Cut Him Out in Little Stars

Part Four

Busy.

That was the only word the Lord of Dreams could think of to describe the tavern.

Busy, far more so than one would expect for early in the afternoon. Though, perhaps it was some sort of day that the mortals liked to gather in a tavern? He didn't know anymore, nor did he find he cared.

He searched around the bar first, in a casual way. A few glances so it wasn't obvious that's what he was doing. The immortal was not among the mortals sitting at the bar stool.

He frowned in disappointment. But this development was okay. They'd never met together and sat on bar stools. They'd always sat round a table, right?

So he checked the tables next. The ones by the windows and door, dipped in sunlight like apples in caramel. Gadling was not there either...

That was fine too. They'd never dined at a table in the sun. That had never even been an option, if he was remembering right.

The tables in the back and the corners, he had to be there. So that is where the Dream Lord checked and... That vulnerable flutter started back up.

Sitting in the back corner was just the man the endless had been looking for. Hob Gadling.

He'd changed over the years, blending in with the time Morpheus supposed. His hair, an ageless brown, was longer than he remembered it. Now it was the perfect length for getting in the way, or being brushed back into place by someone's tender fingers. Hob leaned over the table, his eyes intently studying the papers lying every which way across the table. One of his hands, clutching a red marker, scribbled over the pages, one at a time giving them more attention than they deserved. It might have been Morpheus' imagination (it wasn't), but he thought he heard the man humming as he worked.

Determined, yet casual and calm and certainly not skipping because that would be most undignified, the Lord of Dreams navigated the tavern's busy floor to walk over to the table. Then he just stood there and watched, letting his shadow fall across the immortal man as he worked.

Hob's hair really had gotten long and it took more than a little self control for Morpheus not to reach out and gently tuck it behind the man's ear, before even saying hello.

It took a moment for the stalked man to feel the creeping sensation of being watched and when he did, he glanced up. His muscles tensed for a fight, if that was necessary. It wasn't... In the second it took for him to recognize the figure standing above him, the preparedness vanished with a smile.

This smile was one of a kind. It engulfed his entire face in joy. Said joy was blended with an ecstatic excitement reserved for a close friend who visited unexpectedly. The man tapped his wrist as though checking a watch, yet his eyes did not stray for a second from his stranger. "You're late."

The Lord of Dreams gave him a small smile. "It seems I owe you an apology." He sighed, a deep low rumble that might have shaken the earth were he not careful. "I've heard it's impolite to keep one's friend waiting."

Hob Gadling smiled even wider (if that can be considered possible). There was a brightness dancing in his eyes, a contagious brightness that even you, dear dreamer, might catch if you're not careful. Morpheus did his best to avoid this blinding brightness as he gracefully sat down. Upon relaxing back into the chair, he found the brightness bringing a smile to his lips.

"Friend, eh? I'm glad you feel that way." The unspoken 'it's about time!' lingered in the air behind his words, though Hob would never say as much.

"I do, truly." The Dream Lord nodded calmly to the unspoken. "I'd like to apologize for how I acted before, as well..." Necessary as those words were to say, he hated the way they sounded. "So tell me, Hob Gadling, what have you done this last century?"