Title: Dream on Revisited (Enter Sandman Mix)
Author: Lusmeitli
Rating: NC-17
Archive: Ask and it shall be given you – perhaps.

Disclaimer: This story is pure fiction, as in “absolutely no part of this is based on reality”. It’s a product of my gutter mind entirely. I make no money with this; it’s for my (and hopefully your) entertainment only. I’ve never met Mr. Gahan (and never will, don't fret) and the way I describe him or any of the other real life persons mentioned in this story are mere assumptions and a lot of wishful thinking from my part. I feel the deepest respect towards this great man and mean no harm. So please don’t sue.

Author’s note: This is the sequel to “Dream On”, picking up a few months later. Enjoy.

_____________________

#### P A R T 1 ####

She stared at him as if he were mad. He waited for a moment longer, getting a bit nervous.

“Luv?”

“Huh?” she uttered as if in a haze.

Dave smiled, a little strained.

“What’s your answer?”

She shook her head, trying to quiet down her reeling thoughts.

“Sorry, hon, run that by me again. Cos I think that wine’s getting to my head and makes me hear things.”

He sighed. There had been no “run that by me again” in his plan. None at all. The plan had been he’d take her out for dinner, romantic setting, he’d wait for the right moment (during dessert), ask her once, she’d be over the moon and say yes and they’d go home and make love. End of story.

But then she had to go and throw his plans overboard.

He looked at her as she was sitting there opposite of him. Six months he had waited. Six bloody long months. Even though it had been clear to him after their first weekend together. Still, he wanted to give her time, not rush her, let her see what it was like to be in a relationship with him. They had survived the first ups and downs and had taken all the bumps – and some of them had been quite big – in the road relatively well. So far, very good.

The thing was, he wanted more. He was ready for more. He wanted her in his life all the time. He loved her and the bond between them was getting stronger and stronger. It was quite simple, really. She was the one. So all she would have had to do was beam at him and say yes and not… oh well. He’d have to ask her again.

Dave took her hand in his, breathing in and locking eyes with her again. He was about done asking. Maybe a little rephrasing was in order.

“Move in with me, luv.” And quietly, after some consideration, he added: “Please.”

She stared at him again, swallowing hard. So she had heard right. It still left her breathless.

“You want me to move in with you?”

He smiled warmly.

“I do.”

“But… why?”

He raised his eyebrow quizzically.

“I mean, I get that part of the why and you know it’s very mutual, but... are you sure about that? Cos I don’t want you to regret it and take it all back again in one week.”

She nervously rushed it all out and it made him smile. He leaned in to her.

“Look at me, luv.” He caressed her cheek, his eyes intense. “I am sure and I won’t regret it and I won’t take it back. I want to come home to you. I want you to be there when I come back from a gig or a tour or a day at work. I want your toothbrush on my sink and your pink facial stuff in the cabin. All of your clothes in my closet and your photos on the wall next to mine. I want you in my life completely.”

She looked at the man in front of her in amazement. The past six months had not been easy and their relationship had been put to the test more than once. But he had made it clear from day one that his words back then had been true and sincere: he wanted her, completely, entirely.

And that was what she gave to him. They were both learning to get used to being in love and to being loved back. She had lost a lot of her insecurities when they had survived that media hassle. It had made them stronger. And she had gotten some insecurities back when they had their fights. They knew each other well enough by now to deeply hurt the other. The full scale of vulnerability lay open for the other. And sometimes neither he nor she was fighting fair. But they survived that, too.

And now he wanted her to move in with him. Knowing Dave like she did, she knew he had wanted to for quite some time, but he had waited for her. His considerateness brought her to the verge of tears.

He still caressed her cheek, watching the emotions in her eyes, seeing the answer already there, but waiting for her to put it into words.

“All of my clothes?”

He chuckled.

“Even the ones you never wear.”

She pulled him in for a languishing kiss.

“Is that a yes?” he breathed as he pulled away.

“It’s a yes, Dave.”

His lips found hers again. Then he broke the kiss, his eyes shining.

“Let’s go home then.”


* * *

Since she had lived in a furnished flat, she didn’t have to worry about furniture. But she still had lots of boxes with clothes, books, pictures, CDs, films, LPs, and so on. And there she was thinking she had actually lived like a nomad, ready to move on at any time. Seemed like she had collected a few things along the way.

Two days after he had popped the question, she stood in her now rather empty flat. So much had happened here. Moving on was a good thing, but she took a moment to breathe in the scent of the floor boards again. To hear her elder neighbours nagging at each other again. She wouldn’t miss it, but she wanted to make this a memory. This was her stepping from one stage in her life into another one.

“You ready to go?” Dave asked, standing in the doorway, watching her.

She turned to him, smiling. “Yes, I’m ready.”

He reached his hand out to her and she grasped it, their fingers intertwining. She locked the door one last time and as they walked side by side down the hallway to the elevator, she couldn’t help but remember the first time she had stepped out of the lift. Funny how life can change. From utterly desperate and alone to happy and content.

She smiled happily at Dave and he pulled her in to his side, kissing her temple. She handed the doorman the envelope with the keys over and he said he was sorry she left, but happy that she seemed happy. She felt a bit fluttery in her stomach.

The feeling left her when Dave started the motor of the small van she had rented to move all the boxes and drove off to his flat, his hand clasped around hers.

They arrived just as the shift of one doorman ended and the other’s began, so they both offered their help. They had been particularly friendly ever since Dave once had lost control and ripped her shirt open in the lift – in plain sight of the security camera.

Seeing the strong men unload the van in literally minutes and the heavy boxes disappear in the elevator made her smile. There was only one box left for Dave.

“Good grief, what did you put in here? Stones?” he complained loudly.

She pinched his ass. “Stop being such a sissy.”

A smug grin appeared on his face. The kind that meant trouble.

“Don’t even—”

But he already dropped the box with what little china she actually had on the floor before the elevator door and before she could even protest, he pushed her into the wall, kissing her hungrily.

The doors slid open, bringing them back to reality and the doormen stepped out of the lift, making room for them.

Dave had cleared out some space for her in his closet. She appreciated his effort. He had done the same in the bathroom by cleaning out one side of the cabin. She was touched.

He watched her unpacking – she had strictly banned him from the room because he had shown too big an interest in her eyelash curler – and it felt good. Seeing her pile her t-shirts next to his, and oh, he’d have to take a closer look at her underwear department because there definitely was something he had never seen before. But that could wait.

When she had finished unpacking her clothes, they hung up her pictures together. He had a photo wall and instead of just putting in some more nails, he had taken off some of his pictures to make room for her. So now their photos were mixed. Him as a child, her at graduation. Him with his kids, her with her nephews. Him with his family, a pic of her parents. A pic of him and Mart and Fletch in the studio, a pic of her and her best friend on a beach. And in the middle, there was a snapshot in black and white showing them together at the CD shower party, asleep on the couch in the control room.

She didn’t have much and she loved how he made it look as if it were a lot. They stood there, arm in arm, looking at the wall together.

“Oh, I got you something,” he suddenly said and pulled something out of his pocket. “Close your eyes.”

She did and he took her hand, turning it palm up and placed something in it.

“Open.”

She did and looked down. In her hand lay a set of keys. The keys to his, no, their flat.

“Welcome home, luv.”

She closed her hand and pulled him close, whispering “thank you” before she softly kissed him.

“Alright, are you ready to go bed-shopping now?” he asked, mischief in his eyes.

“Bed-shopping?”

He nodded. “Yes, we need a new bed.”

“Dave, your bed is perfectly fine. I don’t see how we need a new one.”

“Oh, but I do,” he breathed, kissing up her neck. “It suffered quite a bit. Besides, we need a bed that is just ours. One that you and I choose.”

It was pointless to discuss this further with him and he had won already anyways when his lips had touched her skin. He knew how to get what he wanted. But then, so did she. So they went bed-shopping.

* * *

Going to this rather exclusive shop basically had been a good idea. They stood there, looking a little at a loss of all those beds. There were so many sizes, so many makes, so many brands to choose from. She turned to him.

“So, what did you have in mind?”

Dave smiled at her devilishly, wrapped his arms around her waist and flung them onto the closest bed, landing atop of her, making her squeal.

“What are you doing?” she asked, laughing.

”We gotta test whether it fits our demands,” he murmured, kissing down her neck.

“Dave, the shop assistants will kill us,” she protested lamely, her hands running through his hair, keeping him in place.

“Oh, they won’t mind. They want to sell us a good bed. And this is a very expensive place.”

He nibbled at her earlobe now.

Pulling herself together, she said: “Couldn’t we just go to ‘Bed, Bath and Beyond’ then? It’s a lot chea—”

He interrupted her with a feverish kiss.

“Nu-uh, luv. Only the best for us. This is a very important decision and we have to clarify a few points before we decide. Like…,” he lay between her legs, propped up on his elbows, “is it bouncy enough,” he whispered hotly.

She shuddered and suppressed a moan as the thrust his hips into hers.

“Hmm, not bad. Or can I tie you to the headboard?” He grabbed her wrists and pulled them up, his mouth savouring hers.

They both broke the kiss, looking up as their hands hit the solid, wooden headboard.

“Next bed, then,” Dave murmured in between kisses, “though I like the bounciness of the mattress.”

Someone clearing his throat made them look up.

A shop assistant took in their dishevelled state and politely smiled at them.

“Welcome at Charles P. Rogers, sir, ma’am. How can I help you?”

Dave let go of her hands and stood up, offering her his hand and pulling her up. He smiled at her flustered cheeks.

”Hello. We’d like to buy a bed.”

“Very well, sir. Any ideas or preferences in the making?”

They exchanged a quick glance, before Dave said: “King size and brass, no, iron bars. Iron’s stronger, right? We need something more solid than wood, apparently. Otherwise, we’re pretty open to suggestions. Right, hon?”

She nodded, blushing.

The salesclerk politely ignored Dave’s smug grin and her crimson red face and led them to a section of the shop where the iron and brass beds were.

One hour later they left the shop, their new bed (iron bars, without footboard “because I like to see all of you in the mirror, luv”) due to arrive in a few hours at their flat. On their way home, they stopped by the shops to buy some food. They had done it before and it didn’t feel quite so strange to her as the bed-shopping. By now they knew what kinds of food they liked.

However, in the midst of the food shopping, Dave got a call and had to go to the studio.

“I’ll make it quick,” he said, his eyes apologetic.

She sighed as he kissed her, before he hurried off. Life with a rock-star.