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Hob put away the scattered papers on the table, tucked them into his pocket, and looked at his watch.
Dream was late.
Today of all days.
He took a sip of coffee, and as he put it down, his gaze was drawn to the bar door that had just opened, revealing a dark silhouette that was unmistakable.
His face impassive, Hob watched as he approached it.
Dream walked silently to the table where Hob was sitting and stood without saying a word, a very slight smile on his lips.
Hob couldn't hold back his smile any longer, as he did every time he was with Dream, and said quietly, "You're late.
Dream chuckled softly before answering, "It seems I owe you an apology. I've always heard it impolite to keep one's lover waiting."
Hob understood at that moment.
Dream's tardiness was entirely intentional.
He was reenacting their meeting a year ago.
To the day.
June 7th, 2023.
How things had changed.
The uncertainty of the first moments no longer existed.
His stranger stood in front of him.
Silent.
They stared at each other for a split second, neither of them sure how to react after all this time and after the way they'd parted last time.
But there was something in his stranger's eyes.
Something new.
Something Hob had never seen before.
Something that made his heart beat even faster.
So he couldn't help but smile and simply said, "You're late.
His stranger chuckled charmingly, as if relieved, as if he had doubted he would be welcome.
Even his voice, with its familiar inflections that Hob hadn't forgotten even after all this time, had a different tone.
It was tinged with a new gentleness as he smiled and said, "It seems I owe you an apology. I've always heard it impolite to keep one's friends waiting."
Hob understood that this was his stranger's way of apologizing, so of course all he had to do do was smile in return.
After all these years of uncertainty, the happiness he felt was almost overwhelming.
The new smile never left his stranger's lips as he pulled up a chair and casually sat down across from him.
Today, there was no uncertainty as Dream sat across from him, no nonchalance in the way their knees touched under the table.
No hesitation in the way Dream's hand reached for his on the table, intertwining their fingers.
Hob raised his other hand and called to the bartender, "Two glasses of wine, please."
Dream raised an eyebrow, "Wine? Are we celebrating something?" The mischievous gleam in his eyes belied the innocence of his question.
Hob, not fooled, brought Dream's hand to his lips and pressed a tender kiss to it before replying, "You tell me. Is a one-year anniversary worth celebrating in the midst of thousands of years of existence?"
Dream smiled softly, but his eyes were serious as he replied, "Is it worth celebrating the happiest year of my entire existence? Absolutely, Robert Gadling."
Hob was about to lean forward, unable to resist the urge to kiss his lover, but was interrupted by the bartender who brought them their drinks.
After the man left, they raised their glasses together and Dream said quietly, "To everything there is to live for."
“There is so much to live for.”
Hob recognized his words in Dream's mouth and answered, clinking his glass against Dream's, "Together."
After placing their glasses on the table, they kissed tenderly, this time undisturbed, to celebrate the day properly.
And later, as they left the New Inn hand in hand to go home, Hob thought that maybe next year Dream's sentence would change again.
"It seems I owe you an apology. I've always heard it impolite to keep one's husband waiting."