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George felt very out of place in his own home. He didn’t know why, but he did. He felt that way the first time he regressed, but also when Punz moved in. He didn’t like that feeling.
He loved having Punz at the house, but the truth was, he didn’t really know Punz like the other boys did. George rarely talked to Punz if the two boys happened to cross paths. He usually just talked to Dream or Sapnap, and Punz talked with Karl and Sapnap.
So, it was no surprise when Punz arrived and he immediately clung to Karl when he was Little, leaving George feeling lonely and unwanted. George was Karl’s best friend, and suddenly he was being dumped. It wasn’t fair. But, at least George had Dream.. until he didn’t.
It was around that time when George begged Dream to buy him this baby doll he had been wanting for some time. He soon began investing all of his time into the doll, it’s not like he had anything better to do.
There was one day when Dream noticed his slight neglect towards George and promised to take him out for ice cream as sort of Dada/George time.
“Weawwy?”, George asked. Dream nodded. “Now?” Dream shook his head.
“We’ll go after dinner, okay?”, Dream replied. “Maybe we can even stop by the toy store after, how does that sound?” George’s face lit up and he nodded vigorously. He loved the sound of that.
When dinner came around, George ate all of his food up fast, thinking that the quicker he ate, the faster he was able to get ice cream with Dream. George soon found out that was not the case.
He had to wait while his brothers, and both Caregivers, finished eating. Then Sapnap asked Dream if he could help him put the boys down for a nap. George waited downstairs patiently, deciding to go into the living room to color while he waited.
It was about an hour or so later, Little George had no concept of time, when he began growing impatient. He had been trying to be patient, wanting to be a good boy for Dada, but he wanted ice cream.. and his Dada.
George toddled up the stairs, holding the railing firmly, then he went to each bedroom looking for Dream. He teared up and sniffled when he saw the two Caregivers asleep with Karl and Punz in the big bed.
George walked back downstairs and decided not to say anything to Dream, he didn’t want the Caregiver to feel bad. After that incident, even Dream didn’t even realize his mistake, which made George feel 100% worse. Weeks after, when he was Big, George made a decision that could’ve changed his life forever, he brought it up to Dream one day in the kitchen.
“I think I’m going to stop with the age regression”, George said, immediately catching Dream's attention.
“W-what?”, he asked.
“You heard me”, George replied. “I feel like it would be easier if I just stopped the whole age-regressing thing. It’s too much of a hassle with the three of us, especially when I really didn’t need to use age regression in the first place.”
“Hassle?”, Dream asked. “What the hell are you talking about, Georgie?” George struggled to look Dream in the eyes. “Oh.. my.. God. This is about that time I forgot to take you for ice cream like I promised.” George shook his head vigorously.
“Forget I said anything”, George muttered, starting to walk away before Dream wrapped his arms around George’s waist gently from behind. “Let go, Clay.” Dream waited. “I said let go!” Dream waited again. He could feel the tears building up in George before he even let out a sob. George collapsed into Dream’s arms and cried.
“Shh”, Dream soothed. “Let it all out, baby. Sapnap and the boys are out right now so you can let it all out.” George cried harder, burying his head in the crook of Dream’s neck. Dream pet George’s hair softly, then he got an idea.
For the past week or so prior, Dream figured out that Little George really liked car rides when he was upset, it calmed him right down. Dream would just set George in the car and drive a couple miles, it was just him and George, and they would occasionally stop at McDonald’s or something if George was feeling up to it.
Dream picked George up swiftly and softly, and carried him out to his car, setting George down in the passenger seat and buckling his seatbelt, all the while George continued to cry, unaware of his surroundings. Dream walked around to the driver’s seat and hopped in, buckling his own seatbelt and starting the car.
It wasn’t long, about a half mile down the road, before George’s sobs died down to an occasional sniffle, and he stared out the window in wonder. Dream looked over at him and smiled softly.
“What do you see, pretty boy?”, he asked. George looked over at Dream, blushing, and shrugged. “Do you see trees?” George nodded. “Do you see.. houses?” George nodded. “How old are you feeling, Georgie?”
“Free”, George replied, holding up three fingers. Dream smiled and nodded. George turned back to the window and gasped lightly. “Biwdie!” Dream chuckled softly.
“What are we thinking, Georgie?”, he asked. “Do you want to go to McDonald’s like our usual run?” George shrugged. “How about ice cream?” George sniffled and shook his head.
“Dada no wanna”, he mumbled. “Wight?” Dream pulled the car over on the side of his road and parked, unbuckling his seatbelt and turning toward George.
“Honey, do you think we can have a big boy conversation?’, he asked. George sniffled again, then nodded. “You’ve been feeling sad ever since Punzo moved in haven’t you?” George nodded. “May I ask why?”
“Don’ know Punzo dat much”, George shrugged. “Feels weiwd. Den Kawl is wif’ Punzo awl da time, weaves Georgie feewin’ wonewy.” Dream took notice that all while George was talking, the Little kept digging his nails into his thighs, which were thankfully covered with jeans.
“Sweetie, I hear you, I promise I do, but can you not dig your thighs for Dada?”, Dream asked. George stopped immediately. “Thank you, honey. Now, can I say something else?” George nodded. “I feel like I haven’t been doing a very good job as a Caregiver for you.” George nodded. “Well, you’ve noticed that I have been helping with Punzo ever since he moved in, yeah?” George nodded sadly. “And there’s a reason I’ve been doing that.”
“Why, Dada?”, George asked.
“You see, buddy, when Sappy asked me if Punz could move in, I was against the idea”, Dream replied. George tilted his head.
“Dada ‘ate Punzo?”, he asked. Dream immediately shook his head.
“No, no, sweetheart”, Dream said. “It had nothing to do with that. It mainly had to do with the fact that I didn’t think we had room for Punzo-”
“Bu’ Punzo has woom”, George pointed out. “Wight next ta Kawl.” Dream nodded.
“You’re right, smart boy”, he replied. “But we didn’t have that room, we used that room as a storage room so we had to take all the stuff to a storage locker, remember?” George shook his head. “Well, anyway, when Punzo moved in, I felt kind of bad that I almost didn’t let him move in so I tried to make it up to him by doing what I could to make him feel welcome, and in doing so, I neglected you.” George nodded.
“Big time”, he mumbled sadly. Dream sighed and grabbed George’s hand lightly, holding it tightly.
“I’m going to do better, okay, Georgie?”, he replied. George nodded. “Will you forgive me for all I have done?” George nodded again. “Thank you, Georgie. Now, what would my boy like to do?”
“Can.. can do i’e c’eam an’ ‘Donawds?”, George asked shyly. Dream nodded and buckled his seatbelt again.
“Of course, we can do that, Georgie”, he replied. “We’re now officially starting our ‘Dada/Georgie’ time.” George giggled.
“Onward!”, he yelled, pointing to the road in front of him. Without wasting too much time, Dream got back on the road and the two boys headed to their first stop.