The Railroad

Chapter 22

"We're getting groceries, what about you?"

"It's a long story. Wait, we? Is Quackity here, too?"

"He's back at home, taking care of the cat while me and our other boyfriend went shopping."

"Wh- other boyfriend?? I didn't know you guys were poly! What the heck, man. We have so much catching up to do!"

Karl giggled happily, arms still resting on George's shoulders. But, he let go when another hand landed on the brunet's arm, looking up to the tall blond who was staring at him through narrowed eyes. George elbowed him in the ribs, but for the most part he ignored it.

"And who's this?" Karl questioned, tone innocent and full of curiosity as his blue eyes flickered back and forth between George and the masked man next to him.

"Karl, this is my... friend, Dream," George said, feeling awkward.

Dream moved his hand from the shorter's arm to his small hand, taking it gently and softly running his thumb over the knuckles. He extended his free hand to Karl, who took it hesitantly but with a happy smile. George was staring up at Dream, confused as to what the green-eyed boy was doing and why he was acting so strangely, when he saw as shock took over the taller's features.

"Hey, baby. Who's this?" a new voice chimed in, which George saw belonged to a ravenette who was about his height.

He was muscular but slim, with toned arms showing through his short sleeved t-shirt. He had a slight stubble and his hair was fairly long, half of it pulled into a half bun and a white bandana tied around the flyaway strands to keep them in place. His eyes were hazel, a perfect mix of light brown and dull green. Judging by the fact that he wasted no time in wrapping an arm around Karl once he'd made it over to them, George assumed that this was the aforementioned third boyfriend.

As the ravenette and Dream locked eyes, the brunet saw the same look on the blond's face transfer to the new boy's.

"Nick?" Dream asked, awe pooling in his irises.

"Clay?" the ravenette replied.

George's jaw dropped open.

~~~

"Let me get this straight," Quackity said, looking between the two pairs of boys before him. One group was his two boyfriends: they were standing next to him, hands locked together and bright, stupidly happy smiles plastered on their faces. The other was his old friend and a stranger who was a person from one of his boyfriend's past. "So you guys just... ran into one another? And Nick and this Clay dude know each other?"

"Dream," the blond corrected quietly.

"We were best friends when we were younger," Nick explained. "We got separated when the war broke out." The ravenette turned to look at his old friend, utter amazement gleaming in his gaze. "Like, woah, man. It's insane to see you again after all this time."

Dream did not seem to return the feeling. He was looking around with skepticism and distrust, keeping a cautious eye on the three boys in front of him and a concerned one on the brunet. Even with his best friend of so long ago amongst them, the blond couldn't bring himself to trust the new people. He was always alone aside from his clients, and after Corpse he'd had a hard time trusting anyone other than the boy he loved. The fact that these people could potentially hurt George scared him beyond words; he was not about to let any pain befall upon him again.

The taller realized he'd missed an entire portion of the conversation, in which Nick was telling everyone about the time they had wrestled an alligator in the marsh. That was partly true, they simply encountered one and ran away, but Nick had always been one to upplay his stories. As the blond joined, the topic shifted into something Dream did not want to discuss.

"So, George, why exactly are you here?" Quackity asked.

Before the brunet could utter a word in response, Dream butted in, saying, "None of your business."

George looked up at him with a glare, giving his hand a harsh squeeze. The young Hispanic man was also glaring at him, taken aback by the rude attitude Dream was presenting with seemingly no explanation.

"Perdonas, amigo, but I was asking George. Say, Jorge, what happened to your hand?" he asked, glancing to George's still bandaged hand and then to Dream.

George could sense the growing tension between them, joined shortly by Nick who didn't seem to like the way that Dream was acting towards his boyfriend. Karl sat back, looking around at the three and occasionally looking to the brunet with a questioning expression.

"Hey, why don't all you dumb shits sit down," George finally said, growing agitated with the protective nature of all three boys.

Quackity and Nick went to the couch with an annoyed look while Dream stared down at George. The two had an argument with their eyes that George inevitably won and followed. Once everyone was situated—Karl, Nick, and Quackity on the couch and Dream on the chair—George stood in front of them all.

"Let me tell you guys the story of what has happened to me in the past week."

~Word count: 1,565~

A/N: IM SO SORRY I COMPLETELY FORGOT TO WARN YOU GUYS THAT I WOULD BE OUT OF TOWN AND THEREFORE WOULDNT BE ABLE TO UPLOAD!!!! i hope that this chapter made up for it a bit, seeing as we got karlnapity and the climax has begun.