Chapter 12
Dream was fidgeting outside the door, reconsidering everything. He was about to take Lana to preschool and drop her off by himself. The thought was terrifying. This isn't something he was equipped to do.
Eventually the door opened and George appeared, looking frantic and holding two different bags.
"I'm running late." George breathed out, handing the black briefcase to Dream, and turning around. "Lana! Dream's here! Come on, let's go!" He was still holding the pink backpack.
"Dream!" Lana came bolting through the door, no shoes on and her hair unbrushed. She hugged his leg and he bent down slightly to hug her back.
"I have to go, Lana where are your shoes!" George said, realising and panicking.
"George, it's fine. I'll sort the shoes and hair. You go." Dream said, as Lana continued to hug Dream's leg.
"God. I don't even think she's had breakfast. I've been so stressed all morning and we've had to get ready earlier and-"
"George. Take a breath. You'll be fine. How about you give me your house key and I'll get her some breakfast and lock up before we go to school." Dream said.
"Ok. Yes. Please excuse the mess inside. I hate this bloody apartment and it's just disgusting inside." George shuffled through his pocket and handed the key to Dream. "This is going to go horribly. Do I look ok?"
Dream swallowed, looking at George's outfit. He looked great. Buttoned shirt, tight black pants, hair combed back and a tie hanging from his neck.
"Good." Dream croaked out. "You look good." His eyes looked at the pink bag. "Except for the bag." He chuckled, handing over the briefcase and swapping it for Lana's backpack. George's eyes widened when he realised.
"Oh God."
"George, you'll be fine. Go."
"Alright. Yes. Bye, baby have a good day at preschool." He bent down to kiss his daughter on the cheek. "Bye Clay." George stood upright and reached out to press a kiss against Dream's cheek before he rushed away.
Dream stood there frozen for a good 30 seconds until he realised Lana was pulling on his hand.
"Dream, I'm hungry." She whined.
"Alright let's-" He cleared his throat. "Let's get you some breakfast." He let the little girl pull him back inside the apartment as the door shut behind them.
"I want Lucky charms!" She said, pointing up to the box sitting on a high shelf in the kitchen. "Please." She added as an afterthought.
"Alright. How about you go find your shoes, hairbrush and some hair elastics while I make you a bowl, huh?" He said. She grinned and ran away, and Dream put her bag down on the floor before grabbing the cereal box.
He was on autopilot as he made the cereal, still thinking about George's departure. He had kissed him. On the cheek. And called him Clay. And it made Dream shut down on the spot. Did George even realise he did that?
Dream hated how he knew his way around the kitchen despite never having been in here. He knew George liked to keep his bowls in the cupboard closest to the fridge, and his cutlery in the draw beneath it. Nothing has changed except the location. And how often Dream has been here.
"I'm very good at doing my velcro." Lana announced herself as she walked back into the kitchen, putting her hairbrush on the floor next to her as she sat down to do her shoes.
"I can see that." Dream put the bowl down briefly to crouch down to her level. "But, your shoes are on backwards, silly." He said, helping her switch them around and do the velcro tightly. "Still want your cereal?"
"Yes!" She jumped up, and ran to the kitchen stool, reaching to try and climb up it. Dream saw the stool wobble in place, so he quickly went over and picked her up, placing her safely in the seat by the bench. "I wanted to do it myself!" She pouted.
"You're still just a little too small. I didn't want you to hurt yourself." Dream responded, bringing over the bowl of Lucky charms in front of her. "Want me to do your hair?"
"Twisty hair!" She chanted, and then paused. "Please."
"I can do the twisty hair again. Do you want one twist or two?"
"Two!"
While she ate, Dream began carefully plaiting her hair in two plaits on either side of her head. He didn't know how to braid, but decided maybe he could learn. Lana would probably love braids if she loved plaits. And braids could look better.
He secured both plaits and stepped around to look at her from the front to see if they were even.
"Are they pretty?" Lana asked, mouth full of cereal.
"Very pretty." Dream smiled back.
They weren't in a rush, George had to leave early so they had plenty of time before they had to drive. George had left the booster seat by the door for Dream to attach into his back seat, so while they didn't have to leave quite yet, Dream took Lana outside so he could start figuring out how the seat actually fits in the car.
He got Lana to sit in the drivers seat while he put in the booster seat in the back, keeping her entertained by all the buttons and distracted so she wouldn't run off anywhere. Dream struggled with the seat, so it was a good decision to leave with plenty of time.
"Ok." Dream breathed out. "All done. In you get, Alana." He opened up the driver seat to see her glaring at him.
"It's. Lana."
"Right. Come on. Back seat."
"No."
"Please, sweetheart." Dream sighed. "It's time for preschool."
"I don't want to go." She crossed her little arms over her chest.
"Why not?" He asked lifting her up and sitting back down, letting her sit on his lap.
"I don't want to." She was pouting.
"I thought you were liking preschool. Aren't you having fun doing lots of craft and playing with friends?" He asked.
"No." She repeated, but Dream could tell it was a lie. He raised an eyebrow.
"You're lying."
"I like the crafts." She admitted, looking away from Dream with a huff.
"Alright. Well why don't we go so you can do some craft?" He sighed.
"No."
"What can I do, then?" He asked, and she looked back at his face. "I want you to have a good day. What can I do to make it better?"
"I want Daddy." Her lip wobbled, and Dream's heart crushed. He pulled her in for a hug.
"I know, sweetheart." He gave her a squeeze. "You haven't done this without Daddy before, have you?" She shook her head against his chest.
"Daddy always takes me." Her voice wavered.
"I know. And I know he really wanted to. He has something very important today, you know that." She nodded. "But he loves you very much, and he'll be picking you up today. You can show him what awesome crafts you made."
"Okay." She sniffled, pulling back and wiping the tears from her eyes.
"Do you want to go now?" He asked. She nodded, and let Dream carry her to the backseat and buckle her seatbelt.
The drive wasn't very long, thankfully. Dream put on some songs he thought Lana might know, and she did. She sung them quite loudly and off-key but it made Dream smile anyways. He joined her in singing very off key, making her laugh and call him a bad singer.
When they arrived at the preschool, Dream held Lana's hand all the way inside while she carried her own backpack. When they walked inside, the same woman that was there the first day came over with a wide smile.
"Hi Lana! Are you excited for the day? We are doing lots of drawing today!"
Lana nodded, and squeezed into Dream's side tighter. The woman looked up and smiled at Dream.
"And you were Clay, right? I'm Sarah. George said you'd be signing her in." She said.
"That's right." Dream politely smiled back. She handed him the iPad and instructed him on what details to fill out and sign it with the pen electronically.
"Great. Say bye-bye, Lana." Sarah said to the little girl still holding onto Dream. She frowned and looked up at Dream, who crouched down to her level.
"You're going to have a great day. It'll go so quickly and Daddy will pick you up, alright? I know you wish he dropped you off today." Dream said.
"Will you come too? To pick me up?" She asked.
"Um. I might be busy but I'll see what your Dad says, alright?"
"Alright." She nodded. "Can you call Daddy on your phone and tell him I miss him."
"I will let him know." Dream smiled and stood back up.
"Wait! I need a kiss. Daddy always kisses me." She pointed to her forehead.
"Oh." Dream's eyes flickered to Sarah who was watching with a fond gaze, before he relaxed and crouched down again, pressing a quick kiss on the top of her head. "Happy?"
"Yes!" She let go of his hand and grabbed Sarah's instead. "Bye-bye, Dream! Love you!" She shouted as she forced Sarah to skip down the hallway with her.
That made Dream freeze in place too. First it was the kiss from George. And now the love you from Lana.
What is with this family and causing him to shut-down.
•
Dream was sort of on autopilot for the rest of the day. He went home and sat on his sofa staring at the TV with nothing on the screen. Sapnap and Karl were out somewhere doing some wedding prep, so he was alone.
When his phone rang, he immediately picked up.
"Hey, George." He smiled, relaxing onto the couch. "Are you done? How was your interview? Do you think you got the job?"
"Um." George cleared his throat. "Yeah, it-it went well I guess. Said they would contact me in a few days."
"That's wonderful!" Dream was grinning.
"Yeah. Um. Listen... about this morning... I was in a rush and-" Dream's smile fell. He swallowed and sat up straight. "I-I didn't mean to... to do what I did. I didn't even realise until later. I think I was just a bit panicked and kind of just went on autopilot and I don't know why. I'm sorry. If it, you know, made you uncomfortable or anything." He was talking about the kiss on the cheek.
"It's fine, George." Dream breathed out. "Didn't make me uncomfortable, just took me by surprise."
"Right." George's sounded a little tight. "Yeah. Um. Sorry."
"Don't." Dream took a breath. "You're fine."
They went silent for a few moments, both lost in their own thoughts, unsure of where to go from here.
"So, um. I know I hate that apartment but I'd quite like to sleep somewhere. I gave you my house key-"
"Oh!" Dream jumped to his feet, hands going to his pocket where he felt the key. "I'll come over and give it back."
"Yes please." George chuckled lightly. "I'd appreciate being able to enter my own home again."
"I'm leaving now." Dream said with a smile in his voice.
•
When Dream got out of his car, he nearly jumped when George appeared by his side.
"You scared me." Dream laughed, a hand on his chest.
"Sorry." George winced.
"I might need a hand getting this booster seat out of my car. Was a pain to get in." Dream chuckled, opening the backseat.
"Oh. Um." George looked nervous now, and Dream looked at him curiously. "I was thinking maybe you could keep it?"
"Oh?" Dream just blinked.
"For Sapnap and Karl as well!" George rushed out. "You guys can like, keep it at your house. I have two. You're all around a lot and I doubt this'll be the last time I beg someone to babysit her." George's laugh was full of nerves.
"Right. That makes sense." Dream awkwardly shut the door. "Well. Here's your key." He pulled it out and handed it over. George took it carefully, but their hands brushed regardless. It made George cringe and Dream felt almost offended at his facial expression.
"I am sorry again about this morning." George said quietly, looking at the ground. Oh. He was still thinking about it.
"Please don't worry about it." Dream smiled gently. "Old habits die hard, right?" He tried to laugh it off, but George just looked like he was in pain.
"I shouldn't have done it." George's cheeks were pink and Dream wasn't sure it wasn't just the breeze.
"Really. It's fine." Dream sighed. "If it was that horrific of a moment for you we can just pretend it didn't happen."
George looked up, eyebrows furrowing at that. Now Dream was more confused.
"Horrific?" George repeated.
"Well you seem quite distressed by it."
"I just... I'm worried you're going to avoid me now because of it." George looked away again.
"Oh." Dream blinked. "I wouldn't. I won't."
"Ok." George still kept his gaze elsewhere.
There was another few moments of awkward silence, like on the phone.
"So um." George cleared his throat. "How was Lana this morning?"
"She was alright. We made it to school on time at least. Had a small moment in the car where she didn't want to go but solved it pretty quick." Dream said.
"Great." George ran a hand down his face. "Good to know the tantrums in the morning are only for me." He said sarcastically.
"Tantrums?"
"She refuses to go. Demands you or Sapnap or Karl come and drop her off. Seems like today proved that." George shook his head. "It's fine. Whatever I'm doing wrong I'll figure it out."
"What." Dream's eyes softened. "George, you aren't doing anything wrong."
"Well something isn't right." He sighed. "I'll let you go, now. Thanks again for this morning." He started walking towards the apartment.
"Wait. Can... can I come in for a bit?" Dream winced as soon as he asked it. Inviting himself into someone's house. Good one. Not the first time.
"Why?" George asked, sounding like he was unsure whether to be confused or exhausted.
"I want to talk a little more." Dream said, and George just nodded, leading the way.
When they entered the home, George just dumped his briefcase on the dining table, and slipped of his tie with a sigh of relief.
"Sorry about this place." George grimaced. "It's really not what I want. But I haven't had a chance to look for somewhere better before moving here. And this place was in the catchment for her school."
"It's fine, George." Dream shook his head. "You don't need to explain any of that to me. The place is nice."
"It's not. You don't have to lie. And it's not really... not really me, you know? Not at all what I wanted. I just want to save a bit and buy somewhere nice that Lana can grow up in properly." George sighed.
"I guess that makes sense." Dream said softly.
George sighed, running a hand through his hair, looking around the place. He looks exhausted.
"She cried." Dream said, and George looked at him. "This morning."
"She cries every morning." George went and sat on the couch, looking up at the ceiling.
"She cried because you weren't there to drop her off." Dream sat down hesitantly on the same couch, a whole cushion between them.
"What?" George whispered, looking over at Dream.
"She's never done it without you before. I think it weirded her out, the switch in routine." Dream explained further.
"She was sad I wasn't there?" George swallowed.
"Well, obviously. You're her Dad. She loves you so much. Made me give her a kiss on the head because you weren't there to give her one."
"Oh." George's eyes began to shine, and he looked back up at the ceiling, blinking furiously. Dream shuffled closer.
"I think she wants a world where everyone she knows gets to be with her all the time. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing." Dream said with a small laugh. "The thing is, you are always there. She hadn't learnt how lucky that is."
"Why does she make it my fault in the mornings. Makes it sound sooo easy to just call Dream and bring him over." George rolled his eyes.
"Well, it would be that easy." Dream said softly, and George looked over at him. "You know that."
"I do." George swallowed. "That's why I don't call. I know you'd come if I asked."
"Well I'm glad you know that." Dream's gaze was fond as he looked over George's face, identifying every freckle he knew by heart. There were some new ones, and he noticed them instantly.
George cleared his throat and pulled out his phone.
"I should go pick her up soon." He said.
"Right." Dream shuffled away slightly, with the intention of getting up.
"If you've got nothing to do, you could come if you like." George offered.
"Are you sure?"
"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't."
•
George signed her out this time, and Dream followed as he led them down the hall to Lana's room. Dream saw her instantly, running around with two other girls.
"Lana!" George called, and she immediately spun around.
"Daddy!" She called out, and sprinted over towards him. George dropped to his knee to catch her in a hug. It was very similar to her first day, and Dream felt the same smile on his face as he watched.
"How was your day, baby?" George kissed her on the cheek and picked her up. Dream took the moment to walk over and collect her bag. Sarah was here again, watching with a smile.
"She did a few drawings today." She said, passing them to Dream, as George was still busy talking to Lana. Dream flicked through them all, seeing a lot of blobs and sticks.
"They are something." Dream chuckled, and Sarah laughed too. She pointed one out.
"She explained them to me so I wrote who was who underneath." She said. Dream saw his own name. "She said this was Daddy and Dream taking her for icecream." Dream smiled as he looked at the picture. "She clearly adores you. You're always in the crafts she makes. Talking about Dream. May I ask, why she calls you Dream?" Sarah said with a small chuckle. "It's quite sweet, but I am curious."
"Oh, it's a bit of a long story." Dream winced. "George calls me it so she does too. Old nickname from when we were... younger I guess." He actually can barely remember where the nickname came from. It was just his Minecraft username and both Sapnap and George called him that, because that's how they all met.
"Well it's quite adorable."
"Dream!" As if on cue, his attention was grabbed by Lana calling for him, still in George's arms. He tried to put her down, but she grabbed him around the neck. "Dream come here." She demanded, still holding onto George, who laughed and readjusted her again.
"Hi you little monkey." Dream laughed as he walked over. Lana had her arms out.
"Do not put me on the floor." She glared at George, before reaching out for Dream. Dream carefully took her from George and let her hug him.
"How was your day?"
"I did drawings!" She said, lifting her head.
"Miss Sarah showed me." Dream held them up, and let Lana pick one to hold. George came closer so he could see.
"This is us all getting icecream." She said, kicking her feet despite still being in Dream's hold. She picked up another one. "This is Uncle Sadnad and Uncle Karl trying to find me in the playground but I'm hiding." She pointed out two random blobs who looked quite stricken. Dream laughed at the height difference. The one labelled "Sadnad" was a lot shorter than Karl.
"This one says my name." George pulled one out, and Lana giggled.
"This is you after you spilted all the coffee on the floor." She said, and George snorted at that. "I have another one!" She grabbed it from Dream's hands. "This is a big cuddle."
Dream narrowed his eyes at it, seeing a few different blobs. Underneath, they were all labelled. Daddy. Dream. Lana. Uncle Sadnad. Uncle Karl.
"That's very sweet, Lana." George said.
"Uncle Sadnad and Uncle Karl aren't in the cuddle because they are kissing over here." She made a disgusted face. "I saw them kiss once."
"Ew." Dream made a noise and she laughed.
"But we are still in the cuddle." She pointed at herself, the smaller pink blob, with a lot of tangled lines around her. "That's Daddy and that's Dream."
"Lovely, Lana." George smiled, and took the page as well, collecting them all. "Are you done being a princess and ready to walk to the car like a big girl?"
"No." She hugged Dream tighter.
"What if you hold both our hands while you walk?" Dream said, and Lana lit up, nodding.
"Can you swing me too?" She asked.
"Swing you?" Dream questioned, looking at George who laughed.
"Alright. We can swing you. Like how Aunty Soph does, right?" Lana nodded, and Dream placed her down. She grabbed each of their hands.
"Say bye to Miss Sarah first." George said to Lana, who turned around and waved goodbye. Sarah waved back and the three of them walked out of the building.
"Swing!" She said, and let herself become deadweight. Dream only barley tensed up in time.
"What the." Dream said, as George laughed.
"We have to swing her. Lana, you need to count before you do that." He told her. She nodded.
"1, 2, 3!" She jumped and Dream was ready this time, and she swung between their hands laughing. Dream laughed too.
"Me and my sister did this last time we visited England and Lana loved it." George chuckled as she swung again, squealing in delight. "Haven't really had someone else to do it with so she's a bit excited."
"Well I can see why." Dream laughed. They finally reached the car and George opened up the door.
"Hi, I'm sorry." A voice interrupted, and Dream and George both froze. Dream turned and looked at a woman holding a small child in her arms. "I just wanted to say that you all look like such a sweet family."
"Thank you, that's really kind." George said, picking up Lana and giving the woman a polite smile, despite her insinuating they were a family.
"I mean, it's not everyday you see same-sex parents. I always wondered how that worked but it seems you two are doing marvellously without a mother for that little girl." The woman hiked up her own child on her hip.
Dream blinked once. This sounded like some backhanded compliment around being a gay parent. And also, Dream was not a parent.
"She doesn't need a Mum." George said softly, putting Lana into her seat and buckling her up.
"Well, I can see that she is very happy, so you must be doing something right." The woman said.
"I'm not her parent. I'm just a... a friend. Helping out for the day." Dream said, clearing his throat.
"Oh." The woman looked confused. "So is Mum at home, then?" She asked George, completely ignoring Dream now.
"I said she doesn't need a Mum. She doesn't have one." George shut the door.
"Oh." The woman looked a bit taken aback, and her gaze hardened. "How do you expect to raise a child as a single Dad?" She held her own kid tighter as if there was some threat.
"He may be single but he's not alone." Dream jumped in.
"Well I am just expressing my concern. As a fellow parent." She scoffed.
"Well, don't." Dream said.
"Dream, it's fine." George said quietly.
"That poor kid." The woman tutted, and began walking away. Dream glared after her.
"I feel bad for yours." Dream called out, and the woman turned back around with a horrified expression.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me. Having a mother as ignorant as yourself."
"Dream. Can we go." George was by his side.
"I am not homophobic." The woman glared back.
"Maybe sexist though. I bet you think a single mother would do better than a father."
"Well, it's by nature that woman are more caring. And it would be nice for some feminine influence on a young girl."
"You don't need to have a Mum to be a girl. She is turning out perfect and he's managing it by himself." Dream pointed at the car. George grabbed his sleeve.
"Dream."
"I wouldn't say he's managing well if he's chosen someone like yourself to be around his kid." She looked Dream up and down with disgust.
"Who are you to-"
"Clay, that's enough." George pulled Dream's arm and shoved him towards the now open passenger seat. "Get in."
"I was just-"
"I don't care. Get in." George looked furious, so Dream obeyed and got in the car. George slammed the door shut.
He looked out of the window, and saw George continuing to talk to the lady, who was responding with the same angry expression.
"Why was you shouting?" Lana asked, and Dream jumped, completely forgetting she was there.
"She said something mean about your Dad." Dream muttered.
"Can I shout too?" She asked, and Dream laughed.
"Nah. I did all the shouting already."
"Can I call her a mean word?"
"Which mean word?"
"Stupid!"
"Sure." Dream grinned. "You can call her stupid."
"You're stupid!" Lana shouted at her closed door, and Dream snorted.
George walked around the side of the car and got into the drivers seat, not even looking at Dream before starting the car and driving away. He was gripping the wheel tightly and Dream grew nervous.
"Stupid lady." Lana said, and George's eyes widened, turning to glare at Dream.
"I did not teach her that word." Dream put his hands up defensively. "But at least she used it correctly."
"Alana." George said sternly. "We don't use that word. Especially about people."
"Dream said I could about her."
Dream looked away when he felt George's piercing glare. He felt it burning against the side of his face.
"Dream was being naughty." George said through gritted teeth, eyes back on the road. "He was trying to get you in trouble."
"Dream!" Lana kicked his seat.
"I'm sorry!" Dream had to hold back his laugh.
"Why did you have to get all mad at that woman, Dream." George sighed.
"Well she was being plain rude! And offensive!"
"I don't want to make enemies. I just moved here. That kid is in Lana's class."
"Well she thought she was better than you for some reason, when I know for a fact that literally no one can rival you as a parent." Dream started picking with a loose thread on his pants.
"You're biased."
"I'm not biased, I'm just right. You are open-minded and that is enough to be a decent parent. That woman-"
"That woman." George interrupted. "Hasn't ever seen gay parents, or a single father in practice. She has not seen that it is possible, only heard the opposite. Instead of berating her and her child, I can just show that I am a good parent, and Lana doesn't need a Mom."
"That's not an excuse to call you a bad parent."
"No, it's not. But it also wasn't necessary to pick a fight with a stranger." George shook his head. "I know you care, Dream. But you need to take a step back."
Step back.
Right. He was getting too involved. This isn't his family, as he told the lady. Lana isn't his kid. George isn't his partner.
"Right." Dream sunk in his seat, and felt George look over at him once.
"You know what I mean."
"I do." Dream nodded. Because he was getting too involved, too attached. He's not part of the family. He's not even an Uncle. He needs to remember that. Where he stands. Who he is.
He's Dream. Just Dream.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N
My other story Haven finished so I'm making up for the missing angst by adding it in here instead!
Don't worry, they'll figure it all out eventually. And at least George and Dream's communication is better than four years ago!! (or is it)
-Lottie :)