Let's Play Pretend - by seasandsalt

Chapter 10: Day Ten

He wakes up and he's warm. He hasn't been warm like this in... he can't remember how long.

Nick's still half asleep, barely awake and constantly falling in and out of consciousness. He's not ready to get up yet. His fingers are loosely gripping the side of Dream's shirt.

They had gone to dinner the night before together for the first time in a few days. It felt... weird, sitting next to Dream and not being scared to look at him. Well, he was still scared - more nervous, than anything, really, but the conversation he and Dream had in Drista's room somehow lightened the air between them. Dinner was awkward and quiet, neither of them really knowing how to act around each other, but it was still better than the previous days. Nick found himself sneaking glances at Dream throughout the meal, and if Dream saw him, he pretended not to.

Nick pretended to not see Dream sneak glances at him, either.

Thankfully, Drista had kept her mouth shut about them, about how their entire relationship is faked and how things have definitely been better between the two of them. Somehow, Dream's family doesn't pick up on it.

After dinner, before they went back to their room, Mary had given them a strict schedule for the next day, instructing them to not be late. The two of them had nodded and headed back toward the elevators.

It had been different, standing next to Dream in the elevator after being so used to the cold and empty space that he usually stood next to. Dream had been warm, standing close - but not too close - to him. It was a welcome change.

And the walk down the hallway had been less suffocating, more enjoyable. They hadn't said anything, not that he expected them to, but even just being in the same space as Dream and not being at each other's throats had been comforting, in a way. He could almost forget about the note and the small gift burning a hole in his pocket.

He and Dream had walked back to their room and opened the door without saying anything. Nick fully expected to not utter another word until the morning, but they walked through the door and Dream had uttered a quiet, "what?"

Immediately, he remembered the disarray he had left the room in. Nick had pushed past Dream and grimaced when he saw the pile of blankets and pillows on the floor next to Dream's suitcase, his own mess of clothes on the other side of the room.

"What did you do?" Dream had asked, eyes wide and eyebrows raised.

Nick had panicked. He didn't want to tell Dream he was looking for the photos, for some reason, so he had made up a bullshit excuse on the spot. "I, uh. My earring, um, fell out."

He could tell that Dream hadn't believed him. But he had nodded anyway and stepped further into the room.

It had only taken five minutes for them to remake the bed, retuck the sheets and re-fluff the pillows. Dream had thrown the blue duvet over the top of the mattress while Nick sat cross-legged on the floor and started sorting through and refolding his clothes. Nick had heard the bathroom door close behind him, and then open again a few minutes later.

Without saying a word, Dream had walked up behind him and Nick had practically felt him hesitate. He had felt Dream's tension, felt the shakiness in his hand as it was placed on his shoulder. Wordlessly, Dream had sat down beside him and tucked his legs underneath him.

They had sat close, close enough where Dream's arm didn't have to reach to keep his hand on Nick's shoulder, close enough where Nick could reach out and brush that stray strand of blond hair out of his face. But they were too far away from each other. And Dream had taken his hand off Nick's shoulder as soon as he sat down.

Out of the corner of his eye, Nick had seen Dream pull the empty backpack closer to him, watched as Dream carefully picked up his discarded laptop and turned it over in his hands to check for any damage. He had watched as Dream slid it back into the bag, replacing all the other items at the same time. They hadn't said a word to each other.