Chapter 266

Dream rouses slightly not more than ten minutes after he finally falls asleep when he senses someone hovering over him.

He blinks open an eye sleepily only to see Dale clutching his pillow with a petulant expression, a particularly vivid sense of deja vu hits him and he throws a hand over his face with a tired groan.

"Dale, It's not raining and there's no thunder..." He starts to say.

"Actually..." Dale cuts him off, puppy eyes out. "It's raining, Dream."

Dream takes his hand off his face to peer blearily up at him. "It's raining?" He listens intently and makes out the unmistakable pattering of raindrops. "Oh?" He mutters.

"Wait!" He narrows his eyes up at Dale. "You're scared of the rain too?" He demands in disbelief.

"No." Dale admits sheepishly, tucking his head into the pillow clutched in his arms, his blanket trailing behind him. "I got lonely." He half whispers.

Dream is still half asleep and not mentally awake to discuss something so ridiculous so he turns away to the other side and waves Dale over, knowing the Alpha wouldn't give up anyway and he was too sleepy to argue.

A surprised sound leaves him when he feels Dale slide under his blanket and snuggle up against him.

"Dale?" He warns darkly, "This wasn't what I agreed to."

"Hmm?" Dale hums, practically wrapping his body around Dream. "It's cold."

Dream just sighs in exasperation, he was going to blame his sleepiness for this when he woke up but for now... this wasn't so bad.

"Ngh! Dale!" Dream complains when Dale nuzzles his neck. "If you don't stop that, I'll kick you off the goddamned bed." He threatens him, breathing easier when the Alpha retreats a bit.

How the fuck was he expected to fall asleep when he could feel the entire length of Dale's body pressed against his back? It was like a waking nightmare, his sleep fast disappearing while Dale seemed to be having the time of his life.

He should have known this would turn out to be a horrible decision, why were Dale's arms so comfortable? Why was he feeling sleepy and safe now that he had managed to relax a bit?

He couldn't let himself get used to this but also this couldn't hurt right? Being on the receiving end of tender attention like this was addictive, he was starving for a little of it.

Dale feels his heart rate speed up when Dream starts to relax in his arms, his heart beat nearly loud enough to drown out the rain, at least to him when he feels the tenseness flow out of those slender limbs, Dream's body easily curving to get closer to him.

He has to physically restrain himself from tightening his  arms where they were thrown over and under Dream's waist, he stays as still as possible for Dream's breathing to deepen.

He closes his eyes, forcing himself to fall asleep, unconsciously leaning closer to Dream, sensitive nose chasing after his intoxicating scent. 

It doesn't help his self restraint when Dream arches his neck with a soft sigh, clearly asleep, this isn't right because Dream said no so he settles for resting his head against his exposed shoulder, a cool wave of Dream's scent washes over him, calming him down immediately.

It was almost like Dream had sensed his dissent and unconsciously tried to fix it, it made Dale feel all warm and tingly inside.

The windows showed the grey skies outside, curtains billowing gently as the rain steadily fell, trailing down the glass windows.

Dale wanted all this, he couldn't put a name on it, as usual he had chased down what caught his eye, Dream wasn't an exception.

He never imagined he would fall in love again, with Hayden, it was gradual like it was meant to happen yet he had been so quick to give him up.

Maybe because he knew there was someone else to clean up his mess, Hayden deserved much better than him anyway, Virgil wasn't without his flaws but at least he wasn't terrified of commitment.

He opens his eyes and sits up to look at Dream who was sleeping peacefully, full lips in a soft pout as his eyelids fluttered ever so slightly like he could sense he was being watched.

Dream was going to kill him if he broke his heart and he also knew that that was one thing the Omega was terrified of, and Dale, as the fucking idiot he was, was also terrified of that same thing yet here his was, fighting his way into Dream's life and bed...

He was a real grade A asshole alright....

•~•

"Mom? When are we going on our run?" Ruby asks for the umpteenth time.

Ruby, whenever she wanted to refer to the both of them used 'mom' and it was a little weird to see her slowly fill up her vocabulary even her childish affectations were starting to wane.

Shana and Mae realized that they didn't mind, they loved every bit of their daughter, it wasn't her adorable naivety that made them want her anyway.

Mae glances over to her girlfriend, she was going to sit this one out, she decides, letting Shana handle it.

"Baby, you've barely touched your sandwich." Shana points out unhappily and if there was one thing Ruby hated, it was her Nana getting sad.

"I'm sorry, Nana... It has been so long since Ruby got to run." She says honestly, reverting back to her old way of speaking.

Mae is quick to notice this. "It's fine, love, we understand, how about this, if you finish that slice, we'll go run right now and then you can finish up your meal later."

Ruby would always be their baby even when she grew up, that singular fact wasn't going to change.

The little girl beams at this, nodding vigorously. "Deal, Ma! Deal!" She agrees vigorously, munching down.

The wind picks up at this point, the sky quickly darkening and Shana looks up in a panic.

"Oh no, it's about to rain."