The Heart of the Ocean (DNB)

The Epilogue

Malibu, California, summer of 1920

"It feels like a lifetime since I've enjoyed a Californian sunset." Dream mused, sitting in the sand.

"I'm glad that I get to be here for the reunion," Techno smiled, scrunching his toes to feel the sand between them.

Orange rose above the horizon like a deadly fire, engulfing the sky in its flames, the sun succumbing to its power. The water was calm on that random Thursday in the summer. They had gotten off the train from New York not four hours ago.

"C'mon, let's go enjoy the water," Dream stood, extending his hand. His pocket burned every time Techno even came near his leg.

Dee followed easily, rolling his trousers up his legs. The water was chilly but manageable. Dream longed to dip his head below the surface as they got deeper.

"Dre, my pants," complained Techno, gesturing to the knee-deep water dampening his rolled-up pants.

Mockingly, Dream cocked his head, pouting his lip. "Aw, poo. Would you like me to carry you, princess?"

Techno deadpanned, arms crossing. "Shut up."

"What? You're the one who's complaining about being wet while you're in the water . I don't know what you want from me."

That received a push from Techno. That was it.

The blonde shoved him in return, causing Techno to wobble. In mock anger, Techno scrunched his face and checked Dream, causing them both to lose their footing and tumble into the waves. Dream burst out laughing while Techno attempted to control his hair, his curls becoming wet and tangled.

They stood up, and just like he had been all afternoon, Dream subconsciously hit his pocket, expecting to feel a certain circular object, only to be met with nothing. His eyebrows shot up. "Fuck." He said aloud.

Techno paused his fumbling. "What's wrong?"

His other hand met a similarly empty pocket on the other side of his pants. "Shit."

"Dream, what's goin' on?"

The blonde spun around like a madman, trying to catch the shine of the metal through the water.

Growing increasingly more worried, Techno asked once again, "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

Then he saw it: between Techno's feet, the glare of the diamonds acted as a perfect beacon to their location. He dove for it, not caring if he got wet, shooting his hands out to search for it. Techno once again lost his footing and fell backwards from trying to avoid being in the way of the man on a mission in front of him.

As soon as he felt the smooth metal graze his fingertip, Dream caught it, seizing it out of the water triumphantly.

"Bruh," Techno announced, breaking Dream from his victorious presentation of the treasure.

As soon as what was happening registered in his mind, Dream's eyes widened in shock and he quickly hid the ring behind his back. "Shit."

"Dream," Techno said carefully, leaning forward. "What was that?"

Fuck. This was far from how he imagined this would go. Disaster. That's what this was. Gods, he wasn't supposed to find out.

"Nothing," Dream tried, hands still behind his back.

Techno deadpanned, moving into a kneeling position in the water. "Oh, really?"

Dream crumbled, holding out the ring in defeat. "I promise this was not how this was supposed to go."

"Dang straight, it wasn't," Techno grumbled, crossing his arms. Dream perked up.

"What?"

Techno shook his head as if disappointed in himself. "The first night, really? That's so annoyin'."

Dream was so unsure as to where this was going. His stare was dumb. "What do you mean?"

"I was goin' to do it tomorrow but Mister Overachiever over here," he gestured to Dream, who was still holding out the ring. "Planned on doin' it tonight. Mine is still in my bag at the hotel." He pouted.

Dream lit up, "Does that mean yes?" Oh, gods, he was so excited. Was this really happening? Not that he doubted it or anything, but that whole situation was starting to feel surreal.

Techno snorted. "You haven't asked me anythin'. What am I sayin' yes to?"

"Oh, uh," he muttered. He then righted himself, getting onto one knee and proffering the ring out between the two of them. "Techno 'Dee' Craft, will you marry me?"

Dee's face morphed into one of mock thinking before quipping, "As long as you let me do mine tomorrow."

Despite himself, Dream barked out a laugh. "Of course."

Sated, Techno nodded curtly, holding out his hand for the ring. "Then yes, I will."

In bed that night, Dream caught Techno staring intently at the ring on his finger. At first, Dream had been worried he found something wrong with it, but it just seemed like he was admiring it after a while.

"You like it?" Dream teased.

"It looks familiar." The other mused.

Dream smiled knowingly, wrapping himself around Dee to cuddle into the sheets. "I would hope so, the gems are pretty iconic to us I'd say."

As he watched Techno spin the ring between his fingers, Dream drew a heart on his chest, followed by little lines coming off of it like the chain of a necklace.

"Oh, my gods." Techno realised, hand meeting Dream's where it lay on his chest. "You did not."

Dream nuzzled deeper into Techno's neck. "I found it abandoned in a jewellery box under your bed while I settled in. I was surprised it had made it, and I figured George had something to do with it, so I took it to a jeweller, who took the clear diamonds from the chain and the blue diamonds from the edge and set them into the ring in your hand."

"You dismantled a multi-million-pound gaudy-as-heck necklace for me?" Dee asked sweetly, frowning in the "I can't believe you did this" way.

"Not completely," Dream assured. "The remnants, including that big ass diamond, are still in the jewellery box, where I found it."

"Sap," Techno teased.

Techno's proposal went similarly to Dream's: sweet but not how he imagined it. First, he was sure he had left it at the hotel, and then he found it in his pocket, only to be released from his hold by a rude passerby and made its way to the middle of the street, where he had to dodge multiple carriages and motor cars to get to it.

The ring was gorgeous; white gold with diamonds lining the band. Perfectly sensible but also matched Techno's status as "does too much". Techno had asked, "Will you marry me?" and Dream was so excited that he couldn't possibly play coy and practically squealed yes, jumping into Dee's arms.

They got to the restaurant for supper, where everyone was waiting for them, and all was right.

Despite it all, they found each other.