Work Text:
Rain patters, words flow, you listen.
Listen to Dream, that is.
You had tuned into Dream’s stream a couple minutes after it had begun. Quickly, you learn he’s going to do a chill stream, meaning he would read a book with background lofi music on and keep donations off. He reassures that the stream, once finished, would be saved—at least for some time.
It’s late where you live, and a gentle rain began earlier this evening and continued into the night, refreshing and muddying the earth. It now pats against the roof in a friendly pattern.
You’re settled in with a soft blanket and a warm drink by the time he reads chapter one’s title.
It’s almost a dream, you amusedly think, head tilting a bit as he begins, his narration naturally calming.
When the time comes for character appearances, Dream navigates voice cracks with giggles as he finds and settles on distinct voices for each character.
He takes drink breaks every chapter. About six in, the silence is broken by little taps to the beat of the song that’s been playing for a few minutes. Then, he’s softly humming along to the repetitive melody.
The song ends all too quickly, and Dream takes it as a cue to begin the next chapter.
Later, halfway through a line, there’s an abrupt pause and rustling.
A quiet chuckle sounds. “Sorry about that,” Dream says. “I got a little visitor who just woke up to join us. Can you guess who?”
The chat flies by, most guessing Patches, and a few screaming George.
Dream’s short laugh pitches up a bit this time before fading. “Yeah, it’s Patches. Hear her?”
He quiets for a moment, and if you turn the volume up you can hear a few rumbling purrs.
There’s more rustling. You shift to a more comfortable position, smiling as Dream comments that Patches is insistenting on napping on his lap, and who is he to move her? He picks up the reading from where he cut off, his voice now accompanied by an occasional purr.
It’s nice.
Your eyelids flutter down a bit, heavy in the best way possible, but you remain awake enough to understand what’s happening in the book.
(At least most of it. There’s one time when your eyes blink open and you’re stuck blearily wondering what these strange words are and why it sounds like Dream’s voice. You recover and take the time to adjust your blanket.)
You’re half-asleep as the inevitable end of the stream approaches. Dream says “the end”, yawns, and thanks those who subscribed as he wraps it up.
His soft goodbye and wishes to have a good night or day put a smile on your face, and it’s one that remains on your lips as an easy sleep overcomes you.