Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The unknown has always intrigued Dream. Constant questions swirl through his racing mind, filling up his every waking thought and consuming him from the inside out as he seeks out answers for more. He craves knowledge, knowing. He craves learning everything that the unknown world can offer him, storing the new information into the back of his mind until the time comes for him to share it, offering it up to others around him so freely so they don’t have to seek it out themselves.

There’s so much unknown in the world around him that he wants to learn from and explore, needing to constantly digest new information to feel full and appeased. Which is the exact reason he finds it so easy to pick up on the peculiar behavior his best friend starts exuding. Curiosity bites his every waking thought as he tries reasoning through every action by the other, wanting to know what is causing this shift in his behavior. He knows that there is something there, that there is something that Sapnap is holding from them, keeping it to himself until he inevitably spills his guts, but the unknown of it only makes him want to know the secret more. It claws at his skull and itches the back of his brain as he finds himself obsessing over knowing.

He first picked up on his best friend’s odd behavior a few weeks back when it had been late at night, and all the strangeness about it has intrigued him since. 

George and him had just gotten home from dinner, exhaustion brewing in the back of their minds as they stumbled through the house and found Sapnap huddled up on the couch with the TV playing. The neck of his hoodie was pulled up to cover his mouth as something seemed to poke the fabric forward, while his hood was pulled down to cover his soft curls and forehead. Sap had been curled up in a thick blanket as his bleary emerald eyes fluttered open and close, drowsiness clouding his actions. Typically, he wouldn’t think anything of it, they’ve come home more often than not to Sapnap sprawled out across the couch, lightly snoozing.

However, it was different because he had been watching the Backyardigans and was humming along when they first walked in. Upon hearing them, he couldn’t seem to switch the screen fast enough, his actions seemingly moving slower than usual as embarrassment bleed onto his face. Pale skin turning a rosy color as his breathing picked up a little, before he buried his face into a mountain of pillows and ignored them. After that he refused to even listen to them mention the incident, so they left the weirdness of it all to the unknown and moved on.

Except, weird little things kept happening.

While there hadn’t been any more Backyardigan accidents, there had been multiple times where he’s found Sapnap sitting alone in his room and when he tries to approach him, he snatches something from his nightstand and shoves it under his blankets. George even mentioned that Sapnap had done it with him once or twice when he walked in to ask what he wanted for dinner. His actions were very incriminating, but Sapnap refused to humor either of them even a little bit about it, and often straight up ignored them in favor of anything else. It was becoming increasingly frustrating, but they once again let it lie since they didn’t want to force him into telling them something he wasn’t comfortable with sharing. But, not pushing Sapnap’s boundaries didn’t make Dream wonder any less about what he’s hiding.

Thankfully, his wondering isn't left to linger any longer as everything came bubbling up to the surface so accidentally that it felt nearly perfect that Dream found out.

Pinkish-red hues of sunlight stretch across the evening sky as the sun begins to set, letting the darkness settle in its place as Dream puts the finishing touches on his newest video. He’s been mindlessly working on it for the past few days, and something still doesn’t feel quite right about it. He can’t put his finger on it, but he knows there’s something off, something missing from the video. Maybe a new pair of eyes looking at it will reassure him, he’s gotta try something or this video will never see daylight again.

With his mind made, Dream quickly pushes himself back from his desk and carries his laptop out with him towards his closest best friends room. Dream scrolls back through the file again, looking at every transition and sound profile as he shuffles across the house towards Sapnap’s bedroom. He hadn’t had the mind to knock before stepping through the cracked open door into his room as he normally would.

“Hey, can you look through-” he starts, before looking up at his best friend, eyes widening as he watches him shove something under his cover and hide something different behind his back. “Sap, you good?” He asks skeptically, moving his cursor over the save button as he looks at the other.

“Mhm! ‘M good!” Sap babbles, emerald eyes wide as he struggles to hide something behind his back. He gives Dream a large toothy smile and tilts his head to the side in a questioning manner, obviously prompting him to drop it from his innocence.

“Okay, Sap, what’s been happening?” Dream asks, shutting his laptop and holding by his side instead as he steps closer. “Talk to me. What’s been up with you lately?” He asks, eyebrows furrowing together as he takes a seat beside the other, looking deep into his emerald eyes and trying to read him. “You’ve been behaving differently, so don’t think I haven’t noticed this shift in you. Talk to me.” He reaffirms, setting his laptop down behind his back as he scoots over closer and rests his hand on his knee.

Dream watches as the other visibly swallows, tears beginning to crowd his drowsy, fogged covered eyes as he lets out a small whimper. His eyes look just like they had a few weeks back when he stumbled upon him watching the Backyardigans, he thought it had just been his own exhaustion then, but now he doesn’t think as much.

“Dweam-” he starts, voice wobbling as he looks at his oldest friend.

“Hey, bud.” Dream tells him so softly, grabbing his hand and rubbing his thumb against the back of it in a reassuring manner. “It’s alright if you don’t wanna tell me, I completely get it. I’m just worried about you is all. If somethings the matter, then I wanna know so I can help you. Okay? I love you, and you’re my best friend,” he whispers, watching as Sapnap nods his head quickly and lets out a sigh of relief.

“No, jud-e me?” He whispers, emerald eyes sparkling as he looks up in worry.

“I could never judge you. No matter what you tell me, I’ll never judge you.” His words open a floodgate as tears bubble over Sapnap’s eyes and he bounds forward, pulling his best friend into a tight hug. Finding comfort and safety in his arms as he squeezes him, loving him all the same as before.

Chapter Text

Fuzziness trickles through the thickening air between them as small fingers wrap themselves up into the warm fabric of Dream’s loose hoodie, holding onto the other as tightly as possible as if Sapnap feared he would run away if he didn’t. Which isn’t possible, running away from him is the absolute last thing that he would want to do right now as he listens to the quiet sniffles filling his ears. Dream’s own hold tightens around his smaller friend, practically pulling Sapnap onto his lap so he can comfort him as best as possible, needing him close so he knows he’s filled with reassurance of his presence.

He buries his nose into his best friend’s shoulder, waiting, doing everything he can to comfort him as his large hand rubs against his back and his ears strain to listen. They’ve been friends for what feels like eon’s now, but Dream cannot recall a single moment where he witnessed Sapnap crying. He’s never seen more than the crocodile tears that George has perfected out of either of his best friends.

Concern cradles his aching heart as he squeezes Sapnap tightly between his long arms, holding him close against his chest as a constant reminder. Words pinprick his tongue as it feels swollen inside his mouth, leaving his speech useless as tears bubble up in his own eyes, worried about all the different possibilities of what could be wrong. Fear sticks a match against his pounding heart, terrified of the unknown for once. Those curious bits feel tainted with worry as he holds onto Sapnap for dear life.

“‘M wittle,” comes a faint mumble pressed up against his shoulder, the vibrations make him feel weirdly fuzzy as Dream pulls back just enough to look at the sad face of his best friend. “Wittle?” He tries again, head tilting to the side like a lost little puppy as his emerald eyes sparkle.

“I- Lil- I- hmm…” Dream huffs, confusion swirling his own jade eyes. “I don’t know what that means. What does being little have to do with anything? Because you’ve always been quite small-” he starts, pulling a vibrant giggle from his snot nosed friend as he finally pulls away. Little hands rub against a runny nose as he mumbles unintelligibly, before reaching out to pick up his phone. Dream’s hands settle on his hips to keep him from accidentally falling as he stretches out towards the nightstand.

“Daddy esp’ain.” Sap says, perking back up quickly as he holds his phone up in Dream’s face like that explains anything. Which it didn’t, it only caused more questions to swirl through his mind as he looks down even more confused.

“You want me to call your father?” Dream asks, perplexed. Being told to call Sapnap’s father would be the last thing he expected from the other.

“Nooo! Ca’ Daddy!” He babbles again, sharing his disapproval of saying seemingly the wrong person, even though Dream has no clue who the right person could possibly be.

“Who’s Daddy, Sap? I don’t know who that is other than your father,” he explains, all while unlocking his phone and opening his contacts to scroll through them. He tries spying who Daddy might be, and he sees one possible contact, but it also seems like a joke.

“Kawl! Kawl’s Daddy, Dweam!” The boy stresses like Dream had any formal understanding of that.

“Okay, I’ll call Karl then, is he labeled under Daddy?” He asks, hovering over a single contact that said Daddy K🍼🐼. So much of the unknown swirls around him as he hums in acknowledgement and presses call on the contact. There’s so much he could question or worry about, concern still grapples at his heart and chest, but he trusts his best friend and makes the call anyway.

The call doesn’t even fully ring once before it’s being picked up, and Karl’s clearing out his throat and Dream is putting him on speakerphone.

“Sappy?” Karl’s voice is so soft when he responds, obviously used to these types of calls.

“Karl.” Dream tells him, trying to let the man know that it wasn’t their best friend calling, but rather himself.

“Dream?” Karl asks, voice sounding alarmed as the speaker crunches. “Is Sappy alright? What’s happened?” His voice pitches up with his worry as anxiety eats at his chest and all he wants to know is that nothing horrible has happened.

“Daddy, esp’ain!” Sapnap slurs, small voice adorable as a loud sigh of relief comes from Karl’s side of the phone. “‘M wittle, esp’ain p’ease!” He cheers politely, like he had been told off a time or two for not asking nicely for things. Which to Dream, it almost seems like he has been. He doesn’t know the relationship between Karl and him, and he’ll never claim to, but Sap is hardly ever this polite to any of them for any reason. So, his behavior is once again tinged in strangeness as he looks up at the now sparklingly emerald eyes and house excitement that he could only classify as childish.

Now that his initial worry has passed by him, he actually takes a minute to look at his best friend's soft face, analyzing him more closely. Sap’s skin looks as pale as ever, but his face looks visibly softer, like all of his worries have been lifted off his shoulders. His furrowed eyebrows aren’t perpetually pointed downwards, his emerald eyes are bright and full of life, and a beautiful smile encapsulates his face. He looks like a young, carefree child, and Dream wishes he could feel the same.

“Dream?” A voice calls, snapping him back into reality as he blinks down at the illuminated phone and reads Karl’s contact name once more. “You still there?”

“Yeah, sorry,” he apologizes sheepishly, biting his lower lip as he looks down. Embarrassment bleeds across his own face as Sapnap scoots himself closer and leans against his arm, seemingly trying to look at the blank phone screen like there was something on there that he would want. “Sap told me he was little, but I don’t know what that means, so he told me to call you.”

“Ahhh,” Karl stretches out in understanding, slowly nodding his own head. “Dream, do you know what age regression is?” He asks, causing Dream’s eyebrows to furrow in confusion.

“I- umm… No? I don’t think so…” he mumbles, voice coated with embarrassment at not knowing something for once, not at all used to being told about something that he didn’t have at least a little bit of knowledge in himself. He tries so hard to be knowledgeable, but he feels like a complete failure.

“That’s okay, I didn’t know about it until last year. Not a whole lot of people openly speak about it.” Karl’s reassuring voice comes, causing him to sigh and nod his head in understanding. “Age regression, or agere as a few people call it, is a completely non-sexual coping mechanism.”

“Coping mechanism?” Dream asks, tongue filling a little numb at the thought of it, needing something he knew nothing about.

“Yep, a coping mechanism. It’s used to help people destress and feel safe acting childishly, and Sappy is a regressor, which I suppose you could gather as much.” Karl giggles, lighting the space between them, before clearing his voice again. “Sometimes being a grown up is too stressful for Sap, so he regresses downwards a bit, anywhere from 3-5 is typical for him. So, if he’s ever been uncharacteristically childish with slurred speech, or even a little brattish around you before, that’s probably why,” he says, causing Dream to nod as he zones out in thought, remembering a few different times he’s behaved that way, long before picking up on his peculiar behavior.

Dream’s head was aching, pounding with a vicious headache as he stumbled through the house and found Sapnap blasting something on his TV. He hadn’t been in a good headspace to even look at screens, so he paid no mind to the cartoon characters hopping and singing around on the TV. Sap was curled up in the middle of his bed with something in his hands, but Dream didn’t look at that either as he squinted at him in disapproval.

“Sap, turn it down-” He says, not telling the other, but demanding him too as he covers his ears for some sought after relief.

“No!” Sap snapped back, tone full of brattiness as he glared back at his friend.

“I wasn’t asking. Turn it down or I turn off the WIFI and cable-” His tone is sharp as he stares at him in full seriousness. Emerald eyes widened as he gasped, tears promptly feeling his eyes before he did as Dream told him and turnt it down. Sniffles fell from his nose, but Dream couldn’t care about his act as he thanked him and walked away.

Truly a brat himself.

“What does it feel like?” Dream asks, curiosity biting his tongue as he down at Sap again, hoping for a response.

“Well-” Karl’s voice crackles. “As Sap explained it to me, his head gets all fuzzy and the world feels like it’s shifting and growing. His thoughts get really small and so does his speech, but everyone is different,” he explains, causing Dream to nod his head at that as well.

Memories of all the times he hid inside his cramped closet when he lived alone come flooding back, along with all the terror that fled through his heart. Dream huddled himself up into a tiny ball as he sobbed into his pointy knees and desperately pleaded to be held. He felt so small and helpless, brain nothing but fuzz as he rocked himself back and forth and waited until the feeling passed. He woke up more than a dozen times in his closet with a sore neck, but he almost always felt better.

He never had a name for it before.

Age regression.

Chapter Text

Unnerving darkness plagues every corner of Dream’s bedroom as his fingers punch calculated words onto his illuminated keyboard, silently seeking after answers he isn’t all that sure he’s ready for as he sinks deeper into the comfort of his bedding. The conversation he held with Karl has been consuming his mind since wandering back to his own room, the unknown of it all making his skin inch as he crawled onto his cold mattress and wrapped his favorite blanket around his shoulders.

Guilt holds a firm grip in his chest as he thinks about leaving Sapnap alone with only a phone call to take care of him, while his own tongue was poisoned with the lies he told. Disgust tinged his mind at the words that trembled over his mouth, lying about feeling tired and needing to sleep, adding on top of that a faux yawn as he rubbed his eyes. From the conversation, he knew Sap’s brain was small enough to make him believe any lie he spoke, and that’s almost what hurts the most about his own actions. In person, he’s sure that Karl could’ve easily picked apart his lie and told him to behave, but Sapnap is in no state of mind to do the same. He won’t lie to him again, because it wasn’t a very nice thing of him to do to his trusting friend. However, he hates the feeling of the unknown that settled in his chest the longer he stayed with Sapnap and Karl, and he knew he needed to look deeper into those two tricky words that he just learnt.

Restlessness causes him to shift uncomfortably as he stumbles across another Tumblr post talking about their experience with age regression. However, unlike the others, this one talks about their burning hatred for their little self and how selfish they felt whenever they regress. The words scare him even more as he hides his mouth with his blanket and tries to stop reading them. He knows that he shouldn’t keep reading, that he’s only hurting himself focusing on this absurd negative he found, but he can’t help it.

What if he ends up hating his little self? Or what if others hate his little self in the same way they hate him?

Fuzziness clings to the back of his mind like a vice as he tries shaking the feeling from his head, trying to push it away as he focuses on the screen, however, he struggles to keep reading as the words grow all blurry. His head throbs from a headache that formed in the back of his skull and managed to work it’s entire way around his head now, while his chest tightens with an overwhelming sense of dread. He can’t help but push the laptop away as his chest heaves, fear creeping along the edges of his mind.

He's not sure how long he’s been sitting there trying to calm his breathing when the tears start crowding his vision, nor does he know how to stop himself from falling deeper and deeper into the sensation that scares him.

His lungs tighten as his mouth opens to scream, but it feels like his head has been dunked under water and he can’t breathe. His limbs feel too heavy to thrash around in his sheets as hot tears slip down his face and he lets out a frail, broken sob. The darkness causes him to screw his eyes shut, afraid that something would come out to get him if he kept them open. He wants his friends to help him, but he can’t speak, his tongue feels too heavy to move and the only thing he can do is sob out and hope the feeling goes away on its own. Warmth floods between his legs, causing him to scream, even more frightened as the sheets soak underneath his body. Hot tears and snot cling messily to his face as he keeps sobbing, unable to make himself as he sinks only deeper and deeper.

Light floods into his room, casting over him with a soft glow as his door creaks open and a head peeks inside from behind the door frame, looking down at him with wide eyes, before the door is being shoved open fully and the light is flickering on. He can hardly see his friend through his teary eyes as they step over towards him.

“Dweamie?” Sap whispers in an equally frightened voice, emerald eyes wide with worry as he presses his phone up against his ear. “Daddy, w’at I do? Dweamie cwyin’ and hims wet!” Panic and worry flood his voice as he looks down at his squirming friends. “I sowwy, Dweamie,” he whispers, before sitting his phone now beside his ear and running from the room, leaving him alone once more and causing him to cry out louder.

“Dreamie,” a voice crackles, causing his cries to shush for a moment. “Dreamie, can you hear me?” Karl asks, causing him to let out a watery cry, trying to let him know that he did since he’s unable to say it. “It’s okay, baby. I know you’re probably very scared right now, but Sappy’s gonna go get George and they’ll help you feel all better baby. Okay? You’re going to be just fine.”

Dream lets out another watery cry as his two best friends stumble back inside his room again, George flickers across George’s face as he trudges over, while Sapnap follows close behind, hand clinging to the back of his shirt as he walks. His thoughts get all blurry as he’s pulled from the sheets, his cries gently being soothed, before he plopped into a warm bath by his best friend. Embarrassment bleeds across his face at his inability to help himself, while gentle whispers do what they can to reach his numb ears.

The water feels nice, but it does little to calm his cries as he’s picked up again and gently dried off. Something snug is wrapped around his waist, before a hoodie is pulled over his head and shorts are pulled up his legs. He’s laid down on an unfamiliar bed, while George lays on one side and Sapnap sits on his other side, searching for something in his drawers.

“Dweamie say ah,” Sap tells him, causing him to let out a small ah-ing noise. Something smooth is shoved into his mouth, and instinctively, he sucks it deeper to press against the roof of his mouth, feeling his body relax into the gentle feeling. “See, Gogy, baby will be otay,” he says, voice matter-of-factly as he slides off the bed and bends down to grab something from underneath it.

“Whatever you say.” George replies, scrubbing the tears away from Dream’s eyes as he starts to sniffle. “Are you okay?” he asks, but Dreamie doesn’t know how to reply without a voice, so he blinks his eyes up at him slowly and hopes that answers anything. He’s not too sure it does as George’s eyebrows furrow, before looking up into the room again. “Will you tell me what happened now?” he asks Sap as he stands back up.

“Dweamie will,” is all he says, before an alligator plush is rested against Dream’s chest and Sap gives him a reassuring smile. “Dis Doug, he’ll make it aww bettew, pwomise.” Sap says, and that’s the last thing he remembers before he’s drifting off farther and farther asleep.

Chapter Text

Fluttering strings of soft, golden light flood in through the hastily drawn curtains, casting long sunrays across the three sleeping forms inside the messy bedroom, causing noses to scrunch in annoyance as they turn away from the abrasive light and hide their faces in pillows and blankets. It’s only a few mere moments before the throbbing in the back of Dream’s brain causes him to stir grumpily. Drowsiness hangs onto his once sleeping form as he lets out a miserable hum, suddenly feeling the way he’s tucked between two warm bodies, causing his body to flush from the sudden heat.

Sweat clings uncomfortably to his flushed skin, causing it to burn as he struggles to push against the evil fabric that’s making his body boil. He pushes against the covers ungracefully, trying to shove them away from his skin – needing to get the blankets off of his body before he breaks down. His eyelids flutter as he squirms around, trying to break free from the covers, but he refuses to open them as he keeps moving. The buildup of the heat is almost unbearable; he’s barely managed to slip his chest out from underneath the covers before a loud, annoyed grunt wanders into his ear from one of the bodies trapping him in place. He’s unable to decipher which of his friends made the noise with his eyes closed, but it makes his moments still with worry.

“S’op it!” A partially childish voice whines, before a small hand bats in his direction and forces him to remain still as he finally peers one eye open. He easily spies the little hand trying to hit his leg, before his tired eyes blink at the back of his best friend’s head, noticing the soft auburn curls that couldn’t be mistakenly anyone else’s but Sapnap’s. A frown presses to his face as his head throbs, before he finally feels the soft silicone-y plastic between his teeth, spitting whatever it was out of his mouth and onto the bed sheets.

What happened last night?

Why’re they in the same bed?

Questions swirl around his painfilled head as he finally looks at the bedroom he’s found himself in, realizing he’s being met with boring white walls, and not the comfort of his forest green ones.

No wonder he woke up so hot – this isn’t his room at all.

The bed sheets he’s pinned beneath are a boring gray, deprived of the usual life he finds in his own patterned ones. And it’s unmistakable that he’s pressed between his best friends bodies as they continue to snooze. His eyebrows only furrow in even more confusion, before he shakes the thoughts away, needing to get out of the sheets and go back to his own room. He lets out a loud groan as he sits up, head pounding worse with each move that he makes; his entire body aches like he’s never felt before, while his skin feels flush.

Is he sick?

He kinda feels like it.

Dream doesn’t know what to think or feel as he pushes himself up with his sweaty palms – completely ignoring the alligator toy as it falls from his chest – while unwrapping his legs from the bedding that trapped him. He looks between the two other sleeping bodies, before letting out a sigh as he crawls across the bed sheets and slides off the bed. He remains light on his feet as he tiptoes across the room and tries to slip out the door. Thin fingers wrap around the cold metal door handle, his wrist twist gently to turn it.

“Dreamie?” A voice behind him slurs, causing his blood to run cold as he turns around and finds George looking up at him through sleepy eyes. “What’re you doing?” he asks, his drowsiness making his voice even more posh as he speaks with a low, guttural tone.

“I just wanna go lay in my bed,” he mumbles, glancing down to the ground as he feels bashful, or like a little kid getting in trouble with their parent, when he shouldn’t feel that way.

“You can’t.” George tells him, voice not holding any weight, but it doesn’t stop Dream’s heart from sinking as he shifts uncomfortably in his spot, feeling even more like a little kid under his gaze. “Your sheets are still dirty, go lay in my bed,” he tells him, dropping his head down again and trying to go back to sleep.

“Okay, thanks.” Dream mumbles, before quickly slipping out of Sap’s bedroom and stepping in the direction of his own.

Why’re his sheets dirty?

Dream tries racking the back of his brain for memories of last night, but all he remembers is sitting in front of his laptop researching and nothing after that. Did something bad happen last night that he doesn’t remember? Should he worry about what happened? Is that why they were all in the same bed together? Because something bad happened?

He feels his blood run cold all over again as he steps faster, noticing how his door is left slightly ajar and a faint stench emanates through the air. When he opens the door, his eyes first catch on his blankets thrown haphazardly off the bed, before noticing the big stain in the middle where he had been laying the night before. Did he piss his bed? What the hell happened for him to have pissed the bed?

He’s dumbfounded as he steps over in the direction of his bed, his nose quickly confirming his suspicions, causing him to swallow as tears fill his eyes. He thought he stopped pissing the bed. And why did George know?

Hot tears slip down his face as he steps outside his room again, padding over towards George’s equally unfamiliar room to get some much needed rest. The sheets are cold when he pulls them up his body and he gratefully takes the warm embrace of sleep as he falls deeper and deeper while questions continue to swirl around his head.

What can’t he remember?

Chapter Text

Amber eyes dazzle in the early morning light that drips in from the open curtains as George pushes himself up with unsteady hands and leans himself against the frigid, foreign wall. He’s accompanied by a long sigh as he stretches his legs out, lips smacking as he lazily looks around the bedroom, spying the mess that Sapnap left about – he supposes the boy never meant for them to sleep in here in the first place, so there wouldn’t be a reason for him to clean up after himself. He lets out another sigh as he closes his eyes, numbly tracing the fragments left of sleep, but knowing that the realm wouldn’t come easily like it had the night before as he listened to his best friends slowed breathing before succumbing to its soft grasp himself. And although he already had plans on sleeping for the least bit longer, he found himself restless after Dream stumbled from the room, leaving him to only think about his best friend as he left.

Now memories of last night flood his head as he tries piecing together what fragments remain. It isn’t that he can’t remember what happened last night – he remembers that as clear as day – he just doesn’t understand why it happened.

Sapnap startled him awake by shaking his arm violently and babbling about Dream, and he was up within a moment, terrified of the scene he was going to find when he stumbled into his best friends bedroom. He hadn’t thought he would find his friend a blubbering mess with soaked pajama pants, but he was grateful that he had been alright. He was afraid that something terrible had happened and that’s why Sapnap had been in the state he was, but as he stares down at his best friend now with an orange pacifier pressed against his lips, he doesn’t think that’s the truth at all.

But what is the truth?

Of course, Sapnap wouldn’t say, and he only told him that Dream would say when he was ready, but that wasn’t as encouraging as he would’ve hoped. If there’s something wrong with his friends, then he would prefer to know now, rather than later. However, it seems that the little boy’s lips are sealed shut.

His eyes flicker over towards the sudden movement, watching as the bed sheets jostle with the body beside him turning in the sheets, blinking in confusion, before turning to look at him with his wide, emerald eyes.

Sapnap mumbles something intelligible, words distorted by his pacifier as he keeps blinking up at George with his stupid, sweet eyes. George leans forward and pulls his pacifier out, before motioning towards him to keep speaking. “Whewe Dweamie go?” he mumbles again, hand reaching up to rub his eyes.

“He’s asleep in my bed.” George tells him easily, watching as Sap’s eyes widen. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on now?” he asks, although it’s clear his question goes ignored as Sapnap shifts to sit himself up, ready to run from the room. “Do not,” he warns, grabbing ahold of his shift to pull him back down onto the bed. “Leave Dream alone and let him sleep,” he says sternly, pointing down at him to make his point clear.

“Ba, wan’ Dweamie,” he whines, voice pitched as he looks moments away from throwing a tantrum.

“No; you’re going to keep your little butt in this bed and leave Dream alone, if not then I’m going to call Karl.” George says, voice flooding with his own reassurance and sternfulness, making his point clear and concise.

“Fine,” he mutters, arms crossing over his chest as he juts his lip out in a pout, clearly unamused with being told no.

George is impressed when he realizes that Sapnap actually listens to him, rather than being a little brat like he tends to be. He smiles in an early victory, knowing that for once he has the upper hand – and it’s all thanks to Karl’s name. He doesn’t know why it works, but he’s mighty happy that it did.

With the realization that Sapnap might actually listen for one, he allows himself to slip out from under the covers and heads towards the bathroom, leaving his friend behind him.

Although, George misses the sneaky smile that adorns Sapnap’s face when he remembers that George isn’t his Daddy and therefore can’t make him do anything he doesn’t wanna. Once the bathroom door clicks shut, he slides out from underneath his blanket and sneaks out into the hallway using his sneakiest feet, wandering his way towards George’s bedroom with a mission to climb back into bed with Dreamie and sleep a bit longer.

The door squeaks open slightly as he pushes it, causing him to hold his breath, but when Dreamie doesn’t even seem to stir in his sleep, Sapnap only creeps in farther, making sure to shut the door behind his back as he does. The sight of Dreamie asleep is too tempting, causing his baby-brained friend to climb into the bed beside him, before curling up against his side and sleepily closing his eyes.

Warmth floods Dream in an instant, causing his drowsy eyes to blink open and spy the soft auburn curls of his best friend that’s suddenly pressed up against him. His head pounds as the light from outside makes him whimper, and the heat causes him to push against the back of his best friend, needing him off.

“S-ap,” he slurs, accidentally popping the p. “Off,” he grunts, disgruntled and annoyed.

“Dweamie, s’op,” he whines back, squirming himself back into place as he keeps pouting.

Dream almost tells him off louder, means words almost spilling over his lips before the bedroom door opens and George peers in at the both of them. Dream looks up at him with furrowed eyebrows, clearly annoyed, while Sapnap shrinks himself away in the covers, trying to hide from the amber eyes that stare into his soul.

“Sapnap, what did I tell you?” George asks, forcing himself to bite back a meaner scold as he glares down at him. “Karl wants to have a word with you,” he says, holding his phone out and watching as the baby’s eyes well with tears, knowing that he’s in a world of trouble as he reaches out and grabs it with a shaky hand.

“Daddy?” he mumbles, already climbing out of the bed and stumbling back towards his own bedroom. George’s mouth open to say something, before he shakes his head and forces himself to leave it alone for the time being.

“You okay?” George asks, looking down at him with kinder eyes.

Dream just shakes his head and turns to hide himself deeper inside the bed sheets, purposefully ignoring the word around him, even as George lets out a long sigh and leaves him alone once more. His eyes flutter closed, head still throbbing as he forces himself to try and sleep again, needing to succumb to its greedy claws.

Chapter Text

Frustration boils up in George’s stomach as he stares down at his best friend for a moment longer, gazing down upon Dream’s pale face and watching as he shifts under his blanket, before he lets out a low whine to tell him exactly how he feels about his presence still in the room with him – his room. Another long exhale trembles over restricted lungs as George twists around and stumbles back down the hallway, defeat settling on his shoulders like a rock upon a scale. He doesn’t know where he feeling comes from, but he can’t help to feel utterly useless not knowing what the hell is going on with his friends anymore. They used to tell each other everything, so the thought of secrets causes fear to strike a match against his heart, flicking an endless flame in its place.

George shakes his head, freeing himself from the fruitless thoughts as he stumbles his way back towards Sap’s room, wanting to check in on him with Karl on the phone.

He honestly didn’t want to make that call Karl to – to what? To tattle? To Tattle on Sap’s lack of listening skills that he’s never had? – he doesn’t know. He just didn’t want to make that call, but Sap really left him no other choice in the matter. Had Sap only listened, then he wouldn’t have called, but of course things never work out that way. Plus, Dream left because he wanted space and little Sapnappicus wasn’t giving him any.

Another sigh slips over his lips as he pops his head in through the open door of Sapnap’s bedroom, straining his ears as he hears a faint voice float out from it. When he peers inside, he finds Sapnap sitting in the exact middle of his bed, legs crossed, and his free hand balled up in his lap, while his other hand presses his phone to his ear. There are dry tear stains on his face that cause George’s heart to clinch as he feels himself softening, realizing that he shouldn’t have called Karl if he was going to make him cry.

Sap’s speech is still slurred in the same manner it had been since last night, and he sniffles lightly as he whispers to Karl. Perhaps George has no idea what’s happening, but he can’t stop himself from stepping inside the room and grabbing a wet wipe from a pack left lying on his TV stand and crossing over in his direction. Sap lets out a loud gasp of surprise when he hears his footsteps, before muttering something to Karl and holding his phone out in George’s direction, motioning him to grab it.

“Daddy wan’ ‘ou, Gogy,” he mumbles, teary eyes bright as he stares up at him expectantly, waiting patiently with his arm outstretched. George doesn’t say anything as he gently takes his phone, holding it up to his ear, before sitting down in front of him.

“Karl?” he mutters, confusion lacing his voice as he leans forward and wipes Sap’s face clean, making sure there aren’t any tear stains or snot left on his face. Sap coos at the feeling, leaning into his touch, but otherwise he sits motionless with his hands resting neatly in his lap.

“Hey, is everything okay on your end?” Karl asks with a concerned voice.

“I guess…” George starts, voice trailing off as he looks down at his best friend, noticing how he hardly squirms in his spot. “I just-,” he sighs, frustration brewing in his voice. “I just don’t know what’s going on, can you, can you tell me?” he asks, needing an answer.

“It’s not my place.” Karl replies, voice sounding on edge, and causing George to shift uncomfortably in his spot. “When the boys are ready, then they’ll tell you, until then, my lips are slide,” he says, causing George to sigh.

“Fine,” he mumbles, pretending to not care in the slightest. “But Dream’s still acting weird, but weird differently than he had been last night. I think somethings wrong,” he says, hearing Sap let out a sharp whine following his words, causing George to glance back at his face to see tears welling up in his eyes once more. “He’s fine,” he mouths towards Sap, doing what he can to reassure his friend.

“Hmm, has anything like last night happened before?” Karl asks.

“I don’t know-” he whispers, suddenly aware of how out of the loop he is. He hadn’t know anything about Sapnap’s behavior, nor Karl, who’s to say Dream hasn’t been acting the same way for a while now and he just hadn’t known about it. That’s a thought he doesn’t want to think about.

“Well, let me talk to Dream. Maybe I can figure out what’s wrong easier than you can.” Karl tells him, causing George to nod his head in agreement. “Is he asleep?” he asks, voice muffled as it sounds like his sleeve covers it. “If he’s asleep, then don’t wake him up, I’ll just wait until he’s up.”

“He was trying to sleep, but I don’t know if he’s fallen back asleep. I can check?” he asks, feeling unsure of himself.

“Yeah, just peek in, if he’s awake, then let me talk with him.”

“Okay-“ he starts, before looking back at Sap again, noticing him still sat in the same place on the bed as before. “Well, what about Sap? Should I leave him alone again?” he asks, watching as Sap’s bottom lip juts out and his shoulders slump, appearing smaller than before.

“He’ll be fine. I already told him he’s not allowed to move from his spot until one of us tells him too. Honestly, just as long as he doesn’t leave the bed then its fine. I’m more worried he’ll just disregard what I told him and try to climb into Dream’s bed all over again, so as long as you find him on his bed, then he won’t be in anymore trouble.”

“Oh, okay,” he mumbles, pushing himself back onto his feet and heading towards his own bedroom all over again. “Sap was crying earlier, did you yell at him?” he asks carefully, unsure if he should even say anything.

“I would never.” Karl says, scoffing in disbelief, voice pitching as he sounds offended. “Sap just knew he was in trouble for not listening and he’s a bit more sensitive, you know,” he says, putting George’s mind at ease. “He cried for a few seconds, but he was okay. And I would never yell at him for any reason.”

“I believe you,” he mumbles, heading back into his own bedroom.

George’s door creaks noisily, causing Dream to poke his head out from underneath the covers as he looks up at his best friend with his big, sad, puppy-dog eyes. George’s nose crinkles as he tells Karl that Dream is still awake, before he holds the phone out in his direction. Dream’s lip juts out as his eyes water, before he weakly grabs for the phone in his hand and takes it.

“It’s Karl.” George tells him, before stepping towards the hallway to leave again.

“Kawl?” he mumbles, speech muffled by the cover held close to his mouth.

“Hey bud, how’re you feeling this morning?” Karl speaks gently, making sure his voice doesn’t pitch up too high and hurt the baby’s ears.

“Kawl, my head hurts weally bad,” he whines, sounding almost like he’s on the verge of slipping. His speech is slowed, soft, and slurred and his words are smaller than they typically would be. However, Karl doesn’t know if Dream even realizes he’s doing it, or if he even knows what all the weird feelings mean.

He might not even understand.

“Oh bud, do you have some medicine you can take to help? Or have you eaten anything, or drank any water? That might be the reason your heads hurting,” he says calmly, making sure to not go too heavy on his affectionate tone in case it makes Dream lash out or upsets him even farther.

A loose whine trembles over Dream’s wobbly bottom lip as he pulls the blanket down more and opens his mouth to speak. Tears crowd his vision as he stares at the blank wall opposite him, before he mumbles.

“Why can't I wemembew what happened last night?”

“Oh, Dreamie-“ Karl starts, feeling his words beginning to fail him. He’s never dealt with any of his little experiencing full amnesia before, at least, not enough to forget a whole night. “What do you remember exactly?”

“I wemembew falling asleep in my bed last night, but w’en I woke up, I was in Sap’s bed and w’en I twied going to my bed, Georgie told me I pissed it, and w’en I went in my room, I had pissed my bed. But Kawl, I don’t wemembew pissing my bed. Why don’t I wemembew pissing my bed? Why don’t I wemembew moving to Sap’s bed and falling asleep with him and Gogy? Why is Gogy even helping us? I don’t undewstand and my head hurts weally back. It’s like it’ll never stop thwobbing and it’s pounding all over and even sleep didn’t help and why don’t I wemembew anything?” Dream says without taking a breath, his voice watery with his tears as he works himself up. Karl feels himself pausing to absorb everything that Dream said, finding himself dumbfounded.

“Honey, breathe, okay. I need you to breathe, listen to me.” Karl instructs, doing his best to help the baby calm down as he guides his breathing. The baby lets out a faint hiccup as his breathing evens out once more, pouting to himself. “Baby, everything is gonna be okay, but first I want to get some food in your tummy and for you to take some medicine, before I tell you anything. If you feel all icky then it’ll just make you even more upset,” he explains, causing the baby to whimper, before he nods his head in understanding. “Can you go give the phone back to George?”

“Okay, Kawl,” he mumbles, letting out a small whine, before slipping out from underneath the covers to take the phone back to George.