Work Text:
"Dream? What are you doing here?"
Dream paused his scratching —which Sapnap didn't seem to like, based on its half-hearted attempts to bite him— and gave George a frown. "What?"
"You're in my dream," George explained slowly. "I mean, I assume you're the real Dream, but—"
"No, no, I am. I already knew that," Dream interrupted. "But how do you know that?"
"Because it's my dream?" George said, starting to sound a bit frustrated and confused. "Why wouldn't I know that?"
"You never have before," Dream said with a casual shrug. "I mean, I've never actually spoken to you, but I've seen you talking to whatever dream Dreams you dream up, so I don't see why a not-dream Dream would be any different."
"Ugh, quit saying the word dream, Dream," George groaned, rubbing his temples. "And, for the record. It's your eyes."
"What about them?"
"They're green."
"My eyes are always green," Dream laughed. "Not that you could tell."
"Ugh, shut up," George huffed. "And I don't mean normal green. I mean a really bright, vibrant green. Which I can see, by the way. Because this is a dream. "
Dream paused for a second, muttering to himself. "Vibrant green? Why would— Oh!" He bent down to scoop up Patches so George could get a better look at the little green zig-zags its pupils had adopted. "Like this?"
"I— Yeah. What in the world is that and why does it have six legs?"
"That's Patches," Dream explained easily, dropping it back down.
"No, the hell it isn't."
"Okay, it's not the real Patches," Dream laughed. "It's a Necho Cat. A Dreameater."
"Wow, thanks, that really cleared it up," George drawled. "So, what's a Dreameater, and why do you know that?"
"I'm not entirely sure what they are. You'd probably have to get a real Master to explain them," Dream admitted. "But they're kind of exactly what they say they are. They're these weird creatures that eat dreams. There's two types: Nightmares, which eat good dreams and Spirits, like Patches and Sapnap here, who eat bad dreams."
"That's Sapnap ?" George squawked, gaping at the Hebby Repp. Sapnap, for its part, gave him its usual opened mouth grin and did its little tap dance and spin routine.
"It's not the real Sapnap," Dream wheezed. "I just named it that. Just like that isn't actually Patches."
"I'm telling Sap you named a weird tap-dancing snake-lizard after him," George said automatically.
"Oh, c'mon, don't," Dream whined. "I told him he was something really cool like a Skelterwild."
"What in the world is a Skelterwild?"
"Oh, it's, um— Here, let me just show you." Dream pulled up his journal and swiped through a few entries before handing it over to George.
George just blinked down, completely gobsmacked, before looking up and shakily handing the Gummiphone back to Dream. "What the hell?"
"Yeah. I know."
"You— I— Dream!" George squawked, waving his arms in the air. "That's a giant rainbow T-Rex skeleton! What the hell!"
Dream laughed brightly. "Yeah. I know. Now you know why I needed backup."
George groaned and slowly lowered himself to sit on the ground. Patches pranced over and crooned a little tune at him, so he reached out with one hand to scratch it under the chin. "So, that's why you have these two? For backup?"
"Partially," Dream admitted, taking a seat next to George. As expected, Sapnap came and put its head right in his lap and started making a little chattering noise for attention. "But mostly it was just because I was lonely. In case you couldn't tell, time moves really weird in the Realm of Sleep, and I'm not used to not having you and Sap around for that long."
"Then how come you don't have one with my name?" George demanded. "What did you not miss me enough to want a substitute-me hanging around?"
"Don't be stupid, of course I did," Dream laughed shamelessly. " I had a Tama Sheep that I was going to name after you, but as soon as I tried, it vanished. I figure it's because we're in your dream."
"That's fair, I guess," George conceded. Then he huffed and dropped his head on Dream's shoulder with a heavy thump. "This is so weird."
Dream hummed and looked down at him. "How? George, we fight monsters literally every day. Why is this suddenly strange?"
George was quiet for a moment, a frown puzzling at the corners of his mouth, and his eyebrows showing the very beginnings of a pucker. He didn't often get quiet like this, taking his time to parse through his thoughts and pick out every word carefully. He usually just said what was on his mind, pausing briefly to backtrack when necessary but never dwelling on anything for too terribly long. Dream stayed quiet along with him, trying to give him the space he needed.
Slowly, George lifted his hand and the telltale sparkles of light danced around his hand for a brief moment before 404 materialized and he grabbed it out of the air. He tilted the Keyblade forward and back, side to side, and made a few halfhearted swings before letting it dip back to the ground. "I just figured dreams were different."
"How so?"
"I figured I didn't have to deal with our usual problems," George said. "I didn't even know I could summon my Keyblade here. I've never tried because I didn't need to. I figured I was safe."
"You are safe," Dream insisted.
He wasn't sure if that was the right answer based on the way George's eyebrows shot up. "Only because you're here."
"Why's that a bad thing?" Dream asked. He could feel himself folding up defensively, but he couldn't make himself stop. "I like keeping you safe."
"I know," George smiled softly. "But I don't like that you have to, especially not alone. I mean, you said it yourself, you're out here without me and Sap. If you're so focused on keeping me safe, who's keeping you safe?"
"That's why I have the Dreameaters," Dream said. "They keep me safe."
George hummed for a moment. "Are you a Dreameater?"
Dream spluttered out a bright, wheezing laugh. "George, what? No, of course not! Why would you even say that?"
"Why wouldn't I?" George challenged. He gestured broadly at Dream. "You're the one who said you came into my dreams to fight off nightmares! Plus you've got your weird green eyes, and don't even pretend to not notice that thing on your chest."
Dream glanced down to see where the Spirit symbol emblazoned across the front of his hoodie. He brushed the words out of the air. "Okay, so I get a new outfit for dream realm fighting. Big deal."
"It is a big deal, and I'll prove it," George said stubbornly. "What's something that only a Dreameater can do?"
Dream scratched his chin in thought. "Well, you can change their disposition by showing them affection. It changes how they behave and their eye color."
"Awesome," George grinned. Then, in one smooth motion, he flung himself at Dream to tackle him the rest of the way to the ground, and started gently scratching at the short hairs behind Dream's ears.
"George! Oh my god!" Dream cackled, doing a remarkably halfhearted job at swatting George's hands away. "Stop it! This isn't gonna work."
"Hmm. Yeah, no, you're probably right." Before Dream had the chance to even think about catching his breath after the unexpected surrender, George dove back in and started peppering tiny kisses all over Dream's jaw.
Dream's face had far surpassed scarlet by the time he finally managed to grab George by the ears and pull him away, laughing breathlessly the whole time. "George, what the hell. Stop, I told you this isn't gonna work." George didn't argue or struggle in Dream's hold. Instead, he relaxed into it, looking far too smug for Dream's liking. "Why do you look like that?"
"Because I was right," George explained. "Now your eyes are little yellow stars."
Dream's, now yellow apparently, eyes widened before he clapped his hands over them with an embarrassed squawk. "George! Change them back!"
"I don't know how!" George laughed brightly. "I didn't even really think the other would in the first place."
"Then why did you do it?"
George didn't answer, just gave Dream a wide smile, and Dream looked down at the hands in his lap with a flushed smile. George hummed happily and sat down at Dream's side in order to lean heavily on him. "I think I'm going to wake up soon."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." George cocked an eyebrow up at him. "What's going to happen to you?"
Dream snorted. "Same thing that happens every time you wake up, Georgie. I'm gonna wake up to you whining about how hungry you are until I make you something to eat."
George clicked his tongue softly. "Will I remember what happened here?"
"No idea," Dream shrugged. "Like I said, you've never noticed me before, so we've never done this. So you normally remember your dreams?"
"Not really," George said, scowling unhappily.
"Do you want to remember this?"
"I don't want to forget what you're doing for me," George admitted. "It's not fair that you're dealing with all this and nobody even knows."
"I don't do it for people to know, idiot," Dream said with fond honesty. "I do it because I want you happy and safe."
"I know you don't care about that, but I do," George argued. "I want for me to know, at least. If I wake up tomorrow and I don't remember, will you tell me?"
"If that's what you want, I suppose I can," Dream said gently. "Is there anything else you want me to tell you?"
George pursed his lips and studied Dream for a moment before nodding his head. "There is one thing. Tell me that I did something that I'm only brave enough to do when I'm asleep, okay?"
"Okay? What is—"
Dream's words were cut off when George suddenly pressed their mouths together. Dream's eyes widened before they fell shut again and he leaned into the gentle hold Geprge had on his jaw. They kissed for several seconds before they separated to catch their breath. When their eyes met, George started giggling, and Dream couldn't help but give him a goofy grin back. "What are you laughing at?"
"Your eyes have changed again," George informed him. "Now they're little blue love hearts."
Dream just laughed and kissed George again and again and again as the world faded around them. Before long, Dream's eyes opened, not to the sight of the hazya and colorful world of dreams, but to the off-white of the ceiling in his bedroom and the glow in the dark stars he and Sapnap and George had put there so long ago. There was a sound in the hallway of scrambling feet and he looked up just in time to see George throw the door open with wild, heaving breaths. His eyes met Dream’s. "Was— Did that actually—"
Dream just grinned at him and opened his arms wide, and held him tight when George leapt into them.