Work Text:
George never used to like Valentine’s Day. It just seemed like a reminder of everything he didn’t want, the romance and extravagance. He felt uncomfortable with the couples kissing on every corner, thinking about how much he stuck out. All the candy prices skyrocketed for the week before so indulging in his sweet tooth was a pain. He couldn’t even see the colors that covered everything, everything blurring together into a field of muddy yellow.
It just wasn’t his thing, not in the slightest and so besides Dream and Sapnap jokingly fighting over being his Valentine, February 13th turned over into February 14th without much hullabaloo. George glanced at the stovetop clock, idly pointing out that it was a minute away from midnight, and both Dream and Sapnap jolted upright.
At 12:00 am, they sat in the kitchen, cheering out ‘Happy Birthday!’ to Patches, which just seemed startled by the sudden yelling.
At 12:03 am, Sapnap checked his phone and said he had to call Karl. Dream made a joke about them having a Valentine’s Day date as he slipped out of the room and George rolled his eyes.
At 12:04 am, the front door opened. George glanced over curiously and Dream started talking loudly about a story of Patches from when he first got her. Even though he had heard the story before, it was just as cute as last time, and George turned back to Dream.
At 12:12 am, Dream gave an obviously fake yawn, said he was going to bed, and that George should too. George stared at him, bemused, and Dream kicked his chair until he stumbled to his feet and headed back to his room.
When he pushed open his bedroom door, it was dark inside and he frowned. As much as he tried to preserve energy, it was already sunset when he left his room earlier, so his light should’ve been on. He hesitantly stepped forward into the room, closing the door behind him regardless, feeling forward for his bedside lamp. The curtains were drawn for whatever reason, casting the room in further shadow, and he jolted in shock when his foot brushed against something.
“What the fuck,” he whispered, leaning down to pick it up. There was a stifled noise as if someone was hiding a laugh, and his head shot up. He held his breath, just listening. No other noises made themselves evident, so he reached for the object again, picking up taut plastic in surprise. It was a balloon, he could tell from the feeling of it, and his brow furrowed. “Huh. What is this doing in here?”
He ran his hand over the balloon, realizing it was in an odd shape and the whine of harsh plastic hid the sound of rustling from his bed. Just as he noticed it, his hand falling still, his bedside lamp clicked to life and he let out a yelp of surprise.
“Happy Valentine’s Day!”
“Jesus fucking Christ- KARL!”
George was pretty sure he could hear a familiar wheeze out in the hallway but he ignored it, focused instead on looking at his bed in exasperation. There, his soulmate sat, arms thrown out and wearing a grin so big it hurt.
“George!” Karl called back, practically vibrating on the spot. “Come here!”
George dropped the balloon he was holding and threw himself into Karl’s arms, burying his face into the crook of his neck. Karl let out a cheery giggle, holding him tightly and pressing kiss after kiss to his temple. George closed his eyes and tried to bury himself even closer to his partner, drinking in the familiar scent of his skin. After a few minutes, he finally murmured, “it’s been so long.”
“It’s been a month,” Karl replied, amused, and George huffed.
“That’s too long.” He pulled back and Karl was still grinning toothily at him, head tilted to the side and eyes wrinkling in the corners. George’s heart melted and he wrapped his pinky around the string tying them together, tugging on it affectionately. Karl returned the gesture and George leaned in to kiss him on the lips.
“Hey, hey,” Karl countered, holding up a hand to block his mouth. George pouted against it. “Look around first, okay?”
George let out a world-weary sigh but leaned back, turning to look around his room. He jumped when he realized how decorated it was, flushing red at the realization that he was so fixated on his partner that he completely missed everything else going on. Balloons in yellow, gray, white, and black were scattered around the room, some of them shaped like hearts, and there were matching streamers thrown over anything that was tall enough to hang them on. The one he had grabbed and dropped was gray, one of the heart-shaped ones, and now rested back on the ground. George took a moment to try and find reasoning for the colors - bees? why would it be bees? daisies, maybe? - before moving on. Over on his desk, there was a cat stuffed animal holding a heart with a note, and George blushed even harder at that, looking back at Karl in exasperation.
“Bit excessive, don’t you think?” he asked and Karl giggled. He grabbed George’s hands, thumb creeping forward to rub the black metal ring on his right hand. George’s eyes darted down, affection running through his veins at the familiar sight of Karl spinning the ring.
“No, I think you’re perfectly worth this!” Karl replied, cheeky and grinning widely. He leaned in closer as if he was telling a secret, lowering his voice to match. “The balloons are the colors of the aromantic flag. Just so you know.”
“Oh, they’re green. I thought you were doing bee colors for some reason,” George realized aloud, and Karl nodded as if he was so proud of himself. George rolled his eyes, unable to hide a fond smile. “Okay. That’s sweet. Thank you, Karl. Can I kiss you now?”
Karl sighed, dramatic, though he wore a matching smile. “I suppose so, if you really want to.”
George grabbed his face, holding him still so George could press a sweet kiss to his lips. Karl hummed into it happily, wrapping his arms around his waist and tugging him closer. George adjusted his legs so they were on either side of Karl’s, sitting on his thighs, and Karl grinned. He always wanted George as close as physically possible, dragging him in by the waist or pulling him into Karl’s lap. George indulged the touchiness, keeping his hands cupped to Karl’s cheeks.
“Thank you,” George repeated, softer this time, and Karl gave him one of the sappiest smiles he had ever seen. “This is really nice.”
“You haven’t even read your card yet!”
“Does it have a hundred bucks in it?” George asked. Karl shook his head ‘no.’ “Don’t care then.”
“You’re such a bitch,” Karl whispered and George laughed, detangling himself from Karl’s lap. He leaned over to press another kiss to Karl’s forehead then walked to his desk, aware of Karl’s eyes on his back.
He picked up the cat plushie first, setting the note leaned against it down with care. The plushie was cute, simple, a gray cat holding what George could assume was a pink heart. George hadn’t kept any stuffed animals since he was a kid but he could already guess that this one would be living on his bed from now on. He tucked in over his shoulder and picked up the note next. The front matched the toy, pink with a cartoon of the same cat sitting front and center. Above it was the phrase ‘You’re PURR-fect, Valentine!’
“Very cute.”
“Read the inside!”
George rolled his eyes even though Karl couldn’t see, opening it. A pressed flower fell out, a crumpled daisy, and George’s lips flicked up in a smile. He set it on his keyboard where he wouldn't forget it then looked at the note Karl had written him.
‘Happy V-Day to the best QPP in the world! ♡♡
I can’t begin to explain how much you mean to me, and I think you would just get very embarrassed if I did, so I’ll keep it simple. I adore you with all my heart! You’re the best soulmate I ever could have asked for and I’m so grateful you’re in my life. You make me laugh and you’re soft and you kiss good. Well? kiss well*!!!
I’m glad that you’re my soulmate. You know that already, but I’m reassured every time I think about it. We’re coming up on six months of knowing, six months of being partners, and every time I remember that I get so jittery and happy. That’s half a year! It reminds me that this is for real and I get so happy I could die.
Love you more than anything,
Karl ♡♡’
George bit his lip, closing his eyes and rubbing at the corners of them to clear any moisture. Karl gave a soft giggle from the bed, equal parts amused and nervous, and George put the card back down carefully.
“Is every Valentine’s gonna be like this? Because if so, you are gonna see me cry a lot,” George said, slow so that his voice wouldn't tremble, and Karl laughed fully, reassured.
“Yes! Yes, it’s just gonna get worse and worse actually!” Karl said decisively and George huffed, turning back to face him. Karl’s arms were open again and without a thought, George returned to his side, pressing into his chest. Karl fell back against the bed, dragging George down with him so that they were laying down together. He squirmed up the bed and George went limp, forcing Karl to try and haul him into place on the pillows. Karl let out a whine of annoyance and he caved, crawling into a better place with his head resting on Karl’s shoulder.
“You’re so annoying,” George scoffed as if he hadn’t listened immediately, and Karl pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Stop.” Another kiss. “Karl.”
“Mhm?” Karl hummed against his cheek, failing to suppress a smile.
“I’m glad you’re my soulmate too.” George turned his head so they kissed on the lips instead and Karl’s smile grew. There was a soft tug on their soulmate string, one that George returned wordlessly.
“I know.”