Chapter Text
“I’m not sure this is entirely necessary,” Hob admits with a laugh. He is naked, his warm skin exposed to the cool air of Dream’s quarters in the palace of the Dreaming. It is his first official visit as the King’s partner, and after Hob had gone out of his way to caress every other pillar and railing and step just to see Dream shudder each time, he cannot help but feel as though this is some sort of punishment.
But of course, he’s always been a glut for that kind of thing. And the blindfold is a very charming touch.
“ Your wandering hands have not gone unnoticed, Robert Gadling. I intend to show you just what sort of attention you have caught. ”
With this being his realm, and an extension of his essence in turn, Hob hears his lover all around him, even within him. He shudders, feeling the intensity of that unfathomable gaze upon him, and the cold touch of something tenderly pressed against his breastbone and then draped around his neck.
“That was rather the point, eh?” Hob counters, shifting on the bed beneath him, “I was enjoying the guided tour, don’t get me wrong, but… I can’t help myself.”
“ Hmm. At least you are aware of your own insatiableness. ”
“ Well aware, thank you,” Hob replies with a grin, “And I rather miss the sight of you, dear heart.”
A knowing chuckle rumbles through every inch of him. His cock twitches, and he has to bite back the frankly embarrassing noise that nearly springs from his lips.
“ Very well. Open your eyes, beloved. ”
The blindfold is gone. So is the bedroom, the palace walls, the windows offering a glimpse of the expanse of the Dreaming beyond…and in their place is only darkness, the void of the night sky.
And the towering presence of Dream of the Endless.
Hob sits in the pillow of his palm, he realises, and he tears his gaze away from the twin stars burning at him in indisputable amusement to examine the gemstone nestled against his breast; a bright blood red ruby, hung on a thin golden chain, identical to the one Dream had worn in their very first meeting those many centuries before. He feels the awe of a man in the presence of a god, of something more than a god, as he lifts his eyes again. Perhaps he ought to be afraid. And yet he trusts Dream so absolutely that all he can do is stare up at his lover in utter wonder.
“You look so… pretty, like this,” Hob offers weakly, realising that it is a feeble compliment but persevering all the same, “More like yourself.”
“ I am glad you think so, ” Dream responds, making no effort to hide the growing mirth in his celestial eyes. His other hand rises, his index finger nudging Hob’s legs apart. The smooth markless pad presses gently against Hob’s lower body, against his cock, and he is hard, more so than he had previously anticipated.
“Fuck, this is… different,” Hob chokes, rutting without shame into Dream’s touch.
“ Is it acceptable? ”
Hob laughs breathlessly, already desperate. “Definitely one way to put it. Please, don’t-- fuck, please don’t stop touching me.”
The white pinpoints of Dream’s eyes start to flare as he watches Hob grind against his fingertip, cosmic light bursting from the coronas of his pupils. Hob cries out in ecstasy again at the sight, at the careful but all-consuming pressure of Dream’s attention, at the impossibility that this being has all their focus on him .
It does not take long for Hob to find his peak. Shorter still to the second, and by the third he is limp and pliant, whimpering Dream’s name as the Endless lowers his face and seals his lips in a vast kiss over Hob’s entire body--
Hob wakes alone. He has never felt so well rested, though it is likely he has a laundry day ahead of him.