Chapter Text
Dream leans back in his gaming chair, listening to George drone on about this and that. Unable to hold himself back any longer, he interrupts the British boy with a single word.
“George?” George instantly closes his mouth, ceasing his banter.
“Yes?” he replies, slight surprise evident in his tone due to how unexpected Dream’s voice had been.
“Remember what you said to Skeppy? About us getting married for your visa?” George flushes in embarrassment, immediately wanting the topic to be dropped in fear that his best friend was about to tell him that he was insane and that that would never happen. But nonetheless, he forces himself to squeak out a response.
“I do.”
“Well, I just wanted to let you know…” George holds his breath in anticipation. “That I’d be down.” Suddenly, everything is spinning, and George feels himself choke on his saliva. He coughs for a few seconds, desperately trying to clear his airpipes. Once he’s calmed down, he thinks over what Dream said again, unable to believe his own ears. “Are you okay?” Dream asks.
George doesn’t bother to respond to his question. “Are you joking, Dream? Like, actually, are you joking?” His face is still bright red and shows no signs of cooling down any time soon.
Dream frowns defensively. “No, I wasn’t joking. I mean—you’re the one that brought it up in the first place! I should be asking you if you’re joking, actually.”
George thinks back to their conversation with Skeppy earlier and regrets his impulsive decision to joke about marrying his best friend just for the visa. And it had been a joke, but the idea had cemented itself into George’s brain now. Can I really marry Dream just to be able to move to the US? George quickly skims through all the possible outcomes of marrying Dream and decides that there are a lot of things that could go wrong, but there are also a lot of benefits. Moving in with Dream for one, living in America, getting to see Dream’s face…
George begins to ramble nervously, “No, I wasn’t joking; I mean, we could just get engaged first and do, like, the whole 90 day fiancé thing and see if we even like living together before we commit to actually getting married, so if we end up hating living near each other, it isn’t as complicated and-“
Dream cuts him off with a fond laugh. “I already said yes, you don’t have to convince me again.”
“Okay, okay,” George says, “just, if you ever find someone else, we can just, like, get a divorce, no big deal.”
“No big deal,” Dream repeats. “Okay, wait, I have an idea-“ George can hear Dream fidgeting with his computer over Teamspeak, and suddenly, George’s screen is filled with a facecam of a dirty blonde-haired guy with a big smile stretching across his freckled face.
“Dream?” George asks in disbelief.
“Turn your facecam on, George!” Dream still has a goofy grin on his face, and George can’t believe that the American turned his facecam on like it was nothing after four years of never seeing him before. Dream is decidedly attractive—which probably isn’t what he should be thinking the first time that he sees his friend’s face. He swallows and decides there is no point in trying to hide his blush before turning his camera on as well.
“George,” Dream begins, and George can tell that he is trying to compose his face into a more serious expression but his eyes are still gleaming with mirth, “will you marry me?”
And once more, the world is spinning, and George thinks that it isn’t very nice of Dream to take his breath away two times in one voice call. “I might take you more seriously if you weren’t laughing right now, Dream.”
“I’m serious, George! Will you marry me?” And this time, Dream smiles so sincerely that it makes George’s stomach twirl around like it was Dream killing an iron golem.
George drums his fingers next to his keyboard and laughs nervously. This cannot be happening. He laughs again in disbelief and stutters out the only response he can.
“Yes.”
A ringing fills Dream’s right ear as he waits for George to answer, blocking out his echoing footsteps as he makes his way through the foreign airport. The hand holding his phone shakes slightly, all of his feelings catching up to him at once and creating a whirlwind of emotion. This is really happening. Oh my god. It’s at that moment that he hears a click, signaling the other end picking up. Almost instantly, Dream pushes out a weak yet enthusiastic “George!”
“Hi,” comes the voice that Dream would soon get to hear in person.
“I’m here! I’m in the UK!” Dream can’t help but laugh to himself at the words he never thought he’d hear himself say so soon. The whole situation had been so sudden, and not only would he get to spend a few days with George in London, but he’d be returning home with Dream. He releases a breathless giggle at the thought.
“You’re here,” George states, sounding full of disbelief, similar to how Dream is feeling. “Have you gotten your bags yet?”
“Yeah, I have. Although, I didn’t bring much since I’m not going to be here for very long.” George nods, forgetting that Dream wouldn’t be able to see his gesture.
“Okay. I’m almost there.”
“I thought you couldn’t drive?” Dream jokes.
“I can’t. I’m taking an Uber.”
“You’re-” Dream pauses, taking in the information. He’s unable to hold back the kettle-like wheeze that follows. “You’re taking an Uber?! George, oh my god! That’s so stupid!” Dream becomes a laughing mess in the middle of the London airport, and George rolls his eyes at the sounds he hears coming from his friend through the phone speaker.
“Yeah, yeah. Laugh all you want, Dream. Sorry for wanting to meet you sooner.”
“No, wait! I just-” Dream wipes a stray tear from his eye. “I could’ve just Ubered to you! That was such a waste of money, George!” No matter how much he may tease his best friend for this, it makes him giddy to know that George wants to see him just as much as he wants to see George. Regardless of George’s recklessness, he brims with adoration towards the Brit, his stomach crowding with butterflies.
“Shut up,” George mumbles. Dream forces himself to calm his chortling, regaining his composure.
“George...I’m really excited to see you.” George can tell his words are genuine, and he allows his lips to quirk up in a small smile.
“I know. I am, too,” he replies, letting his gaze drift out the window of the car at the trees whirring past. He wills the car to move faster, tired of waiting in hopeless desperation to see the boy he’s engaged to. Right, we’re engaged. I forgot about that. The reminder of that (not so) small detail and why Dream is coming in the first place causes his anxiety to flare up, and despite his attempts to push it back down, it remains inside of him, begging to be released and force George into spilling his fears to the one on the other side of the phone. “Dream?” A hum is heard. “How do you think our friends are going to react to this? To us?”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there, but if you’re really worried about it, I don’t think they’ll, like, be upset about it or anything.” Dream’s response somewhat helps, and as George’s attention goes back on the scenery outside, he notices the airport growing near. Forgetting all of his previous fear, he’s instead filled with joy.
“I’m almost there. Where are you?”
“I’m under the United Airlines sign.”
“Okay, I’ll just...see you there, I guess.”
“I guess,” Dream mimics. “Bye.”
“Yeah, uh, bye,” George stammers out before Dream hangs up and puts his phone away, eagerly tapping his foot against the pavement and keeping his eyes out for any car in particular that could be holding his best friend.
George arrives and quickly confirms with his Uber driver that he is available to drive them back to George’s house before stepping out of the car and surveying the arrival terminal for a certain tall, blonde man.
Said tall, blonde man was currently grinning from ear to ear, having finally spotted the shorter Brit stepping out of his Uber. Four years later, and he is finally meeting his best friend face to face. “George!” he calls out excitedly, his exhaustion from jet lag briefly forgotten. George spins to face him, and Dream watches as a grin quickly overtakes his face.
“Hey, Dream,” George says, and a nervous giggle escapes his lips because holy shit, Dream is right there in front of me. What am I supposed to do? Dream places his bags down and hastily grabs him by the shoulders, pulling him into a crushing hug. George is startled for a second, but he instantly responds by wrapping his arms around the other boy and burying his face into his shoulder.
They stay in each other’s arms for what feels like minutes—but in reality is probably only a few seconds—before Dream pulls back and studies George’s face, still holding onto his shoulders.
“Wow,” Dream says, “you really are short, huh?”
“Shut up, Dream,” George replies, shoving Dream away playfully. “It’s not my fault that you’re a fucking tree.”
“Language, you muffin.”
“Who are you, Bad?” George quips back easily.
George helps Dream pack his bags into the trunk of the Uber and then they are on their way to George’s house. An easy silence fills the car, and George drums his fingers on his legs, sneaking glances at Dream out of the corner of his eye and can tell that Dream is doing the same. What am I even supposed to say to the person I have been talking to every day for the last four years when he's right next to me? Why is it so much harder than just talking over Teamspeak or Discord? He had hoped that there wouldn’t be any awkward tension that comes with the disembodied voice that you usually speak to suddenly having a face when he met Dream, but it seemed to be unavoidable.
George, deciding enough is enough, turns his head to fully look at his best friend. “Hi, Dream.”
“Hey, George.”
George giggles, “I just...I can’t believe you are really here. Like, you’re in front of me, not just a voice through my earphones. I can just-“ Georges reaches out and boops Dream on the nose to both of their surprise. George quickly pulls his hand back, ears turning red as he glances out of his window, determined not to embarrass himself further.
“Hey,” Dream says softly, and George turns back to look at him and laughs as Dream boops him back. “I know what you mean. It’s good to finally see you in person.”
“So…we’re engaged, huh?” George winces internally as soon as the words are out of his mouth. Not exactly how I wanted to approach the conversation.
Dream snorts in amusement. “Yeah, that’s the whole reason I’m here.”
“So, did you bring your wedding dress then?”
“You are such an idiot.” Dream shakes his head fondly.
And just like that, the initial tension dissipates. George laughs and doesn’t disagree. He starts to think that maybe living together won’t be so bad as he watches Dream study the passing landscape. Dream turns back to him, smirking, and makes a quip about the UK and then proceeds to wheeze at his own joke. Yeah, I could get used to this.
Dream swings open the door into his hotel room, the exhaustion that had slowly been pooling inside of him crashing into him all at once in that single moment. So much has happened today, and with the added jetlag, he’s even more ready to pass out on the spot. Not only did he meet his best friend of four years, but he also sat down and worked with him on endless paperwork for their engagement and for his visa. What a way to spend your day, Dream thinks, a soft groan escaping him as he stumbles into the room, shutting the door behind him. Dropping his bags to the side with a huff, he makes his way over to the neatly-made bed and heaves himself over the edge, plopping onto the plush mattress and crumpling the sheets around him with his weight. He lets out a sigh, partly of relief and partly of pure ecstasy before letting his eyes fall closed and allowing his mind to wander about the memories of all that happened today and all that could happen in the future. And with that, without even getting under the covers or making himself more comfortable, he falls asleep.
Dream’s few days in London fly by faster than he expected, and before he knows it, he is in the airport with George, ready to head back to the US together.
“So, did you enjoy your time in the UK?”
“Yeah, I enjoyed my time with Wilbur,” Dream answers in a teasing voice.
“Dream!” George gasps out, placing a hand against his chest in mock offense.
“I don’t know, George. You were kind of too hyper for me.” Dream shrugs, and George lightly shoves him, causing Dream to choke out a laugh which very rapidly escalates into wheezing. The sound and sight pulls George into his own giggling fit, and soon enough, they’re both squeezing their sides and wiping their eyes from how hard they’re laughing.
After they’ve calmed down, they make it through security without too much trouble and settle down for the long flight. “I’ll take the window seat!” Georges pipes up, immediately plopping down.
“Go right ahead,” Dream says, amused. George stares through the window as the plane takes off, watching the UK turn into the ocean. Closing the window along with his eyes, he settles down and almost instantly begins to doze off.
Dream looks towards George, quick to notice the boy’s tranquil state. I guess he’s just one of those people. He averts his gaze back to the seat in front of him and scrolls through the list of movies that they offer in-flight to distract himself from the nerves of being 30,000 feet in the air. He suddenly feels George’s head drop onto his shoulder, and he freezes and glances over. He relaxes as he studies George’s sleeping features, his face soft and mouth slightly ajar. He smiles to himself before looking back at the screen in front of him, picking out a random movie that seemed to be good, and resting his head on top of George’s, his cheek pressed into the Brit’s brunette hair snugly.
Maybe being married to George will turn out better than I thought.