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“Leave it all behind, and there is happiness”
In a world where soulmates exist, Dream has never felt as lonely as he did at this moment. The keys to his new, his first own apartment, were in his hand and a stack of boxes in the hallway, waiting to be unpacked. His parents had been against him moving out, wanting to keep their baby with them for just a little while longer, but Dream needed to get away. Away from the small town and all the judgemental people, and his parents.
Dream had always been the odd one out, the only one of his peers who believed in his fate to eventually find his soulmate and not to waste his time, dating people that he wasn’t meant to end up with. The hopeless romantic and ultimately the outcast of town as he was a late bloomer to pretty much anything. The change from the outskirts of Orlando to the city center of Miami was good to him, the anonymity of the city calling to him and giving him hope to maybe meet his soulmate after all.
It was an old myth, and yet Dream had a sunset over the waves of the ocean tattooed on his skin since his sweet sixteen. The symbol was meant to point him in the direction of his soulmate; their tattoo was supposed to match his own in their own unique way. Whether the folklore was true or not, Dream liked his tattoo and he even would have considered getting it if it weren’t for his fate to give it to him for free.
Ironically or maybe faithfully, Dream had always been intrigued by the beauty of the ocean and beaches. Moving to Miami had another perk: being closer to the beach. And his rather small studio apartment encouraged his love for nature and the desire to spend time near shore. Especially with the boxes towering over him, making it impossible to sit down anywhere in his flat, he had the urge to just escape it all, procrastinating on unpacking everything that wasn’t an everyday necessity and pulling a set of clothes out of the designated box every morning.
The first time at Miami Beach mesmerized Dream. What was over an hour's drive away before, was now a 20-minute ride at most and that’s in the busy city’s traffic. Since it was late afternoon already and the sun had begun to set, the beach was less crowded than in the midday sun. It was also the middle of the week when most people had to work. Luckily for Dream, he had no set schedule; working on projects as a self-employed developer allowed him to work from home, enabling him to finance his life while having all the leisure he wanted.
Apart from a few families and their children, the beach was mostly empty. In the distance, Dream could see a head bobbing up and down with the tide, but they were too far away to make out more of their features. Dream stood up from where he was perched on the warm sand to get a better look at what the person was doing. He was one of the few in the ocean, and the only one that far out.
To his surprise, Dream caught sight of a surfboard the boy was laying on as he paddled out even further. With practiced ease, he turned around, got up and rode the wave that brought him back closer to shore. He didn’t do any breathtaking tricks but Dream was still amazed. The boy looked amazing, standing on his board, moving along the waves with brown locks sticking against his forehead.
Now that he had gotten a good look at the surfer, Dream sat back down but continued to watch the guy nonetheless. For the bigger waves, he tried different tricks and no matter how many times the tide pulled the board away from under his feet, he always retrieved it, climbed back on and tried again.
As the sun began setting, Dream headed back toward shore, even as the surfer was paddling through the water, his silhouette illuminated against the last rays that glistened across the surface of the water.
_______
Dream found himself lured to the beach, spending every free minute there and enjoying as many sunsets as possible while sitting on the still warm sand. The waves calmed him a lot, working wonders on his anxious mind. And the cute surfer boy that seemingly spent even more time at the beach than Dream did, was a welcome distraction from the boxes waiting to be unpacked. Dream’s mind was racing, trying to figure out a way to get all of his belongings into the small apartment. Maybe he had underestimated how much stuff he really wanted to bring.
“I haven’t seen you here before.”
Interrupted in his planning, Dream turned to a boy who had sat down next to him. He hadn’t even asked if it was okay, but Dream didn’t want to scare him away just yet. Desperate for a social interaction with the man who appeared to be only a few years younger than himself. Maybe it could be beneficial to get to know some people, now that he was living here all by himself.
“Yeah, I just moved here.”
“Oh, cool. I think you’ll like it.”
“I think so too.” Dream said while looking out at the sea, the surfer boy having caught his attention yet again, prompting him to space out of the conversation. The boy beside him didn’t seem to mind, pulling his cap down and chuckling slowly.
Shaking himself out of his head, Dream turns back into the conversation, extending his hand and introducing himself.
“I’m Dream by the way.”
“Nick. But people call me Sapnap.” Sapnap accepted Dream’s outstretched hand and shook it in a firm handshake. A wicked grin displayed on his lips, Sapnap let go of Dream’s hand and turned his glance back to the ocean. “Seems like we both stick to the nicknames.”
Dream let out a wheezy laugh, assuring him further in the assumption that Sapnap and him would get along well.
They sat together for a while, the occasional small talk never threatening to destroy the calm atmosphere. Dream learned where Sapnap lived, that he was from Texas, and that they had similar hobbies. In return, Dream reciprocated, only leaving out the key detail of why he moved to Miami in the first place. They exchanged numbers with the promise of playing Minecraft together and trying out a new mod Dream had been working on.
Even during the conversation with Sapnap, Dream’s eyes never left the surfer boy. His hand settled just over his left wrist where his soulmate tattoo of the setting sun with a wavy ocean beneath it, was. It itched as the brunet rode the waves towards shore and Dream could see the man’s features in greater detail. Sapnap waved excitedly at him and Dream’s heart leaped as surfer boy got out of the water and made his way towards the two of them.
With the surfboard tucked under his arm, the brunette made his way towards them. The weight of the board didn’t strain him, he walked upright, and his muscles even seemed to be at ease, like he carried it for the majority of the day. But with how often Dream saw him, he didn’t doubt that surfing was the main focus of surfer boy’s life. Maybe he even was a professional, in Dream’s opinion, he definitely had the skills to compete amongst the world’s bests.
Dream’s pulse doubled as the pretty boy made his way towards them as if he had known them for ages and they had agreed to meet up here. But Dream had never actually talked to this guy, despite how often they seemed to run into each other at the beach. Usually, a couple of hundred feet of waves and sand were still in between them.
With a thud, the brunette propelled his board into the sand, making it stay upright on the first try. He bent down, unhooking the velcro strap from around his ankle and as he straightened back up, he itched the back of his biceps. Subconsciously, Dream had scanned surfer boy’s whole body in search of his soulmate tattoo. Not that he was prone to belief in the tales, but he had noticed his own tattoo more often, especially when he was on the beach, and he couldn’t help but make the assumption. But until he saw the other’s tattoo, Dream wouldn’t say anything about it, too scared to be wrong.
“Hey man!”
Sapnap greeted surfer boy as he was close. Dream didn’t know what to do and just hoped that Sapnap would be the focus of his attention, rather than commenting on Dream.
“Dream, this is George. And George, this is Dream. He is new in the city and pretty fucking cool.”
Somehow, George was a perfect name for surfer boy. It suited him. And Dream felt like it had a nice ring to it. He refrained from trying how the name would roll off his own tongue, settling on trying to drop it in the conversation that hopefully would pose an opportunity.
Sapnap gestured between them, making Dream smile at the joyful introduction and the small compliment he had gotten. Even though he had opened up to Sapnap and got over his anxiety to actually talk to him, in front of George, it wasn’t that easy for him. Maybe his mind was exhausted already, tho. So, he settled on a nice and easy “Hey, George'' and left it at that. Surfer boy (Dream would never stop calling him that) smiled at him, and it almost made Dream shudder. Warmth spread over his torso and trickled down the back of his neck.
“How are the waves?”
The brunette settled into the sand next to Sapnap, and the two of them easily fell into a conversation. Hearing George’s voice made Dream giddy inside, and it was hard for him to sit still. He never mustered up the courage to get involved in the ongoing conversation, and rather just followed it. The tone of George’s voice and his slight British accent intrigued Dream’s interest.
"Dream plays Minecraft as well. It would be cool to get more people on the server, don't you think?"
Dream perched up at the mention of his name. He had zoned out, leaning on his hands behind his back, getting a good look at the curls in the back of George’s head.
"Yeah, sure."
George didn’t sound nearly as ecstatic as Sapnap, making Dream’s soulmate tattoo itch uncomfortably. While he hoped that Sapnap would set the three of them up to play together, he didn’t want to make George feel pressured into including him.
_______
two weeks later
Despite Dream’s freedom to work remotely, he had been swarmed with work recently. After settling in Miami, he had taken on more projects than he could manage. Going from working in the evenings and late at night to working nearly around the clock to meet the deadlines, drained him. And therefore, playing on Sapnap and George’s Minecraft server had been postponed until further notice.
Sapnap wasn’t angry with him and George understood. They had created a discord group chat and Dream saw every time Sapnap and George were in VC and played on their server while he was working. Sometimes, he contemplated joining their voice chat, just to be in their company, even though he could neither join their game nor had the whole context of what was happening in game.
The workload and the unpacked boxes that were still lining the hallway walls drained Dream. Falling into bed at 3 am and getting up at 8 for nearly two weeks had created a routine that left him sleep-deprived and rendered him nearly unconscious when he stood in the bathroom to brush his teeth in the morning.
Dream hadn’t left his flat in almost 5 days, living off of the remains of ordered food. He desperately needed to get out, he just didn't know when . With an exhausted huff, he pulled the headphones off, leaving his hair in a mess. Strands hung in his eyes which he shoved back with a trembling hand. His eyes were glassy from staring at the screen of his computer for hours at a time and a headache was pounding in his forehead.
There was no use in trying to get his body to function for longer. He couldn’t concentrate anymore, in desperate need of a break for just a few hours.
The beach was the only place that made Dream feel remotely calm, the only sound that could ground him now was the crashing of the waves against the shore. He was alone – yet again. But this time, it was freeing to him. There were no longer strings to his past or his parents, unresolved expectations or belittlement. He could be himself or at least try to find himself.
Sitting in the cooling sand, Dream let his eyes wander. George was in the water, his presence mildly calming to Dream. His shoulders fell, tension escaping them and he felt like he could breathe again. Maybe it was because of the familiarity of watching George surf, maybe it was the warmth that spread from his soulmate tattoo that made him feel at ease.
Tears shot into his eyes. While on one hand, he felt like he had finally made it, he was anxious about what the future might hold for him. There was no chance his parents would support him financially after he had cut them off. Dream had to fend for his own now. Pulling his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them, Dream tried to hold himself.
The sunset over the waves of the ocean created a calm atmosphere, but the thoughts in Dream’s mind were racing. He had to work a lot to pay for his rent and living expenses. However, the overworking was the reason he had ended up here, only moments away from having a panic attack.
“Dream, are you okay?”
The blonde felt a presence beside him, and he recognized the voice. The fingers of his left hand twitched and Dream flexed his fist once, trying to make it stop. He wanted to scratch at his soulmate tattoo, but it would make it too obvious for George. So far, Dream had never seen George react to his soulmate tattoo when they were around each other. Maybe he was just getting himself worked up over it, thinking too much about him and George potentially being soulmates that subconsciously, he himself was causing the itch in the tattoo.
A hand on his shoulder pulled Dream from his thoughts. Normally, he hated being touched, but George’s hand sent an exciting shiver down Dream’s arm from where it rested. He didn’t want to get too into it, but having done some more research on soulmates recently, Dream took it as a good sign that he was comforted by the touch. Subconsciously, Dream shifted more towards George, leaning into his grip and letting the warmth take over his entire torso.
“I know that we don’t really know each other. But I can’t stand seeing you sad. You won’t talk to me and that’s fine. But I saw you getting along with Sap. whoever is his friend is also mine and he would beat my ass if I didn’t comfort you when you were sad.”
When Dream met George’s gaze, the brunette was stunned into silence, as if he couldn’t believe that he had just said all of that out loud. Dream sent him an empathetic smile, appreciative of the concern and George being so dedicated to helping him.
With his right hand, Dream covered up his tattoo when he realized the proximity between them. He didn’t want George to see it before he was absolutely certain that they really were soulmates. But if his body’s reaction was anything to go by, it didn’t take much more for Dream to be fully convinced. The skin around his tattoo was hot to his touch, seemingly burning up because George was so close. Just from his hand on his shoulder, it showed an extreme reaction.
“What’s wrong, Dream? You can talk to me about it if you want.”
Dream let out a long sigh. It’s not that he didn’t want to talk about it or that he didn’t want to open up to George, he just didn’t know how to put everything into words.
“I guess I just have been overworking myself.”
Trying to explain his situation to George came surprisingly easy to Dream. After a while, he didn’t even think about how to express his thoughts, he just said whatever came to his mind. And George was better at listening to him than every other person had ever been. He asked questions but also respected Dream’s boundaries and made sure not to interrupt.
When Dream stuttered over his words and choked on a sob that he desperately wanted to keep hidden from George, the brunette slung an arm around Dream. The skin-to-skin contact made Dream feel hot all over, heat spreading as far down as his legs. He leaned his head against George’s shoulder letting the quiet of the setting sun take over, the only sound left being the crashing of the waves. There was a comfortable silence between them, and Dream felt deeply understood by George. He didn’t have to explain himself however he still had the feeling that George just got him.
That evening, when the sun was fully set and the creeping coldness of the night had wrapped itself around them, George got up to retrieve his surfboard. When their skin contact ended, Dream realized how much George’s and his shared body heat had kept him warm. Now he was freezing as George walked a couple of feet away from him.
But the distance gave Dream a good view of a small detail on the back of George’s bicep that Dream had never noticed before. In fine line art there was a tattoo of a surfboard that resembled the very same one George owned, perched up against a palm tree. Memories shot through Dream’s mind. He had the feeling that he had seen that exact scene play out before – sort of like a deja-vu – and suddenly the colors of the palm tree and the surfboard came to life right before his eyes.
“Are you going to be okay?”
George turned around with his surfboard under his arm and ripped Dream out of his thoughts. Dream smiled. Spending time with George and actually holding a conversation with him proved so many of Dream’s assumptions. And his tattoo – George’s stupid tattoo – proved that they might actually be soulmates. Because it just fitted too perfectly to be a coincidence. Dream had the sun, setting over the ocean, and George had a surfboard leaning against a palm tree. The two of them together created a perfect setting. They were a near-perfect match.
“I will be, yeah.”
_______
Later that night, Dream was in his bed, bathed in the soft glow of moonlight filtering through his curtains. The room was silent, and Dream had no other option than to submit to his thoughts and for once, not repress whatever came to his mind. His thoughts drifted like waves, returning him to the encounter with George earlier that day.
A sense of comfort washed over him as he replayed the memory, like a warm blanket on a chilly night. It was strange how George's mere presence created such a soothing sensation. It was as if the universe – their fate – had conspired to bring them together, their paths intertwined by an invisible string.
Dream couldn't shake the feeling that he was being drawn to George, yet he couldn’t fully understand everything. It was more than just curiosity, more than just a simple crush on the brunette; it was almost like a magnetic pull that had him and George end up at the beach. The more he thought about it, the more he was certain that their tattoos had something to do with their unique connection. They always seemed to find themselves in the same place at the same time.
The sea and the beach had always held a special place in Dream’s heart, a safe place for him, a sanctuary where he found peace. Dream recalled how fondly George had spoken about the ocean and how much surfing its waves fulfilled him. Their individual experiences and sentiments mirrored each other's as if they were two sides of the same coin.
As his mind wandered, Dream's fingers unconsciously traced the tattoo just over his wrist. A symbol of his connection to the sea and the freedom he felt whenever he was close to it. A feeling that overtime he had connected to George just as much. And then there was George's tattoo, a perfect complement to Dream's own ink. Images that added to each other like they were cut from the same scene.
A burning sensation beneath his fingertips shook Dream from his thoughts. As if he were in a trance, he grabbed his phone and unlocked it, without even thinking about the digits of his code. He opened George’s and his private messages, the chat blank. Usually, they only talked in the groupchat with Sapnap, but Dream was certain of his plans. Him and George needed to talk about their connection and Dream couldn’t keep his feelings bottled up inside him for any longer.
Hey George, meet me at the beach tomorrow? same time as always.
For some, the message might have been cryptic But Dream was certain that George would understand him just fine. While Dream normally filed at a message for ages, with George he just hit sent. The message promised something grand, because Dream and George never had agreed to meet up before. They just happened to be at the same place (the beach) at the same time (from late afternoon to dusk, watching the sunset) every day.
Lost in these thoughts, Dream felt a profound sense of calmness wash over him, like the gentle ebb and flow of the tide. He closed his eyes and let himself drift off into secret dreams, where he and George could exist side by side. Where their souls could fulfill the tale that was written for them a long time ago. And as sleep embraced him, he knew that his and George’s shared journey was just beginning — a journey fueled by their fate and the unexplainable bond of soulmates.
_______
Like almost every other evening these days, Dream and George sat on the sand that was still warm from the afternoon sun. Slowly, Dream moved one of his hands, trying to subtly take George’s hand. As George noticed Dream’s attempt, he intertwined their hands as they watched the waves dance along the shoreline.
“George, there's something that's been on my mind, something I've wanted to share with you– “
George turned his head towards Dream and smiled gently at him. “Of course, Dream.”
Taking a deep breath to gather his thoughts, Dream squeezed George’s hand and began talking. “Since I saw you surfing for the first time, I’ve felt this pull. At first, I thought it was the beach but –”
Dream shifted, now facing George fully. He was about to pour his heart out, to open up about his childhood. And while facing George made it harder to speak his mind freely, Dream felt like the other deserved to see his face while talking, especially if it was as emotional as Dream planned to make it.
“Back home, I was the only one who believed in soulmates. People ridiculed me for it and over time, I slowly talked myself into letting the idea of eventually finding my soulmate go. But with you, George, it's like the fragments of my soul have found their missing piece.”
George put his hands on Dream’s cheeks, holding him gently and guiding their faces together. He pressed a sweet, short kiss against Dream’s lips. “I feel the same way. I don’t know about this soulmate thing – I have never considered that I would find my soulmate. But you make me reconsider that.”
Dream leaned in again, chasing George’s lips in a kiss. It felt good to be finally able to do this, after being pulled towards George for so long. Maybe it was his fate, maybe it was the crush that he had built from just seeing George surf. But now, he could act on it.
“George, I’m scared. I have never felt this strongly before. But what if it's complicated? What if we're wrong?”
George let his hands fall from Dream’s face, grasping his hands once again and squeezing them tightly. The motion pulled Dream towards him, making him tip forward and let his forehead crash against George’s collarbone. The brunette rested his hand against Dream’s neck, drawing reassuring circles with his thumb.
“Dream, it's okay to feel scared but it doesn't mean that this won't work. Doubts are natural, but they shouldn't stop us from exploring what could be between us.” Raising his head, Dream met George’s eye. He smiled, a little wobbly and unsure, but George’s words gave him hope that they could figure this out.
“We can try, learn from it, and regardless of the outcome, we'll grow. We can make this work, Dream.”
The two of them leaned in. Dream didn’t know who made the final move, but their lips met in a soft, lingering kiss. The sea breeze carries the weight of their unspoken emotions, and the bond they shared – promised by the tales of generations and the fate that was decided for them a long time ago – marking the beginning of a new chapter in their journey.
“But there was happiness because of you”