Work Text:
Wels had never been in love. Probably. He surely couldn’t recall ever being in love. Seeing people in their relationships, hearing about them, he would only beat himself up over it if he ever actually did. There had never been a chance. He simply couldn’t risk falling in love.
But maybe, just maybe, he could fall in love in his dreams. It would be a terrifying request. He’d been talking with Hypno more and more about his dreams, talking about things to explore and places to see, and his friend had only ever been supportive. But asking for a lover? That- well, it sounded insane when he thought it over the next morning. Insane and stupid, but most of all embarrassing.
“You look like you want to ask me something. What is it?” Hypno asked, so casually with his hands in his pockets, as they walked back towards their houses. xB’s place had been blown to smithereens not a day ago, and they’d been there to laugh at Joel and Grian who had to fix the place back up. By now the sun had set and they had left the two to clean up their mess on their own.
Wels shrugged. Damn him for reading him so well. “Oh, it’s nothing. Just wanted to ask if you could give me a dream again tonight.”
A laugh. “Wels, at this point you don’t have to ask me. Of course I’ll give you a dream. You only have to tell me if you don’t want one.” He paused to take out a stray zombie that got too close to them. “But I know that’s not it, so what’s up?”
There really was no escaping Hypno when he was set on something, was there? So he pretended to sigh and took out his own sword at the sight of a distant creeper. For now it would leave them alone, but he welcomed any distraction at this point.
“I guess there is something,” he said, slowly, hesitantly. Once again, the other left him no space to back out. It was something he both loved and hated about Hypno. His determination. It did usually help him out in the end.
“Is there a way for someone else to be in my dream? Just … a person, for me.”
He deliberately did not look anywhere near Hypno after the question. A part of him knew there wouldn’t be any judgement, but he didn’t want to actually confirm it.
“A person? Of course! Does it have to be someone you know?” An elbow knocked into his own, sending him off the path. Wels would’ve glared at him, a scoff escaping him instead. It would get the thought across. “Chill, chill! I’m just teasing … unless I’m not? If you want a special someone in your dreams, I’ve got you bro!”
Wels wanted to shove him off the other side of the path. “Shut up! It’s not- no, forget it. It’s fine, a dream like usual is fine.”
“No, I insist. I know you’re new to the whole dream thing, so you can ask me anything. I won’t tell.” And he knew him well enough to know he was telling the truth. It would be something Hypno took to his grave.
He couldn’t get the words out regardless, so he settled for something else. “I would like a friend to be there. Someone to share my dream with.”
He hummed. “Consciously? Or do you just want them to be there?”
“I don’t know.” He looked at Hypno, turning his head only slightly. Someone being there could mean outing himself as a mimic. But he wanted someone to laugh with, to hang out with, to share a nice moment with. If he couldn’t have a lover, this would do just fine.
“Then we’ll let your dream decide.” A hand patted him on the shoulder. They slowed to a stop by the edge of Wels’ bridge. “You got it, dude! Have fun, whatever the dream is.” The smile was genuine, albeit bordering on teasing, but he looked happy to help out.
He wished, not for the first time, that he could smile back. Instead he nodded his thanks and turned to walk over the bridge. Hypno’s eyes burned into his back.
The walls felt secure when he entered them. His shoulders sagged as if he relaxed, and he found his way across the field to his still lonely tent. The flap was hanging like he’d left it that morning and he pushed past it gently, then secured it so no stray mobs could wander inside. The bed didn’t welcome him any differently than usual. The only difference was his excitement when he closed his eyes. It stirred in his mind until ethereal hands pulled him down into a whole different world.
When he opened his eyes, he was walking down a dimly lit hall. It was obviously night out, with the way the heavy red curtains hung before windows and several torches were lit along the way. His footsteps were quiet but quick, the armour that he wore rustling only quietly. No sword rested on his side. The weight of his helmet was missing too.
He entered a tower, starting up the spiral staircase. He didn’t know the reason for walking up there or how he got there, but he’d learned from previous dreams to follow the pull. Hypno had explained it to him one evening; every dream had its pull, its story, and the way to rest the easiest was to follow that pull and see what story your mind had in store for you.
So that’s what he did, he followed the pull up the staircase. His breath made clouds in the air and a shiver ran down his spine — though the cold made a smile pull at the corner of his lips. Nerves filled his stomach like butterflies. What was waiting for him up there?
The answer came in the shape of a door. The light of a torch, or maybe a fireplace, seeped from under it. Wels steeled himself with a deep breath, then pushed against the rough wood.
At the top of the tower, a grand room revealed itself to him, walls lined with bookcases. A fireplace indeed greeted him. In front of it laid several animal hides, and the head of a stuffed bear faced him with an eternal growl. In the dream, the place didn’t faze him, like he’d been there before. He closed the door behind him, letting it fall the last inch into its lock.
A person stood by the fireplace, back turned to him. Wels could recognise the man from a mile away. His standard black coat had been traded for a luxurious mantle that fitted his shoulders just as well. He wore no fingerless gloves here, and when he turned around his shirt had been replaced by a simple, black tunic. Hypno still wore his bandana over his head — like he’d ever take it off — but a crown rested atop it.
All in all, he looked stunning. Wels’ mouth ran dry.
Probably whole seconds too late, he sank down to one knee and bowed. “My king,” he greeted, the dream supplying the words, and he felt the butterflies in his stomach stir up again.
“Wels, I-” Hypno’s eyes were wide when he looked up. This was the first time his face was bare for someone else to see. His lips parted as he took Wels in, his chest rising quickly with a sharp intake of air.
“Please stand up, there’s no need for formalities.” A hand reached out, taking his own and pulling him back up to his feet. “We’re alone here.”
Wels knew his cheeks were burning. They were there alone. They’d been alone before, many times even. But this was something else entirely. Something that made his knees weak as he followed Hypno closer to the fireplace. Their hands remained joined together, and the contact felt hotter than the fire. He couldn’t help but stare, breathlessly, at the way they linked together almost perfectly.
The mantle was shrugged off and carefully placed over a chair. He also took the crown to put away, staring at it a moment longer with an indecipherable look. It was gone too quickly for Wels to mention. He turned back, hand letting go only to trace it up his arm, over cold armour, until it hesitated by his face.
Wels couldn’t keep in the nervous gasp. When those familiar and yet so unfamiliar fingers caressed his face, he had to swallow thickly. The warm hand rested on his cheek, a fond nature to the action. It took effort to remain where he was, though he didn’t know whether he would want to run or pull him even closer.
“You wanted me in your dream, huh?” the other said, finally managing an amused smile. “It’s … an interesting one.”
For a moment, the pull of the dream slowed. His cheeks burned brighter. “I- that wasn’t my intention, I’m sorry.”
Hypno shook his head. “It was your subconsciousness dude. No need to apologise. I’m just surprised, I never thought a crown would suit me.”
Then, the dream continued. Skilled hands helped remove his gauntlets. They were placed with care on the larger table in the middle of the room. Wels could only watch as the armour around his arms was removed with the same gentle treatment. He stood no chance, melting at the slightest touches of Hypno’s fingers against his shirt underneath. He wanted to hug him, to feel those hands all over his arms, his face, anywhere sensible, before his time in the dream ran out. Still, his mouth remained shut and he let his king do the work of removing his armour. It was something special, something that felt familiar in the way actions in dreams always did.
His pauldrons and his gorget were removed next, and they were placed with care by the other components. Hypno hesitated, eyeing him, then he stepped close to reach up and work at the buckles that kept the chestplate together. His warm breath fell on Wels’ neck and despite all the heat in the room, a shiver threatened to sink him to his knees again.
“My king,” he said, and the words were heavy with emotions he tried not to let spill. “I could do this myself, you shouldn’t worry your hands.”
One of the buckles finally unstrapped and Hypno moved to another one, on his other side. From the corner of his eyes, Wels could tell the man was deep in thought. Could tell how he had to remind himself this was a dream. Though when their eyes met, the thought was gone.
“I want to.” He opened his mouth like he wanted to say more, but he closed it again. He shook his head, expression changing into something more fond, a grin spreading his lips. “I can do this better than you can.”
He grinned. Of course something competitive had to come out of this. “Oh, really?”
The chestplate was pulled over his head and laid out onto the table. Chest rising and falling a bit faster than usual, Wels watched intently as Hypno crouched down to unbuckle the straps by his legs. He really hoped he didn’t notice the way his legs shook at the slightest touches.
With the help, the removal of his armour could’ve gone really quickly. But Hypno was calm, slow, careful, almost as if he was dealing with something fragile — and he sure felt like it. He wondered, not for the first time, if he knew how much this meant for him. How much each touch opened up worlds, how every bit of human contact showed him what he’d missed all this time.
It really felt like he was being torn apart by gentle hands. Like his shell was pried open to reveal the weakness and wants of him inside. He watched, unable to do anything else, as the final pieces of his armour, that shell, were removed and put by the rest.
There was a moment where neither of them moved, just taking each other in. His heart pounded in his throat. Hypno had never looked at him this way, with this spark that made the hairs on his neck stand up, with a depth to his eyes that he couldn’t even begin to decipher. The hand returned to his cheek, welcoming him closer.
And he couldn’t help himself really. He raised his own — shaking, trembling — hands up to gently hold Hypno’s face. The smile that appeared on his own face was giddy, his heart beating so fast it threatened to escape out of his chest as he let his thumbs caress warm skin. The tips of his fingers rested in dirty blond hair, sat at the edge of the bandana.
He couldn’t help his curiosity as his eyes shot down to slightly parted lips. He’d never been this close to someone before, and certainly hadn’t ever done this, but the dream guided him forward until he could feel hot breath on his face. The other watched him through half-lidded eyes, visibly swallowing. He couldn’t deny he was scared, but this was something he wanted. Needed, desperately.
So, before he could explode from his nerves, he leaned down to press his lips against Hypno’s. Electricity jolted through his body at the contact, sending shock after shock down his spine when the hand on his cheek moved down to rest on his neck and those lips moved softly against his own.
He pulled back with a gasp. In the mix of realisations that this was both one of his best friends and his king, he escaped those brown eyes. “I’m sorry.”
When his head was guided closer, he was scared to look back up. He would, if his king asked him to, but he held his breath as he awaited any words. He could just barely see the pink tint on Hypno’s cheeks and it made his heart skip a beat. How could anyone deal with being so close to someone without fainting on the spot?
Instead of any words, Hypno guided his lips back to his own. His grip, although still gentle, tightened almost possessively. It didn’t accept his apology nor did it give him the chance to back away again. It invited him closer, let him wrap his arms around a warm body, encouraged him to move his lips against the other’s.
He could drown like this, he realised. His mind already reeled from the electric contact. Hypno could drag him down like a siren, further and further into the unknown as his thoughts became nothing but a haze. But, with hands that pulled their bodies flush together and slid into his hair, he didn’t think it would be such a bad way to go.
When he pulled away, Wels chased after him, not allowing him to be further than a few inches away. Breaths ghosted over his face, making it burn brighter, not giving his heart a chance to calm down. Now that he’d had a taste he didn’t want to let go.
Hypno only laughed, quietly. His face was a deep shade of red too, but it suited him well. His eyes trailed all over Wels. So close together, the twitch of a frown in his eyebrows was clearer than he’d intended.
“Wels, you’re beautiful.” It made his heart stop altogether. “Why do you always hide in your armour? Why do you never take it off?”
His smile froze. Right. This was only a dream. He couldn’t be this happy in the waking world. Licking his lips, he turned his head away, the glint of fire reflecting on his armour and catching his eye. His shell, that he couldn’t rid of. Just seeing it made the fuzzy feeling in his chest cool down and extinguish.
“I can’t.” With that, he pried away Hypno’s hands. He stepped away, letting his heart ache for the man in front of him. The look he got in return shattered his heart into a thousand pieces.
“Why not? Talk to me. What are you hiding?” He reached out a hand, but Wels flinched away. “That’s- I didn’t mean it like that. I just want to help, you know that.”
He swallowed a sigh and distanced himself further. “You did, thank you. I don’t need any more help today.”
Sending the armour only a short look, he turned and hurried back out the door. His name was called but he left the heat of the room. A hand just barely missed his own when it reached for him. The stairwell was cold and uninviting, and the change in air came like a punch to the gut. The ghosts of touches still lingered even as he rushed down. He could still feel the slide of lips, the fingers entangling with his hair.
With the shake of his head to dispel the thoughts, he sped out the tower and into the grand hall the dream had started in. The end of it was fuzzy, unfinished — an area the dream hadn’t intended to be explored. Already he could feel the dream fracturing. And, closing his eyes tightly, he welcomed it with pained relief.
They didn’t open when he woke up again. His chest didn’t rise or fall with breathing. Still, he reached up a hand and placed it over where his mouth had been in the dream. Pretending hard enough, his lips tingled. He wished he could swallow the feelings down.
Damn his subconsciousness. He dragged a hand down his face. There was no way Hypno was going to forget about this.
He wanted to be mad — at himself, at Hypno. But in the end he knew perfectly well how much he’d needed that. It wasn’t something he could forget either. He was probably going to want it more and more as the days went on. He could already feel the need to go back to sleep only to feel something again.
Shaking the thought away, he stood up. His movements were mechanical with the way he hesitated to step out of the tent, almost like he were shaking.
He’d called him beautiful. His hand clenched around the sword by his side. Beautiful. He wished he could be beautiful in the waking world. Why did life have to be so unfair? Why did he have to be this?
To distract himself, he found himself some blocks from his inventory and stepped up to one of the walls. The towers on his castle weren't going to build themselves. And the night would come in time and he’d go back to dreaming about being a perfect Hermit again. Hopefully, his dream wouldn’t include Hypno in it.
He placed tuff bricks in a neat line, his fingers clenching around the blocks. He just had to get through the day. He could do that, he could do that just fine.