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The microwave hummed monotonously throughout the kitchen, accompanied by a gentle beat tapped into the marble countertops by Sapnap's fingertips. The 19-year-old watched the bag of popcorn spin on the glass plate within the appliance and awaited its inevitable popping. He could make out the squeak of a shower — and a grunt as the water shut off — from the door on the left, breaking the rhythmic song Sapnap had been crafting. He turned to stare at the white door, then back at the microwave. The popcorn finally popped, beginning slow and increasing in volume quickly. Sapnap smiled. The erratic popping sounded just lovely with Dream's offkey humming alongside a One Direction song — one that he will deny listening to if Sapnap were to call him out.
Dream stepped out of the door on the left just as Sapnap popped the door to the microwave open. The snack smelled glorious; completely buttery and salty. The brunette pulled the sides of the bag apart, dumping it into the big plastic bowl. It was already mostly full of popcorn and was surrounded by two other empty bags of popcorn. Dream's head popped out of the towel, flicking water to the floor.
"That smells so good," he said, eyeing the snack falling into the bowl.
"Our food's almost here, you animal," Sapnap rolled his eyes, tossing the empty bag to the side of the counter that was covered by others.
"You can't call me an animal when you throw your trash on the counter and leave it there," Dream narrowed his eyes, tossing the towel into the laundry basket to the right of the washer. He walked over to the counter and crumpled the bags and plastic wrappings into smaller balls, dropping them into the trash.
"I was going to put all of that into the takeout bag and throw it away altogether, but okay, Mr. Clean."
"That's Bad's title," Dream responded automatically, turning on the sink to wash his hands after handling the trash. "I'm not bald."
Sapnap let out a bark of laughter, swatting his best friend on the bicep. Dream wheezed, attempting to duck out of the way of the assault, but ultimately ended up sloshing water to the tiles.
"You're cleaning that up," Dream said, getting his hands back under the stream of hot water.
Just as Sapnap opened his mouth to protest, the doorbell rang loudly. He grinned, mirth sparking in his eyes.
"Sorry, gotta handle the food," he said, marching over to the front door, "you got it, don't you, Dreamy-Poo?" He offered an overdramatic puppy-dog-eye expression.
Dream rolled his eyes, immediately caving for the look but refusing give Sapnap the satisfaction of knowing that the stupid look works. He dried his hands on the kitchen towel, embroidered with green vines and orange flowers. It was sent to them by a fan soon after they had explained they were moving in together. The blonde smiled. It'd been months since then.
He could hear Sapnap chatting to the delivery driver, being polite and friendly. It's most likely the regular driver for the local Chinese restaurant down the block, but hearing Sapnap being so chatty with the driver brought a fond sort of fluttering in Dream's chest.
He could remember how soft Sapnap's voice used to be; how gentle he used to speak as though he could fade into the background if he spoke quieter. He remembered Sapnap being so shy around new people, how awkward it was for the first day or two when they moved in. Sapnap had really come a long way.
Of course, George made them better, and none of them could wait until George could join them in Florida. They weren't the Dream Team without all three of them, but living with Sapnap had been one of Dream's best decisions of his life, and it had been just as good for Sapnap.
He heard the door shut with a quiet click and the lock following behind. Dream grabbed some paper towels and sopped up the water on the tiles as Sapnap worked on unloading the food and separating it.
Sapnap hummed a little tune — familiar but not quite completely recognizable by Dream's ears — as he worked, filling the silence. The rustling of the plastic bag and squeaking of styrofoam as Sapnap opened and closed to-go boxes and placed them down on the table accompanied his tune, adding ad-libs in off-beat places, making Dream give a little chuckle.
"What's so funny down there?"
Dream looked up at the brunette from his place on the floor. The younger had one eyebrow raised with a stupidly fond smile dancing along his lips, watching the blonde giggle to himself on the floor.
"Nothing. One of Patches' old toys is under the counter and scared me," he lied easily, used to passing his fondness off as minor lies. He wanted his friends to know he loved them, of course, but he was so overly fond of them. He didn't want to freak them out.
Sapnap seemed to buy it, snorting and shaking his head. "How can you be spooked by a cat toy and expect to make it through our horror movie marathon?"
Dream shrugged. "You'll protect me, obviously."
Sapnap snorted once more, rolling his eyes. "Okay, Dream. You're 6'5" and I'm 5'10"," He said, "I won't be that much protection. Now, get off your butt and come help me."
Dream wheezed, standing up and helping Sapnap carry the food to the living room. He grabbed the popcorn and the drinks, while Sapnap carried the to-go boxes. They had set up dinner trays before hand — one in front of the couch, one in front of the chair — and each took their respective places with no words needed. Dream liked the couch so that he could stretch his legs along the length of the plush furniture, while Sapnap liked the chair because it helped relieve tension in his back.
Sapnap had the remote, already booting up Netflix and clicking on his own name. His icon of a character from some anime that Dream didn't know flashed away as the home page of Netflix loaded. Sapnap's list was decorated with various horror movies, most of which Dream didn't recognize.
He looked down and opened his box of Chinese food, digging in with his chopsticks. He absently heard the clicking of the remote and watched as the screen went dark as it loaded a movie.
"Alexa, lights on 25 percent," Sapnap spoke. The lights dimmed marginally, leaving a dim yellow glow surrounding the two boys.
"Paranormal Activity? What's that about?" Dream asked around a mouthful of noodles.
"Sorry, what was that? I couldn't hear you due to your lack of manners," Sapnap gave the eldest a pointed look, making Dream flush and grimace. He swallowed his food and took a drink of water.
"I asked," Dream lamented, "what the movie was about."
Sapnap's grin turned wicked. "You'll see."
Dream felt a chill run down his spine. He was already regretting this decision.
+++
An hour into the movie and Dream had a blanket up to his nose with the dinner tray pushed away. His food was long gone, and his portion of popcorn was abandoned for protection against the unrelenting jump scares that this stupid movie relies on. He thinks he's done well to keep his cries of fear stifled thus far.
Dream chances a glance at his roommate and immediately drops his jaw in complete defeated awe. Sapnap was enthralled, munching on popcorn and watching the scenes with a relaxed grin and wild eyes.
Stupid adrenaline junkie, Dream thought.
He pulled his eyes away from the brunette, deciding he should try to enjoy the movie at least.
That didn't last long. Dream yelped in fear, gritting out a guttural curse as he watched as the wife be dragged into the dark hallway by an unknown force. He watched as the security camera stayed eerily still during the attack with quick, sharp breaths.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and he yelped louder, yanking away and nearly falling to the floor. He snapped his head to his right, panting. Dream's eyes met Sapnap's. The movie was paused; the only sound in the room was Dream's frantic breathing.
The blonde could see the worry in the youngest's, and he clenched his eyes shut as he rubbed them aggressively with his fists.
"Sorry," he mumbled.
"Shut up, don't apologize," Sapnap immediately shut his apology down, plopping down onto the couch. "You don't like horror movies, it's okay to be scared."
"I'm not scared," Dream weakly defended.
"Shut up, yes, you are. Like I said, it's okay."
Dream grimaced, turning his head away.
He felt the blanket be pulled away from his lap, and he snapped his eyes to Sapnap.
The brunette sat on the opposite side of the couch, the blanket draped over one of his shoulders and his lap. He reached one arm out, flapping the hand in a movement to gesture Dream over.
"Come here," He whined when Dream made no move to get closer. "Just trust me, please?"
"I do trust you," Dream spoke, no hesitation present in his voice. He may lie to hide his affections for his friends, but trusting his friends was something he never hid.
Taking his words to heart, he scooted over within Sapnap's reach. He felt the brunette's fingers grip his t-shirt and pull him even closer, placing Dream's head on his chest. He felt Sapnap adjust underneath him, moving so they both could be comfortable. Dream was landlocked by Sapnap's legs and had his arms wrapped around the brunette's waist.
"Can you feel my heartbeat?" Sapnap asked, the words vibrating through his chest and into Dream's ear. The blonde nodded.
"Good, focus on that if you start to get freaked out, or — squeeze me, or something. Either one works. I can play with your hair too, if you want."
Dream froze, staying relaxed to not worry Sapnap. The youngest really just sacrificed his own chair and comfort to ensure Dream was alright through the rest of the movies. God, he really loved his friend.
"Yeah," Dream croaked, throat still tight from the scream. "Yeah, that sounds nice."
Instantly, there was a gentle hand in his hair. The constant pushing strands back and forth; the constant pressure on his head. It was really nice.
Faintly, he remembers a murmured "Not scared, my ass," vibrating through his ears and the movie being resumed, but the rest is blank.
+++
He woke up groggily in Sapnap's arms on the couch the next morning. He winced as he realized how Sapnap had been lying that entire night; that had to hurt.
Dream carefully extracted himself from the koala that was his best friend and grabbed the heating pad and ibuprofen from his bathroom. He set it on the coffee table, along with a orange sticky note.
"you did a great job protecting me <3
— dream"