As the pair was seated across each other, their noses deep into the menu cards of the fancy restaurant, both of them were silently occupied with their own confusing thoughts.

Charlie took a peak over the card in order to glance at Morpheus. He was not in sight. Just like her, he was taking his time reading every single choice on the menu. She inwardly sighed and read the dessert choices yet another time. But her eyes didn't exactly offer any information for her brain, since her thoughts were elsewhere.

Had Morpheus really reserved a table in this fancy restaurant? Did he maybe do it whilst they were still in the other hotel? Or was this all just part of Hypnos' plan? No way. He couldn't know that they would leave the other hotel and go to the specific one they were in right now. Could he? Aside from that, he promised to stop. Charlie rolled her eyes. As if she could trust him with a promise.

Or maybe it really was Morpheus, who was currently warming up to her? He did ask her to go out with him and seemed confident as he picked this restaurant. He also embraced her on the way here, which even now made Charlie blush.

"Are you ready to order?" Came his deep voice and Charlie gulped before lowering her shield and setting the menu card on the table. Her eyes met his brown ones, that seemed to look so friendly as his lips carried a gentle smile. It was contagious, so Charlie smiled back.
"Yes." A nod of hers was met with another one of his as he looked around for the waiter.

Within a few seconds, a waitress approached, her stride elegant and professional. It was only when the woman halted in front of their table, did Charlie realize how beautiful that woman was. Charlie had never had issues mentally pointing it out when she thought a woman was pretty, but now it was different. Why was that woman looking at Morpheus the way she was? Was it necessary to smile as big as she was? With her pearl white teeth and cute dimples.

"Miss Denver?" Morpheus' concerned voice pulled her out of it. A shake of her head made the waitress glance at Morpheus again, who sensed her eyes on him. But his own ones were focused on the lady in front of him, who by now put on a sweet smile as she looked up at the woman.
"I would like to have a glass of water, please." Charlie ordered and watched her nod.

"And to eat?" The waitress asked.
"Can I please get the honey garlic sauce salmon with the grilled asparagus?" Charlie ordered, feeling Morpheus' eyes on her.
"You sure can! Anything else?" She heard and shook her head as her eyes settled onto Morpheus again. He mirrored her action and waited a minute until the waitress was out of hearing range.

"Is everything alright?" His warm orbs locked with hers.
"Yes, sorry. I just spaced out a little." Her cheeks felt warm as she watched Morpheus frown, but nod anyways.
"It's okay. You do that a lot." He remembered all the previous times he had to call out her name in order to bring her back to reality. He now wondered if it was part of the curse or if Miss Denver was just a naturally thoughtful person.

"Sorry. Sometimes I don't even notice." Another shake of her head made Morpheus offer Charlie a gentle smile.
"It's okay. I guess, at least I'm not the only one who's daydreaming here." Morpheus shrugged as well and watched as Miss Denver chuckled at his pun. A proud smile was threatening to show and he let it slip so long Miss Denver was also still smiling. He made her laugh, he mentally noted. Maybe her humour wasn't so bad after all.

"I have to admit, I never thought we would be sitting at a restaurant together and enjoy each other's company so much." Charlie placed her elbow on the table and set her chin on top of her palm as her eyes gazed at Morpheus with wonder.
"You're enjoying my company?" He made her laugh, but he didn't know for sure if Miss Denver even wanted to be here with him. Of course, at first it was awkward for both, but apparently she didn't mind that much.

"Of course. I'm seeing a completely different side of you and I really like it." Her cheeks were red, Morpheus noticed as his own warmed up. He looked down at the black tabletop between them.
"I like you too." His soft gaze met hers. It rendered Charlie speechless for a second. And then he chuckled as his eyes let her go and take a calming breath. Jesus, how could someone be this attractive? And talk to her?

Charlie had no idea. She felt like this whole journey with Morpheus was just a very realistic and complex dream. If she hadn't had been living with nightmares her whole life, she might've really mistaken a lot of last weeks happenings for dreams. But the likelihood of Uvalions on earth and different Mights was more realistic than her having dreams.

"But I did give you a hard time at first, I have to apologize for that." His words made Charlie smile as she remembered the first time she met him. Well, the second time, actually.
"No, I get it. You thought I was going to be an easy fix. Turns out I was a little more complicated than that." She responded.
"Yeah, I guess." His facial expression now changed. He looked troubled and Charlie immediately knew he was feeling guilty again.

"Morpheus." She sighed and covered his hand that was placed on top of their table. His eyes drifted towards their touching- suddenly heated skin as he silently swallowed.
"I know you still feel guilty. And I don't know what to do or say in order to make you understand how much it bothers me. You were a kid who didn't know what he could do. I cannot hold you accountable for my nightmares and I don't want you to either." Her words made Morpheus smile again.

"It's not that. I mean, yes. Occasionally, I still think about that, but right now I was thinking about-" His hand twitched. Charlie lifted an eyebrow. With a sigh, Morpheus pulled his hand out of hers and placed it on top of his lap for now, annoyed at the way he instantly felt cold. That stung a little, but Charlie had a feeling whatever came next would hurt more.

"I have never had a friend before. At least ever since I moved to New Habbershire. It has never bothered me as much as it does right now. Trust me, Miss Denver, I- I really like you. But it would be a mistake to entertain this- whatever this is. I would be a fool to commit to anything more than acquaintanceship. Because whilst your memory gets erased at the end, mine won't. And I have seen what- what love and friendship, et cetera do to people. I cannot-"

"You don't have to-"
"Please, let me finish." Morpheus stopped Charlie's interruption. Her eyes stung and she felt her heart sink. Oh, great. It was too late for her, apparently.
"I really like you. And I really wish you all the best in life. But tonight might be one of the last peaceful nights we will have for a while. And I'm only trying to clear things up now. I cannot trust myself around you, but I hope you remember my intentions and if anything happens, you will stop it. We cannot ever be more than acquaintances. It's selfish, I am aware of that. But try to understand that I am not meant for this. I have chosen my path a long time ago and you don't fit in it. Nobody does." He finished.

Up until his last sentence, Morpheus had kept his eyes on her face. Thoughtful about every single word he said, about every single tone of voice he used. Yet, he could not have said or done anything in order to stop that single tear to leave Charlie's left eye. She wiped it away quickly, extremely embarrassed about the whole situation. Here she was, thinking about how attractive and likeable he was. And within a few minutes, her newfound feelings for him had been crushed to little pieces. And instead of butterflies, her stomach was now filled with a hole. She felt sick.

"Excuse me." Charlie quickly arose from her chair, its wooden legs scratching the tiled floor loudly. Why not embarrass herself even more? Charlie almost chuckled at the universe and its wicked way as she quickly walked towards the big sign that said Toilets. She heard Morpheus call out for her, but without another look back, she entered the restroom and leaned her head against the door.

"How stupid can you be?" Charlie hissed to herself, her closed eyes still producing tears.
"To fall for Morpheus. As if it was that easy. As if anything in life was easy. He doesn't even like you like that and you have just made a big fool out of yourself." A deep breath followed her short speech. When she breathed in the third time and let the air leave her lungs again, her eyes slowly opened. Charlie wiped them with the back of her hand before remembering she was in a restroom.

"See? You're so stupid." Charlie scowled herself when she spotted the tissues on top of the vanity besides the sink. She walked over, her knees feeling weak. Why did this hurt her so much? Another shake of her head before she grabbed the tissue and blew her nose. As she bent over to wash her face, Charlie felt as if the room was spinning. She suddenly couldn't hear the water anymore. Oh no.

All she heard was steps. Steps taken by a person with heels as they walked on tiles. She heard the steps approach. Her eyes were still closed under the running faucet, but someone turned it off a second later. With an audible gasp, Charlie straightened her back and wiped her eyes to see. Oh no. It was dark again. Whoever turned off her faucet was not in the room anymore. Just like last time Hypnos reached out to her. Only now, Charlie wasn't as terrified. She was more upset than anything.

A ringing sound interrupted her thoughts and Charlie turned around to see the familiar golden telephone, placed in the center of the room. With an eye roll, she walked towards it and picked it up.
"Hypnos. You promised to stay away." Charlie almost growled at the man on the other end of the line.

"Hello to you too, darling." A deep chuckle only increased Charlie's anger.
"And you also said you wouldn't call me like this again. What happened to the cards?" She asked him.
"I say a lot of things that I don't mean. Now, enough of me. How is it going, why were you crying and why is Morpheus sitting out there alone?" Now, she blinked. Honestly, having Hypnos watch them should not have come as such a surprise to her. It was just weird that he knew she was crying.

"Hypnos, there has been a change of plans." Charlie gulped, knowing she could not keep doing what she was doing with Morpheus.
"That is always bad." Hypnos commented, but let her continue.
"Not necessarily. Morpheus has come up with a plan to reduce his punishment and I think it's a good idea." She waited for Hypnos to say something, but he didn't.
"Hello?" A frown appeared on Charlie's face.

"I thought we were clear that I do not want him to even meet the senate in order to avoid any kind of punishment." He said, his voice stern.
"I know, but we talked and he just basically rejected me. And I know for a fact that even if you were to somehow convince him to come back to you whilst he's under some ridiculous spell, on long term, his plan is more realistic. Please, hear me out." She took a deep breath before continuing.

"We found out that there is an article about Uvalions on Google. And obviously that's not good. So, Morpheus is going to tell them about it and they will be glad to know that I can take it down. He is sure that it will reduce his punishment and I trust him on that one. Hypnos, I cannot seduce him like you wanted me to. I just cannot do it. This is the only way we're doing this." She felt good, because the mere thought of not having to do something that morally conflicting anymore had lifted a lot of weight on her shoulder already.

"Hypnos?" It had been around a minute since anyone talked. Charlie figured Hypnos needed a second or two. But now, she was unsure if he was still on the other line.
"I'm thinking. Because I might be able to help you-"
"Please Hypnos. Do not help us. I am begging you. We do not need your help. I got it. I work at a police department, we take down stuff from the internet all the time. Just for once, leave us alone. Please?" Charlie didn't mean to sound rude, but she had a feeling involving Hypnos in this would only complicate things.

"Very well. If Morpheus is so sure of it, then I will be too. As long as he comes back to New Habbershire in one piece, I am happy. But I do still expect daily updates as long as you guys are in Silverthorne." She couldn't believe her ears! He accepted their plan.
"I will write you, don't worry." A smile overcame her features as her head nodded frantically.

"Good. I will let you go now. Take care." Hypnos said.
"Thank you. You too." Just when Charlie was about to hang up, she heard him say something.
"Oh and Miss Denver?"
"Yes?" She responded.

"Since you haven't fulfilled your end of the bargain, there is no duty for me to do so either. Our deal is off."