HALLUCINATE | THE SANDMAN

TWENTY EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
[ The Never Ending Book of Eternity ]
"I've never done this before..."

       AZRAIL GAVE MORPHEUS AS MUCH TIME AS HE NEEDED TO DEAL WITH HIS FAMILY DRAMA. She had never had the pleasure of meeting any of the Endless outside of Death, and she wasn't sure she'd ever be comfortable with doing so. They were intimidating, and much more powerful then she could ever comprehend that keeping her distance seemed to be the appropriate decision. And yet, she remained in the Dreaming.

        Azrail couldn't bring herself to leave. There were too many questions bubbling in the back of her mind, too many answers needed to help her finally put this whole saga to rest. And for one, she needed to understand what companionship entailed.

How was she to introduce the idea? Would Morpheus be annoyed that she was still here? Perhaps he wouldn't see it in the same way as she did... Now that the threat to the universe was gone, would they just go back to their old lives? Never to interact again?

            The thought crossed Azrail's mind to run and go back to her role as the Grim Reaper, but she didn't get a chance to consider it as Morpheus returned.

             "You're still here," he observed, a look of surprised crossing his face as he found the Reaper leaning against the window to watch the Dreaming blossom.

Azrail managed a smile upon her dark lips, turning to sit with her back against the window. She shrugged. "I feel like we have some things we need to talk about." A blush creeped up onto her cheeks as she broke eye contact.

                Morpheus couldn't resist smirking. "You're blushing," he observed in amusement, purposely point to her red face before she slapped his hand away. The reaction made Morpheus chuckle faintly beneath his breath, finding an embarrassed Grim Reaper to be one of the most adorable things he's seen in his eternal life.

               "Listen, I..." Azrail groaned, clasping a hand over her mouth. Her heart was pounding in her ears, an uncomfortable set of nervousness warping through her body as that anxious pressure fell over her chest. "I don't know how to do this." An involuntary and panicked laugh slipped through her lips and she placed her head in hands.

                  How pathetic. Why was the damn Grim Reaper panicking and stressing out?

                  Morpheus grabbed her wrist, gently pulling her hands from her face as he leant down to her hunched over figure. He kept that smile, that same one that lured her in and kept her entrapped in his warmth for so long.

"I've never done this before..." she decided to whisper, feeling Morpheus interlock his fingers with hers, squeezing her frail hands with such a tender and soft touch that made Azrail blush profusely. "I don't even know what this is."