The Sandman Oneshots & Headcanons

Father's Daughter (Morpheus x Matthew's Daughter!Reader)

The Ruler of the Dreaming had a problem. One that he had been stewing over for a while.

He hadn't expected to fall for one of the visitors to the Dreaming, just some human (although one that was strangely perceptive to the fact that their sleeping world was a whole other dimension to earth entirely) that he had passed by when inspecting his realm. But she had captured his attention, for a reason he had not known. There was a familiarity in her soul that could not be understood.

So as ashamed as he was to admit it, he kept returning to her dreams. They were odd, but not unheard of: she was constantly searching, although for what or who he did not know. That desire was something that he understood quite intimately and eventually, he couldn't resist the need to make contact with the intriguing human.

It wasn't hard to love her, he realized quickly. This fragile human who he met, she brought a happiness to him like no others could. Morpheus would show her the dreaming, feeling immense pride when she would awe at his creations. Somehow, her praise mattered to him more than anyone else's.

And then came the problem. A problem in the form of a raven. For when Morpheus went searching for (Y/N) one day - sensing that she had returned to the dreaming - he found her speaking to Matthew. Speaking to his subject, and saying...

"Come on, dad." She laughed, sitting in front of the bird who ruffled his feathers with clear fake indignation. "That guy totally tricked you. I think becoming a bird has messed with your memories."

"Ha ha ha." Matthew replied sarcastically. "I think sleep has messed with YOUR memory. I was practically a flawless conman when I was alive. Being tricked by someone else? Ha, don't be ridiculous."

She laughed her lovely laugh, but Morpheus couldn't help but narrow his eyes. "Fine," she said. "But..."

Morpheus waved his hand. (Y/N) disappeared from the Dreaming.

"What? (Y/N)?" Matthew's confusion at his daughter's disappearance was evident, until he noticed Morpheus presence. "What did you send her away for?"

Morpheus stared at Matthew emotionlessly. "The Dreaming is not made to allow the living to tarry with my subjects. Not even family."

"But..."

"You died. Your daughter didn't." The King was stern, his tone final. "You were not meant to have this extra time together. In fact, you never told me you had a daughter. Why?"

Matthew was clearly irritated with his ruler, answering rudely. "You didn't ask."

***

Morpheus left (Y/N) in her own dreams for a while. No longer rushing to join her. None of his subjects could quite explain why, but they could certainly link it to his worsened mood.

They put up with their King'd behaviour for a while, but eventually his sulking became too much for even Lucienne.

"Your misery is affecting the Dreaming." She told him sternly, but careful enough not to be too confrontational. "For it's sake, fix whatever has been causing this mood in you."

Dream of the Endless dismissed her, trying to ignore her words. But he knew Lucienne was right. And eventually...

"What are you doing here?" There was no smile or warm greeting from (Y/N) as he appeared in her dream. It made his mood even worse, but Morpheus knew that response was his fault.

"Visiting you."

"You haven't done that in ages." She crossed her arms. "Locking me in my dreams and not letting me see you or my dad or anyone else. So what's the deal with that?"

"All our time together, you never shared with me that fact that Matthew, my raven, was your father."

He had avoided her question, which honestly annoyed her. "Because you never asked." She gestured exasperatedly. "I fail to see the issues."

"The issue was that you were using me and my favour towards you to get in contact with your father!" He didn't mean to raise his voice, and judging by the surprise on her face, she didn't either.

And then the surprise on her face turned to a sort of sadness. "You think I was using you? That all our time together was just to what... manipulate you?"

"Your father was clearly your priority and..."

"Yeah." There was pity in her gaze, and he both hated and desired it. "Cause he's my father. But... so are you. I spent all that time with you because I loved it. I love you."

He didn't look convinced. (Y/N) reached forward to take his hands in hers. "Tell me how to get you to believe me. I'll do anything."

"Promise me."

It was all he needed. For her to say it.

"I promise."

Morpheus let out an almost-shaky breath, there had been a weight on his heart for those past while and her words had finally released it. It was true, she did love him.

"Well then." He began to smile once more, his first since before that conversation with Matthew. "I've shown you nearly all of the Dreaming, but I have one more part for you to see."

He waved his hand, teleporting them with a gust of sand. When it cleared, (Y/N) could only gasp in awe at the building around them.

"My palace." He announced, gesturing around them.

"It's beautiful."

His heart swelled at her amazement. Morpheus took her hand in his, recapturing her attention. "I'm glad you think so. After all, hopefully soon you'll have a more permanent presence here."

She gazed at him in shock, and he just smiled and leaned down to kiss her. "Go, look around. My home is your home. My heart belongs to you." He nudged her forwards, away from him and further into the regal and colossal palace around them.

As he watched her step forward, beginning to hesitantly explore, his raven flew down to stand on a banister beside Morpheus.

"She's a good kid." Matthew told him, his voice fond as he looked at his now grown daughter looking over the palace in awe. Turning his attention back to Morpheus, the raven puffed out his chest to try and seem intimidating. "Make sure you treat her well. Or else."

Of course Morpheus would do that, but he couldn't resist giving his subject a teasing smirk. "Or else what? What would you do?"

"Dad stuff."

The king of the dreaming chuckled at that, simply staring at his new love as things became simple and right again. His problem was solved and he was happier for it.