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George tugs mindlessly at the neat little knot on his ring finger, one that no matter how many times he’s tugged or pulled, doesn’t budge. He rolls over in his bed, looping the long thread between his fingers. A long thread that falls off his bed, runs under his door, goes out of his apartment, and out into the world.
The red string– well, the gray string of fate; George doesn’t understand how some magical, unbreakable thread connecting him to the person the universe made for him couldn’t have canceled out his colorblindness.
Quite stupid if you ask him.
The rustling coming from his phone makes him drop the thread, he stares at the screen displaying Dream’s contact, they’ve been on call for hours that day before transferring to their phones to sleep call.
George hears the younger boy grumble about something in his sleep and he feels his heart ache in his chest. He glares at the ceiling in his lonely bedroom and wills himself to not scream.
He knows he shouldn’t but he hopes that the other end of his thread is wrapped around a certain blond’s finger as well.
Dream is a romantic.
George knows this to a fault. He’d spent ages listening to his best friend go on and on about soulmates and the likes, hearing endless talk about the red string around his own finger and wondering when or how he’d find his soulmate.
Dream’s dated in the past, none of them having his red string around their fingers and Geroge wonders if he's a terrible friend for choosing to ignore their existence as best as he could.
Or for always managing to somehow always steal the blond’s time anyway.
It’s a fleeting thought anyway whenever he hears Dream earnestly call his name through his shitty headphones.
In the beginning, his not-so-subtle affection for Dream wasn’t something he worried about, no one was there to call him out on it. He flirted, he whined, hell, he even suggested marriage even before he knew what a visa was. And he was happy with the way Dream doted on him.
As time passed and they became internet famous or whatever you want to call it, it wasn’t so simple anymore. George likes to think he’s gotten way better at keeping his love under wraps, at least when it matters.
Since then the picture somehow shifted, Dream became the one begging for his love and attention, and he played it well, while George dodged every attempt with a scoff. A little piece of his heart aches every time knowing it means nothing to the blond.
It’s better this way, he thinks. It’s definitely easier to pretend to hate the flirting and play into the pandering because he’s not so sure how well he could handle it if the roles were switched.
But he can’t hide everything.
The soft smiles that make their way onto his face even when he tries keeping a straight face. The way too big smile hoodie sprayed in cologne, one that he pretends belongs to Dream. And lest he forget the way Dream can have his heart racing, cheeks flushing to a color he can’t even see with just a few words.
Friends fight all the time.
George has definitely fought with Sapnap on more occasions than he can keep track of. It’s always over something stupid they can barely remember after, then they’re back to normal. It’s just how they are.
Fighting with Dream wasn’t uncommon either, the two of them just never knowing when to stop; Dream loves to debate and George loves to get the last laugh.
George doesn’t exactly remember how their conversation ended up on soulmates, but he wants it to be over. Usually, he’s fine with not letting it get to him. Dream wants his soulmate which isn’t him. He doesn’t know why it’s bothering him so much today.
Maybe it’s the way London is turning into a never-ending nightmare, maybe the quiet and loneliness of his apartment seeping into his bones, maybe it’s the quartz elephant under his monitor serving as a reminder of someone he can’t have.
Either way, he doesn’t want to talk about it, he leaves Dream to ramble, simply humming after every sentence.
It seemed to work for a while, but it’s Dream.
Dream knows him and he can tell something is wrong, even from four thousand miles away.
“Hey, can I ask you something?”
George is clicking away at his computer, skimming though his videos files for Dream to edit. It didn’t take much convincing, the younger man always willing to do anything for him even if he acts like he doesn’t want to, the thought makes him smile.
“What is it? I sent the files now.”
“Okay, so,” His friend’s hesitance makes George nauseous, “why do you not want to talk about the thread? Or about soulmates? Did something happen?”
George feels like Dream just dumped a bucket of ice water onto him. “Nothing happened. Can we just talk about something else?” He mutters, picking away at nothing on his desk.
“But why–”
“Dream!” He half shouts, surprising Dream and himself, “Just– please just drop it.”
“Fine.” Is Dream’s curt reply as the call goes silent. George’s head starts pounding and a mix of embarrassment and guilt builds up until its unbearable. He leaves ends the call with no warning and goes to his room.
He flops into his pillows and screams, and cries a little. Maybe a lot.
George wakes up with puffy eyes and a dry throat, he feels sick remembering the night before. He wants to cry again. He makes his way back to his desk, reaching for the phone he left on the table in a rush.
He stills, thumb hovering over a few texts from Dream. He braces himself for the worst, but he melts.
Dream
im sorry
i didnt want to piss you off or anything
i swear i didnt do that on purpose
if this is something you actually don’t wanna talk about. ever. i’ll stop
i finished your video btw call me when you wake up so you we can look over it :)
When George open his Discord tab to see Dream still sitting in the call, he feels a little bad, but another text popping up from his phone let’s him know it’s okay, they’ll be okay.
Dream
i see you online
get in call
idiot :p
Dream stops talking about soulmates after that. Well, not exactly, but the conversations slowly taper out until they lull to a halt. George doesn’t know what to think.
The two of them had talked it out, and George tells him that he doesn’t want him to actually stop talking about soulmates and red threads because it’s something he knows is important to the blond.
He rules out the possibility of Dream finding his soulmate because if he did, he wouldn’t have been able to shut up about it. George is glad he can cross that off the list because he isn’t sure if he could handle that knowledge.
He wonders if Dream had given up on the thought of soulmates, being at the height of his career and constantly busy, maybe he decided he wouldn’t have time for anyone right now.
Another quiet part of his brain that he rarely lets out thinks about Dream clinging to him a lot lately. Staying in calls for way longer than their usual, which coming from them is crazy enough. Ramping up the DNF jokes. The obvious jealousy he tries and fails to deny when anyone other than him takes up Geroge’s attention. The more frequent talks about Florida, together, and forever.
He’ll never admit it but he revels in the attention, in knowing that Dream does want him in some capacity. And he wonders if that has something to do with it.
George knows life isn’t fair. He’s a grown man, but the universe is just too cruel sometimes. His apartment is as empty as ever, his living space feeling so bare because there’s no point in decorating if he’s going to be moving, right?
Wrong. There’s no suitcase, no moving boxes, no visa.
It’s just him, his tears, and the visa denial letter on the floor.
“George, please, tell me what’s wrong how can I–” Dream’s voice echoes in the room, “I don’t know what you need.”
Oh, and Dream is here. On the phone, as he always is and at this rate that’s all he’ll ever be. He almost wants to shout at him again, but he knows it’s not Dream’s fault, or his for that matter.
He just sighs in frustration, pulling at his hair, “I don’t know what to do anymore. This is taking forever, what if I keep trying and this just happens again.” He kicks the letter away.
The silence is deafening, he briefly wonders if Dream is thinking about giving up too.
“We can wait. Me and Nick. We'll wait.”
“Aren’t I just holding you back?” He slides down to the carpet, dragging his phone towards his face, staring at Dream’s stupid icon, “You talk a lot about wanting to just, do things , like seeing our fans and having meetups and making videos, but you’re just stuck waiting for me. Aren’t you tired?”
“Of you? Never.” Dream’s voice is too soft, “I’d never get tired because I love you.”
George frowns, “Yeah, I know you do.” Don’t play with my heart like that.
“No, George,” Dream sighs, “I love you.” This time Dream sounds sure of himself, and George stops breathing. Did he mean that? He can’t even stop to process the confession, “I’ll wait for you. Fuck, I’d wait forever.”
George shakes, “Don’t say shit like that. That–” He flails his arms like the blond could see him, “What if you do get sick of me? Waiting for me? What if it takes years and you decide I’m not worth the wait anymore. What if your soul–” He swallows the lump in his throat, he’s gone so long without bringing it up and it feels like something is clawing at his throat, “If you find your soulmate, I doubt you’ll still feel the same, don’t–”
“I don’t care about that. Fuck, my soulmate.” George’s eyes widen because he sounds like he means it, “I’ll cut my thread and yours and then I’ll tie our strings together.”
George feels like he can breathe again.
Approved.
George drops the letter.
He feels all the blood rush to his head and he screams.
He scrambles to the floor to grab the paper, reading it over and over again to make sure he got it right. His Visa got approved; he could move to Florida, he could live in the Dream Team house, he could pet Patches, he could annoy Sapnap again in real time, he could- he could have Dream.
Dream… Dream. Dream!
George dives for his phone on the couch. With shaky fingers he makes it to Dream’s contact, furiously typing.
Me
deam
Dfeream
Derema
Dream wake up
wake up idiot
idiot
wake up
Dream
???
ur the idiot
im up what is it
Me
vis
Visa
Got the visa
Dream
GEORGE???
???
ARE YIU SERIOUS
????????
NOT A JOKE?
He doesn’t even have time to respond as he struggles to turn on his camera with shaky fingers before his phone is ringing, Dream’s contact lighting up his screen.
“Hello?” The smile on his face won’t go down.
“Are you meming me?” Dream’s voice echoes, “Are you meming me?” He asks again, but he can tell that Dream already knows the answer.
“I’m serious.” He’s still grinning like a fool.
“You’re being completely serious?”
He giggles, fuck , he knows his face is bright red, even in the dim light of his living room.
“Oh my god. Yes!” George laughs at Dream’s excitement, knowing he isn’t faring any better.
“Are you sure you don’t want to wait to see me in person?”
Fuck. That.
George doubles down,“I’m ready. I’ve got my camera aset up and I’m all ready to go.” There’s no way in hell he’s going to pass up the opportunity to see Dream, to see the man who charmed and stole his heart.
“I guess I’m just– I wasn’t expecting this.” He can hear movement from Dream’s end, assuming the blond is jumping out of bed or out of his chair, George’s visa and showing his face to him probably not even on his radar.
“I’m going to go look in the mirror abnd make sure I don’t look like trash. I’ll be right back.” He rushes before the call is ending.
“Okay, oh my god.”
George is nervous as fuck, but in a good way. The butterflies in his stomach threaten to burst as he tries busying himself with the vlog. It’s all settling in that Dream won’t just be a voice behind a screen; he’s going to be a warm solid body next to his own and a real voice in his ear.
He’s in the middle of talking before his phone rings, he stares at the facetime call in wonder, with shaky fingers and a nervous breath, he answers.
The screen is blank and then it loads, and loads and loads and then–
“I was waiting so long,” Dream laughs nervously, but he’s looking right at George, “hello!”
George can feel the tears building in his eyes, but he traces over his face through his screen. Curly hair, an overgrown beard, solid frame wrapped up in a cozy sweater and beautiful, golden eyes smiling happily at him.
He can’t help it when he falls in love all over again.
George tries his best to not get his hopes too high.
He sits at the gate with his luggage, chewing on his bottom lip as he stares at his red thread out on the runway, stretching out into the unknown.
He hopes the universe has mercy and that when he gets across the Atlantic his thread won’t be leading him back here. For the first time, a pang of guilt hits him as he thinks about an abandoned soulmate.
But the long list of facetime calls with Dream in his history and the promise of Florida sunshine, broad shoulders and golden eyes is worth it.
The nervousness doesn’t leave his system the moment he steps foot out of the plane and into the airport. He tries his best to get a grip as he watches his thread spiral out into the airport. The fact that he’s supposed to be vlogging brings some sort of concentration to his brain.
He quickly texts Sapnap letting the younger boy know he’s landed and waiting.
He paces around his bags, fiddling with this camera before he sees Sapnap approaching him with a smile and his name written on a whiteboard. George can’t help but smile, the weight of finally being here also sinking in. He looks down to see the thread leading out the airport doors and onto the road. He hopes.
Once they get his bags inside and begin driving off, George stares.
Stares at the thread that is currently out on the busy highway, in front of their car, never once changing direction as if it were leading him.
He unknowingly fiddles with his finger, twisting the neatly tied ribbon between his fingers. His silence must be louder than he intended because Sapnap is glancing over at him. “Everything alright? You seem… distracted.” George turns to Sapnap who turns his way for a split second, eyes drifting down to his hands. “What’s wrong with your— holy fuck, is it your thread?”
George feels his stomach tingle at the recognition coming from someone other than himself. “I think so? I don’t know. It’s like right in front of the car, on the road. And it hasn’t moved or changed or anything. I thought it was like leading me–“ he stops himself.
He swallows the lump in his throat. Don’t set yourself up to be disappointed, he tells himself. Dream loves you even if you aren’t soulmates. Don’t worry.
He forces a laugh, “America is a big place. Who knows.” He tries to convince himself.
Sapnap doesn’t look convinced, but he doesn’t press. George is thankful for that and pulls out the camera in one hand and his phone in the other, looking for which of their friends he should call on the car ride.
A ding sounds with a new text appearing on the screen, something that sends a swarm of butterflies to his stomach.
Dream
i can’t wait to see you :) <3
George is going to vomit. He’s going to vomit all over himself, he’s going to vomit on his camera and he’s going to vomit on Sapnap’s expensive car seats.
“Sapnap, I’m gonna throw up.” He says it mainly to freak out Sapnap, but also to try and lessen his nerves.
“No the fuck you’re not, you better swallow that shit!” Sapnap shouts. George can almost see the steam coming out of his ears.
They’re going down the gravel path leading to the Dream Team house, to his new home . And the fucking thread is winding through the front yard, disappearing into the large house. Running throughout all the rooms, connecting him to his soulmate.
To Dream–
“And shouldn’t you be excited right now?” Sapnap parks before turning up the AC and facing another vent towards George. “I won’t be surprised if he’s running down the stairs ready to jump you at this point.” He scoffs, but there’s no hostility, just a knowing smile on his face.
George is about to fake gag onto Sapnap just to freak him out again before he sees the thread vibrating and rustling. He screams before throwing the camera at Sapnap, who barely catches it. “Make sure you film something.”
“You’re ridiculous, the two of you are so stupid.” He barks a laugh before fiddling with the device.
George scrambles to open the car door and it doesn’t help that his palms are so clammy. He tumbles out of the car and whips his head around. There are so many different entrances and things that look like doors and he doesn’t know where Dream is and the fucking blinding ass Florida sun is obscuring his vision and oh—
The world moves in slow motion as George stares with wide eyes at Dream, almost running into the metal gate, making a beeline towards him with a pretty red thread tied around the blond’s finger.
“Dream-” Is all he can get out before he’s crushed in a tight embrace, stumbling over his feet, the force knocking him back. Dream is real. He’s a real person. His arms wrapped around his torso, hugging Geroge like leting him go would make him disappear. He wants to laugh at the way Dream nuzzles his face into his neck. All he can do is wrap his own arms around the man in front of him, burying his face into Dream’s shoulder, breathing in Dream.
Dream pulls away, his fingers drumming a pattern where they rest on his waist, “Hi.”
“Hello, idiot.” His hands on Dream’s chest, brushing against the soft material of his shirt and the warmth coming off of his body. He doesn’t miss the frantifc beating of the blond’s heart.
Dream laughs and Geroge wants to kiss him. “I should’ve known you were my soulmate, you were always meant to be the one for me.” Dream reaches for his hands and big, is all he can think as his thumbs rub over his knuckles. “God, I fucking love you.”
Dream brings his left hand up and he presses a kiss over his ring finger, right over the thread and George can feel his heart threatening to burst out of his chest. He finally gets a real, actual good look at his soulmate and he swears he falls in love all over again.
“Love you, too, Dream.” Dream looks just as surprised as he feels, the admission coming to him naturally. The soulmate effect he concludes. He can’t help but put his hand over the one that still has a hold on his waist, fingers brushing the cool metal of Dream’s rings, since when did he wear rings, to twisting Dream’s thread between his fingertips.
“Guys?” Sapnap’s voice bursts their bubble. “ I don’t think any of this footage is going in the vlog if I’m being completely honest.”
George completely forgot about giving Sapnap the camera and the fact he was standing there the whole time.
Dream laughs again. God, he’s never going to get tired of hearing it, especially now that it isn’t coming from a speaker. “Fine. That means I can do this then.”
George is about to ask him what he means before Dream’s mouth is on his. He gasps into Dream’s mouth, pushing him away, his face no doubt a bright shade of red that he won’t see when he edits this later.
“You’re an idiot! What-” He splutters, words dying in his the way Dream smiles down at him. Golden eyes shining, full of love. “Oh my god, come here.” He pulls Dream down and connects their lips again, his heart racing when he feels the blond smile against him.
George can faintly hear gagging noises from Sapnap, “Jesus christ, you guys are disgusting.” But he’s smiling just as happily as they are.
Dream pulls away and extends his arm out towards Sapnap, “Get in here!”
Sapnap grins, shouting in excitement as he crashes into them. The three of them jump around in a circle like little kids, laughing and screaming the top of their longs and for the first time in so long, George is happy.