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Dream said he’s kissed a variety of men. Were you one of them?
George tried to hide his smile as he answered. “I wasn't, actually.” But he could feel Dream’s stupid stare on his back and ended up bursting into laughter. So much for keeping that a secret.
As it turned out, the person who asked the question had donated like a hundred bucks. They deserved something more for that, surely, and so, George decided to play into it. He turned his head around, eyes gleaming at Dream. “Who did you even kiss?” he asked, as if he didn't know.
Dream’s cheeks turned pink, but no one in chat could see. Only he (and Sapnap) could, and that kind of made George go crazy inside.
“A variety of men,” Dream deadpans, quoting the stupid tweet he posted from that night at the frat party. He’s so dumb, and I’m so in love.
“A variety of men?” George laughs, almost mocking. “What does that even mean? Just like— a bunch of men?”
“I guess,” Dream sighs. Then, a moment later, his voice picks up, “Karl is one of them, though. Karl is definitely one of the variety of men.”
George knew that, he did. But the words still made him abhorrently jealous any time Dream brought it up. They’d kissed two times. Two times! Once was through a mask at Twitchcon, which barely even counted, but it still happened. The other time… George hated that time. But he loved it too, the same way he did with every moment he and Dream shared.
It was a cold October night, a week or so after Twitchcon. The Dream Team and Karl were all sitting outside under the stars, with Karl and Sapnap more than drunk, George barely even tipsy, and Dream completely sober.
They were being stupid, really. And Karl had been the one to suggest it. Spin the bottle. God, it was so stupid. But George had kissed Karl before, and kissing Sapnap couldn’t be the worst thing in the world. Dream, though, was the problem. George didn’t know how he’d react if he had to kiss Dream. He knew how he felt, and over the past week or so, he’d practically been a volcano on the edge of erupting every time Dream looked at him.
He knew how he felt, but he was unsure what to do about it. Seeing Dream kiss Sapnap or Karl would surely make him go crazy, but actually kissing Dream himself might permanently alter his brain chemistry. How was he meant to survive if he only had Dream for one night? If he never got to kiss his best friend again? instead, it was better to just not act on his feelings. Then, his heart could never get broken. Then, he’d never just get a taste. It was such full-proof thinking that would have worked entirely if they weren’t playing spin the bottle.
Sapnap had spun first and landed on Karl. They moved in sloppily until their puckered lips brushed, and then they were moving away from each other, giggling in much too high-pitched tones.
Karl spun next. A heaving anxiety tore through George’s chest as the bottle made its rounds. He wasn’t ready to see Dream and Karl kiss again, he didn’t want to—
The bottle landed on him instead.
He breathed a sigh of relief and leaned in to meet Karl’s lips.
He’d done this before— kissed Karl— months ago. George didn’t really mind the feel of Karl’s lips against his own. They were nice, warm. He felt like the bubbles in a fizzy soda, like a temporary warmness in the cold of winter. Only temporary though, because that’s what kissing Karl was.
They pulled away, laughing, and George pretended to ignore the glare of the other two. (He knew Sapnap had a crush on Karl.) (He would be an idiot if he didn’t see that.) (And also, maybe, he and Karl had kissed for a while. But he didn’t care. He needed this.)
George’s heart pounded as he spun the bottle. He prayed it would land on Sapnap instead of the boy right beside him. He reached out to anything behind the sky that the bottle spun in the right direction, that he didn’t need to kiss the one person he knew he couldn’t bear.
His prayers were answered when the bottle stopped.
Sapnap let out a teasing groan. “I have to kiss George,” he sighed, although he was grinning like a little shit too.
Karl bumped his shoulder. “It's not so bad.”
Sapnap rolled his eyes before leaning over to George. Their lips met, and it almost felt like fire. Sapnap didn’t kiss the way Karl did. Jealousy seeped off the brunet’s tongue, probably payback for the way George had kissed Karl earlier. George didn’t particularly mind it though because he was kissing his friend and the other two were watching. Maybe Dream would feel as jealous as Sapnap did when George had kissed Karl. maybe—
Sapnap pulled away and shoved George back to his spot next to Dream. He stumbled for a second, and then warm hands were wrapped around his shoulders. The scent of vanilla— of Dream— clouded his senses. He leaned in, “You okay?”
All George could do was nod.
George was so affected by Dream’s presence that he didn’t realize that Sapnap had already spun the bottle, that the bottle had landed on Dream, and that hands were leaving his arms to touch another’s.
He hated watching them kiss each other. They were his best friends, it was weird. Although, George supposed he hated it for a different reason.
As the two pulled away, George’s heart plummeted. Dream was spinning the bottle all too soon, and then it was spinning around to his side of the circle, and then it stopped, bottle head undoubtedly facing his way.
Dream raised a brow, grinning, and even though it was the hottest thing George had ever seen, he tried to regain his composure. He wasn’t going to act stupid when he kissed Dream for the first time. Only time. He could be cool.
“Come here, idiot,” he laughed. Dream moved in, hands reaching the edges of his face, thumbs making a brush against his cheeks. It was so light, so nice, and Dream hadn’t done this with Sapnap moments before. This was only a George thing. The brunet found himself feeling almost hopeful.
But then, Dream leaned in, their breaths mixed, and George felt like he was absolutely drowning in the feeling. It was nothing like Karl or Sapnap, nothing like anyone he’d ever kissed before. He felt like he was pulled underwater at the feel of Dream’s hands on his face, like he was trying to stay afloat through an icy ocean. Dream’s lips were his savior. Dream’s touch, Dream’s breath, were keeping him from drifting.
It ended all too soon.
The feeling, the incredible feeling, was gone too quickly.
Dream pulled away, lips red. George’s eyes widened because surely they hadn’t been like that after kissing Sapnap. He wanted to lean in and close the gap again. He wanted to finish what they’d started, what George never wanted to end. But the ringing in his head kept him from doing so.
He turned away from Dream before he could fuck the kiss up. His lips were tingling, his mind was reeling, but he pushed it all back, hiding it as he spun the bottle again.
He kissed Sapnap again, but it wasn’t anything like his kiss with Dream. Then Sapnap kissed Karl again, this time, harder than before in a way that made George want to drunkenly slap the hell out of them (even though he wasn’t drunk).
Karl spun the bottle again and then he was leaning in toward Dream, smiling like kissing Dream wasn’t a life-changing experience. (George supposed that might only be a him thing.)
But Karl and Dream were kissing, lips brushing, eyes closed, and it was so much worse than Dream's kiss with Sapnap. It was worse because they looked really into it. It looked so easy for them too, as if kissing your best friend was normal (again, though, George realized that he was the only one with a crush on said best friend. He was technically the only problem here).
When George thought they would pull away, instead, Dream’s hands found their way to Karl’s hips. He tugged Karl closer, until he was practically in Dream’s lap.
George’s eyes widened, horrified.
Maybe, when he’d kissed Karl that one goddamn time in London that Dream just couldn’t seem to let him live down, there had been a little tongue. But this, having Karl on Dream’s lap, was nothing like it.
Sapnap looked pissed out of his mind, and George would have felt sorry for him if Dream weren’t kissing Karl.
His hands were on Karl’s hips, and Karl’s hands were running along his arms. It was so aggravating that George almost stood up and left, but he wouldn’t let himself because then Dream would know how he felt. Dream would make fun of him for his stupid crush he’s had even before he knew what Dream looked like (before he knew he was the hottest fucking person on the planet).
When they pulled away, finally, George almost felt glad. It was too soon, though, because Karl planted another kiss on Dream’s lips— a soft, sweet peck— before pulling away completely.
Dream was smiling and blushing and it was so much that George had to stand up. He took in a breath, jealousy seeping off his figure, “I’m gonna go,” he said quietly.
His friends all looked at him for a moment, confusion dripping off their features, and then George was practically running back to his room. Well, shared room, but surely Dream could sleep somewhere else that night. Surely, he wouldn’t bother coming to see George after his fucking snogging with Karl.
He flopped onto the bed with a groan. Tonight was supposed to be fun and cool and epic. He was finally with his friends all together and they weren’t in front of thousands of people. They could be themselves now, and George had ruined it by being a massive idiot.
His door creaked open, but George was too annoyed to care. He deemed it was probably Sapnap or Karl checking up on him; they were probably trying to ask him what the fuck was wrong, since they were drunk and probably couldn’t read the room.
George wished he were drunk so he could forget about kissing Dream in the first place.
But the voice that spoke next wasn't Karl or Sapnap. It was the same voice he’d fallen for all those years ago over a Discord call.
“George,” Dream said, his gentle tone causing a tidal wave inside of George’s chest.
George’s head snapped up for a moment before he settled for another groan into his pillow. He didn’t want Dream to see him like this, didn’t want to talk to Dream in this state. He probably sounded stupid and lovesick and—
“George, what’s wrong?”
A creak in the bed, a weight by George’s feet. Dream was so close, yet so far. George wished he could tell him, and that they could move on, and everything would be okay. He didn’t want to lose his best friend because of a silly crush.
Dream’s hand fell to his calf, a tender stroke, a calming gesture, and George lost it. The dam inside of his heart broke, and he sat up before he could convince himself otherwise.
“Dream,” George said, voice coming off less confident than he wished, “You kissed Karl.”
(He evaded talking about Sapnap because it wasn’t Sapnap who Dream pulled into his goddamn lap.)
The blond frowned, “You kissed Karl too.”
“Not like that,” George said honestly. a scoff, “Never like that.”
Dream went quiet for a moment. George’s heart almost stopped beating.
“I'm sorry?” Dream said, more of a question than a statement. “I didn't mean to make you mad or upset or anything,” he laughed to himself for a moment and George had to pretend the sound wasn’t music to his ears. “I was actually trying to make you jealous, but…”
“What? ” George almost shouted. “What are you talking about, Dream?”
There was a flickering in his chest, a possibility of hope. He wondered if Dream was… did he really mean it?
“Me and Karl made a plan earlier,” Dream said simply. “because we both—”
George’s heart dropped for a moment.
“We both like you two.”
George’s eyes widened. “you both… like… me and Sapnap?”
Dream blushed, stupid enough to fall for George’s innuendo. “Not like that , idiot.” He said 'idiot' so softly that George thought he might melt into a puddle and be stomped on by dumb kids for the rest of eternity. “Karl likes Sapnap, obviously. and I like…”
He cut himself off, going stiff at the words. George, though, wouldn’t let him pretend like this wasn't a thing. He wouldn’t let Dream, or himself for that matter, brush this night beside to never be talked about again. They only had one chance to discuss it, one moment of now.
“You like…” George started, feeding into the fire, letting it flicker brighter, burning to new heights.
“You.”
“Me.”
They said it at the same time.
George felt like he was flying. This was it. This was them.
He moved closer. “I like you too, if you couldn’t tell,” George said, breathless as he stared at Dream face to face. “Since before we met up. Since before I saw your face.”
Dream blinked, “Seriously?”
A nod.
“Well,” he said, “I've liked you ever since I tried to get your attention by being an epic coder.”
George moved a little closer. Now, he could feel Dream’s breath against his nose, like cold ocean air meeting the sand.
“You were terrible,” George laughed, “but I liked you anyway.”
Dream’s hand was reaching for his face the same way he’d held him minutes prior. It was softer now, safer. It was like they knew they could be like this with utter certainty.
George could have cried, probably, but they would have been happy tears. He was happy to finally have Dream like this. He was ecstatic to know his love was returned. (He’d say the L word eventually, but for now, all he wanted was a kiss.)
“Terrible, huh?” Dream mocked, leaning in so their lips were close.
“The worst,” George affirmed, closing the gap.
And when they kissed it was better than the first one they shared. It was like kissing the sun, like dancing with the moon. George felt like he was bodiless, like his only purpose was to kiss Dream for all eternity.
They were together after so many years. They were together and kissing.
Dream was kissing him gently, but passionately. They both tried to say the three dreaded words they couldn’t utter just yet. But it was okay, their touch said it all.
George was happy even after they pulled away, out of breath. He was joyous when Dream pulled him back in. and he truly didn't even care when Karl and Sapnap walked in on them (to check in) and Dream faced Karl with the stupidest smile and thumbs up that George had ever seen.
It was a perfect LA night in the end.
Looking back on it, George was glad for the kiss Karl and Dream shared. For if they hadn’t kissed, he and Dream may never have admitted their dumb infatuation to each other, or, it would have just taken so much longer.
Sapnap was laughing throughout their conversation (he and Karl were happily together as well) and George was glad his boyfriend (god it was so fun to say)’s stupid plan had worked out for the whole group.
As he continued his stream even after his two friends went away, George was left feeling content. He was grateful for their fans (who didn’t know about dnf being real yet, but it would happen soon enough), for Sapnap and Karl, and especially for Dream.
He’d never been more thankful for his boyfriend kissing another man.