A Sickness, A Doctor, A Cheater ||Dnb|| ✔

37

When Dream woke up, he was alone. The space beside him was cold and empty, it seemed like the doctor had been gone for quite a while now.

He slowly rolled over and kept his eyes shut for a while longer. He was still weak; his waist and legs were sore and limp.

The door was mildly pushed open; Dream did not move. The quilt was pulled up right after he felt someone standing next to the bed. Before he could sense the coldness, something warm was placed into his arms; it was an electric warmer.

"Baby, happy birthday," Techno lowered his head, kissing him from his earlobe to his nape, "Rise and shine."

Dream shrugged and held the electric warmer tight. "Don't kiss me, it's ticklish."

Techno laughed and brushed his hand through Dream's messy bangs. "You can stay in bed for a minute longer and get up later. I'll wait for you downstairs."

After Techno left for several minutes, Dream got up reluctantly. He buttoned up his pajama and rubbed his temples.

Did he regret saying he loved Techno last night? Perhaps.

.・゜゜・

Techno was in the kitchen when Dream got downstairs. He leaned sideways to greet him once he heard him coming down. "You're up?"

On his floral apron, there was a mess of flour, his dummy smiley face was just like the dog. "I'll make you a cake after I put these cookies into the oven."

Dream held the electric warmer, tilted his head and looked into the kitchen while standing away from it and hummed.

Techno walked up to him, randomly dusted off the flour on his hands, lifted Dream up and put himself down in the living room couch. The doctor's hot hands massaged him by his waist through his pajama.

He began to wiggle around while whining. "You've got flour on me."

Still, Techno did not let go. "Let me cuddle with you." He understood that Dream was feeling embarrassed, so he played the 'I'm a dork you can't resist' card. As much as he was patient and restrained enough last night, he was still doing everything he could to not hurt his feelings.

Techno made him comfortable with the right skill and intensity; his hand totally relaxed Dream's uptight muscle. Massage is an energy-consuming job; he did not want to bother Techno so much.

"I feel alright. You do your thing. You said the cake wasn't done, right?" Dream pushed himself up from the doctor's arms and sat straight on the couch by himself.

Techno frowned but did not say another word, he just caressed Dream's cheek and got up. As he walked into the kitchen, he suddenly remembered something and he stood still.

"Silly me." He smiled at Dream fawningly, and turned away to open the door.

He was wondering what Techno was up to. Less than three minutes later, a small, white dog briskly rushed into the house. Techno followed right behind with two cats in his arms.

"They all took their parasite medicine and a bath in the morning. They'll keep you company for a while." Techno said as he walked up to Dream, picking up one cat and passing it to him, "Cuddle her. Your favorite one. She's grown a lot."

Dream's eyes were gentle and kind as he looked down at Patches, they filled with real joy. How these little things have grown. The doctor had fed them well. They became quite big cats.

The dog nudged Dream's leg, it then shoved its small head into his arms, but got slapped by the cat whilst doing it. Its poor brown eyes were moistened.

Those poor eyes got Dream right away; he put down the proud cat and cuddled the dog and said, "Aww, it's ok. Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy? " The dog's spirits were immediately lifted.

Techno got him a big plate of fresh fruits from the kitchen. "Have some fruits first. The dog likes them too, you can eat them together I guess."

Dream watched TV; the dog sat still and was happy being his cushion as it got snacks. The cats went to the balcony for sunbathe. Today was a wonderful day.

The egg tarts Techno made smelled good. The moment they came out the oven; the dog jumped up, its tail wagging enthusiastically.

"Shoo, shoo, your mother hasn't eaten one yet," He gently shoved the dog out of the way with his leg. Turning to Dream he said, "You've been eating light food these days. Why don't you have a little bit of sweet today."

Dream ignored the first part of his sentence and smiled. "Aren't I a lucky birthday boy?" He then took a bite of a tart. It was hot and sweet, not too sweet.

The pinkette's eyes sparkled but he said nothing.

.・゜゜・

The cake came out around noon, right around lunchtime. Techno got the dining table ready and called Dream. "Baby, happy birthday." He half knelt beside the couch, looking up at Dream in a humble way.

"You said the same thing this morning." He reached out to touch Techno's smiling lips and chuckled, "Why are you acting like a lost puppy?"

Techno held Dream's hand and said very seriously, "This time, it comes with the birthday present."

He took the present that had been waiting for so long out of his side pocket. It was a red little velvet ring box.

Dream frowned almost imperceptibly.

The doctor opened up the box, where there was a platinum ring. On the ring, there was an oval-shaped flower with tiny little diamonds on it. It was a beautiful ring, every of its glow told gentleness. It wasn't feminine though, which suited him well.

"I-...sorry," Dream muttered as he closed the box, "I can't accept it."

A ring means something special. One can't take a ring if they cannot undertake the responsibility of love. When Dream violently pulled the ring that he had for nearly eight years from his finger, he thought to himself "I won't take another ring for the rest of my life".

"Dre..." Techno said, "Please?"

"I'm afraid I can't... find you in this life..." So please put it on so that I can find you.

Dream put on a wry smile. "Psychological comfort doesn't really work." They both knew Techno was lying to himself but none of them wanted to point it out.

"Please, I'm begging you." his eyes dropped; he opened the little box and took the ring out again on his own and tried to hold Dream's hand. "Please... Put it on just for me once."

His heart jerked, briefly but acutely.

He withdrew his hand as he caught the sadness in Techno's eyes. He stayed silent for a while and suddenly stroked his hair. "I could. But could you promise one thing?"

Techno raised his head and looked into his eyes.

"When I'm gone... Don't wait, have me cremated... I want a water burial so that I can travel to all those good places." Dream said in a calm tone as if it was a daily small talk. His eyes were soft. "You can have my one hundred and fifty thousand. You can donate it to charity... I know you have money..."

Techno's body twitched; he said nothing but tried to put the ring on Dream's finger with his shaking hands. What he said meant yes.

The ring fit his third finger. It covered that old indistinct ring mark that hardly faded away.

Not until the whole ring-putting process was finished, did Techno stand up. He expectedly held the back of Dream's neck and french-kissed him passionately. This was the first time they had this kind of kiss, which was more intimate than intercourse.