His eyes. The deepest brown Dream had ever seen, layered with flecks of silver and amber. They stared at him- they stared through him. It was like they were able to see directly into his heart, his soul. They could see every thought and desire Dream had ever had. There was no hiding from George's eyes, the way they made him feel so exposed. It should be nerve wracking. It should be terrifying to have someone see you so clearly, every flaw displayed in front of them. Dream didn't feel the fear and shame he always thought he would. He felt peace. He felt acceptance. He felt bliss.
His hair. The dark waves that slid through Dream's fingers like silk. The hair Dream had thought about running his hands through for months through a screen, finding himself jealous of George's hands. Jealous that they could run through those beautiful locks anytime they pleased, while Dream remained on the other side of the world watching with envy. Brunette curls that normally covered his forehead and eyes were now slicked back, revealing such a uniquely beautiful face. Freckles dusted like constellations over the highest points of his cheeks, the slight widow's peak that Dream rarely got to see, the faint scar through his dark eyebrow, everything. Dream could stare at him forever.
His touch. Cold hands Dream once recoiled from, even flinched away from at some times, now roamed over his body without hesitation or pushback. Fingertips that felt like ice against his skin, stimulating every nerve, made the hairs rise on the back of his neck. The short nails that feverishly dug into his back, clawing desperately for more, only to find their way to Dream's flushed cheeks. Hands that pulled Dream's face down to his, connecting their lips in a hunger so deep Dream wasn't sure if either of them could ever be satisfied.
His lips. The softness that Dream assumed must've been a drunken ideation was still there, somehow even better now. The lips that once shied away from Dream's now kissed him with such devotion, such lust, such longing. Lips that traveled across Dream's face, down his neck, and across his shoulders. There would soon be no inch of his skin that George's lips hadn't caressed, and Dream wouldn't want it any other way. The only thing that Dream may have enjoyed more than George's lips, were the erotic utterances that passed through them.
His voice. It wasn't just the accent that Dream loved. It wasn't even the words George said. No, it was the sounds. The heavenly murmurs and moans that escaped him without warning or reservation. The beautiful chestnut eyes that would squint closed after realizing the sounds echoing off the walls were from him. Dream would do everything in his power to hear them again- he did do everything in his power to hear them again. To make George's voice quiver in a way that only he could hear. The airy breaths that labored between his words when George said his name over, and over, and over again.
"Dream."
Dream opened his eyes, taking in his surroundings. The cool-toned green walls littered with vaguely inspirational quotes and photos of Miami sunsets. The window that looked out to the water, the beach below barely in view. The frigid air conditioning circulating through the stagnant air of the room. Dream suddenly became aware of how uncomfortable the hard cushion of the couch was, shifting his weight as he readjusted. Dream's eyes met the man sitting across from him for a less than a moment before he looked away, letting out a nervous cough as he continually adjusted.
"Sorry, Dr. Stringer. What did you ask?" Dream finally allowed his eyes to land on the therapist's before him. He regretted it instantly, pretending that he suddenly found the same picture of a sunset he saw every night to be the most captivating thing in the room. He knew it was stupid to try to hide something from a mental health counselor, especially one that he had been seeing for months now.
"Please, just Jeremy is fine, Dream. I think we're beyond the formalities at this point. I don't call you Clay anymore, so you don't need to keep calling me doctor. Anyway, I'm more interested in hearing about where you've been for the last, wow, just about four minutes." His voice was always so calm, rarely wavering in dynamic. He sounded like the voice in all the meditation apps Dream was constantly deleting and redownloading. Maybe that was why Dream had kept him on as his therapist, even after the therapy wasn't what he was expecting. He always assumed therapy was telling someone your problems and then them giving you advice on how to fix it. Turns out the point is actually for him to find the solutions on his own.
"Just, uh, thinking." Dream looked back to Jeremy, already expecting a look that screamed 'no shit' to be written on his face. Jeremy had one quirk that Dream had picked up on- whenever he could tell Dream was trying to keep them at the surface level of a conversation he wasn't ready to dig deeper into, he would massage his jaw. Dream liked to think it was his way of holding back all of the things he wanted to preach to Dream about how therapy doesn't work unless you do.
"George is here, as you know." Dream only looked at Jeremy long enough to see the hand drop from his jaw before looking back to the sunset photo on the wall across from him. "Things have, well, changed with us since my appointment last week." Dream gave up staring at the picture, now squinting his eyes to read the quote behind Jeremy's desk. He wasn't sure exactly, but it definitely said something about a negative mind not being able to give you a positive life.
"What does 'changed' mean in this context with George?" Jeremy leaned back in his seat. This was a new demeanor shift for him. He almost always sat at the forefront of his chair, his elbows propped up on his knees. Dream could feel himself being analyzed the same way he was analyzing Jeremy, for good reason too. This was the first time George had been mentioned without disdain in his voice.
"Changed means, well, I don't know. We fought a lot this week, we made up a lot this week, followed by more fighting. We, uh, I guess got closer? Yeah. I guess changed means we've progressed." Dream felt himself feeling the need to stare at his photograph of choice again as Jeremy's hand returned to his jaw. It was obvious there was a lot that Dream was still holding back, but even so, this didn't feel 'Jeremy rubbing his jaw' worthy.
"What I'm hearing is that you've had a lot of challenges, as well as overcoming some of those challenges, with George this week. Would you say that's an accurate observation?" Dream hated this part- the basically repeating back exactly what he just said. He knew it was about reflection and hoping that hearing someone else say what you said would spark something within yourself. Maybe he was too self aware for therapy, then again, doesn't everyone think that?
"Yeah, you could say that." Dream practically mumbled, picking up the nearest fidget toy beside him. Although the toys were definitely for the younger clients, Dream found himself fiddling with them at least once a session. They were a good distraction when the pictures and quotes bored him to death. He chose to not look up to catch the final moments of Jeremy's quirk. He wanted to tell Jeremy everything, to just completely let the feelings flow out of him. Dream wanted to relive the feeling of relief he experienced after venting it all out to Sapnap the other night.
"If you don't mind me asking, why don't you seem happier about this? You mentioned quite a few times that you wished things with George could change. Now, here you are, saying that you two have finally had a breakthrough, yet, you still seem to have this reservation? You know, this is the first time you've ever referred to you and George as 'we'. It's always been George as this completely separate person, someone you kept as much distance from as you could. Now, on your own, you're referring to you both as an item, as one, as 'we'." Dream nearly dropped the small toy, fumbling with it before eventually catching it.
We. He had been saying that with himself and George lately. He said it in this office where he had sat once a week since the beginning of the year. He said it when he told Karl they would stay as long as he needed. He had said it in the water at the beach after their kiss, even referring to his house as home with George. Something had shifted within him and he didn't even notice. He completely missed the part where he stopped holding George at an arm's length- more like a football field length- away. Well, it's sort of hard to keep George at that distance after all that's happened.
"I guess I'm just waiting for the next fight. You know, the one we don't overcome. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad things are good at the moment- that's what I was thinking about earlier, the good." Dream looked down to the toy in his hands, afraid his face might give away what he was trying to hide, the heat already rising to his cheeks. This was the closest he had been to coming out to Jeremy. The only thing giving him comfort in knowing the truth might come to light this session was knowing that Jeremy would have to be blind to not realize the disappointment and hurt he had been constantly complaining about the last few weeks was coming from a place much deeper than friendship.
"It sounds like you're not willing to let yourself get comfortable with things being good, like you believe they can't stay that way. Are you afraid to let yourself feel hope, Dream?" Jeremy said while returning to his normal position of being hunched over on his knees. Dream set down the fidget, facing forward towards Jeremy. This was the first time he felt like he learned something new when Jeremy just reiterated what he said back to him. Hope. Was he afraid to hope? To hope that things with George could stay like they did just hours before his session? To hope that there would be no other shoe to drop?
"I never thought about it that way. The last time I hoped about anything with George, I didn't realize how much of myself was centered in that hope. So, when the situation wasn't everything I expected, everything I hoped for, I was crushed. I don't want to feel like that again." Dream felt like he wasn't just admitting this to Jeremy for the first time, but also to himself. He had placed more hope than he ever thought possible in how meeting George in person would go. Watching that dream crumble before his eyes was enough to make anyone hesitant to hope for something again.
"The last time you hoped for something with George, that's referring to him being the person you expected him to be, correct?" Jeremy had clearly already connected the dots. It wasn't a difficult task- the topic of George's abrupt personality shift usually being a major focal point of every session since his arrival. Dream nodded before continuing, standing up from his seat to pace the length of the room.
"How can I just hope for.. Anything when it comes to him? I talked with him online for eight years, that's like, over a third of my life I've spent with George! Talking together, becoming best friends together, gaming together, working together, but when it came to falling in love, it wasn't together anymore." Dream halted his pacing. He suddenly knew exactly how Karl must've felt after confessing his feelings for Sapnap aloud for the first time. There was no turning back now.
"Just- the fact those feelings didn't even go away when a complete stranger stepped off that plane? I was upset- I am upset- about that, you know that more than anyone. But, I just kept holding onto the idea that deep inside that moron is the George I've been waiting all these years to meet. I don't know if things have changed- sorry, progressed, with George because he's starting to be more like the man I imagined or if I've just opened myself up to the idea that maybe I could be in love with any side of him he throws at me." Dream finished, unsure at what point he stopped pacing, finding himself standing in front of the window.
The sun was just beginning to lower over the water, bright orange and golden clouds moving slowly through the sky. Dream looked between the window and the photo he had stared at for the majority of his sessions. The photo was taken from this exact window and he never noticed. The same row of palm trees danced in the breeze just like the ones captured in that photo. Maybe the inspirational quotes were getting to him, but something about this realization felt like a revelation to him.
When you focus on how something looks frozen in time, you miss all the beauty when it comes to life before your eyes. The George he knew online was the photo and the George waiting at home for him was the sunset outside. At the end of the day, they were always the same. The only difference was perspective.
"Dream?" Jeremy's voice felt far away. Even with the barrier of the glass, Dream felt like he was being hypnotized by the waves crashing against the shore. The people looked like figurines scattered across the beach. Families grouped together, surfers riding the bigger waves further from shore, children building sandcastles that would soon be flattened by the rising tide. There was a whole world that interacted with the setting of the photo he spent an hour a week staring at. Of course it would be different when looking at it first hand and not just a singular second of peace frozen in time. Was he even still thinking about the painting at this point?
"I'm in love with him, Jeremy. I hide behind it when I talk to Sapnap about it, just calling them 'feelings', but it's always been more than that, it's always been love. When he got his first girlfriend when we were kids and there was this pain in my chest, I chalked it up to heartburn from too much fast food. The first time he called me 'darling' after we pulled an all-nighter on discord together a few years ago, I rode that feeling for a week. I told myself it was because it was so funny he'd slip up like that, but after that night, I found any reason to keep George awake long enough for him to slip up again. When I kissed him for the first time a few days ago, when I held him while he cried, when he held me while I cried, when I woke up to him curled up next to me in bed, and especially after we had sex- it all made me fall that much harder. Hook, line, and sinker. I'm nearly a decade deep into this and I don't think I've truly come up for air once."
The sun had finally touched the water, just barely cresting under the waves. The silence in the room was so profound, Dream swore he could hear the waves crashing and children screaming down at the beach. Part of him wanted to be there, to run in the sand with George, while Sapnap and Karl built mushroom shaped sandcastles behind them. The other part of him wanted to stay where he was, a safe distance away, with the protection of staying in the metaphorical photograph.
"There was a lot to process in what you just said. I think you've arguably made more progress today than any other session. I want you to know that this progress is yours, it's not because you had a good week with George. Your lives may be woven together, but you're still your own person, Dream. Sometimes we get tunnel vision because we've only viewed a person or situation a certain way for such a long time. You are a human who is worthy and deserving of love, whether that is with or without George, and I hope you can see that too." Jeremy had turned around in his seat once Dream started pacing, tracking everywhere he chose to stand or stare.
"I don't know if this will help you, but I noticed you comparing my photo of the beach to this evening's sunset. That beach was where a lot of milestones with my wife happened. It quickly became our place. It was where we had our first date, where I proposed, where we got married, and it was also the last place we went together before she passed away. I had so strongly associated that beach with the memories that were tied to her, that I couldn't bear to go there in a world where she no longer existed. I moved cities and didn't look back. A few years ago, when I was offered a position with this agency, you wouldn't believe my shock when that beach, our beach, was on display from my office's window. The point of this story, Dream, is that don't let the perspective you hold of something alter the reality of what it is. That beach is just a beach. The love you have for George isn't something you're unconditionally bound to. You can change the narrative anytime you want- you can come up for air anytime, Dream. Let this be food for thought for our session next week, that's all the time we have today."
Dream looked between the photograph and the scene outside one last time before facing his therapist. Disclosure of personal information wasn't something high up on Jeremy's repertoire, something Dream said must've really resonated with him. Dream looked over to him, Jeremy's words still echoing in his mind. Jeremy was already standing, holding the door open for him. This was how their sessions typically went- 45 minutes of Dream refusing to acknowledge his issues followed by 15 minutes of scrambling to get out every thought he'd been hiding since the previous week. Jeremy had definitely perfected the craft of termination, no longer letting Dream dictate how late both of them would be getting home.
"One last thing." Jeremy spoke up just as Dream was stepping through the door and into the empty hallway. None of the other providers even offered appointments this late in the day, making Jeremy Dream's best and only option. "I'm really proud of you." Jeremy placed a hand on Dream's shoulder, giving it a light squeeze before turning to shut and lock the door behind him.
"For what?" Dream questioned. He knew the answer, but hearing it meant something completely different to him. Getting the chance to hear it in a voice other than the critic in his head was something he craved. The calming meditation app voice telling him exactly where he had excelled would be enough to get him through his drive home without completely falling apart.
"You did the work today, Dream. No half-truths, which even then are sometimes quarter-truths. You were honest with me, but more importantly, you were honest with yourself. And that's something to be proud of." Jeremy smiled over his shoulder before heading down the hallway, leaving Dream frozen outside his office. The golden hue of the sunset flooded the hallway, the specs of dust that floated in the air danced in the breeze created from Jeremy heading towards the elevator.
"The love you have for George isn't something you're unconditionally bound to."
Even when Dream didn't recognize the feelings he had were love, he was still bound to George. They grew up together, integrating every aspect of their personal, social, and professional lives together. Out in the world, within the online communities they fostered, even in his mind, there was no Dream without George. They were a package deal, a duo, a pair. Who would Dream even be if he didn't have George attached to his hip? Was that the reason Dream found himself falling for every version of George he met- he had to adapt to avoid losing his partner? Was this also something that George felt towards him?
Maybe, just maybe, they needed to take a break.
Dream pushed the thought out of his head at nearly the same time it entered, already uncomfortable with the way the idea made his heart race unevenly. No. No, no, no. He wouldn't do that- he didn't even want to do that. Dream refused to be the person who hooked up and then ended things. He loved- loves George. Dream didn't want less time with George, he didn't want separation or a break, he wanted to keep progressing. So, why were these questions haunting him? As he pushed open the door to the stairwell, he wished he could go back to his thoughts about them at the beach, running in the sand, Sapnap and Karl laughing behind them- the last thought he had before the idea of what a life without George would look like entered his mind.
Thick air greeted Dream as he jogged through the parking lot to his car, his heart still pounding against his chest walls. Maybe if he drove away quickly enough, he could leave these thoughts behind until his next appointment. He didn't necessarily want to be home, but sitting in this parking lot was clearly the worse option. All that was waiting for him at home were the consequences of his earlier impulses. He and George had talked after, it wasn't like the situation with Karl and Sapnap. Dream almost felt like it was worse in a way, how completely back to normal everything was right after.
"What, did you think you would be different?"
The words George had thrown at him in spite came rushing back at possibly the worst time. Dream's grip on his steering wheel tightened as he merged out of his lane quickly, causing several cars to honk at him. Getting on the highway would be a mistake with how he was feeling- a speeding ticket waiting to happen. Backroads were a much safer option, not to mention it added more time before seeing George. Traffic decreased the closer to the edge of town Dream got, most cars choosing to save time by taking the highway. The car was silent, only the sound of the air rushing outside competed with his thoughts of that morning.
Once they finished, he had held George tightly to his chest, both of their lungs gasping for air. Although Dream didn't have anything to compare the experience to, he couldn't have imagined it getting better than that. Cold sheets shifted over them as George slid off of his chest, laying on the bed beside him. It felt like second nature to put his arm around George, to brush away the hairs that stuck to his forehead with sweat, to kiss him until they inevitably built up the energy for round two. Once Dream went to put his arm around George, he was already climbing out of bed, heading for Dream's bathroom. Dream had so much he wanted to say to George- to ask him. What does this mean? How do you feel? Can I join you? I love you. He hadn't even gotten the chance to decide on an option when George interrupted his train of thought.
"Do you think Karl and Sapnap waited for us to go to breakfast?"
Dream couldn't form words, no thoughts coming to mind after hearing such a simple and unrelated question. George had shrugged off Dream's silent indifference and went ahead into the bathroom. It was like reality had reset and the intimacy they shared was deleted from the timeline. Dream laid amongst the remnants of what had just happened, wondering if this was all some vivid nightmare. The sound of the shower running filled the silence of his room. Why was George so quick to get out of bed when that morning he was such an affectionate person?
Karl and Sapnap had actually ended up waiting for them, thankfully they were waiting outside from the safety of the front porch. All throughout breakfast, Dream wondered what would and wouldn't be okay to do in front of Karl and Sapnap, especially since they were out in public. He watched with deep envy as his friends stole glances at each other, hands brushing over one another followed by a quick laugh. Every time he looked over to George, he would either ignore him or raise an eyebrow. When Dream finally got the courage to put his hand on George's thigh, he had to instantly pull it away as the waitress arrived with their food. George didn't even give a reaction to his advances, making Dream question everything.
Dream pulled his car over to the side of the road, realizing his thoughts that reminisced on that morning were clouding his ability to drive. The roads were too poorly lit and filled with sharp turns for him to be this zoned out. He pulled off next to a row of palm trees, watching through the sunroof as they swayed in the evening breeze. Dream felt almost mesmerized by the way the clicks of his four-way blinkers occasionally synced with the trees dancing in the growing wind. It was dusk, the world shrouded in pale blue and faint stars. Dark clouds had begun to move across the sky, promising a night of rain and thunderstorms. He hated thunderstorms. The abrupt flashes of lightning, rumbling thunder that made the floors shake beneath him, winds that pushed pelting rain against the windows. He hated storms like that. The night felt like it was approaching much sooner now, as the pale blue dusk sky turned to a deep gray from the swirling cumulonimbus clouds.
"Incoming call: George Davidson"
Dream jumped from the sound of his car's Bluetooth announcing the call, soon followed by his ringtone blaring through the speakers. Sapnap must've left the volume turned all the way up the last time he was in the car.
"Hello?" Dream answered after a second of letting his nerves settle. A few large raindrops began falling onto his windshield. Shit. It was starting.
"Dream?" George's voice sounded nervous. Dream instantly sat upright in his seat, throwing the car into drive. He had already merged back onto the road, his wipers flicking across the windshield feverishly as the rain continued to pick up. He wasn't sure if he was hearing static through the phone or if the storm hit home first.
"What's wrong, George?" Dream was speeding around corners, the back of his car hydroplaning slightly when he made each turn. He was further away from home than he would've liked, only making it just outside the city before pulling over to reflect. His mind was already racing with the possibilities of what could've happened. Did Patches get out? She was just as spooked by storms as Dream. Did the wind blow over a tree? Could a-
"The power went out. Where's your breaker box?" Fucking hell, that's it? Dream slowed down as he approached the next corner, realizing there was no point in risking it when there was no true emergency.
"It's in the basement, Sapnap can show you. I'll be home in twenty minutes." Dream sighed, taking one hand off the wheel to rest it on his chest. Between thinking about the aftermath of that morning, his therapy realizations, his loud speakers, and the growing storm, his heart was still trying to recover.
"Sapnap and Karl l-left. Dinner plans or s-something." George was so quiet that Dream had to turn up his speakers. His brows were furrowed as he slowly started to speed up again. He wasn't sure if the call was cutting in and out from the storm or if George was stuttering. "Um, s-so, the basement?" George continued. Dream looked down to his connection, full bars. George was definitely stuttering.
"George, are you.. Okay?" Dream questioned hesitantly. He still felt torn. He was still the same Dream who wanted to fix every problem for George, going out of his way to make George's life easier. He was also the same person who had residual hurt feelings from being tossed to the side so easily after having sex that morning. Not to mention what Jeremy said- he is a person worthy and deserving of love, whether that's with or without George. So why was the first part of who he was, the fixer, still dominating how he felt about this situation?
"Yeah, uh, it's just.. N-nevermind. It's stupid. I'll see you in t-twenty."
Before Dream even had the chance to interject, the call disconnected before him. Dream looked over to his phone and then back to the road. He would normally be fine to use his phone for a moment to start a call, but the rain and darkness were already making it difficult enough to see where the lines on the road were. He had only seen a small handful of cars on the road since he decided against going on the highway. Regardless, he didn't want to risk drifting into the other lane. He accelerated slowly, seeing how fast he could comfortably go as the rain began flooding the roads. The ground in Florida was so dense and dry that flash floods were a given practically any time it rained.
Dream drove in tense silence until he approached his road. It seemed different, eerie even. Normally whenever there was a power outage, he was inside. Seeing the pitch black road seemed almost unrecognizable as each house, even the street lights, had no power. A tree must've knocked over a line somewhere. He pulled into his driveway, calling George the second the car was in park.
"Please tell me y-you're here. I can't find the stupid box." George grumbled, the stutter still evident in his voice.
"I'm in the driveway. The whole street is dark, a powerline is probably down, so flipping the breaker won't fix anything. I'll turn around and go get flashlights and candles." Dream looked back down the road, only being able to see about one house over. Without his headlights facing down the road, everything was pitch black. He grabbed the gear selector, placing his arm around the passenger's seat, as he prepared to back out.
"Can I come with you?" The desperation in George's voice made Dream instantly step on the brakes, his tires screeching against the slick pavement. George must've taken Dream's silence as approval, the sound of the front door slamming pulling Dream's attention back to the house. George was wearing dark joggers and an oversized light gray hoodie. His face looked especially pale, like he was about to be sick. He jogged all the way to the passenger's side door, climbing inside the car just as a flash of lightning lit up the neighborhood for a split second. George pulled down his hood, shaking his slightly wet hair, before turning up the heat in the car.
"Is this mine?" Dream hesitantly reached out, pulling on the fabric of the hoodie's sleeve. He knew it was his the second George came into view, the Florida Gators logo being a dead giveaway. Not to mention the size. If it was Sapnap or Karl's, it would've fit him normally, whereas this was hanging off of him. That was also partially because it was wet, the light gray material now splotchy from the rain.
"I just grabbed one that was b-by the door, since it would be faster than going upstairs. Please, can we just- leave?" George had his hands stretched out in front of the air vents, refusing to make eye contact with Dream. Was he scared? A loud crackle of thunder made both of them flinch, George noticeably more so than Dream.
"Are you afraid of thunderstorms?" Dream questioned, hesitantly putting the car in reverse again. He backed out onto the road slowly as George turned to him with a scoff.
"You're the one who's afraid of storms, not me. You get storms like this once a week, how do you survive living here?" George leaned back in his seat as Dream pulled onto the road, turning down the heat. His question was more so a personal jab than a genuine inquiry. It really was like nothing happened, huh?
"You jumped from the thunder more than I did, plus- Jesus, George, put your seatbelt on! What's wrong with you? Do you know how slick the roads are right now?" Dream huffed, pulling up to the stop sign at the end of his road. There weren't any cars out, most other Floridians were clearly prepared for the storm. Meanwhile, Dream didn't even know they were due for one. George remained still in his seat, another flash of lightning followed by a crash of thunder filled the silence between them. Dream sighed, leaning over George and grabbing his seatbelt, pulling it around him.
"Wha-"
"You're taking too long. I'm not going to sit at this stop sign and wait for a tree to fall on us." Dream spoke while still leaning over George. He prayed that the annoyance in his voice would cover the nervousness he was feeling. Since when was he nervous to be close to George? After everything that had happened between them, their faces being inches apart for only a moment should be nothing. Maybe it was George's painfully casual refusal to acknowledge that morning that was causing the skip in Dream's heart rate. Or, maybe it was just the fact he was driving in a thunderstorm.
Dream faced forward, gripping the wheel with both hands. He couldn't stop comparing his and George's situation to Sapnap and Karl's. Why was it so easy for them? The hard part for them was admitting that they had feelings for one another. Now that everything was out in the open, they were already completely settled into a relationship. Going on dates, staying in each other's rooms, completely comfortable showing affection to each other around the house. Meanwhile, acknowledging the feelings, or in George's case, the curiosity, seemed to have only made things worse. Maybe that morning didn't have the same effect on George that it did on Dream.
"Dream?" George's voice was soft, the sound of the rain just about drowning him out. Dream nearly missed it, still caught up in his own thoughts about what was going on in George's mind. The tone of his voice reminded Dream of the times when they would fall asleep on call together, the sound of George's faint voice calling out his name being the first thing he heard when he woke up. Ironic. George had always been Dream's personal alarm clock.
"Hmm?" Dream hummed, avoiding speaking. He was all too aware of how thinking about fond memories with George altered his tone. Sapnap was the first to bring that to his attention. After Dream would emerge from his room after a sleepless night of talking to George on discord, he'd often run into Sapnap getting ready to start his day. Sapnap would always scold him, saying to stop using his 'George voice' when Dream would try saying good morning. He didn't realize until Sapnap called him out on it that he does talk to George differently than most people. He always spoke lower, more slowly, and with a certain genuineness he didn't use with others.
"Do you regret it? You know... what happened this morning."
Shit.
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(5,930 words) thank you all again sm for giving me so much time to focus on all the stuff going on in my personal life rn <3 ilyasm