Dream of the endless x Reader

Lashing Out

You were running late for the family meeting your partner Dream held with his siblings. This time it was in his realm, The Dreaming. You were quite exited since you haven't met many of his siblings yet. So far only Death.

Dream on the other hand was not so excited, to be more precisely he was mad and annoyed. You knew he wasn't very close with most of his siblings and had a deep-rooting dislike for Desire, which they reciprocated with joy.

Your partner had warned you that this family gathering most definitely would not go smoothly and would probably end early, with shouting and a few broken dishes. You found the mental image of Dream or Desire throwing dishes at each other, like they were little children and not endless being who were older than god.

Of course you weren't stupid enough to tell Morpheus that, who had been on edge the whole day. And now you had left him alone with them because you had to get ready and you had to prepare the realm for its guests. You wanted your partner to calm down a bit and to prove him that family dinners could be smooth, now that you were part of the family.

You heard the shouting when you entered the corridor, still hundred meters away from the room they were in and your mood dropped immediately as the volume if the voices rose. Your shoulders sagged and you let out an annoyed and defeated sigh. You had only been ten minutes late. How could that have escalated so quickly?

When you reached the door, you cleared your posture and put a bright smile on your face. It wasn't too late to turn this evening around and you were determined to have a good time and to get them to get along.

The smile slowly dropped when you entered the room. Dream and Desire were in the middle of the room facing each other. Dream looked icy cold and angry, Desire had a evil, challenging grin on their red lips. Death stood not too far from them, clearly trying to calm them down, but without succeeding.

Despair was staring out of a window and Delirium was sitting on the sofa, trying to disappear in the cushions. You quietly walked closer to them, only Death noticed you and gave you a bright smile and rolled her eyes at the fighting siblings, gesturing you to try your luck.

"Hi, you must be Desire", you said in a sweet voice and held out your hand. They both stopped their bickering. Dream looked surprised, Desire intrigued. You introduced yourself and Desire gave you a playful grin. They were clearly finding you attractive and interesting. You knew that wouldn't go well long, Dream could be quite jealous, but at least for now they stopped fighting.

Or so you though. Desire flashed Morpheus a cocky grin. "It is a same I didn't meet this delightful creature sooner. Where have you been keeping them?". Desire put an arm around your shoulder. Dreams eyes became darker and his eyebrows creased. "Don't touch them", he hissed.

Desire smiled brighter, knowing that his plan worked. You knew you had to say something. "I'm sure Desire is only trying to be nice". Dream growled. That had definitely been the wrong thing to say. "Don't say that, don't even dare. You do not know Desire like I do. And I expected you to be in my corner", his voice grew louder and you visibly winced and shrunk under his stormy eyes. He had never screamed at you.

"But here you are. Late to this gathering, because of what. Putting on that or making this ridiculous hairstyle". He snorted and your eyes watered. You were both angry and deeply hurt. A stray tear ran down your cheek and you could tell from his face that he noticed that he messed up. Morpheus opened his mouth to say something, but you turned around and ran before a sound left his lips.

You sank down outside near a lake and softly sobbed. He had never behaved like that before. Sure, he was rude sometimes and cold, but he was always gentle and careful with you. And now he had basically called you useless and ugly. This hurt the most. He knew your insecurities and said something like that anyway.

A soft thud next to you made you look up. It was Matthew, who gently rubbed his head against your leg. "Hi", you choked out. "I'm sorry, he said that", the bird said. "It's not on you. I don't even understand why he said that".

The bird tilted his head. "I'm sure he didn't mean it. He adores you. He would never hurt you intentionally. He is just really stressed right now". You didn't respond. You didn't know what to say. The tow of you sat there for a while, in silence, Matthew trying to comfort you.

You heard steps behind you, gently and carefully approaching. You didn't need to look up to know who it was. Neither did the raven, who flew away before Morpheus had even sat down next to you. It was silent for a while.

"I am so unbelievably sorry. You have every right to be mad. I hurt you and I had no right to say that", he said after a few heartbeats. You sighted and finally looked up to meet his gaze. The storm behind his eyes had calmed and was replaced by a softer gaze, his eyes were more starry and calm. He looked guilty and scared. You smiled softly and allowed him to touch you when he reached for your hand.

"Why did you say it?", you asked softly. He was quiet for a few seconds. "I was upset at Desire and I was angry and jealous and I took that out on you. I am sorry". Was that good enough? "I get that, but you need to find a way to deal with that without lashing out. I put so much work into today. Tried to look good and prepared the realm for your siblings. I get overwhelmed and upset too".

He looked pained and more guilty than before. His free hand played with his coat and he was afraid to meet your eye. You gently cupped his face and now he looked at you. Surprised. "It's alright, we'll figure it out. Just try to take a deep breath next time". He nodded thankful and leaned into your touch like he hadn't felt the warmth of your skin for ages.

You smiled softly and gently stroked his hair. "Let's stay here for a few minutes before going back to your family", you proposed. You knew he was grateful and he would try to be better. And that he really, unconditionally loved you. And that he wouldn't do something like that again.