Ice
Peter saw Egon sitting in an easy chair, avidly reading a large book. Nothing unusual about that, except that he was surrounded by a thick wall of enclosing ice.As he got closer Egon looked up, and upon seeing his friend he stood and smiled. It was a nice smile, a wide and open smile, not Egon's usual style at all.
Egon had two types of smile, the tiny curl at the corner of his mouth that let those that knew him know he was amused, and the big cheesy grin he deployed to let people at large know he was enjoying something. He'd found that in general people could get very nervous if he didn't indicate happiness when expected, so he'd taught himself to exaggerate his usual smile so that they could see it. He tended to overcompensate a little too much at times.
This smile, this open show of joy, was very rare. Peter figured his subconscious must have cobbled together every memory, every glimpse of that fleeting expression to produce the one now on his friend's face. It really did make him look much younger and…well. Beautiful was the word his mind wanted to use, but that was ridiculous. Egon wasn't beautiful.
Except he was. He was also very happy to see Peter, and with a look of concentration he searched his ice enclosure, looking for an exit. When he didn't fine one he shrugged and put one hand up to the frozen surface before him.
As he watched, Peter saw water begin to trickle down and realized that the warmth of Egon's hand was melting its way through. A little while later he realized things would go faster if he tried to melt form this side as well. So he put his hand up and felt the bitter cold, but kept his palm pressed against the ice.
The seconds ticked by like mold growth, slowly. Peter's hand began to ache fiercely and he considered taking it away. But Egon's hand must be hurting more, so he kept his place and waited until eventually the ice melted and their fingertips touched.
There was a flash of light and a whole section of the ice slid free, enabling Peter to reach in as Egon leaned out. They met each other half way and with a strange reverence began to embrace, then they exchanged a sweet, lingering kiss.
Oh. Peter leaned back a little to allow himself room to look into Egon's face. Yeah, there was that smile, a permanent fixture now. Wouldn't that be nice, if it could happen in the real world? Could Peter's kiss really do that?
Egon was still trapped in the ice, the opening was quite small yet; there was barely enough room to reach out of his icy cocoon. But more of it would melt, if they worked on it together. Not that Peter supposed it would ever go completely; ice was part of who Egon was. It could be persuaded not to hold him so tightly, nor to keep other out but to let them in. Let him in. Yes. That is what he would do. Start melting the ice. Now all he had to do was wake up.