Chapter Text
dream and george lie on the couch, george on his phone with a hand tangled in dream’s hair, brushing through and gently pulling at each curl. dream’s barely awake, breaths slow and eyes closed, but the tenseness in his shoulders is still there.
george’s hand moves from its place on the top of his head to lower, brushing against his ear. dream’s nose scrunches at the action, but he relaxes soon after. george tries his fingers just a little lower, scratching gently in a way he knows dream likes. he pauses at the soft hum from dream, but he doesn’t stir.
george continues, adding fingers until his entire hand is grazing just behind his ear, slowly and gently, only the tips of his fingers touching the scalp. the hums from dream, soft and tired, motivate him to continue.
it doesn’t take long until he realises dream is asleep, but the scratching doesn’t stop until he’s waking again, hours later.
george comes up behind dream, socked feet loud enough for dream to not startle when arms wrap around his waist and george’s face finds its way between his shoulder blades.
they murmur quiet greetings, more so felt than heard in the early morning. dream continues cooking and george cranes around him to see the pancakes he’s flipping. he leaves a soft kiss on the back of dream’s neck as a thank-you.
george decides he wants to try something and raises a hand to the line where skin and hair meet behind dream’s ear. he touches his fingers against it and watches dream for any reaction. when all he gets is a notice of it, he moves the fingers up and down, as if tracing the line to memory. in some way, he thinks, he might just be.
despite the almost ghosting touch, dream hums and leans into it slightly. george’s fingers press slightly harder, but freeze when dream does. george pulls a few inches back. “you okay, pup?”
dream nods. “yeah, yeah,” he mumbles, still making breakfast, although now distracted. “just… it felt really nice.”
george puts his hand back, presses again, moves with the same pressure. he watches as dream practically melts, leaning into it and turning his head for the hand to reach different places. he hums more, a sound he only makes out of pure bliss, when the fingers trail just the junction of his jaw and skull, and george feels the shivers running through his spine. he stops again, making sure dream isn’t getting a different kind of pleasure from this, but starts again when he realises that, no, dream is just enjoying this more than almost anything.
when dream finally finishes cooking, pancakes burnt around the edges and hair messy on only one side, george slinks away but remembers the details for later.
dream comes to george’s room, eyes tired, hands nervously stimming at his sides and shoulders hunched. he looks like he’d give the world to stop working.
george turns around in his chair, stretching his arms out. “why were you working, dreamie?”
“sorry,” dream whispers, “i don’t know.” he stumbles towards george, collapsing into him on the chair.
george pulls him forward until he can hold dream in his lap and hug him tightly. “no worries.” he watches as dream breathes deeply, burying his face into george’s soft shirt. he runs his hand across dream’s back, whispering reassurances into his ear. dream shudders with the words, content to sit and be loved.
george pauses. “you wanna sit as i edit?”
dream thinks it over, likely processing slower at the moment, before he nods and shuffles himself so george can still use his hands.
he moves his mouse to wake the monitor and gets back into it. he sees dream peek at the screen sometimes, watching the minecraft footage with fascination, a softness in his eyes, and george guesses dream doesn’t feel like thinking much and lets himself be entranced by simple colours and shapes for his tired brain.
they sit in silence, until dream raises a hand and ruffles his hair for a moment. george sets an arm around him to make sure he doesn’t fall from the movement, then scratches behind his ear a few times. dream melts into his chest, and george can feel the smile on his face through his shirt.
he edits for some more minutes, before deeming it enough for today and saving, then saving again, and shutting off his setup. he looks down at dream, curled up and tiny in his lap, and presses a kiss to the top of his head. dream stirs from his daze, looking up, now slightly more aware. george leans back slightly, making the chair tilt and let them fall into a laying position. george lets go of dream for a moment, before playing with his hair. he knows dream likes it, sees the way dream’s eyes slide closed and feels the barely-heard hum from his chest.
george lowers both hands to the joint of his jaw again, scratching in gentle circles, feeling as if he could cry with the way the boy in his lap melts into him, leaning his head forward so george can reach in more. he presses more, still slow, silent as dream hums again, a low sleepy note that carries through both their bodies. george has come to recognise it as one of pure peace, dream telling him it was like his own purr. george can’t help the smile at the memory, comparing his partner’s usual state to the soft, tired, pliable one now on his chest and lap. the humming continues as the drone of the room, george finding himself becoming sleepier as he listens to it. his fingers slow, but the humming continues.
eventually, sapnap walks in and finds them asleep on the chair, dream curled up and george’s hands still tangled in his hair. he finds a soft blanket to cover them with, and leaves them to rest.