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clangrogu · 9 days

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𓅨 An Accepted Apple

An Accepted Apple: Morpheus’s point of view of An Offered Apple.

Warnings: Morpheus is Looking for an Excuse to Make a Move (Reader Inadvertently Gives Him One), Oblivious, Naive, & Meek Reader, Morpheus is Head-Over Heels in Love W/ Reader, Segmented Reading, Reader Accidentally Asks Dream of the Endless to Marry Her.

To Note: Morpheus/Dream x Librarian!FemaleReader.

Word Count: ~6.5k

An Offered Apple | Masterlist | An Innocent Apple

You were an unusual human, Morpheus knew that much. Plenty of humans argued with his sister over their death, they begged for more time, they offered human currency, they even denied dying in the first place. But not you. You had simply refused to leave your library, stating that not even death could remove you from your beloved books. His sister never made deals with mortals, but you had stubbornly wormed your way into making one with her and ended up as a librarian in his realm. You had easily won the heart of Lucienne with your love for books, but your painfully shy nature made you scarce and Morpheus rarely saw or heard you. Morpheus had a new resident in his realm and he didn’t even know you.

Morpheus changed the page of the story of dreams he had in his lap, his eyes scanning the pages for the knowledge he required. Lucienne was in the process of pulling several more books he needed from the library which would arrive shortly. Matthew, who had been standing to Morpheus’s right on the stairs, took to the air. Morpheus was only half paying attention to his raven when he heard a soft voice.

“Hello,” Your voice was perhaps the sweetest Morpheus had heard in centuries. “You must be Matthew.” No, your voice was the sweetest he had heard in centuries, and lifting his eyes ever so slightly, Morpheus caught sight of his new flighty librarian. You held a stack of books against your chest, the very books he had asked Lucienne to bring him. She must have sent you instead.

“Oh! You’ve heard of me?” Matthew replied happily. “Yes! I serve Morpheus… or at least help him out. And you must be Y/N, the new librarian Lucienne is very territorial over.” The corner of Morpheus’s lips twitched at Matthew’s observation. Lucienne was indeed territorial over you, your shyness and meekness aside… you belonged to the library and if anyone tried to take you away? They would have to deal with Lucienne herself. Morpheus dropped his eyes back to his book, knowing that you wouldn’t feel comfortable knowing that you were being watched. Certainly not by him. At the very least he could enjoy the sound of your melodic voice.

“…mind that, Lucienne has tasked me to bring Lord Dream the books he requested.” At the overly formal calling of his name, Morpheus lifted his eyes once more and met your gentle gaze. He heard you let out a faint noise shortly before your eyes dropped to be floor in meekness. “If you will excuse me, Matthew, I should make my delivery and get back to the library.” Morpheus watched as you scurried forwards, entirely frightened and keeping your eyes trained on your toes. You offered the stack of books, a slight tremble in your hands. “The books you requested, Lord Dream.”

Morpheus closed the book and set it aside. Then he took reached for the books, his fingers brushing against yours. He marveled at the warmth of your flesh for only a fraction of a second before your fingers retracted ever so slightly. But you didn’t fully retract from his touch, at least not until Morpheus had a full grasp on the books.

“Is there anything else I can do for you while I am here?” You queried, your eyes nervously darting around. You were looking everywhere but at Morpheus. He took note of this, wondering why you seemed so on edge around him. Had he not opened his realm to you? Had Morpheus not given you the very job that you loved with everything you had? He had given you everything, did that not show you his favoritism? Perhaps you simply had your face in your books too much to notice, never mind, he could try harder.

“If you wouldn’t mind returning this book to Lucienne for me, I would be most appreciative,” Morpheus responded, offering the book he had been reading to you. You took it without question and turned to leave, Morpheus couldn’t help but call to you. “Y/N…” You froze in your tracks like a frightened deer.

“Yes, Lord Dream?” Morpheus gazed at you. Would you not look at him? Were you that fearful of him? No, your eyes lifted to his. Morpheus gently aired out his question.

“Will you not address me as Morpheus?” Morpheus inquired, hoping that you would at the very least, would feel more comfortable addressing him less formally. He didn’t expect your face to flush and to hear your heartbeat pick up in pace. Not fearful, that was good.

“Well— I’m mean— I’m— surely I am… not in a position to address you with such familiarity…” You were stuttering for words in an adorable mess. “I’m just an assistant…” Always so meek and mild… where was your spark of passion? Your fiery determination? Morpheus raised his midnight eyebrow in question. Surely you could see your worth beyond that.

“Are you? Will you still be resistive to the notion even if I ask you to address me as such?” Morpheus spoke, hoping that you would be more agreeable to a less formal relationship. One that might bear the fruit of a more intimate relationship. You looked taken aback by his words like you hadn’t ever considered the possibility of such a thing.

“I— well, if my lord demands so…” Ah, this was going to take some work… but Morpheus had time and patience.

“I do not demand so, Y/N, I simply wish you to call me by my name. While I am the king of Dreams and Nightmares, that does not mean I cannot be friends with those that reside in my realm.”

“You wish… to be friends… Lord Drea—“ You cut yourself off, a clear indication that you were considering Morpheus proposed wish. He hoped that you would be agreeable. Then you corrected yourself to his joy. “Lord Morpheus.” His name fell from your lips like nectar. Sweet, honeyed, and addicting. Morpheus replied to mitigate your unease, a touch of amusement in his eyes. Had you really thought him so terrifying?

“I do, should you be so inclined. I do not think myself to be in a position to force you into something you do not want.” Your lips parted for a moment, words failing to flow from your desirable lips.

“I— uh... my lord, I mean… yes, I think I would like that.” You stuttered out shyly. “I don’t have a lot of friends and Mervyn says I spend too much time with Lucienne or with my nose stuck in a book… so, yes, I would like to be friends with you… Morpheus.” Again his name fell from your lips and Morpheus basked in the echoes of your voice. Yes, he could get used to hearing his name falling from your sweet lips. Morpheus felt a smile creep to the corner of his mouth, then when your shoulders relaxed and your face settled the same, his smile widened a fraction. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“No, I think that should be all, Y/N. Thank you.” Morpheus replied, eyes carefully observing you. You bowed your head and headed out of the throne room. He could see an immediate change in your posture and pace. You were walking less like an animal of prey and your steps were more sure. He had managed to put a crack in your wall of nerves. When you were gone, Matthew fluttered over.

“Wow, sir, I think you managed to get her to relax a bit!” Matthew commented happily. Morpheus found his eyes lingering on the archway you had disappeared through, his mind following you as you headed back to the library.

“Matthew, would you please go see if she is well?” Matthew eyed Morpheus and had he still been in his human form, he would have been grinning. “There is no need for her to fear anyone here. Certainly not me.”

“Well, sir, Lucienne did say that she suffers from low confidence and is quite shy and well…” Morpheus raised an eyebrow at his raven. Matthew shifted in place.

“What is it?”

“You’re kind of intimidating and imposing, sir,” Matthew pointed out. Morpheus’s eyes blazed at his raven. “What!? It’s true!” Morpheus resisted the urge to sigh.

“Matthew, please, check on her,” Matthew gave Morpheus a wing salute and swooped into the air, diving in the direction Y/N had gone. Morpheus’s gaze went slightly foggy as he peered through his raven's eyes.

Matthew knew the moment Morpheus started using his eyes and forced himself to not roll his eyes. It was painfully obvious to everyone in the palace, let alone The Dreaming, that Morpheus had a thing for the human Death had brought to the realm not even two months past. There mere fact that the Endless had put you in such a position of power, so early on, was clear evidence. Morpheus was smitten… only you were entirely oblivious and had zero clue to the fact that you had the heart of an Endless wrapped around your fingers! You were the literal definition of oblivious.

Lucienne and Mervyn even had a bet on how long you would remain oblivious to the Endless feelings.

Matthew fluttered into the library and coasted through the shelves until he saw you standing by a table with the book Morpheus had given you to return to the shelves.

“Hello Matthew, do you need something?” You asked as Matthew coasted over to the bookshelf nearest to you. Aware of the presence of Morpheus in the back of his mind, Matthew squawked out a response.

“Hi Y/N!” The raven nearly cringed at the pitch in his voice. Surely it was a dead giveaway because you frowned and took a step closer.

“Are you alright, Matthew?” Matthew shook his head and wings, trying to rid that odd feeling of having Morpheus in the back of his mind.

“Perfectly fine, just thought I’d see how you were doing,” Matthew spoke, his voice still very much high. He hopped a few paces and shook his head again. “Lucienne told me about you…” Matthew continued, he saw that you flushed in embarrassment and scrambled to correct himself. “Nothing bad! Just that you struggle with confidence… and I know Morpheus is kind of intense.” Matthew. Morpheus’s call of name in warning had the raven hopping several spaces across the bookshelf with a loud squawk. Your face filled with concern.

“Matthew?”

“I’m fine! I’m fine,” Matthew blurted out. “I’ve just been dealing with a... headache… that comes and goes.” Matthew inwardly cackled at referring to Morpheus as a headache.

“Maybe you should ask Lucienne about it then? I’m sure she’s dealt with headaches like that before being that she was Lord Dre— Morpheus’s, first raven.” Matthew felt Morpheus's joy at your use of his name. Naturally, the Endless was head over heels for you already. Matthew bobbed his head in agreement with your words.

“Yeah, yeah, good idea, good idea, we should do that,” He said, trying to nudge Morpheus in his mind to, you know, back off before he gave them away. Matthew then cleared his throat. “Anyways, not to point it out or draw attention, but are you okay?” You started moving for the shelves.

“I’m okay,” You said as Matthew coasted after you. “I’ve heard a lot about him from Lucienne and Death.” He felt Morpheus's curiosity for what the pair had told you about him, but Matthew diverted the topic elsewhere, his own curiosity taking precedence.

“You talked with Death?” Matthew asked while watching you heft the book into a spot on the shelves.

“Once, right after I died,” Right, Matthew had forgotten that you had died, just like him. I may or may not have gotten into an argument with her. I didn’t want to stop tending to my library… that’s how I ended up here.”

“You argued with Death!?” Matthew blurted out in surprise, trying his best not to start laughing. How could you argue with Death when you were fearful of Dream? “How!? No offense, but you look like you have the confidence of a bunny!” Clear embarrassment flushed across your cheeks.

“I like books, okay! I wasn’t going to let death stop me from enjoying my first and only love.” You argued back at Matthew, the raven couldn’t help it and started laughing.

“For a human as timid as you are, you sure pick weird battles!” Matthew left you fuming in place, coasting his way back to the throne room. When he flew up to Morpheus, he earned an eye from his master. “What? She looks fine to me, sir.”

“Must you tease her further Matthew?” Morpheus sighed. Matthew couldn’t help but cackle again.

“But she’s so easy too!” He cried out in between breaths. “Looks like you’ve got competition with the library!” Morpheus glowered at his howling raven but didn’t respond. After all, Matthew was, naturally, correct. Could you love something other than books and the library?

Morpheus needed a book of dreams for his latest research. He could have Lucienne bring it to him, or he could go to the library and ask for it on the chance that you would be around and he could perhaps, make small talk. That is if you were so willing… Striding into the library, he found the endless halls quiet, more quiet than usual.

“Lucienne?” Morpheus questioned, his eyes scanning the aisles for his head librarian. Morpheus appeared in the main study area and found you, sitting alone at a table.

“Lord Morpheus,” You greeted ever so softly, your sweet voice lighting up the silent hall. Morpheus was glad to know that you were no longer addressing him as Dream. You rose to your feet. “If you are looking for Lucienne, I am afraid she is not in the library at the moment… is there anything I can help you with?” Morpheus eyed the book on the table, interrupting your reading was not something he wished to do.

“I do not wish to interrupt your reading…” You, ever the saint, waved his words off immediately.

“Nonsense, my lord, I am a librarian and I am here to help. Are you searching for a book? What is the title?” It would seem that you would not back down from your job. Morpheus expected nothing less, and couldn’t help the small smile that appeared. Your eyebrow raised in counter and you pushed for. “Well?” Your pushiness was much like Lucienne’s.

“I am in need of a book of dreams, Robert Spencer,” Morpheus told you, his eyes watching as you immediately walked towards an aisle across the room. You disappeared into the fray and Morpheus sighed. Was this going to take up too much of your time? “I do not wish to drag you away from your reading Y/N…” Morpheus heard your echoing snort, and his eyebrow rose higher. It was nice to see, or at least hear, you more relaxed. “You seem to be very invested in your research…” Morpheus trailed off when he felt your presence behind him now.

“This is my job, my lord.” Morpheus turned in place, surprised at how well you could navigate the library. You held the book out to him another eyebrow raised in question. “Robert Spencer, book of dreams. Can I find another book for you, my lord?” Morpheus took the book from you, maintaining that precious eye contact as long as he could. He was surprised that your eyes didn’t drop to the floor in submission.

“No, that is all, thank you,” After Morpheus spoke you promptly sat back down in your seat and returned to your reading. Morpheus took this chance to spend a few last moments observing you. While you were indeed a timid and meek human, he could see that once he got to know you, you bloomed with passion. Just as he knew you did. He just had to give you the time you needed.

Morpheus found that you liked to frequent the gardens at sunset, a ritual that signaled the end of your day. He had decided to seek you out this night. The setting sun's bright rays were highlighting your face in a gentle glow. Morpheus often wondered many things about the job you so loved.

“Does it ever get monotonous?” He asked you from a few paces away. You turned back to him, your sparkling eyes meeting his. Morpheus went into further explanation. “Being a librarian, you are always shelving books, shifting them around, retrieving and returning.” He could see you considering and contemplating his words.

“At times, sir,” You softly replied with a twitch of your lips. You were truthful in your words. “But at the same time, Lucienne and I get to read the books that appear and there is nothing like the excitement of a new book whose pages have not been turned.” Ah, Morpheus could understand that very well. You loved reading more than anything (he was planning on changing that), and the books that appeared daily gave you plenty to read. But it was still questionable if you were truly happy in Morpheus’s realm because you still jumped at every shadow.

“Are you happy here, Y/N?” Morpheus questioned. You didn’t hesitate even a millisecond in your answer.

“More than happy, sir.” Your answer was reassuring and you addressing him as sir? A major improvement from Lord Dream. But Morpheus desired more, he desired you to be entirely relaxed with him. Comfortable enough to call him by his name, comfortable enough to smile confidently around him, comfortable enough to be his. Morpheus could get you there. He would get you there. With time.

It was Matthew’s birthday and after speaking with Lucienne, Morpheus found that you were out in the market, shopping for ingredients to make the raven a birthday dinner. Morpheus hoped that he could spend some time with you out of the confined of the palace. Morpheus found himself wandering through the market, slowly moving through the crowd in the direction of your pull. You were in front of a stall that sold berries, and you were looking intently at the blackberries.

“It seems that you are aware of Matthew’s love for blackberries,” Morpheus commented with a twitch of his lips. Of course, you would know of Matthew’s favorite snack. You had probably figured out all of Matthew’s favorites just for his birthday. You smiled brightly at Morpheus, already making the trip to the market well worth it. You bought two cases and slipped them into the basket at your hip.

“We’ve been reminiscing about our favorite foods from when we were human,” You explained, maintaining your smile as you started moving in the direction of the palace. Morpheus stepped forward to fall into step beside you, his eyes taking in your relaxed and stress-free body. “Matthew’s second love after hotdogs is blackberries. He mentioned that his grandmother use to make this blackberry tart and he repeatedly got scolded for snacking on them.”

“Then I suggest hiding them unless you wish Matthew to eat them all.” Morpheus couldn’t help but add a teasing note to his voice. You giggled softly at his words.

“Not to worry,” You replied, flashing a nearly blinding smile at Morpheus. That smile soaked into his heart like a warm blanket around a cold body. Morpheus would do anything to keep that smile on your face. “I don’t plan on letting Matthew know what I’m up to until everything is finished. He can gorge on the rest of the blackberries after I’ve finished the tart. As it turns out, his grandmother made a cookbook and her recipe is in the library. All I have to do is not mess it up and he should be a very happy raven.”

Morpheus returned your infectious smile and leaned closer to you.

“I am sure that he will appreciate the gesture regardless of how it turns out,” Morpheus told you as you looked up at him with those beautiful eyes of yours. They were so gentle and happy Morpheus would have frozen time if he could, just to hold onto this moment. Your eyes dropped forwards and you adjusted your grip on your basket. Then Morpheus felt curiosity run through your mind. You wanted to ask a question but were hesitant to do so. “You wish to ask me something?” Morpheus asked, hoping that you would feel comfortable enough to speak what you wished around him. Your eyes dropped to the cobbles beneath your feet and you slowly came to a stop.

“I’m not sure if it's within my rights to ask,” Your words were infinitely soft, indicating just how unsure you were of your question. Morpheus couldn’t have a lapse in confidence when he had struggled to build it up.

“And if I inquired you of your question… regardless of its nature, will you ask me?” Morpheus prompted, hoping that you would be inclined to air your question. Your eyes lifted to look at him once more. Resolve burned in your breathtaking ones.

“Do Endless need to eat? Or is it a needless task that you only partake in when you feel so?” You asked. Morpheus wasn’t expecting a question as mundane as consuming sustenance… when you felt so unsure. Morpheus raised his eyebrow at you as his lips twitched in humor. All that worry over something so simple? He had much work still ahead of him to mitigate your nervous nature.

“We do not experience hunger, nor do we need sustenance to maintain life… but my siblings occasionally consume human food,” Morpheus explained gently, hoping that he was sating your curiosity and would put ease in your body once more. “Death is partial to the street food in her travels to complete her job.” Morpheus was delighted to see your curiosity take the front where worry had reigned.

“When was the last time you ate something?” You pushed on, excitement dancing within your eyes. “Is it something you enjoy? Or does it not really cross your mind because you don’t need to eat?” Morpheus’s head tilted in consideration. He couldn’t remember the last time he partook in human food.

“It has probably been centuries since I last consumed human food and… no, I suppose I do not really think about eating since it is not necessary to sustain my life. You do not need to consume subsistence and yet you still partake.” Morpheus pointed out, interested in learning why you still continued with the practice.

“I think it is out of habit, and I enjoy eating…” You paused and it was clear that you were thinking of your answer.

“I can see why you don’t. It’s not something that is necessary. Though I do think you are missing out on the beautiful produce here in the village. They taste extraordinary.” You wished for him to enjoy the fruits of his people’s labors? For you, he would do anything and this was more than a simple task that was sure to put a blinding smile on your face.

“If it will please my librarian, I should think I could try one,” Morpheus told you, loving the way your face lit up. You reached into your basket to grab one of the produce you had bought. Then, you presented him with an apple. Morpheus felt every molecule in his being freeze. Were you really asking such a thing? After struggling with confidence for this long? You seemed to sense his hesitation and started retracting your hand. You must have taken his reaction as a no.

“If you don’t like apples, I can—“ Morpheus reached out to wrap his fingers around yours, stopping you from taking back your offering. Your body stiffened and he felt your fingers tremble slightly beneath his. “Morpheus?” Morpheus lifted his eyes to yours when you called his name. Just his name. It was serendipitous and everything he had wanted these past few weeks. Morpheus took the apple from your hands, staring at it with wonder and reverence.

“No, I— like apples.” Morpheus softly answered, cradling the apple to his chest. It would be his greatest treasure, given to him by you after you had selected it yourself. He would preserve it for all eternity in reminder. Morpheus looked into your eyes and saw confusion. Were you still worried that he would reject you? “I will treasure this apple, thank you, Y/N.” Relief flooded your features and that blinding smile reappeared. Morpheus felt instant relief.

“Good! I should probably hurry back to the palace,” You then replied, tapping your basket and looking forwards at the palace. “I need to get dinner on before Matthew catches me with the blackberries.” Morpheus smiled down at you in, glad to see such a happy soaked smile on your lips once more and elated that you wished to be his.

“Shall I escort you to your destination to ensure that my raven does not catch sight of your treasure?” Morpheus playfully offered. Your proceeding laugh was like bells.

“I would appreciate that, thank you.” Morpheus was pleased to have the pleasure of walking his betrothed back to the palace for what would hopefully, be the first of many.

Matthew’s birthday had passed and Morpheus had found it amusing that his raven had eaten himself nearly sick on the extra blackberries you had. He was more than pleased to see that you had been ever so happy with how your cooking had turned out. Morpheus was quickly learning that you had passions outside of the library, cooking being one of them. He would eat whatever you made if it put that lovely smile on your face.

At the moment, Morpheus was making his way to the garden where you liked to sit and watch the sunset. It was a colder day, this day. Morpheus had wanted to give you and the residents of The Dreaming tastes of The Waking World with seasonal weather. The look on your face when the trees had started to turn color was one that he would give anything to see time and time again.

Exiting the palace, Morpheus quietly weaved through the carefully maintained gardens Mervyn was very proud of and spotted you on your favorite bench. You were practically glowing in the sunset and it would have been quite a sight if Morpheus had not seen you shiver and tremble in cold. You loved the changing season but you were ill-equipped to handle the temperature. Morpheus was removing his coat immediately as he silently walked up to you. When he reached your shivering frame, he gently laid the shimmering material around your shoulders, willing it to protect you from the cold. Your eyes lifted to his and your fingers reached to remove the coat. Morpheus stopped you.

“I believe you are in greater need of my jacket than I, Y/N,” Morpheus spoke gently before walking from behind you and standing in front of the bench. He gestured to the space next to you, hoping to join you for a moment of intimacy. “May I?” Your eyes sparkled before you countered.

“It’s your bench, Morpheus.” Morpheus returned the teasing smirk your lips were curved into.

“And yet you are the one it cradles,” He spoke, enjoying the way you rolled your eyes at him and gestured to the space.

“Please do,” Morpheus took a seat next to you and watched as you pulled his jacket closer to your skin, a barely there sigh of contentment passing through your lips. The rays of sunset lit up your face and your eyes squinted. “Does it ever get overwhelming? Feeling everything, that is. Experiencing so many dreams… you carry the emotions of all life in the universe on your shoulders, how do you not get encompassed by it?” Morpheus smiled at you, his eyes never once leaving your radiating face that shimmered with happiness.

“Practice,” He responded, glad that your eyes turned to his once more. You had never looked more ethereal than in this instance, your face illuminated by shimmering dying light. There was another gust of wind and your hair was picked up and tossed about, covering your face. Morpheus reached up to brush the strands clear, his fingers briefly brushing against yours. He couldn’t help but trail his fingers across the arch of your cheek, marveling at the softness of your skin. “I’ve had eons to do so, and yet, I still find myself learning something new.” You stared at him, your attention no longer on the dying sunset. Morpheus’s adoration for you only grew the longer your gaze remained connected with his.

Morpheus knew that you were overworking yourself to get Lucienne out of the library. He wished he could tell you to stop working so much but knew better than to get in the way of his little librarian and betrothed. That would only end up with you being mad at him. So he would let you work until you fell asleep on your own volition, then he would bring you to your home to get proper rest in your bed. He’d done this a few times before, and tonight it would be no different.

You were once again passed out at the table, face pressed against the book you had been reading and hand next to your head, pen rolled not that far away. He carefully gathered you into his arms and cradled you gently as you shifted in his arms. Morpheus had long since found that you liked to snuggle closer when he held you, choosing to press your face against his neck while draping your arm over his shoulder. You liked to be close and he enjoyed every second of it. Morpheus was especially partial to the soft exhales he could feel on his neck. Your breaths were like a gentle tickle against his skin, something only he would ever experience.

Sand swirled around his and your bodies, swiftly taking you to your cottage in the village. You didn’t spend that much time in it, most of your time is spent in the palace… but Morpheus knew that you liked to have something to call your own. It was your little slice of heaven Morpheus was more than willing to give you. He’d give you the entire realm if you asked of it. But you never would. You were happy with what you had.

Morpheus carried you to your small bedroom and tucked you away, already feeling the loss of your touch and breath from his skin. But he couldn’t bear to ruin your idyllic dreamscape by moving you once more. He trailed his fingers along your skin, relishing the last touches of contact.

“Sweet dreams, my beloved,” Morpheus whispered to you, his words slipping into your dreams with a gentle caress. You sank deeper into your mattress with a satisfied sigh.

Morpheus had sent Matthew out to check on you after you had remained in your cottage for three straight days, not once returning to the palace. Something terrible must have happened for you to have neglected the library you loved so much. It was agony waiting to hear back from Matthew, but he would give you your privacy this time. His betrothed deserved that much.

Matthew swooped into the throne room and coasted over to where Morpheus sat. Well, he was pouting that his beloved had been absent for three days but he was not going to admit that. Looking down at his Raven, Morpheus gave Matthew an expectant look and raised his eyebrow. Matthew fluttered his wings.

“Well, sir, I believe that she realized that she asked you to marry her and is currently drowning in embarrassment,” Matthew explained, the raven would have shrugged his shoulders if he had them. Embarrassment? What did his beloved have to be embarrassed by? He had accepted her offer and had he not taken care of her these past few weeks as it was now his duty as her betrothed? “She says she’s just a librarian, I think she doesn’t feel adequate to marry you.”

Morpheus didn’t like that, he didn’t like that at all.

“I have accepted her proposal and will refuse anyone else,” Morpheus stated his lip curling. “And should anyone think to consider otherwise I will rectify that immediately.” Matthew bobbed his head in agreement. He would have loved to point out that you had no idea what it meant to hand him an apple… but Matthew, along with everyone else in the palace, had been waiting for you and Morpheus to get together. He wasn’t going to ruin this.

“You have to remember, sir,” Matthew added, making Morpheus look at him. “She struggles with confidence and probably worries about what the realm will think.”

“She should not, it is my decision on who I take as my queen is it not?”

“Tell her that, sir,” Matthew replied. “She probably needs more reassurance than the average woman.” Morpheus nodded in agreement. You would need more reassurance, he should have known that. Morpheus looked up to the archway that would lead out of the palace.

“Perhaps I should visit her and mitigate her fears?” Morpheus spoke.

“No, no, I think she just needs some time, she looked really tired,” Matthew said, knowing that you would probably get worse if Morpheus appeared before you now. You needed time. “Can I speak freely sir?”

“Of course,” Morpheus replied.

“I think she is scared,” Morpheus narrowed his eyes at Matthew and the bird was scrambling to explain his words. “I— I mean I don’t think she entirely thought about what she was doing when she handed you that apple. Maybe she didn’t fully realize what it meant and she’s overwhelmed? You have to remember sir, she’s human from the modern age.”

Two days had passed since Morpheus had sent his raven to check on you. Two days in which he knew you needed for appropriate rest. Two days in which he knew you had not slept. When you should have been getting better and ready to return to your normal duties, you had been spiraling into an exhaustive state. Morpheus couldn’t stand it any longer and had set out to visit you in person. Your cottage was on the outskirts of town and walking up to your front door, Morpheus knocked.

Seconds passed in eternity, and finally, the door was opened a crack revealing you shakily holding a coffee cup. Morpheus caught sight of your red and fatigued eyes. You looked exhausted and near moments from fainting in a slump of sleep.

“Y/N,” Morpheus called, his eyes running everywhere and taking in your appearance and not liking that you hadn’t been taking care of yourself. “May I come in, or is this a bad time?”

Your eyelids fluttered at him and you silently stuffed to the side, opening the door wider to let Morpheus into your cottage. Morpheus stepped into your cottage and shut the door behind himself. Then he saw you going to take a sip of the coffee and intercepted you, plucking the coffee from your hands.

“I doubt you need caffeine right now.” You let him take it and gave the caffeinated drink a mournful look as he set it down on the nearby table.

“I was going to drink that,” Your voice echoed the physical exhaustion on your features. Morpheus looked down into your face as he softly snorted. Then he reached up to caress your cheek gently.

“You need sleep, not caffeine.” Morpheus corrected you gently, he gently brushed the clear bags beneath your eyes. “Why have you not properly rested.” Your gaze averted from his.

“I haven’t been able to sleep,” Your voice was scratchy as you started to sway in place. “I apologize for my absence, sir, I’ll be back at the library as soon as I can.” You went to rub your eyes and Morpheus stopped you, maintaining his grasp on your hand.

“I am not here to question your absence from the palace, Y/N, I am here… because I fear that I have chased off my beloved librarian.” Your face didn’t change at his words and Morpheus raised his other hand to cradle your face.

“I’m just a human.” You weakly protested, leaning forwards and pressing your face into his chest. Morpheus was quick to wrap an arm around your back and hold you close to his body. You were seconds away from falling asleep.

“Perhaps, but you are my human,” Morpheus replied gently, maneuvering his arms around your body to pick up your body and cradle you further against his chest. “And my human needs to sleep.” You went to protest.

“But— but—” Your short protest was weak and sputtered out.

“Y/N, we will talk later,” Morpheus spoke into your ear, nuzzling his face against your unkept hair against your messy, and matted hair. “I wish for you to rest.”

“But we need to talk...” You didn’t get to finish your protest before you were fast asleep in his arms. Cradling your body in his arms, Morpheus looked to your bedroom. He could place you in your bed and tuck you away to sleep… but there was no guarantee that you would stay asleep until your body was fully recharged. No, rather than place you in your bed as he had before, he chose to transport you both to the palace and bring you to the queen's wing he had specially made for you to occupy when you married him. He would be able to watch over you there, ensuring that his future queen was properly resting.

You had been a flustered mess when you had woken up, and Morpheus, overtaken by your adorableness, couldn’t help but steal his first kiss from your lips. You had frozen in place shortly before heat burned across your cheeks and you started slapping him on the chest with an embarrassed squeal. Softly chuckling in amusement, Morpheus brushed his fingers over your hair once more before bending down and resting his forehead against yours.

“Do you feel better now, my dream?” He questioned, his fingertips lingering over the skin beneath your eyes where bags had once been prevalent. You nodded though your cheeks still felt like they were on fire.

“Are you really okay with this?” You whispered in question, eyes dropping down. “I’m not confident, I’m not a goddess or a muse… I’m no one. Surely there would be a better choice.” Morpheus took hold of your face and made you look into his eyes.

“Y/N, I will have no one but you by my side… and what you are is my beloved, that is all you ever need to be,” Morpheus told you with conviction. You stared back at him with uncertainty in your eyes… but only for a few moments. Something in your mind changed.

“Morpheus?” You asked softly. Morpheus's lips twitched in a smile.

“Yes, my dream?”

“Can you kiss me again?” You asked. Morpheus, in that very moment, decided that you should never have to ask for such a thing again. Then he gave exactly what you asked for, pressing his lips against yours with the hunger he had felt growing within him since you had first offered that apple.

Date Published: 10/6/22

Last Edit: 10/6/22

An Offered Apple | Masterlist | An Innocent Apple

#the sandman #netflix the sandman #the sandman netflix #lord morpheus #morpheus #dream of the endless #lord dream #sandman x reader #the sandman x reader #morpheus x reader #dream of the endless x reader #dream x reader #reblog

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clangrogu · 9 days

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𓅨 An Offered Apple

An Offered Apple: You, a mortal and a librarian, have just died and Death has come to guide you to the afterlife. Unfortunately for Death, you are too stubborn to give up your library life. So one deal later, you are a permanent resident in The Dreaming and a librarian for Dream. Dream has taken a liking to you and after an innocent gesture, you find yourself drowning in embarrassment.

To Note: Morpheus/Dream x Librarian!FemaleReader.

Word Count: ~8.3k

An Accepted Apple | Masterlist | An Innocent Apple

When you had died and Death came to lead you to the afterlife, you hadn’t wanted to leave. In fact, you had refused. Books were your life as was the library you had worked at, you weren’t going to give that up just because you had died. Perhaps a bit dramatic, but you loved books more than anything in your entire life. So you had made a deal with Death, and were dropped off in a place called The Dreaming. Then you were introduced to Dream, Death’s younger brother, Lord and King of The Dreaming. It was disturbing to know that he had seen all of your dreams, but the moment you had been shown the library… all thoughts of Dream of the Endless had flown from your mind and you had started geeking out over the endless rows of books. You had happily spent the last three weeks as Lucienne’s personal assistant, which made her very happy because apparently, Lord Dream had been gone for 106 six years and there was plenty of work to be done around the palace. She was busy and couldn’t do everything herself.

At the moment, you were organizing some books. Humming to yourself as you walked through the library, you rotated the large books in your hands to look at the spines. W. You looked up at the nearest aisle, which had a gold R on the dark wood shelf. Close, but not W. Moving further down, the library shelves shuddered as they shifted and changed to the W section. From there you turned down the nearest aisle and peered at the spines of the books: Walder, Wash, Water, Web, Webber, Webbins, Whigg… You walked along until you reached where the top book in your stack needed to go. Taking the book from your stack, you rose on your toes and pushed it in place. The bookshelf shivered in happiness at another book being accepted to its shelf and you moved on to shelve the next one.

“Y/N! Y/N, where are you?” Lucienne’s voice cut through the tune you were humming and sliding the next book in place, you trotted out from the aisle to see Lucienne with a harried look on her face.

“Yes, Lucienne?” You asked, blinking at her before frowning at just how stressed she looked. “Is something wrong?”

“We’ve just received a larger than usual influx of books and I do not have the time to both shelve them and assist Lord Morpheus in his research.” The harried head librarian rushed out. You hadn’t seen her this stressed since arriving.

“I’m almost done shelving these books, I can start with the new order if you need me to.” You offered. Lucienne quickly shook her head.

“No, no I think I shall take care of the shelving.” She spoke, eyeing the unending aisles behind you. Then Lucienne gestured to a stack of books on a nearby table. “Will you please take these books to Lord Morpheus for me? He should be in the throne room.” She wanted you to do what? Your jaw opened and closed a few times, no words came from your mouth for a good minute.

“I beg your pardon, Lucienne but are you sure that I—“ Lucienne looked over her glasses at you.

“Y/N, are you afraid of Lord Morpheus?” You gulped and looked away from her piercing eyes.

“No…” Her eyebrow rose at you and your shoulders deflated. “Lucienne, he is an Endless. What isn’t there to be afraid of? I’m a menial little human and his gaze is intimidating.”

“Y/N,” Lucienne chided, giving you a look. She inclined her head towards the stack of books Lord Dream wanted. “Books, throne room, now.”

“Yes ma’am,” You squeaked out, setting the books you had been in the process of shelving, down, and picking up the books Lord Dream wanted. You scurried out of the library with your tail tucked firmly between your legs. Lord Dream was scary, Lucienne was terrifying.

Clutching the books to your chest, you walked through the palace while your eyes flittered everywhere. You spent most of your time working in the library, and when you weren’t working, you were in your cottage, parked in front of your fireplace, reading. You didn’t know much about the palace and hadn’t taken the time to figure out where everything was. The vast building changed periodically to Lord Dream’s whims and desires and to be frank, you were still having a hard time wrapping your head around the realm. Trotting down the hallway that would open up to the throne room, you came across Mervyn who was lumbering his way out of the throne room.

“Hey, Y/N, Loosh got ya runnin’ errands?” Mervyn spoke as you came to a stop next to him. You nodded and looked down at the large books you had pressed against your chest.

“We just got in a rather large influx of books that need shelving,” You explained, nodding your head in the direction of the library. “I offered to shelve them since I was almost done with the W’s, but I think Lucienne was stressing about them and wanted to do them herself.” You then patted your hand against the bottom book in your arms. “I’m to deliver these books to Lord Dream.”

“She upgraded you from devoted follower to errand girl, congrats,” Mervyn said, his jagged mouth curving at the side. You scowled at him.

“I am not a devoted follower Mervyn!” You exclaimed sharply, shooting the pumpkin-headed janitor a dirty look. “I just really love books!”

“Yeah, I got that, kid. You eat, sleep, and breathe books… just don’t let Loosh wear you ragged, kid. It’s nice to have you around.” Mervyn replied before lumbering off in the direction of the east garden. Letting out a huff, you turned back to the entrance to the throne room and steeled yourself. You could do this, it was just a delivery of books, Lord Dream probably wouldn’t even give you a second glance. Marching forwards with a tight grip on the books, you entered the throne room… only to come to a screeching halt and all but blanch at the magnificent stained glass windows rising to the eaves of the room behind the throne. Light flooded through the colored glass and illuminated the depictions. Then your eyes trailed upwards to see swirling glass overhead, morphing between shapes.

First, it was a blue and purple swirl of colors, shifting into a woman with wings that sparkled like a dark nebula. Then those dark and mesmerizing colors swirled into an orange-red. A man with a, he had a large smile… but before you could figure out what he was, the glass shifted once more. An explosion of greens appeared, depictions of plants, trees, and flowers rotated and twisted. You hadn’t realized that your attention had been completely absorbed by the glass until a voice spoke from the ground.

“Hi, there!” You took a step back in surprise before dropping your gaze to see a raven standing in front of you. The raven shifted its wings.

“Hello,” You replied quietly, your head tilting to the side in curiosity. Lucienne had explained that Lord Dream had a familiar, a raven named Matthew. “You must be Matthew.” Matthew hopped in place.

“Oh! You’ve heard of me?” You could have sworn that his chest puffed up proudly. “Yes! I serve Morpheus… or at least help him out.” The raven explained. “And you must be Y/N, the new librarian Lucienne is very territorial over.

“Territorial over?” You repeated in confusion. “How is Lucienne territorial over me? I’m just a librarian…”

“Oh that’s because she likes having you all to herself, you know, helping with the library… just don’t tell her that because she’ll pluck all my tail feathers out.” You made a face at the image and nodded in agreement. Lucienne would pluck Matthew’s tail feathers out if she was pushed to that point. “Lucienne’s already chased off several residents trying to get to know you.”

“She has, has she? This is the first I’ve heard of it.” You mused quietly, your eyebrows pinching together. “Never mind that, Lucienne has tasked me to bring Lord Dream the books he requested.” Your eyes looked up to the throne and you saw the Endless in question, sitting on the stairs to the throne. Star-filled blue eyes rose to meet yours and you let out a noise in the back of your throat. You dropped your eyes and stared at the floor, glancing at Matthew. “If you will excuse me, Matthew, I should make my delivery and get back to the library.”

Like a frightened mouse, you scurried up to the steps, cleared your throat, and offered the stack of books to Lord Dream.

“The books you requested, Lord Dream.” You squeaked out, trying your hardest to keep your hands from shaking. He closed the book he had been reading and set it aside, then took the stack of books from your hands. You nearly jerked when his fingers brushed against yours. But rather than jerking back as if he had burned you, you waited until Lord Dream had a good hold on the books and then retracted your hands to your chest. “Is there anything else I can do for you while I am here?”

“If you wouldn’t mind returning this book to Lucienne for me, I would be most appreciative.” Lord Dream answered, offering the book in question. Nodding obediently, you took the book from him and turned to step back down. “Y/N…” You froze in place, a rush of worry and dread filling your body.

“Yes, Lord Dream?” You hesitantly asked, your mind thinking over the worst-case scenarios in rapid succession. You could feel him wanting you to look at him and ever so slowly turned around to look at him. He didn’t look mad or irritated, his face actually looked tender and concerned.

“Will you not address me as Morpheus?” Your eyes widened and you stuttered to reply.

“Well— I’m mean— I’m— surely I am… not in a position to address you with such familiarity…” You softly sputtered out, holding the book you were to return to the library against your chest as a shield. “I’m just an assistant…” A pitch-black eyebrow rose in amused question.

“Are you,” Lord Dream echoed, his eyebrows then bunched together. “Will you still be resistive to the notion even if I ask you to address me as such?” Your mouth opened and closed repeatedly while you struggled to reply.

“I— well, if my lord demands so…” You whispered out, chewing on your lip and curling your fingers into the hardcover of the book.

“I do not demand so, Y/N, I simply wish you to call me by my name.” Lord Dream— Morpheus, spoke, still just as calmly and softly as before. “While I am the king of Dreams and Nightmares, that does not mean I cannot be friends with those that reside in my realm.”

“You wish… to be friends… Lord Drea—“ You cut off when his eyebrow arched once more, and you corrected yourself. “Lord Morpheus.” Further amusement flickered in his eyes.

“I do, should you be so inclined. I do not think myself to be in a position to force you into something you do not want.” You blinked at him and once again struggled for words.

“I— uh... my lord, I mean… yes, I think I would like that,” You managed to get out. “I don’t have a lot of friends and Mervyn says I spend too much time with Lucienne or with my nose stuck in a book… so, yes, I would like to be friends with you… Morpheus.” There, you said it and he didn’t look like he was going to smite you where you stood or blast you into oblivion. If anything, he seemed to be pleased with your answer.

The barely there smile on his lips was reassuring and your tense shoulders relaxed slightly. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“No, I think that should be all, Y/N. Thank you.” You bowed your head and turned around to head back to the library. Rather than bolting from the room like a scared mouse, you strode at a more relaxed pace while your mind replayed the short conversation over and over in your head. It was hard for you to wrap your mind around it. Everything you had learned about Dream of the Endless seemed to be wrong, or at least different than what you expected. Marching into the library, you paused at a table and looked down at the spine of the book in hand to see where it should go. It was an F. As you moved towards the aisle, your mind thinking of the F aisles, there was a flap of wings. You paused and looked toward the sound. It was Matthew.

“Hello Matthew, do you need something?” You asked. The raven fluttered over to a nearby bookshelf and landed on top of it.

“Hi Y/N!” Matthew chirped, his voice slightly higher than how it had been in the throne room.

“Are you alright, Matthew?” You asked, peering closer at him. Matthew shook his head and ruffled his feathers, almost like he was trying to shake something off.

“Perfectly fine, just thought I’d see how you were doing.” Matthew chittered, his voice still a little odd. He shook his head again and hoped once more. “Lucienne told me about you…” You flushed in embarrassment and Matthew scrambled in place. “Nothing bad! Just that you struggle with confidence… and I know Morpheus is kind of intense.” The raven let out a squawk and hopped several paces across the bookshelf.

“Matthew?”

“I’m fine! I’m fine,” He responded. “I’ve just been dealing with a... headache… that comes and goes.” It must be a bad headache if it had him hopping around like that…

“Maybe you should ask Lucienne about it then? I’m sure she’s dealt with headaches like that before being that she was Lord Dre— Morpheus’s, first raven.” You offered. Matthew’s head bobbed.

“Yeah, yeah, good idea, good idea, we should do that,” He muttered to himself. Your eyebrow twitched at his words, but you didn’t question what he meant by ‘we’. You weren’t exactly well versed in how being Morpheus’s raven worked. “Anyways, not to point it out or draw attention, but are you okay?”

“I’m okay,” You said while moving forwards, you needed to shelve the book as soon as possible. “I’ve heard a lot about him from Lucienne and Death.”

“You talked with Death?” Matthew asked, coasting between shelves as he followed you through the aisles. You reached the shelf where the book needed to go and stretched up on your toes to slide the heavy tome in place.

“Once, right after I died,” You explained, looking at Matthew with a small smile. “I may or may not have gotten into an argument with her.” You chuckled wryly as you turned back to Matthew, your fingers brushing over book spines. “I didn’t want to stop tending to my library… that’s how I ended up here.”

“You argued with Death!?” Matthew exclaimed, his wings flapping as he struggled to keep his laughter in. “How!? No offense, but you look like you have the confidence of a bunny!” You flushed in embarrassment, your face heating up.

“I like books, okay! I wasn’t going to let death stop me from enjoying my first and only love.” You said in your defense as Matthew cackled.

“For a human as timid as you are, you sure pick weird battles!” Scowling at Matthew, you huffed and moved back towards the tables, the shelves shifting behind you and Matthew.

You were neck-deep in a book in the library. It was a rare moment that you got to relax in the library. You and Lucienne had completed shelving all of the books that had suddenly appeared and done the normal ones that appeared daily, which left you with nothing to do for the afternoon. This book happened to be written by Lucienne herself and covered the history of The Dreaming. You were using every chance you had to learn about the Realm that was now your home. Turning to the next page, you started reading more about Fiddler’s Green.

“Lucienne?” You perked up at the voice of Morpheus ringing out through the silent library. Closing the book, you rose from your seat as Morpheus appeared. His eyes met yours.

“Lord Morpheus,” You greeted quietly. “If you are looking for Lucienne, I am afraid she is not in the library at the moment… is there anything I can help you with?” Morpheus’s brow crinkled as his eyes glanced at the book on the table.

“I do not wish to interrupt your reading…” Morpheus spoke, his head lowering ever so slightly. You waved off his words.

“Nonsense, my lord,” You replied. “I am a librarian and I am here to help. Are you searching for a book? What is the title?”

He blinked at you and you saw his lips twitching. Your eyebrow rose.

“Well?” You further prompted him.

“I require a book of dreams, Robert Spencer.” Your mind started thinking of the S section and walking into an aisle, you heard Morpheus sigh. “I do not wish to drag you away from your reading Y/N…” You aired out a snort, your eyes running along book spines. You found the book you were looking for and pulled it from the shelf. Turning around, you walked out of the aisle, appearing on the other side of the narrow room and closer to Morpheus. “You seem to be very invested in your research…” He trailed off.

“This is my job, my lord.” You announced from behind him. Morpheus turned in place, clear surprise on his face. You held out the book. “Robert Spencer, book of dreams. Can I find another book for you, my lord?” Morpheus took the offered book and stared into your eyes. You almost felt like shrinking back, but you were in your territory this time. You weren’t going to be intimidated.

“No, that is all, thank you,” You returned to your seat, picking up your book and resuming your reading once more. Before leaving, Morpheus studied his newest librarian once last time. You were an interesting creature he was enjoying getting to know, but you were still quite reserved. Surely ‘my lord’ and ‘Lord Morpheus’ was an improvement from Lord Dream. The timid human who had gone against Death was a refreshing change around the palace, and Morpheus wanted to see how much he could pull you from your shell.

“Does it ever get monotonous?” You turned your head away from the sunset to see Morpheus standing not that far away, watching the kaleidoscope of colors on the horizon. “Being a librarian, you are always shelving books, shifting them around, retrieving and returning.” You considered his words. Yes, it sometimes got monotonous, especially when you had such large stacks of books to shelve.

“At times, sir,” You replied, holding his gaze. “But at the same time, Lucienne and I get to read the books that appear and there is nothing like the excitement of a new book whose pages have not been turned.” Morpheus nodded in understanding.

“Are you happy here, Y/N?” You didn’t hesitate in your answer.

“More than happy, sir.” Sir. That was an improvement. It had taken weeks to get here, and Morpheus was glad to see the progress… but still, he wanted more. He desired more. He would get you there. Eventually.

It was your day off and you were wandering the market in the village, picking up produce for dinner tonight. You were planning on fixing dinner in the palace tonight in celebration of Matthew’s birthday. As the only humans within the palace, you and Matthew had grown close. Since discovering Matthew’s birthday, you had decided to at least celebrate in a way you would both appreciate. Matthew had once said that chicken scallopini was his favorite dinner, so that’s what you were going to make. Abel and Cain were going to bring the wine and chicken and you were going to pick up the rest of the ingredients. The market in the village had the best produce you had seen in your life and you were eager to get your hands on what you could.

You had gotten all of the ingredients for dinner and were now just picking out fruit for the dessert tart you planned on making as well. Excitement for cooking and baking added a pep in your step as you picked out several apples, oranges, plums, and peaches. You probably ended up with an excess, but you were excited to do something so mundane and human, such as cooking. Wandering in the direction of the bridge of the castle, you hefted your basket against your side and looked at the blackberries. They looked wonderfully fresh, just like everything else in the market. You ought to get some, Matthew did say they were one of his favorites to snack on, and that tart recipe you had found written by his grandmother…

“It seems that you are aware of Matthew’s love for blackberries.” Your head snapped to the right in surprise. It had never crossed your mind that Morpheus would leave the palace. Smiling, you nodded and bought two cases, adding them to your basket before turning to Morpheus.

“We’ve been reminiscing about our favorite foods from when we were human,” You explained as you slowly moved in the direction of the palace. You had everything you needed. Morpheus fell into step beside you. “Matthew’s second love after hotdogs is blackberries. He mentioned that his grandmother use to make this blackberry tart and he repeatedly got scolded for snacking on them.”

“Then I suggest hiding them unless you wish Matthew to eat them all.” Morpheus lightly teased. You giggled at his words and patted the edge of the basket.

“Not to worry, I don’t plan on letting Matthew know what I’m up to until everything is finished. He can gorge on the rest of the blackberries after I’ve finished the tart.” You replied, smiling up at Morpheus. “As it turns out, his grandmother made a cookbook and her recipe is in the library. All I have to do is not mess it up and he should be a very happy raven.” Morpheus returned the smile, albeit with a much smaller one, but a smile all the same.

“I am sure that he will appreciate the gesture regardless of how it turns out.” Morpheus had a nice smile, it was a shame that he didn’t do it more often. Speaking of which, you had another question to ask Morpheus… but you weren’t sure if you were within your rights to ask. “You wish to ask me something?” Your eyes flickered up to his in surprise. No, you shouldn’t be surprised, he was aware of everything.

“I’m not sure if it's within my rights to ask,” You spoke slowly, your eyes examining the stone cobbles underfoot. They disappeared as you reached the bridge connecting the village to the palace.

“And if I inquired you of your question… regardless of its nature, will you ask me?” Morpheus challenged back, his voice and tone, as always, revealing nothing about what he was currently thinking. You came to a stop in the middle of the bridge and looked up at him and his returned gaze. Morpheus fully turned to face you, looking down at you with eyes that swirled with galaxies.

“Do Endless need to eat? Or is it a needless task that you only partake in when you feel so?” His eyebrow rose and his lips twitched in amusement.

“We do not experience hunger, nor do we need sustenance to maintain life… but my siblings occasionally consume human food,” Morpheus explained. “Death is partial to the street food in her travels to complete her job.” That was understandable, you bet she covered a lot of ground everywhere. The food she came across was probably the most diverse… your mind started running on its hamster wheel.

“When was the last time you ate something?” You then questioned, your head tilting to the side. “Is it something you enjoy? Or does it not really cross your mind because you don’t need to eat?”

“It has probably been centuries since I last consumed human food and… no, I suppose I do not really think about eating since it is not necessary to sustain my life,” Morpheus answered. “You do not need to consume subsistence and yet you still partake.”

“I think it is out of habit, and I enjoy eating…” You replied after a pause for consideration. “I can see why you don’t. It’s not something that is necessary. Though I do think you are missing out on the beautiful produce here in the village. They taste extraordinary.”

“If it will please my librarian, I should think I could try one.” He answered, much to your delight. You reached into your basket and felt around. Finding one of the delicious apples, you brought it out and offered it to Morpheus. Morpheus froze in place, as still as one of the statues in the gardens. You quickly backtracked and turned back to the basket, this time making sure to look at what you were grabbing.

“If you don’t like apples, I can—“ A hand closed over your retracting one, holding onto the apple and your fingers. It was your turn to stiffen. Had you done something wrong? You turned back to Morpheus who was staring at the apple with an indescribable look. “Morpheus?” His eyes lifted to yours and his rigid face relaxed. Then his fingers gently took the apple from yours.

“No, I— like apples,” Morpheus answered softly, holding the apple in front of him like it was a precious thing, like it was made of gold. It was just an apple… Perhaps he really likes apples? Star blue eyes rose from the red fruit and gazed into your confused ones. “I will treasure this apple, thank you, Y/N.” Relief flooded your veins and you beamed at him.

“Good! I should probably hurry back to the palace,” You spoke, looking back at the palace and patting your basket once more. “I need to get dinner on before Matthew catches me with the blackberries.”

“Shall I escort you to your destination to ensure that my raven does not catch sight of your treasure?” Morpheus offered, a sparkle just hinting in his eyes. You smiled once more.

“I would appreciate that, thank you.”

Matthew had gobbled the blackberry tart until his black feathers were bathed in fruit juice… and then when you had shown him the leftover blackberries he could have, he pretty much face-planted in the remaining case in happiness. The raven had been unusually happy since then and you were in near tears at one point because Matthew had essentially put himself in a food coma after Abel had a batch of blackberries delivered to the palace as a belated birthday present. He ate them all in one sitting.

It was late evening about a week after Matthew’s birthday that you found yourself sitting in the northern garden of the palace, watching the sun sink lower and lower after a long day of work in the library. There was a strong breeze that rushed through the area you were sitting in, every once in a while blowing your hair in your face and sending a chill up your spine. Lucienne had said that while Morpheus usually kept the realm at a specific temperature of comfort, he had been introducing an idea of seasonal change to give the residents something new to experience. You were sure appreciating it, but you were also fairly sure that you didn’t have the clothes to weather through colder temperatures. Certainly not at this moment. But the view was just too extraordinary to leave. Another shiver rattled your bones and you grasped your upper arms, feeling the prickle of your skin.

Something was placed around your shoulders, blocking out the wind.

Looking upwards to your left, you saw Morpheus standing behind the little stone bench. His usual black long coat was gone, now around your shoulders. You went to remove it and he placed a gentle hand on your shoulder.

“I believe you are in greater need of my jacket than I, Y/N,” Morpheus spoke as he slowly stepped to the side and walked around the end of the bench. He then gestured to the space next to you. “May I?” Your fingers grasped his jacket and pulled it closer to your body as you nodded at the space.

“It’s your bench, Morpheus.” You reminded him. He countered your words with an eyebrow raise before speaking.

“And yet you are the one it cradles,” He returned with a teasing smirk. You couldn’t help but roll your eyes and gesture to the space next to you with your head.

“Please do,” Morpheus took a seat in the space next to you as you crossed your wrists over your chest and held his jacket against your skin. It was radiating heat. Your mind started to wander, particularly about all that you had learned about Morpheus. Rays of fading sunlight hit your face and your eyes squinted slightly. “Does it ever get overwhelming?” Morpheus looked at you, his eyes trailing on the rays of sun illuminating your face. “Feeling everything, that is. Experiencing so many dreams… you carry the emotions of all life in the universe on your shoulders, how do you not get encompassed by it?”

“Practice,” Morpheus answered, his eyes not leaving your face. Your eyes turned away from the dying light to look into his. That blue was glowing with starlight, echoing the twilight that surrounded you. Another strong gust of wind blew through the garden, this time you didn’t feel it, Morpheus’s jacket keeping you nice and warm. Your hair, however, was a different story. It blew in your face and covered your eyes. You reached up to drag it back into tameness, only to find Morpheus’s fingers delicately doing the task for you. Even after he had cleared your face of hair, his touch lingered on your face. “I’ve had eons to do so, and yet, I still find myself learning something new.”

You were trapped in place by the soft glow of stars in his eyes, the sunset entirely forgotten.

Lucienne was working overtime, once again, for a project in the village. You had jumped in and forced her out of the library to take a much-needed break, taking over her work in researching the development of a naturally occurring phenomenon that bordered the village. She couldn’t do two things at once or she was going to run herself ragged. Then again, you were burning the midnight oil yourself, so you couldn’t exactly chide her on that…

Closing the book you had just run through, you swapped it out for another and dived into numerous pages once more. Your pen scratched away at paper, scribble after scribble, note after note. You would do anything to ease Lucienne of the workload you knew she pushed upon her shoulders. A burn settled in your eyes, and you rubbed at them ferociously, trying to stay awake. You had to get this done for Lucienne. You could do it, a few hours more should be more than enough time to do so…

Morpheus knew that you had kicked Lucienne out of the library hours ago due to his head librarian overworking herself once more… but now it seemed that his little librarian was determined to follow the same path. It was well into the late night that he found himself walking through the dimmed halls of the library, heading in the direction of a brighter light. Emerging in the space where Lucienne often conducted her research, he found you sitting at the table, head against the open book in front of you and hand resting against a paper you had been writing on. You were fast asleep.

He didn’t know if it was Lucienne rubbing off on you, or you trying too hard to find your place.

Morpheus slowly gathered you from where you slept soundly at the table, drawing you into his arms and cradling you gently. You were a very precious addition to his little family and with your brazen, and yet entirely inadvertent proposal, he was determined not to lose you as he had with his previous lovers. You moved in his arms and Morpheus looked at your face to see if you had awakened. You hadn’t, you were more interested in snuggling closer to his body, slinging an arm over Morpheus’s shoulder and burrowing your face closer to his neck with a comforted sigh. Your soft sigh was almost unheard, but he could feel your gentle exhale against his neck before you lapsed back into a fitful sleep.

“You’ve overworked yourself, Y/N,” Morpheus sighed as his sand swirled around his body, transporting the both of you to your little cottage in the village. Your cottage was moderately sized, with a small kitchen, a place to eat, and a little bedroom… the bulk of the space was the library complete with a fireplace and seating area where Morpheus knew you spent almost all of your personal time. He carried you into your little bedroom and tucked you underneath your covers, trying not to chuckle when you sleepily complained of the loss of body heat. Pushing back wayward strands of hair from your face, Morpheus let his fingers linger on your face. “Sleep well, my dream.”

Your pen was rapidly tapping against the sheet of paper you had been writing on. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. You weren’t paying attention to the tic in your hand, your mind wandering as you stared into space ahead of you. Thoughts of recent events were all consuming within your mind, and you could not stop thinking about how different Morpheus had been acting lately. Why was he so touchy-feely with you? Why was he spending so much time around you when you weren’t working period? Scratch that, it seemed like Morpheus went out of his way at times to drop by and say hello. Don’t even get started on all of the times you had spent burning the midnight oil to get research done for Lucienne… only to wake up in bed at your cottage, come morning. Only one person in the palace could do such a thing, but why.

A hand descended on your rapidly moving hand, stopping the continuous tapping. Your eyelashes fluttered and looking at the hand pressing down against yours, your eyes rose to see Lucienne staring down at you with a concerned look on her face.

“Y/N, you have been entirely distracted and unfocused this last week. What is going on?” Lucienne asked. You swallowed and retracted your hand from hers, holding it against your chest and staring at it with confliction. “Y/N?”

“He’s been acting strange, lately, has he not?” You whispered in question. Lucienne’s head cocked to the side and her eyebrows rose as she sighed.

“Indeed, which is why I am asking what is wrong with you. Has something happened between you and Morpheus?” Lucienne pressed on with her question. “Are you aware of why he has changed in recent?”

“I—“ To be honest you didn’t even know what to think of it yourself. Lucienne knew him far longer than you had so shouldn’t she be the one to know why his moods change? You waved your hand slightly. “Morpheus, well, he’s been acting weird ever since he walked me back from the market on Matthew’s birthday.”

“Weird?” Lucienne repeated. “And pray tell what do you mean by weird?”

“I don’t want to say touchy-feely because I feel like that would be an insult to one such as Dream of the Endless… but he’s been around a lot more, often checks in on me, brings me back to my cottage when I fall asleep in …the middle of research…” Lucienne’s eyebrows rose and she peered at you over her glasses. Strange indeed, Lord Morpheus never acted that way unless he was with his current lover. Lucienne’s suspicions deepened and she gazed shrewdly at you.

“Y/N, what happened in the market? Granted he’s been tip-toeing around you like you’ll spook if he so much as moves the wrong way… Did something strange happen between you?”

“Strange?” You repeated before shaking your head and shrugging in confusion. “Nothing that I can think of, we only talked about the eating habits of an Endless… though he did seem rather shocked when I offered an apple to eat…” Lucienne choked and was momentarily rendered speechless. You had offered Morpheus an apple!? By the gods did the once human have any idea what that meant? Clearly not.

“Good heavens, Y/N!” Lucienne exclaimed, her mind whirling in contemplation. You gave the head librarian a confused look. “Did he accept it?” You nod in further confusion, wondering how that mattered… let alone why it was such a big deal.

“Well… yes? He got kind of possessive with it when I offered to exchange it with another fruit… though he never actually ate the apple.” You softly mused, twirling your pen between your fingers once more. “All it’s doing is sitting in his study… I’ve told him that he’s meant to eat it, you know, before it rots. Told me that it is far too precious to be eaten…”

“Oh Y/N,” Lucienne sighed, fully understanding the situation you had put yourself in. It was clear to everyone that Morpheus had a special spot for you. When Morpheus fell in love, he fell fast and deeply. In fact, you had him wrapped around your finger and you didn’t even know it. It was best for you to figure out what you had done sooner, rather than later “Do you not know the meaning behind giving someone an apple?”

Your eyebrows drew together in confusion. There was a meaning behind giving someone an apple? Sure, you loved to read and probably read a little too much, but you hadn’t heard about this before.

“No,” Your voice came out in a whisper, dread filling your veins. Had you done something grievous? Had you done something worthy of getting banished from the palace? No. You would have been long gone if you had. If anything, Morpheus had been closer than ever. Yes, softer, closer, more delicate, caring…

“I will not meddle in your affairs with Lord Morpheus,” Lucienne spoke softly, her hand reaching out to touch your shoulder. “But might I suggest that you research the meaning behind that action? Surely then you will understand better. It is Grecian, I would start there.” You nodded ever so slowly shortly before the head librarian strode away.

It had been nearly three days since Lucienne had pushed you to research why Morpheus had changed… and the answer you found made morbid embarrassment flush through your veins. You had proposed to the King of Dreams and Nightmares! Your boss! Good heavens, you didn’t know when you were going to be able to face him again but it certainly wasn’t going to be anytime soon. Book on Ancient Greek traditions pressed tight against your chest, you had stayed huddled in your favorite chair in your library at home, in front of your wood-burning fire. How could you have been so stupid!?

Chin dropping back to your knees, you gazed into the crackling fire and wished you could burn up into nothing like the frequent embers that floated free of the inferno. This second life of yours would stretch out for eternity, at least until it was finally time to move on from this universe… but that wouldn’t be for eons. Eons of living in the realm of the King you had inadvertently and naively proposed to. You weren’t sure you would be able to do it. There was a taping sound at your window and shifting your gaze, you saw Matthew standing on the sill. Rubbing your red and puffy eyes, you unfolded yourself from your huddled position, grimacing as your joints ached from remaining still for so long. You set the book down and stiffly rose to your feet, huffing over to the window to let the raven in.

“Wow, you look like crap, Y/N,” Matthew said as he hopped in.

“Yeah, I know,” You mumbled in response, leaving the window cracked so he could leave. You shuffled back over to your seat and proceeded to get back into that awkward folded position. Matthew fluttered over to the table beside you, his head cocking side to side.

“So… you haven’t been by the castle in several days and we established that you look terrible, what’s up?” Matthew asked, leaning forwards and pecking at the sleeve of your jumper. Your tired eyes shifted to Mathew.

“I’m pretty sure I’ve committed a cardinal sin, Matthew.” You mumbled at him, wrapping your arms around your knees and hugging them tightly to your chest. “Or at least the version of that here in The Dreaming.”

“Oh really? I highly doubt that Y/N,” Matthew responded, hoping closer. “You’re the nicest person I know, how could you have committed a cardinal sin.” You wilted where you huddled.

“ImayormaynothaveaccidentallyproposedtoMorpheusandIhavenotideawhattodobecausehe’sanEndlessandaccordingtomyresearchheacceptedandI’mfreakingout.” Matthew blinked at you for a few moments.

“Sorry… what was that? It sounded like you said something about a proposal and Morpheus?” You aired out a whimper and pointed down at the book Matthew stood on.

“I didn’t know that giving Morpheus an apple was essentially a marriage proposal.” You whispered, your nails digging into your legs.

“Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, you proposed by giving him an apple?”

“It’s a greek thing apparently.” Matthew nodded in understanding.

“Greek, yeah, I’ll remember that… so you accidentally and unknowingly proposed to Morpheus, that’s not the end of the world, right? You like him don’t you?” You managed to give Matthew a dirty look and rubbed your red eyes once more.

“Matthew, he’s my boss.”

“Yeah and we’ve all been pretending that he hasn’t been pursuing you for the last three months,” Matthew stated frankly. “Y/N, it’s been kind of obvious that he has had a thing for you since the start, you’ve just been off in your own world, completely oblivious to him… I think Mervyn and Lucienne have a bet going on right now on how long it will be until you figure things out. Pretty sure Lucienne just won that one...”

“Matthew,” You rushed out, your face hot with embarrassment. “Please, I beg you, stop, it’s morbidly embarrassing without the reminders.”

“What’s there to be embarrassed about? It’s not like he refused.”

“That’s precisely the problem! I’m—“ You couldn’t finish that sentence. You were just supposed to be his librarian, that’s all. That’s the deal you had with Death, the deal you had with Dream himself. You were never supposed to be anything more. You didn’t deserve to be anything more, not when all his previous lovers had been such prominent women. “I’m just a librarian.” Matthew picked at your sleeve one last time.

“You know… we miss you at the palace, you make it a brighter place.”

It was day five of your self-imposed exile from the palace and you were feeling more than antsy. Surely you should return to the palace to assist Lucienne with the pile-up of books that had accumulated. It was wrong of you to shirk your duties in this state of moping. You pulled yourself from your bed and trudged into your kitchen to fix yourself a caffeinated drink to hopefully put a pep in your step. You couldn’t go back to the palace looking like this.

You chose coffee to get a nice hit of caffeine, that should put life in your eyes where exhaustion had overstayed its welcome. You wish you could have said that you had slept in the last five days, but you had been crippled by your embarrassment. It also didn’t help to know that you were technically engaged to Dream of the Endless. What did that even mean for you? Coffee in hand you were about to inhale a large sip when someone knocked on your door. You eyed the heavy wooden door scrupulously, contemplating whether or not to see who was there. With a sigh, you trundled over to the door and dragged the door open. You froze in place, coffee halfway to your lips.

“Y/N,” Morpheus greeted softly, his eyes soaking in your disheveled state and noting just how exhausted you looked. Your eyes were red and filled with fatigue, and Morpheus knew that you hadn’t spent any of the past five days caring for yourself. “May I come in, or is this a bad time?” You blinked at him like you had seen a ghost and silently stepped to the side. Morpheus stepped into your cottage and shut the heavy door behind him as you shakily raised the coffee to your lips. Morpheus stopped you from taking a sip. “I doubt you need caffeine right now.” You reluctantly let him take the coffee from you and gave it a mournful gaze as Morpheus set it on your dining table.

“I was going to drink that,” You softly croaked out. Morpheus aired out a soft snort and reached forwards to brush his fingers against your fatigue-riddled face.

“You need sleep, not caffeine.” Morpheus corrected you, his fingers lingering over the bags beneath your eyes. “Why have you not properly rested.” Your eyelids fluttered before you looked away.

“I haven’t been able to sleep,” You answered scratchily. It was a pathetic excuse. You knew it. Morpheus knew it. You swayed in place and rubbed your eye. “I apologize for my absence, sir. I’ll be back at the library as soon as I can.” Morpheus grabbed your hand and pulled it away from your eyes, maintaining a light hold.

“I am not here to question your absence from the palace, Y/N. I am here… because I fear that I have chased off my beloved librarian.” Exhaustion dampened your reaction to his words as Morpheus cradled your face in hand.

“I’m just a human.” You mumbled, leaning forward and pressing your face into his chest. Exhaustion was now hitting you like a freight train. Morpheus wrapped an arm around your back and hugged you closer.

“Perhaps, but you are my human,” Morpheus replied gently, his arms snaking around your body to gently pick you up and cradle your body in his arms. “And my human needs to sleep.”

“But— but—” You weakly protested.

“Y/N, we will talk later,” Morpheus spoke into your ear, his nose brushing against your messy and matted hair. “I wish for you to rest.”

“But we need to talk...” Even as you drowsily spoke, you found yourself drifting off to sleep.

“I am not above hitting you with this tome, Matthew,” You warned the cackling raven, hefting the heavy book up. Matthew hopped several paces away, getting out of hitting range as he reigned in his cackles.

“I’m sorry I just can’t,” The raven chortled. “Did you really not see it?”

“Clearly!” You snapped back, thumping the book down on the table. Your cheeks were blazingly hot. “But you don’t need to rub it in!”

“Okay, okay, I’ll stop, I’ll stop,” Matthew huffed. He still looked like he was struggling not to laugh. The raven added one last jab. “Your majesty.”

“MATTHEW!!!” The raven aired out another loud cackle and quickly flapped his wings to fly far, far away from you and your fuming state. You watched as his tail feathers disappeared. “Stupid bird.” You grumbled, your fingers scraping against the wood of the table. Arms slipped around your waist and a face nuzzled into your neck.

“Matthew teasing you again, my dream?” You huffed as your eye twitched and leaned back into Morpheus’s embrace.

“Your raven is asking for his feathers to be plucked.” You said grouchily, settling your hands against the ones that encompassed your waist.

“He’s happy that you are happy,” You snorted in disagreement.

“That was morbidly embarrassing and I wish to erase that incident from my mind.” You bit out. Morpheus brushed his lips along your neck.

“Why? No mortal has ever been so brazen with their actions towards me yet entirely oblivious at the same time.” You groaned loudly, in complete misery from the repeated teasing you were bound to endure for eternity.

“I told you it was embarrassing! How was I supposed to know that giving you an apple was asking you to marry me?” Morpheus chuckled into your neck and pressed several kisses against your flesh.

“Embarrassment aside, it worked did it not?” With cheeks still burning hot, your eyes glanced down to your left hand where you had a set of rings wrapped around your ring finger. The main stone mounted on the engagement ring swirled in the color of Morpheus’s eyes and was a constant reminder of how you had blundered your way into a relationship with Dream of the Endless. An innocent offer of an apple had landed you on the throne of the realm you now resided in.

“This was not how I was expecting my second life to go.” You sighed. “But seriously, Morpheus, get control of your raven before I cook him for dinner!”

Date Published: 10/2/22

Last Edit: 4/26/23

An Accepted Apple | Masterlist | An Innocent Apple

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