Dream POV
The little note inside the knife-holder contained coordinates on one side and a handwritten letter on the other side. Dream was too much of an emotion mess to read any suicide-note from George, but he kept the paper and searched the coordinates. It led him to a place located on Barbados. It must've been George way to guide him to a better place. In any other case, running off to a tropical island just because you found a paper with coordinates that pointed that way, sounded like something a crazy person would do. Yet, that was what Dream was going for.
His plan was as followed; go back to Virginia, get Patches and a few essentials, and collect the money from his mission. He dreaded having to face his boss again, but he hoped that it would be for the last time.
His mind wondered to his friends and what happened to them. It struck him that maybe he should text them, but it was like he was reliving that day when he thought that he'd lost George five years ago. His body refused to even look at Sapnap's contact information.
An unknown number popped up on his screen. Dream debated whenever to answer or not, but swiped 'Accept' after a while.
"Who's this?" He had no time for formalities.
"Dream, it's me, Wilbur. I'm just checking to see how you are and if you need a way to get back to the headquakers?" Wilbur sounded the same way as he always did, which pissed him off for some reason. Maybe it was that slightly nonchalant tone, despite everything that had happened, that angered him. But Wilbur's offer was out of kindness, he knew that. Plus, he needed a way to get back.
"Yeah, sure." Was all he cared to answer.
"Great! A private jet will be arriving tonight, so I'll send you the address to the airport." Wilbur hung up before Dream could reply. The promised address popped up. It would take a while to get there so Dream chose to call a taxi. The park looked ghostly, and his mood got worse every moment he spent there. So, might as well pass time at the airport.
The taxi driver made an attempt at small-talk, but Dream had no desire to have a conversation with anyone at this point. They arrived at a small airport and Dream chose a bench as far away from everyone as he could, to sit down. The sky darkened and that's when Dream spotted two people walking towards him. One of them was clearly Wilbur but the other one was more surprising. Wilbur's companion was no other than Tommy, his younger brother and the younger was holding a box in his arms.
Dream furrowed his brows. "Oi, big man! Look who likes me more than you now!" Tommy shouted across half the airport. Despite his horrible mood, Dream felt how the corners of his mouth tipped upwards when he saw what Tommy was carrying.
The two brother got closer and Wilbur indicated for Tommy to hand over the box. Tommy frowned but obeyed. Dream carefully took the box and unlocked the hooks so Patches could get out. She was a little hesitant in the beginning but after she figured out who it was, she let Dream pick her up. She curled up into a ball in his arms and her soft purring mended a piece of his very broken heart.
He forced his eyes to look up at the brothers. Both were smiling at him.
"It's really kind of you to bring her here and I'm not saying this to be ungrateful, but I would've seen her tonight anyways."
Wilbur cleared his throat as he pushed a suitcase closer towards Dream.
"I have a feeling that you're not so fond of that place, so you'll be going to a little warmer one instead." Wilbur said with a mysterious smile as he pulled out a ticket from the pocket of his jacket and handed it over to Dream.
Dream furrowed his brows once again as he took it.
Could it be...
"I'm just passing these on, but I think you'll discover that they'll lead you to a place that you might already know about." Wilbur said and his eyes told Dream that he'd been right. It was a plane-ticket to the place where the coordinate led.
"How – wh – what's going on? How did you know?" Dream stuttered in confusion. Sorrowed draped over Wilbur's face.
"Sometimes knowledge is a burden, Dream. Your paycheck is in the bag and I, too, believe that you should go. He would've wanted it."
The last bit made the inside of his eyes burn and tears threatened to spill. He looked down at Patches to hide his distress.
"You're flight leaves in 45 minutes. Take care." Wilbur said and Dream knew that it was a goodbye. He looked up and nodded.
"You two take care as well." He found that he would actually miss Wilbur a lot, even Tommy would be missed. Both gave him a smile before they walked away.
There was no security to check for weapons or metal objects, so Dream got to keep his knife. He didn't know if Wilbur was the one who'd paid for a private jet, but whoever it was should know that he was thankful.
Something about the silence and the comfortable chairs on the plane cause Dream to sleep most of the trip. He saw how the plane rose above the clouds and awoke when a speaker declared that they were landing.
Dream had put the coordinates into his phone and saw that the destination wasn't too far away from where he'd landed. It was close enough that he could walk. He let Patches out of the box and she carefully walked beside him all the way, making him feel a little bit less lonely.
A fresh and warm breeze brushed over his face. He inhaled the salty smell of the sea and heard waves break against a beach somewhere in the distance.
He believed to have found the right place when he encountered a big metal fence. A surveillance camera sat at the top. He jumped when a voice from a little box on the fence spoke.
"State your name." A fairly simple question. Still, he didn't know what to answer. Clay was his name, but Dream was who he'd become. He decided to go with Dream and as he stated his name, the fences opened, revealing a stone path that led to a big house with a view over a private beach.
He encountered a door at the end of the path. He was planning on knocking but the door opened before he had the chance to.
A guy with a white bandana around his head and ravenette colored hair that fell over the bandana opened the door. They both stared at one another with just as much disbelief.
"Sapnap...?" Dream tried but was interrupted as two arms hugged him so tight that it was possible that his ribs might receive some bruising. But none of it mattered. Dream hugged him back and didn't even notice his own tears until they reached his mouth.
Quackity and Karl appeared behind Sapnap. Dream had thought that they would be angry, but their facial expression held no anger, only the contradicting feelings of happiness and sorrow. They soon joined the hug.
No one said a word for a long while until Karl spotted Patches and his face lit up as he carefully picked her up.
"You have a cat?" Karl asked cheerfully.
Dream nodded. Quackity looked at Karl in complete shock. "That's the first thing you're asking?" Karl looked at Quackity like he lacked a brain or something.
"Well, it's perfect! Don't you see? Dream's cat can become friends with mine and Sapnap's kittens!" He declared. Quackity looked like he couldn't even believe that a cat was what Karl would focus on in such a situation.
They all broke loose from the hug and Dream was led further into the house. It was lovely. White stone-walls with wooden beams going across the ceiling. It was smaller than their former house but way cozier. The entire side that was located against the beach had windows that went all the way from the floor to the ceiling with certain sections that could be opened. There was a wooden terrace just outside the windows with an outdoors sofa and matching chairs.
The kitchen was simple, mostly made out of the same white stone and wooden details. A staircase led up to the top floor where Dream predicted you'd find the bedrooms.
They all sat down at a big, round wooden table. From here, Dream saw what looked like a livingroom. Patches had taken her rightful place on a beige sofa as two kittens fought beside her. Dream couldn't hold back his smile.
Dream proceeded to explain what had happened to George, how he got there and everything in between. His three friends told there story as well. None of them had known the truth about George either. Sapnap held up a letter that he claimed was given to him by George just before he left to go to that room. The letter had explained the situation and led them to this place.
The atmosphere got heavy every time someone even came close to mentioning George's name. They talked for a little while longer, Dream spoke about his job and identity, to which they responded that they had kind of already figured it out. George's letter had apparently hinted a bit about it. But they all assured him that there's no hard feelings. Dream didn't know if he believed it. Still, it felt calming to hear them say it.
The sun was setting, causing the room to light up in the most amazing set of colors. Sapnap's letter laid folded on the table which remined Dream of his own letter that had a part to which he was yet to read. His eyes were drawn to the sea. He excused himself and walked out of the house, down towards the sea.
He sat down in the sand. It was still hot even though the sun was setting. He had made up his mind, he needed to read the rest. With trembling hands did he managed to unfold the paper. He took one deep breath to prepare for the emotional damage that he was about to face.
Dream
When you're reading this, I'll most likely be dead, and you will probably know that. I'm useless at expressing myself and you're difficult to teach (just a side-note). But I'll do my best to give you a bit of insight to my decision.
My dad knew that he was living on borrowed time and made sure to secure a future for his business. As much as I might hate to admit it, but there's some similarities between me and my father. The most evident one is that my time here was just as fragile as his. The biggest difference? I didn't have a backup plan for when I died. He gave me no choice but to continue his legacy, but I would never make that decision for someone else. A world below the one that's broadcasted and showcased will always exist, my death won't be the end of that. But I won't help it grow anymore. You might hate me for ever being a part of it, and to that I can only say that I did what I thought would be the best thing in the long run. You've every right not to trust my words, and even more right to resent me.
Still, even if you've decided that you hate me after all of this, I want you to know one thing. Every day when I sat at that bench and waited for your return was pure torture. But I was set on waiting for you until the very end, if I needed to. And it paid off, even if not in the most perfect way possible.
I wish I could tell you if my theory about the afterlife is true, and that I'm reliving the peaks of my life over and over again. However if that's the case, and my theory is correct, then I want you to know that you're the reason that I actually have some pleasant memories to revisit.
Now, I'm gonna give you one last physique lesson about time (even though it has proven itself to be useless countless of times). Einstein provided the theory about how when something reaches the speed of light, linear time stops existing. He believed that it could mean that everything is happening and existing at the same time.
I'm sure you're just as confused as always (idiot). But just remember that I might not be gone, just existing in a different timeframe than you. If you're reading a chapter in a book, the rest of the book still exist, no matter what chapter you're on.
Therefore, I will be waiting. Even if I'm not sitting in a depressing park this time, I'll be waiting for you. Until the very end.
/George "404" Davidson
Tears stained the paper. George knew that he would die. Dream felt a strong urge to crumble the paper into a ball and throw it into the water, but he knew he would regret it.
This sealed it. A part of him wished that he too would've died that day. Still, another part was thankful for the time they got together. Thankful for George's way too intelligent brain that was the reason that Dream now was sitting on a warm beach and looking out over the sea the seemed to never end. He was thankful to have his friends around him.
Still his heart longed for the impossible.
Quiet footsteps were heard from behind him. He guessed that it was Sapnap and quickly folded the paper back together. That paper was the last piece he'd left of George. It sure made his heart break. But to think that George did all of this while knowing that he was about to die, made Dream refuse to give up on the opportunity that he'd been presented with.
The footsteps stopped and the yet unknown person kicked sand at Dream's back.
"Fuck off! Can't you let an old man just enjoy the suns – " He said as he turned around. When he saw who it was, he froze.
Dark messy hair, that was extra curly due to the saltwater, bright chestnut eyes that looked like gold as they reflected the sun, and a heavenly smile was what caused Dream's paralysis. The person was holding a purring cat in his arm's, more specifically Dream's cat.
"Already feeling old after such a short time being retired?" George said teasingly, still smiling intensely. The brunette carefully sat down Patches, who looked at the sea with great interest. Dream got up and stared at George in disbelief.
"You can't – I saw you – I saw you. You're not real." Dream stuttered. George shrugged.
"Not everything's what it seemed to be, Dream." The smile never leaving his face. Dream closed the distance between them and hesitantly reached his hand out to place it on George cheek. It nearly scared him to do so in fear that it might all just be a dream. His hand connected with the soft skin.
"You're real." He whispered. Two hands cupped Dream's own face and gently pulled him closer.
"I'm real." The brunette whispered in response before connecting their lips. George's lips were just as soft as he remembered. George arms were wrapped around Dream's neck and Dream tightly laced his own arms around George's waist. The kiss ended and Dream couldn't do much more than just stare at the shorter guy in front of him. He refused to let his arms detach from around George's waist, a part of him still feared that it was all a dream and he'd soon wake up. But George had other plans.
The brunette broke loose from the embrace and sat down on the sand. Dream followed his lead. He put his arm around the other's shoulders and George didn't seem to mind as he let his head rest on Dream's shoulder.
The silence was peaceful, but Dream's mind urged him to ask the million-dollar question.
"How? I saw you die. I held your dead body." He felt George's jaw tighten before the brunette started talking. He explained how Wilbur had approached him one day and broke the news about what was bound to happen in a near future. How they'd constructed a plan to fake his death, they same way they'd faked the murder that Dream believed that he'd witnessed Techno commit. When George mentioned Techno's name, his voice broke, it was obvious that he blamed himself for Techno's death. He mentioned the letter and how he planned it so that everyone would get the location after it all went down. George even admitted that when he wrote that letter, that he wasn't sure if he would survive or not. Him surviving was never guaranteed. So many things had to go right for the plan to work. As George spoke, the pieces fell into place.
"I'm sorry. I needed everyone to think that I died, she wouldn't have stopped otherwise." Dream buried his face in the messy dark locks and let out a relieved breath.
"You're here now, that's all that matters. Does the others know yet?"
George shook his head. "I just arrived, so not yet."
George then remained quiet for a moment. "My dad said that it would be the one closest to me that would be my doom." Dream was surprised at the vulnerability in George's statement. Dream caught himself feeling guilty. Without his involvement, none of this mess would've happened.
"I'll admit it. I let my guard down around you, Dream. Even though I promised myself not to. Though, I think my dad was wrong. Sure, if I wouldn't have cared about what happened to you guys, it would've been a lot easier running the place. But it seems meaningless to live a life without people you care about. Somehow, I think that without you, I would've died back there. Miserable and alone."
Dream tried to process George's confession. This was a side that Dream rarely saw. The side of George that didn't try his hardest at hiding everything from the world. He concluded that it was his favorite side.
Dream still rested his head on George's. He allowed himself to close his eyes.
"You'll never be alone again, I'll be here 'Until the very end'" Dream said, quoting George's letter.
George looked up at him with an amused smile. "Did you understand my little physics lesson?" Dream returned the smile and shook his head.
"Hell no, but nice try anyways." He admitted as he placed a kiss on George's forehead and pulled the brunette closer. The brunette leaned into the touch and Dream saw how he closed his eyes.
"Until very end." George mumbled against Dream's shoulder, causing his heart to beat even faster.
Dream had made a promise when he found out that George was alive (the first time). That he would get him back. And now he could proudly say that he had succeeded.
His George was back, and Dream would do everything in his power for it to stay that way.
The end.
A/N: This concludes this story. So thankful for everyone that have taken their time to read it! <333 Over 700 in total, that's just insane to me!!
The ending turned out different than I first anticipated and it sure was difficult to know how to end this in the best possible way. But this was the outcome, so I hope you all enjoy!