Chapter Text
Drops of sweat made George shiver as they ran down his back. The problem with George’s speaker quickly became apparent to the rest of the band and Karl gave him quick panicked glances in between songs.
Despite the issue, George did his best to keep playing, which wasn’t nearly as difficult as stifling his anger. It bubbled deep inside him, only barely overpowering the shame.
How could he?
But George then realized, that’s probably exactly what Dream thought after George had left without saying anything. God, he was fucked. Even more so because he would have loved nothing more than to stay, but the goddamn anxiety had gotten the best of him.
The bash of the drums behind him made him flinch but he knew he couldn’t turn to glare at Dream. It would be too obvious, too noticeable.
Quackity was rocking a smug smile as he sang, clearly he already knew. Maybe he had even been a part of the plan.
The stage seemed to collapse in on him, swallowing him whole. Guilt and fury jarred his sense, his throat burning and the roaring of blood echoing through his ear. His breath shook and a lump formed in his throat. George was bordering on having a full-on panic attack.
The first song ended and in the break for applause, George dropped his guitar and ran off the stage. He followed the wings to a back door and pushed through it, finding himself in an empty alleyway, lit by the late-afternoon haze.
No matter how hard he tried, his breathing refused to steady. Out of frustration, he threw a generous punch at the alley wall. His knuckles came away stinging and probably bleeding but he didn’t care.
George slumped to the ground as hot tears ran down his flushed cheeks. It was quiet, the band had stopped playing inside. The set was ruined, all because of him.
Not because of him…
The door out to the alley and a familiar head of fluffy blond hair jogged out.
Because of Dream .
“George, what was that?” Dream asked, looking genuinely concerned. George didn’t care. He stood up and shoved Dream back. He only stumbled back a little, mostly with shock.
“You fucking asshole,” George spat through tears. He punched at Dream’s chest, crying out in frustration when the bay hardly moved. “I know you’re pissed but why do you have to be such a child? ”
Dream flinched visibly at the word, eyes shooting around as if he was trying to put two and two together. How fucking dare he pretend like he didn’t just mess up the performance for petty, selfish reasons.
George gave Dream’s shin a swift kick and finally he reacted, grunting in pain. When Dream looked up again, his eyes burned.
Dream grabbed George’s shoulders and pushed him against the wall, planting a thigh between George’s legs so he couldn’t wiggle out.
“You ghost me after we practically admitted our love, and you have the audacity to call me a child?” His voice was harsh but there was no anger behind it. It was broken, shattered as if George had used it for target practice. “Looks like I dodged a fucking bullet!”
George shifted, still feeling the burn of shame across his face and the grip Dream had on his wrists. He was so confused, and they were so close he couldn’t help but remember the other night in the uber.
“You didn’t…” George’s voice changed, turning from a roar to a dull sob. “You didn’t unplug my speaker?”
The rage immediately disappeared, ire flowing out of his face, quickly replaced with apprehension. He loosened his grip a little but maintained his hold.
“Why would I unplug your speaker?” He asked, sounding legitimately confused. It suddenly occurred to George that he hadn’t actually been given any reason to believe that Dream was the cause of the speaker malfunction.
“I...I thought,” George felt himself shrink back into the wall. “...you messed up my guitar because I left yesterday morning.”
Understanding dawned on both of them, thick as the covers George had curled up in.
“George, that wasn’t your fault.” Dream replied, moving his hand to wipe a thumb along George’s damp cheek. “I-I must have done something wrong, and made you feel uncomfortable, so you left.”
George let out a sound somewhere in the vast distance between a laugh and a sob, making eye contact with the floor.
“No, Dream,” He started, shaking his head slightly. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I just got scared that we wouldn’t be friends anymore and I couldn’t...I couldn’t lose our friendship.”
“You should’ve told me,” Dream sighed. “That night...it didn’t have to mean anything.” George’s face dropped and Dream quickly revised his sentence. “Not that it didn’t! If you wanted it to. But it doesn’t have to.”
George brought a hand up to cup Dream’s hand, enjoying its coolness against his warm cheek.
“I want it to...but when I woke up hungover and in your bed I panicked.” Dream continued to stroke his face soothingly, the rough pads of his thumb scratching against George’s stubble.
“Not yet, then? I can wait.” Dream’s voice had dropped to just above a whisper, warm and comforting.
George suddenly realized that Dream was not looking at his eye, but his lips. A different kind of heat began to run through his veins, making him shiver. He pulled the blond in a little closer so their breaths mingled.
“I never said that,” George whispered and then pushed Dream into a kiss.
Both of them couldn’t believe that had only been two days. It was like breathing air after being pushed underwater.
“Are we going-” George croaked out in between desperate kisses. “Like...figure out what- what this is?” Dream’s hands dropped to his waist and pushed him into the brick wall.
“Later?” He replied quietly, just short of begging. George smiled into his lips and pushed his thin fingers into Dream’s blond waves. It was sweet and careless and so, so beautiful. Every time George’s eyes fluttered open he took the opportunity to appreciate how Dream’s eyes shined like emeralds in the evening night.
The past 24 hours bit at both of them, but for a moment in paradise they were willing to push the bitterness away, not leaving an inch between them that the pain could crawl into.
Neither of them even noticed when Sapnap, Karl, and Quackity pushed through the alley door, at least, not until Sapnap started clapping slowly.
Hands still braced on George’s waist, Dream pulled away and stared at them, causing all three of them to burst out laughing.
“Took you long enough!” Quackity howled, doubling over.
“Oh, Dream~” Karl drawled, mocking George’s accent. “Kiss me, Dreamie!” Sapnap continued the bit and stood up on his tip-toes, dropping his voice.
“No Gogy,” He said, struggling not to laugh. “I don’t think I will.” Karl pulled Sap’s hands around his waist dramatically.
“Will you please reconsider?” He begged tearfully, leaning into Sapnap, making googly eyes.
“Okay, that’s enough,” Dream called out, trying to hide his embarrassment. On impulse, George blushed and tucked his head into Dream’s chest, only making their friends cackle louder. “George has had a rough day.”
“I think it’s about to get rougher,” Quackity giggled, shoving Sapnap playfully. Karl was wheezing against the wall, face gone completely red.
“You guys aren’t mad?” George muttered into Dream’s chest. Dream stroked his hair softly, relishing in the intimacy of the moment.
“If messing up a show is what you two needed to do to make up, I’m sure we can live with it.” Sapnap grabbed Karl and ruffled his hair, leaving Quackity off to the side.
“Now that you’re all forgiven,” Dream whispered into George’s hair. “Can we please get out of here?” George nodded silently in reply and Dream began to pull him towards the parking lot. “I think we’re going home.”
“Use protection!” Quackity hooted as the two walked to Dream’s car.
“I’m sorry,” Dream whispered now that they had a moment of peace. “I’m sorry everything with us has to be so hard.”
George finally moved his head from where it was buried in Dream’s shirt and looked up at him, chin resting on his chest. “You’re my best friend Dream. If we rush it I’m scared that I’ll lose you. After the last day...I don’t think I’d be able to live like that.”
“You wouldn’t have to,” Dream replied softly, brushing a hand down George’s back reassuringly. “There’s never a rush Georgie, take it at your own pace.”
George nodded slowly, eyebrow knit and gaze dropping to his feet. Dream traced small circles on his back, feeling his chest rise and fall with each breath.
“Dream?”
“Yes, Georgie?”
He pursed his lips pulling his hands from Dream’s back to steady them, knitting them nervously.
“I’m a little tired so can we not-”
Dream cut him off with a laugh, patting George on the head. “Sleep sounds great to me,” He said, pressing a kiss to George’s forehead. “As long as we can cuddle.”
“Well that was a given.” George rolled his eyes and both of them giggled while they ducked into the car. Quiet nights were good, and something they both desperately needed.
. . .
“See you tomorrow, babe,” Sapnap said, giving Karl a rib-crushing hug before leaving his apartment. Karl stood alone in the doorway, eyes following his lovely boyfriend as he disappeared down the stairs.
He sighed happily. When had love started to come so easily? With Sapnap, it was perfectly uncomplicated , like taking a hot shower. So warm and comforting that you have to force yourself to pull away.
Karl dropped on the couch, eyes hung half-open. Getting yelled at by the MC when they told him they had to cancel their set had really taken a toll on him. Luckily, it was followed by a peaceful night of movies and cuddling. Quackity had disappeared shortly before Karl and Sapnap left the venue with saying a word.
It was late now, the hour hand just past 1am and Karl let himself sink into the soft couch, watching the colorful city lights through his window. He sometimes felt guilty that he was this happy but of course Sapnap assured him that he deserved it all. The silence of the apartment was comforting, if not a bit lonely.
Eventually, he forced himself off the couch to grab some water and get ready for bed. His brain was foggy with sleep and contentedness so when there came a loud knock on the door, he jumped.
“One second!” Karl called out, putting his glass of water down on the counter. He yawned as he walked to the door, aggressive knocking continuing. “What the honk, Sapnap? Did you forget something?” He asked before swinging the door open.
To his surprise, Sapnap wasn’t standing on the other side. Instead, a very disheveled looking Quackity glared at him through clouded eyes.
“Oh...hey Alex.” Karl chose to address him by his real name because of the seriousness in Alex’s expression. He looked...pissed. “Do you need something? It’s kinda late-”
“I’m sure you can handle it,” Quackity muttered, pushing past him into his apartment. Only as he walked past did Karl notice the strong smell of alcohol coming off of him.
“You good? Do you need a ride home?” Karl asked, closing the door as Quackity spun awkwardly around the apartment.
“Where’s Sapnap?” He asked, voice a little slurred. Karl stepped back a little towards the living room.
“You just missed him,” Karl replied, starting to get a bit anxious. Quackity groaned and rolled his eyes, leaning against a wall for support.
“Seems like I’ve always ‘just missed him’. Would it have killed him to wait for me?”
“I’m...not sure he knew you were coming.” Karl’s hands knit behind his back.The smell of alcohol and Quackity’s demeanor were becoming increasingly off-putting. “Do you wanna crash here tonight, buddy? You don’t look so good.”
When he finally met his eyes, Alex’s gaze burned a hole through him.
“Stop being so goddamn nice all the time,” He said gruffly, picking at the cuffs of his sleeves. “It’s a lot harder to hate you when you’re acting like such a fucking angel.”
“W-what are you talking about?” Karl stammered, backing away a little more. He wished he could disappear into the wall. “Why would you want to hate me?”
Alex sneered and pulled an empty beer bottle out of his pocket. “Isn’t it obvious?” He smashed the glass against the wall, sending shards smashing to the floor. Karl flinched at the noise, eyes widening as Quackity began to walk toward him, clutching the broken bottle in one hand.
“You’re my competition, Karl.”