Mark My Words || DNF Soulmate AU

Chapter 15

"Okay, okay, how 'bout the 16th?" Dream is talking so quickly in excitement that George can barely keep up.

Ever since he told Dream he'd be willing to come to Florida, the man has been bouncing off the walls and bursting with joy. He can't help but smile along at his enthusiastic energy, secretly appreciating the fact that Dream is so happy to have George meet up with him.

George squeezes the phone between his shoulder and ear and checks the calendar on his computer, "Dream, that's in a week!"

"Is that too soon?"

"Don't we have a lot of other stuff to plan? Are we gonna make content out of this trip? How am I gonna lodge? What should I pack?"

"We can definitely figure that out in a week, George," Dream's voice takes on a pouty tone and George wants to roll his eyes at him for being such a child.

"You don't know that. And how long am I even staying for?"

"We can decide that when you get here."

"Then how am I supposed to know how much to pack?" George pinches the bridge of his nose. He knows he's thinking too much and being anxious over things that aren't worth working himself up for, but he can't help it.

He's already slightly out of his comfort zone going to Dream's house, and on top of that he has the secret mission of trying to uncover whether they actually are soulmates or not. He still has no plan, by the way, because he can't risk trying to romance Dream for fear of him actually having a soulmate. Which means he'll have to seek clues in a completely professional and friendly manner, which just makes everything so much more difficult. It sets him on edge a bit to not know how anything is going to develop, and Dream making him go over in a week without addressing any other parts of his move does not help.

"I feel like you're stressed, are you stressed?" Dream's voice seeps through his phone and George repositions it against his ear, trying not to be too touched by Dream's show of concern.

I don't like Dream, I don't like Dream, I don't like Dream, he repeats to himself until the little warmth of fire that lit up when he heard Dream's concern is snuffed out.

He feels a little empty and cold, and he lets it wash over him as he returns to the call, maintaining his voice to not let his little episode show in his voice.

"A little. I mean, I've never even traveled to America before and we're meeting for the first time in so many years and I just don't know how I'll handle it all," George says, knowing that what he's saying is definitely the truth, but not the full truth.

"I'm sure we'll get along just fine, it's so much easier to deal with it when you're actually together and talking, trust me," Dream reassures, but after a pause adds, "But if you need more time I'm happy to reschedule the flight."

"Reschedule?"

"Oh, no. Not reschedule. Okay, I meant click, because I was looking at their available dates, and it was, like, I had that one on," Dream is tripping over his words and disrupting his own speech as he talks, barely coherent as he stumbles along, and George knows from so many years of interactions that he's flustered or nervous.

"No, you meant 'reschedule.' Care to explain?" George puts a teasing tilt into his voice, but not enough to be completely unserious. Just what other shenanigans is Dream up to now?

There's silence from the other end for a moment, and George waits patiently as finally Dream breathes out a defeated sigh.

"Fine. I may or may not have ordered these tickets a while ago."

"Dream!" George's eyes widen as his voice goes up an octave, "What?!"

Dream is laughing now, on the border of a wheeze, and George is having a difficult time staying serious. He forces himself to swallow a laugh as he asks again into the phone.

"When did you order the tickets?"

"Remember," Dream takes a break to laugh, "Remember that night when you were talking about how you were getting distracted by your soulmark?"

George doesn't even have the time to dwell on the fact that they're talking about something that's become somewhat of a sensitive topic for him, instead completely fixated on the fact that their conversation that night happened more than two weeks ago.

Hesitantly, he lets out a "...yes?"

"Well, after that call I thought, 'if I'm more distracting than the soulmark then Georgie won't worry anymore,'" Dream's use of the nickname indicates his amusement and George pretends it doesn't make him feel something, "So then I impulsively went and bought tickets for you to come here."

George facepalms and rubs his eyes, but a smile threatens to break out on his face and his eyes are bright. Dream is starting another little fire inside him with the way he's trying to cheer George up, and he can't pretend he's not warmed by the gesture. Though he really doesn't think Dream can be more distracting than the soulmark if George's entire mission to Florida includes decoding Dream as a person to investigate his soulmark.

He wrinkles his nose, "decoding Dream as a person" doesn't sound quite right.

"What?" the other end of the line pipes up again.

Shit, he hadn't meant to say that outloud.

"You are fucking crazy," George settles on that statement, listening as Dream explodes into another one of his contagious laughs, "No wonder they call you a millionaire."

"I'm a millionaire if it concerns getting my best friend to where I am, definitely," Dream rebukes and George just wants to know where he's getting all these cheesy but endearing lines from.

"Wait, so if I didn't agree to go over..."

"I would have just canceled them as tears ran down my face. So aren't you happy you decided to come?" Dream's doing that thing where he throws in dramatics for extra comedic effect, sniffling in between his words to sell the act, and George really tries to not laugh. He holds it in for a total of half a second before a traitorous bubble of laughter escapes him, followed by a whole spiel of laughter he can no longer contain.

He's laughing so hard that Dream starts laughing as well, and there's a moment where all George can hear is the sound of his own bliss intermingled with Dream's as happiness floods him.

It feels like the old times, and maybe it's the happiness of the moment and George's sudden rush of confidence, but it doesn't hurt to admit that. Maybe Dream is right, and interacting with him in person will be easier than online.

George doesn't even think he'll be able to feel sadness again if he can watch Dream's face light up with laughter, his body shaking as he fills the room up with his obnoxious wheezing. He wants to hear it in person, not just from the phone microphone or a bug-riddled stream mic. He wants to see Dream happy in person, to experience contentment so tangible he can reach out and grasp it on his fingertips.

If they can keep this up, George doesn't think he'll mind even moving to Florida. This is his and Dream's moment, and this is how he vows to keep their friendship, no matter what happens.

With that little promise to himself, George takes deep breaths to finally stop laughing, though a smile still perches on his lips.

"Okay, Dream. You've convinced me. The 16th."

Dream cheers louder than the times he won MCC.

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Kang's Note: Is that... Did I just write... Fluff? I hope you enjoyed! This was a happy chapter and I was smiling so wide as I wrote it. I hope it brings a smile to your face as well. Look forward to George finally being in Florida! Stuff's about to go down. I hope you enjoy your meals today.