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Dream would very much rather be anywhere but his office, after closing hours, on Christmas Eve of all days; but at least Sapnap is here to keep him company through the painfully long emergency meeting with this investor.
He’s barely paying attention, everything this man says is going to have to be said again in a general meeting. Instead, Dream is focused on messaging George on Discord, desperate for a response since his last one over twelve hours ago.
“Mr. Wastaken?” The man’s voice cuts through his thoughts and makes him pause typing on his laptop. “How does that plan of action sound?”
The what?
“Oh, yeah, it sounds good,” He agrees mindlessly “Hey, listen, I’m sorry but can we wrap up this meeting here? It’s been a long day and I would like to revisit the plans with fresh eyes in two days, if that's okay with you.”
He isn’t sorry in the slightest, but his mother always told him that having manners will get him anywhere he wants. It seems that she is right as the investor nods, closing his own computer and beginning to pack away the files that sit in front of him.
Sapnap is at Dream’s side without a moment of hesitation, helping the blond do the same. There is an air of annoyance and impatience to his actions, and Dream has to fight down the giggle that wants to escape so that the investor doesn’t make any connections. It isn’t long before the man is tottering towards the elevator, leaving Dream and Sapnap in the office alone.
They fix everything back into its rightful positions– a job his assistant would’ve been doing if he hadn’t dismissed her hours ago so she could spend Christmas Eve with her son – and make their way outside of the room, turning off the lights and closing the door behind them.
Dream does his usual rounds through the cubicles to ensure none of his employees are staying later than their work hours, and turning off monitors or desk lamps that may have been forgotten in their haste to leave. He’s not upset about it because, truly, he can’t blame them for wanting to escape this building as soon as they could, especially on Christmas Eve.
The last lamp is turned off, leaving him washed in blue from the faint overhead nightlights that turn on after dark. Sapnap looks adorable in the dim lighting, leaning against the wall next to the elevator with his suit jacket slung across his shoulders like a cape, and shopping bags in hand that contain the Christmas gifts for his family that still need to be wrapped.
Dream walks up to the shorter man, a smile on his face as he towers over him, and pushes the button to call the elevator for them. They are close enough that he can smell the faint lingering of peppermint in Sapnap’s breath from the Starbucks he had earlier.
“Hey,” Dream whispers. “Come here often?”
They fall into fits of giggles as the elevator door opens, and both men stumble blindly inside. Dream manages to push the button for the ground floor as they collapse against one another, with Sapnap sandwiched between the wall and Dream’s towering frame.
He smiles up at Dream with a sparkle in his eyes, and it melts the blond into a puddle.
“May I please have a kiss, Mr. Wastaken?” His voice is teasing as he scrunches his nose and leans in closer.
There is a playful scoff from the blond as he brushes their noses against one another. “I dunno. It seems like it would be an HR nightmare if I did that.”
“Good thing that you’re the boss of the company, then.” Sapnap doesn’t give him a chance to respond before pressing a kiss against his lips.
Dream can taste the peppermint, and it makes him smile. His hand finds itself on the other’s hip as he presses him against the wall of the elevator more, trying to deepen the kiss. They have to break apart all too soon though as they hear the elevator ding and feel the rush of cool air as the doors open.
The floor is empty of people and the lights are dim. The room is illuminated with red as the lights on the Christmas tree pulse gently off to the side.
Dream steps out of the elevator first, hand wrapped around Sapnap’s wrist and tugging him along.
There is a small present wrapped in green paper on the receptionist’s desk, and neither man can help the curiosity of wanting to see who it belongs to; perhaps Dream could leave it in his office for safekeeping until everyone was back at work.
As soon as they are close enough, he picks up the box in his free hand. The tag at the top is addressed to both men, with no sender name.
"Aw," Dream coos softly. "Kayla left us a gift."
He feels Sapnap’s body warmth as he presses against him, peering over Dream’s shoulder to read the tag.
"I wanna open it now," Sapnap says, trying to reach for the wrapped box but being stopped by the bags hanging from his wrist.
Dream can't help the soft laugh that bubbles in him. He guides Sapnap over to the couches in the waiting area, releasing him for them to both sit.
Bags are placed on the table, giving Sapnap space to reach for the box. He's gentle with the paper, carefully lifting the tape and trying his best not to rip the paper.
Dream looks on fondly as a red box is revealed.
It's opened to reveal a note and a trio of matching rings, each with different coloured stones along the middle of the silver band– ruby, sapphire and jade.
He reaches for the note and reads it aloud. " You know what to do with these. Signed, Santa. " Huh . "Did you put these here, Sap?"
"No." His tone is equally as confused as Dream feels. "I'm assuming that the red is for me, green for you and blue for George? Are you finally proposing to us, Dream?"
What the fuck ? "I mean, I was planning on- not the point. This wasn't me. I dunno where these came from."
Now, he's even more confused. Should they wear the rings? Wait for George to be back home for New Years? "What do we do, Pandas? This was definitely not from Kayla. What if it’s from one of those homophobic guys we met at the charity gala a few months ago?"
Dream can feel the paranoia beginning to nip at the edges of his mind at the idea that the rings could be a Trojan Horse for something more sinister. He’s had too many attempts of rich people trying to hurt him and his boyfriends for simply being successful that he can’t fathom someone doing something as nice and simple as giving them rings. Nobody would go to such lengths… right?
Sapnap looks thoughtful for a moment. "I think we should keep them in the box for now, and then we can decide when we get home."
The plan eases Dream’s mind as he gently takes the box from the other and closes it, tucking it safely in the inner pocket of his suit jacket. It isn’t long before both of them are on their feet, splitting the bags of unwrapped presents between them to walk to the parking garage down the street.
There are a few people walking about, hustling to hail taxis or just speed walking to their destinations.
An older man in a Santa suit stands, ringing a bell with a donation box next to him and a sign that indicates the money is for children in need.
Oh, what the hell? Dream can afford it .
He opens his wallet, barely paying attention to the amount as he takes out all the cash he has on him and puts it into the box. A warm feeling blossoms in his chest as his mind wanders to kids being able to unwrap gifts on Christmas morning, like any child should.
The man looks surprised and grateful, and Dream can’t help but simply smile and wish him a Happy Holidays. As they walk away, he hears the man call out to him, “Your generosity won’t go unnoticed, sir. I hope you get whatever your heart truly desires for the holidays. Thank you.”
He stops, turning back to look at the man with a soft grin. “There’s only one thing I really want, and it would probably take a Christmas miracle to happen, but I sincerely appreciate it.”
Before he continues to walk, a thought crosses his mind. “Any time you or whatever organisation you work with need help for those kids, just walk into that big building over there-” he points to the Dream Branding head office he and Sapnap just walked out of, “-and tell ‘em you’re here to see Dream, alright? I’d be honoured to work with y’all to help out the community in any way I can. What’s your name, by the way, sir?”
Through the beard, he can see the man smile, eyes crinkling brightly. “You can call me Nicholas.”
“It was nice meeting you, Nicholas. We’d best be on our way now. I hope you get home safe.” Dream smiles once more, nodding at the man who does the same in turn, and links fingers with Sapnap as they continue to walk down the street to the parking garage.
He feels Sapnap bump their shoulders together as they walk, fingers squeezing his own.
“That was a kind thing you did back there, honey,” the brunet mutters, a smile evident in his voice.
Dream brings their hands up to his lips, kissing the back of Sapnap’s as they stroll. “It’s kids. I could never not help out kids.”
He doesn’t get a response, and instead Sapnap points out the way that the park is lit up with lights on all the trees. “D’ you wanna take a detour to stroll through the park before we get to the car, Sap?” He feels the man nod beside him, already tugging him in the direction of the entry path before Dream can even finish his question.
They walk slowly, arms swinging between them as they point out their favourite patterns of lights wrapped around various trees. At some point, the cold seems to begin to get to Sapnap and he tugs them over to a bench to rest for a moment and to put on his suit jacket properly, rather than the makeship cape it was before.
“We should take some pictures to send to George,” Dream suggests. “I think he would’ve liked to see the trees with the blue lights the most.”
He feels Sapnap’s head rest on his shoulder as they take in the nightlife around them. A few people seem to be doing the same as them, walking and enjoying the lights in pairs or small groups.
"Maybe we can ask someone to take our ph-" Dream is cut off by his phone ringing a familiar ringtone, his mom’s favourite song.
Admittedly, Dream is confused but he pulls out his phone and answers nonetheless. "Mom? Everything okay?"
He can hear his little sister giggling in the background, shushing someone quietly. Sapnap tugs his sleeve in a silent question.
"Dear, are you still at the office?" Dream can practically see the smile in her voice as she asks the question. What does she know?
"No, me and Pandas are just sitting in the park down the street. We decided to stop and take in the lights before we went home. Why?"
Sapnap is looking at him with an eyebrow raised. Dream shrugs, answering his silent question.
"Which tree are you two by? The one with the red lights or the one with the blue?" Through the speaker of his phone, it sounds like she's walking.
"The blue one." Wait. "Mom, are you two in the park right now?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah, we see you. Just wait right there. I have a present for you."
Dream’s eyebrows furrow as he looks around, unsure of which direction his mother is apparently coming from. "Couldn't this have waited 'till tomorrow? On, you know, Christmas day?"
He hears her scoff softly. "Absolutely not. We're almost there, sweetheart. Just you wait. You'll be glad you did." The dial tone rings out not even a second later.
Sapnap pokes his side gently, leaning in close so their cheeks are touching. "I’m assuming they’re coming to meet us here.” He giggles softly at the pout on Dream’s face.
“Yeah,” he sighs. “But I’m cold and I just wanna go home. Why couldn’t she have done this tomorrow?” The end of the sentence is followed by a whine and soft, fake sobs.
Before Sapnap can respond, they hear her shouts as she and two other figures walk towards them.
Dream’s little sister runs ahead, straight to them on the bench, and Dream has only a few seconds to stand before her arms are wrapping around his waist and she is shoving her face into his body.
“M’rry C’r’m’s, id’t. 'R g'na l've th's.” Her words are muffled by his clothes, making them borderline unintelligible. He hugs her back, messing with her hair just to annoy her.
He feels Sapnap stand next to him, and there is a massive grin on his face as he sees his mom and the other person walking closer. The shadows of the night are enough to conceal the identity of the mystery person, even with colourful lights shining from every direction.
His sister lets go of him, reaching for the bags of unwrapped presents as the person stops just far enough away that neither Dream nor Sapnap can make out any distinguishing features.
Dream can feel excitement in his veins, but he isn’t quite sure why. His nerves tingle and he feels himself shake slightly as his mom approaches.
She pulls both him and Sapnap in for tight hugs, and Dream notices tears in the corner of her eyes.
"Is everything okay, mom? Why are you crying?” He can count on one hand the times he has seen his mother cry, and he is worried for the reason.
She looks up at him with a watery smile on her face, one hand caressing his cheek and one doing the same for Sapnap. “Why don’t you go over there-” she nods her head in the direction of the stranger, “-and find out.”
She lets go of them and both men walk, albeit somewhat hesitantly, towards the person. Dream is only a few feet away before he realises who it is and his walk transforms into a sprint, picking the man up into his arms and pressing a kiss to his lips, spinning on the spot as he does so.
They’re both grinning and Dream can barely contain his joy as he squeezes the man in a bone-crushing hug, burying his face in his neck. Tears are in his eyes as he lets the man down onto his feet just long enough for Sapnap to almost exactly mirror what he did, lingering a little longer than Dream did.
“George,” the blond whispers through tears, wrapping his arms around them both and sandwiching the Brit between him and Sapnap. “You’re here. How are you- When did- What-” He can’t find the words, unsure which question to ask first– how, when, what, why – but his mouth is moving before his brain registers anything. “Fuck, I love you so much. I missed you so much. You’re here. ”
Dream can barely hold himself back, letting the tears run freely down his cheeks, soaking into Sapnap’s shoulder where his head rests. “God,” he chokes out. “It feels like forever since we’ve seen you. We missed you so much.”
Everything around them melts. Truly, in this moment, the only ones who exist are Dream and the two men in his arms. The world could be on fire and none of that would matter now that George was back home with them, between Dream and Sapnap, right where he carved out his spot and rightfully belonged.
They stay in the embrace for far too long before Dream’s mother is gently tapping on his shoulder to send them home. Sapnap takes the lead and heads for the parking garage, while Dream playfully wrestles the bags of gifts away from his sister so she can’t peek inside; George silently cheers her on, and she only relents the bags after Dream bribes her with an early present. He hands her the smart watch, still in its box, and silently celebrates the small victory of one less thing to wrap for her.
It isn’t long before Sapnap drives out and both men walk down the concrete path, hand in hand, to meet him.
The drive home isn’t very eventful; they just talk about whatever comes to mind while Dream constantly looks at George in the back seat to make sure he’s not hallucinating. By the time they get home, Dream has a grin permanently etched into his face as they unload boxes of presents from the car trunk and back seat for his family. Coats are hung and everyone changes into soft clothes and gets to work.
Mugs of hot cocoa are made by Dream while George gets the wrapping paper and tape, and Sapnap moves the coffee table from the middle of their living room to maximise floor space. They work like perfectly oiled cogs in a gear, each doing their own part before regrouping on the soft carpet of the living room floor. At some point, someone puts a Christmas playlist on and lights the fireplace, dimming the overhead lights to paint them all in a soft, colourful glow.
It takes Dream longer than usual to make the hot cocoa because someone– Sapnap – is too short to reach the container of cocoa powder and is always moving it to a lower spot instead of asking Dream to come get it for him, which is totally not the reason he puts it on the top shelf or anything. Eventually though, he does find it and it doesn’t take him long before he’s pouring the hot drink into the matching Christmas mugs they got from his mom last year.
When he returns to the living room, he finds rolls of coloured gift paper scattered about the floor as George tries to wrap a game console for Dream’s sister, with Sapnap sitting behind him for moral support and tape holding.
Dream smiles, placing their mugs on the misplaced coffee table, and retreats to the kitchen for his own. He stops in the doorway of the kitchen as he remembers the rings in his coat pocket, and rests his hot cocoa beside the other two.
It takes a few moments of rummaging the coat before he feels the box from within the fabric; he stares at the box and absently wonders if he should get the rings from the stockings above the fireplace he actually bought to propose to them with.
When he returns to the living room once again, he finds that his boyfriends have changed positions and somehow, George is sprawled out on the carpet laughing while Sapnap tries, and fails, to wrap a present on top of his shaking body. There is an ungodly amount of bows and ribbons that look like they're supposed to be a part of the project, but are mostly unused and scattered across George's body.
Dream can barely contain his laughter as he gingerly walls towards the chaos. “I’m not even gonna to ask. I just hope you two idiots make it look nice for my mom.”
They both pause and look up at him, the same look of squinted eyes and furrowed brows on their faces.
"You got your mom a stick blender?" Sapnap snorts and tosses the box gently to the side. "That's such a stupid Christmas gift."
Dream can't help the offence that crosses his face and he barely covers his smile as he sits a few feet from them. "The little gremlin told me mom broke hers like two days ago and didn't have time to get a new one." He nods his head in the direction of a jewellery store bag. "Got her a chocolate gold set she's been eyeing too. C'mon, you two really thought I wouldn't spoil my mom?"
George brushes everything off of him and rolls over to where Dream sits, resting his head in his lap. "What else did you buy from the jewellery store?" He's grinning and wiggling his eyebrows, clearly hinting at hopes of a proposal.
"Don't worry about that. Oh hey-" Dream picks up the box from beside him and opens it up, readily changing the subject. "Do you know anything about these rings, George? It was addressed to me and Sapnap, but neither of us knows who it's from."
George reaches with grabby hands and takes the ring box from Dream, reading the note inside. "It clearly says it's from Santa, idiot, so obviously it wasn’t from me."
Sapnap shuffles over, pressing against Dream. "Should we… put them on? I mean, they're for us, right?"
He pauses as he is reminded of his paranoia from earlier, unsure if the rings could contain a safety risk. Being young, queer, and polyamorous doesn’t fit the typical CEO image, and Dream has definitely built a negative reputation with certain circles of the wealthy. There is nothing he would put past certain people he’s encountered.
He feels a finger poking into his side as George whispers in his ear. “ Dream. Nobody laces jewellery with chemicals to kill anyone anymore. It’s fine .”
George is right. Maybe he’s just overreacting. It’s probably safe. The thought does little to reassure him though, and it seems to be apparent to his two boyfriends.
“Would you feel better if we washed the rings before we put them on?” Oh, thank God for Sapnap’s brain; he always knows how to pacify Dream in his phobias.
Dream nods more enthusiastically this time, standing up and making his way to their kitchen sink with the box of rings. He grabs a clean bottle brush to scrub the insides of each individual ring, watching the bristles fold and open as they move back and forth, cleaning each and every crevice they can reach. Once each ring is thoroughly soaped and scrubbed, he feels more secure in letting the loves of his life wear mystery rings.
Dream doesn’t need to leave the kitchen because as he turns around, both George and Sapnap are glued to either of his sides, looking up at him patiently. He can’t help but smile as they waddle over in the direction of a towel to dry the rings; it is such a normal occurrence for them that they move perfectly in sync.
Each ring is dried and placed on the marble counter, glinting beneath the hanging lights of the kitchen.
“Dream?” Sapnap mumbles into his shoulder. “D’ you wanna put the rings on for us? ‘N then George and I can put yours on for you?”
Dream nods slowly and reaches for the closest ring; the deep blue of the sapphire stones are brightened by rings of tiny diamonds surrounding each gem along half of the silver– or maybe it’s white gold, he isn’t quite sure– band.
He takes George’s left hand in his own, silently marvelling at the sheer difference in the sizes of their palms, and slides the band onto the man’s ring finger. It feels like one final promise before his actual planned proposal for tomorrow morning as he pecks a gentle kiss to the other’s lips.
Sapnap’s ring is the same style, except for rubies in place of the sapphires. Dream repeats the same motions of slipping the ring onto his finger and gives him a kiss as well.
George takes his left hand and holds it up as Sapnap picks up his own ring, emeralds sparkling and shifting in the light. The silver band slides perfectly onto his finger and he receives a kiss on each of his cheeks from either of his soon-to-be fiancés.
He isn’t quite sure what to say so, naturally, he just says the first thing that comes to mind– “Our hot chocolate is probably cold by now.” It’s such a ridiculous thing to say in the moment but it makes all three of them burst into giggles as they stumble back to the living room, narrowly avoiding knocking into the table holding their beverages.
Dream collapses on the pile of pillows sitting beside the fireplace with both of his fiancés following, pushing the wind from his lungs as they drop on top of his body. He manages to choke out something about wrapping gifts before all three of them get to work, wrapping present after present for his family. They get distracted as Patches tries to run off with one of her toys early but in a couple of hours, they finish wrapping and clearing their debris from the aftermath.
It’s about half an hour until midnight when they all decide to finally retire to their bedroom. George gets put in the middle so both Sapnap and Dream can cuddle into his sides while they sleep. Patches is out cold at the foot of the bed; her body rising and falling with soft breaths as they settle in under the shared blanket. The first two follow in her footsteps and fall asleep easily, clearly tired from the day, but Dream can’t help but stay awake just a little longer.
The grandfather clock downstairs strikes midnight. Twelve chimes; each drawing Dream closer and closer to sleep. On the final strike, he can feel his mind floating off to blissful rest, and maybe it’s his tired imagination, but he swears he hears the jingle of bells as his body relaxes and his arms tighten just a little more around George’s waist, and his consciousness slips from him into fanciful dreams of a future with the men he loves so dearly.