Just a dream

A bright purple light fills the room, followed by the loud echo of a sound similar to a roaring thunder, from it, three silhouettes materialize in the middle of the spacious rectangular office room.

The white marble floor shatters where they had appeared, making the modern-looking black sofa, where a brunette and a white-haired man sat, tumble over with the impact from the teleport. An older man sitting across from them quickly stands up, his cushioned office chair toppling behind him.

From the light, the just-arrived figures start to take shape, revealing a blue-haired, a pink-haired, and a white and green-haired boy who all start coughing, as dust lifts up all around them, their bodies covered in some wounds and blood, but nothing too visibly serious.

As the dust settles, the two men who had fallen off the sofa begin to get back up, and upon realizing who had just come back their faces brighten up. The brunette rushes towards the group and pulls all of them into an embrace.

“You’re all finally back!”, Rogério shouts excitedly while hugging the newly arrived trio, who are all mashed against each other by him.

Rafael’s golden eyes light up as he shifts his sight to a black crown, that they were carrying with them, and back at the three boys, “You did it… you actually did it, you actually got the relic”

“And more importantly”, the older man approaches the group, a smile tracing his face  “You made it back alive, all three of you.”

“Well,” Leo coughs, “We promised didn’t we?”, he smiles softly looking at the two boys by his side and then at Luis.

The pink-haired boy then hands the black crown, which was partially covered by an old rag, to Rafael who puts it on his head, his eyes turn white for a moment, and when they turn back to their usual golden self, they now seem to glow in a radiant but soothing warm light.

With the snap of a finger, all the wounds and dirt covering the trio disappear, making them look at each other perplexed.

“We did it”, Arlo announces,  smiling and pulling the blue-haired boy close by the hand, “We really did it Leo!”

Leo blurts out a soft giggle, his face flushing up slightly as they hold hands, “Yes! It’s finally over! We will be at peace now!”

“And no more paranormal disasters.”, Luis steps up towards Leo, ruffling his hair, “You did a great job, I’m proud of you, all of you”, the blue-haired boy’s dark brown eyes light up, as an awkward happy smile begins growing on his flustered face.

“And no more eminent cycles of doom and pain!”, Rafael says, looking at Draco who smiles at him in response.

“Yes! We can all go rest easy now, finally!” Draco declares.

“About time”, the blue-haired one reiterates.

“Yeah,” the pink-haired boy pulls Leo close once again, who immediately blushes, “About time”, Arlo gently places his free hand on the blue boy’s neck pulling him close for a quick peck on the lips, his thumb caressing his cheek while smiling brightly at him.

Leo’s face turns bright red as he begins shying away with a wonky wide smile tracing his lips, but when the pink boy is about to pull him again for another kiss...

That's when Leo suddenly wakes up. 

His heart was beating loudly in his ears, as he grips at his shirt. His free hand starts reaching toward his mouth, covering it, and anxious thoughts flood his mind.

“Was that a dream? That was a dream. Why did I dream of that?”, he slowly looks to his side to see Arlo peacefully sleeping beside him, as a cold feeling sinks down his stomach, making him slightly nauseous, “What am I doing. WHAT am I thinking. That was wrong. That was wrong, wasn't it? I shouldn't be dreaming of that. God, he is right beside me, why did I dream of that? I’m so stupid, this is so wrong”, he covers his face his both arms, gripping at his hair, “This is not right, why am I like this.”

The heavy breathing of the blue boy fills the bedroom as he tries to calm down, unsuccessfully. A few moments pass and the boy starts to slowly get up from the bed, very, very carefully so he doesn't wake up his pink-haired friend who was still deeply asleep.

As his bare feet touch the wooden floor, Leo looks at Arlo, slowly reaching towards his own lips, as images from his dream invade his mind, making his face flush up again. 

That's when a loud clap fills the room, as Leo makes himself snap out of it by clapping his cheeks with full strength, his face getting slightly red from the impact.

It was a bit too loud.

“Crap,” as the blue-haired boy notices some shifting coming from Arlo he quickly gets up and goes straight to the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Leo lets himself slowly slide down the door, sitting against it with his knees to his chest, he lowers his head so his forehead is now touching his knees as he grasps at his hair, curling up on himself feeling his face still flushed up as shame not only from the dream but also from what he was still feeling completely washes over him.

After a few moments, he gets up, with his head still hanging down and his shoulders tensed up. He goes towards his bathtub, turns on the water, and sits down in the middle of the tub, feeling the freezing cold water hitting him, hoping it will wash away his thoughts as he curls up on himself once again, closing his eyes tightly.

Some minutes pass and Leo hears a knock on the bathroom door, this sends a chill up his spine.

“Leo? Is everything okay?”, Leo hears the voice of a sleepy Arlo coming from outside the bathroom.

The blue boy curls up further, grasping his head tighter than before.

“Leo?”, Arlo waits a few moments, but gets no response, “Can I come in?”

Leo opens his mouth to answer but hesitates, feeling his lips shake.

“Leo?”

From the outside of the bathroom, the pink boy rubs his eyes with one hand, while the other holds the doorknob, “I’m coming in okay?”, not hearing anything in response Arlo turns the handle, opening the door.

The vision of the blue-haired boy sitting curled up in the middle of the bathtub, fully dressed, with water from the shower running through him makes Arlo's free hand sink to his chest as his eyes widen. After a few moments of taking in the scene in silence, the pink boy starts slowly approaching the bathtub, crouching beside it, and looking at his drenched friend.

“What happened?”, Arlo asks, his eyebrows slightly tense and his mouth made in a frown, but Leo doesn't dare to move an inch.

The loud sound of water showering down fills the room.

“You’re going to get sick like that.” 

“You know I can’t get sick anymore” Leo answers quietly, his voice almost all canceled out by the sound of the water that kept pouring hard.

“That still doesn’t mean you should take a bath with your clothes on, that's not very productive you know?” one of Arlo's eyebrows raises as a flat smile grows on his face.

After a few moments, the pink boy reaches out to the shower handle, hesitating at first as he feels the coldness of the water. The cascading sound ceases with a metal squeak.

Arlo stands up and gets a towel from one of the cabinets to clean his hand and arm, then steps towards Leo again, placing the towel over his head, dripping down with water. He ruffles his hair with it attempting to dry it off.

“What happened?” Arlo asks gently.

“I had a dream, that's all” Leo doesn't move from his curled-up position.

“A bad dream?”

The blue boy sinks his head further into his chest.

Arlo grabs another towel, placing it around Leo’s shoulders “It was just a dream, you’re okay now, I’m here”, the pink boy continues to dry off Leo’s hair with the towel that he had put on his head earlier, slowly and gently this time, trying to reassure his friend.

The blue boy opens his eyes “I know.”