Mark My Words || DNF Soulmate AU

Chapter 19

Maybe it's the rapidly shifting scenery and the white noise of the highway as they travel in silence to Dream's house, but George feels himself nodding off until his neck tilts his head in all sorts of uncomfortable positions that eventually keep him awake.

Dream sits in the driver's seat, concentrating on driving the car in the darkness as their previous elation simmers down into a more subtle hum of satisfaction of being in each other's company. George can hardly see out his window, and sits in sleepy boredom until he finds his eyes drifting to observe Dream. He can't help it, the way a moth can't help flying into a fire.

It's dark enough that George can only see the silver outline of his profile from the moon's gentle shine illuminating from the sky, but still he traces that silhouette down the slope of his nose to the curve of his lips and then the bob of his Adam's apple. Occasionally the street lamps flash across his face and offer George a momentary glimpse of the pale color of his eyes, or the flash of his band-aid which shines brighter than the rest of his skin. George still refuses to think deeper into it.

The curtain of night feels safe enough in its concealment that George lets himself admit that Dream is good-looking. He had been too nervous at the airport to let himself study Dream's face as he would like to, but the night proves his ally just this once by aiding him in his observation (ogling).

George leans forward without realizing, trying to catch the flutters of Dream's eyelashes as he blinks and the darts of his tongue as he wets his lip in some sort of habitual motion. He doesn't even realize how close he leans over until they stop at a red light and Dream turns his head to face George, only to realize they were much closer than they initially started out.

"Geor-" Dream's eyes startle open as he catches George in the act, leaned over with woozy eyes and a look of fond fascination on his face.

Oh, shit, George thinks as he tries coming up with some sort of excuse for his behavior.

He acts before he articulates anything in his mind.

George tilts his head and gathers a dazed smile on his face, making his eyes unfocus as he laughs slowly and mischievously, like a child planning to grab a chocolate chip cookie from the cookie jar before their parent can see. He's doing the best impression he can of what late-night delirium does to him, and to be very honest he's only half acting. It's true that if he doesn't collapse on a bed very soon he will start spouting nonsense.

"Hi," he says, dragging out the word too long and adding strange shifts in octave as he does, "Hellooooooo."

He giggles at his own voice. Dream stares at him in bewilderment, and George internally panics, thinking that somehow he may have seen through the act. Panic does not work well with George and makes him feel like a cornered animal who loses any sort of rationale in a moment of weakness.

"He'll do this little thing where he's like a little scared cat," Dream once described as he recounted George's inability to think in emergency combat situations during Minecraft PvP, "He like runs up and paw-swipes you and then runs away."

The comparison to a "little scared cat" makes George pout, but he can't help thinking of Dream's affection for cats and hopes it carries over a little to him as well.

He already regrets what he does next.

Raising his hand up from his side, George extends his right index finger and slowly, slowly, lifts it to Dream's face, right in front of his nose. He uses the new position as an excuse to look at Dream's face more upfront and closer, and finds himself panning his gaze across Dream's face like some sort of a scanner. He tries memorizing every detail he can, as if this is his one opportunity and he won't be living with Dream for the next however weeks.