Like Normal People Do

Rejected

Clay made sure to wake up early the next morning. It took him almost half an hour to pry away from George's warm embrace but it was a necessary sacrifice to go and grab the package before George saw it. He opened it to check nothing had been damaged and grinned, almost buzzing.

After tucking it away safely in his unused room, Clay slipped back into George's room and climbed back into bed. He was content to lie in for a little longer, especially if it meant having his boyfriend in his arms.

His boyfriend. Clay couldn't quite get over that yet. George was his boyfriend. Not just a boy he'd met at a concert. Not just a fan. Not just his friend or best friend that he flirts with. Not just his crush. But his boyfriend.

Really, Clay shouldn't be surprised at all. George had confessed to having a crush on Dream (and Clay, but Vincent helped with that) only shortly before Clay came to visit. And, even if George hadn't confessed, it wasn't hard to see, from any of the messages he'd sent to Clay, that it was more than just a simple celebrity crush.

But it still felt unreal. George felt unreal. He was like no one Clay had ever met before and yet also a beautiful mix of all of Clay's favourite people and more. But, what made Clay love him most of all was that he treated Dream like a regular person even long before he knew Dream was Clay.

Dream was so used to being put on the pedestal of 'could-do-no-wrong' and complete perfection that to have someone who saw past that, someone who talked him off of that pedestal with the most sunny of grins, had him winded. Because George never believed in that 'perfect person' bullshit that the media blasted. Because George saw that Dream was human and George knew that all humans made mistakes.

Clay tightened his arms around George by a fraction and looked down, through half-lidded eyes, to take in his face. He looked relaxed and content and, if Clay didn't know any better, he'd say it looked like George had fallen asleep smiling. His long, black lashes rested on pale cheeks, soft pink lips slightly quirked at the corners. Clay brought one hand up to gently, softly, brush George's hair back from his face.

Clay wasn't sure what the future had in store for them. He knew that there would still be hardships but he hoped they'd seen the worst of them. He was sure, however, that no matter what the future threw their way, he could get through it as long as he had George by his side. He felt like he could do anything with George by his side.

"Penny for your thoughts?" A soft, gravely voice murmured. Clay zoned back in to see George's warm brown eyes staring back at him. George had taken a moment to appreciate the fond, loving look on Clay's face before he spoke. "What were you thinking about?" He asked, stretching slightly before shuffling closer.

"You." Clay answered easily, bringing his hand up to brush George's hair back again. George closed his eyes and leant into the touch with an appreciative hum so Clay continued to idly pet George's hair. "How lucky I am to have you." He continued and George blushed, a sleepy smile tugging at his lips. It turned sour for a moment.

"You deserve more than I have to offer." George mumbled, eyebrows knitting. Clay stopped stroking George's hair, resting his hand on George's hairline, in order to gently massage his thumb between George's eyebrows, smoothing the creases that had formed in his upset.

"You have more to offer than I have ever deserved." Clay corrected in a low whisper, resuming petting George's hair once he was certain the creases were gone for good. George felt Clay's voice echo through him and he had to hold back a shudder.