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The air that floats through their house is chilly, despite the heater working overtime to thaw it. Sapnap had left two days ago to go visit Karl, so now the only ones left in the house were Dream and George. They're sitting comfortably on the couch, pressed together under a soft, cashmere blanket.
“Dream, did you see the weather reports? Apparently, we’re supposed to get a foot of snow,” he exclaims, showing Dream his phone. Sure enough, the forecast displays a 100% chance of snow.
“Wow, really? That's insane, especially for Florida.” Dream turns his head towards the window, checking to see if any snow has started falling yet. There are a few flurries floating through the air, but otherwise, nothing.
“I bet it will start later today. By the way, we should probably check up on Sap, I'm not sure if he’ll make it home today as he planned.”
“You know he's like… in love with Karl. I'm sure he won't mind staying another day,” Dream says through laughter. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and scrolls to find Sapnap’s contact. It rings twice before he picks up.
“If you're calling about the storm, don't worry, I'll just be staying with Karl for another day or two until it clears up,” Sapnap says. They can hear what sounds like Karl talking in the background, along with garbled dialogue coming from a TV.
“You would like that, wouldn't you?” George teases, giggling more when he can hear Sapnap stutter in response.
“Oh fuck off! I'm sure you two love birds are excited about having time alone in the house. Just don’t have too much sex! I don't wanna walk in on George moan-” George ends the call instantly before he can finish.
“God he's such an idiot, you and I are literally just friends, but all he has are these weird fantasies about us being together,” George grumbles, a blush glowing violently on his cheeks. Dream laughs but doesn’t reply, too busy mulling George's words over in his head.
“Anyway, let's finish this movie. And come closer, I want more of the blanket,” George demands, tugging on Dream's arm. Dream sighs but compiles regardless, pressing play on the remote.
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As the night arrives, Dream and George both migrate to their own bedrooms. Dream spends time editing George's video since he had promised the brunet he would. Well, he didn't exactly say he would, but it was more like an unspoken promise between the two of them. Dream would do anything for George, and they’re both fully aware of that fact.
Just as he's dragging another clip onto the timeline, the screen blacks out and the little lamp on his desk shuts off.
“Great, power’s out,” he mumbles, opening his desk and grabbing the flashlight he always keeps in there. He flicks it on, a bright stream of light illuminating the wall in front of him. It's at that moment that he remembers George down the hall, and so he decides to go check on him. He recalls George mentioning before that he doesn't do well in the dark.
As he's walking, he bumps into a figure in the hall. A quick shine of the flashlight reveals who it is.
“George? Why are you wandering around without any light?” Dream asks, lowering his flashlight to avoid shining it in George’s eyes.
“Well, I came to find you since… y'know,” Dream nods in understanding, “and my light is all out of battery, so I can't really do anything.”
Dream stands there for a moment, the both of them bathed in darkness. He wants to make the offer, but he's not sure how George would feel about it. But when he looks towards George, seeing the worried expression on his face makes him throw caution to the wind.
“How about… you come sleep with me?” he offers, before quickly panicking over the way it came out, “I mean- not in that way of course I just thought since-”
“Calm down Dream, it's fine. Yeah, let's go to your room," George agrees. Dream sticks his hand out for George to take — just to lead him to the room, that's all it is — and shines the light on the path ahead of them. George holds onto his hand with an iron grip. Dream is sure that it's cutting off his circulation, but frankly, he doesn't care. He just wants to get rid of that expression that plagues George's face.
They arrive in the room quickly, Dream shutting the door behind them. He sets the flashlight down on the bedside table, angling it just right so that it coats the whole room in warm, yellow light. George sighs in relief when he sits down on the bed, clearly happy to have some proper light. The sight makes Dream smile.
“Uh, Dream? Do you maybe have any extra pajamas I could wear? I came out in a rush so I'm still in my day clothes.” he gestures to the current outfit he has on, sweats and a black t-shirt. Dream is confused since those clothes could easily be worn in bed, but he shrugs it off, figuring George is just particular about what he's wearing, when.
He walks over to his closet and scans through his clothes, picking out an old hoodie and a different pair of sweats. He hands them to George who scurries off into the bathroom. Dream, already changed, sits on the bed while he waits.
When George emerges, Dream can't help the blush that spreads over his cheeks and nose. The brunet is fully covered in his clothes. The hoodie is a bit big, so a sliver of George's collarbone peeks out from under the fabric. The sweats are somewhat long on him and it’s clear that he had to tie them extra tight to make sure they didn't fall.
“I’ll give them back to you tomorrow, don't worry,” George says, breaking the silence. Dream opens his mouth to reply but shuts it quickly to avoid talking about how good George looks in his clothes.
“You don't mind sharing the bed with me, right?” George asks, fiddling with his sleeves like he always does when he gets nervous.
“I don't mind!” Dream rushes out. George giggles as he climbs into bed, patting the spot next to him. Dream's bed is fairly big, but even so, Dream finds himself keeping close to the edge of the bed.
It's when he finally gets comfortable that he feels a tug on his shirt. He turns to face George, confused.
“Something wrong?” he asks. George shuffles around for a bit, clearly shy about answering. But when he makes eye contact with Dream, he finally spits it out.
“Can you face me? Sorry. I know it’s stupid, but it makes me feel safer when I'm in someone else’s bed,” he explains. He looks as though he wants to say more, but doesn't. It takes Dream a second to process what he just heard, but soon he turns his whole body around, now facing George.
“This better?” he murmurs, voice sounding like melted chocolate, laced with exhaustion. George nods.
“Thanks. Uh- goodnight,” he says hurriedly, forcing his eyes closed. It makes Dream laugh, but he soon falls asleep too, tired from the day.
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The next morning, Dream wakes before George. The bright white from the snow outside blinds him, but all he can do is squint as the warmth of the bed keeps him tucked in. Speaking of which, he wonders exactly why he's so warm, especially since he forgot to turn up the heat last night. It's when he looks down that he finally realizes.
There, George lays tucked in his arms. At first, the position feels oddly natural with the way George's hair tickles his chin, and feeling the rise and fall of George's chest against his arms, but then the moment properly registers, snapping him out for his daze.
He's never done this kind of thing with George before. Sure, they've cuddled while watching movies, but they've never shared a bed and woken up intertwined like this. It alarms him just how perfect everything feels, how this situation makes something click in his brain. He carefully pulls his arms away from George. His heart breaks a little when he hears George whine, upset by the loss of warmth.
Dream makes a silent promise to return before grabbing his phone and heading to the bathroom. He calls up the one person who he thinks can help him in this situation: Sapnap. As per usual, the phone rings twice before being picked up.
“Dream? What's up? I was… kinda in the middle of something, so explain fast,” Sapnap says with an air of giddiness in his tone. Dream assumes that “something” has to do with Karl, but he can always ask about that later.
“So, George asked if he could sleep in my room last night since he didn't have any light and well- you know how he is about the dark,” Dream starts, “and last night before bed he asked if I could face him while we sleep, which is no big deal, but then when I get up this morning, he was in my arms! And let me tell you, I don't think I’ve ever seen someone look so good while sleeping. It's like-”
“Okay, enough. You like him, simple as that. Now go tell him, please, so we can all move on with our lives,” Sapnap sighs.
“Wait- that's it? Nothing else? Just… tell him? But what if he-”
“No what-ifs, Dream, I know you both like each other, so just get together already!” he huffs. Dream can practically see Sapnap rolling his eyes.
“Okay, fine. I’ll do it,” he declares, sudden determination taking over.
“Thank heavens! Okay, bye, see you when I get home. Love you.”
“Bye, love you too.”
The call ends like that, and Dream dashes to the kitchen, idea in mind.
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About half an hour later, Dream is finally done. Luckily, the power is working again so he can actually use the appliances. He tries his best to walk as quietly as possible back to the bedroom, though it's a bit tricky with the two plates he's balancing. He gently pushes the door open and there, on the bed, is George. He's awake now, scrolling on his phone absentmindedly, the sunlight from the window casting a glow on him. He perks up when Dream enters the room.
“You're back! And you brought food,” he smiles, gratefully accepting the plate as Dream passes it to him.
“Yup, french toast.” he pauses for a moment, “Hey, can I talk to you about something?” His voice is timid, hesitant. George nods, mouth dripping with syrup. He swallows quickly, in a panic, before speaking.
“If this is about last night, I'm sorry, I was being weird and clingy and-” Dream silences him with a look.
“Well, it has to do with last night but… I woke up today and you were in my arms. It felt right and I thought- no, I know that I have feelings for you.” Normally he would apologize for “dumping all of this” on George, but at this moment, he doesn't care. Confidence swims through his veins.
George is gaping, and it takes him a second to respond.
“Really? Because I like you too. I have for a while. That’s… that’s why I wanted you to face me last night, so I could make my way into your arms easier,” he admits, face flaming red. Dream blushes too, messing with his hands.
“Could I kiss you? I get if you don't want to-”
He's cut off by lips pressing against his.
Carnations bloom in his heart when it happens, warmth even more comforting than this morning. George brings his hand up to Dream’s cheek and lets it rest there, all while lips move in tandem. The two separate, but George's hand remains.
“Wow, I've wanted that for so long,” George says, smiling through the words. Dream smiles back, too overcome with love to even respond.
They spend the rest of the day in the same bed where they realized their feelings, eating french toast and sharing kisses until both their hearts and stomachs were full.