Daydreamer

Part 10: Desire

**READ ME**

Hello!

I just wanted to take a moment to apologize for my hiatus! I am beyond grateful to everyone who has favorited the story and read it despite it not being updated in so long. I moved near the end of December and spent a month looking for a job and when I was able to secure one, it was a lot of catching up and training for me so I didn't have the time or energy really to write or update! Here's to me hoping I will be more active!

~Z

Katarina was finishing the last of her duties before clocking out of work. Her hands were working quickly to wipe her portion of the bar clean, a smile appearing on her face as she took a tip from one of her customers while another came to close their tab. Angel, who seemed to visit every so often when she was working, smiled as she walked up and Katarina gave her a smile back, leaning against the bar.

    "Surprise me with something sweet before you go?" Angel said into her ear and Katarina laughed, nodding her head. She was quick to mix something sweet yet still somewhat strong, adorning a cute little decoration before she turned back to Angel, who plopped into a seat at her section.

    "A sweet drink for a sweet girl," Katarina said, gently pushing the drink across the bar and Angel took it in her hand, raising it to her bartender before taking a drink.

    "A perfect drink from the perfect girl," Angel said flirtatiously before dropping a generous tip and Katarina winked at her before stuffing it into the pouch of the pack she had around her waist. After a couple more flirty remarks from the cute blonde, topping off some mixers and filling the register with change, Katarina was throwing her jacket over her shoulders. She moved out from behind the bar and returned the hug Angel gave her, dropping a kiss onto her cheek that quickly flushed a rosy hue. She bid farewell to some of her other regulars and coworkers before clocking out and walking out into the chilly air. She could feel the exhaustion creeping on her but sleep was probably far from happening and she wondered if she should tell the Dream King that she wouldn't be visiting as she thought. Maybe he's too busy with Rose Walker to even notice me appearing, she thought now curious if Dream was able to follow through on killing the young girl and she pulled her jacket closer, looking up into the night sky.

    The walk to her apartment wasn't far but it was far enough to send shivers down her spine as the crisp air blew around her, the weather not particularly cold in the area she lived in but still lower than what she was used to. She shoved her hands into her pocket, bringing her shoulders up a bit so that the collar of her jacket hugged her cheeks as she quickly made her way up the stairs of her apartment, unlocking the spell and lock before making her way inside. She replaced both locks but suddenly felt the hairs on the back of her neck stick up, her eyes narrowing as she hovered her hand over the knob. With a quick cast of her senses, she let out a sigh of relief as she felt the familiar presence of an Endless, looking around the corner to peek through the arch that opened her hallway to her living room.

    "Good evening, Morpheus," she smiled at him as she hung up her jacket, her shoulders relaxing when she realized she wasn't in danger, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

    "I came to personally bring you to the Dreaming," he said simply and she raised an eyebrow at him as she placed her shoes in their place, "You are still having trouble sleeping?" He asked though she knew it wasn't really a question by his tone and the look he was giving her, daring her to try and say otherwise.

    "...Yes...seems so," She eventually sighed and she ran a hand through her hair before pulling it into a ponytail, making her way to the bathroom. She felt Dream follow behind her as she pulled a headband over her head, keeping her fringe at bay while she began to take off her makeup. Her skincare routine followed after and while she was going through her products, she tried to not look at the Endless through the mirror, feeling his eyes burning holes into the back of her head. She patted the last of her moisturizer into her face and then brushed her teeth, brushing her hair when she was done with that.