Liebestraum (Dreamnap)

Chapter 3: Oneirataxia

The nights became shorter as time flew by. Before Sapnap knew it, he was living in the dream world and sleeping in the waking world. He tracked his days like a robot, bored and efficient so that he could finally end his day. He was addicted to dreams because his heart screamed for Dream. his mind screamed for comfort and social interactions that had him gasping for air with laughter.

He always woke up with a song playing in his ears, which only shortly after left his mind and linger in the room for hours after getting up. His dreams stuck to his heels and the back of his neck, reminding him hours later of a world he would rather be in.

Dream and he had been partners in these dreams for weeks now, and even though Dream talked little, about the person he was or the things going on in his head, he felt real. He was a real person, flesh and blood with feelings and thoughts and Sapnap believed there was no one else who could be as real as Dream felt.

Once again, Sapnap found himself in the dreams he shared with Dream every night. They were on the roof of a skyscraper in the middle of a huge city. The skyscrapers next to them stretched into far higher expanses and the cars below them on the streets hummed and honked. Dream sat under an eave that protected him from the pelting rain. The bright advertising signs on the skyscrapers were reflected in the puddles on the asphalt.

"I don't know why, but I've always loved the big city," Dream said suddenly, moving his fingers to the patter of the light rain.

Sapnap carefully sat down beside him. It was cool in the surroundings, but Dream radiated a warmth that he wanted to lean into. But instead, he remained beside him, his lips pressed together and his gaze focused on Dream's face looking out into the city, his eyes reflecting the neon lights.

"I think it's creepy here. It's all big and noisy and tricky. It's complicated," Sapnap returned, unable to turn his gaze back to the city in time as he realized that Dream turned to face him.

With cheeks and nose tip turning red, he looked directly into the soft face flooded with thousands of tiny freckles that changed with each twitch of the corner of his mouth. The green eyes playfully challenged his brown ones. His face overwhelmed him and every little wrinkle and change of the corner of his mouth, eyebrows, or just a simple breath of his counterpart triggered a rush of excitement in Sapnap.

"That's just the beautiful thing. It's so complicated and chaotic that it makes sense," the gleam in Dream's eyes challenged Sapnap not to melt immediately, "The sounds of this city are an orchestra playing its own symphony and all these people are part of it. Everyone has the influence to change the symphony to their liking, be it a honk, a shout, or a laugh,"

Sapnap pressed his lips together, tore himself away from the sight of his counterpart, and listened once again to the sounds of the city. He wished he could hear the world from Dream's ears and feel it from his skin. It didn't work, but Sapnap could imagine how beautiful even the chaotic environment of a city must feel to Dream.

Sapnap would love to show Dream what he saw through his eyes. How beautiful Dream was to him?

He wanted to bring it up, for a brief moment daring to form the words on his tongue, but Dream interrupted him. He moved in his seat, sliding closer to Sapnap. Sapnap turned his head to the side, watching Dream's hands slide onto his bare forearm. Sapnap was wearing only a T-shirt, which helped to make his skin cold from the cool wind.

Upon contact with Dream's warm hands that were placed around his cold skin, it pulsed through his entire body like a lightning strike. He watched as the tall yet slender hands ran over his skin, over his protruding black hair.

"You're cold," Dream remarked softly, his breath now hitting his arm as well.

The warmth that came from Dream filled Sapnap's entire body with warmth, the goosebumps on his body suddenly no longer triggered by the cold around them, but by the simple touch of the blond.