Necessary But Stupid

...although he's done this many times before, when the metal pricks his skin, Dream still lays frozen like an ice sculpture as his heart pounds against his chest.He has sold his vintage leather jacket, his treasured collection of elegant handmade cloaks (there was a theatrical phase, it’s complicated), and most of his books (the shelves of his sparse apartment now hold only a few cheap volumes of blank paper for his sketches). But it wasn’t enough.Burgess was years ago, but Dream's life still lies in ruins.He does not like being here. But it seems that this — his body's materials, his very essence — is the only thing of value he has to offer the world. This most basic biological function, the blood pumping through his veins, is all anyone wants of him now.BEHOLD: The Starving Artist Dream/Plasma AU nobody asked for!a.k.a Dream meets a chatty professor while struggling to pay his bills, they both have haunted pasts and are accidentally the salve for each other's wounds.