Work Text:
George was supposed to be working on his next YouTube video right now but Sapnap sent him a funny TikTok on discord half an hour ago. Now he was sitting in his office chair legs hanging over the armrest scrolling absentmindedly through his for you page. His video editing software still open on one of the monitors. It's not like he was lazy, editing was just not his thing. He is not as good at editing as Dream anyway so he doesn't understand why he needs to do it himself. He really needs to hire an editor.
A quiet meow behind his back disrupted his train of thoughts. He put his phone away and looked behind his chair.
"Patchington! What are you doing here idiot" he picked the cat up and set her on his lap. She smelled his his hand apprehensively and brushed the side of her head on his elbow after a moment. He pet her little ears and she settled down on his lap purring quietly.
George still couldn't believe he was in Florida sometimes. After all this time spent waiting depressed and frustrated. He was here. In the house where patches lives. The house that his best friends share with him. He would never say it out loud but it meant so much to him, just being here near the people he loves.
He picked up the phone and took a photo of the cat sleeping in his lap. She looked really cute with her tail tucked under her little paws. He decided to post the picture on Snapchat. George knew the fans loved seeing patches so he might as well share it with the world. He took another picture stretching his hand far away, capturing not only patches but also his face and body so it was actually more visible that she was laying in his lap. He captioned the first photo with just the cat with 'look at this idiot. She thinks I'm her pillow' and posted it to Snapchat. Looking at the second photo he noticed a strip of skin above his black sweatpants where his shirt lifted up a bit while trying to fit his face into the shoot. The fans would go crazy if he posted that one. They were ridiculous about things like that. He could already imagine all the edits and tweets. George didn't feel like taking another photo so he decided it's best not to share this one.Patches looked really cute in this one though, it would be sad to waste it.
Without thinking too much about it he sent the photo to Dream. George was used to sending random shit to Dream. It was an automatic thing at this point. Every time he saw something funny, interesting or just nice, he'd send it to Dream instantly. It used to not include any selfies. He figured if Dream didn't want to send him a photo of his face why should George do it. Nowadays after Dream face revealed, they send tons of photos back and forth.
He got instantly embarrassed after realizing what he did but it was already too late, he couldn't unsent the photo. He let out a quiet embarrassed laugh, and could feel his face getting red. It was stupid. There wasn't even anything to be embarrassed about. It wasn't like this photo was completely different from the photos he usually sends Dream. It's not like Dream would even notice that little patch of pale skin. There was no reason to be weird about it. Was it weird to send your best friend a photo of you with your cat? Not really. Actually not at all. Then why did he get all flustered about it. He never got this embarrassed about Sapnap. What was wrong with him? He was getting into his head too much. He sent the photo to Sapnap as well to get rid of the weird feeling in his chest.
Sapnap replied instantly 'Fuck off dude. She loves me more than you anyway'
George replied 'She likes me more because you stink'
'That can't be true because you stink more and she still comes to your room'
'So you admit she likes me more than you'
'So YOU admit you stink'
They went back and forth like that for a minute or two until George got a notification that Dream replied to his photo. It was just a heart emoji and nothing else.
George felt his face getting red again. Why was Dream like this? Why was George like this? Why couldn't he just be normal. He thought he was used to Dream's openness and affection towards his friends.
'You two look cute [face with hearts emoji]'
He thought he was used to his joke flirting as well. Apparently not. It made him feel weird. It's not like it bothered him. He would tell Dream to cut it out if he was upset by it. It just made him feel weird, that's it. When Sapnap joke flirted with him it made him feel weird as well. So it's not like it was that strange. When people made thirst trap edits of him he felt weird as well. It's not like only Dream made him feel like that. It was just how he was. He felt embarrassed when people acted this way even when it was fake. It doesn't really matter that only Dream makes him feel the fluttering in his chest and the warmth in the bottom of his stomach. That's just a minor detail.
The next message from Dream appeared under the previous one. George decided thinking too much on this topic isn't good for him anyway.
'What r u doing?'
'Editing'
'No you're not'
'How do you know that?'
'Not that difficult to guess'
'Edit the video for me Dream. I will never do it by myself'
'NO'
'PLEASE'
'You need to hire an editor then. I'm not editing your videos anymore'
'Fine. You know what? I actually will'
•*~*~*~*•
It took George some time to get around to it but after two weeks of Dream bugging him about it he finally did hire an editor.
With Dreams' help he chose someone who's style matched what he wanted. The editor was pretty good at what he did. His name was Brent. He had previous experience editing gaming videos and seemed like a pretty nice person. The only problem was: he wasn't familiar with George's or Dreams' content. Nonetheless it was the best choice possible so George ended up employing him.
The first video Brent edited was a classic I beat Minecraft but my friend is a ... video. It took a few tries and a lot of feedback on George's part but eventually they settled on a version that he liked enough to post on YouTube. After that each next video required less input from George, until eventually after the fourth one George was able to just send in the raw recording and Brent would do all the work.
They even played some valorant matches together and it was pretty fun.
•*~*~*~*•
"This is epic. I don't even have to do any work" he said, sending the recording to his editor and stretching out in his chair.
"Well you have to do some work" Dream replied, his discord icon lighting up a familiar green.
"But he didn't. I carried the whole game" Sapnap added and before anyone could reply he complained "I'm hungry are we ordering food?"
"What do you want to eat?" Dreams' voice got quieter as he got up from his chair and moved farther away from his mic.
"I don't know man, I'm just hungry"
"Then pick something out. I need to go talk to George" said Dream
"Bro, what? You're talking to him right now!" They could hear clicking as Sapnap looked through Uber eats on his computer
"He probably couldn't because you won't shut up Stinknap" Sometimes George said things just to annoy Sapnap because it was fun.
"To be fair, he is kind of right .." Dream didn't get to say the rest of the sentence because Sapnap interrupted again loudly "What's your problem George! Guess what? Now you're not getting any food."
"Can you guys stop? I wanted to talk to George"
"You wouldn't buy me food anyway!" George completely ignored Dream
"Yes I would! I pay for your food all the time!"
"That's not even true"
"Oh my god" Dream was back closer to his microphone this time "Guys! Chill."
"What did you want to talk about Dream?"
"Just wanted to discuss the plugin I've been working on."
"Huh? You're working on a plugin?" George didn't remember discussing any new Minecraft ideas with Dream. His friend never started the development process without at least mentioning the idea in passing to his George.
"Agh.." Dream let out an exasperated sound "whatever just... open your door. I will be there in a minute" they could hear the footsteps and a door opening and closing
"Bro's acting weird" commented Sapnap insightfully
"He is weird your honor" George said in a high voice and laughed
"That's because he is obsessed with you, bro. It messes with his head or something" Sapnap's voice was light and teasing. As much as he loved arguing with George he seemed to always switch sides when he had an opportunity to team up against their best friend. George never had a little brother but he assumed that's how it felt.
"Well I guess I will go talk to him now. Bye idiot"
Right when George hung up the call, there was a knock at his door. The door opened and a tall figure showed up in the doorframe.
"Hi" Dream greeted him using the quiet and calm voice that the British man dubbed 'George voice' in his head.
He never heard Dream use this tone for anyone else except George, excluding that one time he overheard his friend talk to his sister on the phone. George thinks she was in some sort of trouble in school and Dream was checking in to see if she was alright. His voice was filled with concern and kindness. He talked slower than usual. George still hasn't figured out exactly why his best friend talks to him in the same manner as he would talk to his little sister. Does Dream think of him as his little brother? No, George didn't think so. That thought didn't feel right for some reason. It had to be something else. Sapnap is Dream's brother, George is.. something else… There was also that one time his best was talking to the cat using the same voice. George didn't like to dwell on it too much.
"Uhh.. hi ?" George walked over to his desk and with a few clicks opened their shared folder "what did you want to show me?"
His friend hesitated standing by the door.
"Actually... I just.." he stopped "Wait are you still on call with Sapnap?"
"No I'm not. What is going on?"
"I'm not working on a minecraft plugin"
"Okay.. then what did you want to talk about?" George felt suddenly nervous.
"It's about your editor"Dream was fidgeting with one of the silver rings on his middle finger.
"Oh." George didn't expect that "Did you talk to him or something?"
"Yeah well.. he messaged me actually. Obviously I didn't respond because I didn't really feel like you know.. I should speak for you in this situation. I mean, like I don't even know why he..."
"Dream. What are you talking about? What did he message you"
"Here, look" he pulled out his phone and navigated to the Dms. He passed his phone to George and stepped closer to look over his shoulder as the British man read over the messages.
"Hah. What?" George let out a laugh after reading the most recent message. "Wait.. Wait, I'm screenshotting this. This is so funny"
"George, I think he was being serious."
"No he wasn't. There is no way"
"You're such an idiot George. Read all of the messages"
"You're the idiot Dream. He is clearly joking"
Dream swiped his finger over the screen so it scrolled to the start of the conversation.Then started scrolling back looking for the messages. He skipped through the few sentences of introduction then a polite exchange about video editing styles that happened a few weeks later. What caught George's attention was a message that was sent two days ago. It started with an apology: "I know this is very unprofessional and I hope George doesn't fire me over this" then Brent goes on explaining how he has a crush on George. The more George read the more he realized Brent was actually serious. The last message asked Dream if he was "involved" with George, because the editor didn't want to "step on any toes" if that was the case.
"Do you think I should fire him?" George asked
"I ..." Dream was turning his rings nervously
"Wait.. " he interrupted Dream "Why didn't you reply to him?" he turned to look at the blonde "this was sent a week ago"
"Well obviously... I didn't want to speak for you. What if I.. I don't know..I ruin your chances or something."
Dream was clearly uncomfortable with the topic. He nervously ran his hand through his dark blonde curls.
There was a weird unpleasant twisting feeling growing in George's chest.
"Hah. Ruin my chances? What is wrong with you?" He laughed again "I'm not even gay!" The weird feeling got worse and Dream looked even more uncomfortable than before. "Why didn't you tell me sooner that he messaged you? Were you jealous or something?" He joked. Dream didn't laugh.
The feeling in George's chest got even worse than before. He got up from the chair and pressed the phone into Dream's hands.
"What? Obviously I wasn't jealous!" He took the phone "I just didn't know... " He hesitated
"You didn't know what?"
There was silence.
"You didn't know what, Dream?"
"I didn't know ... You ... If you're gay"
George paused for a second to look at his best friend disbelieving. "You know about all my ex girlfriends"
"Well, yeah but ... just because.... that's just ..." He took a longer breath "I'm not gay either"
"I know that Dream, but you like guys"
"Well, to be fair I never really dated a guy before. I only dated girls"
"And how does that make me gay?" George snapped at Dream. He started to get frustrated and angry. It had more to do with the growing feeling in his chest than what Dream was actually saying but he was sure he sounded a little too harsh.
"I didn't say you're gay"
"This is exactly what you tried to say!"
"I just meant, I don't know ... you might like guys!" Dream tone was shifting more into anger by the second "That's a fair assumption."
"How is that a fair assumption? You know I don't like guys!"
"I don't know if you noticed but I'm a guy, George. You flirt with me all the time."
"What are you even saying? That doesn't count, it's not real. It's just jokes." The twisting in his chest felt like it doubled in strength.
"Oh, sure. Why is it so difficult for you to tell me you love me then? I heard you say it to Karl. Why can't you say it to me." Dream was basically almost yelling at this point.
George felt like he was going to cry. It was the first time since he moved to the US that he wished he could be back in England. He wished he could just hang up and in a few days everything would be back to normal. It's the first time he argued with Dream in person. The first time he could see Dream look a little hurt and get angrier, his green eyes shine with the competitive spark that didn't let him back out. He felt angry and anxious at the same time
"Dream, stop. What is this argument even about?" He gestured to the space between them "Are we still talking about the DMs?"
"See?" The taller man let out a frustrated sigh "You always do this. You change the topic every time. I love you. Why can't you just admit you love me?"
"You're the one that changed the topic. We were talking about the editor." His fingers hurt from squeezing them into fists.
"George!"
"What?"
"You're the one that was annoyed. Just because I mentioned being gay." He laughed but to George it sounded sad. George was starting to realize why his best friend was getting so angry "That's actually kind of homophobic". There it was.
"I am not homophobic, Dream. Just because I don't tell you I love you doesn't mean I'm not supporting your identity or whatever"
Dream folded his hands on his chest and made a frustrated sound.
"So you do?"
"I do what?"
"You do love me"
"Oh my God. Dream!" George made a frustrated sound "Is this really what all of this is about?" The twisting in his chest didn't stop getting worse. It was like a tight rope around his lungs and heart.
"You know what? fine. I will just write back to him that I don't think you're interested in guys." His voice was tight but he sounded like he gave up on something and it broke George to hear it. Dream wasn't known to give up on anything.
"Ok..." George exhaled loudly and turned to his computer rearranging random objects on his desk, pretending he had another reason to turn, than just not having to look his best friend in the eyes while he said "I do. By the way" and the tight feeling in his chest loosened a tiny bit as the words left his mouth.
"you do what?" Dream seemed to let go of all the anger at hearing George's words. Instead his voice was quiet and vulnerable.
"I do ..." That was the thing. He just couldn't say it. He never felt this exhausted from a few minutes of conversation. "You know what I meant! Don't be an idiot Dream!"
"Look, it's stupid. We are just running in circles." Dream was back to angry. "I'm sorry if I want my best friend in the whole world to tell me he loves me when I say it to him." George could feel the motion of Dream's hands being thrown in the air in an exasperated gesture even though he was still facing his PC. His eyes focused on the tiny specs of dust that collected on the edge of his black monitor screen.
"Maybe I just can't say it! What's your fucking deal with it." He was yelling at this point. He hoped Sapnap didn't hear them through the ajar door.
"Well. Maybe I'm not your best friend then" Dream was pissed off. " Because clearly I care more about you than you about me!"
George didn't know how they got into this mess of an argument but he wished it was over already. He knew Dream didn't mean it. It's not the first time they argued but it was the first time he could see Dream's face while he got more and more angry. Even though right now he could only see the dust swirling in the air behind his desk he closed his eyes. George wished he could just say the words and be over it but he had a feeling this whole conversation was about something else entirely.
By the time he felt wetness on his check it was too late to stop it. He was crying. George didn't cry ever. He didn't let himself, not in front of other people. He attempted to pull himself together but it was not going to work so he spoke while still facing away from Dream.
"And maybe.. " George didn't manage to stop the crack in his voice no matter how hard he tried "you're just a fucking asshole."
There was a pause. George hated how loud his shaky breath was in the soundproofed room.
And then there was a shift in the air behind his back. There was a quiet sniff, a quiet "Fuck." A little pause "Fuck. I'm so sorry." And finally there were two strong hands wrapping around him and pulling him towards a warm chest.
He didn't care anymore about keeping himself together, about not letting Dream win the stupid argument, about the stupid tight feeling in his chest. George turned around in Dream's arms,he hid his face in the blue hoodie he's friend was wearing and let out a sob. He let himself wrap his hands around the tall man's back.
"Fuck. I'm sorry. I didn't want to make you cry" Dream rested his chin on top of George's head."You're right I was an asshole"
"I just can't say it. okay? It's difficult" he mumbled into the hoodie.
"I know. I shouldn't make you say it. I just..." Dream shifted his hands to George's hips. They never hugged like that before but it felt right. Dream took a breath "I just get so jealous sometimes and I forget to think"
"You get jealous over me?"
"Of course I do"
It felt so good to be finally in Dream's arms like that. George felt like he's been missing a proper Dream hug since he first got into America. They only got an awkward short hug in the meetup vlog. This is how he imagined Dream hugging him would be like back when he was in England. Warm, comforting and emotional.
"You just never say.." Dream continues "never say you love me and then you spend so much time with other people. It feels like wherever we go someone hits on you.."
"Hah" George let's out a quiet laugh "that's not even true"
"It is" Dreams hand was rubbing comforting circles on his back " and every time I'm afraid you're going to go out with them"
"What? Why?"
"Well…" Dream shifted his arms around George "I'm … I'm afraid someone is going to take you away while I still haven't..." He can feel Dream's heart beating just as fast as his. Dream seemed to lose the end of that sentence. "And then you say you don't like guys. It makes me feel like I have no future with you George. It scares me."
"That doesn't even make any sense" George laughed nervously
"It does. Don't pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about, ok?" He squeezed George's hip where his right hand rested. "It's difficult enough to talk about this" he quietly admitted
George pressed his nose further into Dream's clothes and breathed in "okay" He smelled of laundry detergent, faintly of some expensive cologne and a little bit like something that was just a Dream smell.
"If you really think you are completely straight, you need to tell me George. Please be honest"
"I ..." George wasn't ready for this conversation but he knew he wouldn't be ever ready for it. Dream deserved to know. But how could he admit something to Dream before he even admitted it to himself. Maybe this was the way to go. He could skip the scary part of thinking about it by himself and let Dream figure it out for him. It felt safer, less overwhelming. "I think... to me you're different than like Sapnap or Karl. It feels different when I talk to you. You're important. I .. wouldn't want to date my editor. I'm not going to go out with any of the people that hit on me. Do you ever get this weird feeling in … in your chest … I don't get that talking to anyone else and it's confusing" It was like he thrown a bunch of random thoughts in Dream's direction
"Have you considered that maybe you have a crush on me?" Dream laughed weakly. That's the most ridiculous thing to say in a situation like this. It makes George laugh but it's the exact thing he needed to hear.
"You are so stupid, what is wrong with you?" He was full on laughing at this point because Dream always makes him laugh. "Fine maybe I do"
He was starting to get sweaty from all the warmth so he took a step back and Dream let him go easily. George looked at his best friend's face for the first time in what felt like hours. He has never seen Dream look this excited before, his green eyes shined with happiness and he had the biggest smile on his face.
"Really?"
"Yeah.I decided I'm speedrunning this sexuality thing. I now have a crush on you and I'm gay." George laughed but he was not joking. Not entirely. The tightness in his chest was going away and in its place there were butterflies. It's not like he was stupid. He could tell he was in denial about a few things and Dream made it so easy to just let go and not care.
"You're joking" Dream was hesitant and actually tilted his head a tiny bit like a lost puppy. It was cute. George didn't care anymore. He felt light and actually happy. He could admit Dream was cute; he had a crush on him after all.
"Actually. I'm not"
"Prove it" There was a challenge in Dreams' look, the stubbornness that George loved.
"That's stupid. How can I even prove it"
Dream stepped closer to him again and reached out a hand to George's face. He rubbed his thumb under his eye. It felt nice. George closed his eyes and held his breath but nothing happened. He could feel the warmth of Dream's breath but it wasn't moving closer to George. "You're an idiot" George barely whispered and closed the distance to Dream's lips.
It was the best kiss George ever had. The knot in his chest finally loosened completely. It felt impossible and inevitable at the same time. Dreams hands were in his hair and on his shoulders and back on his face. They kept just kissing. Every time one of them pulled they went back to kissing the very next second. It went on and on until George found himself sitting in Dreams lap, his hands under George's shirt, Dream in his computer chair.
He pulled away from Dream and rested his head on Dream's shoulder but Dream continued to leave kisses up his jaw and to his ear.
"Dream wait"
"Hm ?"
"Dream. Stop"
He immediately lifted his head and looked into George's brown eyes "Are you okay?" there was concern in his look
"I'm alright. Just…" he blushed " just maybe we should stop"
"Of course." Dream pulled his hands from under his shirt where they were resting on George's back. "You sure you're okay?"
"I am" George got up from Dream's lap "Just don't want to" he gestured awkwardly between himself and Dream. He covered his face with his hand."I don't want to continue this.." he gestured between them again. "umm stuff. I don't mean like at all. Just not today… or … not … in near future?" It sounded more like a question than a statement.
"Hey" his hand was pulled away from his face "that's ok. You will figure it out. We don't have to ever do anything that you don't want. Just…" he let out a breath. "I love you." The words held ten times more meaning than an hour before. George felt like crying again but for entirely different reasons. "You don't have to say it back. I'm sorry about what I said before. I will never pressure you into saying it ever again. I promise. I just need you to know I love you."
"It's alright. I … I think I need you to pressure me into talking about things sometimes. I don't think I would tell you how I feel otherwise. Just don't be a dick about it."
"So you want to play some Minecraft or what?"
Dream let out a fond laugh "You're ridiculous. We just played five hours of Minecraft this morning. You don't like Minecraft that much. Let's go watch a movie."
George ran his hand through his hair "Alright" He went towards the door.
"Wait. One more thing" Dream caught his hand. He hesitated thinking through the question "So is dnf real now?"
"Oh my god!" George started laughing "You're an idiot. Why would you ask it like that? That's actually stupid."
"It's a simple question." Dream laughed, "You're the idiot."
"How am I the idiot?"
"Just answer"
"You are so stupid. Fine. Dnf is real."