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when george booked his flight to move in with dream and sapnap after years of waiting, it may have been the happiest he’s ever been. after all, they’ve waited for what felt like forever for this, and it was going to be awesome. but he also knew it would be hard. because why wouldn’t it be?
it’s not like he hasn’t been in love with dream for three years. and that was even before he knew how gorgeous he was. now that he knew what lively green eyes paired with a smile so bright that the sun envied it looked like, he was fucked. he knew that.
but he didn’t think it would be this hard.
he didn’t think that being in close proximity with the blonde every day would destroy him. he didn’t think that getting to hug him every single day knowing he yearns for more would tear him apart this badly.
don’t get him wrong, he was able to live with it for a while. he accepted that all he’d get were platonic hugs and cuddles, both of which he was completely fine with.
until one day, he wasn’t.
it started out like a normal day. he and dream were just lounging in the living room with dream’s head in george’s lap, mindlessly scrolling on their phones. it was nothing unusual, because they do it almost daily. it was nice. george had grown accustomed to dream’s comforting warmth, and he enjoyed it more than anything else. but today, for some reason even unknown to him, it was just too much.
everything inside him screamed to reach down and run his fingers through golden curls. he so desperately longed to be able to lean down and press a kiss to dream’s forehead, pulling back just in time to see the huge grin that would grow on the blonde’s face. he wanted it more than anything else. he needed it.
he couldn’t handle it. he needed to put some distance between them, and he needed to do it now before he ended up doing something he’d regret.
in a rush, he scrambles up to a standing position, muttering about how he was thirsty and needed to get a drink. and then he was gone.
when george enters the kitchen, he inhales deeply and releases it. he definitely needed some breathing room. while calming himself down, he holds himself to his word and fills up a glass of water. he then takes a few more minutes to himself, trying to figure out what he’ll say when dream inevitably asks him if he’s okay.
fuck it, he thinks. whatever happens, happens.
he takes one more slow breath and goes back into the living room where dream is still waiting for him, now sitting up. george sets his glass on the small coffee table, then places himself next to the blonde, making sure there’s still some distance between them.
“you okay?” dream asks, not missing a beat. there it is.
“yeah,” george replies nonchalantly.
dream hesitates, studying the boy in front of him. george wishes he would stop. then he follows up with, “are you sure?”
“yes, dream, i’m sure,” george reassures, hoping that his anxiety isn’t showing through his half-hearted smile. it must be a little bit, because dream looks at him with concern in his eyes before simply saying, “okay, if you say so.”
and then they settle back into the couch again, and everything is fine.
until dream decides to lean his head on george’s shoulder.
it shouldn’t be overwhelming. it shouldn’t, because dream has done it more times than george can count, and it’s such a simple, subtle gesture. it should mean nothing. instead, it makes george feel like a snake has nested itself inside his body, wrapping itself tightly around his heart and squeezing until he’s suffocating while the reptile prepares to sink its venomous fangs into tender flesh, tearing george apart from the inside out.
he can’t do this today. he really, really can’t.
“i- uh,” he clears his throat when his voice comes out rough. “i’m kinda tired. i think i’m gonna go to bed.” and then he’s off, quickly getting up and exiting the room before dream can say anything in response.
—
for the next few days, george avoids him.
he doesn’t necessarily do it on purpose, he just stays in his room for most of the day and happens to leave the room quickly if dream also happens to be present.
if he’s being honest, george could hardly stand to even look at the blonde after what happened on that saturday evening. he couldn’t so much as glance at the him without feeling a wave of need for something more. something he knows he’ll never have.
he’ll get over it, he knows. he’s gotten this far through the pining, so he can do it, right? he just needed some space, that’s all. then he’ll go back to dealing with the pain, pretending like the closeness and the intimacy they share doesn’t bother him. like he doesn’t silently question whether they sometimes cross the line between platonic and romantic. like he doesn’t wonder if dream notices it too. like he doesn’t hope that dream wants him just as bad as he wants him.
so he avoids him. the few days he spends alone feels like a breath of fresh air after he’s been drowning for decades. it feels like a glass of ice cold water in the middle of the hot, dry desert. it feels like that one good cry that only happens after you bottle up everything inside for a bit too long until you’re bursting into a mess of tears and agony and relief.
it’s something he needed. it’s something he wished went on for just a bit longer, but like all things, it doesn’t last forever.
it ends when dream shows up outside of his door the following thursday night, kindly knocking on the door with such a gentleness that tells george it’s him and definitely not sapnap, who would just barge in unprompted.
he almost doesn’t answer the door. he isn’t sure if he can face the one he’s in love with so soon, but he isn’t cruel, so he does anyway. even though as he does it, everything inside of him screams, you can’t face him yet! you’re not ready!
the door opens with a creak, and there, standing in all his glory, is dream. the mere sight of him makes george want to rip into a million pieces until nothing is left of him.
“hey,” dream says into the quiet air, giving him a soft, anxious smile. george can tell he’s nervous, and he hates himself for being the reason.
“hi,” george responds, saying nothing else. tension hangs between them.
“can i come in?” the taller asks, his hands fidgeting with the rings on his fingers. george just steps aside mutely, and dream enters his room, closing the door behind him.
they turn to face one another, and it’s so painfully awkward. dream’s eyes flick to him every few seconds, but only for a blink of time. otherwise, he’s looking everywhere except for george, his eyes rapidly studying the room as if he’s never seen it before.
“can we sit?” dream asks, gesturing towards the bed. george nods curtly, going to seat himself before patting the space next to him. dream complies slowly, sitting down with him and wiping his hands on his jeans. deafening silence graces the air around them, and george feels like he’s being smothered by it.
“so uh…” dream clears his throat. “are you… doing okay?”
george takes a moment to answer. “i’m fine,” he replies simply.
“okay, uhm,” he hesitates, then asks, “did i like— do something?”
george swears his heart shatters on the spot.
“no, no, you didn’t do anything, i promise,” he rushes to reassure, his pulse quickening. “i just— fuck. sorry.” he buries his head into his hands, everything suddenly becoming overwhelming. how the fuck was he supposed to get out of this without pouring his heart out and ruining their friendship?
a gentle hand comes up to press against his lower back, softly rubbing up and down. it soothes george more than he’d like to admit.
“it’s okay,” dream says calmly. “i didn’t mean to freak you out. i’m just worried. i haven’t seen or heard from you in days, george, and we live in the same house. i just wanna make sure you’re alright.”
george’s chest aches. you care too much, he wants to say. you care too much and you’re too generous for your own good and i should be the one comforting you right now because i’ve ignored you for days but instead it’s the other way around. you’re too kind and i hate you for it because it’s exactly why i fell in love with you.
but he can’t say any of that, of course. it would ruin everything. instead, he settles for a sigh and fights the urge to lean into the warmth of the boy next to him.
“i just— i can’t, dream,” he breathes, looking up at the ceiling. he can’t bear to look at the blonde right now, because his eyes are already welling with tears and he knows that a single glance at dream would make him fall apart completely. he can’t afford to do that right now, not with the blonde right in front of him. he takes a deep breath in, trying to will away the watery sheen that glazes over his eyes.
“talk to me,” dream says quietly, giving george’s hip a light squeeze. “whatever is going on, it’s hurting you and i don’t want you to face it alone. what’s wrong?”
george just shakes his head, tilting it down again. “i can’t tell you,” he whispers, closing his eyes.
don’t cry.
“why not?” dream asks, and god, if he keeps talking like that then george is going to explode.
“because i—“ he stops himself, biting his tongue . “i just can’t tell you.”
silence follows, and george fears he’s hurt dream’s feelings. normally he can tell the blonde anything, and he does. but this time, it’s a different story. he wonders if it’s upset him.
“uhm… okay, that’s fine. that’s okay,” dream says, but it’s obvious that he’s put off by it. “just… let me know if i can help?”
george laughs wetly.
“what?” dream asks.
“you just don’t get it, do you?” he finally meets dream’s eyes, letting him see how close his tears are to spilling over after finally giving up on trying to hold them back. the sight makes dream’s face drop along with his heart, and he so badly wants to wrap george up in his arms, protecting him from all the things that are causing him harm. which is ironic, because he’s the reason george is like this in the first place.
“george,” he whispers, and that was the final straw. the brunette lets out a quiet sob, and then his tears are falling relentlessly, and fuck, he’s embarrassed.
dream panics, quickly rushing to apologize. “i’m sorry, i didn’t mean to—“
“don’t,” george interrupts, sniffling. “don’t apologize. just- just hold me, please?”
how could dream ever say no.
he pulls george into his lap so that he’s sitting sideways, tucking the crown of the brunette’s head under his chin and leaning the smaller’s body against his own as he cries. dream continues to rub his back, shushing him and holding him close.
“you’re okay, baby, you’re alright. i’ve got you, just let it out,” dream says gently, noticing a second too late that he’d let the name slip. he hopes that george doesn’t notice, but he’s proven wrong when george looks up at him with glassy doe eyes, his eyelashes wet and his cheeks flushed.
“what did you just call me?” george asks, sniffling once more. even in this state, dream thinks he looks as beautiful as ever, and all he wants to do is wipe the poor boy’s tears and kiss his face all over.
“i- uh- sorry, i didn’t mean to,” dream says sheepishly, his cheeks burning crimson. “i don’t know why i said that, it kinda just-“
“say it again.”
dream shuts up immediately. “what?”
“call me it again.”
the blonde just watches him dumbly, suddenly at a loss for words.
“dream.”
“you’re okay, baby,” he mutters after a beat, coherency finally coming back to him.
george folds, hiding his face into dream’s neck as a few more tears escape him. the taller just holds him tight.
“you know i love you, right?” dream says into his hair, and george instantly pulls away, shaking his head.
“don’t say that. you can’t— just don’t.”
“why not? it’s true.”
george takes a deep breath.
fuck it.
“no, dream, you don’t understand. you can’t say that because you will never mean it in the way i want you to and i can’t just sit here and pretend like there’s something more there. i can’t keep hearing you say that to me thinking that it means something different than the last time you said it because it has meant something different to me for years and i just have to come to terms with the fact that you’re not in love with me and i’ll have to move on at some point because this will never work. i can’t keep living in this fantasy world i’ve made up for myself, convincing myself that you’ll ever want me in the way that i want you. i can’t keep telling myself that everytime you hug me or cuddle me, it’s because you want something more, because you do it with everyone else and it will never be any different with me.”
“george, i—“
“no, let me finish. i’ve already said too much and i’ve already ruined our relationship so let me just tell you. i’m in love with you, okay? i’ve been in love with you for years because you’re the only person that’s ever made me feel like i’m worth something. you have a literal heart of gold and you’re stupidly handsome and i absolutely despise you for it because i didn’t think that i was physically or emotionally capable of loving you even more, but then you had the audacity to be the way you are and look the way you do and you gave me pretty much no time to prepare myself for having to be around you 24/7, getting to experience your affection and having to pretend like it doesn’t make me wish for something that i know i’ll never have because you don’t love me back and you never will. which is fine, i respect that and i understand, but god, i just can’t keep pretending like these past three years have gone by and all the stupid jokes we’ve made and will continue to make have meant nothing to me. i can’t keep doing it, dream. it will literally ruin me if i keep going on like this.”
when he’s finally done with his tangent, he lets out a huge breath, feeling like he just took 100 pounds of weight off of his chest. he doesn’t even notice how dream is looking at him like he’s just found the center of the universe.
“can i talk now?” he asks, his lips curving upwards.
“no.”
he laughs. “george.”
the brunette lets out a sigh. “fine. what?”
dream leans forward, pressing their foreheads together as he shuts his eyes. “you’re in love with me?” he asks, and george can hear the smile in his voice.
he scoffs. “what gave it away?” he remarks sarcastically. dream giggles, and they fall into silence as the clock ticks by.
“… have you really been in love with me for three years?” dream mumbles quietly.
“so what if i have?”
“george, be serious,” dream says, but he’s grinning so hard that his cheeks are starting to hurt and his voice is ridiculously fond and george wants to kiss him so badly.
“fine, maybe i’ve been in love with you for three years. what about it?”
dream sighs in endearment. “you’re impossible.”
“you love it.”
his eyes crinkle as he smiles. “yeah, maybe i do. and what if i told you i’ve been in love with you basically since we met?”
george swears his heart explodes, and it seriously takes everything inside of him to not kiss the man in front of him right then and there.
“well, i’d call you an idiot for never telling me and leaving me to suffer alone. then i’d tell you you’re a simp, but we both already know that anyway.”
dream bursts into laughter, tightening his grip around george, pulling him closer. “shut up, you’re so dumb.”
george giggles with him, wrapping his arms around dream’s neck.
about a minute after their laughter dies down, dream gets going again, completely unprompted. “god, you are actually such an idiot. like, the idiotest of idiot,” he teases.
“how am i the idiot?” george retorts. “i’m the one that just poured my heart out to you!”
“yeah, and you had the audacity to say that i didn’t love you back! answer me this, george : have you even met me?”
“i don’t know, have i? are you the real dream or are you the actor from the face reveal video? the dractor.”
if dream didn’t have it surgically removed, he’d definitely be wheezing right now. “shut the fuck up, oh my god. that is actually the dumbest thing i’ve ever heard you say.”
george laughs with him, unable to do anything else. he feels on top of the world, like he just flew to the moon and back, walked across the entire earth, and discovered a new planet. he was absolutely ecstatic.
if he died right now, he’d die being the happiest man alive. there was no place he’d rather be other than right here, in the arms of the most important person in his life. they’re impossibly close right now; george has moved so he’s fully facing dream, his arms circled around the blonde’s shoulders while strong hands are wrapped around his waist. their foreheads are still connected and their eyes are closed, but they’re both smiling as they share the same air.
george sighs. “you’re really bad at this, you know.”
dream pulls away, taken aback. “wh- george! what?!”
he grins. “well i mean, i just had my dramatic love confession moment and you haven’t even kissed me yet. what kind of romance novel is this?”
dream rolls his eyes. “you are so fucking stupid, oh my god.”
then george is being kissed, and it’s everything he dreamed it would be and more.
it’s the first flower blooming after months of harsh, cold winter. it’s the first sentence written with a freshly inked pen. it’s strawberry lemonade on a hot summer afternoon, with melty popsicles and sunscreen and laughter. it’s dinner dates and love letters and fancy wine. it’s late night ice cream runs with the windows rolled down and music blasting. it’s teenage rebellion and reckless fun. it’s gentle touches and whispered sweet nothings.
it’s love.
after what feels like an eternity, yet still not long enough, they pull away. george can’t help but be insatiable, already chasing dream’s lips again before he can even suck in a breath of air. dream lets him.
they kiss, and kiss, and kiss, until george is running low on oxygen and his body forces him away. when they finally part, their eyes stay closed and they remain in each other’s space as they catch their breath. they’re both all smiles, their grins so big that if a bystander were to see them, they’d think that the two had just won the biggest lottery in the world. except, no money could ever match the feeling of euphoria that the two gave each other. they’ve become high on one another, drowning in love and happiness until they fall into an abyss of nothing but jubilance.
“i am so stupidly in love with you,” dream breathes, and george thinks he splits his face in half with how big he’s smiling.
he lunges forward and captures dream in a hug, his arms wrapping firmly around the blonde’s neck and his face nuzzling its way into the crook of it. the force of his sudden movement catches dream so off guard that they tumble backwards into the bed, the taller’s back bouncing against the mattress and disorienting them in the process. they burst into a fit of giggles, and george holds dream tight because’s he’s so overwhelmed with emotion and he hopes that maybe, if he squeezes hard enough, he can force his love into dream. unfortunately, though, his plan doesn’t work and it just ends with pain.
“george, you’re suffocating me, i can’t breathe,” dream strangles out, and george immediately releases him. the blonde lets out a breath, and then he’s looking up at the smaller boy in amazement.
“god damn, i didn’t know you had that in you.”
“sorry,” george says sheepishly, giving dream a shy smile and holding back a giggle. “i got carried away for a second.”
dream gives him the fondest look he’s ever seen. “you are so fucking cute.” and then there’s a hand wrapping around george’s wrist, tugging him down until he collides with a broad chest.
they situate themselves until they’re properly cuddled up in george’s bed, with the smaller boy laying on the taller’s chest as a hand cards its way through soft chocolate curls. george repeatedly traces tiny smiley faces into dream’s collarbone with his finger, and the blonde is filled with such endearment for this boy that he thinks he’ll crumble into dust. he places a kiss to the crown of george’s head.
“do you wanna be my boyfriend?” dream mutters into brunette waves.
george looks up at him, and it’s moments like this where dream truly means it when he says george is the light in the room.
because right now, george is beaming up at him, his eyes sparkling in adoration and his smile taking up his whole face. it’s dream’s favorite smile that george has, because it literally brightens up his entire face, with his eyes crinkling and cheeks flushing, and the only word that comes to dream’s mind is sunshine.
“i thought you’d never ask,” george teases, then he’s leaning up to plant a kiss right on the taller’s lips, lingering there for a few seconds before pulling away. he stays close, though, and dream wants to breathe in his soul and make a home inside of his body until he’s completely surrounded by nothing but george .
“yes, i’d love to be your boyfriend,” the aforementioned mumbles against dream’s lips, kissing him again.
he eventually returns back to his place against dream’s chest, basking in the warmth of him.
this is real, he thinks to himself, reaching out to grab dream’s hand so he can play with his fingers. i get to have this now.
“i can’t believe you actually poured your heart out to me,” dream pipes up, interrupting his thought process. he glances up at him.
“what’s that supposed to mean?”
“well i’m just saying that like— i mean, you never really talk about your feelings, so i always just assumed that when we finally got our shit together, i would’ve been the one to confess to you.”
george hums. “well, you stand corrected.”
“yes i do.” he kisses his forehead. “it just surprised me. i’m not saying it’s a bad thing that you don’t talk about your feelings, because you know i’m completely okay with that and always have been. but when you do, it’s really nice to hear. i’m just proud of you for saying how you feel. i know it’s difficult for you, especially when it comes to things like this.”
george feels his face heat up. “okay, stop. it’s not a big deal.”
“it kind of is, though. look at us, baby. we wouldn’t be like this right now if you hadn’t told me how you felt literally 30 minutes ago. or i guess— maybe we would be, because i was planning on telling you how i felt anyway. but that doesn’t matter. you already did it for me.”
“yeah, i’m just the best,” george brags jokingly. “W rizz.”
dream giggles. “you’re an idiot.”
george inclines his head to look at him. “you love this idiot.”
dream kisses him. “more than anything.”
later that night, they go out to dinner, marking it as their first “official” date. they laugh over sushi and lemonade with their legs hooked together under the table, and neither of them have ever felt happier.
when they get home, they tell sapnap the news. all they get in return is a smug, knowing look, and a shout of “ finally!” then the three of them watch a movie together with patches curled up in her cat bed beside them. george ends up falling asleep on dream halfway through, so of course, he carries the brunette to his own bed (which he hopes becomes theirs ) when the film is over.
they fall asleep wrapped up in one another with kisses and soft words and one of dream’s t-shirts hanging loosely on george’s body.
this, george thinks as he drifts to dreamland, having been woken up a bit in the process of being carried up the stairs, this is what love is.
no words have ever felt more true.