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By your side

Summary:

It was probably just a stomach ache, right?

Honestly I sick at summaries lmao, enjoy the fic

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George had had the greatest time ever during his 4 month stay in America, but my god was he happy to be back home.

He was even more happy to be accompanied by Dream, who in the four months had evolved from his best friend to his love interest, then to his lover.

Much to their fans dismay, the pair had kept everything on the down low, and to be honest, they liked it that way.

George had kept a lot of his personal life quiet anyway, so he was over the moon when Dream agreed to keep a hush hush on the situation.

The plane ride back to the UK was just as uneventful as the ride to Florida, only know George had someone to lean on the whole way back- they practically slept the whole time.

If George was being honest, it felt good to be back, as he turned the key in his front door, being greeted with the familiar stairs.

"So this is your house? You weren't lying when you said city homes were small." Dream stated with a light chuckle, holding a cat carrier that contained his beloved Patches- he couldn't leave her.

"Meh, it works." The older of the couple defended, picking up his suitcase and leading the way up the stairs.

Dream looked around at what he would be calling home for the next few months, carefully placing the carrier on the table, and taking a deep breath.

"It smells like you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had now been three weeks since the long ride from Florida, and George was just stood in the bathroom, brushing his teeth like he always did in the evening, getting ready to go to bed.

He took note of the dull ache that had been bouncing around his abdomen for a large majority of the day. It seemed to come in waves, and stayed around the middle.

Seeing as it wasn't life threatening, George rinsed his mouth and pushed it to the back of his mind. Sure, it was uncomfortable, but it wasn't unbearable.

"Hey Dream." The brown haired brit greeted his boyfriend, who was editing on his laptop in the bed, Patches laying at his feet.

Dream nodded in his general direction, too focused on what he was doing in that moment. It wasn't unusual for the 21 year old to fall into a productive state like this, and George knew better than to disrupt it.

Instead, he carefully climbed in beside him, getting comfortable and patiently waiting until he was done so they could cuddle. He occupied himself by scrolling through Twitter.

It wasn't long before Dream finished the section of the video he was editing, quietly closing his laptop and getting up, placing it on the desk before quickly using the bathroom.

George smiled at his boyfriend's reappearance, noticing that he'd swapped his sweatpants for shorts, and had somehow lost his shirt.

"How much editing have you got left to do?" He questioned, as Dream got comfortable on his side of the bed, turning the main bedroom light off and turning the small bedside lamp on.

"Well I just finished the big fight at the end, so I'm probably about 90% done now." Dream explained, before kissing George on the lips- something he always did before bed now.

One thing George both loved and hated was how honest Dream could be, and if he noticed something different, he'd be sure to tell his partner.

"Did you brush your teeth?" The younger blonde asked, knowing that George always did, every morning and every night.

George was puzzled to say the least. "..yeah, I did." He quietly answered, clearly confused by the question.

Dream shrugged. "Your breath was just, off." He truthfully commented, lying on his side as George did the same, beginning to cuddle.

"Oh, maybe it's cuz my stomach has been a bit off all day." I mean, that's the only thing George could really blame it on, he couldn't think of any other logical explanation.

 

After a few minutes of silence and shuffling,
George drifted to sleep, unfollowed by his overly cautious boyfriend. Dream decided to stay up upon learning that George wasn't feeling 100%.

He found it more than easy to just lie and cuddle George, keeping his arms wrapped around his waist and holding him close, comforted by his body heat.

Speaking of body heat, he took notice of the fact George seemed to be getting warmer. It was a steady increase over about twenty minutes, which he kept and eye on by putting his hand up his partner's shirt, resting the back of his hand on his stomach in order to check his temperature.

He also took note of how George seemed to be shuffling more in his sleep- well, he assumed he was asleep. That was until he audibly groaned, tightly hugging his middle.

"Gogs? You alright love?" Dream quietly asked, his voice hoarse as he sat up a little. He gently combed his fingers through George's hair, waiting for an answer.

"Upset stomach, can't get comfy." George mumbled, taking a deep breath as he pulled his legs up.

Dream thought for a moment on how he could help him feel better, before coming up with a mini plan.

"Well, you're lying on your right side, so roll onto your back and that should help. I'll grab you a glass of water." And with that, he climbed out of bed, heading to the kitchen.

By the time he'd returned, George had readjusted so he was lying on his back, still hugging himself, now with his knees up.

"Is it that bad, or is it just uncomfortable?" Dream questioned, putting the glass of water on George's bedside table, before getting back in bed beside him.

"I think it's more that it's just uncomfortable." George admitted, sitting up to have a few sips of water, before lying back down.

Patches got up and stretched from where she was originally lay, and made her way over to the couple. She may have been sweet, but that didn't stop her from following the usual feline tactics, sitting right atop George's stomach, beginning to knead.

Dream held back a wheeze as he picked her up, which George was grateful for. "No honey, I don't think he appreciates that." He soothed the cat, who returned to her place at the edge of the bed once she was released.

"That just felt awful." George commented with a whine, hugging himself and rolling onto his left side so he was facing Dream.

"Didn't look like it felt good." The younger male stated, gently pushing George's shoulder so he was back to lying on his back. He was met with a quiet whine, as George still wanted comfort.

The two lay in silence for a few moments, Dream checking Twitch to see who was live. Unsurprisingly, Sapnap was, so Dream hopped into his chat, sent a few messages then left.

It seemed as though George had drifted back to sleep, so Dream wrapped one arm across his waist so they were still cuddling. He was a little surprised when he felt George's hand on his, guiding his hand to the middle of his abdomen- where Dream assumed the discomfort was.

Now silently aware of the comfort George wanted, Dream slipped his hand up his shirt, beginning to rub gentle circles. It wasn't long until George was actually asleep, soon joined by Dream as he lost the battle with tiredness.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time George woke up, the sun was beginning to shine through the curtains. He didn't feel well rested in the slightest, and the uncomfortable feeling could definitely be described as painful now.

Dream's hand had since stopped the comforting motion, now just acting as a deadweight on his stomach- something he could really do without.

So, he gently moved the hand, and rolled onto his left side so he was facing Dream. Unlike Sapnap, he wasn't afraid to wake him, but was still careful as he cuddled into his chest with a painful whimper.

It seemed to do the trick, as Dream quietly stirred to a semi-awake state, immediately pulling George closer and rubbing his back as they cuddled.

"Clay..." George mumbled, his voice thick with sleep. It immediately knocked some alertness into the taller of the two, as he knew George much preferred calling him by his nickname.

Dream cracked his eyes open, before gently kissing George's head. "Shhhhh, I'm here." He soothed. He wasn't entirely sure what was wrong, but he just assumed it was a continuation from last night.

"Your stomach still hurt?" Dream questioned, being met with a whine and a nod. He was practically slapped with a wave of sympathetic emotions, as George just curled closer to him.

George hugged himself tightly. It might not have been the worst stomach ache he'd ever had- god, when he first arrived to Florida he was stuck in the bathroom for around a week- but that didn't mean it was enjoyable.

"Keeps cramping up." He mumbled, pulling his legs up to try and relieve some of the pressure. He was met with a kiss on his head, before Dream sat up.

"Swap sides, then you can lay on your left side." He instructed, climbing out of the bed, leaving George to shuffle over to the other side, Patches quietly watching from the plush chair in the corner.

The two got comfortable again, Dream gently rubbing George's stomach again to see if it helped. He also saw it as an opportunity to adjust the waistband on the shorter of the pair's shorts, seeing as they were quite tight across his aching stomach.

Dream heard George give a quiet sigh of relief, relishing in the comfort of his boyfriend. The pair would most likely spend the majority of the day just lounging about, especially if George wasn't feeling well.

"You think you've caught a stomach bug?" Dream asked, trying to come up with a reason for his boyfriend's predicament. He also wanted to know if this would be contagious, because Dream just didn't cope with stomach issues at all when it came to himself.

Surprisingly, he wasn't met with an answer. Instead, he was met with relaxed breathing as George fell back to sleep.

Dream gave a mix of a sigh and a chuckle, carefully sliding a pillow under George's arms so he wasn't directly holding his stomach, before sitting up and stretching.

Yeah, it was early, but Dream still wanted to try and do some things in case George's condition got worse during the day. Plus, he had to feed Patches.

 

Dream reckoned he managed about an hour and a half of chores done, before the sound of a horrible splatter could be heard from the bedroom. He didn't need to think twice to know what it was.

But still, he was there in pretty much a heartbeat, helping George sit up rather than just lying on his side at the edge of the bed. It appeared as though his assumption was correct- that it'd only be downhill from here.

"Shh, its okay George." He comforted his sick partner, rubbing his back until George felt well enough to move, immediately collapsing into Dream's chest.

The taller of the two reached over to the bedside table, grabbing a few tissues from the box that was always there, before wiping George's mouth.

"I think it's time we get you set up on the couch." Dream suggested, being met with a weak groan for an answer.

The move itself was rather easy, except when George just didn't help in the slightest. He slumped, dragged his feet, and could hardly walk in a straight line. In the end, George was put in charge of putting one foot in front of the other- Dream did the steering.

Once situated on the sofa, Dream took to cleaning the mess in the bedroom. He was thankful for the fact George had leaned over, meaning he didn't have to worry about stained sheets.

It didn't take long for the hardwood floor to be reverted to a shining state, and Dream could return to the living room/kitchen area, but not before grabbing a trash can and thermometer.

The thermometer was only one of the ones you put in your ear, so he wasted no time in taking his boyfriend's temperature, learning that George was now running a fever. It wasn't high, but it was a fever nonetheless.

Dream continued to wrack his brain, even turning to google to search for what could be plaguing his partner. Heck- he even downloaded and paid for a months subscription on one of those shitty symptoms apps.

"All of these things say it's either gastro, appendicitis, food poisoning, a small bowel obstruction or just a regular stomach bug." Dream explained, now sitting on the couch with George cuddling into his side.

"Any way to test for them?" George quietly asked, just enjoying the shared body heat and general comfort.

After a few minutes of silence, Dream had found some results.

"Well, I'm pretty sure that if it was gastro, I'd have symptoms as well- which I don't. Food poisoning, we've been eating the same things, my mom told me a way to check for appendicitis and I've no clue for the other option."

It took a few minutes of both boys building up the courage, especially after Dream informed George “This might really fuckin hurt and I’m sorry about that.” Dream wasn’t surprised when George just recoiled from any touch for a few moments.

But still, it was better to be safe than sorry. At least, that’s what Dream repeated in his head as he lifted George’s shirt up, gently placing the palm of his hand on the bottom right of his abdomen. If he remembered correctly, if it was appendicitis, the pain after release would be the worst part.

“Just stop stalling, I can feel your hand shaking.” George commented, reassuring Dream that he’d be fine.

 

The 21 year old was by no means a doctor, but the way George curled up on himself the moment the pressure was released didn’t exactly spell good news.

They were quick to return to apologetic cuddles, the side of George’s head practically becoming a garden with how many gentle kisses were planted there.

“So like, would it be easier to go to the ER, or book a doctors appointment?” Dream questioned, leaning towards the first option as he saw it as a faster way to eliminate the problem.

“I don’t know…I’ll call the ER. They’ll give us the better answer.” George mumbled, reaching for his phone on the small table beside the sofa. Both he and Dream sat up, as he typed the number in and put it on speaker.

It seemed as though the number begun to ring, George was immediately confronted with a wave of nausea. He basically all but shoved the phone into Dream’s hand before slowly retreating to the bathroom.

And then, it was up to the 21 year old to explain all the symptoms of his boyfriend, saying it how it was rather than exaggerating the situation.

“Alright, from the sounds of it, it would be a lot safer to come straight to the ER, rather than wait for an appointment, alright?” The kind person over the phone explaining, seeming to sense the blonde’s anxiety.

Dream took in everything he was told, and hung up after thanking them about a million times. He mostly couldn’t wait to get off the phone so he could check that George was alright, and explain the plan.

“Right, the person said we’d be better off going to the ER.” He quickly stated, crouching by George’s side and rubbing as back as he just took deep breaths, nodding as he waited for the nausea to subside.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

‘Hospitals suck :/‘

That was the tweet George sent, after careful consideration. He’d asked Dream if he thought it was appropriate, as they sat in the waiting room at near enough 7am, both still clad in what looked like pyjamas.

He even considered taking a selfie, but once he’d opened the front facing camera and saw his reflection, he decided against it. He didn’t want to scare his fans that much.

Dream had been messaging their close friends the whole time, so they weren’t shocked by the tweet.

The two entertainment themselves by tweeting random stuff at each other, just to take their minds, and their fans minds off everything. They’d give an update later if they felt like it.

For now, Dream had to sit alone in the waiting room, propping his head up on his fist as he tiredly waited for the results of George’s ultrasound.

It seemed as though the assumption had been correct, and George was diagnosed with appendicitis- too far gone to be treated with antibiotics.

“So that means…surgery , right?” George nervously questioned, being met with a ‘yes’ by the doctor that had been tasked with looking after him.

Dream gently held his partner’s hand, while he was reassured by the doctor of how simple the procedure was. There was nothing to logically be worried about- Dream knew that.

Yet, that didn’t mean the painfully anxious feeling just subsided in his chest as he watched George be put under, then wheeled away. He distracted himself by texting Sapnap.

 

Just as promised, it was a simple procedure. George woke up about thirty minutes after it was complete, and only had to stay in for a few hours before he was released, leaning on Dream as they slowly walked out to the car out front.

There isn’t really much of importance after that. The two streamed around 2 days later, not going into detail about the situation but just saying enough so that the viewers shouldn’t be shocked by a lack of content.

 

Never take your pain for granted, you are hurting for a reason.

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