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George wakes up first to a warm arm wrapped around his waist and something solid resting on his chest, looking down only to be met with a mess of blond hair.
Shit
His first thought is that if he could wake up like this every day he would. He’d spend all day laying under a fluffy blanket with a beautiful boy half on top of him.
His second thought is that his alarm just went off and he needs to get to class before he’s late again and ticks off his professor just a little bit more
His third and final thought is that he’s laying in bed and cuddling with his best friend. Dream is laying half on top of him, breathing deep and slow as he dozes. George has spent the better part of the last 5 and a half years hiding all the feelings that are boiling over now, scared of messing up one of the best relationships he’s ever had with a person and losing them forever. He’s been scared that he’d lose Dream just by admitting he likes the other, creeping him out even if the blond just flashes a sad smile and assures him that they can “still be friends, nothing will have changed”. He’s terrified of not only losing Dream but losing Sapnap and Karl and Bad and all of the friendships he’s built with different people just because they’re connected to Dream.
George is scared, and that’s putting it very simply.
His next plans are also very simple: escape, go to class, ignore the problem. Rinse and repeat for another several years and never acknowledge his feelings because that always works, right?
To start, George takes the arm that was wrapped around the blond’s waist and pulls the blanket up some more to replace the warmth, pulling the other hand from the soft blond curls. He scoots up slowly, trying the wiggle his way out, which proves difficult when Dream lets out a discontented grunt and squeezes just a bit tighter.
George really needs to go to class though, feelings be damned, so he pulls Dream’s hold away and rolls off the edge of the bed, landing ungracefully on the ground in a pile. Dream groans and soon emerald eyes peak out at him from the mountain of blanket.
“Geo’gie?” He slurs, still in the grips of sleep.
“Gotta- class- I- Bye.” George stutters, his cheeks flushing a brilliant scarlet. He’s tripping over himself to get out, grabbing a sweatshirt from over the back of the couch and slipping on shoes while shouldering his backpack after packing his laptop. He’s already in the hallway when he realizes the hoodie definitely doesn’t belong to him and is a few sizes too big. He decides against going back inside to change from his sweatpants and to find another hoodie, fearing another chance at an awkward encounter with the blond.
He’s royally fucked, George decides, practically jogging to his class. There’s no way it can get worse than this.
Ah, but it can. It can always get worse.
Maybe George jinxed himself with that thought, because he spends the day worrying over what he’ll do when he has to get back to the dorm, ignoring several worried texts from Dream.
hey you alright? left quickly this morning, have a good day : )
what do you want for dinner ? thai?
helloooo gogy?
did i do something ? are we ok?
call me after classes
Usually they text between classes, but today George is more on edge than ever about his interactions with the other.
Is he too clingy? Too reliant on Dream? Is Dream just waiting to confront him about this morning? Or last night? George had just been trying to help because seeing Dream so… fragile… had been terrifying. Maybe he went too far and Dream’s just playing it off to not ruin their friendship. Is George ruining everything? Is everyone going to leave him?
“Gogy, you alright there, bud?” Punz asks from beside him, waving a hand in front of his face. “You’re being a little spacey today” Karl adds from his other side as George snaps back into the present. They’re on to the next unit in their programming class, but the atmosphere is relaxed considering it’s a Friday.
“Yeah, I’m great, don’t worry about it.” he tries, turning to them quickly. “Just tired I guess.”
Punz gets up to speak with their professor near the end of the class and Karl leans in closer, startling George once again from his thoughts.
“How was Dream this morning?” He asks, a playful smile dancing across his lips. “Stay nice and warm last night?”
George shifts uncomfortably, typing away at their assignment. “He’s probably fine” Is all George offers.
Karl’s eyebrows knit into a look of concern and he shifts in his seat to get a better look at George. “Did something happen? Are you guys okay? You know you can tell me anything Gogy, promise.”
George sighs and starts putting his things away quickly. He just needs to make it out that door and he’ll be free of having to explain that he’s absolutely terrified. Instead, he flashes Karl a forced grin as he zips his bag. “Everything’s alright, Karl, thank you” and with that, he’s leaving the room just as everyone else starts to shuffle their things away.
Karl pulls his phone out of his pocket to tap on his top contact
something happen w d n g?
yeah ? they were cuddling when i grabbed my bag
gogy is tense, mentioned dream n he left quickly
Sapnap flips over to his text thread with Dream
you n loverboy good?
i think he’s mad at me for something, hasn’t answered texts like he usually does
did i do something last night? i know we like cuddled but i thought he was okay w it?
talk to him tonight? maybe he’s stressed you know how he gets
yeah i guess, just worried
George makes it through his last class in one piece, maybe concerning Wilbur and Techno by his quietness as told from the way they eventually give up trying to talk to him, but he’s done. Now he’s free for a few hours before his roommates get back from practice, so he pointedly ignores Dream’s texts and presses the red circle on his call before walking back to the dorm. George makes his way through their living room but stops in the doorway to the bedroom.
His bed is perfectly made, blanket folded neatly and pillows displayed carefully. Even if they’d been under the blanket the night before, his sheet and comforter had been mussed from his lack of… neatness the day before the…event. It makes him promptly turn around, starting back out of the room and practically jogging out of the building.
He knows it was the blond who did it, the one who knows George complains both about the mess and his lack of energy to properly tidy it up. He knows that he now has 3 missed calls from Dream and another couple of texts, and that just makes everything suck a little bit more. He wants to shove that box of emotions he’d hid away for long enough back into its little compartment out of sight and mind. He wants to return back to laughing with one of his best friends and hugging him and thinking nothing of it. That the swirling storm of ‘what if’s would go away, not pull him into another pit of worry and anxiety.
George looks up to find himself at the campus’ café, pulling on the smooth doorknob before quickly pushing. It’s that kind of day.
He steps up to the counter and orders, shuffling over to the end of the display cases and pulling up his phone, swiping away the notifications of missed texts and calls. When his name is called, George thanks the barista and walks back outside, sipping at his drink and starting towards the south end of campus, away from the dorms and the football field.
The brunet has switched his phone to do not disturb by the time he gets to the little gazebo, and he sets his bag under the bench seating circling the inside of the structure. It’s hot, and maybe sitting outside wasn’t the best idea considering his attire of sweatpants and a sweatshirt, but he’d really rather sit on the wooden slats of the gazebo overlooking a small lake than be stuffed into a library or cozy but confining café.
George sits and sips and watches the ducks float around in the water, peacefully swimming. Sometimes, they dunk their heads under and their tail feathers wiggle in the air before their head reappears, continuing to swim along.
The life of a duck seems simple, and he remembers feeding the ducklings with his father at a neighborhood pond when he was much younger. They’d come waddling up, a mother duck watching from a distance carefully. They’d turn quickly at any sharp movements, scurrying back to the safety of their mother and the water. A duckling’s beak tickled when it took the bread from a young George’s hand, and his father taught him to keep his hand flat so they wouldn’t accidentally pinch him. When he ran out of bread, he’d stand from his crouched position and the ducklings would go running off, back to swimming along.
They’d grow up over the spring and summer, and George always liked to watch them grow bigger and bigger. Until one day, when they left, and he’d sit and watch an empty pond and hope that they’d come back and maybe remember the little boy who giggled when they took a piece of bread from him.
He hasn’t noticed the sky beginning to glow orange and pink, or the sun dipping below the horizon, when he’d finished his drink or when the ducks had flown off. George checks his phone for the time and is met with an explosion of phone calls and frantic texts from both of his roommates and several other friends. He shoots off an “im fine” text to most of them but hesitates over one particular name, instead leaving the messages open and turning his screen back off.
It’s when the campus lights turn on that he realizes just how late it’s getting, so George gives one final glance at the dark pond before starting the trek back to the dorm, focusing on not running into anything in the dark.
He’d spent his time at the gazebo thinking: about his grades and assignments, about the ducks, about his family, about his friends, and about Dream. He’d dug a crumbled granola bar out of his bag at some point and proclaimed that his dinner of champions, followed by finishing off what water he had left in his bottle.
Depositing the wrapper and cup in a trashcan, George makes his way through the dorm building and up the stairs to get to his room, trying his best to be quiet in unlocking and opening the door. It isn’t that late, but it’s dark outside and maybe the other two turned in early for once. If he’s lucky, they’re at some party Quackity is hosting and he’ll be able to curl up in his bed and ignore them.
Unfortunately for him, that isn’t the case.
“George!” comes from the blond standing in their living room area, phone in hand and hair all out of place. George nearly backs up and closes the door, making a break down the hall to maybe go room with Karl for the night.
But he knows that won’t work, so he avoids eye contact and tries to speed walk to his bed. A loose hold on his elbow catches him, turning to see those emerald eyes he can’t seem to get rid of.
“George, are you okay? What happened? And we called and texted a lot but you didn’t answer, well, you didn’t answer me and-“
“I’m fine” George huffs out and pulls his arm free.
“Did you eat or anything? Did something happen? Did I do something?” Dream rambles on, following as George deposits his phone and bag by his bed and pulls out his empty water bottle to fill it. He tries to push past the taller, who blocks the way with a sidestep
.
“George. Talk to me, please. I can’t fix it if I don’t know what happened.” he says, voice quiet as he tries desperately to make eye contact.
Finally, George looks up at him, a storm of fear and hurt and sadness swirling.
“Drop it, Dream. Just stop, you can’t fix this one.” He whispers out, pushing past and walking into the kitchen as tears start gathering in his eyes.
“Look who finally got home, had your cuddle buddy over there worried.” Sap calls from the couch, George not having noticed him when he’d walking in. At the same time Dream sends Sap a dangerous glare, George promptly shuts the water off from filling the bottle, grabbing the cap and running out of the room, leaving the door open behind him. He briefly hears someone call his name, but the tears are already flowing and he’s turning the corner to start running up the stairs, the water sloshing around.
He knocks quickly as he chokes on a sob and is met with a low grumble of “alright, alright” before pink hair greets him and George becomes quite suddenly aware that he’s standing in the doorway of Techno’s and Wilbur’s dorm, who had somehow avoided having a third roommate.
George is about to apologize and back away when Techno takes one look at him and turns to say, “Wilbur, this one might be for you.”
The taller brunet stumbles over to the doorway and gasps at the wrecked state of his friend in front of him, pulling George into the room as Techno shuts the door behind them. He then gently pries the water bottle from George’s shaking hands and Wilbur pulls him into a hug.
The dam breaks and George is left muttering broken phrases into Wilbur’s shirt as he grips the fabric, “can’t tell him”, “gonna ruin it” and “I love him, Wil”. George cries and Wilbur rocks them side to side, humming and petting soft hair as Techno finishes filling the water bottle and putting in a straw. He sets it on the small table closest to the standing pair before moving his and Wilbur’s backpacks off the extra bed and taking a soft blanket from the closet in case George stays. Techno isn’t a stranger to tears; he’s held both Tommy and Wil and occasionally Tubbo through a stressful day or a mean teacher, or maybe the coffee spilled that morning, or the alarm didn’t go off. If he knows what helps, it’s water and a nap.
Techno knows that after Wil has tired himself out by ranting about whatever set off his upset mood while carefully braiding pink hair, he can pull the other towards a wonderland of pillows and blankets and a cool glass of water, sometimes on the couch and sometimes on one of their beds (usually it’s Techno’s that Wilbur falls asleep on when he’s upset, and Techno doesn’t complain as long as his brother is content).
When it’s Tommy, they sit together until Tommy wants to talk, to which Techno listens and gives affirmative hums and nods occasionally. After the blond is done, he drinks the offered water and they sit together through some older Disney movie, until the younger falls asleep.
Tubbo is different in that he doesn’t like to do a whole lot of talking when he’s upset. He lays on the couch with his head in Techno’s lap, listening to stories about Greek and Roman gods and goddesses, their feats and failures dancing around the room, until they both end up asleep.
It’s a pause button. A nap doesn’t mean forgetting what happened, it means taking a break and putting everything else on hold to instead calm down. They’ll figure it out later, or the next day, or whenever it’s okay to bring whatever it was up again. Sometimes the problem resolves itself and Wil or Tommy or Tubbo will thank him for comforting them when they needed it and let him know how it worked out because Techno won’t forget.
When he has a problem, he goes to one of them or to Phil and Kristin, her brushing out his hair while Phil brings a cup of water and a fluffy blanket. They talk or they don’t, but it always ends in a nap and a promise that everything will be okay.
Dream’s about to go knocking door to door as he paces and calls George’s phone again when Sapnap calls from the bedroom.
“He left it, his phone’s right here,” Sapnap says, coming into the room and, sure enough, George’s phone is lighting up with Dream’s call but not buzzing or ringing.
“Damn it!” Dream just about shouts, a mixture of frustration and fear, throwing his hands up to meet his hair.
He’s not sure where the phone’s owner went because he’d only seen him turn into the stairwell. George could be out somewhere hurt or scared and he’s about to lose his mind.
“Dream,” Sapnap says, taking the blond’s arms and pulling them down. “He’s okay, he probably just went to walk it off or something. You need to relax, maybe he went to Karl’s”
It’s been an hour since George left, 30 minutes of Dream and Sap not so patiently waiting for a text or maybe his return, and the other 30 spent by Dream pacing and calling George’s phone.
“I’ll text everyone and see if he went to someone else’s room, maybe he needed to cool off. Take some deep breaths, he’s alright” Sapnap calmly says, pulling Dream over to the couch and opening their team group chat.
anyone seen gogy? he left our room really upset and it’s dark
Techno looks over from his own bed to see George sleeping soundly, tear tracks still drying but a lot calmer than when he’d showed up outside the dorm. Wil is reading some book for their English class as Techno types away in a private thread with Sapnap
he’s asleep and safe in mine and wilbur’s dorm
thanks, did he say anything? like why he was upset
not to me, didn’t want to press because he seemed pretty worked up and tired
ah ok thank you
Techno flips his phone onto the mattress with a muffled thump! that Wilbur looks up at.
“His roommates are worried, almost sent out a missing person report for him” Techno replied quietly, turning to face the other.
Wilbur closes his book, leaving an index card as a bookmark where he is. “He was muttering about ruining something and loving someone. Wonder why he didn’t go to Karl of big Q,” Wilbur muses, setting the book on his small nightstand.
“Maybe he needed to be away from the group. Or we’re just quieter and he needed that.” Techno pauses and chuckles, “Maybe he just knocked on the wrong door”
“Whatever it is, we can deal with it tomorrow,” Wilbur concludes, pulling his blankets closer and turning off the lamp beside him. “G’night, Techno”
“Night, Wil”
George stumbles into the kitchen the next morning to find Techno leaning over the stove, prodding at a pan of scrambled eggs with a spatula. The brunet had slept dreamlessly the night before and his memory of what had happened before he’d fallen asleep was hazy; he remembers laying in the gazebo, and being scared, then crying and stumbling into arms that comforted him, but were not the ones he was used to. He’d grown used to strong arms holding him against a broad, muscled chest, large hands keeping him in place.
“I can hear you thinking from here,” Techno said, pulling three plates from a cabinet above him (well, above George’s head but at about eye-level for the pink-haired student) and portioning out the breakfast. “There’s water, milk, and Wilbur might let you have some of his apple juice if you ask nicely.” He grabs cups as well and sets one with each plate before going to the fridge to take out the water and milk. George joins him at the counter as Techno takes two pieces of toast from the toaster and popping in two more pieces of bread.
They end up taking seats at opposite ends of the couch, using the coffee table to set their drinks and plates. George had opted for water while Techno had chosen milk, and the two are just about finished with their food when Wilbur wanders out to join them. George wonders how long it’ll be before anyone addresses the elephant in the room, but he surely won’t be the first to do it.
“So, George, feeling better this morning?”
Ah, so now we’re addressing it
“Uh… yeah, feeling better” he tries, setting his now empty glass down and curling into the corner of the couch behind him. He takes a breath to prepare himself and his gaze shifts to the cushions below him, starting, “Look, I’m sorry about last night, and… and thank you for uh… dealing with me and I can leave-“
“George, relax” Wilbur interrupts, setting his plate down and moving closer to the other. He’s concerned but calm, voice even in contrast to George’s shaky tone. Techno stands to take their dishes, leaving his brother’s and returning with a fresh glass of water for George, which he sets on the table before leaving the room.
“You don’t have to leave, you can stay as long as you’d like or need.” Wilbur pauses, keeping his gaze on the huddled figure before him. “You don’t have to talk about what happened, but if you want to, I can listen or help you. Or Techno can, whatever you’re comfortable with, okay? We care about you.”
The truth was, Techno and Wilbur had somewhat adopted George into their little brotherly duo, always looking out for him and being a place for him to land if he ever needed a break from his more chaotic friends. When he’d been ill, Wilbur had made sure to walk George to his next class for the entire week and Techno had helped him with any English assignments he was having trouble with. While Dream had helped him recover physically and comforted him, the brothers had helped George to focus on his own health instead of a particularly tough English teacher.
“I just…” George tries, tone quieter as he decides fuck it. “I like Dream… I love him but I’m going to ruin it… even if he feels the same way, I just can’t” He stops, taking a shuddering breath as his tears start again. “I can’t ruin it because I know I’ll mess it up or start some stupid fight and ruin our friendship and all of our friends- I can’t lose them, Wil, I’ll lose you two and Sap and Karl and Q and Bad and-“ He breaks off into a sob, Wilbur pulling him close and holding George. Rocking them gently, Wilbur rubs his back slowly and waits for George to continue.
“And what if he hates me… Wil, I would hate myself if he even thought about hating me- and the storm, he’s probably so mad at me I just-“ He breaks off again, falling more into Wilbur’s chest, who pets his hair down as they sit together.
“George, breathe,” Wilbur says firmly, taking exaggerated, deep breaths. “You’ll never lose us, okay? George, Techno and Phil and I, hell, even Tommy, we’ll always be here for you. Dream won’t hate you, and he and Sapnap, the Dream team, right? They won’t leave you, and neither will Bad or Karl or Q or anyone.” Wilbur continues. “Whatever happened during the storm, do you want to talk about it?”
George’s breathing is more even now as his grip on the front of Wilbur’s shirt loosens. “I… he was really upset when that thunderstorm happened and – I was so scared, he just seemed so, small – I comforted him and we fell asleep in my bed and I woke up and we were still… we were cuddling and… oh god, he probably thinks I’m clingy and…” George returns to gripping the fabric, but he tries to keep his breathing even this time. Wilbur shushes him gently, looking up when he sees Techno come back in. The pink-haired boy crosses behind the couch to sit on the arm behind George, turning to face them.
“George, can you help me with something?” he asks, and Wilbur gives a questioning look before releasing his hold on George. He slowly turns, still close to Wil. Techno reveals a wooden comb from behind his back, something Wilbur recognizes as a gift from Phil from when they were younger.
“Could you comb it for me? And do you know how to braid?” Techno asks, holding out the comb. George takes it gently, admiring the bare wood before nodding, at which Techno turns to allow George access to his long pink hair.
Techno had always enjoyed it when Kristin would comb and then braid his hair, telling him a story while she did it or asking about his day. Sometimes, she would let him try to braid her long, brown hair, giving him simple instructions and having more serious conversations then. It was a good way to distract him, keeping Techno occupied while she talked to him about something that may be more stressful. It seemed to work on Wil and Tommy as well, letting them comb through and braid the long strands of either brown or pink while one of the boys explained a stressful day or something that was bothering them. The activity was calming, both for the person having their hair untangled or braided and for the person doing so.
George gets to work gently working out the few knots left in Techno’s hair, running the comb through in sections carefully. He has run the comb through twice before Wilbur starts again to talk to him.
“Did you have any plans for this weekend, George?” He asks, sitting back to watch the pair.
“I need to read that book for English… and Sapnap was going to show me a new skateboarding trick he learned” George supplies, setting the comb down and moving to separate pink hair into three sections.
“Have you talked to him, Sapnap?” Wilbur asks, carefully avoiding his blond roommate.
“No… I think I left my phone in the other dorm…” he trails off. “I went to that gazebo at the south end of campus, and when I came back to the dorm it was dark… I left all of my stuff there except my water bottle”
Wilbur hums in acknowledgment, leaning back into the couch.
“He texted the groupchat last night and I told him that you’re here” Techno adds as George finishes up the braid, Wilbur getting up to get an elastic.
“I need to talk to them, right?”
Techno sighs and Wilbur comes back, passing George the elastic to tie off his work. “You can stay as long as you’d like, but it might help to talk to them about it” Wil says, George turning to face him.
“Worst case, you can have that spare bed. You’ll have to be okay with the occasional impromptu visit of Tommy and possibly Ranboo and Tubbo, though” Techno chimes, standing to put the comb back and check the braid. It’s an easy braid, but Techno is still impressed at how neat it is. (He doesn’t know that George used to watch his father carefully braid his mother’s hair while she was working or reading or before they went out on a date night. Sometimes she’d laugh and swat at his hands, and others she’d just lean back to give him a kiss when he’d finished. Braiding Techno’s hair made him feel like he could care for someone, like how his father cared for his mother, but not with the romantic love attached. More of a familial thing.)
“Phil wanted to have lunch at noon so we have a few hours, and you’re welcome to join if you want” Wilbur offered, but George shook his head and went back to looking at the couch cushion beneath him.
“I think… I’ll go back and tell Dream and… and if it doesn’t work out then…”
“You can come back here and join us for some of Phil’s soup and Kristin’s cookies. Niki’s bringing fresh bread over, right?” Techno asks his brother, coming back into the room.
Wilbur pulls George’s attention back up with a hand to his shoulder. “Text one of us, or just come back here if you need something. But it’ll all be okay, I promise, gogy.” He finishes with a grin, patting the shorter’s shoulder before standing. Techno comes over with George’s full water bottle from the fridge, at which the brunet mutters a “thank you” and stands, walking towards the door.
“Thank you both…for everything today and last night. I’m sorry for that mess-“
“Nope, don’t apologize, George, you’re always welcome to come over, happy or otherwise.” Wilbur stops him, coming over to stand at the door.
“Thank you anyways,” and George opens the door, stepping out into the hallways and making his way back towards the stairway he’d run up the night before.
Patroclus has left the cave
wtf
George is on his way back to your dorm
ohhhh
sorry not a nerd like you techno
okay loser
Sapnap sets his phone on the counter when he hears the door to the dorm click open, revealing his brunet roommate in all his hunched up glory, wearing the same sweatshirt and sweatpants from the day before, with the addition of a few more wrinkles. He’s closing the door as quietly as he can, holding the handle down as he pushes the door back into place, then releasing the handle with another click.
“Hey, George” At that, he jumps, gaze snapping up to see Sapnap before looking around the room quickly. “He’s out, went to get food I think. Or tea, he left kinda quickly”
George seems to let out a sigh of relief, and Sapnap goes to sit on the couch, patting the spot beside him. The brunet sets his water bottle down and joins the other, an arm being wrapped around his shoulders hesitantly. George relaxes into the hold and leans over, letting his eyes fall closed. “Hey”
“Hi, gogy” Sapnap rubs his shoulder lightly, leaning back to face the ceiling. “He loves you, ya know?”
George’s breath catches, but he doesn’t sit up. “I can’t lose you guys”
Sapnap laughs, a bright and bold sound, rocking his shoulders and in turn jostling George. Sap turns to look at his roommate with a blinding grin. “You can’t get rid of us that easily, especially not his golden-retriever puppy boy ass.”
George doesn’t respond immediately, which evidently dissatisfies his roommate. “You’re really scared of losing us, huh?” he asks, squeezing George closer to him but leaving enough room for him to get up and leave if he wants. “You should’ve seen him last night, or when you were sick, or, shit, even this morning. I thought we’d have a weirdly shaped oval stamped into the carpet by the time you got back.” He pauses. “I know you overthink, George, and I know you don’t want to get hurt. You’re too smart for your own good sometimes. But listen to me, alright? He’d walk through hell barefoot for you, and believe me because I have to listen to him all the time.” Sapnap takes a more serious look, rubbing at George’s shoulder more firmly. “He won’t hurt you, and if he ever does, I’ll beat the shit out of him for you. He might be my brother and my best friend but so are you. And if you’re worried about messing up, you need to trust yourself. I know you, George. I know you won’t try to hurt him intentionally, and if you do accidentally, we’ll fix it. We’ve all messed up and that’s okay. You think Karl and I haven’t had any disagreements? Sometimes we need some time to sort things out alone, but we trust each other and we communicate. But if the whole relationship thing doesn’t work out for you two, that’s okay. You won’t lose me or him or Karl or anyone. We’re always here for you, even when your head starts to get too loud.”
George pushes his face into Sapnap’s chest, sniffling because how many times is he going to fucking cry in two days come on now. He wraps his arms as best he can around his roommate, hugging as well as he can while half laying against the other.
“Aw, is gogy getting sappy?” he hears above him.
“Shut up, Snapmap”
“Hey! I was being nice!”
They end up sitting on the couch together for another 20 or so minutes, until George complains that he needs a shower and Sapnap complains of being hungry. Before George goes, Sap asks if he can let Dream know that he’s back, to which George agrees hesitantly.
patroclus has returned
fucking what ?
some nerd shit from techno
gogy is back, had a couch talk, hes showering now
is he still upset or better?
idk, still seems stressed
bring food im hunger
what did he say?
is he still mad at me?
does he need anything?
DREAM
FOOD
NOW
Sapnap puts his phone down and ignores the buzzing from it, instead going to rummage through the cabinets to try to find something. They hadn’t eaten breakfast, having woken up late and Dream being too anxious over their missing roommate, even though they both knew he was safe with Techno and Wilbur. He’d left in a flurry of excuses to “go for a walk” and “grab lunch and tea”
Dream hadn’t been worrying over nothing, either; there’d recently been a string of incidents involving some… confrontational upperclassmen going after some of the younger students, and George’s stubbornness left Dream worried he might do something stupid, thinking he had the situation handled. Combine his protectiveness over his much smaller roommate with his maybe-more-than-platonic-feelings and Sapnap’s left with a mess of a best friend. Great.
It doesn’t take long for Dream to come bursting into the dorm, a take-out bag from Chipotle in tow. Sapnap lounges on the couch and looks up when the door slams! against the wall, probably leaving a dent they’ll have to pay for later.
“He’s showering, you’re gonna freak him out even more with all your nervous energy. And you better hope my burrito is right.” He stands, taking the bag from the blond and setting it on the counter, pulling out his burrito as well as his roommates’ bowls and setting them out as well.
They both hear the water shuts up and Dream nearly jumps, Sapnap unwrapping and taking a bite of his food, unamused. “Grab yours and come sit. He’ll be out when he’s ready and your hovering won’t help.”
Dream lets out a huff, taking his food and a fork, taking a seat across from Sapnap at their little wooden table. They sit in silence until George emerges, wearing one of his own hoodies and a fresh set of sweatpants, wet hair ruffled up. He silently moves to take his food, taking a seat closer to Sapnap. The three seem to make the unspoken agreement to avoid the tense atmosphere surrounding the blond and smaller brunet, at least until they’ve all eaten.
Which is just about how long the peace lasts.
“Alright, I think you two have some talking to do. Call me if it gets messy” Sapnap says, standing with the foil from his food balled up. He tosses it into the garbage can before grabbing his phone from the counter and his keys from the hook, leaving the other two to the privacy of their dorm. The door closes behind him, and suddenly it’s just the two of them.
“I’m sorry” Dream says, studying his nearly empty bowl with rapt attention.
George shakes his head and pushes the rest of his food away, standing from his seat. Dream hears the chair scoot back, squeezing his eyes shut in anticipation of George leaving, irreparably angry at him for something.
Instead, he’s met with a tap on his shoulder, and the blond looks up to see the brunet standing at his side, arms out in invitation, a determined but almost scared look on his face. Dream leaps up, pulling George close to his chest and slotting soft, still wet hair under his chin. His arms wrap around George, one hand on his upper back and the other on his head.
They stay like that, silently holding each other beside their little dining table, food long forgotten. Eventually, Dream starts humming, playing with the other’s hair and untangling the strands. It’s getting longer now and George had complained about getting a haircut recently, but he hasn’t found a barber yet as his mom used to cut his hair. Dream had offered to try, but George had just giggled, shoving his lightly backwards with a “stay away from my hair, you’re crazy”, and they’d gone back to Dream raking his fingers through the brown mess and George leaning into his touch.
“I’m sorry” George tries, muffled by Dream’s sweatshirt but still audible. “I’m really sorry”
Dream squeezes him a little tighter. “Can you tell me what happened, George? What I did or what I can do?”
George shakes his head, holding onto the fabric of the hoodie around Dream’s waist.
“You didn’t do anything, I just…” He takes a deep breath and pauses, trying to figure out what to say.
“Take your time” Dream encourages, drawing lazy shapes on the other’s back. George pulls back, still within the blond’s hold but enough to meet him eye-to-eye.
“I like… I love you, okay? And I’m scared of a lot of things. I was scared I’d lose you if you knew and I thought I’d been too obvious when we woke up together yesterday morning so I ran and I ignored you. And I can’t lose you or Sapnap or anyone and... I’m so fucking scared, okay, Dream? I’m really terrified. I was scared when you got hurt at that football game and when I found you the other night during the storm but I don’t think I’ve ever been more terrified than now.” He stops, catching his breath and looking into emerald eyes like it’ll be the death of him. “I’ve told Wilbur and Techno and Sapnap and I was scared then but I’m… I’m sorry. I don’t want to ruin what we have or make you hate me or lose all of our friends but I really don’t want to lose you. I’m… I just… you don’t…” he stutters off, tears flowing freely despite the stubborn expression he wears.
Dream wordlessly pulls him back in, holding on tighter than before.
“You’ll never lose me, George, not if we got flown up to space and let go, not if we got dropped in the middle of the ocean. I love you, I should’ve told you earlier and I’m sorry. But you’ll never lose me and I never want to lose you. I’ll never hate you either, okay? Not in a million years.” Dream places a light kiss against his hair, going back to drawing shapes. “I need you to believe me when I say that there’s nothing to be scared of, I’ll take care of all of it. And I know that isn’t easy, but we’ll work on it. We can face all of the bad stuff and if you need help I’ll always be right here. I won’t let you fall, bub, not ever. You’re safe.”
George holds on. He holds on to Dream like this is the last time they’ll ever see each other. “Thank you” he whispers, “Thank you, Dream”.
“Always, George. Thank you.”
They stay hugging by the table until George makes a noise that sounds like he’s uncomfortable and Dream immediately pulls back to look at him. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” He asks, concern in his tone.
“Wanna sit” is all George has to say, before the blond picks him up (perks of his best friend/crush?/love?/boyfriend? working out and playing football), George’s arms rising to wrap around the other’s neck as he makes a squeak of surprise. Dream moves carefully around his chair and towards the couch, where he gently releases George before sitting beside him. Then, Dream leans back against the arm of the couch and urges a still-tense George to lay with him, stretching out until the smaller ends up on top of him, chest to chest. It might be just past noon, but Dream didn’t really sleep the night before and George is always happy to nap, especially with his person. Two tan arms come up to wrap around his back and he burrows in further to the warmth beneath him, earning a laugh from his pillow, the sound vibrating against his chest.
“Comfy, huh?”
George hums in affirmation. He’s warm and happy and he doesn’t think it could get much better than this. Dream starts brushing through his hair, the gesture soothing the brunet to sleep, but he’s quickly followed by the blond.
Sapnap comes back about an hour later, having not received an SOS text from either of his best friends and assuming they’ve worked everything out. He stops in front of the door to the dorm with Karl close behind, turning to face him.
“Has it been a month?” he asks, and Karl pulls out his phone to check his calendar.
“A few days from it, so if they’re together, I win” Karl replies with a smirk “Get your $10 ready”
“You really think those two idiots have gotten their shit together that quickly? I say they’ve made up but they’re not together. Get your money out, pretty boy.” Sapnap says before giving Karl a quick peck to the cheek and opening the door.
“God damn it” is Sap’s immediate reaction as he digs around in his pocket for a crumpled bill. Karl stifles a giggle from behind him, taking in the domestic scene in front of them and taking a few pictures of the pair cuddled up together. “I knew it!” he whisper-shouts.
“Yeah, yeah, at least they won’t be dancing around each other anymore. You know how annoying it was to deal with?” He says, tossing their abandoned and empty bowls in the trash and getting each of them a glass from the cabinet. Karl wanders off to go sit on Sapnap’s bed, where they’ll cuddle and watch whatever new anime Karl started (Without his boyfriend, which said boyfriend thinks might be a crime). They’ll rewatch the first episode, but not before Sapnap sends a thank you text to Wilbur and Techno for helping with the…situation.
Dream wakes up first, surprised at first by the weight on top of him, but quickly settling back in and giving George a little squeeze. The brunet stirs, gazing lazily at him, and instead of leaving like he had the morning prior, George just presses his cold nose to Dream’s exposed collarbone and goes back to sleep.
They’re happy. They’re home.