Work Text:
Dream woke up when he started sliding down the chair he was resting in. He was dazed at first before remembering what was going on. He looked over at bed and found Ani staring at him. Their hair was recently brushed, appearing immaculate and beautiful in Dream’s eyes. Their soft skin had become paler over time and it was no different today. The oxygen hose was still wrapped around their head, giving them the oxygen that their body desperately needed. They were reading a book before Dream woke up but was now smiling at him with laughter in their eyes.
Ever since Ani’s health took a turn for the worst, Dream took it upon himself to be their caretaker. This meant a lot of changes for Dream’s everyday routine as well as extra stress on Dream himself. He had adjusted his living and work environment in order to help Ani on a daily basis.
“Morning sunshine,” Ani simply said. Dream smiled back at them before he sat back up in his chair and stretched out his back. He clearly fell asleep in the chair and now he was sore; he did not voice his complaints out loud.
The beeping sounds of the machines were still constant in the room as Ani was been monitored closely. At first the noises annoyed Dream, but he had grown complacent of the sounds. The room itself felt bigger overtime, even though the size of the room had not changed. The T.V that hanged on the wall and close to the ceiling was practically useless since nobody could find the remote. The floor itself was a bit cluttered due to the bags resting on the floor, since the remaining chairs were already filled with Ani’s stuff. The color of the room, being white, did nothing for Dream at first but was slowly becoming a loathsome eyesore. The hospital bed was not fancy, but it was able to raise Ani up and down, from a sitting position to a laying one, raise and lower their legs, and move them out of the room as needed. The bed itself was still uncomfortable as the mattress was rather thin and cheaply made while the pillows had already become deflated.
Ani was sitting up currently, one book in their hands and a few more beside their thin frame. “The…um…emergency button fell on the floor again. I can’t reach it.”
Dream looked and frowned when he saw the damn device that kept hitting the floor was slightly underneath the bed. Dream leaned down to pick it up and fixed it beside Ani. It contained four buttons: a nurse call button, a TV button, and the other two were to raise and lower the head of the bed. Only the nurse button worked despite this, thus Dream and Ani simply call it the ‘emergency button’. It proved more useless than anything else, as the device kept falling to the floor and stayed out of Ani’s reach even though the cord was wrapped around the frame of the bed.
“What time is it?” Dream asked, rubbing the sleep from his tired eyes.
“I don’t know, but you’ve been asleep all night.”
“Ugh. Why didn’t you wake me?”
“I wanted you to get some rest,” Ani said as they began reading again. Dream frowned when he heard this. “You are the one that needs plenty of rest, not me.”
Ani looked up from their book. “Dream, listen to me. You need rest too. You’ve been working so hard lately, with JR still running at full speed and by taking care of me as well. I appreciate it all, don’t get me wrong, but there isn’t any need to wear yourself out when you don’t need to.” Ani, then, continued to read the book silently.
Dream only grumbled at their words. He got up from his chair and walked out of the room for a little bit of fresh air.
He could tell from the nurses’ station was busy as usually. Many familiar faces of the nurses and doctors greeted Dream as they hurried past, not saying anything directly to him as they continued working. It was rather something, seeing the hectic atmosphere around him yet knowing that everything was under control through constant teamwork and communication. Dream relaxed as he watched scene before him until he smelled coffee nearby. He thought it was coming from one of the other rooms beside him till he saw Ink’s figure walking toward him.
Ink was carrying one cardboard drink tray with four coffees, two for Dream and two for Ani, while the other hand carried a box with a dozen classic glazed doughnuts. His irritated expression told Dream that Ink had a harder time getting here with his hands full than the previous times. “Just for the record, I didn’t ask to be your errand boy. Also, you owe me fifty bucks.”
“Just for the record, that is what assistants do Ink. They assist their bosses,” Dream retorted, opening the door for Ink. Ink walked in unceremoniously and planted the coffee on the table beside Ani while setting the doughnuts at the end of the bed. He opened the box, and ate one while examining Ani. “Looks like you’re not dead yet. That’s good.”
“Good morning to you too, Ink,” Ani replied, putting their bookmark inside before setting the book down. Ink handed them a doughnut with a napkin and one of their coffees while Dream grabbed both of his and sat back down in the chair.
“Actually, it’s about lunch,” Ink corrected. Since there were no more chairs available, Ink stood where he was. Dream was stunned when he heard Ink say this however he didn’t want to continue the topic.
“Did you bring the paperwork that I needed?” Dream asked, with a small amount stress inside him about to explode into full-blown panic.
“Of course” Ink said ever so casually. He pulled out the three stacks of paper out of his inventory and set them nonchalantly on the other table in the room that served as Dream’s temporary desk. Since Ani’s condition worsened, Dream had decided to work from any room that Ani had to stay in, whether it was their own room in JR’s apartments or the hospital rooms that they had to stay in. It was hard, and Ani had voiced their dislike of Dream’s ever changing and uncomfortable working environments, however Dream did his best to neither complain nor show his discomfort. He was too concerned about leaving Ani alone for long periods of time to worry about himself.
“Any calls since yesterday?”
“There was a series of prank calls from Nightmare followed by a few distressed messages from the orphanage. Apparently some of the kids caught something and now they’re all getting sick. Otherwise, it’s been faxes and mail going through. Those are in that last stack of papers.” Dream rubbed his forehead in agitation, as he knew that he would have go down there later at some point to check up on the situation.
“Anything else to report?”
Ink shook his head.
“Okay. You can go now if you want.”
Ink did not hesitate leaving, but not before swiping another doughnut. After Ink left, Dream noticed that Ani had finished their coffee while reaching for another doughnut. He immediately got up and fetched their other coffee and handed it to them, then fixed their table over to them and set the box on top to where Ani could reach it easily.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Dream replied, before heading back to his table and looking through the paperwork for today. About a minute later, Ani spoke again.
“I mean it.”
He looked up from his paperwork and towards Ani, a little confused. Ani sat there, their eyes not meeting Dream’s as they spoke once more.
“I want to thank you for everything, Dream. For being here when I need you the most, and for being there when we first met. I know it’s not easy doing your work here when you have an office filled with everything you need at a moment’s notice. Not only that, but you’re looking after me at the same time…I feel like I don’t deserve it. You have better things to do…and…and…”
Tears were threatening to fall out of Ani’s eyes as they spoke. Dream put down his papers and walked over to Ani. He sat down on the edge of their bed and looked directly at their face with kindness showing on his.
“I don’t mind, Ani. I really don’t. I care about you. I want to be here with you, whether it’s taking care of you or just hanging out. Through the ups and downs, I don’t care. Being with you makes me…feel complete.”
Ani stared back at him, before giggling. “That sounds so sappy.”
Dream smiled at them as he said, “What can I say? I’m a sappy fool when I’m around you.”
They both laughed, butting their heads together softly and affectionately. “Okay, scoot over,” Dream said, catching Ani off guard.
“Why?” Ani asked with curiosity clearly pasted on their face.
“Because I want to cuddle with you.”
Ani smiled sweetly at Dream, and scooted over enough for Dream to climb in. He got on the bed then begin hugging Ani gently. Ani hugged back and cuddled close to Dream, listening to his soul beat faster in his chest the longer he held on. It was a moment of contentment for the both of them, neither Dream nor Ani wanting to leave the embrace and return to the harsh reality that awaited them. It was perhaps worse on Dream than for Ani, for Ani had long accepted the outcome of their life while Dream was still willing to fight and keep them here.
“I thought you had papers to do?” Ani asked calmly.
“I can do those while you sleep. Besides, I don’t feel like doing it now.”
“Hmph. Procrastinator,” Ani said playfully, with a wink and a smile.
Dream returned the wink with a smirk of his own.
Moments like these were precious and Dream wanted more. He didn’t want Ani to die. He never wanted Ani to fade away, like dust in the wind. He wanted them to stay here. That was really the only reason he was willing to go through the discomfort and stress of this entire ordeal. It was for Ani, his ray of light on the darkest of days; the one person he could ever love unconditionally.
And if Ani needed him, then Dream would be there for them.
Always.