go big or go home

punz

ᴛʀɪɢɢᴇʀ ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ ʟɪꜱᴛᴇᴅ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴏᴘᴇɴɪɴɢ ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ'ꜱ ɴᴏᴛᴇ

☆

punz pulls open his apartment door, surprised because he wasn't expecting anyone.

his surprise amplifies tenfold when he's met face to face with dream, the blonde's face all red and shy.

dream holds his hands out, pushing a bouquet of roses into punz's space. "these are for you."

punz takes them reluctantly, not quite understanding what's happening. he tries to catch up on the situation -door open, dream here, flowers- but it still doesn't make sense. "uhm, thank you?"

dream nods, awkward. "there's a note," he tells punz, gently flicking a small piece of paper tied to the flower stems. he smiles, stepping back, and says, "i'll see you, uh, when i see you, i guess."

punz watches dream retreating back down the hallway and has no self-restraint, immediately checking the note. maybe, if he had more respect and patience, he could've put it off for a while, but he feels like he needs to read it immediately. so, door still open, he flips up the note.

i'm sorry if i gave you the wrong impression. you're not just a random kiss to me, punz.

the blond stares for a few moments in utter disbelief. the note isn't the most eloquent or descriptive, but he thinks he understands it nonetheless.

punz can't help but dwell on the fact that this is the first bouquet of flowers he has ever received. ever.

he puts the flowers down carefully on the side and quickly steps out through the open door, blessed to see dream waiting at the elevator. "dream?" the older man looks back. now, punz is a little stuck for words. he stares for a few long moments, lost, before gesturing the older blond back towards the apartment.

he thinks, rationally, they need to talk. he needs more than twenty words of explanation before he can make any decisions on how he is supposed to react. dream hasn't spoken to him in weeks, he shouldn't just assume this could mean something. they only kissed twice.

then again, as dream passes him back into the apartment and he catches sight of the other's muscles and the hardly noticeable ink below his collar, he thinks maybe he doesn't care about an explanation.

no, have some self-respect goddammit.

"would you like a glass of water?" punz offers awkwardly, feeling like an absolute idiot as soon as the words leave his mouth.

dream smiles in a way that is almost fond before his gaze flicks away. when he looks back, he seems more nervous. "have you got alcohol?"

"i have wine," punz offers, stepping into the kitchen. he can hear dream following behind him. "is that okay?"

"please."

the blond nods before wordlessly pouring them both a glass of red wine. he wishes he was playing music or something, because the silence is so overwhelmingly loud that he feels as though he could be being strangled.

when he turns around with the glasses in hand, dream is looking off to the side, seeming out of the moment. to bring him back, and also to prompt him to look over so he can take his drink, punz asks, "so what did the note mean?"