dream was able to send the two brother’s home his hands were beginning to shakes from frustration.
Of course, just as he catches sight of Hob, his sibling decides to make his entrance. Desire struts up to Dream, draping themselves around his shoulders. Dream only sort of tries to shrug them off. “Hello, Desire.”
His voice remains flat, because otherwise he’s afraid he’ll send Desire flying across the room. Putting an abrupt end to the event. Desire leans in to whisper, his lips brushing against Dream’s ear. The feeling makes Dream recoil with disgust.
“Why so bleak, Dream? You’ve got such a lovely party going on. It was so kind of you to invite us all.”
They let their voice hit his ear. Dream shoves him away. He stumbles into a nearby punch table. Desire looks mildly offended.
Dream glares hard at them, and they don’t move back towards him. They roll their eyes and place their sunglasses back over their golden eyes, stalking away into the crowd. Dream swears he hears desire say something about not wanting to be hung over tomorrow anyways. He turns on his heel and makes a b-line for Hob.
Hob is chatting with some fey nobility, and he seems to be having a good time. If Dream weren’t feeling like a shaken soda can ready to burst he’d feel bad for dragging Hob away. He pulls Hob towards the base of his throne, where everyone had left some space out of respect.
Dream leans down to talk to Hob, his voice rough. “Can we leave now? I have socialized enough, and I am *tired*.”
Hob runs a soothing hand across Dream’s shoulder, offering him a gentle smile. “Just give a closing speech for the night.” he leans in and Dream can feel Hob’s breath fan across him neck
“be good, and we can do tea and a movie back at my place.”
Flushing, Dream pulls away. He shouldn’t have such a reaction to Hob simply promising him a night in. Something about the rasp in his voice, or maybe the gentleness in which he speaks to Dream has him red in the face. Dream hopes Desire had actually left, because otherwise he would be taunted the moment he stepped of the dais.
The room of partygoers quiets as soon as Dream steps onto the balcony. Though the crowd had thinned significantly, Dream still had trouble picking out individual faces. He catches a glimpse of Hob though, as well as his sister in the far corner. They are decidedly not looking at each other. Dream almost laughs.
Dream manipulates the very air of the dreaming, making sure all his guests can hear him clearly as he ends the night. After his speech Dream hears the crowd cheer, so it was probably alright, but he hadn’t really been paying attention what he was saying. As Dream begins to descend the steps, Hob begins to make his way towards him.
They meet at the bottom of the stairs, out of the sight of partygoers. It’s not that they are any secret, but open displays of affection are not Dream’s thing. Hob presses a gentle kiss to his lips, and Dream untenses a little bit at his lover’s touch.
Hob looks at Dream with a certain kind of fondness that makes Dream very ready to go home. He wants to curl up on the couch with Hob and just enjoy each other’s presence. Dream intertwines their hands as he calls upon Mathew.
The raven appears perched on a nearby railing, his chipper voice far to loud in the now pretty quiet ballroom.
“Yes boss?”
“Mathew, please see to it that everyone returns to their homes by dawn in the waking.”
He orders. Mathew shakes out his feathers. As he flies off he squawks his assent. Dream turns to Hob.
“Can we go home now?”
Hob smiles, taking Dream’s hand and pulling him closer.
“Yeah, we can.”