Basketball au // dnf

6

"Nice to see you back home," were the words Dream got greeted with later that evening when he returned back to his house.

"Yeah," Dream mumbled, heading for the stairs.

"So, where were you?" his mother asked, Dream rolling his eyes and going back to the living room.

The man sighed, rather not wanting to share the truth with his mother. "I was at Sapnap's— Nick's, I mean."

His mother raised an eyebrow, looking up from her knitting kit to look at her son. "I know you, Clay, I raised you," she reminded him. "I know when you're lying to me."

Dream nodded as he sighed, his mother patting the cushion next to her on the couch for him to come sit down.

The tv screen lit the room up, some action movie flashing onto Dream's mother as her eyes stayed on whatever she was knitting.

Her son sat down next to her with a low huff, Dream's blonde hair covering his eyes once he was sat down.

"Where were you really?" she asked again, trying to push the real answer out of her son.

But Dream didn't break, keeping his mouth shut as he shrugged pathetically.

"You were with a boy, weren't you?" she asked, her question sounding more like a statement.

"Yeah," Dream sighed. "Well— not a boy. He is older than me."

His mother grinned, glancing up at the tv screen. "What's his name?" she asked.

Dream felt his face warm up a little as he tucked his hands underneath his thighs, glad that the drastic colour change of his face wasn't visible in the dimly lit room.

"Uh— his name is George," Dream said, nervously clearing his throat once done talking.

She furrowed her eyebrows like she was thinking before something in her mind clicked. She looked up at Dream, eyes wide.

"Isn't that the name of the player you adored so much?" she asked. "Is it him?"

Dream hesitated before nodding, his mother's mouth opening agape.

"Boy, are you lucky!" she said.

She dropped her knitting stuff into her lap before cupping Dream's face in her hands, her son's face lightening up with a bright smile.

"You have to bring him over for dinner sometime! Oh my, what a great son in law me and your father will have!"

"Mom, relax," Dream giggled, pushing his head out of his mother's grip as he sank into the couch.

"Clay, I know you really like that man," his mother reminded him, already knitting again.

"I know," Dream sighed. "But talking about dad, where is he?"

"He's in bed already," his mother said. "He's got an early shift tomorrow morning."

Dream nodded, his head falling to his side.

"You go to bed too, Clay," she said in a much more motherly tone than she had been using. "We all know how messed up your sleep schedule is and it doesn't hurt to change it back to normal."

"But it's more comfortable staying up while it's dark out," Dream complained. "It's better to sleep when it's bright."

His mother scoffed and hit his thigh. "Up now," she said. "At least try."

Dream sighed and stood up. "Alright, mom. Goodnight," he said before walking out of the living room, heading upstairs to his bedroom.

Shutting his door behind him, he walked over to his bed, falling onto it with the brightest and most genuine smile he had shown for a while.