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"george? can we talk for a moment?" dream asked as he entered the kitchen. "or like, not talk, you don't have to say anything, i just want to tell you something." he clarified, hands fidgeting with his pants.
"yeah, sup?" george turned around and the eye contact made the only bits of dream's confidence disappear.
he took in a breath and opened his mouth, but closed it a moment later, feeling hesitation starting to eat him up alive. he knew he'd have to say everything all at once or he wouldn't be able to say anything at all.
"okay, whatever i say, please don't interrupt and let me finish my thoughts first, yeah?"
"sure." george replied in a tone that felt completely nonchalant compared to the amount of emotions fighting in dream's whole body.
dream looked down, at george's socks, just to not look at his face. not being constantly reminded of the man's existence was quite helpful at the moment.
another heavier breath and he started to talk quickly, as if that one breath was the only one he had.
"so, okay, i've been thinking for some time and trying to figure out the world around me and my relationships with my family, my friends and, well, you. and how i am with you is completely different from everyone else and i figured i... i might love you in a way different from others. and i mean, i feel good with how we are, with what we are, so i didn't feel the need to tell you. but i think you deserve to know. you don't need to do anything about it, as i said, i enjoy what we have, it's enough for me, but i just, i don't know, i know i wouldn't mind being more with you. now, if you need a break from me then that's okay, i can go, just keep in mind i would never pressure you into a relationship. you're my best friend, i'm cool with that, no need to make things weird between us, i'm just... yeah."
as soon as he finished, he took a deep breath after running out of it.
"you can talk now." he stated, hearing no response from george and hoping him not knowing if dream's done was the reason for it.
it was silent for a bit more before george put his lower back against the countertop and finally spoke out.
"so the dnf jokes weren't really jokes to you, were they?"
"it's weird when you say it like that." he chucked nervously and looked up, meeting with george's raised eyebrow, ending up quickly looking back down. "the majority were jokes, i guess. i was just- i was trying to be lighthearted about it. so i guess like, the jokes were jokes, but the concept of being a dnfer or whatever wasn't. it's okay if you want to stop with it now that you know, we'd have to just let people know to not- not ship us and stuff."
another moment of silence. dream wondered how george was looking at him right then, how pathetic he looked in the other man's eyes; small, staring into the floor, hands busy with whatever material they could find where they were hanging awkwardly at dream's sides.
"how long have you known for?" george asked, putting his hands on the surface behind him.
"i don't know, i don't know when i started to consider it. before you got the visa, probably. but once you got here and i was like, actually exposed to you, it started to feel more- more likely that i had some feelings for you."
"when were you sure?"
"well, maybe not fully sure, but i was pretty sure by christmas."
"our first christmas?"
"yeah."
george let out something between a snort and a laugh.
"that's... that was seven months ago, dream."
"i know, but as i said, i didn't feel like there was a need to tell you, so i kept it to myself."
"you hugged me and called me your wife." he recalled.
"okay, yeah, those were jokes. i'm sorry if they make you uncomfortable now. again, as i said, i don't mind us staying just friends and just existing together. even if you'd prefer to stop with the dnf jokes, that's fine, i'm fine with that." dream stated once again, sounding like a broken record.
george's nails tapping against the countertop were the only sound in the room for nearly another minute. as they stopped, george's voice was heard instead.
"you're an idiot, dream."
"what?" he looked up quickly, locking his eyes with the brown ones once again.
"what?" george repeated, mocking the other's american accent. "you're an idiot, that's what."
"what do you mean?"
"dream, oh my god." he growled. "why would you tell me these things and do nothing about them? advertise yourself."
"what?" dream let out again with genuine confusion. "how am i- what do you mean advertise?"
"rizz me up. give me your boyfriend offer. tell me what i'd gain from dating you." george demanded as he crossed his arms.
"oh." dream blinked a few times. his eyes dropped down to the floor again. "um, well. we could- we could cuddle while watching movies. we could share beds if you felt like it. i would cook for you." he stopped for a moment to think, his hands finding each other to play with the other fingers instead of his clothes. "um. i'd kiss you when you'd need attention or care. i'd give you gifts without any occasion. i'd let you lend my clothes. we could annoy people more by openly dnfing." he laughed at his own idea. "and maybe at some point we... we could make it into something more. we could get married and just... stay happy, together. because i'd love to spend my forever with you."
as dream looked up, his eyes were met with george's soft expression. he looked as if imagining everything dream'd mentioned had got to him, making him lose himself in the idea of how domestic they could be. it lasted barely two seconds before george blinked and his eyes masked his emotions again. it was his turn to look down. if it wasn't for the noise coming from the fridge, you could probably hear the gears spinning in his head.
"i want dates once a month." george broke the silence after a moment. "and you pay for them." he looked up at the taller man. "and buy me the hoodie i showed you at the mall."
"...sure, yeah." dream nodded and felt his heart drop before it started to beat hard enough to feel it in his hands and ears.
"come 'ere." george spread his arms, making space for dream to hug him.
dream carefully put his hands on george's back while he wrapped his arms around dream's neck. hiding their faces in each other's shoulder, neither of them seemed to fully comprehend what situation they found themselves in.
with chests pressed against each other, they felt how crazy both of their hearts were going. and just like that, without any words, they understood. because at the end of the day it was them and they always managed to communicate in their own way.
"i've known since your quiz." george broke the silence without moving away, voice calmer and less teasing than before.
"known what? what quiz?" dream asked, confused by the lack of context.
"that i like you. since the quiz you took on a stream or something. in june 2021."
dream's heart sank. "what are you saying, george?"
"after that stream, i thought of the questions from the quiz. i- it made me realise you weren't just a friend to me."
"why... george, holy shit. that's two years. why didn't you say anything?"
"you didn't seem to be taking the idea of liking me seriously. and you're no better with telling me things, so shut up."
"so we're both idiots."
"no, i think you're the idiot, actually. i'm blaming you for wasting our time."
"how are you blaming me for you not telling me you're in love with me?"
"oh my god, shut up."
dream smiled and wrapped his arms around the smaller man.
"are you free this weekend?"
"yeah, why?"
"we might have two years of dating to make up for."