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Dream tells George that he's pretty a lot. Even before they started dating the blonde would mention it, lightheartedly and through jokes. He would joke about the Brit having pretty privilege or compliment him in such an exaggerated manner that there was no way it could be taken seriously, but the message came across nonetheless.
And then they became a couple, and the amount of compliments the brunette received by his boyfriend only increased. In bed, while holding down his wrists and whispering praise and kisses against every inch of his skin, when the blonde would notice George squirming and hiding his face in a pillow or behind his arms so he would pause his worshipping of his boyfriend’s body to hold both of the smaller wrists in one hand, and he’d let his pink lips catch a break so that he could grip George’s face and force him to look him in the eyes as he repeated just how beautiful he found him. In the morning, when Dream would wake up before the other but feel too lazy to get out of bed so he'd wait for the brunette to stir awake and greet him with words about how pretty he looked with the sunlight creaking in through the window. In the times when Dream took George out on dates and spent the entire night admiring him and any other chance Dream got.
Because that's the way it had always been; Dream loved loudly and George loved quietly. Dream loved with words and grand gestures, and George loved with touches, glances and actions.
It was a random night spent on the living room couch when George started questioning if he had been doing enough.
Both of them were sitting next to each other, comfortably cuddled up. The only sound filling the room was the low and ignored voices of TV show characters and the occasional music coming from a TikTok or Twitter video they watched on each of their phones.
Eventually, Dream scoffed and turned his phone to George, who was leaning against his shoulder. “Look,” he said lowly with amusement lingering in his voice.
George’s eyes squinted at the much brighter phone screen before putting his own phone aside to focus on the words he was being shown and scoffing as well, a habit he copied from his boyfriend. Recently having made their few month old relationship public, social media was flooded with opinions about said relationship from all kinds of people. This tweet Dream huffed out a laugh at happened to be a lighthearted one about how Dream must be bribing George with money in order for him to be dating someone so out of his league.
Grinning, the brunette leaned back into Dream’s shoulder to signal he was done reading. “Well, that’s not true,” he said casually because clearly, it wasn’t.
“Well,” Dream mocked, drawing the word out and leaning closer to George’s face. The brunette buried his face in the blonde’s neck since it was the only way to escape his stare, and he giggled, mostly because his habit of using that word was another one that came from the younger in the first place.
“I mean, I see why they’d say so,” Dream added, and George stopped.
He slowly made his way back up to look at his boyfriend. His brows were furrowed as his eyes scanned Dream’s face for anything that indicates that he was joking. When he found nothing but nonchalance and just saw the man go back to scrolling through Twitter the crease on his forehead deepened.
“What do you mean?”
Confused, Dream looked between George and his phone as if he was lacking context for what made George get so serious all of a sudden. “You know I think you’re pretty, George,” he chuckled.
“Yeah, but there’s a difference between saying I’m pretty and agreeing that I’m prettier than you.”
“George,” Dream repeated, softer but still confused. “It’s not that serious. Looks are not my thing, that’s fine.”
Still, George shook his head. Every word that Dream spoke upset him more. “You’re not - that’s not -.” It was times like this where he wished he had Dream’s ability to articulate his thoughts as effortlessly and confidently as his boyfriend did. “You’re, like, gorgeous.”
He blushed and looked down to his fiddling fingers the second the words left his mouth while Dream let out a loud laugh.
With the words: “I appreciate that, babe,” and a kiss to George’s forehead, Dream went back to leaning against the couch and focusing on his phone.
George, however, was left more than just unsatisfied as Dream clearly didn’t take his words seriously. It didn’t leave his head even after the conversation ended and the night progressed, and it was then that George decided he needed to prove to Dream that he simply wasn’t correct here, even if it meant stepping out of his comfort zone of loving quietly.
❀
The next morning, the brunette was lying in his boyfriend’s bed, having woken up and having found the other side empty only a few minutes ago. He had checked his phone and found a message informing him that Dream was working out downstairs so he spent his first moments after waking up scrolling through his phone and further thinking about how he could make the most stubborn man he knew change his mind.
It didn’t take long until the door opened and a sweaty, shirtless Dream walked in, instantly grabbing George’s attention.
“G’morning,” Dream greeted him while taking the necessary steps into the room to reach the King sized bed. He leaned down to George, who had already sat up, and pressed a quick kiss to his lips.
“Morning,” George mumbled with a smile against the blonde’s lip before he pressed them together again. There was more force and passion to the kiss than was usual for a greeting, especially when it was still early, and especially because George hadn’t even brushed his teeth yet.But he was on a mission, and he figured sex would be a pretty good way to show Dream just how desirable he was. Plus, George just really liked seeing Dream like that.
It was when the brunette wrapped his arms around the back of the taller’s neck and snuck his hands into the long blonde hair that was gracing the back of his head that Dream pulled away. At least, he tried to. George refused to let up that easily until Dream’s hands grabbed either side of his face and gently pulled him from his lips.
“Alright,” he laughed, brushing his thumbs over George’s pouting cheeks. “What’s gotten into you today? At least let me shower first, I’m all sticky and gross.”
George leaned back against the headrest and scanned Dream’s body without shame and with as much want as he could fit into his doe eyes before smiling up at him cheekily. “Even better.”
Again, Dream chuckled. His hand found itself ruffling through the smaller’s hair which earned him a glare, even though they both knew a big reason why George dealt with how much his long hair annoyed him was because his boyfriend had so much fun playing with it. George grabbed Dream’s hand and took it into his own so he could play with his fingers while Dream sat down on the edge of the bed, accepting that the older wouldn’t let him go any time soon.
“You’re awfully horny for just having woken up, you know.”
“I’m always awfully horny.”
“That’s very true, I shouldn’t have questioned you.”
George snorted. Looking down at the much larger hand he had in between his own, he got more quiet when he added an explanation: “I don’t know, you look hot.”
Dream scrunched his nose. “I smell, George.”
The response he received was an eye roll. “I didn’t realise your smell affects your looks, my bad.”
Normally George would leave it at a dry remark like that but when he remembered the blonde’s words from the previous night, he became filled with the urge to fuel the other’s ego again. “You always look good Dream,” he added, going against his instinct to look away from the green eyes above him.
“Even if I was covered in mud and-”
“Can you take this seriously for once, idiot,” George complained, dropping Dream’s hand in favour of using his own to slap against Dream’s chest.
It was unusual for George of all people to say that, and that must have been what gained Dream’s attention. When he eyed the older carefully and only saw a bashful expression on the face that was trying to hide from his gaze, understanding seeped into Dream’s features. His body twisted towards his boyfriend and his hand returned to the brown hair. This time there was no confusion on his face, he just silently brushed the hair away from the brunette’s forehead. George couldn’t help but feel frustrated that this situation somehow once again ended with Dream comforting him when it was supposed to be the other way around.
“Is this about what I said last night?” he asked eventually.
“I don’t like that you can’t see yourself the way I see you.”
His words were honest and Dream’s face softened infinitely. “You’re so cute,” he whispered as he leaned toward him to press a kiss to his cheek.
This time George couldn’t hide his frustration and he annoyedly pushed the other away as he sat up on the bed. “I know,” he complained, “because you tell me all the time.” Ignoring the mix of confusion and amusement on his boyfriend’s face, he continued. “I wanna be the one who tells you you’re cute. I wanna call you pretty and use those pet names you always use for me, and I wanna brag with you like you do with me.”
Dream bit his lip to attempt to hide his smile. “I appreciate that, George, really. But it’s okay, I’m not, like, super insecure or anything.”
“I know, but that’s still not the same as feeling attractive,” George insisted.
He could tell that Dream was trying to understand as it was clearly important to George. “So what do you want me to do?”
“For starters I want you to take me seriously when I compliment you.”
Dream raised his hands defensively at the glare he received. “Alright, I will.”
George’s glare didn’t lessen at the other’s playful expression but after clearing his throat and adjusting to move on to his next point he grew more flustered again. “And also try to see yourself the way I do? Let me try to coddle you a bit and you attempt to see where I’m coming from?”
A large hand took a smaller one into its own. George’s eyes followed as Dream took it to his lips and pressed a kiss against it. “I can definitely do that,” Dream smiled.
❀
So, George did as promised.
It wasn’t like he hadn’t complimented Dream before, but gradually it became more. More often, more heartfelt, more confident.
It started when Dream was cooking something for the three boys that lived together, and George snuck up behind him, wrapping his arms around the midsection of the taller’s body. Feeling much more comfortable with the lack of eye contact, George rose to his tip toes and pressed his lips against the ear of the man who leaned into his touch.
“You look cute like that,” he said with curved up lips, walking the line between banter and seriousness the two of them were deeply familiar with.
“Yeah?” Dream asked, the same smile evident in his voice.
George let his chin rest on the other’s shoulder and leaned his head against the blonde’s. “Mhm. Like my little housewife.”
The laugh and the remark about how dumb he was that clung out next to him warmed George’s heart and his smile only widened when he was spun around by the man in question until he faced him so that a kiss could be pressed to his lips.
So, George continued.
Dream was sitting in George’s room while George got caught up in a conversation with Sapnap when he entered the kitchen to grab some water and ran into the younger who was grabbing something to eat. What reminded him to get back to his boyfriend upstairs was the sound of a knock against the front door. A mailman with a package was waiting behind it.
Instantly, a smile appeared on George’s lips, and he dashed up the stairs after opening the door and receiving his order, water long forgotten on the kitchen counter.
“What’d you order?” Dream asked curiously when George entered the room with the medium large package in hand.
“A present for you,” George replied giddily.
He took a seat on the carpet in the middle of the room, cross-legged with fingers dancing over the cardboard in front of him. Dream scooted to the front of the bed, flopping onto his stomach and placed his chin in his palms while he watched with big eyes.
“You got me a present?”
“It’s nothing big,” George explained while struggling with removing the tape, opting for using his teeth. “Just some stuff I thought you’d like,” he added, his voice muffled.
Finally, the tape was removed and after two folds an open package was looking up at the Brit. Dainty hands grabbed what was inside, and a proud smile crept it’s way onto George’s face when he held up the clothing article he couldn't wait to see his boyfriend in.
“Look!” It was a silk, dark green button up.
Dream sat up, taking the shirt that was being held towards him into his own hands. Twisting and admiring it, he spoke sincerely, “I love it, George.” before looking up at the boy eyeing him attentively with furrowed brows. “You got that for me?”
George nodded, biting his bottom lip. “I thought you’d like it. And I’d like how you’d look in it, so…” He trailed off but the softening features on the face across from him eased George’s slight worry.
“Well, I do like it. I’ll try it on, ‘kay?”
“Wait!” Rummaging past a shirt he ordered for himself, George held up the other item he purchased for the other. “I also got you this.”
Dream chuckled when he saw the pack of silver rings in George’s hand, getting up to take them into his own and to get a closer look at them. “You got me rings?”
“You have nice hands,” the brunette shrugged, smiling up at him shamelessly.
One of said hands grabbed George’s chin to squeeze it once before Dream turned around to try on the shirt and the rings, ignoring George’s protest about how he wasn’t Patches and couldn’t be pet whenever Dream was endeared by him.
George scooted to the back of his room so he could lean back against his closet and enjoyed the show that Dream’s shirtless back was while Dream put on the things he had received. He was growing impatient by the time Dream turned around to him and showed off his new look.
“And? How do I look?”
Stunning, George thought. He pulled himself off the ground, walking towards the blonde that was looking at himself in the mirror. Looking at the reflection of the taller, George was fascinated by the way the green of the shirt and the green of Dream’s eyes enhanced each other, even if his version of green was very different from everyone elses.
“Stunning,” he told him.
Dream’s eyes met his in the mirror and a grin spread onto George’s lips. “No offence, Dream, but it’s a lot better than the merch hoodies and football sweatpants you live in.”
His grin must have been infectious as the same one found itself on Dream’s lips. Dream gave himself another once-over, seemingly satisfied. “I guess I do look pretty good,” he admitted before his eyes caught George’s in their reflection again. “Too bad I don’t have a reason to wear this any time soon,” he sighed dramatically.
George raised an eyebrow. “What is that supposed to imply?”
Dream shrugged as he turned to face the other, still clearly exaggerating. “I don’t know. You buy me this shirt and these rings you so desperately wanted to see on my hands that you are so turned on by-”
“Okay, I did not say any of that-”
“And then you don’t even give me an opportunity to show it all off,” Dream finished, entirely unbothered by the interruption and with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
Rolling his eyes, George looked down to hide the smile on his face. “Do you want me to take you on a date, Dream?”
“Are you offering?”
It took everything in George not to roll his eyes again. He pressed his lips together hard enough to not let the laugh escape. “You’re an idiot. Fine, I’ll take you on a date.”
A wide smile graced Dream’s lips before he pulled George towards his chest despite the other still grumbling. “Thank you, baby.”
So, George took him on the date.
On a Thursday night, both of them got dressed in their newly purchased clothes. George reserved them a table at a Sushi restaurant they would both enjoy, and they made out in the hallway before they could even say goodbye to Sapnap.
When they finally let go and were about to go downstairs to do all of that, Dream's hand grabbed George’s arm. “Hey, George?”
George turned towards him. “Hm?”
“I just wanted to say that I really appreciate all this,” he said, earnestly. “The compliments and the shirt and the date, it all means a lot to me.”
Biting his cheeks to stop the smile on his lips from spreading even further, George nodded. “I’m glad.”
“And, you know, it is helping. Making me feel good, boosting my ego and stuff.”
They grinned at each other before George took a step forward, stretching up to reach the other’s ear. “If you keep looking this hot in that shirt of yours I’m gonna make you feel good in so many more ways when we get home,” he rumbled as seriously as he could with the cheesiness of it all and the giddiness inside of him. To top it all off, he pinched the other’s butt.
Dream laughed but the pink on his cheeks proved he wasn’t entirely unaffected. “You’re actually a menace, have I ever told you that?” Dream complained as George happily led the way down the stairs.
And George stuck to his promise, spending hours after they came tumbling into Dream’s room just taking care of every inch of skin on the younger’s body. More praise and more kisses than Dream had already received in the past weeks were poured onto him, and it was then that George realised how good it felt to make the other feel this way. The happiness of the boy he chose to spend his life with was the most important thing to him, no matter how much George loved to be spoiled and pampered himself. It was a terrifying thought to someone who wasn’t used to commitment like that, especially when their relationship was still fresh, but George had never felt anything other than safe with Dream so he let himself fall into it.
❀
Living in the same house, being incredibly familiar and comfortable with the other and having spent years not being able to be within physical proximity of the other, it wasn’t common for Dream and George to be apart from each other. They fell asleep in the same bed just about every night, woke up next to each other just about every morning, and spent the day either next to each other or in the same Discord call alongside with their other friends.
And maybe they were just clingy, George thought as he jumped out of his seat at his computer to pad through the hallway. Maybe he missed Dream in the two hours that he hadn’t spoken to him after the younger had excused himself from the call they were in.
He didn’t dwell on that thought though, already having accepted that nothing about his feelings for Dream could scare him. Instead, he had simply gotten up and made his way to the destination that would quench his desire.
His hand balled into a fist as he knocked against the familiar white door, waiting to be let in rather than just barging in like he often did much to his boyfriend’s dismay. “Dream?” There was no response.
So much for knocking before entering, he thought before pressing down the doorknob to get in. However, the door didn’t budge.
With furrowed brows he tried again, knock and voice louder than last time. “Dream? Are you awake?” The American always threatened that he would start locking his door before falling asleep if George kept waking him up whenever he felt like it, but even if he had gone through with that, it wasn’t likely that he was asleep at this time. Their sleep schedules were all far from conventional, but George knew the blonde hadn’t been awake longer than a few hours. The only time Dream locked his door was when he was spending days editing a video and didn’t want to be disturbed but he already got his upload of the month out of the way.
George started feeling uneasy.
“Hey, can you open the door, Dream,” he attempted again, this time soothingly and with an ear against the door and a close look at the faint light he could see through the keyhole. A hard to make out meow that belonged to Patches could be heard. “I know you can hear me.”
And then the door opened and George’s heart ached because the boy he knew was golden wasn’t shining for once.
The room was dark, the only source of light coming from the galaxy wallpaper on Dream’s computer and his lit up keyboard. Patches was strutting around lazily, as if previously having been cuddled up somewhere more comfortable until Dream got up to open the door, and Dream’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes when he tried to reassure George after seeing the concerned look on his face.
“I’m fine,” he said immediately.
“Dream-”
“I’m okay, I promise.” The chuckle that left his lips as he slumped back into the chair in front of his computer didn’t sound convincing either. “I was just… reading stuff and I know I shouldn’t - I don’t normally do it - I just-”
“Hey, it’s okay.” Mindful steps were taken into the room until George was standing in front of Dream and his hand could gently hold onto the other’s cheek. “You good?” he asked quietly, lifting Dream’s face up towards his.
Dream nodded, more genuine and with an appreciative glint in his eyes. “I am, I think I just got a little caught up in it all.”
George was aware of the fact that Dream dealt with a lot. Being in the spotlight and having to accept that there were millions of eyes on you, judging you at any given time was one thing but experiencing it the way Dream did was another thing entirely, George knew that. And Dream was strong, he knew better than to take anything to heart and only ever voiced his feelings about the weight he carried when it festered as amusement about how ridiculous it all was or anger about how idiotic the things he had to deal with were, but sometimes even he was exhausted. George wanted nothing more than to take that burden off his shoulders.
And normally, he would do so by cheering him up, asking him if he wanted to play whichever game the blonde was addicted to at the time or if he wanted to go bother the third in their trio so they could all go for a drive with their phones off and the music loud enough to drown out everything else for just a few moments. But if the past month in their relationship had taught George one thing it was that making Dream feel beautiful in every possible way, inside and out, sometimes meant that he had to voice his feelings about the boy he loved so much. So he settled down onto his boyfriend’s lap and easily wrapped his arms around him.
“That’s okay,” he said lightly. “You’re just human, Dream.”
A snort. “I guess.” And two arms wrapped around George.
George’s hold on the other tightened and he ignored the fact that even though Dream was the one being comforted he was also the one rubbing soothing circles onto George’s back because he didn’t want the older to be worried. Instead, George used his words to one up him and it was surprising how easily the compliments tumbled out of his mouth.
“You’re a really great human, actually.”
Dream grinned as he leaned back to show off the canines and radiance George loved so much. “Thank you, George,” he said, honestly.
“You’re also really smart,” George continued with a similar grin on his own face, now on a roll. “Like, terrifyingly so.”
The blonde’s head tilted bashfully but he continued playing along. “Anything else you wanna tell me?”
“Yes, actually. You’re cute, everything about you, I mean, your dorky humour and all that. And you’re a good friend. Helpful and generous and stuff.”
Dream was about to protest but before he could, George held his blushing face in his hands, one hand on either cheek, as he lowly added, “And you’re so, so pretty.”
“Okay, you need to stop, you know how easily I cry,” Dream protested and the shimmer in his eyes that George spotted before Dream hid his face in the older’s chest was proof of it. George laughed as he pressed him closer against him and the rumble of Dream’s back that pale hands were wrapped around told him the other was doing the same.
“Thank you,” Dream added, meaning it wholeheartedly.
They sat in silence, Patches’ quiet and now much happier purr and their even breathing creating the calming atmosphere they both craved.
While playing with Dream’s long, messy hair that he always wanted to learn to braid, George eventually broke the silence with a hushed, “You know I love you, right?”
It wasn’t the first time he told him, far from it. Even before they started dating the brunette occasionally expressed his love for his best friend, even if it was less often than the blonde did, and even if he didn’t specify what type of love he felt for him for a long time. When everything finally fell into place shortly after George arrived in Florida and confessions were shared, he spoke the words as well, meaning them the exact same way he did now, but it was quiet, scared of the weight they carried. Not this time, though.
When Dream gently unwrapped himself from the hold George had on him so they could look at each other George’s eyes didn’t falter for a second. “Of course,” Dream’s soft, honey-like voice responded.
“Okay,” George said quietly, a comfortable but uncontrollably wide smile settling on his lips. “Just making sure.”