Archive of Our Own ^beta

The sound of the alarm slicing through the quiet atmosphere jolted Dream right out of his sleep. He groans, covering his ears from the blaring alarm that rattles his brain. It's too early in the morning for this, he thinks . He barely slept the night prior but Dream knew he couldn't stay in bed. He needs to get himself up and ready for work today.

Scooting towards the edge of the bed, he gets in position to push himself up and winces a bit when his feet make contact with the cold wooden floor below. Sleepiness still clouding his mind and limbs feeling lethargic, he begins walking over to the desk where his phone is currently at to turn off the alarm. He stands there for a moment, holding onto his desk for support, trying to shake off the blurring vision and hazy mind he had from sleeping. 

After standing idly for half a minute, finally getting his bearings straight, he unplugged his phone from the charger and clicked the side button on the phone for it to come on. Now looking at the time, squinting at the phone screen brightness, hoping he could get an extra few minutes of shut eye, he gasped. 

He's late for work, super late . He was supposed to be at work at 8:00 am but now it's 8:30 am. A good half an hour late and he has a presentation he needed to do regarding the new app that he and his team have been working on.

Cursing under his breath, Dream rushes out of his room and straight into the bathroom. Barely having the time to shower or brush his teeth the way he likes; He spends several minutes rushing through the house, almost tripping over his shoes as he puts on his black slacks and fixes his button up white shirt. 

Quickly roaming through the house, he goes through the pantry closet to grab cat food and add it into the orange bowl that sits on the floor. He may be super late but he would not let his dear cat, Patches, starve. Petting her quickly as she meows, looking up at him with concern before turning to the bowl to begin eating the meal in front of her, Dream continues to get himself ready. 

He was a complete mess and was in need of some tea and breakfast, but sadly he didn't have the time to make it. He snatched up his brown briefcase with the presentation notes and laptop inside, and grabbed his car and house keys. Ready to leave only to remember he almost forgot his wallet, back tracking, he went back into his room to grab his wallet off the nightstand. He rushes his way to the front door and makes his exit from his home; locking the door as fast as he could before bolting to the garage where his car is parked.

♡♡♡♡

The embarrassing part to all of this is him rushing through the double doors of the presentation room within the office, and having dozens of eyes landing on his disheveled state. He arrived at 9:20 am but that didn't help the silent panic attack flowing through his body while he stared back at everyone with wide eyes. His hair, well rather bed hair since he didn't have time to properly comb it; the unruly curls stick up in different directions. 

His tie is not fixed to the correct position, lopsided and barely tied in a loop. His white shirt was not tucked in properly into his pants, leaving it in a half in and half out display. One of the buttons of his white shirt was buttoned up incorrectly leaving a little gap opening, the pale skin of his stomach can be seen. 

His breathing is ragged, his heart pounding against his rib cage after racing up twelve flights of stairs once he saw how long the line was for the elevator; and he definitely knows that he's a sweaty mess with the front part of his hair plastered to his forehead and his shirt sticking to the sweat on his back.

Thank goodness he has his black suit jacket on which is covering up the well known sweat stain underneath his armpit. For the most part at least his black slack pants were buckled appropriately and his black dress shoes look decent if it wasn't for one of the shoe laces being unraveled and a small gray scuff on the side from running up the stairs. 

Overall he knew he was in trouble.

Dream apologized profusely to everyone sitting at the wooden oval table for his tardiness. His eyes glance across each and every person in the room before they land on his boss. He gulps once he makes eye contact with the man seated at the head of the oval table.

The older man looks to be in his mid to late 40s –  with black hair, hints of gray on the side, slicked back with gel, his beard matching the same color while he adorns a sleek black office suit. He watches as the man gets up from his chair, a loud screech of the chair sliding against the marble floor causing Dream to jolt. The sound of the older man's dress shoes clicks against the tiles as he walks. 

It was haunting how quiet the room was, and that sound being the only thing to bounce off the walls of the four corner space. It was as if everyone including Dream himself was holding in their breath while the man approached him with a stern stare, looking up at him. Even when Dream is taller than the man by a few inches, in that moment, it felt like he was being looked down on, almost shrinking under the intense gaze. The older man indicates that they need to talk in his office now, emphasis on the now in hush whisper.

Nodding his head, Dream follows behind his boss. He leaves the presentation room and walks across the main office lounge heading in the direction of where his boss office is at. It felt like he was doing a walk of shame, feeling his coworkers' eyes linger on him. Even heard a few snickers and small gasps before he was instructed to enter into his boss's office – the older man standing off to the side with the door open. Once the blond walked inside, the gray-blue door behind him was shut a bit too loudly, making him jolt once more. 

What went behind the closed door, solidified him as having the worst start to his day ever. 

♡♡♡♡

It's been four hours now and Dream is heading to the local sandwich shop for lunch break. He felt horrible. His boss yelled at him, voice raised in an octave, veins popping out from his neck and forehead, looking ready to explode; the whole nine yards . He was furious, nailing into his skull on how much he could've screwed the company over. That was one of the worst things he's ever experienced.

The main thing Dream couldn't shake was how the boss reacted. He's not someone who is known to be late all the time. He's always on time, always handing assignments in, he's respectable towards everyone, responsible; He works diligently and mannerly which he couldn't understand why his boss was being so harsh on him knowing his perfect attendance. He always felt that the boss had an out for him, but that was something that he kept to himself and himself only.

But then again, he understands. This was a big presentation regarding the new app that he and his team has been working on. The app – manage time– still working on an official name – is catered to the younger audience, the children and young teens where parents could track the amount of hours they spend on social media to limit phone time usage and block access to the app. They were also working on a feature that was exclusive for adults who wanted to lower phone time usage.

The plus side to everything was that he was still able to do the presentation. He fixed his attire as quickly as he could and combed his fingers through his sweaty hair, grimacing over the wetness. And yet it felt like he bombed a final exam that's worth sixty percent of your grade.

Letting out a heavy exhale of breath, Dream continues to walk down two blocks to the local sandwich shop he frequents at. Being in a dazed state, letting his legs carry him to his destination, hoping that his favorite sandwich order would cheer him up a bit; suddenly he feels something hit his right shoulder. 

Something hot, liquidy and heavy plops onto his shoulder and he can feel it slowly start to trickle down his black suit jacket. He halts in his step and suddenly hears a sound of a bird cackling loudly from above. Turning his head to the right slightly, eyes casted down, he checks to see what's on his shoulder. 

Bird poop . 

Hot steaming bird poop landed on his right shoulder and Dream was seconds away from having a mental breakdown. He wanted to scream out all his frustration from the endeavors that happen today. The worst part was that he didn't even have tissues on him to wipe the substance off, making it just sit there, staining his jacket even further. Dream begins walking again, feeling the urge to cry, willing himself to focus on trying to make it to the sandwich shop in one piece. 

Upon arrival, he pushes the door open, the little charm bell ringing on the top to notify the owner of someone's entry. Now inside the shop, Dream takes a moment to do a few breathing exercises. Inhaling and exhaling out, trying to calm his nerves. Once he felt the urge to cry sweep away, he stood there idly, letting the aroma of freshly baked bread and deli meat fill his nostrils. 

It was still early in the afternoon, 12:10 pm which Dream could see, glancing over at the brown clock nailed on the tan color wall. It was a small shop. Four circular wooden dining tables with four chairs for customers to sit and enjoy their meals. An old style black jukebox machine that plays 40s to early 60s music sits in the back left hand corner. A nice open window view of the city streets that sits on the right side of the establishment. 

High above on the ceiling, is a large brown ceiling fan with three light bulbs attached and blades that have golden trims on the end, center in place, which is currently spinning at a slow speed. Those said light bulbs are currently dim which sends off a brown fluorescent glow to shine on the polished wooden floor below.

A welcome home and cozy vibes is being emitted as Dream continues to glance around. He can feel the nice cool breeze rush past his overheated skin and ruffles the strands of his blond hair, flowing through his scalp – sending a chill down his spine. 

Straight ahead lies a wooden counter surface, an area you walk up to and speak to someone so they can take your order. On the right hand side was the area where the sandwiches are made; Above that is an electronic screen that has a variety of different deli meats and sandwich combinations on display.

Next is a glass display which shows a variety of deli meat, cheese and salad. There's also small plastic containers that have potato salad or macaroni salad and pre-made / to-go sandwiches with chips and soda inside a little clear container. Right next to that was a large refrigerator that holds drinks inside. 

Going back to look at the counter, Dream could hear movements coming from the back room. The door opens up and he can see the owner, walking out from the left side, wearing a black apron that reads ‘Halo’s Sandwich Shop’ in red font. The man emerging is in his late twenties. Clean face and no wrinkles to appear on his skin. He has brown hair which is tied neatly in a half up and half down look. He has golden rimmed glasses that shine off the reflection from the sunlight that seeps through the large windows. 

Upon approaching the counter, the owner looks up and speaks in a formal greeting but stops midway once he sees how disheveled Dream looked.

“Hello, how can I- Dream!? What happened to you?” the owner gasped out, concerned raised in his voice. He moved from behind the counter, grabbing napkins on his way out. He pushes past the small wooden door ledge that connects the counter with the wall, the door swinging back and forth – a creaky sound to fill the quiet place. 

“I don't know.” Dream deflates, feeling choked up even though he just spent a few seconds willing himself to not cry. The owner wipes delicately on the blond's shoulder, his body swaying with each movement. 

“Oh, come with me, I believe I have a spare jacket in the back for you,” the owner ushering the blond to follow behind him. 

“Bad, you don't have to - ” Dream spoke but gets cut off once Bad shushes him. He yells for Skeppy to take over the front counter once he hears the chime of the bell, notifying them that another person is walking into the shop. 

Bad, who goes by the name Badboyhalo and is the owner of ‘Halos sandwich shop’ , alongside his partner, Skeppy. Dream has known of them ever since he went to the university in this town that was five blocks away from the sandwich shop. And lucky him, it ends up being two blocks down from his future work spot. 

Dream at the time was a struggling college student who was on the verge of dropping out due to the heavy course work and mental drain. One day he walked past the sandwich shop that his best friend, George, recommended for him to try. He remembers that day like the back of his hand. Classes had ended for the day and he had just failed his computer science exam that was part of his major course which meant he was on the verge of failing all together. Feeling so down and out and on the verge of a mental breakdown, he enters the shop and everything changes for him that day. 

He remembers that fresh scent of baked bread wafting past his nostrils making his mouth salivate. At first glance, he was shocked to see how many people were in the shop during the evening hours. Not knowing what to do, he just stands idly on the side, looking up at the menu on the electronic screen. He skimmed through the choices of deli meats and bread with wide eyes, amazed that a simple meal such as a sandwich could have so many variety choices. And it's a crazy thought, because it's not like he didn't have a sandwich before but something about this was a whole new experience. 

Deciding to ask one of the workers for help, he stands on the line, waiting until he finally reaches the counter. He remembers the person behind the counter introducing themselves as Badboyhalo, welcoming them into their shop and greeted him with a smile. Being considerate, Dream asked him about all the different types of sandwiches they had and he knew at the time it was a silly question. He wasn't stupid. He knows that there are different deli meats and combinations around and he even already had an order that George recommended yet he was still fascinated; And what made things better was that the owner was very happy to help. 

After hearing the different choices, he decided to go with the order he was recommended to try, which was their special smoked turkey with lettuce, tomato, hints of black pepper with salt and a little vinegar and olive oil on a roll and till this day, that was the best sandwich he ever had.  

After that, he became a frequent customer to the shop and eventually grew a friendship with the owner and his partner. Bad and Skeppy were like second parents to him. Not that Dream didn't have a good relationship with his biological parents, of course he did , but having another set of people who were strangers to him become family meant a lot. 

Since then it's been five years now that he frequents this shop. Dream is now well into his second year of working at Industrial Inc under the application development department and after today, he doesn't even know if he will still have that same job. 

Sighing out, Dream sits down on the brown chair in Bad's office, staring at the tan colored walls and a few picture frames that scatters across as the older man rummages through his closet looking for a jacket.

A disappointed sound escapes from the owner’s mouth causing Dream to perk up, turning his attention to Bad. 

“Everything's okay?” 

“No, I can't find the jacket I had in here.” Bad sighs, spotting a jacket in the closet, perking up thinking he found it, only to be disappointed. He then opens his mouth to speak once more, “ I could've sworn I left it here. Maybe Skeppy took it with him with the pile of laundry upstairs.” he mumbles to himself. Continuing to rummage through once more as the sound of clothes being tossed around and hangers screeching against the metal bar echoes the small space. Bad and Skeepy lived upstairs in a small apartment unit while the restaurant was down on the ground level.

“It's fine, don't worry about it” Dream spoke, looking at the faded mark of the bird poop on his jacket that lies on the desk. At Least Bad got the majority of it off he thinks to himself before he leans his body fully against the chair, slouching a bit. A good rest was what he needed before he had to clock back in for work; glancing over at the clock on the black desk, time reading 12:15 pm.

Bad hums in response to the blond's remark, closing the closet door. He walks his way over to the blue metal chair, and puts his hand up, signaling for Dream to sit back down once he notices him getting up to offer back his main office chair.

“Rough day, huh?” he gruff, sitting down onto the metal chair. 

“Yeah, you could say that.” Dream responds exhausted, Moving his hands up to his face to rub harshly at his skin. “I might get fired soon, so if you need any extra hands, I'm here to help.” 

Once the words left Dream's mouth, Bad frowned, his lips forming in a pout. He hates to see Dream be harsh on himself. He used to do that alot back in college and Bad, always told him to think positive. Even when things go wrong in life, you have to think about something positive to outweigh the negative. 

“Dream, I always told you to not be so harsh on yourself." Bad says, leaning forward in his chair a bit; Watching as Dream moves his hands away from his face to look at the man in front of him. “–  I don't think you will get fired, but you know, There is always a spot here for you. You're always welcome.” he ends off, smiling softly at the blond. 

He needed that. Dream really needed that reassurance and warmth that everything will be okay even though it may not seem like it. 

“Thanks Bad” 

“No problem” he nods. “- now tell me how your day went as I go make you, your favorite sandwich” Bad says, getting up from the chair, and groaning a bit as his knees crack which earns a laugh from Dream. Even though Bad is still young, well into his late 20s, he felt like an old man. 

Dream spends his remaining minutes of lunch break in the shop, talking to Bad on how his day started in a disaster, how he embarrassed himself in front of his boss, the higher ups and coworkers all while the older male listened attentively. It was good to get his feelings out and talk to someone. He felt better too, especially since he had his favorite sandwich order.

♡♡♡♡

Now leaving the sandwich shop, his belly full with a nice hearty meal, it was nearing the time where Dream needed to clock back in for work. Walking his way down the block as quickly as he can, he enters the office building. Feeling the cool blast of the air conditioning hit his sweaty and overheated skin; he felt refreshed, and continued walking his way towards the elevators. And thank goodness it wasn't as crowded as it was earlier. 

Walking inside and hitting the twelve floor button in the elevator, he settles in the back right corner as three more people walk in. Once the elevator door closes, Dream sighs out. He begins to smooth his hands down his white shirt and black slacks getting rid of any crumbs or wrinkles to appear. His suit jacket is folded and hidden away in his briefcase so nobody has to see the dry stains of bird poop that lingers. 

Arriving onto the twelve floor, he made his way through the first double doors, greeting a few people sitting at their desk before he made his way to his own desk in the small cubicle, pulling the chair from under and taking a seat.

With no more presentations for the day, it left Dream to do minimal work. Attending small group sessions with his team regarding the app, making sure it's running properly and going over any more changes that needed to be made. There will be another meeting coming up soon with the marketing and advertising team. 

Dream during this time sends a quick message to his best friend George, to not only check how everything is on his end since he too is working on a big project of his own but to ask to check on Patches. In a few seconds, his phone vibrates with a text message from George who sends an eye roll emoji followed by a picture of Patches sleeping on his lap which causes Dream to laugh softly to himself. 

George is a guy he met in his government elective class during freshman year of college while the other was in senior year. The Brit lived in the UK the majority of his life until he came to America four years ago during that time under a scholarship and they immediately clicked, becoming great friends. Now going into six years of being best friends, they have been closer than ever.

Even to the point that George has a spare key to his home making them practically roommates but not actually roommates. Lately George has been staying late at the office more although the brunet goes back and forth from his home to Dream's either sleeping on the couch, cat sitting for Patches or chatting away with the Blond while working on his laptop.

They work in the same company, George being there before him while he was still in his third year of college. He works in the software development department and tends to work remotely while occasionally appearing in the office ever so often. So on the bright side, It's good to have a friend in the same field and outside of work. 

The remaining three hours of the day went by in a blur and now it's rolling into late afternoon to early evening hours. It's precisely a little over five o’ clock when Dream clocks out for the day. Saying his goodbyes to everyone and making his way out the building; once he stepped out of the air conditioning building and straight back into the heat, he was immediately hit with a blast of hot stuffy air. Even though he lived in Florida for his whole life, somehow he still was not used to this muggy weather. 

Moving off to the side so he doesn't stand there in the middle of the entrance way like an idiot, he finds an open spot by the building where he can lean his back against the building's brick wall that holds the foundation together. With his back now pressed firmly against the wall, he gazes up to look at the horizon in front of him. The sky is changing over from baby blues to sunkist orange as the sunset illuminates its surroundings with yellow to orange hues.

Feeling exhaustion takes over his body, Dream tilts his head to the right side, bringing his hand up to massage at the sore spot on his neck. A small crook he had from sleeping on the wrong side the night prior. Bringing his hand back to his side, moving his head back to the position from earlier, facing forward, he takes a moment to relax. 

He glances at his surroundings as people walk past him, some going in and leaving out the building, cars entering and exiting out the parking lot; A busy yet exhausting day. He leaned against the wall for a few more seconds before he decided it was time to head on home.

Pushing himself off the wall he was leaning on, he begins walking in the direction of his parked car. He can finally go home and get some well needed rest before he has to start his day all over again; hoping to not piss off his boss tomorrow. 

♡♡♡♡

Heavy and rapid footsteps thud harshly against the pavement as a person, a man, runs as fast as he could. Pushing through crowds of people causing an uproar of:

‘hey’s!’ and ‘Watch where you are going! ’, curse words being spewed at him. But he couldn't focus on that, he needed to get away from this crazy woman who kept chasing after him; Yelling all kinds of obscenities towards his direction. 

Sapnap knew he made a mistake that night. A month ago, he made the dumbest mistake of going to the bar and getting drunk. His goal for attending the bar was to have a few drinks to make him feel loose and to feel like himself again; he wanted to ease the stress he endured over the semester and he went and overdid it. He ended up meeting a flirtatious woman who he had never seen before and slept with her and now she won't leave him alone. 

Constantly calling his phone, leaving voicemail professing her love to him which resulted in him blocking her – Several times because apparently she has more than one phone she dials on. He doesn't even know how she got his number in the first place but then he remembers looking at his phone the morning of the aftermath; and sees a drunken text message he sent to her and the name written under the caller ID as “Rachel My Girlfriend😘” 

A terrible mistake.  

He continues to run, the sound of wind rushing past his ears as he faintly hears Rachel calling after him. Wondering how she could keep up with his fast pace and if she ran track in college or something. He turns to look behind him briefly just to see the distance between them; that was the second dumbest mistake he made.

Not paying attention, he collided with something hard, almost resembling a brick wall, making him become unbalanced. It feels as if the wind was knocked out of him, tumbling hard onto the ground, wincing on impact. 

“F*ck” Sapnap says under his breath, lying on his side and moving his hand up to rub at his nose; Hoping that it wasn't bleeding nor broken.

Laying there for a few seconds, letting the dizziness slowly slip away, blinking to clear the haze from his vision. He can hear a few people gather around them, mumbles going through one ear and out the next. What he sees is movement beside him. A rumble sound of a groan followed by a deep voice, a man, as they spoke out. 

“What the hell?” a man says, a sudden heavy accent similar to his but not quite is heard causing Sapnap to jolt. He blinks a few more times, lifting himself up slightly to lean on his elbows as the stranger turns to lay on their back.

Dammit Sapnap, you ran into a person not a brick wall! Not that it makes things any better .

The stranger next to him winces in pain, moving his arm, a large hand rubbing softly at his chest, feeling the pain radiate from the collision.

“Sh*t dude I'm so sorry, are you okay?” Sapnap spews out, leaning over to get ready to help the man up until he hears that same irritated voice getting closer. 

“Mathew, where are you? Don't run away from me sweetheart!!” Rachel screams out.

Sapnap freezes, sh*t she’s close by and secondly, that wasn't even his name. Rolling his eyes, he can feel his heart thump loudly in his chest. He's panicking, trying to decide what he should do. He looks around, seeing people looking at them with concern, some asking if he was okay and some who continue to walk past.

Waving his hand and telling people he's okay, Sapnap ponders over the thought that crosses his mind. He has two choices he can make, either get up and run away or stay and check on the stranger.

If he does the first choice and runs away he knows he would feel like an a**hole for leaving this stranger here. Making a tsk sound with his mouth, he glances down at the man once more who lies beside him and he freezes. The man next to him opened his eyes and Sapnap felt his heart stutter. 

F*ck he's hot . 

The first thought that crosses his mind. The man next to him has blond hair with hints of golden and brown streaks that look fluffy; his hair forms a halo around his head where he lies making him look like an angel that fell from heaven. Suddenly an urge spikes through Sapnap, wanting to run his fingers through the soft strands but decides against it. 

His green eyes stare up at him in a blurry haze, almost resembling olive gems that havent been fully polished yet. There's a hint of redness on the man's face, mostly on his button nose, due to the impact and Sapnap didn't have time to sit here and truly admire the hot man next to him when an idea flashes across his mind, followed by a smirk to etch on his lips. 

He goes to move in close, placing both hands on the concrete ground below, right where the stranger's head lies, wincing at the slight sting in his palms. He continues to stare down, opening his mouth to speak. 

“Hi darling, would you mind pretending to be my boyfriend real quick?” 

♡♡♡♡

Dream didn't know what happened. He remembers pushing himself off of the wall of the building he was leaning on and then walking in the direction of where his car is parked in the parking lot, seconds later - suddenly it felt like someone tackled him; a football tackled from behind, knocking him hard against the concrete ground. 

Lucky for his quick reflex, he was able to break some of the fall with his briefcase, placing it in front of him, landing face front causing him to wince on immediate impact, feeling a heavy weight land on his back. He felt like he couldn't breathe, dry coughing out, blinking his eyes to clear his vision, and shaking off the hazy fog.

He can hear a few mumbles around him, a small crowd of people gathering around to see what's going on. The one distinct sound he hears is from someone beside him mumbling the word ‘f*ck’ under their breath. 

Dream groans, pain radiating in his body, hoping that he didn't break anything. He moved his hands to his face, checking to make sure everything was okay. Feeling that everything seems to be fine, he turned onto his back, a slight ache pierced his lower back; in a strained voice, he opened his mouth to speak, “What the hell?” 

He heard slight movement on the side of him, a voice spoke out. “Sh*t dude I'm so sorry, are you okay?” the person says from next to him, a deep voice lace with a southern accent. The pain continues to rain in, moving his hand up to rub at his chest, to soothe it out. Now that his vision has become clear he can see who was next to him. 

Glancing over to his side, A man sits up, looking frantic as if he's being chased, the blond thinks, watching in a hazy state as the male tries to get up, turning his head to look behind him only to halt in his movements. He hears a woman shout from far away but he couldn't quite make out what was said. Still trying to shake the fog in his head, he watches the stranger turn back around to face him and suddenly Dream heart stutters. 

He's cute .

That was the first thought that rings through Dream's head while scrunching his face up in pain. The man next to him just happens to have the prettiest green grey orbs for eyes he's ever seen and short auburn curls that he wishes he can tucked behind his ear. He watches as the male leans in close, placing both of their hands on the ground, a few inches away from both sides of his head. 

Now hovering above, feeling caged in, Dream continues to stare back at him wondering what's happening when he then sees a smirk tug softly on the man's lips. Watching as he opened his mouth to speak, the words ringing in his ears and shocking him to his core. 

“Hi darling, would you mind pretending to be my boyfriend real quick?” 

Dream freezes; as If everything around him, the people, the cars, the birds, the wind, heck , the entire world , just stopped spinning. Silence fills his hearing, leaving him lost as the only thing he can focus on is the man in front of him; the crazy man above him, who he stares at as if he has grown two heads. 

“C’mon darling,” the man purrs from above, tilting his head slightly to the right. “– I gotta crazy women chasing after me, play pretend will yah?” he says, patting Dream's cheek with his hand not once but twice before getting up. Everything happened so fast, that he couldn't process what's going on let alone form proper words. He feels the man grab at his hand, pulling him up from the ground in quick motions, gosh was he strong. 

He then felt something shoved against his sternum, his brown briefcase, looking down at it before taking it into his right hand. Everything seems to be intact , dream deems feeling the front and back on his briefcase while also hoping his laptop is okay but before he can check, Suddenly a woman with black hair that reaches her shoulders approaches them with anger etched onto her features.

“Mathew! Why did you run away from me?” The woman demands, a bit out of breath as a pout forms on her lips.

Huh? so that's his name.   Matthew. 

He has a name to match the cute face of the man next to him he thinks. Dream stares, gaze flickering back and forth from the man next to him than to the woman, who he just focuses on. She's pretty , glancing at her for a moment; She couldn't be no more than 5 '5 but with heels, upon observation, she stands at 5' 7. 

His eyes glaze over her appearance. She has bronze skin that seems to glow under the golden ray of light from above. Dark brown eyes and natural black eyelashes that flutter with each time she blinks. She has minimal make up on her face, only wearing red lipstick that seems to be a bit smudge on her bottom lip going towards her chin in a faded red line. She is wearing a black tank top shirt that accentuates her chest and shows off her red gem stone belly button piercing. She had on blue jeans that showed off her curves and the blond stands there wondering how she was able to run with jeans on let alone two inch heels. 

The man next to him huffs out, causing the blond to turn his gaze from the woman to him.

“Because you've been stalking me for a whole month now! I'm putting a restraining order against you!” he spews.

“Wait no.” She cries out. “Matthew please, how can you do that to your own girlfriend?!”

“For the millionth time, my name ain't Mathew! And secondly, I already told you. We aren't together!”

Oh, so they arent dating and his name isn't Matthew then. Dream thinks, sulking a bit at the last revelations, still not having a name for this mysterious cute man yet. 

“But we are!, ” she whines out, frustration etching onto her features. “What happened that night meant nothing to you?” 

The man lets out an exasperated sigh. Shaking his head. “Look, it was a one time thing okay? It was good, I can admit that but that's all it was. I was drunk, you were drunk. I already apologize and we both agree to move on.” he spews out, folding his arms in front of his chest, fingers digging into his biceps which bulge from under his black short sleeve shirt, catching the blond's attention.

The conversation in front of him becomes nothing but meaningless mumbles as he tunes it out, going through one ear and out the next. His gaze lingers on the man, watching his mouth move but no words to register in Dream's head. He watches as the man's hands gestures wildly in exaggeration which was a bit endearing to the blond because he also does the same thing too when he talks. 

Focusing his attention back on the male, he takes in his appearance. The first thing that caught his attention was their height difference, the man was shorter than him by a good 5 inches but he still had a good height on him for a guy, possibly around 5' 8 or 5' 9. A perfect height to fit right in his arms, hugging him close to his body and – he mentally shakes his head, getting rid of the sudden weirdness that flashed across his mind; focussing back on the appearance.

He is wearing a black cap that he didn't notice before, thinking it came off from the collision between the two. He then glances at his hair, the way it curls at the back of the neck and then hangs loosely, shifting with each movement against the black shirt. His eyes fixated on the color of the hair. The way the sunsets shine on them, making his hair have a hint of red to it, he mentally marks it down as it being auburn, maybe ginger but moving towards the latter.

He then continues to stare at the curls, something he was fond of earlier, seeing as it curls from underneath the hat, resembling little horns. He then glanced at the male's eyes, nothing much could be seen due to it being covered partially by the brim of his black cap. 

The blond doesn't understand why but he felt this sudden sadness loom over him after he noticed he won't be able to see those pretty eyes look up at him again and decides to focus on something else. Shifting to look at the man's side profile; The strong bone structure that outlines his jaw followed by the prominent upturn of his nose made him resemble a Greek God. 

His beard had a reddish tint to it just like his hair and it was nicely groomed as if he got it shaped up just a day or two ago. Maybe he's hallucinating because he could have sworn he can smell a faint scent of aftershave lingering on the man. 

He then glances down to look at the man's lips. Watching those lips move once more, staring at the pink shade they have. Admiring how plump the bottom row of his lip is as the male sinks his teeth into them, biting at them as if he has a nervous tic.

Another thing he noticed they have in common.

All he could imagine was how good it would feel to be pressed against those lips in a passionate kiss or a fiery one, who knows. He doesn't even know why he's thinking like this, but he really does want to bite into those lips, watch as the colors change from vibrant pink to a blazing red. 

The more he stares off, lost in the fantasy he was creating in his head with the shorter male next to him, he doesn't realize that the stranger is now staring at him with a smirk. Blinking his eyes to come back to reality, he watches the shorter male lean in close, too close for the blond's personal space; too close to the point that he could lean forward and kiss him. 

“Like what you see, Darling?” The man whispers, his accent rolling off his tongue. His hot breath fanned across the blond's face, making him feel tingles down his spine. The faint scent of coffee wafting into his nostrils.

Dream subconsciously nods, feeling lost for words at the heated gaze being directed at him and he has to admit, he never felt this raw intensity for anyone. Not even for his last girlfriend he had about a year ago. He felt his whole body engulfed in flames and he didn't know if he wanted to grab the man right there and kiss him right in front of this women and front of strangers walking by or to run to his car; hopping into the driver seat and driving as fast as he could, getting away from all these new heated feelings that coursing through him.

It begins with his face, flaming up and so obvious that anyone passing by can see his flustered look. Then it moves down to his neck, shoulders, chest then to his heart which thumps so quickly inside that it might burst out.

He can feel his stomach turn, become queasy, filled with an onset nauseous, that famous saying of butterflies roaming around in your stomach. Then what comes next is his entire body is trembling. He had to fight off that hunger gaze coming from the shorter man, turning his head to face forward; eyes staring at the woman in front of him who raised her eyebrow in a questionable look. 

The conversation between her and the man seems to continue on while Dream deals with a mental turmoil. But he also noticed that the woman kept looking at him. A look flicker across her eyes, Anger? Jealousy? Confusion? Flirty? He wasn't too sure, all he knows is that she keeps looking at him. Her eyes flicking up and down his body, almost as if she's checking him out. Maybe she isn't, he could be reading it wrong.

The act continues to go on for another minute before she then focuses on him entirely, directing a question towards his way. 

“You've been standing there and haven't introduced yourself yet, cutie, what's your name?” She comments, a bit flirtatious.  

Oh, so she was definitely checking me out. 

Dream sputters out, being completely caught off guard because it's not like he's not used to being flirted with, it usually happens every other week but it doesn't make it easier for him regardless. 

“Oh uhh, Im -” before Dream can finish his sentence the man next to him cuts him off. 

“Rachel, he's off limits” he affirms, a hint of malice in his tone. Dream startles a bit, catching something else that lingers in the tone that he couldn't quite place his finger on and decides to stay rooted in place and keep his mouth shut. 

“Ohh is he now and how do you know that?” She turns her attention back to the man next to him, sending a glare towards his way.

“Because he's –” the man pauses, looking up at the blond before looping his right arm with his left arm, leaning against his shoulder, his cheek to push up against the material of Dream's white button up shirt. “– he's my boyfriend !”

Dream once again felt that feeling of time frozen around him. He can feel the man grip his arm a bit tighter, and decides to turn his head slightly to look at the man who stares at him, a soft smile and a loving gaze send his way before he averts his attention back to the woman with a sly smirk. 

The blond swallows the lump that forms in his throat. Focusing his attention back in front of him and notices the look that flashes across the woman's face, who the blond now knows her name as Rachel –  which displays a variety of emotions. Going from disbelief, mouth partially open with wide eyes to a flicker of sadness, mouth close, nibbling at her bottom lip, her gaze casted down on the concrete ground. Then to anger, eyes showing fiery, her jaw clenched with furrowed brows. 

“So you cheated on me!?” Rachel yells at the man, pointing at him as everything dawns on her. Dream can feel the warmth dissipate from his shoulder once the male moves his head, opening his mouth to speak. 

“What the hell?, I already told you we aren't dating. How could I have cheated on you when there wasn't a relationship to begin with!”

“Okay,” she pauses, nodding her head. “- so you cheated on him while we were together!”

“WHAT?” Both men exclaim at the same time before looking at each other. 

The day just keeps getting worse. 

Dream didn't know what he should do. He has never been in this situation before nor did he and this stranger get a chance to play out this whole ‘fake dating shenanigans’ they are pulling; worst of all he doesn't even know this stranger's name! 

While he looks down at the shorter man, watching as he contemplates on what he should do. He is probably thinking the same thing as he is but before he can step in to somewhat help or even deescalate the situation the woman in front of him speaks up. 

“I know you're lying” she spews, the denial state kicking in. 

“Please listen -” the shorter man begs and before he can finish his sentence, something within Dream compels him to speak out.

“Rachel, right?” Dream spoke. Rachel turns to look at him, a flicker of anger flashes across on her demeanor, nodding her head. 

He can see from the corner of his eyes, the shorter man glares up at him, probably telling him to not talk and let him handle this as if the squeeze on his bicep doesn't give it away; and yet he continues to look forward, trying to find the right words to calm the whole situation down. 

“He's not lying, about us being together that is.” Dream pauses, gripping the handle of his brown briefcase tightly, trying to ground his thoughts and calm his beating heart. He doesn't know where he's going with this nor what he's trying to say, so he just let the words form in his mind and tumble out of his mouth. “- He has been very distraught, and uhh – often cries in my arms about being scared when he talks about having a stalker and you – you seem like a lovely lady but I don't want to drag this on any further than what it needs to be.” he comments.

Rachel continues to stare at him, probably thinking, who gives this man the right to interfere in something that doesn't concern him and yet Dream looks on, watching the cog wheels turn in her head and her face expression changing to sympathetic. 

“Matthew, is that true?” her voice softens, turning her attention to the shorter man. Dream looks at the man next to him, he couldn't make out the expression he has on his face but he can tell he's nervous by the way he fidget in place while the strong grip on his bicep tremble. 

“Yes Rachel, It's true.” he pauses, trying to find the right words to say. “- and you are a lovely lady but I already told you. It was a one time thing and that it's best to move on.” 

Dream turns his gaze over from the man to Rachel in front of him and watches as she shakes her head. Denial still flowing through her veins.

“I don't believe you, this can't be true” she spews out. 

“Rachel please -”

“If- if this is true, that you and this cutie here…” she pauses, pointing at Dream. “ – are a couple. Then what is his name? When did you guys meet? How long have you been together? When was your guys first -”

“Really Rachel?” the male expresses with bewilderment. “– are we playing 21 questions now? That's none of your business.”

“But It is!” She shouts. “ I love you, I love you so much and I'm hurt that you would do such a thing to me” she mopes, her eyes slowly starting to water, welling up with tears. 

The man sighs out, untangling his arms from Dream as he walks towards Rachel, pulling her off to the side. The blond looks on, watching how Rachel turns away from the man, back facing him. He doesn't know what was said between the two.

All he could do was look on, seeing the scene unfold in front of him. Watching as the woman hugs the shorter man who rubs softly but awkwardly on her back, comforting her as she cries. The strangers walking around are sending glances towards his way. Some still linger from earlier on being nosy and whispering among others to what's going on. 

It makes him feel antsy about it, skin crawling with nerves while another feeling rises in his chest. He turns his gaze from them to look at the ground below him. Trying to fight off the feeling of jealousy which was strange for him to even feel. He only knew of the man for what felt like ten minutes so he doesn't have a right to feel any sort of attachment to someone who is a stranger let alone someone that wasn't even his boyfriend. 

Not only that but all of this is happening right in front of his workplace and now he knows going into work tomorrow, this scene would be a headline of gossip talk. He wishes he wasn't part of this. He wishes that he was on his way home, picking up some Chinese takeout and enjoying the rest of the evening going over the app while he cuddles with Patches and chatting away with George but no, he's stuck here, feeling embarrassment and eyes just lingering on his every move. 

He should definitely leave.

Right when he was about to turn to walk in the direction of where his car is parked, he felt a finger tap him on his shoulder. The blond jolts, looking up to see the shorter man look up at him. Those same green grey eyes boring into his soul and shining under the sunset, making him feel hypnotized under the strong look.

“I just wanted to say thank you and I'm sorry about -” the man pauses, gesturing his hands, earning a soft smile to grace Dream's lips. “– all of this. I hope you're not hurt from me running into you earlier. I probably should have asked that beforehand.” he mumbles sheepishly, moving his hand up to his black cap to take off his hat. 

He goes to adjust his hair, shaking his head and moving his hand up to his hair to move a few strands from his face. Just getting a small glimpse of the soft strands yet again that hides underneath the cap had Dream feeling a pool of warmth to settle in the pit of his gut. Even when he feels this edge of sadness and jealousy, it seems to vanish in thin air upon staring at the man in front of him.

Quite interesting he deems. 

“I'm fine, can say the same for you, that was a good tackle,” he chuckles, causing the shorter man to scoff out. “- I'm glad I was able to help you. Somewhat. ” he ends off, a soft smile still lingering on his lips. He felt like he didn't do much. He couldn't even remember what he exactly said, just mainly tuning out the conversation and stood there like an idiot, watching as the two of them went on a screaming match. Shaking his head from the thoughts, he instantly moves his right hand up to touch the male's hair, ruffling the strands and feeling how soft they are before pausing. 

He made a mistake . 

He's not his boyfriend. They aren't even friends. This is all for pretend. They are strangers after all, which makes everything worse, moving his hand away from the shorter man's head. 

An apology right on the tip of his tongue but no words comes out once he looks down and sees those same eyes staring back at him. A hint of red, flusteredness appears on the man's rosy cheek as he puts the cap back on his head, hiding behind the brim.  

In that moment, Dream wanted to grab the shorter man, pulling him into a hug, spinning him around as if he's in some fairy tale movie. His heart blossomed with warmth, the image of the shorter male looking up at him with polite eyes and parted lips, the front of his hair, bangs, swaying from the wind and Dream knows it's all childish with the things he's thinking but he might as this very moment be: falling in love with this stranger.

An awkward silence looms between the two as the only thing being heard is the life that surrounds them. The engines of cars moving around them. The small chatters of people walking past. The whirlwind of the trees fluttering, a whisp to ring into blond's ears. The more they stood there, the more awkward it became, leaving Dream to be the one to break the silence, clearing his throat.

“I uhh - I see that Rachel's gone?” the blond spoke after a few moments of awkwardness between the two. The people around them had already begun to disperse once they saw no more commotion would be happening for the day.

The man in front of him becomes hesitant, fidgeting in his spot. “Yeah. She's gone” the shorter man says, with not much conviction in his voice, rocking side to side on his feet. 

Well this is awkward once again . He moves his hand up, glancing down to look at his watch. The time read 5:45 pm, he would have definitely been a few blocks away from home by now. Speaking of home, he moves his gaze away from his watch and back to the shorter male. 

“Are you -”

“My name is-”

They both pause, looking at each other, realizing they spoke at the same time. 

“You go-”

“You can go-”

They spoke over each other once more, causing them both to become flustered. They stare at each other for a few seconds, trying to see who will speak first but once Dream nods his head to the shorter man signaling him to speak first, so he does. 

“I just - we never got a chance to properly introduce ourselves in the beginning. My name is Sapnap.” the shorter man whispered, still a bit of paranoia in the back of his mind, thinking she's still around. He focuses solely on the interaction, extending his right arm out, in a formal handshake. 

“Nice to meet you, Im Dream.” the blond said, grasping Sapnap's hand, feeling the way it trembles. He grips the hand in a firm shake, wanting to show support as a smile graces his lips once more.

The blond may seem crazy with the thought that came across his mind but he felt like he was in a different world. He can feel a cool breeze brush past him, fluttering his blond hair as a sudden spark ignites within him, flames engulfing his body. A sudden zap of electricity ripped across the two, standing there wondering if the shorter man felt the same thing. 

He lets go of Sapnap's hand, his arm falling back to his side, feeling his trembling hand against his black slacks. 

What was that? He deems, subtly shaking the heated feeling away as another feeling comes rushing in. A feeling of joy wrapped with warmth that courses through his body because he finally got a name. 

Sapnap .

A name to match the cute face of the stranger standing in front of him. He just stood there, glancing at Sapnap who stares back and probably wondering why he's not speaking. Dream mentally facepalm realizing that he's waiting for him to say what he was going to say from seconds ago. 

“I was -uhh - I was going to ask, Are you okay to go home by yourself? I wouldn't mind driving you home.” Dream blurts out, turning to look at his surroundings, noticing the cars that's slowly emptying out the parking lot before turning his gaze back to Sapnap, watching as he begins to speak. 

“Uhh yeah, I'm good, no need to do all of that. -” the auburn man says, waving his hands in front of him to signal no. “– I already took enough of your time with my nonsense on my dating life and such. I can just catch a bus. ”

Being the gentleman and considerate human being that Dream is, he vocalized his concern. “If you don't mind, I insist. It's not an issue plus we don't know if she's still around. If you leave me. She can…” he pauses, sending Sapnap a knowing look. “- she can chase you again.” he whispers, watching as Sapnap thinks about it for a moment. His hand moving up to scratch his beard, his face contorted, thinking on display. 

“Well…she did say she would leave me alone but I doubt it, she's been persistent for a month now” the man sighs out, causing Dream to feel bad. He doesn't even know this stranger but seeing what's going would be rough on anyone and yet he had this sudden urge to continue to help him out. 

He could've left at that very moment once he said he was glad to help him and introduced himself, ending it off with them saying their goodbyes as they both go their separate ways; and yet he's still standing here, prying further and being all concerned about a stranger that will most likely forget about him by tomorrow.

“If you still want to, no pressure, my car is right in the parking lot over there.” Dream points at the 2023 red Honda accord in the fourth row of the parking lot. 

Sapnap nods his head, spending a few seconds thinking it over once more before saying ‘Okay, thank you’ as he and Dream begin to walk to the car. 

Part of Sapnap thinks this is ridiculous. They should be parting ways, he already took up so much of Dream's time with his nonsense plus he can see he's a hard working class man. His white button up shirt and black slacks and brown briefcase in hand. He's a professional working man who looks really hot, he thinks as he continues to walk side by side with the blond. 

He didn't get a chance to admire his appearance but now he feels like he can. The blond is huge, really tall, could be standing at 6 '2 or 6' 3 and he has to admit, he is jealous. He wishes he can be that tall not that his height isn't bad but he thinks being taller is way cooler than being short. Plus Dream has such a nice build - wide shoulders, great upright postures, and a face and statue of a Greek God.

When he was staring at him earlier, he could see the way the mop of curls sat on top of his head, swept across his forehead and partially covering his eyes. He could see the hint of freckles that decorates the man's face and now that they seem to stop in place, he watches as the blond turns to him, his mouth moving but no words to register in his brain. 

He looks up at Dream and begins to count, gaze lingering on his face. Remembering he left off at eight, he continues on, counting the freckles that seem to sparkle under the yellow rays of light from above. Nine, ten, eleven, twelve -

“I don't know if you- uhhh- heard me the first time but I was asking where you're staying at, if you don't want to say, that's okay ” Dream spoked.

Caught staring, Sapnap becomes flustered, turning his head away from not only the bright ray of the sunset that shines behind the blond but also the soft smile that graces his lips which tugs at his heart strings for some strange reason. He really lives up to his name being Dream huh?

“it's uh it's fine,” he waves off, trying to calm down his beating heart. “–I'm staying at Marriott hotel”

“Oh”

“Yeah,” Sapnap mumbles, moving his hand up to rub at the back of his head before turning to face the blond once more. “– she -uhh- somehow - she found out where I lived and my roommate told me how she constantly kept knocking on the door asking for a Matthew and even my bro was like, ‘who the f*ck is Matthew’ ” the male comments, earning a soft chuckle from Dream. “– so staying at my home is not good for now. I have a police report and a restraining order so all I need to do is finalize it with a call and I was going to do that today but I ended up getting chased down once she heard what I was doing.”

“How did she find you?” Dream blurts out without a second thought, wanting to know more about this. He felt bad for prying further and was about to apologize but the man in front of him began to talk.

“Her specialty is stalking,” he shrugs with a slight chuckle. “- and I thought I could bypass it. I even took a bus to be in this part of town and away from my hotel because I had this sudden feeling of being watched and apparently I was right.” He pauses for a few seconds, trying to find the right words while Dream just stands there patiently waiting. 

Sapnap lets out an exhale of breath before speaking again. “- I just came out of the coffee shop when I got a call from the judge regarding the process of my restraining order and while talking on the phone, all of a  sudden I heard someone scream out ‘Mathew!’ ” he spews in a hush whisper. “- and I knew the only one who called me that was her, so I ended the call and started running away and that's how I ended up colliding with you, which once again. I'm sorry about that.”

Dream remains silent. Taking in the words that Sapnap just said. No wonder why he looked so frantic earlier, he was being chased. His eyes glance back at Sapnap, watching his face morph into something he couldn't quite put a name to and decides to speak up.

“No worries, I'm sorry you went through all of that.” he spoke sincerely and from the bottom of his heart; he unlocked the car door and opened the passenger door for the man to go inside. 

“Thanks” He nods, a faint blush to paint across his face once more while he hides behind the brim of his hat. Dream closes the door and walks over to the other side, opening the back door to place his briefcase in the back seat and closing it and then making his way into the driver seat.

Once inside, a small silence settles over them before the man in the passenger speaks up, continuing the conversation from seconds ago. “I bet you had a better day than I did.” he comments, looking over at Dream, who is now sitting in the driver's seat.

Dream sighs out, running his hand through his hair before turning to look at the auburn. “Well if you consider getting yelled at by your boss for being late, getting bird pooped on you and being tackled from behind as a better day, then I guess” he admits with a chuckle. 

“Well,” Sapnap sighs. “- we both had a sh*t show of the day huh” he comments before turning back in his seat to face forward. The blond hums at the statement, letting exhaustion take over for a moment while he relaxes in his seat. 

♡♡♡♡

A comfortable silence settles between the two men inside of the car. The jingle sound of the Dream's car keys rattle into the air while he puts the key into the ignition, making the car come alive with a blaring roar. 

“Ready?” he asked, putting on his seat belt and getting ready to grab at the shift gear.

On the other hand, Sapnap constantly grips at his gray shorts, flattening them with his hands only to grip them again and repeat the cycle. Dream notices this uneasy feeling settling into the air, unbuckling his seat belt, not moving the car, he speaks up. 

“I see that you're nervous,” he observes, turning slightly in his seat to look at the shorter man. 

“Oh, uhh – yeah, I'm sorry”

Dream shakes his head, “No need to apologize. I know this is all sudden but you don't have to stay, I was just being helpful. You can leave if you want, the door is unlock” he vocalizes, his hands motions at the passenger door. 

Sapnap sighs out, nodding his head. He could leave right now. Dream isn't stopping him, and the door is open, reaching his hand to touch at the inside handle and pressing firmly down until he hears the soft click of the door, pushing it open and yet he doesn't leave. 

He sits there, pondering on what he should do, feeling the warm yet cool breeze brush past his leg from the opening of the car door. He should be getting up from the passenger seat and saying his goodbyes and thank you’s to Dream for  helping him out and yet he still doesn't move. He's rooted to the black leather seat of the car because for some reason he feels drawn to this stranger. Safe even; It's weird. 

He closes the door, a soft thud to shake the car. He inhales and exhales out a breath of air before speaking out, “I know I'm not being held hostage. And I also know that you are helping me. We are strangers after all and yet…” he pauses, trying to find the right words to say. “– it's just that – everything is strange.” the auburn states, looking down at his lap to gather his thoughts. 

“What is?” the blond questions. 

“I don't know.” He shrugs. “- I just feel this sense of trust from you which Is crazy! I only met you an hour ago. Like I said, you're a stranger to me and yet I feel comfortable being around you.” 

Dream remains silent, just nodding his head, looking at Sapnap in the passenger seat. He also feels the same way. He just met Sapnap an hour ago and strangely enough he didn't feel any danger vibes coming from him. He doesn't know if that's a good thing or bad thing; he just feels this sort of comfort around him, as if he has known of him his entire life. 

“I understand, I feel the same way,” Dream pauses. He had this urge to reach over to grab Sapnap's hand to show a sign of comfort and to also feel the warmth of his palm once more but decided against it. 

Sapnap turns his gaze away from his lap to look at Dream, listening to what he's about to say. “– I also feel comfortable around you which is strange. It feels like I've known you my entire life when that isn't even true, this is the first time I'm meeting you and plus you could be a serial killer and I wouldn't even know it” He chuckles softly. “– You're not one, are you?” 

The auburn scoffs under his breath, folding his arms across his chest, shaking his head. “If I was, I wouldn't tell you.”

“Right,” the blond nodded his head. Kinda ridiculous to even ask that.  

“But I'm not, if you're wondering. Also, I can tell you aren't one either. You seem like the type that couldn't even kill a fly or roach if it was to save your own f*cking life.” 

Dream laughs. A hearty laugh at something that wasn't even funny and if it was any other person that heard that, they would have remained silent or had a snubby response yet his laughter tumbles out, escaping into the confined space. A soft airy laugh filled with hiccups comes from the blond in the driver seat that had Sapnap's heart skipping a beat. 

He watches as Dream's face scrunches up, a smile on display, his perfect purely white teeth showing and a laughter that makes him feel breathless. The sound that made his hands tingle and a soft smile to grace his own face, wanting and hoping that he can always be around to hear that laugh everyday. A strange thought he notes. 

Dream's laughter starts to dwindle down as he begins to speak. “Well that's true. I usually leave it to Patches to kill them for me” the blond spews, wiping away a stray tear that seeps from his eyes. 

“Patches? Who's that?” Curiosity gets the better of the auburn man, sitting idly, waiting for a response. 

“Oh Patches, she's my precious daughter.” 

Time seems to freeze in place as everything dawns on Sapnap. He opens his mouth to speak but no words come out, thinking on what's the proper way to handle this without coming off as rude or anything else. He can see Dream staring at him, left eyebrow raised, thinking he had said something wrong and that's when he knew he needed to say something quickly. 

“Oh, you're a father?” he questioned, trying to will himself to not look like an idiot. Nothing wrong with being a parent, he knows a few people that are his friends who have kids and Dream looks to be around the same age group as him, maybe even a bit older. He's an adult and older enough to have a child of his own too.

“No no, –” Dream waves his hand. “– I just call her my daughter. She's a cat.” He affirms, reaching into his slacks pocket to retrieve his phone. “See this is Patches. She's three years old.” Showing a picture of Patches on his lock screen.

Sapnap smiled, keeping himself composed over his mistake, and focused on the photo in front of him. It was a brown cat with hints of dark brown to light brown and white fur. Her ears pointed up, in alert. A spew of whiskers that grace her cheeks as she stares at the camera. She has a patch of white fur in the middle, between her eyes, that leads to her cute button nose. Her large green eyes, resembling the ones that its owner has and he thinks it's cute how they are matching in a way. No wonder he calls her his daughter. 

“She's cute”

“Yeah, she really is,” the blond said with such softness that left the auburn in awe. “– Do you have any pets of your own?”

Sapnap perks up. “I do!” he exclaimed, reaching inside his gray short pockets to grab his phone. Unlocking it and going to the gallery app to show the blond.

“This is Milo and Naomi. They are Bengal cats. I adopted them a year ago. They are siblings, brother and sister. They were so small when I got them. But now they've gotten so big.” He shows them off with a huge smile to grace his lips. Dream stares in awe, as Sapnap shows pictures and videos of his cats, excitement raining in. 

The kitties are adorable. He noticed how Milo, the bigger cat, had darker fur and a flame pattern especially on the face near his eyes compared to his sister, Naomi – whose fur is more of a mixture of light to dark brown with sorta leopard prints and she was smaller than him too. He even notices their eyes and even though there seem to be hints of green and brown in them, they are still pretty just like the owner's sets of eyes. 

“It would be nice if Patches could one day meet Milo and Naomi." Dream blurts out without thinking, mentally facepalm himself. He felt the air around them freeze, mentally cursing himself out for saying something so ridiculous but when he looks towards Sapnap and sees him staring at him, a soft smile gracing his lips; He could tell that something new was starting to blossom around them.

“Yeah, maybe one day” he whispered and at that moment Dream felt that ounce of hope within him that maybe – just maybe he would get to spend more than just a day with this stranger. 

Dream turns his head away, staring out the driver's window to calm down his beating heart. Even rolling down the window to get some fresh air to calm his overheated skin. The sun was starting to set now, leaving the horizon in an orange and red shade with a few dark clouds sprinkled across. 

Glancing down at his phone, he looks at the time that now reads 6:10pm, he definitely would end up home late. He sends a quick message to George saying he would be late. Feeling his nerves start to pick back up, he gets in position and begins putting on his seat belt.

“Are you ready to go?” Dream asks, glancing over at Sapnap once more, wanting to make sure he was okay before he drives off. “ I understand if you still want to lea-” 

“I'm staying,” Sapnap blurts out, causing Dream's eyes to widen in shock, staring back at him. 

“Uhh I mean, if that's okay with you” he continues, fidgeting in his seat while looking at Dream who nods at him. 

“I'm fine if you are,” he comments. 

Sapnap nods his head. He begins putting on his seatbelt and adjusts himself in the seat to get comfortable before turning away to look at the window, embarrassment flooding through while Dream can see the faint blush on the man's rosy cheek, feeling the same warmth rise within his chest once again. He puts on his seat belt, and turns to shift gear into drive and begins to pull out of the parking spot.

♡♡♡♡

A comfortable silence lingers between the two men that sit in the car as a pop song softly plays from the radio speakers. Dream has the window down, letting a nice breeze blow into the car, fluttering his blond hair as he focuses on the road in front of him while the auburn types away on his phone. The soft clicks sound echoing in the space while no words to be said between the two lasted for five minutes. 

“So umm,” Dream utters, breaking the silence between them, keeping his eyes on the road and hands on the steering wheel. “If you want, we can get something to eat before I take you home.” he mentions, settling at a red light. 

“Ohh, -” Sapnap purrs, glancing at the blond. “- so you taking me out on a date I see” he comments with a sly smirk etched onto his lips. 

Becoming flustered, Dream begins to stumble over his words. “I uhh no I mean, I – I wouldn't mind going on a date with you – but I – I just haven't eaten since lunch so I was asking - ”

Sapnap cuts him off before he can finish his sentence. “Relax dude, I'm just f*cking with you. Besides I wouldn't mind getting food with you but I would like to pay since I drag you into this mess.”

Dream hearts continue to beat out of control, gripping the steering wheel and focusing ahead, he tries to calm down his nerves by letting out a breath of air. Finding the next words to say. “no it's okay I don't mind paying”

“You really are stubborn as ever huh, Darling?” the auburn questioned. Before Dream could say anything, not like he even has anything to remotely say, Sapnap continues. “- Don't worry, I like it. We can split the bill.”

Dream swallows, feeling his Adam’s apple bob as he tries to think of anything else besides the man's sultry voice next to him. It's a never ending cycle and it seems no matter how much he tries to calm his fragile heart down, it always feels like it's seconds away from bursting out of his chest. This stranger here is going to be the reason why he ends up with a heart attack.

Seeing the flash of the traffic light turning green, he waits a few seconds before driving off. The car fills with silence once more between the two besides the radio being played and the soft humming sound of the car's engine. Dream just focuses on the road ahead, lightly tapping his fingers against the steering wheel to the beat of the song. 

As the time ticked on, the silence swirls in Dream's head while something within him was scratching at the surface. Almost trying to claw its way out of his body. To pry through the metal door and to become free from its confinements and that was the sudden urge to continue speaking to Sapnap. 

He doesn't understand why he's being this talkative. He can just remain quiet the whole trip until he finds a restaurant he deems good enough but no, he wants to just hear himself talk and talk. Better yet he wants to hear Sapnap talk for hours even if it means feeling that queasy excitement rush through his veins once more. 

Glancing over at the auburn, who types away on his phone, he focuses back on the road, a thought to cross his mind.

“You know…” Dream pauses, finding the right words to start the conversation off. “- you are the third stranger I've known to go by a nickname” the blond voiced out randomly. He knows people around him introduce themselves by their legal name, but he also knows only a few who go by nicknames, and not ones that are abbreviations of their legal names. 

Maybe one day, he would get to know Sapnap's real name. 

He can see from the corner of his eyes as Sapnap takes his attention away from his phone. 

“Really?” Sapnap said, placing his phone down on his lap, folding his arm across his chest, ego rising by the second as if his smirk doesn't give it away. “– I bet my name is the coolest one, right?”

Dream chuckles softly thinking about the owner and his partner at the sandwich shop he adorns and their names. “I mean I've heard cooler names than that, so.” he shrugged.

“Yeah right,” the auburn scoffs, rolling his eyes. “my name is creative and is definitely better than theirs and yours”

An offensive look crosses Dream's features, glances at Sapnap breifly before focusing back on the road ahead. “hold on, What's wrong with Dream?” 

“A Lot of things.” Sapnap exaggerated. He moves his hand up, putting one finger down as he begins to name all the things wrong with the name ‘Dream’. 

“One, it's bland and boring. Two, it's so common, you see that name everywhere .” he says, earning an eye roll from Dream in the driver's seat. Putting his finger down once more, Sapnap continues, “and three, it's cheesy, childish even. Sounds like you came up with that name when you were 10 years old.”

“Well to be fair, I was 12, ” Dream deadpan, to which Sapnap sends him a pointing look that reads , ‘see exactly ’ with the roll of his eyes. “– and secondly, it's way cooler than yours, let me guess, you got your name from that app snapchat.”

Embarrassment travels through Sapnaps body as he stutters out. “No – I– I gotta because I like pandas!” He exclaims. 

The car fills with silence for a few seconds. 

“Oh, and you say mine is childish” Dream remarks, continuing to drive. 

“It's not childish!” Sapnap blurts out. “- it's cool and unique!” He exclaims and before Dream could get a word out, the auburn continued to ramble on. “ and it has its own origin story too. I took the word ‘pandas’, and I flipped the word backwards and got sadnap but I didn't think that was cool enough so I flipped the d and made it a p, and got Sapnap! Making my name way better and cooler than yours!” he ushered, saying all of that under a single breath as he pants.

Heavy tension looms around them while Dream settles at a red light once more. He turns to look at Sapnap who's already looking at him with a flustered look etched onto his features. No words said between the two but the quirk of Dream's lips and the flustered look on Sapnap's face caused the tension to disperse, their laughter to ring out into the air. 

The sudden spark from earlier, waltzing its way back in making everything around him feel warmth to blossom in his heart. This was the hardest Dream has laughed in years! 

He truly is falling in love with Sapnap .

“You're a real piece of sh*t, you know” Sapnap says with no malice, feeling the warmth creep back up into his heart – his lungs making it hard to breathe. 

“Oh c’mon, you have to admit, that was funny,” Dream laughs. The sound of the horn being honked from the person behind him causes him to jolt from his seat. Mumbling ‘sorry’ to himself he focuses back on the road, hands on the steering wheel as he begins to drive.

“You're making fun of me.” Sapnap pouts, crossing his arms once more across his chest. 

“I wasn't!” Dream exclaimed which earned a huff and eye roll from the auburn. “Your name is cool, I give you that. But I was laughing more so on how you got so flustered. You look so cute.”

“Shut up” Sapnap mumbles under his breath turning away to look at the window. His heart thumping loudly in chest and his mind constantly running on loop with the word cute .

Dream thinks I'm cute . He says to himself, biting his lip to hold back a smile and the tingly feeling coursing through his body. 

On the other hand, Dream’s isn't doing any better. He looks on forward, his heart beating so loud in his chest that he definitely knows Sapnap can hear it too, gripping the steering wheel tightly to the point his knuckles turn white. He ponders over the words that left his mouth. He called Sapnap cute . 

He didn't mean to say that, not that he wasn't cute it was just – everything is overwhelming. Is the universe playing tricks on him or something? He never felt this wide range of intense emotions and he's trying his hardest to be composed but he can't help but replay the image of Sapnap's flustered appearance in his mind.

The car goes silent once more. Nothing but the faint sounds of music playing from the car speakers while he drives and focusing on the road ahead. Something catches Dream’s attention, making him perk up, once he sees a restaurant he wouldn't mind eating from. 

“So smash burgers?” Dream questioned, breaking the silence upon seeing the sign of the establishment in the far distance. 

“Sure, why not.” 

♡♡♡♡

The rest of the night felt like something straight out of a fairy tale; a Disney movie even. It went amazing, almost perfect, too perfect for Dream to even register the moments that played out. It felt like Dream knew Sapnap his whole life. This was the first time he ever met him and yet they had so much in common. He felt connected to him. Connected in ways that brought a new element of curiosity into the blond's life. He spent hours talking to Sapnap in the car as they ate smash burgers. 

He found out that Sapnap was born in Texas and recently moved to Florida half a year ago to attend university here. He's a college student, 23 years old and is in his third year, studying computer science – a track that Dream had once pursued and obtained and a bachelors in. He even vocalizes that, watching as Sapnap's expression changes to shock, finding out Dream is 25 and is working in a technology company, something that he's been debating if he wanted to do as well. He really likes coding but he is still unsure on his path, leaving Dream to reassure him that he's still young and has a long road ahead of him. Even offering to give advice which the shorter male was grateful for. 

He found out that they both play video games, and once minecraft was mentioned, Dream perked up and began rambling on like a madman that anyone who passed by the car would be thinking he's arguing with the man in the passenger seat. But no, he is excited. Voice raised in octave, stumbling over his words and hands flapping out in enthusiasm all while Sapnap stares at him in awe, never once questioning his nature or to lower his voice. 

He found out they both like sports. Sapnap is mainly a basketball fan, and likes to play basketball in his free time. His favorite team being the Houston Rockets. He watches in awe as the shorter man rambles on about his love for basketball. Even wanted to be a professional player himself but when he realized he was too short, it kinda crushed his dream. Feeling sad Dream vocalizes that but Sapnap just shakes his head telling him that it's okay because he has other interests and hobbies and it's not like he can't still play basketball. Even though Dream is more of a football guy, liking the Sooners team, he was glad he had another person to talk about sports with since his best friend, George, isn't much of a sports guy. He will watch it but couldn't care less about it afterwards. 

It felt like they were in their own little world, sharing little things about their lives, some personal things that no one would share with another person, let alone someone that they just met today. He felt the connection around them. The charge energy, the shift in the air the more they talked as if they were attached by a red string and they were destined to be together. 

As if the universe had planned this all out, having them meet one another because they know that in more ways than one, they were bound to meet at one point. Can even say they are soulmates and even though he may think that it's a bit far fetched; he just knows that something about today was different across all boards.

It was all so strange how this all happened in a span of a day.

Sapnap. 

A name that fits a stranger, a man, who collides into him and now his entire world feels like it shifted off its axis. How his day went from being a disaster, feeling miserable, that ends up being flipped upside down with nothing but joyous adventure and laughter. It made him feel like he was in his late teens to early twenties, living life young and free without any responsibilities. The most fun he had in years. 

Sapnap.

A stranger that made him feel all types of emotions. His heart beating rapidly in his chest whenever the auburn gazes up at him, green grey eyes boring into his soul making him feel hypnotized, a hazy feeling wrapped around his body, craving for more. The tingly sensation that zaps up his spine whenever the man speaks, his voice rattling that part of his brain that makes him want to do something so stupid, impulsive as getting behind the wheel of his car; Sapnap in the passenger seat and just drive away, drive to wherever his heart's content just as long as he has him by his side.

It makes him excited to see what will happen next within their new found friendship, maybe potentially hoping for something more if the kiss that was planted on Dream’s cheek tonight says anything more. A goodnight and thank you being represented, leaving him to stand in a blazing haze staring at the soft smile appearing on Sapnap's face. A flustered look etched onto his own features as he stands in the hallway of the hotel he just dropped the auburn off at.

Sapnap. 

The stranger that swept him off his feet, the feeling of cloud nine surging through the air. The sound of the hotel door closing and the harsh thump thump sound of his heart against his rib cage rushes through his ears. With shaky legs he begins to walk his way over to the elevator, pushing the arrow down button. Once the ding sound appeared, erupting the quietness and haze swarming in Dreams head, the doors opened and he walked inside. Good thing the elevator was empty because he wouldn't know what to do if people saw the way he looked. 

Letting out a shaky breath of air, he feels a vibration coming from his slacks pocket and takes out his phone. The number staring back at him, followed by a name of the person who stole his heart.

Sapnap.

The stranger who he fell in love with sent him a text hoping to meet again soon. The day just keeps getting better. The thrill of excitement rings through his body. That ounce of hope settling back into the depths of his heart knowing that whatever happens next would be magical, something straight out a fairy tale world.

A day that started off as the worst day of his life turned into one of the best and memorable days that Dream would never forget for the rest of his life.